NHL 2008-'09 prediction thread

[gohabsgo]

- over achieving teams in the east due for a second half nose dive: Boston and Philly
- surprised a bit that Buffalo is in the hunt
- what’s up with Pittsburgh these days?

- biggest surprise in the west: Phoenix (despite money problems)
- thought Edmonton and Minny would be in the hunt

- biggest busts: Ottawa and Dallas

 

[joelcairo]

- over achieving teams in the east due for a second half nose dive: Boston and Philly
- surprised a bit that Buffalo is in the hunt
- what’s up with Pittsburgh these days?

- biggest surprise in the west: Phoenix (despite money problems)
- thought Edmonton and Minny would be in the hunt

- biggest busts: Ottawa and Dallas

The problem in Pittsburgh is the coach. In Ottawa it's the GM.

 

[Doc Holliday]

The problem in Pittsburgh is the coach. In Ottawa it's the GM.

In Pittsburgh it's also the GM since he adores the coach & refuses to fire him. In Ottawa, it's the GM & everything else.

 

[Doc Holliday]

- over achieving teams in the east due for a second half nose dive: Boston and Philly
- surprised a bit that Buffalo is in the hunt
- what’s up with Pittsburgh these days?

- biggest surprise in the west: Phoenix (despite money problems)
- thought Edmonton and Minny would be in the hunt

- biggest busts: Ottawa and Dallas

Biggest surprise to me in the overachieving deptartment are the San Jose Sharks, Washington Capitals, Boston Bruins & the Chicago Blackhawks.

Biggest disappointments are the Ottawa Senators, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Bolts & Pittsburgh Penguins.

However, the Sharks were expected to be good...but not THAT good. The Hawks have an up n' coming team, the Senators just plain suck, the Stars will improve without the Sean Avery headache around & if the owners stop meddling in Tampa, the team will improve. As for Pittsburgh, that's what happens when you give away too much in order to attract a superstar on an expiring contract, such as was the case with Marian Hossa last year. The Bruins are solid & everyone's contributing to their success, so i don't expect them to let down. They have a great coach & he won't tolerate any let-downs. The jury is still out on the Capitals, but i like the way that team loves to play hockey, and a lot of credit for that goes to the coach, former Leafs player & farmhand Bruce 'Gabby' Boudreau.

As for the Leafs, they're now just 5 spots away from last & since they won't make the playoffs, i hope they get rid of some highly paid talent & tank the season in order to have a better shot at drafting future superstar John Tavares. I still see the Isles finishing last, but who knows. By the way, word out of Tampa Bay is that Steven Stamkos is available for the right price. Could the Leafs be tempted into trading them their pick for him? Sure, it's not John Tavares.....but a year ago, everyone was saying that he had the potential to be an impact player in the mold of Sydney Crosby.

 

[master_bates]

Vinny lecavalier

Gainey is interested in trading for him now that tampa has put him on the

market. Do you want to see him come here?

I personally would love it as long as we dont give up too much young talent.

We havent had a superstar like him on the team since patrick roy.

 

[lgna69xxx]

i think Mtl fans would riot if they got Vinny....... but would the press leave him alone enuff to perform at top notch?

Gainey is interested in trading for him now that tampa has put him on the

market. Do you want to see him come here?

I personally would love it as long as we dont give up too much young talent.

We havent had a superstar like him on the team since patrick roy.

 

[Techman]

It wouldn't be worth getting him if it meant giving away our best young prospects. It might also cause discension in the room because he would be the highest paid player and would probably be made captain after Koivu leaves instead of a player who has been here for a few years and earned the respect of the team and deserves to wear the C.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Gainey is interested in trading for him now that tampa has put him on the market.

I don't know where you got your info but i've heard the total opposite. Gainey won't want Lecavalier since doing so at this time would mean he would have to part with a considerable chunk of the team's present chemistry. Tampa Bay won't want expensive players (e.g. Koivu) either so this means the Habs would have to part with quite a number of high prospects in order to get him. Plus, they'd have to clear some room to keep him within the cap space. However, the biggie in all of this is that Lecavalier's $85 million for 11 years contract kicks in next season. Would Gainey want $10 million CA of his cap space going to a single player? I doubt it. He also won't want to take on an 11 year guaranteed contract considering the uncertainty with the economy plus the fact it's quite likely the cap will go down next seasn & probably the following year also. Plus right now, he has more need for a top defenceman than he does for a centerman. He might also feel that having a french-canadian superstar might be a distraction on his team. The guy i figure Gainey is going for is defenceman Jay Bouwmeester of the Florida Panthers. It makes a lot more sense than trading for Lecavalier & will cost the Habs a lot less since Bouwmeester is presently on the final year of his contract.

