Tuesday 28 August 2018

#97 - Talkin' Hockey 08/28/18

I'm not even an Oilers fan, but when I see the number 97, I can't help but think of that McDavid guy. Hockey is only about 5 weeks away, so today I figured I'd just lay down a few random thoughts I have about the upcoming season and the NHL in general.

- I'm a Habs fan, and they are going.....to......suck. I will argue until I die that trading PK Subban was the beginning of the downfall of this team. The latest downfall, anyway. I don't know what on earth they do to fix it now, either. Obviously, Pacioretty will be traded at some point, but they aren't going to get a King's ransom back from him. Carey Price is a beauty, but at this point all he's going to do is cost them a top draft pick (although he didn't last year, I guess). Some have said the Habs should let Price go in the Seattle expansion, and I get the logic behind it if they want to straight up re-build, but to let the best goalie of the generation walk for free would make Bergevin or whoever's in charge at the time look like the biggest failure in the franchise's history.

- Canada as a whole is going to suck, actually. I'm certainly not a "just bring the Cup back to Canada" fan, but I love the Habs and have no beef with the Jets. The Flames and Oilers I can take or leave, and I can't stand the Canucks, Senators, or Leafs. Fortunately/unfortunately, the Oilers, Canucks, Habs and Senators are about 100 miles away from the playoffs, never mind the Cup. The Flames will be a borderline playoff team, but they aren't going to scare anyone. I think most would agree that the Jets are legit contenders, and sadly, the Leafs are knocking on the door. Go Jets. How wicked would a Winnipeg Jets Stanley Cup be??

- I think Vegas takes a step back. Lightning doesn't strike the same place twice. That said, they should be proud of what they accomplished last year, and I don't think they'll be awful this season or anything, but I do think they'll come back down to Earth. Then again, I picked them to lose all the way to the Finals last year, so what do I know?

- I think the Western Conference will be another battle to the finish between Nashville and Winnipeg, and unfortunately they'll probably have to play in the second round again. The new playoff format is broken, go back to 1-8 for fuck sakes. California will be competitive, and the Flames, Stars, and Avalanche will hang around, too.

- As far as the Eastern Conference goes, Tampa Bay has to be the favourite, no? The Leafs, Bruins, Penguins and Capitals will all be playoff locks, and Philly, Jersey, and Columbus will be right there, too.

- McDavid will win the Art Ross trophy again, but he won't win the Hart because the Oilers won't be anywhere near the Playoffs. I'm not someone that thinks you have to make the playoffs to be named MVP, but you have to be close. He's the most outstanding player in the League, no question. But you can't be 'Most Valuable' on a team that finished in the bottom 1/4 of the standings, I don't care.

Playoff Predictions:

East

1 - Pittsburgh
2 - Washington
3 - Columbus

1 - Tampa Bay
2 - Toronto
3 - Boston

WC1 - New Jersey
WC2 - Florida

West

1 - Winnipeg
2 - Nashville
3 - Dallas

1 - Los Angeles
2 - Anaheim
3 - San Jose

WC1 - St. Louis
WC2 - Colorado

Conference Finals

Winnipeg def. Los Angeles
Tampa Bay def. Columbus

Cup Finals

Winnipeg def. Tampa Bay

What say you???

Adam

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