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They would be if they ever made a bold move.

I thought the Sabres were looking to move Ryan Miller this summer. Package some prospects. Miller would be about a perfect a fit as possible for the Isles.
 
Fire Sather said:
They would be if they ever made a bold move.

I thought the Sabres were looking to move Ryan Miller this summer. Package some prospects. Miller would be about a perfect a fit as possible for the Isles.
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If the Isles acquire Miller somehow, they are definitely in for a good run where I see them make the play-offs several years in a row.
 
It's astounding how much unfounded sympathy Columbus gets.

They are not going to be more competitive then Washington or Philadelphia, not a shot.
 
The Isles and BJs were both successful off of everyone playing well especially the goaltenders. Nabokov gave Henrik a run for his money in the 1-0 shut out and Bobrovsky won the Vezina over Henrik. Both teams had their version of Henrik for that stretch. As with any team that has a Henrik, there's a chance to make the playoffs and play well. CBJ didn't get it done, Nabokov regressed as was expected and the Isles only got as far in the series as they did because of MAF blowing.

You take a .935% Nabokov or a .940% Bobrovsky out of the equation, neither would have made the playoffs despite the defense and offense both stepping up. They'll be back to .500 next season.
 
Pass art by Brassard said:
Same can be said about the Rangers and Lundqvist ;)
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Except they are much more likely to come back down to earth then Hank. And they will.

I'm not doubting the Islanders though. It's the love for the underdog mentality that Columbus get all over this board that baffles me. An organization with a disgraceful track record in developing elite young talent and a mess of management isn't going to get any sympathy from me.
 
The Devils aren't going anywhere until they draft better.

Any fan base can run off a list of 20 names from the CHL and AHL and Europe when they talk about org depth. But the truth is that the vast majority of guys Lou has drafted since the lockout have not developed into anything that would resemble something to build on and help carry the team in the event a star like Kovalchuk or Brodeur or Parise is lost.

The 2014 Devils are the epitome of putting a band aid on something that needs stiches. All it will do is ease their fanbase's pain when they see the pick they forfeit will be in the 15-20 range and not the 2-9 range.
 
ColonialsHockey10 said:
Except they are much more likely to come back down to earth then Hank. And they will.

I'm not doubting the Islanders though. It's the love for the underdog mentality that Columbus get all over this board that baffles me. An organization with a disgraceful track record in developing elite young talent and a mess of management isn't going to get any sympathy from me.
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Historically a badly run franchise. JD and Jarmo should get the benefit of the doubt, as it's a case of small numbers, but look like a completely different organization compared to Howson/MacLean.
 
Fitzy said:
I think the metro division stacks up this way...

1. Pittsburgh
2. NYR
3. Philadelphia

4. Islanders
5. Capitals

6. Devils
7. Hurricanes
8. Blue Jackets

But we will see. The Hurricanes have a lot of offensive firepower and a goaltender in Ward who has shown int he past to be capable of great things. The Blue Jackets will only be improving. Philly doesn't have a confident goaltender situation.

I'm not anti-Devils, but I don't think they have a playoff team this year. If Schneider takes over and goes on a .930 tear, then maybe, but I think we only send 3 teams from our division.
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I think Islanders finish higher than Philly.
 
Pretty much every year we see 1-2 teams in the East that have "outlier" seasons. Teams who are propelled to higher than expected finishes over an 82-game stretch, though often times the results are not repeatable. But the new Division & playoff structure makes that a lot more interesting. There is really no team that I look at and say, yea, 0% chance they finish top-4.

NYI, Columbus, Carolina all could definitely have that "outlier" season IMO. Not saying I would predict them to at all, but they all have talent on their rosters. Any of them finishing top-4 would not completely surprise me. Division is gonna be a dog fight.
 
3rdlineglory said:
Glad I'm not the only one. I hate them, but the Capitals are getting heavily underrated here.
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I definitely don't hate Columbus. I actually like a lot of their players, and I feel like ex-Jackets never got the benefit of the doubt their (I've been a huge Marc Methot fan for years).

Just their season 2 years ago was so bad that they switched from a joke to just a team everyone feels bad for. I feel like they by default are the least hated team in the league because they get treated like the middle sibling.
 
