Series Talk: Stanley Cup Playoffs 2024

[GeoRox89]

Avs have had other guys injured too. It’s pretty consistent. That coke head is likely gone for nothing too. The Stars have won and this year it wasn’t really that close. Sometimes you have to simply top your cap.

Dallas has youth coming up. A few guys who should continue to improve and get better. Even a couple guys not established yet. They have more room to grow. Where the Avs are unlikely to grow. Along with that, the Avs roster outside the core likely will be getting worse by a decent margin. Stars are losing Duchene and Tanev (though I see one of the two coming back cheap). With a decent amount of cap to figure that out. Their path is clearer than the Avs by a decent amount.

They really only have the big cap space to figure it out for one more year. This was a big lost opportunity for the Stars just like the Avs not going for it more in 20-21 with Makar’s rookie deal and Mack’s sweetheart contract. That Seguin contract going as long as it does is a killer

 

[henchman21]

We'll agree to disagree but we've been doing that re: Avs window for quite a while. I see things differently, guess we'll find out next season.

Sure… as long as we revisit it! And don’t distill it completely to the Avs’ window, where I think you are discrediting the Stars younger players and prospects.

They really only have the big cap space to figure it out for one more year. This was a big lost opportunity for the Stars just like the Avs not going for it more in 20-21 with Makar’s rookie deal and Mack’s sweetheart contract. That Seguin contract going as long as it does is a killer

They have cap space next season, then Ben and Suter come off the books for another 13m. Their cap situation isn’t that bad, and they clearly draft well to supplement.

 

[dahrougem2]

Sure… as long as we revisit it! And don’t distill it completely to the Avs’ window, where I think you are discrediting the Stars younger players and prospects.


They have cap space next season, then Ben and Suter come off the books for another 13m. Their cap situation isn’t that bad, and they clearly draft well to supplement.

I don't think I discredited them at all. In fact, the original post exclusively mentioned older players.

We know prospects are hit or miss - we penciled them in for years here only to see them in Europe a couple of years later. Dallas obviously has a better track record but prospects are still prospects until they perform consistenty at this level.

Look at who killed the Avs. Game 6 was Benn and Duchene. Game 3 was Seguin with the winner and insurance marker. Game 2 Seguin had the winner again. Tanev/Lindell praised to no end for shutting down 29.

Yes, the kids played great but the vets are a HUGE part of what Dallas does.

 

[GeoRox89]

Sure… as long as we revisit it! And don’t distill it completely to the Avs’ window, where I think you are discrediting the Stars younger players and prospects.


They have cap space next season, then Ben and Suter come off the books for another 13m. Their cap situation isn’t that bad, and they clearly draft well to supplement.

Benn likely takes most of Suter’s money unless they win next year and he retires. They’ll still have Johnston and Otter to extend next summer (and like half a D corps to deal with). Bourque likely gets a cheap 2 year bridge which will help. Stankoven is due the next summer with possibly Harley as well if he gets a 2 year bridge this summer. Seguins contract running another 3 years hurts them

Would expect them to still be a very good team but this year and next are the biggest years to go for it and the peak of their depth in terms of being able to build around value contracts

 

[Freaky Styley]

Here's my relatively sober thoughts on the Western playoffs:

1. I always thought the Stars were overrated - didn't understand people picking them for the Cup. Great team but not championship team, and their biggest weakness (lack of gamebreaking offense) was their downfall, as it usually is.

2, That being said, I give full credit to how the Stars played and competed against us, they deserved to win the series.

3. Part of that had to do with the lack of adjustments by Bednar. Knoblauch showed the power of shakeups. Take some chances, like start Kovalenko over Chris f'in Wagner amongst other things- get your guys going sooner.

4. Dallas was gassed against the Oilers, you could see it during the game 4 swing - they never recovered from there. I think the first 2 series wore them down. Stars fans are even saying the same on their board.

5. The Avs beat themselves more than the Stars beat us. Only played 2 periods over the first 2 games. Game 3 was good energy but 0 execution. Game 4 Nuke incident automatic loss. Finally showed up for game 5 & 6 and were a bounce away from game 7. We are closer than we think

6. That being said, I'm not sure we beat Florida this year. I do like our chances against the Oilers. However, if we make the Cup finals it means things are rolling so who knows.

7. I think the story of our Dallas series (and perhaps the Vegas one too) is that the hungrier team won. Teams that haven't won it just want it more, and in that way having a veteran group that has a bunch of champions can actually be a detriment. Maybe my biggest takeaway this year.

