Around the League: News/Notes

[The Marquis]

And here's how many games each of those teams plays against the other teams on your craptastic 8.

Seattle: 3 (Ottawa, Chicago, New Jersey)
Arizona: 3
Buffalo: 5
Chicago: 6
Montreal: 5
New Jersey: 6
Ottawa: 5
Philadelphia: 5

So yeah. Some of those teams will be winning some of those games. Of course each team has it's share of fringe games (Detroit, Columbus, San Jose, Vancouver, etc). Generally speaking, both Arizona and Seattle have the toughest schedules, with New Jersey and Chicago (especially Chicago) having the easiest.

As for my predictions... It's REALLY hard to say who is going to suck from here on out...

You've got

• Seattle, who is without Giordano, Blackwell and Jarnkrok, 3 of the most effective players on the team. Seattle will likely get Beniers for the last 8 games.
• Arizona who hasn't changed enough to remember who they lost.
• Buffalo, who didn't change and I honestly think might be the only team with something to actually prove by winning games, so I can see them winning some games and possibly ending up at the top of the craptastic 8. They'll also pick up Owen Power I'd imagine.
• Chicago, who lost Hagel and Marc-Andre Fleury. I'd say they definitely got worse here.
• Montreal was definitely gutted in the same way Seattle was, losing a good number of contributors like Kulak, Lehkonen and Chiarot. They definitely don't have a Beniers coming their way mid-April.
• New Jersey didn't change and is a better team on paper than their record says. They did pick up a goalie since they had the worst goalie depth in NHL history (I'm kidding). They also destroy NYR in their first game post-deadling. I don't expect them to be bottom 4.
• Ottawa lost Paul and Brown, so they'll be a worse team, especially having added Travis Hamonic who is apparently a troublesome guy. I consider them among the most likely to have a worse post-deadline than before.
• Philadelphia... LMFAO. They lost their best player outright, team legend Giroux. That'll hurt. Braun and Brassard are just icing on the cake.

Having said all that, I definitely think Seattle and Arizona are going to struggle to gain ground on the group above them, but I think Ottawa and Philadelphia certainly have a shot at stinking bad enough to bring them down into the bottom 3. I am pretty confident that NJ, Buffalo and Chicago stay the top 3 in that group due to schedule, progress so far this season and in the case of Buffalo and NJ, a desire to prove yourself and lack of negative changes to the roster at the TDL.

Using last night as an example, 5 teams played. 2 against one another. Seattle beat Arizona. Then both Ottawa and Philadelphia got destroyed by teams just outside the craptastic 8, while New Jersey crushed a playoff team. I think we're going to see a lot more of those types of results from the latter 3.

Predictions:

Ottawa and Philadelphia tank the hardest and make it really hard for Seattle, Arizona and Montreal (ALL 3) to remain bottom 3.

Seattle, Arizona, Montreal, Ottawa and Philadelphia are your bottom 5. I don't think NJ and Buffalo players are in on the tank, and from their deadline deals, I don't think their GM's are either. They want to prove they are capable and both can add a big pick if so desired after Michigan wins the NCAA championship.

I don't think Seattle manages bottom 2. I think the fight for that is going to remain between Arizona and Montreal with Ottawa and Seattle battling for that 3rd/4th spot with Philly firmly sticking up in 5th worst. That said, Seattle's more difficult schedule could prove me wrong, but truly, I think the players in Seattle have more to prove to themselves and the hockey world (and the Seattle fans) than the players for any of the other bottom 5. That could definitely mean some unlikely wins.

TL,DR Version:

Bottom 8 in order at the end of the season (best to worst): New Jersey, Buffalo, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Ottawa, Montreal, Arizona.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

And here's how many games each of those teams plays against the other teams on your craptastic 8.

Seattle: 3 (Ottawa, Chicago, New Jersey)
Arizona: 3
Buffalo: 5
Chicago: 6
Montreal: 5
New Jersey: 6
Ottawa: 5
Philadelphia: 5

So yeah. Some of those teams will be winning some of those games. Of course each team has it's share of fringe games (Detroit, Columbus, San Jose, Vancouver, etc). Generally speaking, both Arizona and Seattle have the toughest schedules, with New Jersey and Chicago (especially Chicago) having the easiest.

