Captain Lando

14 minutes ago, ruxpin said:

 

I believe it will happen.  The Black Hawks and their fans are another great example.

 

But it's the bolded in the quote that's the issue.   I'm 53 and ain't gettin' any younger, y'know?

 

Really good post, Mon Capitaine.

Plenty of time left in the tank for you to see your club turn things around. It may have to be with other management, but it will happen. 

4 hours ago, ruxpin said:

I'm aware fans want winning and will bandwagon, but that's not my point.

 

My point is that the Flyers WILL NOT GET TO THE WINNING and are sabotaged by an endless state of impatience caused by an endless looping exchange of false, bloated expectation followed by impatience because unrealistic bars and expectations have been set, causing Exodus and/or b###ing by an idiotic fan base who bought the nonsense being sold that "this time!" followed by management tearing down their faux great product and rinse repeat.

 

This is supported by well over a decade of exactly this.  And we are locked in this condition until ownership lowers expectations and builds the right way. And that will be a tough sell because most of the fan base either thinks it's hopeless or is a magical has been coach or player away from it being different this time.

 

"It'll change if we're winning" is proof/symptom of what I'm saying, not a counter to it.

I understand exactly what you are saying and you are correct. There are sadly teams that don't understand what it is to build a sustainable team that can win over a long period of time. This unfortunately leads to a lot of b####ing from the fans and many jump ship, but my question to those fans that say they are jumping ship do they really do so? Or do they just still sit back and b#### and secretly wait and hope the team gets to winning and back they come to the team.

I think a fan is someone who goes through the thick and thin with a team and doesn't jump ship no matter if they have a horrible front office who doesn't seem to have much of a plan. No matter how frustrating it is. 

I know this sort of thing happens all the time for example in Cleveland after they sucked for many years and the savior Lebron came and they started winning. They he left and it was a mass exodus of fans from the team. You look at a MLB team like the Baltimore Orioles who have sucked for god knows how long and they have a pretty good history way back. They seem to be a pretty good comparison to the Flyers with a front office who don't seem to not know what they are doing. Even here in Denver somewhat in the NFL with Broncos they had a really storied franchise and now it struggles and fans b#### all the time and even some have given up which I think is ridiculous. 

I guarantee you if/when the Flyers get back to their winning ways and it will happen. Don't know how long it will take, but the view from the fans will take a 180 and the trucks better start coming into Philly because the fans will be jumping back on the bandwagon so quick they will be filling up fast. 

All the fans want is winning. It doesn't matter who is behind the bench. If it is Torts, Trotz or someone else to get the team winning the fans will start going crazy for the team again. In the end it is all about the W's. 

A fan basically has two roles with a team. They either cheer on that team enthusiastically or the b#### about the team all the time. If the team is winning most of the time a fan is cheering and life is good. If there is always a##nine thing going on within the organization and the play on the ice is horrible then the fan is most likely b####ing all the time. It is the rite of the fan. 

There are many players on this team that we all know what they provide to the Rangers. Zibanejad, Bread Man, Kreider, Fox Shesterkin. They are all going to do what they do game in and game out. 

In the playoffs there were two Rangers that really shined and stepped up and they were K'Andre Miller and Flilip Chytil. Miller seemed to shine in all aspects of the game while Chytil was the center of a very successful 3rd line(The Kid Line) for the Rangers. These are just a few of the players who are the future of the Rangers. This team is set up to continue to be successful for years to come. 

Wishing him the best in the Swiss league. It had to be tough for him to basically be considered a back up goaltender to a 40 year old who really showed flashes of good play and horrible play at times. I hope he can find success in this league. 

2 hours ago, FD19372 said:

We all know how immensely talented both teams are. This should be one of the greater series of all-time. Something I haven't seen discussed, is I wonder how much the altitude of Denver, and the humidity in Tampa Bay will play a part in this series. At the very least, I think it will be a slight factor in this series.

The humidity is not a factor here, but at the moment I think we are attempting to accommodate the Tampa Bay Lightning with the heat as it is in the mid to upper 90's here and the other day it hit 100 degrees. So it is still hot. I have lived here my entire life so the whole altitude thing isn't an issue for me and I just say suck it up. 

