2011-2012 NHL playoff thread.

[-BT-]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

Pittsburgh just won a Stanley Cup in 2009.

Vancouver is hopeless.

was in the stanley cup last year

-bt-

[slotdirt]

And they damn near tore down the city. I think that was a high water mark for the Canooges.

[MaTH716]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

And they damn near tore down the city. I think that was a high water mark for the Canooges.

I agree, they didn't win last year and got knocked out as the 1 seed this year. I feel like some changes have to be coming to Vancouver.

[slotdirt]

Whomever made the comparison with the Sharks was spot-on. How many years did we hear how awesome Thornton, Marleau, Heatley, Clowe, etc., are, and they never got past the conference semis until last year. Maybe Devon Setoguchi was the difference?

[Danzig]

i feel like many don't give hockey teams the same consideration as in football. only one team can win the stanley cup each year, just like only one can win the super bowl. you don't see wholesale destruction of football teams every few years if they've gone without postseason success. and is it only success if you win it all? does anyone think detroit or chicago needs a complete revamping? boston? and who thinks phoenix is a powerhouse? i'd imagine if i offered a bet on postseason teams for next year in the west, more people would go with detroit to go past the first round rather than the desert dogs or the kings.

anyway, i guess until (and may it be soon) the caps actually win a cup, they'll always be a huge target for derision, regardless of what they manage to accomplish.

[Danzig]

no extension offered to semin it appears...becomes an UFA july 1.

[slotdirt]

Semin was going to probably become a UFA regardless.

I think you're missing the point. Chicago won a Cup two years ago. Detroit in '08 (and they have seriously revamped and will have some serious changes this offseason). Boston just won a Cup last year. The Caps have been a 90+ point team for five straight seasons now, including multiple division crowns, and have never gone past the conference semis. That's not success.

NFL teams are blown up every single season. It's called the salary cap. Take a look at any NFL team's roster and see how big the changes are between this season and four or five seasons ago.

[slotdirt]

Originally Posted by Danzig

i feel like many don't give hockey teams the same consideration as in football. only one team can win the stanley cup each year, just like only one can win the super bowl. you don't see wholesale destruction of football teams every few years if they've gone without postseason success. and is it only success if you win it all? does anyone think detroit or chicago needs a complete revamping? boston? and who thinks phoenix is a powerhouse? i'd imagine if i offered a bet on postseason teams for next year in the west, more people would go with detroit to go past the first round rather than the desert dogs or the kings.

anyway, i guess until (and may it be soon) the caps actually win a cup, they'll always be a huge target for derision, regardless of what they manage to accomplish.

Not to pick on you, but really on the bolded? How many coaches have the Bills gone through in the last dozen seasons? The Lions? Even successful teams can their coaches. NFL teams make wholesale changes pretty much every season. Roster turnover is astronomical in the NFL.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

Not to pick on you, but really on the bolded? How many coaches have the Bills gone through in the last dozen seasons? The Lions? Even successful teams can their coaches. NFL teams make wholesale changes pretty much every season. Roster turnover is astronomical in the NFL.

perhaps i had teams like san diego and tenn in mind when i said that.... norv turner still there, along with that ridiculous gm. fisher lasted forever in tenn.
anyway, regardless....another year, no cup. and like the last 37 years, i'm saying maybe next year. not nearly as painful this year for some reason. last year i was just sick, sick after getting swept out.

[Danzig]

i wonder if they'll stick with their 'used to play for the caps' theme and ask adam oates? he's an assistant with the devils now...been an assistant for several teams since retiring as a player.

and yeah, no surprise that semin won't be back. figured that was what would happen after him signing just the one year deal.

[slotdirt]

Adam Oates also played for like 14 other teams.

[Danzig]

just speculating about the team, have nothing else to do regarding hockey right now!


and apparently semin was surprised to hear that he won't be with washington...apparently news to him when he got off the plane and people were asking him questions.

should be an interesting summer.

[MaTH716]

Originally Posted by Danzig

just speculating about the team, have nothing else to do regarding hockey right now!


and apparently semin was surprised to hear that he won't be with washington...apparently news to him when he got off the plane and people were asking him questions.

should be an interesting summer.

There's a pretty good game on now.

[Danzig]

Originally Posted by MaTH716

There's a pretty good game on now.

really?
caps aren't on, tony has the remote. i'm not much of a tv watcher. hockey's over, it's reading time/computer til football i guess.

[-BT-]

Originally Posted by Danzig

no extension offered to semin it appears...becomes an UFA july 1.

another great decision by the franchise....let a 6 million dollar player walk out the door and GET NOTHING FOR HIM!!!!!

kudos georgie boy!!!

-bt-

[slotdirt]

I'm starting to feel about Ovechkin the way I felt about Green back in the earlier Caps playoff flameouts: they should trade him while he still has value. Ovechkin is the man, and a blast to watch play, but he's virtually non-existent on the defensive end, and doesn't seem particularly interested in changing that.

[Clip-Clop]

Originally Posted by slotdirt

I'm starting to feel about Ovechkin the way I felt about Green back in the earlier Caps playoff flameouts: they should trade him while he still has value. Ovechkin is the man, and a blast to watch play, but he's virtually non-existent on the defensive end, and doesn't seem particularly interested in changing that.

Despite his successes against the Rangers over the years, watching him and Girardi match up has become my favorite thing in hockey. It is a great battle every game and I would hate to see him leave the area. Unless he came out to the Avs, I could deal with that.

[MaTH716]

Honestly, I'm not sure what it is about Ovie, but I don't find him as fearsome as he used to be. For a while I viewed him as the best player in the league by far. There have always been rumors surrounding him (HGH wise) and I'm not accusing him of anything, but he just doesn't seem to play at that same speed/level as he did in years past.

[slotdirt]

He was definitely a shell of his former self this year. Agreed though, at one time I put him above Crosby as the best player in the league. Now, I'm not sure either player even makes the top 10.

[pgiaco]

Originally Posted by MaTH716

Honestly, I'm not sure what it is about Ovie, but I don't find him as fearsome as he used to be. For a while I viewed him as the best player in the league by far. There have always been rumors surrounding him (HGH wise) and I'm not accusing him of anything, but he just doesn't seem to play at that same speed/level as he did in years past.

I think the years of playing a lot of minutes, hitting everything that moved (legally or otherwise) and playing at 1000 mph every shift took its toll on him. He really was a shell of his former self all year. Plus it never struck me as if he took great care of himself.