As for my predictions... It's REALLY hard to say who is going to suck from here on out...

You've got

• Seattle, who is without Giordano, Blackwell and Jarnkrok, 3 of the most effective players on the team. Seattle will likely get Beniers for the last 8 games.
• Arizona who hasn't changed enough to remember who they lost.
• Buffalo, who didn't change and I honestly think might be the only team with something to actually prove by winning games, so I can see them winning some games and possibly ending up at the top of the craptastic 8. They'll also pick up Owen Power I'd imagine.
• Chicago, who lost Hagel and Marc-Andre Fleury. I'd say they definitely got worse here.
• Montreal was definitely gutted in the same way Seattle was, losing a good number of contributors like Kulak, Lehkonen and Chiarot. They definitely don't have a Beniers coming their way mid-April.
• New Jersey didn't change and is a better team on paper than their record says. They did pick up a goalie since they had the worst goalie depth in NHL history (I'm kidding). They also destroy NYR in their first game post-deadling. I don't expect them to be bottom 4.
• Ottawa lost Paul and Brown, so they'll be a worse team, especially having added Travis Hamonic who is apparently a troublesome guy. I consider them among the most likely to have a worse post-deadline than before.
• Philadelphia... LMFAO. They lost their best player outright, team legend Giroux. That'll hurt. Braun and Brassard are just icing on the cake.

Having said all that, I definitely think Seattle and Arizona are going to struggle to gain ground on the group above them, but I think Ottawa and Philadelphia certainly have a shot at stinking bad enough to bring them down into the bottom 3. I am pretty confident that NJ, Buffalo and Chicago stay the top 3 in that group due to schedule, progress so far this season and in the case of Buffalo and NJ, a desire to prove yourself and lack of negative changes to the roster at the TDL.

Using last night as an example, 5 teams played. 2 against one another. Seattle beat Arizona. Then both Ottawa and Philadelphia got destroyed by teams just outside the craptastic 8, while New Jersey crushed a playoff team. I think we're going to see a lot more of those types of results from the latter 3.

Predictions:

Ottawa and Philadelphia tank the hardest and make it really hard for Seattle, Arizona and Montreal (ALL 3) to remain bottom 3.

Seattle, Arizona, Montreal, Ottawa and Philadelphia are your bottom 5. I don't think NJ and Buffalo players are in on the tank, and from their deadline deals, I don't think their GM's are either. They want to prove they are capable and both can add a big pick if so desired after Michigan wins the NCAA championship.

I don't think Seattle manages bottom 2. I think the fight for that is going to remain between Arizona and Montreal with Ottawa and Seattle battling for that 3rd/4th spot with Philly firmly sticking up in 5th worst. That said, Seattle's more difficult schedule could prove me wrong, but truly, I think the players in Seattle have more to prove to themselves and the hockey world (and the Seattle fans) than the players for any of the other bottom 5. That could definitely mean some unlikely wins.

TL,DR Version:

Bottom 8 in order at the end of the season (best to worst): New Jersey, Buffalo, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Ottawa, Montreal, Arizona.

Yeah. And I would take top-4 happily. Like I saw a few weeks back, I don't think there is that much of a difference in the cream of the crop this year. I was looking at Black Book rankings (highly respectable) and they have Geekie at #2 overall. Their top-10 as of March 14 this year is:

Wright
Geekie
Slaf
Nemec
Cooley
Savoie
Jiricek
Pickering
Korchenski
Mintyunov

I think the top-8 in order kind of makes sense with the exception of Geekie. I would swap him out in the top-8 with one of Kemell, Lekkerimaki, Lambert, Yurov, Nazar, etc. but there is lot of 'depth' in this round.

I know rankings are going to be all over the place this season so unless you are not picking 1 OA, you could still potentially still get your preferred player anywhere in the top-8 (assuming every team expects Wright at 1OA).

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Well, yeah.

On paper we(and Arizona) probably have a tougher schedule but I somehow have a feeling that our guys will compete hard enough to win a couple more than expected while I think teams like Philly(they've completely stopped trying) and Ottawa(injury to Chabot, trading Paul) might not get much out of their final games.