16 minutes ago, CoachX said:

Reading around the net...all signs indicate Torts is the guy 

 

Someone contact the Mayor's office and have him shut down the Walt Whitman

Not disputing your claim, but what I have seen on the internet is that both John Tortorella and Barry Trotz are finalist for the Flyers job. I have also seen that the Detroit Red Wings are set to hire John Tortorella. So really a lot is still up in the air it seems. 

11 minutes ago, ClusterChuck said:

 

I applaude the gutsy call. Didn't work out for me with the Wild-Blues but there was a decent chance for a bit. 
I'm going TB in 6.

This matchup is the league's and ESPN's dream scenario (And even Bettman's being south and west teams)
Let's hope it lives up to the hype. 

 

I think we are going to get some high quality s### from this and I am not talking about the weed that is floating around Colorado , I am talking about the ice hockey that is going to be played by these two teams who are both playing at top level at this time. It is going to be pretty damn exciting to watch. 

55 minutes ago, Math said:

Not only does he suck, he's forcing Heiskanen to play on his wrong side. For the next three years. 

Heiskanen has the talent to become one of the top young d-men in the league. He has so much more potential than just the 30 something points he averages each season. Don't know if he is in the realm of a Cale Makar, Victor Hedman, Roman Josi, Adam Fox or John Carlson, but I can see him getting into the 60 point range easily with the talent he has. 

12 hours ago, Brewin Flames said:

I was just wondering if any of these guys are Irish.....

 

My head says Tampa, been there done that, that VAS guy, and a solid team/coach who is ready to go.

 

But my heart says Avs, somehow, someway this happens, a shamrock perhaps.

MacKinnon is most certainly a Gaelic surname. So the Luck of the Irish has to be on the Avalanche side. 

Now if an aging but still amazing Russian player like Alex Ovechkin heads back to his Motherland for some record contract paid with the toilet paper worth Rubles while he is chasing the record of The Great One then the NHL should start worrying. If all that is fleeing back to the Motherland are these fading Russian players the NHL has nothing to worry about. I think the NHL packed Radulov's bags quickly for his trip home. 

8 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Found this on one of the Twitter feeds.
I think it was a Colorado-centric feed, judging by the commentary, but this was cool nonetheless.
Would make a great wall poster!

I especially like how they included Alex Killorn in there...not a superstar by any means, but a big, big part of why the Bolts are where they are.
They could have just as easily put Ondrej Palat in there too.

That is really cool. I love how it has the city of Tampa and then the mountains for Colorado. Would be great blown up as a poster size. 

33 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

Wellllll....since you ASKED...in college I did pursue avenues in writing...journalism in particular, so that is probably where I get my long windedness and attention to detail.
AND the main reason I have to chuckle every time some self important blogger, podcaster, or otherwise wannabe 'journalist' comes onto forums like these and proclaims themselves the masters of all things known!  
Not all of course, but some of those jokers aren't fit to write for a Chinese restaurant's menu....much less a respectable news outlet  

Of course, my professors would probably roll their eyes at how I've perverted my writing skills.

As you can see.....LOTS of unusual uses of punctuations and capitalizations (in strange ways) for effect. Some PERFECTO stuff for things like message boards where I try to simulate being in front of the person and typing how I might speak with inflections and everything that goes with it.

Life had other plans for me though, but prose has always been my friend and I enjoy it.

And oh, look at me and my damned renegade keyboard....off topic.
I'll report myself and put myself on post moderation for the day...

Back on topic.
Go Bolts GO!

Really looking forward to a great series, I will enjoy the talking heads go on about it for....oh, I dunno, maybe till Monday night.
After that, I'm like you...STOP TALKING AND GET THIS STARTED ALREADY!!

 

As for the ending of my story, well, much like Rod Sterling, my stories have lots of twists and turns....some HORRIBLY cruel ones.
Better hope the Avs aren't on the receiving end of one.  

I on the other hand don't really have the writing skills nor did I pursue it in college. I however do I have use it in my job as a Human Resource Manager when writing up Job Descriptions and Job Reviews and things of that nature. They are quite different then writing a novel or even writing a post on a forum. 

I tend to not be long winded when typing because I am very long winded when speaking. When I am at a party, I am the one that pretty much never shuts up. My husband always have to either push another drink in my hand or some other bit of food to shut me up. 