Yeah, it was nice to see some Jackets players do well.. last season.

The last thing we need is the Jackets to take a step forward this season in a division thats already the toughest in the league.

I was hoping Bob would go to the KHL, no dice.
 
ColonialsHockey10 said:
I definitely don't hate Columbus. I actually like a lot of their players, and I feel like ex-Jackets never got the benefit of the doubt their (I've been a huge Marc Methot fan for years).

Just their season 2 years ago was so bad that they switched from a joke to just a team everyone feels bad for. I feel like they by default are the least hated team in the league because they get treated like the middle sibling.
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I meant I hate the Capitals. I don't mind the Jackets and I actually like a lot of their players. That could change soon though. I also just realized we have yet to play against Dubinsky. A lot of other teams' fans said he was a pain to play against. Also Gaborik is known for owning Hank. Anyone remember that 5 goal game back in 07 :help:?
 
Right. Nonetheless, losing Ribeiro for nothing will surely affect them. Plus, they no longer have a laughable SE division to take advantage of.
 
In any given year it seems that between Florida, Tampa Bay, Carolina and Atlanta/Winnipeg Washington was playing 14-16 games a year against two of the bottom 5 teams in the league and sometimes another 14-16 games against the other two would be against two more non playoff teams.

I don't know if personnel wise they're any worse than last year but they're not going to have nearly as many easy ones as they're used to.
 
aufheben said:
Aren't the Caps exactly the same, but now without Ribeiro? Who was, as we all saw, an important player for them. :help:
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Agreed...put me in the Washington is not going to make the playoffs camp. They lost their second line center who was absolutely fantastic last year and will now have to play in a much harder division. It's not going to be a cake walk like it's been and I don't see Green coming back to full form ever again.

Ovechkin will have to carry the team on his back and I am not sure how i feel about him clearly being insanely focused on the olympics.
 
broadwayblue said:
Nobody said you said Devils fans were winning the cup. We were discussing the fact that MANY Devils fans actually think the team is better off THIS SEASON without Kovalchuk. I'm not sure I've heard anything as stupid in at least a week.
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we're more balanced. with so much turnover (and more expected) i'm not sure anyone can say whether or not we're 'better'...although we wouldnt have to be world beaters in order to beat the **** show that was last season (2nd half)
 
MartyOwns said:
we're more balanced. with so much turnover (and more expected) i'm not sure anyone can say whether or not we're 'better'...although we wouldnt have to be world beaters in order to beat the **** show that was last season (2nd half)
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When you compare this year's Devils team to the team that went to the SCF two years ago, it pretty much comes down to this:

Parise replaced by Ryder
Clarkson replaced by Clowe
Kovalchuk replaced by Jagr
Hedberg replaced by Schneider

Besides the goalie situation, I don't see how you can put a positive spin on that. Even the team that went on that run was only a 6th seed and could have easily been knocked out by the Panthers in the first round.

Although I can see them sneaking into the playoffs, Schneider/Brodeur would have to put up some ridiculous numbers to make the Devils competitive.
 
MartyOwns said:
we're more balanced. with so much turnover (and more expected) i'm not sure anyone can say whether or not we're 'better'...although we wouldnt have to be world beaters in order to beat the **** show that was last season (2nd half)
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i'm not sure why you think they are more balanced...the team couldnt score worth a damn without Kovalchuk...if there was balance there, they would score with or without him, right?

in essence theyve replaced Kovalchuk with Jagr and Clarkson with Clowe.

Lets give you the benefit of the doubt and say Clowe puts up what Clarkson did and doesnt have mush for brains.

Let's also say that Jagr gives you the average performance of what he's done since he came back from the KHL AND is healthy for a full season...which gives you a 62 point season out of Jagr.

somehow, THAT is *more balanced* than a team that had Kovalchuk and Clarkson up front?

if that were the case, every team without any offensive threats to speak of would be super balanced.

Devils got slower, older, and less skilled.

They're big, and can hold onto the puck, which means I could see the advanced stats being pretty decent, but stuff like goal scoring, it's still going to suffer.

Schneider is the wildcard. How will he play. If he turns it on, they could battle for the last playoff spot.
 
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