Though, who knows and like been said, let's just enjoy some hopefully better hockey by the Kraken.

BTW: Our next six games are against the Kings(2x, both away), Vegas(2x, both at home), Dallas and St. Louis(both on the road).
So on paper we shouldn't expect anything out of those, but who knows especially with al the injuries in L.A. and the current bad form of the Golden Knights.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Well, yeah.

On paper we(and Arizona) probably have a tougher schedule but I somehow have a feeling that our guys will compete hard enough to win a couple more than expected while I think teams like Philly(they've completely stopped trying) and Ottawa(injury to Chabot, trading Paul) might not get much out of their final games.

Though, who knows and like been said, let's just enjoy some hopefully better hockey by the Kraken.

BTW: Our next six games are against the Kings(2x, both away), Vegas(2x, both at home), Dallas and St. Louis(both on the road).
So on paper we shouldn't expect anything out of those, but who knows especially with al the injuries in L.A. and the current bad form of the Golden Knights.

Yeah. If we win more than 1 game in those 6 I would be surprised. Though like you said LA and Vegas is extremely banged up and latter is in a freefall.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Yeah. If we win more than 1 game in those 6 I would be surprised. Though like you said LA and Vegas is extremely banged up and latter is in a freefall.

We'll probably end up winning three of those but just to get spanked by Chicago, New Jersey and Ottawa...

 

[The Marquis]

The teams above Seattle in the standings are making it super easy to want the Kraken to win. Ottawa and Philly.

 

[The Marquis]

Craptastic 8 news. All the 8 above Seattle won tonight. So far, since the deadline, they’ve all won unless playing another esteemed member of the “8” except the Habs once and Devils once (who won one and lost one). Things are looking up (or down).

 

[RainyCityHockey]

So yesterday we, of course, lost while Chicago and Ottawa got a point.
Montreal then beat Toronto to tie us at 46 points while New Jersey just keeps on losing.
The Habs will now also play the Devils, which means someone will get some points and and if we're lucky they might even play some OT hockey and give points to both teams....

Anyways, seems like there's quite a race to the bottom by the craptastic eight with a lot of crappy play and craplights all over....

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

So yesterday we, of course, lost while Chicago and Ottawa got a point.
Montreal then beat Toronto to tie us at 46 points while New Jersey just keeps on losing.
The Habs will now also play the Devils, which means someone will get some points and and if we're lucky they might even play some OT hockey and give points to both teams....

Anyways, seems like there's quite a race to the bottom by the craptastic eight with a lot of crappy play and craplights all over....

I don't know if the Hawks or Sabres are part of this race anymore. I think its more of the stinky six at this point of time.

Coyotes
Canadiens
Kraken
Devils
Sens
Flyers

Looking at current streaks and points I think the Devils could potentially pass us. But among all the 6 teams above, Devils has the worst latest 10 game streak at 4-6-0. Close 2nd are 3 other teams tied at 4-5-1 (Kraken, Sens, Flyers). 2 points seperating the top-3 teams, 9 points separating the top-6.

It's definitely quite a race to the finish.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Not a bad day for us.

Devils beat Habs in OT.
Coyotes lost to Jets in OT.

Yep.
We're currently 2nd worst(but have one game in hand) as Montreal has moved one point ahead of us while Arizona's trailing us by a point.

Ottawa has six more points, while Philly and New Jersey have seven more.

That race to the bottom just keeps on giving.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

Yep.
We're currently 2nd worst(but have one game in hand) as Montreal has moved one point ahead of us while Arizona's trailing us by a point.

Ottawa has six more points, while Philly and New Jersey have seven more.

That race to the bottom just keeps on giving.

Yeah. I am really really hoping for a bottom-4 pick. That makes sure we have a chance at one of the 2 D-men or Wright/Cooley/Slaf. Would be an ideal draft for us if we can end up there.

 

[The Marquis]

I was just sitting in my office, listening to some music and I started thinking about this season and how truly predictable it has been, but I got to thinking about exceptions

About the only things I can think of... but please add.

