Around the League '16-'17 Other Teams' Free Agent Frenzy

[kingsholygrail]

I like hearing some claim conspiracy for the Sharks like it's unusual that they'd be losing in the playoffs.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

I like hearing some claim conspiracy for the Sharks like it's unusual that they'd be losing in the playoffs.

I guess the league must have made up those penalties in OT like the 'too many men on the ice' call and the 'delay of game' penalty when Couture flung the puck over the glass.

 

[kingsfan28]

I guess the league must have made up those penalties in OT like the 'too many men on the ice' call and the 'delay of game' penalty when Couture flung the puck over the glass.

Oh, they're crying over the delay of game penalties plenty . They think that intent has to be considered because nobody would ever do it to stop momentum, get a stoppage or kill a penalty.

 

[kingsfan28]

The Sharks literally just scored their first 5v5 goal of the series, gimme a break man.

Edit: and it may as well have been a PP goal given the guy hadn't even rejoined the play out of the box.

SJ has been a team who needs the refs to save them year after year and this series is no different, can't do anything really if they're not on the PP.

Even the second goal they got lucky on. They called goalie interference every time a King made contact with Fluery, 3 f***ing times. Now a Shark makes contact, it's still a goal. A King did it and nope , it's no goal and you get a penalty.

 

[Sol]

I'm sure everyone is tired of the tire pumping, but I watched most of the Golden Knights games this year and Karlsson is a world class scorer. He has a lethal shot. Very, very smart player.

I could care a less how many seasons he's been in the league. All you need is the right opportunity and environment to flourish.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Get out of here with that ancient meme.

 

[Axl Rhoadz]

Just awful.

Loving people pumping the Sharks' tires just to crap on the Kings when really the Sharks haven't done anything but be the 2015 Kings, lots of shots, but less dangerous ones. And their only 5v5 goal of the series came 2 seconds after a powerplay.

Let's be real, if they were wearing black and a home plate logo, there'd be a ton of people crapping all over them.

Show me that same image from games 1-3, I'm thinking they weren't that close. Umm, the 2015 Kings didn't make the playoffs, so not understanding the comparison.

Sharks are in this series (except for game 1, of course)...they are out-shooting, probably out-chancing or at least it's even, and they are scoring goals against Vegas! All things the Kings didn't do a whole hell a lot of. Hence, the Kings pretty much blow.

 

[LAKings88]

Show me that same image from games 1-3, I'm thinking they weren't that close. Umm, the 2015 Kings didn't make the playoffs, so not understanding the comparison.

Sharks are in this series (except for game 1, of course)...they are out-shooting, probably out-chancing or at least it's even, and they are scoring goals against Vegas! All things the Kings didn't do a whole hell a lot of. Hence, the Kings pretty much blow.

LA is still a defensive team learning to play the puck speed game. Those were close games. I don’t care about advanced stats. LA just could not capitalize on its opportunities. The PP alone was what 1/12?

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Show me that same image from games 1-3, I'm thinking they weren't that close. Umm, the 2015 Kings didn't make the playoffs, so not understanding the comparison.

Sharks are in this series (except for game 1, of course)...they are out-shooting, probably out-chancing or at least it's even, and they are scoring goals against Vegas! All things the Kings didn't do a whole hell a lot of. Hence, the Kings pretty much blow.

Game 3 WAS that close too. Game 2 obviously wasn't for very clear reasons, but you seem perfectly willing to throw out Sharks Game 1 because reasons, yet not for the Kings.

Outshooting Kings literally did you can see in that graphic, out-chancing was even for the Kings as well, like I literally put the evidence right in front of you AND you commented on it so you can't pretend not to see it.

Sharks are scoring goals, they're also bleeding them and getting pretty much the same results. Pretending the Kings weren't in any game and the Sharks are is exactly what I was talking about before, you're hanging up a Kings pinata while worshiping at a teal altar deliberately ignorant of facts.

Now I DO expect this series to go at least 6-7 games because the Sharks can score on the PP and because Fleury's save % had nowhere to go but down from .980 but this weird narrative where the Kings were on a different rink while the Sharks are some tier above is trash, I"ve watched every minute of this series and it's every bit as prone to the swings were in our series.

