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Around the League - 2024-2025 Part II

Aashir Mallik said:
holy crap habs and sens making the playoffs would be crazy

if either of them upset washington or one of us, tampa or florida we will never hear the end of it
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That's been done. The habs beat the caps in their prime back in 2010 when they last met. Toronto was more recent, but the Washington one was a much bigger upset at the time.

They are just happy to play meaningful games at this point and anything more than that is just gravy.... but the focus is still on the future, most notably led by the arrival of demidov next year.
 
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Caps are a wagon.
They're built sort of opposite to us in that they are arguably as deep as anyone and don't rely on 1 or a few players.
Carbery and the GM deserve a ton of credit because no one saw this coming.
Oh ya, they also have a stacked farm system.
 
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Aashir Mallik said:
holy crap habs and sens making the playoffs would be crazy

if either of them upset washington or one of us, tampa or florida we will never hear the end of it
Click to expand...
Things could change in a month but of the teams competing for a playoff spot, would the Leafs be favoured over anyone other than Detroit or NYI? The others would be fairly even. I could see Ottawa beating the Caps.
 
JianYang said:
That's been done. The habs beat the caps in their prime back in 2010 when they last met. Toronto was more recent, but the Washington one was a much bigger upset at the time.

They are just happy to play meaningful games at this point and anything more than that is just gravy.... but the focus is still on the future, most notably led by the arrival of demidov next year.
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TBH, I think WSH is better now than in 2010.

Obviously Ovechkin was at his peak and a total beast in 2010, but that team was a one line team with terrible defense and bad goaltending.

This year's team is deep at every position and has a low-key strong blue line and very good goaltending. I think this team would massacre a team like MTL, CLB, DET or even NYR (the teams are drastically different than they were last year).
 
GlitchMarner said:
TBH, I think WSH is better now than in 2010.

Obviously Ovechkin was at his peak and a total beast in 2010, but that team was a one line team with terrible defense and bad goaltending.

This year's team is deep at every position and has a low-key strong blue line and very good goaltending. I think this team would massacre a team like MTL, CLB, DET or even NYR (the teams are drastically different than they were last year).
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That team finished 54-15-3. This team has already lost more games than that one.

Whether this team is better constructed for the playoffs is an argument to consider, but even back then Washington and Pittsburgh were considered the class of the east, and it was shocking to most observers to see neither standing in the conference final.

Out of the teams mentioned, I'd still say Rangers have the best pedigree and would be my pick to make it, but all these teams have been very volatile this year with extreme winning streaks and losing streaks. Just when you think someone is cementing their claim to a WC, they cool off considerably, and a team or two below them gets very hot again.
 
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Josh Anderson is the player leafs are missing in their line up

He's not a 5.75 player. Definitely not. But he's the exact heart and soul player the Leafs are missing

Can contribute, gives a damn and will drop it with anyone
 
fahad203 said:
Josh Anderson is the player leafs are missing in their line up

He's not a 5.75 player. Definitely not. But he's the exact heart and soul player the Leafs are missing

Can contribute, gives a damn and will drop it with anyone
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He's not a $5.75 mil 50% retained player either.

Can contribute.. but doesn't really do that much of it... I mean, he's at the same point pace as Robertson. Will drop the gloves.. and has TWICE this year.

I think we are wanting the Ghost of Josh Anderson past. I'd be happy to take him at around $1 mil as a UFA. Otherwise... nah...
 
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MilkofthePoppy said:
Carberry would have been an excellent coach for us. Seems to be an excellent motivator and man manager.
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Maybe. Hard to say
Washington went through a bit of a spell after losing Backstrom and few other players

Their GM did a heck of a job in filling those roles in. Dylan Strome finally became the player everyoen thought he would be. He was a fantastic find and a deal

Tom Wilson is fully healthy again
Acquisition of Chychurin, Dubois and Logan Thompson where massive. With Dubois and Strome they have depth down the middle

Not to mention their draft picks are finally coming around..... McMichael whom I really wanted that draft year along with Protas. They evolved nicely

As much as I want to give credit to Carberry, their GM should get a lot of credit
 
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fahad203 said:
Maybe. Hard to say
Washington went through a bit of a spell after losing Backstrom and few other players

Their GM did a heck of a job in filling those roles in. Dylan Strome finally became the player everyoen thought he would be. He was a fantastic find and a deal

Tom Wilson is fully healthy again
Acquisition of Chychurin, Dubois and Logan Thompson where massive. With Dubois and Strome they have depth down the middle

Not to mention their draft picks are finally coming around..... McMichael whom I really wanted that draft year along with Protas. They evolved nicely

As much as I want to give credit to Carberry, their GM should get a lot of credit
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Both guys should get a ton of credit. GM made the acquisitions, but the coach was able to incorporate the new faces seamlessly. We've often seen how difficult it is for a team with a big roster turnover to mesh off the bat

Not to mention the development of their young players at the NHL level. Among other things, Carberry told Protas to work on his conditioning over the summer because he noticed Protas would get tired 15 seconds into his shifts last year

Sandin has turned into a good defenseman. Getting D zone starts, faces elite competition. Does that happen under another coach? Maybe. Some people here thought he couldn't be trusted in the D zone
 
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GlitchMarner said:
TBH, I think WSH is better now than in 2010.

Obviously Ovechkin was at his peak and a total beast in 2010, but that team was a one line team with terrible defense and bad goaltending.

This year's team is deep at every position and has a low-key strong blue line and very good goaltending. I think this team would massacre a team like MTL, CLB, DET or even NYR (the teams are drastically different than they were last year).
Click to expand...
Caps are pretty interesting - proven a lot of staying power. After a cinderella season, they will also have a comparably easy playoff path - fans will go nuts.

I wonder though, can Strome hang battling middle ice against Point, Barkov, Mattys? Will Sandin on the first pairing get worked? Can Thompson do playoff stakes? A newish team, at least together, for deep playoff hockey.

So far pretty impressive.
 
fahad203 said:
Maybe. Hard to say
Washington went through a bit of a spell after losing Backstrom and few other players

Their GM did a heck of a job in filling those roles in. Dylan Strome finally became the player everyoen thought he would be. He was a fantastic find and a deal

Tom Wilson is fully healthy again
Acquisition of Chychurin, Dubois and Logan Thompson where massive. With Dubois and Strome they have depth down the middle

Not to mention their draft picks are finally coming around..... McMichael whom I really wanted that draft year along with Protas. They evolved nicely

As much as I want to give credit to Carberry, their GM should get a lot of credit
Click to expand...

No doubt, they made some great deals retooling. I honestly wouldn't mind seeing Ovi break the goal scoring record and win a Cup, that would be a story book ending for him. Carberry gets a lot of praise from me specifically because of he managed last season. Nobody saw the Caps making the playoffs, but they did, even though it was a quick out I think it was a big accomplishment for them.
 
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