Pre-Game Talk: PLAYOFFS!!!!

[KingsCrunch]

Where are our avatars? Is anyone on them?

My wife decided mine this morning.

 

[johnjm22]

I also like the under dog setup for the Kings. But I still don't think they're going to win.

Oilers are in a similar position as the Leafs; expensive star players in their prime, recent playoff choke jobs, they have to win now.

 

[Cloned]

Perfect. I'm very confident with this team being the "underdog".

@Cloned is sure we'll lose but is having panic attacks of the thought of having to face us tomorrow.

PTSD from previous playoffs

 

[KingsCrunch]

PTSD from previous playoffs

That would be big Joe in 2014.

 

[bouncesonly]

So far, this is the only one I've seen having the Kings come out of the first round lol:

 

[BringTheReign]

Interesting tidbit from Harman Dayal and Sean Shapiro at The Athletic today. They polled numerous front office folks including scouts, GMs, and executives. I know we've argued here about whether this was a playoffs-expected year, and I always felt it definitely was not based on Blake and TMac's quotes and moves. It sounds like chatter around the league was the same.

"That pretty much sums up how our pollsters looked at the Kings, who surpassed nearly all expectations to be in the postseason in 2022. That includes internal goals — the Kings front office have been rather honest with themselves behind closed doors that competing for the postseason was a couple of seasons away with the expected timeline for the rebuild."

Stanley Cup tiers: Anonymous GM, executives and scout rate every playoff team

 

[King'sPawn]

Interesting tidbit from Harman Dayal and Sean Shapiro at The Athletic today. They polled numerous front office folks including scouts, GMs, and executives. I know we've argued here about whether this was a playoffs-expected year, and I always felt it definitely was not based on Blake and TMac's quotes and moves. It sounds like chatter around the league was the same.


Stanley Cup tiers: Anonymous GM, executives and scout rate every playoff team

If they felt they were years away from the playoffs, that makes the player acquisitions (Arvidsson, Danault, etc) and deployment (relegating skilled players to the bottom six all-season) all the more infuriating.

 

[BringTheReign]

If they felt they were years away from the playoffs, that makes the player acquisitions (Arvidsson, Danault, etc) and deployment (relegating skilled players to the bottom six all-season) all the more infuriating.

I took the years away comment as referring to true contender status. I think the point was just that this year was about improving, but not necessarily a make-or-break playoff year.

I’ll definitely agree that I was of the same mind last summer about not adding Danault to block Vilardi/Turcotte/Byfield, but at least he’s had one hell of a year.