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Around the League '16-'17 Stanley Cup Final Edition

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kingsholygrail said:
Yeah... Penguins gonna be back to back champs. So they're officially a dynasty I guess.
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Maybe not a dynasty, but will have definitely done something the Kings and Blackhawks coundn't do if they can win two of the next five games, and will have put themselves ahead of the Kings in any conversation involving best team of the last ten years.

The Penguins have some good young talent and two generational talents on what are now reasonable contracts given the big spike in the salary cap which occurred 4 and 5 years ago. No other team in the NHL can make that claim. They will definitely be contenders again next season if Crosby and Malkin can stay healthy.
 
Two underpaid superstars and a bunch of early to mid 20's guys making huge contributions and minimal cap hits. Nice recipe for success.

Huge props to their scouting staff though. Guentzel and Rust both drafted out of USHL and left them in the hands of their college programs to properly develop them.

And although I am pulling for Nashville I have no issue with Pittsburgh winning. Remember they saved us from the sight of seeing San Jose hoist the cup last year, let's not forget that. It also never hurts when an offensive type team with the best player in the world wins in any sport.
 
This is not a case of trying to pump the Kings tires, but the quality of competition for this potential back-to-back doesn't seem to compare to what the Kings/Hawks had to go through just to get to the Finals.

LA/CHI didn't win back-to-back titles because they had to deal with the other while Pitts biggest foe is a perennial underachiever.

It's still back-to-back titles and I'm not taking away from that accomplishment, just saying I don't think these Pittsburgh teams are as good top-to-bottom as some of the LA/CHI teams from the first part of the decade.

Agree though RE: legacy...Kings drop to #3 this decade with Pitt moving to #2 and Chicago still at #1. Back-to-back doesn't trump winning three in the decade so far.
 
BigKing said:
This is not a case of trying to pump the Kings tires, but the quality of competition for this potential back-to-back doesn't seem to compare to what the Kings/Hawks had to go through just to get to the Finals.

LA/CHI didn't win back-to-back titles because they had to deal with the other while Pitts biggest foe is a perennial underachiever.

It's still back-to-back titles and I'm not taking away from that accomplishment, just saying I don't think these Pittsburgh teams are as good top-to-bottom as some of the LA/CHI teams from the first part of the decade.

Agree though RE: legacy...Kings drop to #3 this decade with Pitt moving to #2 and Chicago still at #1. Back-to-back doesn't trump winning three in the decade so far.
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I agree. In fact, much tougher for the Kings to reach the WCF three years in a row when the West was stacked, but we'll lose that argument on the main board every time.

The talking heads will now see the Penguins as a better team than the Kings over the last decade. Would have loved to see the Kings take on the Pens in the SCF back in 2012-2014.
 
BigKing said:
This is not a case of trying to pump the Kings tires, but the quality of competition for this potential back-to-back doesn't seem to compare to what the Kings/Hawks had to go through just to get to the Finals.

LA/CHI didn't win back-to-back titles because they had to deal with the other while Pitts biggest foe is a perennial underachiever.

It's still back-to-back titles and I'm not taking away from that accomplishment, just saying I don't think these Pittsburgh teams are as good top-to-bottom as some of the LA/CHI teams from the first part of the decade.

Agree though RE: legacy...Kings drop to #3 this decade with Pitt moving to #2 and Chicago still at #1. Back-to-back doesn't trump winning three in the decade so far.
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Let's be honest. Detroit's back to back titles weren't against particularly impressive opponents either.
 
kingsholygrail said:
Let's be honest. Detroit's back to back titles weren't against particularly impressive opponents either.
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The Capitals were one of the most average teams to reach the Cup Final, but the Flyers in '97 were not expected to be swept. Hell, many picked them to beat Detroit based on their physical play and size. And they got swept.
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
The Capitals were one of the most average teams to reach the Cup Final, but the Flyers in '97 were not expected to be swept. Hell, many picked them to beat Detroit based on their physical play and size. And they got swept.
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The Capitals were dragged kicking and screaming to the Final by Hasek.
 
kingsholygrail said:
The Capitals were dragged kicking and screaming to the Final by Hasek.
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You mean Kolzig. Though Hasek did do that in '99 for Buffalo.

It's funny to me that of all the teams the Caps have had in their history, that was the one that was able to reach the SCF.

Of course, back then they were known for being a defense first team thanks to Ron Wilson's coaching. Then Jaromir Jagr came along...
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
You mean Kolzig. Though Hasek did do that in '99 for Buffalo.

It's funny to me that of all the teams the Caps have had in their history, that was the one that was able to reach the SCF.

Of course, back then they were known for being a defense first team thanks to Ron Wilson's coaching. Then Jaromir Jagr came along...
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Yeah, Wilson went to Washington and got Bondra to buy-in and they had a nice run.
 
I'm not even gonna bother reading that Kings vs Pens thread on the main board. It'd just **** me the **** off knowing that haters (Ducks and Sharks fans) will just chime in and say we would've gotten our ***** whooped. Just another way to discredit our success. To anyone who's read that thread, can you confirm that I'm right?
 
Kings 2012 and 2014 (especially the former) would demolish the Penguins. Superior forwards, vastly superior defense, and the best goaltender on the planet. I'll say 5 games, but I don't think it would even last that long.
 
Reclamation Project said:
Kings 2012 and 2014 (especially the former) would demolish the Penguins. Superior forwards, vastly superior defense, and the best goaltender on the planet. I'll say 5 games, but I don't think it would even last that long.
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The Pens wouldn't have needed a pile of snow to prevent them from being swept.
 
Ziggy Stardust said:
You mean Kolzig. Though Hasek did do that in '99 for Buffalo.

It's funny to me that of all the teams the Caps have had in their history, that was the one that was able to reach the SCF.

Of course, back then they were known for being a defense first team thanks to Ron Wilson's coaching. Then Jaromir Jagr came along...
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You're correct. I got them crossed for some reason. :laugh:

Vamos Rafa said:
I'm not even gonna bother reading that Kings vs Pens thread on the main board. It'd just **** me the **** off knowing that haters (Ducks and Sharks fans) will just chime in and say we would've gotten our ***** whooped. Just another way to discredit our success. To anyone who's read that thread, can you confirm that I'm right?
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Actually wasn't as bad as I expected. Saw a lot of Kings 2012 pushing which was a first given how people around here try to call them a weak team.
 
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Vamos Rafa said:
I'm not even gonna bother reading that Kings vs Pens thread on the main board. It'd just **** me the **** off knowing that haters (Ducks and Sharks fans) will just chime in and say we would've gotten our ***** whooped. Just another way to discredit our success. To anyone who's read that thread, can you confirm that I'm right?
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It's kind of funny that Hawks fans are the ones defending the Kings. They know how good the Kings were those years, especially in 2014.
 
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