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

[BOBBY9]

Good hockey is good hockey regardless of teams and players

Bad hockey is bad hockey regardless of teams and players

The Oilers and Panthers should be good hockey

 

[SavBigMoneyAtBedards]

Yes, I'm not too excited about the same two teams again.

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

I disagree.

Right now the GMs are more of accountants or capologists than actual hockey GMs. They have to do math, work with numbers rather than actually try to make hockey trades. I prefer the old days, you know like Patrick Roy trade, Forsberg for Lindros trade etc…. Those were the days when GMs actually had to be good to be able to make big trades like those.

Also now days signing UFAs is more about which team has the cap space than players having more choices to go where they really want. In the old days the GMs actually had to be good at their job to convince big name players to join their team

The Patrick Roy trade happened because Roy refused to play another game in Montreal, and I don't know many Habs fans that were happy with the return they got. I also don't think it took much skill to identify that Patrick Roy was a good choice in net.

And Lindros got traded because he refused to play for the Nordiques. Yes, that got the Nordiques a pile of assets that the Avs later used to finish building the roster, but I don't think having the 1OA refuse to play for your team is a good thing.

As for UFAs, most teams in the "old days" simply didn't have the resources to hand out big contracts to attract UFAs, so it was usually the same teams signing the big name players to big money contracts every year. The cap makes it so the same desperate teams can't do that every year, allowing more teams to get into the top end of the UFA market to overpay someone that likely won't help them win the Cup anyway.

 

[Dirty Mind]

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.

I’m going to call bullcrap on that one. Flames fans will be hatewatching this series with their eyes glued to the TV poking voodoo dolls with an Oilers logo on it. You’re saying you’re less emotionally-invested in this repeat final (which are pretty rare) than if it was Dallas/Carolina? Suuuuure…

 

[JSlick]

because Canes vs Stars would be way more exciting right?

 

[the_fan]

The Patrick Roy trade happened because Roy refused to play another game in Montreal, and I don't know many Habs fans that were happy with the return they got. I also don't think it took much skill to identify that Patrick Roy was a good choice in net.

And Lindros got traded because he refused to play for the Nordiques. Yes, that got the Nordiques a pile of assets that the Avs later used to finish building the roster, but I don't think having the 1OA refuse to play for your team is a good thing.

As for UFAs, most teams in the "old days" simply didn't have the resources to hand out big contracts to attract UFAs, so it was usually the same teams signing the big name players to big money contracts every year. The cap makes it so the same desperate teams can't do that every year, allowing more teams to get into the top end of the UFA market to overpay someone that likely won't help them win the Cup anyway.

Oh well. Personally I really don’t see much difference between salary cap and no salary cap. We still have the same teams which put together the best rosters making the deepest runs every year, just like it was before the cap. It’s not like bubble teams are now winning cups because of the salary cap

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

f*** you clouds, I wanted sun! They’re not even good clouds, same clouds I saw yesterday!

 

[Hockey2Hockey]

There were no upsets in these playoffs. And the LA/Edm matchup has run it's course.

I always find the playoffs now get worse as things progress.

 

[KingsFan7824]

To me, the best thing about the salary cap is it requires GMs to actually be good at the job of building a team in order to win and helps stop the rich owners from buying their way to success. Sports should be a meritocracy, and not based on how much money the owner is willing to spend.

But even then, the Rangers are infamous for spending stupid amounts of money during that time, and not making the playoffs for 7 straight years. At the same time, the very small market Oilers were making the playoffs every year. Under legitimate .500, and not going far, but doing better than the Rangers. It wasn't simply how much you were willing to spend. It was a lot of it, but you still had the Rangers. You still had the Leafs not even making a Final.

At some point, today will be seen as the good old days. Everyone loves the 21 team league. So much hatred everywhere. Yeah, but the 86-87 Norris division had no teams with more W's than L's. 4 of the 5 still made the playoffs, and one was guaranteed a spot in the conference final. Which, you could've guessed, was over rather quickly. That was pre-Bettman, and worse than anything the Southleast division ever did. But eveyone loves that old Norris division hockey. Probably because it had three O6 teams.

Speaking of the O6 days; when the league chose to double in size overnight(crazy when comparing to Bettman), they guaranteed a spot in the Final for one of the expansion teams. Even if you think Bettman favored Vegas, he didn't go that far.

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

But even then, the Rangers are infamous for spending stupid amounts of money during that time, and not making the playoffs for 7 straight years. At the same time, the very small market Oilers were making the playoffs every year. Under legitimate .500, and not going far, but doing better than the Rangers. It wasn't simply how much you were willing to spend. It was a lot of it, but you still had the Rangers. You still had the Leafs not even making a Final.