 

[JustBob]

If Gainey didn't want Vinny, he would have shut the door in his press conference today. Read Bob Mckenzie's article:

http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/bob_mckenzie/?id=262987

 

[jackd1959]

- over achieving teams in the east due for a second half nose dive: Boston and Philly
- surprised a bit that Buffalo is in the hunt
- what’s up with Pittsburgh these days?

- biggest surprise in the west: Phoenix (despite money problems)
- thought Edmonton and Minny would be in the hunt

- biggest busts: Ottawa and Dallas

It never ceases to amaze me how long someone can hold a grudge...but then you said the same dribble about Philly last season and they drubbed your glorious habs 4 games to 1 in the playoffs....

Either you know very little about hockey or you to much of a homer to be realistic... I don't really care which.

 

[misunderstood]

Another surprise would be the Panthers making the playoffs.........(might happen).

 

[Doc Holliday]

Kabby to the Habs?

If Gainey didn't want Vinny, he would have shut the door in his press conference today.

Reliable sources claimed yesterday that the Habs realize they're likely not to obtain either Lecavalier or Bowmeester this year. So they've supposedly set their sights on Toronto's Tomas Kaberle. Brian Burke has already stated he won't mind trading any of his players to teams within his own division & conference. Many in the Habs' entourage are convinced Kaberle would be a good fit on the team's defence & he wouldn't cost as much as any of the players they originally coveted.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Another loss by the Habs tonight in Florida. They were outplayed once again & took a beating at the hands of Florida by a score of 5-1. What is it now? Four losses in a row i think?

Where's Go Habs Go?? I haven't seen him around here for the past few weeks. Oh yeah, that's right. He usually hides & stays low when his Habs aren't winning.

 

[lgna69xxx]

Dont ALL Band Wagon Fans do that?

Another loss by the Habs tonight in Florida. They were outplayed once again & took a beating at the hands of Florida by a score of 5-1. What is it now? Four losses in a row i think?

Where's Go Habs Go?? I haven't seen him around here for the past few weeks. Oh yeah, that's right. He usually hides & stays low when his Habs aren't winning.

 

[lgna69xxx]

as long as we get draft choices or a cpl good young players in return, good ridence, now if we can get something for kubina also, its a positive thing for sure, long term that is..

Reliable sources claimed yesterday that the Habs realize they're likely not to obtain either Lecavalier or Bowmeester this year. So they've supposedly set their sights on Toronto's Tomas Kaberle. Brian Burke has already stated he won't mind trading any of his players to teams within his own division & conference. Many in the Habs' entourage are convinced Kaberle would be a good fit on the team's defence & he wouldn't cost as much as any of the players they originally coveted.

 

[joelcairo]

Dont ALL Band Wagon Fans do that?

No, not ALL. Doc for example never hides - he just switches allegiance to another team and pretends he supported them all along.

 

[benxxx]

well here's my first post as a habs faithfull, i'll stand for my teem through thick and thin, but i'll admit that when your go to guys are a fourth liner and your oldest player: Lapierre and Lang there is cause to worry... but i'm sure things will get better starting this week-end, i'm sure we'll see Price back on top of his game... at least i hope so.

 

[joelcairo]

this team wont hate Wilson, but they will respect and more importantly, PLAY FOR HIM!!!!! thats what counts, seriously, they new full well there was no expectations this season and they also no hes a great coach and he has inspired them, hate? no, respect? YES! and with respect, there will be results, there already on pace to be the story of the season "IF" they keep playing like they are..... ive watched all but 2 games so far this yr and that includes preseason, and they are a very exciting YOUNG team, look out, there gonna surprise some ppl this year

Here's a prediction made not at the start of the current season, but at the start of the season before this one. The poster is correct in his prediction that the leafs would surprise some people - everyone knew the leafs were bad, but not everyone knew that they would get even worse in the past two years. Predictions, of course, are a dime a dozen but facts and stats conclusively prove that the leafs ended up rotting last season and have rotted even further this season. That's why it's often amusing and educational to go back and re-examine the past.

 

[Techman]

No real need to re-examine the past where the Leafs are concerned. They do so well in repeating it year after year after year... LOL

 

[Doc Holliday]

Predictions, of course, are a dime a dozen but facts and stats conclusively prove that the leafs ended up rotting last season and have rotted even further this season. That's why it's often amusing and educational to go back and re-examine the past.

It's hard to disagree with you on this one, my friend. Once again, you're absolutely correct & your insightfulness is astonishing.