1. Mo Seider. Didn't expect him to light up the Calder discussion. Hell, wasn't even paying attention before about November, but the Wings surprising start had us all looking over there.

2. Chicago being very bad. I don't think anybody had that. I don't think many thought they'd be a top team, but on paper, they looked decent, like a bubble team, but it wasn't meant to be.

3. Chris Kreider being 3rd in goals this far into the season.

4. I guess Montreal being awful. I personally didn't think they'd be great, but like Chicago, a bubble team.

5. See above for Philadelphia.

6. Columbus being the bubble team is rather funny... but they aren't really since the gap is so wide.

7. Vegas being a bubble team.

8. Calgary being one of the best teams in the NHL.

9. Philip Grubauer being the worst regular starting goalie.

10. LA being good.

11. MAF playing for Minnesota

I guess that's a lot... but it seems like the playoff teams are generally what I expected, and those missing out are what I expected with the exceptions all being on the bubble. The players are playing about as expected with a couple really showing off.

I'm also extraordinarily bored today.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

I was just sitting in my office, listening to some music and I started thinking about this season and how truly predictable it has been, but I got to thinking about exceptions

About the only things I can think of... but please add.

1. Mo Seider. Didn't expect him to light up the Calder discussion. Hell, wasn't even paying attention before about November, but the Wings surprising start had us all looking over there.

2. Chicago being very bad. I don't think anybody had that. I don't think many thought they'd be a top team, but on paper, they looked decent, like a bubble team, but it wasn't meant to be.

3. Chris Kreider being 3rd in goals this far into the season.

4. I guess Montreal being awful. I personally didn't think they'd be great, but like Chicago, a bubble team.

5. See above for Philadelphia.

6. Columbus being the bubble team is rather funny... but they aren't really since the gap is so wide.

7. Vegas being a bubble team.

8. Calgary being one of the best teams in the NHL.

9. Philip Grubauer being the worst regular starting goalie.

10. LA being good.

11. MAF playing for Minnesota

I guess that's a lot... but it seems like the playoff teams are generally what I expected, and those missing out are what I expected with the exceptions all being on the bubble. The players are playing about as expected with a couple really showing off.

I'm also extraordinarily bored today.

Seider has been unbelievable for sure.

I would say in the list above Kreider has been the biggest surprise. I mean, his average S% is 14.9 and his career high in goals was 28. He has been shooting at 21.2% this season and already has 46 goals. But when you did into the stats, 24 of his goals have been on the PP alone. It is just insane all over.

I did think Habs would not be as good because losing Weber, Price and Danault was not going to be easy. But yeah, did not think it was going to be this bad.

Another thing I would add to the list is Vegas struggling to make the playoffs. I know injuries are a big factor but they have a real chance at missing the playoffs this season.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Well, as a German I knew Seider was special since he started playing in the AHL and then dominating the SHL last season, winning defensive player of the year.
He's also been great for the national team.

Chicago was a strange one anyways given that they talked about rebuilding after the bubble playoffs and then all of a sudden went all in with Seth Jones one year later.
That team just doesn't make much sense and the only reasons they're not in a full on rebuild are Kane and Toews, who might get moved pretty soon.

Montreal wasn't great in the past couple of years but they somehow got into the playoffs in that weak northern division and then went on a run.
No one expected them to be this bad, but looking at their division it wasn't a surprise if they wouldn't make the playoffs.

Philly's just a team that completely fell off a cliff and doesn't seem to really care anymore for this season.

Grubauer's a strange one as well, but he never found his rhythym and we're also hardly ever seem to be able to put it all together and are either missing goaltending or scoring.

I did think L.A. could be good this year given their talent and the fact that they had shown some flashes during the last two seasons.

As far as our craptastics goes.
None of the teams down there with us got anything tonight and New Jersey got absolutely spanked tonight.

 

[The Marquis]

New Jersey. Oh nooooo. They had a 6-2 lead going into the third. Lost it all by the end of regulation (hurray! They got a point) and lost in OT. That hurts.