I think that's all. Oh and I wouldn't be surprised if the Oilers get swept. I think FLA is just on another level completely

 

[henchman21]

Benn likely takes most of Suter’s money unless they win next year and he retires. They’ll still have Johnston and Otter to extend next summer (and like half a D corps to deal with). Bourque likely gets a cheap 2 year bridge which will help. Stankoven is due the next summer with possibly Harley as well if he gets a 2 year bridge this summer. Seguins contract running another 3 years hurts them

Would expect them to still be a very good team but this year and next are the biggest years to go for it and the peak of their depth in terms of being able to build around value contracts

They have a good amount of money coming off the books alongside it. They have things to work out, but it is far from dire.


I agree they should be pushing for it and trying to win now. This is their best chance.

 

[henchman21]

I don't think I discredited them at all. In fact, the original post exclusively mentioned older players.

We know prospects are hit or miss - we penciled them in for years here only to see them in Europe a couple of years later. Dallas obviously has a better track record but prospects are still prospects until they perform consistenty at this level.

Look at who killed the Avs. Game 6 was Benn and Duchene. Game 3 was Seguin with the winner and insurance marker. Game 2 Seguin had the winner again. Tanev/Lindell praised to no end for shutting down 29.

Yes, the kids played great but the vets are a HUGE part of what Dallas does.

Seems like you’ve said they won’t take a step forward and surely the Avs are better. Which seems odd considering their makeup and how they just beat the Avs pretty solidly.

There were moments their older guys stepped up, no doubt. Best player in the series was Johnston. Duchene was bad until the winner. Seguin was good and Benn did his job. Tanev was excellent. Clearly though, that team is built around Miro, hintz, Johnston, Stanky, Harley and Otter now.

On prospects, I’m saying the 1-2 that’ll help next year are simply depth. The guys who can take a step forward are no longer prospects. Johnston, Harley, and Stankoven all showed tremendous growth, impact and potential this year. Those guys getting a step better will have more impact than almost anything. The 3Bs don’t need to be impact guys for Dallas to improve if the other 3 take a step.

I just don’t get this idea that Dallas is sure to be worse. They have their own challenges, but they are setup well to address those.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

I'd like to see Florida win it. But I have a feeling it's rigged for Edmonton this year.

 

[AvalancheSpeedsters]

Secretly happy Duchene doesn’t get his cup (yet).

 

[Ceremony]

Why doesn't the final start until Saturday?

 

[dahrougem2]

Seems like you’ve said they won’t take a step forward and surely the Avs are better. Which seems odd considering their makeup and how they just beat the Avs pretty solidly.

There were moments their older guys stepped up, no doubt. Best player in the series was Johnston. Duchene was bad until the winner. Seguin was good and Benn did his job. Tanev was excellent. Clearly though, that team is built around Miro, hintz, Johnston, Stanky, Harley and Otter now.

On prospects, I’m saying the 1-2 that’ll help next year are simply depth. The guys who can take a step forward are no longer prospects. Johnston, Harley, and Stankoven all showed tremendous growth, impact and potential this year. Those guys getting a step better will have more impact than almost anything. The 3Bs don’t need to be impact guys for Dallas to improve if the other 3 take a step.

I just don’t get this idea that Dallas is sure to be worse. They have their own challenges, but they are setup well to address those.

Again, did I say they were sure to be worse? All I have said is I believe Colorado can beat them with a healthy roster that doesn't succumb to the most random of absences like a sliced knee or a cocaine addict.

Team can be built around those guys all they want, fact is Hintz gets hurt basically every year, Robertson was disappointing in the playoffs, and Harley was behind Lindell/Tanev in terms of responsibilities.

We can talk all we want about continuous progress - it's not always continuous. For all we know Stankoven/Harley/Bourque run into a wall next season and all of a sudden Dallas is relying on Johnston/Heiskanen + an older group of skaters.

Colorado has the three best players on either team, or three of the four if you think Heiskanen > Rantanen. Let's see how the rest of Colorado's roster looks before we anoint Dallas the big bad boogeymen like everyone did for Vegas this past season.

 

[expatriatedtexan]

Secretly happy Duchene doesn’t get his cup (yet).

Matt Duchene is not a winner.

He wanted to play in the playoffs, but he didn't want to work to get into them. Now, I know a lot of damn water has flowed under the bridge since then but I just don't see him maturing to the point where he's a guy willing to sacrifice for victories, he's too busy planning the after party in his head.

 

[PAZ]

Matt Duchene is not a winner.

He wanted to play in the playoffs, but he didn't want to work to get into them. Now, I know a lot of damn water has flowed under the bridge since then but I just don't see him maturing to the point where he's a guy willing to sacrifice for victories, he's too busy planning the after party in his head.

If he's only earning $2-3 mil he doesn't need to be willing to sacrifice tbh.