At some point, today will be seen as the good old days. Everyone loves the 21 team league. So much hatred everywhere. Yeah, but the 86-87 Norris division had no teams with more W's than L's. 4 of the 5 still made the playoffs, and one was guaranteed a spot in the conference final. Which, you could've guessed, was over rather quickly. That was pre-Bettman, and worse than anything the Southleast division ever did. But eveyone loves that old Norris division hockey. Probably because it had three O6 teams.

Speaking of the O6 days; when the league chose to double in size overnight(crazy when comparing to Bettman), they guaranteed a spot in the Final for one of the expansion teams. Even if you think Bettman favored Vegas, he didn't go that far.

Obviously, you need to spend money on the right things, which some teams struggled with, but the Avs, Red Wings and Stars consistently outspent pretty much everyone other than the Rangers and won 6 Cups in the 10 years leading up to the lockout.

 

[JianYang]

No, there are no super teams with no holes anymore. But mcrdrai is the best 1-2 punch in the game, and the Panthers have the pedigree.

It was a plausible final matchup, despite the separation between each team not being that great.

 

[Gregor Samsa]

A little but it’s bearable. If next playoffs they’re facing off in the SCF for the 3rd straight time…

 

[HofT]

It's the playoff format that needs to be changed

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Other teams need to be better and GMs need to be more aggressive with changes .. I honestly wouldn’t doubt if Edmonton and Florida do this again next year

 

[PistolPete]

The Patrick Roy trade happened because Roy refused to play another game in Montreal, and I don't know many Habs fans that were happy with the return they got. I also don't think it took much skill to identify that Patrick Roy was a good choice in net.

And Lindros got traded because he refused to play for the Nordiques. Yes, that got the Nordiques a pile of assets that the Avs later used to finish building the roster, but I don't think having the 1OA refuse to play for your team is a good thing.

As for UFAs, most teams in the "old days" simply didn't have the resources to hand out big contracts to attract UFAs, so it was usually the same teams signing the big name players to big money contracts every year. The cap makes it so the same desperate teams can't do that every year, allowing more teams to get into the top end of the UFA market to overpay someone that likely won't help them win the Cup anyway.

But that still doesn't happen. Canadian markets, small American markets still can't attract top talent.

So cap or no cap, all the same really

 

[PistolPete]

It's the playoff format that needs to be changed

To what?

There were two rounds to eliminate them, no team could.

 

[PistolPete]

Obviously, you need to spend money on the right things, which some teams struggled with, but the Avs, Red Wings and Stars consistently outspent pretty much everyone other than the Rangers and won 6 Cups in the 10 years leading up to the lockout.

And their drafts?

 

[Ghost of Murph]

McDavid a chance to win his first Cup and EDM with a chance at revenge. FLA with a chance to repeat. Both teams well-rounded and play fun hockey. Some bad blood carrying over from last year's SCF. Both teams clearly the best teams in their conference. That's boring? Helluva a lot better than watching DeBoring try to coach his way out of a paper bag vs an offensively challenged Canes team.

 

[Menzinger]

The McDavid storyline has been the only real interesting thing of the back half of the playoffs this year.

Which is a shame because it started off with a lot of promise across many series during the first round

 

[Forge]

Once my team is out of it, any matchup becomes the same to me. Doesn't matter if it's the same as the year prior or completely different

 

[PistolPete]

The McDavid storyline has been the only real interesting thing of the back half of the playoffs this year.

Which is a shame because it started off with a lot of promise across many series during the first round

What would you rank as the top 4 PO of all time?

 

[KingPuckChoo]

For me it's the cap circumvention that pisses me off, regardless if GMs love it or not. It's ruining the game

Other than that, if you truly have elite teams making it to the finals y2y, let it be

but if you're there because you're riding a $95m+ roster, fakoff

 

[PistolPete]

For me it's the cap circumvention that pisses me off, regardless if GMs love it or not. It's ruining the game

Other than that, if you truly have elite teams making it to the finals y2y, let it be

but if you're there because you're riding a $95m+ roster, fakoff

Why is that a bad thing?

It's open to all teams to use.

 

[KingPuckChoo]

Why is that a bad thing?

It's open to all teams to use.

Either you have a cap or you don't

Why is it a bad thing? The annual Mark Stone i'm injured until Game 83 is a reason why

The E Kane prolonged injury until Game 83 is another

Not every team has the luxury of starting the season with an injured player on IR that can be milked precisely until Game 83

If you don't find these incidents fishy, that's fine

but let me just simplify it for you, if your cap is $88m let's keep it that way.

Your finalists would be different.

That's all.

Now if you still don't get it, how about this... it's a matter of preference. When the NHL announces an 88m cap, i like that we all stick to it, is that fair? it's a matter of preference

 

[mandiblesofdoom]

I'm not bored. They're clearly the two best teams.