CreaseAndAssist Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 On 7/13/2019 at 11:48 AM, ruxpin said: This. The Blues were NOT an example of "just get in and see what happens." I wish people would stop doing this, in part because it's not even remotely reality in terms of the Blues, but it's a way to delude oneself about one's own team. The Blues were a team built to challenge for the Cup that was, early on, betrayed by poor coaching and worse goaltending. They made those changes early enough. Granted, Biddington turned out even better than they could have hoped and they needed that kind of goaltending to dig themselves out, but competent goaltending from the start likely gets them to the same standings-finish or better. The above-average goaltending helped them in the playoffs. And it's not like they snuck in at the last moment or by their teeth. They literally finished one point out of first place in what some call the toughest division. The Blues are NOT an example of "get in and see what happens." These are the standings for the Central division from start of season to Dec. 31 and from Jan. 1 to end. Pretty much bifurcating the season. Yeah, at half-way, the Blues (crappy goaltending, lousy coaching, and sleeping Tarasenko and all!) were 18 points out of 1st, with the entire division between them. The second half, they beat the field by 15 points. And it wasn't just the goaltendings. Second in the division to only Dallas in PF. Tied 2nd in PA. Probably closer to what should have been expected on offense going in. This team was not "just get in." With the moves last summer, the Blues phaser was set to "Destroy." Let us not forget that a lot of the rest of the Central Division kind of slowed down or struggled at the same time. The Wild even had a rough patch where it didn't lose ground but eventually our opponents were going to start to win games. Minnesota didn't and it fell to the bottom of the division...which is probably where they'll be...batting it out with Chicago for last place in the Central. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 On 7/16/2019 at 9:01 AM, Villette/Lavaux said: Even NHL.com uses sarcasm in their team reset articles. They wrote "key substractions", "Bitetto" and "Åberg" in the same sentence. Hahahaha...not that I want Aberg anymore, but he was far less counter productive than Bitetto. Bitetto helped the opposition on any shift he took. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 In case anyone missed it...The Hockey News' latest issue had the Wild picked as one of 3 teams to be named a LOSER in NHL Free Agency because they felt the Zuccarello signing was counterproductive and not impactful enough to justify the deal they gave him. Not that many here would disagree but I just thought I'd pile on just a little more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynxrattle Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 1 hour ago, CreaseAndAssist said: In case anyone missed it...The Hockey News' latest issue had the Wild picked as one of 3 teams to be named a LOSER in NHL Free Agency because they felt the Zuccarello signing was counterproductive and not impactful enough to justify the deal they gave him. Not that many here would disagree but I just thought I'd pile on just a little more. I think Sportsnet or TSN made the same conclusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted July 26, 2019 Author Share Posted July 26, 2019 1 hour ago, lynxrattle said: I think Sportsnet or TSN made the same conclusion. As they should. This team will be a bottom feeder and probably for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllaZilla Posted July 26, 2019 Share Posted July 26, 2019 3 hours ago, CreaseAndAssist said: As they should. This team will be a bottom feeder and probably for a while. My biggest fear with this team is that they are not a bottom feeder, but continue on as a might/might not make the Playoffs team. At least if they were a bottom feeder we might be able to look forward to a top five pick. If they continue on as they have, they get bounced in the first round or just miss it, and then get a 15-20 pick, which might get them a good player, but not a great player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CreaseAndAssist Posted July 27, 2019 Author Share Posted July 27, 2019 14 hours ago, IllaZilla said: My biggest fear with this team is that they are not a bottom feeder, but continue on as a might/might not make the Playoffs team. At least if they were a bottom feeder we might be able to look forward to a top five pick. If they continue on as they have, they get bounced in the first round or just miss it, and then get a 15-20 pick, which might get them a good player, but not a great player. That's a fair fear. Just a mediocre club that isn't bad enough for a lottery pick but still no where really near the playoffs. Yea, that is a miserable place to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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