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Post by Bryce - Minny on Sept 21, 2005 10:05:08 GMT -5
Here's a little competition put the way you think the standings will end up. For every exact seeding you will get 5 points. For every correct playoff team, 3 points.....Top 3 places after the NHL season will get some kind of prize.....
And its not like every single one of us wouldnt do this anywayz :-)
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Post by Bryce - Minny on Sept 21, 2005 10:16:00 GMT -5
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. San Jose 2. Vancouver 3. Detroit 4. Calgary 5. Edmonton 6. Dallas 7. Colorado 8. LA 9. Nashville 10. Columbus 11. Anaheim 12. Chicago 13. St. Louis 14. Minnesota 15. Phoenix
EASTERN 1. Philadelphia 2. Tampa Bay 3. Ottawa 4. Boston 5. Atlanta 6. Pittsburgh 7. New Jersey 8. NYI 9. Montreal 10. Florida 11. Buffalo 12. Toronto 13. NYR 14. Carolina 15. Washington
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Post by habsgm on Sept 21, 2005 11:25:14 GMT -5
WESTERN 1. Vancouver 2. Detroit 3. Dallas 4. Colorado 5. San Jose 6. Calgary 7. Chicago 8. Edmonton 9. Los Angeles 10. Anaheim 11. Nashville 12. St. Louis 13. Columbus 14. Phoenix 15. Minnesota
EASTERN 1. Tampa Bay 2. Toronto 3. Philadelphia 4. Boston 5. New Jersey 6. Florida 7. Ottawa 8. Montreal 9. Pittsburgh 10. New York Islanders 11. Atlanta 12. Carolina 13. New York Rangers 14. Washington 15. Buffalo
Note though - the NHL schedule for this year calls for an increased number of games between division rivals (8 tilts) and only 10 games out of conference. So picking four clubs from the NORTHWEST and four from NORTHEAST might be unrealistic on my part. That's why I placed the Sabres and Wild in the basement - not as a reflection of their clubs but a reflection of the number of times they'll be playing 'playoff bound clubs'. That's why I picked Florida to get in because (a) they should be better again this year (b) weak division means a not as strong club collects more points than in previous years.
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Post by ianintheam on Sept 21, 2005 17:37:50 GMT -5
I don't know how every one else is doing the standing, but i did it like the playoffs standings where the 3 division champions are the top 3, regardless of their point total.
Eastern Conference
Lightning Penguins Senators
Fylers Panthers Bruins New Jersey Thrashers Canadians Maple Leafs Islanders Sabers Hurricanes Rangers Capitals
Western Conference
Flames Predators Sharks
Canucks Stars Avalanche Red Wings Ducks BlackHawks Kings Oilers Blues Blue jackets Wild Coyotes
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Post by edmontongm on Sept 21, 2005 21:55:13 GMT -5
Eastern Conference
1. Philadelphia 2. Tampa Bay 3. Ottawa 4. Pittsburgh 5. New Jersey 6. Boston 7. Atlanta 8. Toronto 9. NY Islanders 10. Florida 11. Montreal 12. Buffalo 13. NY Rangers 14. Carolina 15. Washington
Western Conference
1. San Jose 2. Vancouver 3. Detroit 4. Calgary 5. Los Angeles 6. Nashville 7. Anaheim 8. Colorado 9. Dallas 10. Chicago 11. Edmonton 12. Columbus 13. St. Louis 14. Phoenix 15. Minnesota
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Post by habsgm on Sept 23, 2005 10:22:55 GMT -5
You guys honestly think the Pens will be flying that high? Who is their goalie again???