 

[Bandit]

I'm sure everyone is tired of the tire pumping, but I watched most of the Golden Knights games this year and Karlsson is a world class scorer. He has a lethal shot. Very, very smart player.

I could care a less how many seasons he's been in the league. All you need is the right opportunity and environment to flourish.

He's definitely had a "world class" season, but I'm not ready to call him anything more than Swedish Cheechoo until he does it more than once. The guy never scored more than 9 goals in a season in North America before. I suspect next year might be a different story for him, but we'll see.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

He's definitely had a "world class" season, but I'm not ready to call him anything more than Swedish Cheechoo until he does it more than once. The guy never scored more than 9 goals in a season in North America before. I suspect next year might be a different story for him, but we'll see.

His shooting % is 4 times what it was last year. Unless he's suddenly the greatest scorer of all-time, dude is a 20-25 goal scorer next year. He'd be better than Bossy, Kurri, et. al. if he kept that up and it's a totally different era.

Active leaders in career shooting %: Stamkos 16.67, Marchand 15.85, Henrique 15.49, Monahan 14. 85, Lee 14.61. Most of those guys are comparable from the standpoint of (except Stamkos) they're not VOLUME shooters, they're pretty selective, or goal mouth snipers like Lee and to some degree Monahan. Wild Bill is 23 friggin percent on the year and 20 percent in the playoffs. Good luck next year.

Every year someone thinks they've found the long-term secret to being an outlier and everyone else is wrong. Great player, phenomenal line chemistry, due to crash.

 

[johnjm22]

Karlsson is in the last year of his contract. It will be interesting to see what kind of deal they sign him to this Summer.

 

[The Tikkanen]

Karlsson is in the last year of his contract. It will be interesting to see what kind of deal they sign him to this Summer.

In the future it will be interesting to see if NHL players seek to play in Vegas to boost their numbers and their next pay day based on their style of play or if players stick around long term.

 

[deeshamrock]

Andrew Walker: Since 1987 (31-years ago) there have only been five first overall draft picks that have won the Stanley Cup: Mike Modano, Vincent Lecavalier, Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury.


That' s hard to believe, only 5 #1's with a Cup in 30 years.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

Andrew Walker: Since 1987 (31-years ago) there have only been five first overall draft picks that have won the Stanley Cup: Mike Modano, Vincent Lecavalier, Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury.


That' s hard to believe, only 5 #1's with a Cup in 30 years.

Still tons of 1st round picks play important roles on Cup winning teams. Like those guys on LA, CHI, PIT who didn’t need to be 1st overall, but loaded with former 1st rounders.

 

[Legionnaire]

Andrew Walker: Since 1987 (31-years ago) there have only been five first overall draft picks that have won the Stanley Cup: Mike Modano, Vincent Lecavalier, Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury.


That' s hard to believe, only 5 #1's with a Cup in 30 years.

The way that is phrased means it should also include Mario Lemieux.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

The way that is phrased means it should also include Mario Lemieux.

I thought the same as well, but I guess they’re using 1987 as the starting point for 1st overall selections, as Mario was taken in the ‘84 draft.

 

[Legionnaire]

I thought the same as well, but I guess they’re using 1987 as the starting point for 1st overall selections, as Mario was taken in the ‘84 draft.

I get what he meant but it is a poorly worded sentence.

 

[Legionnaire]

Only five first overall picks that have been drafted since the 1987 draft have won the Stanley Cup.

 

[BigKing]

SJ has proven to be a better team than the Kings by basically smashing them every time since 2014 and especially since the 2016 season.

Now, I know the Kings beat ANA in 2014 even though they seemingly lost to them in the regular season all the time as well, but this Kings team isn't the 2014 version.

I still liked the Vegas match up and we saw them hold Vegas to only 7 goals. Kings offense is basically #11 with an assist from #8. They were shut down by a team I wouldn't consider great defensively: that is a big problem. The power play needed to produce and fell completely flat. It is a favorite pastime of mine to criticize San Jose as a PP-only team but, in the end, those goals count the same so they have performed better than LA did.

SJ plays faster than the Kings which is why I have them winning this series against Vegas. I said I would not jump to conclusions after Game 1 and now here we are with a SJ win in Game 2 and then an OT loss in Game 3. Game 1 was an apparition while the last two are more indicative of the match-up.

