Around the NHL (Part XVIII) - Tankiest tank to have ever tanked

[CptnSerious]

OT hockey in San Jose.

 

[CallMeShaft]

After 6 straight regulation losses, Nashville has finally won a game.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

After 6 straight regulation losses, Nashville has finally won a game.

Two more wins in a row and they'll be back to cup favorites on the main board. Get behind the Rangers though. AV has never coached a team that has dominated the regular season and failed in the playoffs before.

 

[CallMeShaft]

Two more wins in a row and they'll be back to cup favorites on the main board. Get behind the Rangers though. AV has never coached a team that has dominated the regular season and failed in the playoffs before.

Two more wins in a row for the Preds might not happen for another week or so. Nashville's next 3 games are a trip through California (with a back-to-back against the Kings and Ducks).

And please don't bring up the Rangers. Their fans are becoming insufferable. I mean, I'm not proud of what a lot of Hawks fans say on the main boards, but Rangers fans have seemingly all fallen off the deep end lately.

 

[Bubba88]

Rangers are the favorites for me... to win it all.

West is tough to win, the West Team will be banged up. Rangers have a great Team, East isn't good. If they make it this year I think they take it

 

[JaegerDice]

East is easier than the West, but it's wide open, including the Rangers.

I could see Tampa, Detroit, even NYI beating the Rangers in a close, 6-or-7 game series.

These days, the team from the East always has an advantage in terms of rest and wear-and-tear. Hasn't made the difference in most of the post-lockout cups.

 

[Toews2Bickell]

Rangers don't have a gimmie round one against Pittsburgh. If Geno and Crosby stay healthy, and Flower continues his solid play, that should go 6-7 games. There are no gimmie rounds in the playoffs, this isn't the NBA where one player defines the series. Hockey rules in general can allow teams of inferior skill to remain in the game for longer periods because you can really limit offense by crowding the blue line and collapsing into the shooting lanes. Some of their fans are claiming they want the toughest road to the cup to prove all the doubters wrong. I want LA to miss, Preds to hit a wall, and Blues to have their goalie troubles they always seem to have when it's crunch time. As long as I'm attending a parade with a couple million people in June, I don't care who we play to win it.

 

[x Tame Impala]

This is definitely the best the East has been in a while IMO. I'm picking Detroit

 

[CptnSerious]

Meh, I like the Rangers coming out of the East again.

 

[hisgirlfriday]

That goal Hayes scored makes me so annoyed right now

 

[UsernameWasTaken]

At the beginning of the season I said TB or Pens...I'll just stay with that for consistency's sake.

 

[JaegerDice]

That goal Hayes scored makes me so annoyed right now

That's the kind of talent you risk losing out on when prospects watch their fellows getting undermined one after the other by an obstinate coach.

Good for Hayes. He left for a better opportunity, and is making the most of it.

 

[Taze em]

That's the kind of talent you risk losing out on when prospects watch their fellows getting undermined one after the other by an obstinate coach.

Good for Hayes. He left for a better opportunity, and is making the most of it.

37% in faceoffs this year. Richards has been a better Center than him this year and Tivo will be a better center than him next year.

 

[JaegerDice]

37% in faceoffs this year. Richards has been a better Center than him this year and Tivo will be a better center than him next year.

FOs are a learnable skill. Size, speed, and hands are not.

 

[Taze em]

FOs are a learnable skill. Size, speed, and hands are not.

The point is that the Hawks spray good players across the league because we have too many. Hayes couldn't have beaten out Richards, Shaw and Teravainen preseason and he certainly couldn't beat out Richards, Vermette, Teravainen now. Remember that Shaw just came off a fantastic playoff and a 20g season at 2/3C last year when Hayes was making his decision.

What blows is that the Hawks got BS compensation for an in-demand asset, penalized for being too deep. Thats BS.

 

[hisgirlfriday]

Hutch getting lit up by the Blues. I think the Jets are gonna fall out of the playoffs if Buff doesn't come back soon.

 

[JaegerDice]

Minnesota will be within 3 points of us after tonight.

Wouldn't want to be the team that faces them in the playoffs. Yikes. Great possession, hot goaltender, good coach....no thank you. Somebody else can deal with them.