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Post by FincanSJGM on Sept 24, 2005 16:08:54 GMT -5
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Detroit (blessed with a weak division, teams 2-6 are all better IMO) 2. San Jose 3. Vancouver 4. Calgary 5. Dallas 6. Edmonton 7. LA 8. Colorado (will be tough for 4 NW teams to make it as they will knock each other down, but the teams are good enough) 9. Nashville 10. Anaheim (why is everyone so high on this team?) 11. Chicago 12. Columbus 13. Phoenix 14. Minnesota (not the second worst in the conference but play in the best Division in the nhl) 15. St. Louis (welcome to Stl Louis Kessel)
EASTERN 1. Tampa Bay 2. Ottawa 3. Philadelphia 4. Boston 5. Pittsburgh 6. New Jersey (will be weaker on D and up front but Brodeur will be the least affected goalie in the nhl by the new rule changes IMO, the best just got better) 7. Florida 8. Montreal 9. Atlanta 10. NYI 11. Toronto (limitless skill up the middle but many question marks there as well, questionable in net, weak on the wings) 12. Carolina 13. Buffalo 14. NYR 15. Washington
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Post by FincanSJGM on Sept 24, 2005 16:11:00 GMT -5
I guess Broduer will be affected by not being able to play the puck. But he is the best puck stopper as well and his pads were always thin, not like Giggy and several others who always wore huge pads and are going to have a hard time adjusting to smaller ones.
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Post by FincanSJGM on Sept 24, 2005 17:30:01 GMT -5
Bwuhaha and I smited Ian and Clint for picking my Oil to miss the playoffs.
Out of curiosity why do you pick them to finnish so low?
I dont see how the team is not going to be better. For the most part this team is the same as the last season, not a lot of changes and the changes that were made were positive. This is a team that was 9th in the last NHL season in goals scored, 5th best even strength team and with all of the responsible two-way players in the line up this should stay fairly stable. The achilles heel of the Oil was their special teams which were both horrible and goaltending. You cant say that the Oilers PK wil not be substantially better this year acquiring possibly the best defensive forward in the nhl as well as one of the most dominant Defenceman. also Reasoner who was a key to the Oil PK was out most of the season so having him back will also improve it a lot. The PP should be a little better with Pronger on the point and having Bergeron a little older and for a whole season will also improve it as we really lacked a PP QB for a long time. If Schremp makes the team he looks like he might have a positive impact in this area too (although I think it will be slight though some Oil fans think he will be THE ANSWER this year, which I think it too much pressure, too much hype, too much expectations etc).
Peca is offensively similar to York in abilities and should excel in Edmonton compared to NYI where he was playing second fiddle to Yashin. Some people think that Peca offensively is inferior to York but the only explanations for this are either stupidity or ignorance. I love York but he was given prime time in Edmonton. Peca over his career has been similar offensively but has not had the same ice time that he will this year in Edmonton or as York had here. I expect him to at the very least replace Yorks offence. Plus Peca can play more tough minutes against the other teams top lines than York could.
Another factor is overall contribution of Pronger. Not only is he going to be better than Brewer for Brewers 24 minutes a night (basically 24 minutes of a 10 out of 10scale player to an 8) but he will play closer to 30 like in St. Louis so we will also have 6 minutes of a 10 player over 5-7's as he will take up ice time that guys like Cross and Semenov and Bergeron would be out for in all situations.
The Oil goaltending is another question mark. I can understand why people would think this, but we have to remember this is a team that missed the playoffs ony by 2 points WITH Tommy Salo as the starter for most of the season. I loved the guy but in his last few seasons here he was horrible and last season was THE WORST starter in the nhl. Going from Salo to a Conkanen duo is a case of addition by subtraction. I think the difference between the games Salo blew to Conkanen is worth at least the two points they would have needed to make the playoffs.