 

[Fistfullofbeer]

New Jersey. Oh nooooo. They had a 6-2 lead going into the third. Lost it all by the end of regulation (hurray! They got a point) and lost in OT. That hurts.

Yeah. It's ridiculous. And how much did they just pay for that Hamilton contract. Jeez.

 

[The Marquis]

Yeah. It's ridiculous. And how much did they just pay for that Hamilton contract. Jeez.

Hamilton, Hughes, Graves, Hischier… the future is ridiculous.. they have a goalie and a subban problem. On paper… huge. In reality. Can’t believe how bad they are.

Speaking of which, the habs won! We are in 31st! Bring on Wright, Cooley, Slaf… uh…. Jirinemec?

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Yeah, I watched that Devils game and once Florida got that third gola early and another one within the first five minutes of the third period you knew that the Devils won't win it.

Overall they've got a lot of talent already but need some help on defense(Subban is basically done and shouldn't be more than a 3rd pairing guy) and of course in goal, even though I thought you couldn't blame the goalie too much for those goals.

And yeah, the Habs won in Tampa( ) and are now one point ahead of us while we have a game in hand. Though, I'm not sure that means anything in that craptastic run to the bottom by all those crappy teams.

BTW: Here are the craptastic standings(gonna include Detroit as they're in a free fall as well) as of April 2nd.

Detroit ----> 61 points ---> 68 games played
Buffalo ----> 61 points ---> 69 games played
Chicago ----> 58 points ---> 69 games played
Ottawa ----> 54 points ---> 67 games played
New Jersey ---> 54 points ---> 68 games played
Philadelphia ---> 53 points ---> 68 games played
Montreal ----> 49 points ---> 69 games played
Seattle ----> 48 points ---> 68 games played
Arizona ----> 47 points ----> 68 games played

Overall it seems to me like Detroit and, especially, Buffalo won't have too much to do with the bottom of the league given their points total alone.

Chicago's a weird one as they keep on losing, even if they lead big in those games.
Ottawa's somehwere in between(they try) while New Jersey's looking good in games just to throw it away on defense and in goal.

Philly, to me, is on a full on tank run and I wouldn't be surprised if they somehow ended up with the worst record.

The bottom three are trying but just don't have enough talent and we're still on that run of either offense or defense(and goaltending) not working and therefore not being able to win games.

But anyways, there's about four more weeks of this and then we'll see where we land in the standings and what our position(+ odds) will be during the draft lottery.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Ottawa did win tonight against Detroit and are now eight points clear of us.

Buffalo lost, but they(as well as Detroit) are already 13 points clear of us and I doubt we'll be able to get as many points during those final 14 games.

Also, the Devils are playing the Islanders and if they're able to score about nine they might have a chance....

And in other craptastic news, the Flyers are at NYR while the Blackhawks host the Coyotes with one(hey, maybe eveon both) adding points there...

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Buffalo and Ottawa(against Montreal) won again and at least the Sabres are way to far ahead of us.
New Jersey and Philly lost again and I think both of those will find a way to out tank us.

Arizona' been pretty bad as of late, but only one point behind us while Montreal tries and could even finish with a better record than us.

Anyways, seems like a bit over three more "exciting" weeks are ahead of us and a good chance at a bottom five finish for the Kraken.

 

[The Marquis]

New Jersey now without Hughes is just aiding the tank. I’m definitely thinking they could pull it off.

 

[gstommylee]

New Jersey now without Hughes is just aiding the tank. I’m definitely thinking they could pull it off.

Can we stop with the whole "tanking" seriously....

 

[The Marquis]

Can we stop with the whole "tanking" seriously....

Just plug your ears, because it’s a thing.

 

[RainyCityHockey]

Can we stop with the whole "tanking" seriously....

You'll probably have to ask the team, coaching staff and front office about that.
Especially the FO made it clear at the TDL that this season's completely done.

We're here just having some fun and looking around the league at which other clubs suck as well and are in a craptastic race to the bottom with us.

I mean, it's just the way it is and given that we're talking about american sports(where sucking is rewarded) it will be around at least until the end of this season given that the most realistic way to improve this team is through the draft.

 

[The Marquis]

I love that it rules to suck. Best thing about American sports.