Does anyone find it boring with the same result as last year?

[Acallabeth]

It's great hockey, what's not to love?
Parity is supposed to give bad teams a chance to improve, not punish good teams for being well-built.

 

[Rorschach]

The salary cap guarantees a lack of parity in the league.

 

[Islander Class]

I agree.

Pittsburgh/Detroit in 2009 was an epic series, and a part of that was the fact that Detroit beat Pittsburgh in 2008.

This year we will find out if McDavid and the Oilers can replicate what Crosby and the Penguins did in 2009.

Or what Gretzky and the Oilers did in dethroning the Islanders Dynasty in '84 (after getting beat down by the same team in '83). Repeat Finals can be the stuff of hockey lore IMHO... Personally, I would take that over a scattershot of Finalists no one really remembers/talks about...

 

[Hostile Offer]

I thought there was supposed to by parity in the NHL. Yet we had the exact same final 4 matchups as last year. And now we have the same cup finals matchup as last year as well.

Are the Panthers and Oilers just THAT much better than everyone else? It just seems like you can skip the playoffs and wait for the finals. There aren't any upsets any more.

I don't know, it just seems boring to me. I would have liked to see some new teams do well. But it seems parity is gone.

It's a bit boring I guess, as it's always exciting for fans to see their team go on a SCF run since it's statistically very rare that happens and in all likelihood we won't have that this year. But it only proves we truly have the two best hockey teams facing off each other so can't complain (plus I personally think the parity has gone slightly too far and having no predictability is hindering my personal enjoyment, so can't complain in that regard either).

 

[Devilsfan118]

It's a good storyline...the greatest player of this generation getting a 2nd chance to win his first cup, against the team that beat them last year. It's McDavid's "finish the story" arc

And it'll be even more hilarious than last year when he and his team blow it.

 

[behemolari]

I thought there was supposed to by parity in the NHL. Yet we had the exact same final 4 matchups as last year. And now we have the same cup finals matchup as last year as well.

Are the Panthers and Oilers just THAT much better than everyone else? It just seems like you can skip the playoffs and wait for the finals. There aren't any upsets any more.

I don't know, it just seems boring to me. I would have liked to see some new teams do well. But it seems parity is gone.

It was much boring earlier to be Panthers fan, we all six are happy now

 

[GrumpyKoala]

Last year Edmonton was the favorite to win and didn't. (Analytics, betting entities, etc)

This year everyone believed they would lose every serie so far and haven't.

We haven't had a dynasty in decades, (some people consider a 3 peat a dynasty, I don't, but whatever, that's not the point).

Both the cats and the oils weren't very good team a couple of years ago. the bolts bruins and hawks era seem to be over. To me, the system is working. You don't want exact parity, for storytelling, you want era of team emerging and fading where everyone gets their chances at some point.

 

[behemolari]

Not the same final 4... NYR, not CAR, made the ECF last year

You clearly remember wrong, it was not sweep according to Rod so they were in

 

[elmaco]

makes for better drama if its a rematch from last year. I'm not kidding.

All who watched hockey in the turn of the millennium know this.

 

[Greatzsky 99]

I thought there was supposed to by parity in the NHL. Yet we had the exact same final 4 matchups as last year. And now we have the same cup finals matchup as last year as well.

Are the Panthers and Oilers just THAT much better than everyone else? It just seems like you can skip the playoffs and wait for the finals. There aren't any upsets any more.

I don't know, it just seems boring to me. I would have liked to see some new teams do well. But it seems parity is gone.

somehow i missed that dallas edmonton played, what was the score?

 

[RANDOMH3RO]

A repeat match up is a great story line. It was fantastic in 08/09 when red wings and penguins traded cups. I’m hoping for a similar result here and Edmonton gets it done. I wil definitely be a little let down if Florida wins again, better story for Edmonton to get redemption and Mcdavid and Draisaitl finally get a cup.

 

[ShootIt]

Parity isn’t really gone. Leafs were a game away from eliminating Florida for example, and Kings blundered a challenge that really killed them. It’s a game of small margins in the playoffs and things could have easily gone another way.

Pretty much. Not like the Oilers and Panthers went 4-0 in the 3 rounds.
Carolina had a decent game 1, and a poor game 2-3 that sunk them.

Florida also had a poor start to the 2nd round, but a few good shots that go their way and they win game 3 in OT and change momentum.

 

[Ratsreign]

Not one bit!

 

[Greatzsky 99]

well, Oilers could easily lost in rd1 and the same for Panthers in rd2
it was that close

 

[Fataldogg]

The rematch in the Cup finals, I dont mind. What I do mind is the Oilers played the same 3 teams, in the same order, leading up to their potential SCF. If the Oilers make the Finals, I dont want to presume, then they will have faced the same four teams in the same order.

To me, that is dull and predictable. The playoff format hasn't changed, and it desperately needs to.

I've seen enough of the Oilers vs Kings or Lightning vs Panthers for the next decade. Shake up the format.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

no it's a good rematch

 

[BruinLVGA]

I thought there was supposed to by parity in the NHL. Yet we had the exact same final 4 matchups as last year. And now we have the same cup finals matchup as last year as well.

Are the Panthers and Oilers just THAT much better than everyone else? It just seems like you can skip the playoffs and wait for the finals. There aren't any upsets any more.

I don't know, it just seems boring to me. I would have liked to see some new teams do well. But it seems parity is gone.

It‘s pro sports, not a kiddie competition: who is best, wins.

 

[JKG33]

These playoffs have been kinda ass, largely because of the format. Florida at least deserves to be in the finals, but that ECF was a round 1 quality matchup.

 

[Pip]

What would be worse is to watch a pretender like Colorado, Toronto, Vegas, Carolina etc make it to the finals and get clapped

 

[Idiot Stick]

feels f***ing great to be on the otherside of this for once

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

The rematch is going to be must see TV, the drama is increased substantially knowing it was the same two in the finals last year. Dallas Carolina would have been so boring in comparison.

 

[lawrence]

Both the cats and the oils weren't very good team a couple of years ago.

somebody remind him the Panther were in the Stanley cup finals 2 years ago.

 

[PistolPete]

In 25 seasons of the Original Six the NYR nor Boston Bruins won a single Cup. Chicago won 1.

Montreal, Toronto and Detroit won thr other 24. Was it 8 each? No.

Montreal - 10
Toronto- 9
Detroit- 5

Finals appearances

Boston. 5
Chicago 3
Detroit. 8
NYR. 1
Montreal 6
Toronto 2

3 teams accounted for 38 of 50 SCF appearances

If a six team league can't ensure equal number of appearances nor wins by each team, how is a salary cap supposed to accomplish that?

Hockey is a sport of relative talent- both on the ice and off the ice. Therefore it is not something akin to flipping a coin where the odds are equal across thr board- hence odds makers in gambling.

And these runs of teams seemingly dominating? Fully expected. Even your random Playlist will play songs by the same band in bunches. In fact, apps have to make it LESS random to avoid those bunches do people don't mistakenly believe it's not random.

If anyone believes that parity means equal chance of winning a Cup, of which only 1 of 32 teams can in any given year, with more or less the same talent from one season to the next (that is, the previous season is going to be a good predictor of the following season's.performance) then you were duped by Bettman.

 

[Beezeral]

Not bored at all

 

[PistolPete]

Not bored at all

They want boring?

New Jersey Devils 2000 to 2003.