I think it was Tom Petty that stated "The waiting is the hardest part." Even when I was watching the Tampa Bay and New York series waiting to see who was going to play the Avs was driving me crazy. I wanting the Avs back on the ice. The community here is about to explode and really wants to get this going. 

Unfortunately the ticket prices are insane and out of my price range, but there are bar watch parties that my husband and I might attend in the area that will be a blast for a game or two. If it goes to game 7 and I am not sure what day that falls on, but if it is not a work day that will definitely be one we go to a watch party at one of these places. 

Regardless, the series is going to be an epic match up. Not only do we have superstar players on each side, but we have a team going for something that hasn't be done very often and also a team who is looking for a Cup they have not raised since 2001. Just some incredible stuff ahead to anticipate. 

15 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Alright...my take on this.
For your safety, those that suffer from prose overload, step away from the screen until the next person posts the less dangerous "Avs in 4" and leaves it at that..... the Resident Wall of Texter will be at work here.  
 

Since I do have a team in this Finals, there will be a natural bias at work here. And that bias is further bolstered by the fact that the team I have in the Finals is good. Damned good.
Ironically, not as dominant as the previous two Cup winning teams, as evidenced by their finish in the regular season and seemingly, teams playing the Bolts much tougher, but here they are nonetheless on the cusp of greatness.

If Tampa Bay were some "Johnny Got Lucky" team, or some team who just happened to 'get hot' at the right time, fan or not, I'd be forced to concede this series was Colorado's to win.
But the Lightning didn't get hot at the right time, aren't a Cinderella story, and are not named Johnny.

It took me some time to take the Avalanche seriously. I mean, they were for quite some time, along with the Bruins, the poster children for "One Line Team"....and with some suspect goaltending to boot. It seemed that if you shut MacK's line down, and pressure the goaltending, you could beat this team rather handily.

But Colorado has grown....grown INTO the hype that was given them ad nauseum pre-season, but grown into it regardless. They have shown some depth, character, the defense plays an underrated tough game, the goaltending has been much better than many expected and young players like Newhook, Byram, Girard, and especially Makar are either very high ceiling futures, trending upwards now, or already at Major League level play.

So all the hoopla surrounding the Mile High Stone Heads is certainly warranted now. This series should see everything. Unbelievable goals...unbelievable saves....tough defense, wide open defense...end to end action, nasty stuff along the boards and in front of creases, surgical power plays, and like great teams get, puck luck so blatant, one would think these teams got shamrocks shoved firmly up their five holes!

That all said, being a homer, being a fan of a team that can do something really special here, I cannot go against the defending champions.
Honestly, I am in a 'No Lose' situation here.

If the Bolts win, I can say my team is one of the best 'dynasties', such as they are today anyways, ever in the NHL.... if they lose, I have STILL had one hell of a run with the two Cups, and the fantastic run this season as Prince of Wales Champions, have nothing to be ashamed of, and, AAAANNND...the team is still good enough and young enough, to try again for what looks like the next two or three seasons!
Obviously my preference is for the Lightning to take the series, but if the Avalanche do it, there will be no excuses, and they will have deserved it.

Some teams' fans may keep breaking out excuses every time the Bolts pull away a series from them, "But if only this" or "You were gifted that", or "Your lucky your goalie stole that", or worst of all, the crying about teams that lost because they were missing Player X or Player Y........ironically, there was a lot of THAT from some Avs fans the last two or three seasons when Colorado failed to get out of their Conference Semi Final rounds.

If the Bolts win, it is because they are built to win and have proven it over and over for three seasons. If they lose, it will be because the other team, Colorado in this case, was the better team. Period.

For all that Colorado does well, I still like the better depth and goaltending of the Lightning. Big moment players like Alex Killorn, Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point (if he is in), Victor Hedman, and the super underrated Ondrej Palat help support my feelings on that as well.
Not to mention the familiarity, know how, experience, and skill...all blended together in a way, that I don't believe the Avalanche have yet.

