Ongoing NHL Thread Part IV - A New Hope

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Serious question, what happened to Giroux? He was a top 5 guy 5 years ago and has steadily declined. Is he just not fast enough? What's his deal?

It seems to have all gone downhill after he played grab ass with an Ottawa cop.

 

[wings-pens2166]

On playing for Torts:
"I blocked two shots last season. One more than Kane."

Doesn't speak a word of English, but apparently has a decent sense of humor.

yeah, that was a pretty good one. and I really, really hate that Cbus got him!

 

[tducey]

Giroux's to good not to bounce back. This could be a make or break year for the team.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

 

[mooger_35]

lol. Damn that's cold.

 

[tducey]

I'm no fan of hockey in Vegas but whoever's running their twitter account is doing great work, good stuff.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Friendly reminder that the regular season begins less than a month from now

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

This is what happens when you utterly screw up your cap situation.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

On a related note, if there was a way to get Mike Green into a Leafs uni before the season starts I don’t think I’d mind that at all.

 

[BGDave]

On a related note, if there was a way to get Mike Green into a Leafs uni before the season starts I don’t think I’d mind that at all.

Looks like he has one year left and a cap hit of $6M. Shouldnt take much to pry him loose

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Looks like he has one year left and a cap hit of $6M. Shouldnt take much to pry him loose

The issue is getting the Wings to eat some salary. The Leafs could make the full cap hit work but it’s dependent on Lupul being placed on LTIR and I don’t know what’s going on there yet.

I’m sure there are a few other teams out there thinking likewise but man oh man would he help make the Leafs’ PP terrifying.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

Still holding out hope Devils can land a last minute defenseman from a cap strapped team. Similar to what the Isles did a few years back with Boychuk and Leddy. Although I think the young guys get their shot to see what they can do and it gets addressed down the road.

 

[tducey]

Mike Green would be a great fit on Toronto. Could make them one of the favorites in that division.

 

[forty_three]

Still holding out hope Devils can land a last minute defenseman from a cap strapped team. Similar to what the Isles did a few years back with Boychuk and Leddy. Although I think the young guys get their shot to see what they can do and it gets addressed down the road.

The Jackets are not cash strapped, but I cannot think of a better way to describe Jack Johnson than "last minute".

 

[dash]

Actual Stanley Cup Contenders

Pittsburgh Penguins

Edmonton Oilers

Tampa Bay Lightning

Anaheim Ducks

Nashville Predators

Minnesota Wild

Boom Or Bust

Calgary Flames

Columbus Blue Jackets

Dallas Stars

Montreal Canadiens

Philadelphia Flyers

St. Louis Blues

Toronto Maple Leafs

Washington Capitals

Old Standbys

Boston Bruins

Los Angeles Kings

New York Rangers

On The Upswing

Buffalo Sabres

Carolina Hurricanes

New Jersey Devils

Winnipeg Jets

On The Downswing

Chicago Blackhawks

San Jose Sharks

You Figure It Out, Because We Have No Idea

Florida Panthers

New York Islanders

Ottawa Senators

Basement Dwellers

Arizona Coyotes

Colorado Avalanche

Detroit Red Wings

Vegas Golden Knights

Vancouver Canucks

Ranking Stanley Cup contenders for 2017-18 NHL season

 

[BGDave]

Actual Stanley Cup Contenders

Pittsburgh Penguins

Edmonton Oilers

Tampa Bay Lightning

Anaheim Ducks

Nashville Predators

Minnesota Wild

Boom Or Bust

Calgary Flames

Columbus Blue Jackets

Dallas Stars

Montreal Canadiens

Philadelphia Flyers

St. Louis Blues

Toronto Maple Leafs

Washington Capitals

Old Standbys

Boston Bruins

Los Angeles Kings

New York Rangers

On The Upswing

Buffalo Sabres

Carolina Hurricanes

New Jersey Devils

Winnipeg Jets

On The Downswing

Chicago Blackhawks

San Jose Sharks

You Figure It Out, Because We Have No Idea

Florida Panthers

New York Islanders

Ottawa Senators

Basement Dwellers

Arizona Coyotes

Colorado Avalanche

Detroit Red Wings

Vegas Golden Knights

Vancouver Canucks

Ranking Stanley Cup contenders for 2017-18 NHL season

Well, they got the Cellar Dwellers right. Not so sure about many of the others.

Nashville is NOT a contender. Sorry. TB missed the playoffs last year, and are short one Drouin. And the Wild have yet to do anything in the playoffs. CBJ is much closer to a contender then these 3. In fact, I would slot them in as contenders.

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Some pennies:

- I know they have the best, most exciting player in the game but Edmonton as "actual contender" still seems nuts to me.

-Say Stamkos is worth about ten more goals over 82 games than Drouin was last season. Throw into the mix a largely untested goaler who will have to play behind Dan Girardi for significant minutes nightly. What exactly is turning the Bolts from a non-playoff team to a contender?

-Buffalo was a fucking mess last year, they had to clean house, they acquired two 2nd pair (at best) d-men and one of their very few goalscorers had a major health scare. Upswing?

-Philly seems like much more of an upswing team to me than a "boom or bust" considering what Hextall's been up to there the past two years.

Well, they got the Cellar Dwellers right. Not so sure about many of the others.

Nashville is NOT a contender. Sorry. TB missed the playoffs last year, and are short one Drouin. And the Wild have yet to do anything in the playoffs. CBJ is much closer to a contender then these 3. In fact, I would slot them in as contenders.

Yup, Nashville has almost no secondary scoring and even with that blue line relying on Rinne is pretty scary. If Washington, 2nd-round chokers they are, aren't a contender I don't know how the hell Minny, 1st-round playoff chokers, can be considered one.

Lumbus could be a contender. They could also see their PP go to garbage, Bobrovski regress just a bit too much, some of the older "grit" guys (Dubinsky, Foligno) become liabilities, the defence behind the 1st pair be terrible, Torts become Torts again...every "good" year this team has ever had was followed by a barn fire of a season. I wouldn't put my money either way on them.

 

[forty_three]

Last season was a blessing and a curse for the Jackets. The young guys moved into solid roles, Bob had a great season to show he still has it in him, and they were able to spread out the scoring. All good things.

But, they are still a team where nearly everyone on the team has experienced exactly one playoff win in their career. This one. I would argue they are a team that that is still up and coming because of the inexperience. But the performance, in a really tough division, puts a lot of pressure on them. Had they been a wild card this year and bowed out, they are up and comers on this list.

And I don't think they are a "bust" at the opposite end of Boom. If this season doesn't go as well as last, there's no pressure to blow it up.

 

[puckhead]

The Jackets are not cash strapped, but I cannot think of a better way to describe Jack Johnson than "last minute".

i can

 

[Bloody Brian Burke]

Hasn't played for the Leafs in, what, 3 years, but hey! Fransonwatch 2017!