On top of this I think Hemsky will take a fairly positive step forward this year. I hoping Semenov will do the same but he is still making the bone headed plays at times. at least he has shown a little more aggression in the pre-season. Horcoff also looks like he can make some steps forward and Im positive Rita can contribute if this team is actually willing to finally give him a chance. Unfortuantely it looks like the Juggernaut Todd Harvey is going to get a spot, ugh!!! excuse me while I go throw up. Torres I dont expect to be any better but I think he can repeat his results. Bergeron I also expect to take a good step forward and I beleive with Pronger, Smith, and Staois we can give him the sheltered minutes that he needs to succeed in the NHL.
with that said other teams have made changes too which also affects things. Vancouver will be good again and will probably win the divisison. Calgary is good and IMO ahead of the Oil but not by much. Everybody is in love with this team right now because they were withing one goal of winning the cup. Well ya know what they were only a few points within missing the playoffs two and within one goal of being eliminated in the first round as well as the 3rd. They have made changes and Conroy to Langkow is a positive addition IMO but not a whole lot. He is better overall and offensively but gives up some on the D side of the game. I will get burned for this but I dont see Amonte as a hugely positive addition over Gelinas. Gelinas was clutch and a very good two-way player. Amonte needs to be scoring 40 goals to be a positive impact player as he is atrocious defensively, espeicially with his legs not being what they used to be. Many fans in Philly last year said he had the ugliest 50 points season possible last year. in order for him to have a good impact he will have to be sheltered in the North West. Sutter is smart enough that Im sure he will do this, my only point is that Amonte will not have the same impact that people seem to think he wil and IMO is not much of an improvement if at all over what Gelinas could have brought to the table. Hammer, people have been bashing him but I think this was a good player to pick up (although and awful pick up at 3.5 million). He will frustrate by always shooting above the net and is only average in his own zone but will add some offense on the Flames blue line that only Leopold really brought before. I think Kipper will be a wash with himself this year. They will have him for a whole year which will make a positive difference, and I think he will be good, but I dont see him being AS GOOD as he was last year in which only Brodeur and Luongo we as good between the pipes. Overall I see them being better and a good team but not as good as everybody thinks they will be.
Colorado will take a big step backwards. they lost the best forward in the game today as well as one of the top defensive defenceman. Hejduk is going to be out for the first month of the season . Turgeon I think will be better than he was in Dallas but is not the answer, neither is Brunette. This will still be a good team and if they played in any other division they would be garanteed playoff bound, but in the NW four very good teams will be stealing points from each other, so yes putting Edmonton in 6th might even be a bit of a homer pick to make but whatever I'll be a homer with my team. anyway Colorado is good and will be in the playoff hunt but I think that the Oil have made up a lot of ground on them with their additions and Colorados subtractions.
As for the rest of the conference this is where I think the Oil have really made up ground and will get points.s St. Louis is just awful now. Detroit has taken a step backwards and will have trouble against non-division teams. Chicago has taken a step forward but not enough. Nashville has gotten better and is my dark horse but I dont think they have improved as much as the Oil. I think last year they over-achieved a bit but if they didnt could be dangerous. Columbus has gotten a bit better but Overall they are still a ways off IMO as they had too far to go. Dallas is not as good as they once were but are still a good team and there is no reason to think that Modano wont bounce back from his horrible 03-04 season. San Jose is a dangerous team. LA is pretty much a wash from where they were. they have addes some good players but lost some as well. Anaheim added a huge threat in Niedermayer but this team does not have good depth and Giggy is going to be really affected by the new rule changes. Phoenix. Might surprise but IMO Gretz will nto make a good coach and this team will have chemistry problems, too many prima donas like Hull Comrie and Nedved. D is also weak as is goal. should score goals though as they do have a lot of players who can play up front. Plus what the hell is the team going to look like? They have like 17 forwards under contract still. Minny is an okay team but the Oil should not have problems taking points in those games. Ya never know though if any coach can find away to excel defensively and have his team over-achieve its Lemaire. Anyway My point is that The Oil have improved and the conference has seen a lot of shifting, I think it has shifted in a way though that will see the Oil make the playoffs.