The Avs look like they are a higher powered version of the Rangers in the sense that they have tons of skill, some very good vets, but not a whole lot in the way of guys who have won before.
The Lightning showed what they can do to a team that mentally isn't quite at their level....once they got the layoff rust off them that is...and I think they can do the same to the Avalanche....albeit, having to deal with dangerous Rocky Mountain beasts such as The Flying MacKinnon, the River Gila Kadri, the quick shrub brush Makar, and the army of Sasquatch mean defensemen sitting on their blueline.

I will be quite wrong if the Bolts falter, but I am not taking the chance on being wrong by betting against history being made.
Lightning in 6 as they celebrate their third straight on home ice....MacK and his boys will have to wait another year. 

First off a beautifully scripted post may I say. Are you a writer by chance? 

The only thing is you got the ending wrong on your novel. 

Good Luck though as the series is going to be tremendous. The waiting the next few days for it to start I think is going to be the worst part. 

15 minutes ago, Math said:

 

And that is very cool. It's nice to keep that history and to see quite significant igloo jerseys in the arena. And the Retro-Reversed jersey was one of the best of the league. They rocked when when they played with it in Lake Tahoe last season.

There are plenty of those jerseys still filtering around at the Colorado Avalanche games.

15 minutes ago, Math said:

 

Don't forget y'all: I'm awful in predictions, even it's my daily job 

I hope you keep that trend up. 

2 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

 

Bolts in five!?
Pucksy....that is very pucksy of ya!  

I am going to go out on a limb and say that is not going to happen. 

1 minute ago, Math said:

 

Fans from Québec called it "Win a cup with Nordiques players". That hurt a lot people from Québec City because it was the first time they managed to put a terrific team on the ice after years of suckage, and then they moved and Colorado just had to pick the mature fruit from the tree.

 

But don't get me wrong: I've never been a Nordiques fan, the move itself made sense in all aspects and Marcel Aubut had no other choice to sell the team, but the timing was harsh like hell for fans here. That success started with the Lindros trade and the great work from the late Pierre Lacroix with the Roy trade on top of that.

A lot of fans around here know the history of the Nordiques, but since they left the NHL in 1995 when I was 2 years old I am not one of them. I do know one thing though is they had some really nice jerseys. My grandpa when I was young told me the whole story of how the Quebec team came to Colorado, but being a kid I really didn't want to here all of that stuff. I was more into certain players he watched. 

What do you all think I am going to predict? 

The first Stanley Cup for the Avalanche came way back in 1996. I was 3 years old and I don't remember it at all and honestly I didn't follow the team back then. 

Then they won in 2001 and I was 8 years old then and I do remember that a little, but I was more of a casual watcher of the Avs back then mostly watching with my grandpa.

This is the year for me to really live it and be in the thick of it and I plan to do just that.

The Avalanche has cruised through the playoffs this year and in my opinion that stops here with this series with Tampa. They need to wash that cruise mentality right out of their minds right now and get serious because if they don't they could be ousted from the Stanley Cup Finals really quickly by this team. I do think the Avs know that and they are prepared.

Still I believe both teams will see their toughest challenge in this playoff and it is going to be a fun series to watch and to cheer on my team. I predict the Avalanche will win this series in 7 games and win their 3rd ever Stanley Cup Championship and stop the two time champs in the Tampa Bay Lightning from getting that 3rd in a row. 

Too F-ing bad you have to go through the Colorado Avalanche this time to do it Stammer. 

The KHL better watch out how many Rubles they are throwing around to these fading players as the country is not doing so well financially. The league itself is also not doing so well with two of the teams withdrawing from the league in the Jokerit Helsinki team and the Dinamo Riga team leaving the league already. The league is going to play the 2022/23 season with 22 teams. 

Radulov is far from what he used to be as a player and possibly going over to this league and back home he will spark a bit more of what he has left in the tank. He just doesn't have any left in the tank for the NHL. 

I am going to add Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals, Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins, and the Colorado Avalanches Scott Parker to the list of great beards.

All I know is this Final is going to be epic.  Both teams will be facing their toughest tests of the playoffs and I know it is going to be fun to watch these two teams battle it out. 

1 minute ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said:

Bring on the Avalanche!

I can't wait. 

Welcome to Colorado to the Tampa Bay Lightning. They sure will be used to the weather as today it reached 100 degrees in Denver and the next several days it will be in the 90's. 

Oh wonderful a delay in play with an issue with the glass.