What he brings, regardless of his intensity or sacrifice far outweighs any cons at that salary. Now if he gets another $5 mil+ contract, a lot more will be expected.

 

[S E P H]

We'll agree to disagree but we've been doing that re: Avs window for quite a while. I see things differently, guess we'll find out next season.

I think it is accurate to say that Dallas strictly won due to the depth, where most of that depth came from shrewd drafting. However, the Stars lost to the Oilers due to that double-edged sword in regards to that depth preventing them from selecting any high-impact forwards. What I mean by that is when you're always hitting bloody good picks in the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th rounds, your team is always good enough to never have a top 5 selection which is where impact forwards are taken. Let's be honest, Avs and Oilers got to their place in the league now due to how many times they both were in the top 5 of the draft, more so Oilers than Avs, but both were fortunate in the end.

Why doesn't the final start until Saturday?

To try and maximise the ratings which requires as many Friday, Saturday, and Sunday games as possible.

 

[the_fan]

Embarrassing that the Oilers are in the finals

That’s one way of looking at it, another way would be it’s embarrassing that they haven’t made the finals all this years having the 2nd and 5th best players in the world

 

[The Kingslayer]

Duchenes a good person. I know he left on shitty terms but it got the Avs a cup. Im forever grateful for Matt Duchene leaving because thats when Mackinnon woke up.

 

[AegonLeConqueror]

Duchenes a good person. I know he left on shitty terms but it got the Avs a cup. Im forever grateful for Matt Duchene leaving because thats when Mackinnon woke up.

We should sign Duchene and have him leave one more time so MacKinnon wakes up again!!

 

[Grigowski]

Hats of to Edmonton. As much as it hurts to say, but they played their game, they took advantage of the seeding and got lucky when needed too.

A team that has one of the weakest goaltending und at least an average D making it to the big final is something.

They managed 10 (!!) shots on goal in Game 6 and still won. Wow.

I dont know what really killed Dallas in the end. Maybe playing Vegas and Col?

Imagine beating both Vegas and Col on the way only to get beaten by this version of Edmonton. Yikes. This has to hurt.

If all goes right Florida should win it all. I mean, in the end, their team was, from my point of view, the best team in the playoffs.

They have been there last season only to get beat by Bettman´s favorites. I think its their turn this year.

 

[Grigowski]

Matt Duchene is not a winner.

He wanted to play in the playoffs, but he didn't want to work to get into them. Now, I know a lot of damn water has flowed under the bridge since then but I just don't see him maturing to the point where he's a guy willing to sacrifice for victories, he's too busy planning the after party in his head.

Jesus Christ, let it die man.

It has been over 6 years allready since he has been traded and brought back the pieces that helped us win the cup 2022.

Matty got some revenge with his goal in OT2 in game 6. Who cares in the end?

 

[sethro109]

Jesus Christ, let it die man.

It has been over 6 years allready since he has been traded and brought back the pieces that helped us win the cup 2022.

Matty got some revenge with his goal in OT2 in game 6. Who cares in the end?

Hell no. f*** Matt Duchene. He can go cry his ass off about wanting to play meaningful hockey as he forever loses.

 

[katfude]

Jesus Christ, let it die man.

It has been over 6 years allready since he has been traded and brought back the pieces that helped us win the cup 2022.

Matty got some revenge with his goal in OT2 in game 6. Who cares in the end?

Asking a sports fan to let it go?

f*** no. It's been 2 decades and I still say Red Wings suck. f*** Detroit.

 

[MacKaRant]

Secretly happy Duchene doesn’t get his cup (yet).

Is it really a secret if you just told all of us lol?

 

[dahrougem2]

Hats of to Edmonton. As much as it hurts to say, but they played their game, they took advantage of the seeding and got lucky when needed too.

A team that has one of the weakest goaltending und at least an average D making it to the big final is something.

They managed 10 (!!) shots on goal in Game 6 and still won. Wow.

I dont know what really killed Dallas in the end. Maybe playing Vegas and Col?

Imagine beating both Vegas and Col on the way only to get beaten by this version of Edmonton. Yikes. This has to hurt.

If all goes right Florida should win it all. I mean, in the end, their team was, from my point of view, the best team in the playoffs.

They have been there last season only to get beat by Bettman´s favorites. I think its their turn this year.

This version of Edmonton is the best version of the McDavid era hands down.

 

[RockLobster]

Really pulling for Florida. The NHL media is already pretty cringey & borderline slobbery when it comes to McDavid…I don’t think we can handle what would happen if he wins a Cup

 

[Frenchy]

Still think the playoff format should go back to 1-8 instead of what we have now

Better yet , i would even go 1-16