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Post by edmontongm on Sept 24, 2005 23:37:18 GMT -5
Edmonton did not make improvements on offense that the other teams out west did. I had a very easy time placing Edmonton 11th as opposed to picking the 7th and 8th playoff spots in the east. Sure the Oilers picked up Pronger and Peca...but the games against Colorado, Vancouver and Calgary will eventually take it's toll, and there are a lot of other strong teams in the west. Picking Dallas to finish 9th? Think about that before asking why I pick Edmonton also not to make the playoffs.
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Post by FincanSJGM on Sept 25, 2005 0:40:23 GMT -5
yeah because the team that finnished 9th in goals scored last year needed to see improvement in goals scored.
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Post by habsgm on Sept 26, 2005 6:36:43 GMT -5
I dont doubt Eddies Skills. I do doubt his back. How long can this continue? He has played with a wonky back for awhile now and eventually its gotta give out. Until he retires he will always be a question mark. Plus it has been awhile since the nhl was played (and honestly this might have helped his back) but he is also quite a bit older than when he last played hockey. At his age skills can start to decline fairly rapidly. If he is the same old Belfour than they will have no problems, but he is a question mark IMO. I take your point Cal. However, isn't Ottawa's goaltending situation even more precarious than Toronto? I'd think that Hasek is an even bigger ? than Belfour. More rust, more prone to injury (less prone to rehab), more flakey, more moody, less desire. Granted the leafs have wonderings in the wings but c'mon the Senators have Dom. Does anyone recall how his last season ended in Detroit? I'd take Belfour any day of the week and what's more a club isn't going to finish tops in divisional standings (with the exception of Philly and Van of course) without that solid goaltending which argueably both of those clubs did get in the regular season of 03-04.
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Post by FincanSJGM on Sept 26, 2005 15:05:13 GMT -5
Your right, Ottawa does have question marks in net too. IMO the difference is that they are a much better team up front and have an awesome defence as Chara, Redden, and Phillips play so much that even with an average bottom three (though I really like Volchenkov too and think Pothier will succeed with sheltred minutes much like Bergeron) they will be solid on D. The other thing is I have more Faith in Emerys ability to step up and take over the reigns (though he is still unproven) if need be, Hedberg can be hit and miss. At times he can look really good, at other times awful.
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Post by habsgm on Sept 28, 2005 9:07:16 GMT -5
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Post by habsgm on Apr 27, 2006 17:30:30 GMT -5
I scored as Bryce prescribed: 5 points for exact seed, 3 points if you called the club in the playoffs:
Bryce's picks Seeds: 1 (Col) Western playoff clubs: 6 (SJ, Det, Cal, Edm, Dal, Col) Eastern playoff clubs: 4 (Phi, TB, Ott, NJ) Total points: 35
Ron's picks Seeds: 4 (SJ, Edm, Clb, Was) Western playoff clubs: 6 (Det, Dal, Col, Cal, SJ, Edm) Eastern playoff clubs: 5 (TB, Phi, NJ, Ott, Mon) total points: 53
Ian's picks (based on the order in the post) Seeds: 2 (Clb, LA) Western playoff clubs: 7 (Cal, Nas, SJ, Dal, Col, Det, Ana) Eastern playoff clubs: 4 (TB, Ott, Phi, NJ) total points: 43
Clint's picks Seeds: 0 Western playoff clubs: 6 (SJ, Det, Cal, Nas, Ana, Col) Eastern playoff clubs: 4 (Phi, TB, Ott, NJ) total points: 30
Cal's picks Seeds: 2 (Det, StL) Western playoff clubs: 6 (Det, SJ, Cgy, Dal, Edm, Col) Eastern playoff clubs: 5 (TB, Ott, Phi, NJ, Mon) total points: 43
I don't think any of else picked Carolina nor expected TB to finish so low. I was the only one dilusional about the leafs finish - everyone else was very close with the buds. Pittsburgh suprised us all and in the west Vancouver did as well.
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