 

[hisgirlfriday]

The point is that the Hawks spray good players across the league because we have too many. Hayes couldn't have beaten out Richards, Shaw and Teravainen preseason and he certainly couldn't beat out Richards, Vermette, Teravainen now. Remember that Shaw just came off a fantastic playoff and a 20g season at 2/3C last year when Hayes was making his decision.

If Hayes had signed with the Hawks, I don't think the Hawks would have signed Richards. I don't buy the idea that Hayes couldn't have beaten anybody out either. He just didn't want to be a Hawk after his brother and Pirri got traded (even though that benefited both of them!) and made up his mind to take advantage of the free agent loophole the rules afforded him, and appears to have strung the Hawks along in pretending to be considering signing with them just to get free playoff tickets.

 

[hawksrule]

I'm not afraid of Minnesota.

 

[Taze em]

If Hayes had signed with the Hawks, I don't think the Hawks would have signed Richards. I don't buy the idea that Hayes couldn't have beaten anybody out either. He just didn't want to be a Hawk after his brother and Pirri got traded (even though that benefited both of them!) and made up his mind to take advantage of the free agent loophole the rules afforded him, and appears to have strung the Hawks along in pretending to be considering signing with them just to get free playoff tickets.

If Q and Stan entered our best SC chance-season with Toews/Hayes/Shaw/Krger down the middle they would have been drawn and quartered on this board. Hindsight and revisionist history.

 

[Blackhawkswincup]

That's the kind of talent you risk losing out on when prospects watch their fellows getting undermined one after the other by an obstinate coach.

Good for Hayes. He left for a better opportunity, and is making the most of it.

Yeah prospects like

Versteeg
Hjalmarsson
Niemi
Crawford
Leddy
Kruger
Shaw
Saad
Smith

Never got a fair shot under Q

 

[hisgirlfriday]

If Q and Stan entered our best SC chance-season with Toews/Hayes/Shaw/Krger down the middle they would have been drawn and quartered on this board. Hindsight and revisionist history.

Drawn and quartered is some hyperbole, but people on this board complain about anything so I'm not sure the Hawks should be making decisions based on whether this board complains. This board freaked out when Stan traded Leddy too. Some people would have been mad if Oduya was traded or Sharp moved.

But if the Hawks had signed Hayes they wouldn't have had to move anybody, which does look a lot better for our best SC chance season in hindsight.

 

[Taze em]

Drawn and quartered is some hyperbole, but people on this board complain about anything so I'm not sure the Hawks should be making decisions based on whether this board complains. This board freaked out when Stan traded Leddy too. Some people would have been mad if Oduya was traded or Sharp moved.

But if the Hawks had signed Hayes they wouldn't have had to move anybody, which does look a lot better for our best SC chance season in hindsight.

Toews/Vermette/Richards/Kruger gives the Hawks a way better chance to win the Stanley Cup than any lineup you can concoct with Hayes in it. 37% on FO and isn't even outscoring Richards.

 

[JaegerDice]

If Q and Stan entered our best SC chance-season with Toews/Hayes/Shaw/Krger down the middle they would have been drawn and quartered on this board. Hindsight and revisionist history.

Upgrade over entering the season with Toew/Handzus/Shaw/Kruger. People would have been fine with it.

It's a moot point. Hayes wanted out of Chicago after seeing how the prospects previous to him, including his brother, suffered through favoritism, double standards, and hypocrisy, and were dicked around before ultimately being scratched and traded. He understandably wanted no part, and no amount of money Chicago offered was going to make him forget.

 

[Taze em]

Upgrade over entering the season with Toew/Handzus/Shaw/Kruger. People would have been fine with it.

It's a moot point. Hayes wanted out of Chicago after seeing how the prospects previous to him, including his brother, suffered through favoritism, double standards, and hypocrisy, and were dicked around before ultimately being scratched and traded. He understandably wanted no part, and no amount of money Chicago offered was going to make him forget.

Or just not being good enough which was the actual reason they didn't make it on the Hawks. But there's no convincing you that the HOF winningest coach in the NHL with multiple cups is good at his job so...