We can all argue about this but the one thing we shouldn't be able to argue is that the Kings do not seem to be on par with the level of hockey that is being played by the remaining 8 teams. The creativity on offense, the clean break outs, cross ice passes etc...are just not there for the Kings.

I read a post that said the Kings are still "learning" how to play that way. That's fine. What that also means is that they are simply not good enough at the moment to compete with the teams that are teaching how to play that way. Quick playing at an elite level and Doughty eating 30 minutes can help make things look competitive to the point where you can try to hang your hat (it will fall on the floor) on "bounces", but it really looks like a team that brought a knife to a gunfight when you watch the hockey that is currently being played.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

SJ has proven to be a better team than the Kings by basically smashing them every time since 2014 and especially since the 2016 season.

Now, I know the Kings beat ANA in 2014 even though they seemingly lost to them in the regular season all the time as well, but this Kings team isn't the 2014 version.

I still liked the Vegas match up and we saw them hold Vegas to only 7 goals. Kings offense is basically #11 with an assist from #8. They were shut down by a team I wouldn't consider great defensively: that is a big problem. The power play needed to produce and fell completely flat. It is a favorite pastime of mine to criticize San Jose as a PP-only team but, in the end, those goals count the same so they have performed better than LA did.

SJ plays faster than the Kings which is why I have them winning this series against Vegas. I said I would not jump to conclusions after Game 1 and now here we are with a SJ win in Game 2 and then an OT loss in Game 3. Game 1 was an apparition while the last two are more indicative of the match-up.

We can all argue about this but the one thing we shouldn't be able to argue is that the Kings do not seem to be on par with the level of hockey that is being played by the remaining 8 teams. The creativity on offense, the clean break outs, cross ice passes etc...are just not there for the Kings.

I read a post that said the Kings are still "learning" how to play that way. That's fine. What that also means is that they are simply not good enough at the moment to compete with the teams that are teaching how to play that way. Quick playing at an elite level and Doughty eating 30 minutes can help make things look competitive to the point where you can try to hang your hat (it will fall on the floor) on "bounces", but it really looks like a team that brought a knife to a gunfight when you watch the hockey that is currently being played.

Maybe, but I'll disagree flat out that the Sharks are on another tier than the Kings. I want to disagree about VGK as well, but I'm done doubting them. However, the other 6 teams still playing are head and shoulders above and are playing the hockey you describe for sure. I'd pick any one of them to smash on the Sharks, I think VGK would/will put up a better fight.

YOU might not have jumped to conclusions after one game and I agree with you, but some folks are ignoring that game entirely while using Game 2 in our series as representative of the hockey the Kings played. It's selective criticism and it's garbage frankly.

 

[Little Psycho]

I like hearing some claim conspiracy for the Sharks like it's unusual that they'd be losing in the playoffs.

It's so great. Some of them were so cocky at the end of the season. Did Kane forget how to score?

 

[WHOneedsSOX]

I thought Pierre liked Pittsburgh? Guy can't stop talking about Washington tonight and how great "Tommy Wilson" is and what a smart player he is. And then Ovechkin gets pushed by little Jake Guentzel and he can't stop talking about how strong Ovechkin is.

 

[BigKing]

Maybe, but I'll disagree flat out that the Sharks are on another tier than the Kings. I want to disagree about VGK as well, but I'm done doubting them. However, the other 6 teams still playing are head and shoulders above and are playing the hockey you describe for sure. I'd pick any one of them to smash on the Sharks, I think VGK would/will put up a better fight.

YOU might not have jumped to conclusions after one game and I agree with you, but some folks are ignoring that game entirely while using Game 2 in our series as representative of the hockey the Kings played. It's selective criticism and it's garbage frankly.

SJ, as a whole, probably isn't a tier above the Kings; however, they sure have been in head-to-head contests.

I'm pretty positive that the Kings would not have swept the Ducks like San Jose did either. Maybe not a separate tier, but above the Kings in the same tier.

 

[Vamos Rafa]

I haven't rooted for a Canadian team to win the Cup since the 07 Sens and that's because I had to. This time, I don't mind the Jets winning it.