2015-2016 NHL Discussion Thread

Thoughts on Kings getting Lucic?

It's old news, but i'm a huge kings fan.

And i think that trade is exactly what they needed.

But i do also think their goalie (Jonathan Quick) is very overrated..

 

Eh. Yet to pay off. Kings need more depth scoring imo, and they need consistency, rather than going on a 5 loss streak than an 8 win streak to barely squeak into the playoffs lol..

 

Speaking of streaky teams, how bout them Rangers..

Fuck Zuccarello, that tying goal with 1 min left was bullshit (actually completely legit but damn does the Leafs D really fall apart in situations when it matters )

 

Not sure I'd say streaky when it comes to them; however, I haven't really been following them haha. And it's the maple laughs, what do you expect

They don't have much of a team, and they're facing a serious stanley cup contender built to win in every facet. Two goaltenders: one of which is proved to be elite, and the other is proving to be elite. A lot of talent up front with very balanced scoring and depth scoring. And to make it better, a very solid defense that, again, contributes in a balanced manner.

 

Lets go redwings!!!!

 

Predators will win it this season, mark my words boys

 

Gotta get Datsyuk going first

Maybe, maybe not. Many analysts predict they'll be in 3rd or 4th in a packed Central Division, which wouldn't surprise me. I don't think they have a winning pedigree for this year. They'll be hard pressed.

 

Im going to assume you are a bandwagon Kings fan. If you had any hockey sense you would know Jonathan Quick is a top 3 goalie in the entire world. Come playoff time there is no goalie id want more between the pipes. He is the sole reason the kings won 2 stanley cups. He stood on his head game in and game out. The man was injured all of last year fyi.

edit: The lucic trade was a horrible deal. 5m a year for 12-15 goals maybe? His fighting is down and his intensity is gone.

 

I'm sorry hattez, but your assumption is wrong.

Growing up my dad gave me his Sega Genesis when i was 4ish, had the game NHL Hockey for it. On the cover was Kelly Hrudey from the LA kings which you probably don't even know who that is.. After that i just would always play as the kings in every NHL. Eventually i started watching the games once i got cable. And i know plenty about Jonathan Quick, I would go to his Reading Royals game all the time because i lived right there. He isn't the best.

And if you saw the game yesterday lucic scored for them to go to over time and win the game.

But hey man, I'm sure the teams you like are probably the Rangers or Black Hawks so i wont judge you man.

Just you should stop your shitty assumptions fat man :love:

 

Back on track and taking the personal attacks out of the equation, how does everyone feel about the Dallas Stars? They're off to quite the start, but is it sustainable?

 

Ya Quick definitely carried the team and made clutch saves so many times throughout those runs. Off the top of my head, I can only think of Price and Lundqvist who is on his level - Crawford only looks good because of the D in front of him.

Don't think there's anything wrong with bandwagon fans though it's how teams get new fans from their success lol

Don't see why it isn't, although in the Central division I wouldn't count anyone out. Way I see it that there's 5 contenders and 2 outside shots - a good run from any team now will shake things up there a lot because it's just so close, even with the stars on top.

 

5 contenders? Give me your list, curious to see who you think has a shot ^-^

 

Contenders for playoff spots, mb

And they're Stars, Blues, Preds, Hawks and Wild, although honestly I see all of them except for the Wild being SC contenders as well.

 

You only named teams in the central division, but alright lol. Here are my thoughts on each of those teams, and the 5 teams that I think have a shot in the Western Conference

Stars - After a couple years of needing that extra oomph to propel them to that next level, they've finally got it. Klingberg has become into an all star defensemen, Oduya is helping stabilize the back end, Niemi and Lehtonen are working together to provide solid goaltending, and the deep talented forwards are just pounding pucks home. Will be interesting to watch as the season winds down and how they hold up. Also injuries.

Blues - Same as the past few years. They'll do well but choke in the playoffs

Preds - Not enough experience. 2nd round maybe, but they'll be eliminated. A couple years from now with a couple veteran players and they'll be a scary team for sure.

Hawks - Don't even really need to comment, obviously

Wild - I think they could contend. They have Dubnyk, who can certainly go on another run as he did last year. They have an all star player in Parise, once he is back. Suter is looking to be more of the defenseman he was a couple years ago when he competed (and possibly even won?) the Norris Trophy. They have some kinks to work out, but they have a shot at it.

I also think these teams have a shot:

Kings - After a long rest, I see them getting back into the playoffs and going on another tear. Carter is wreaking havoc on the ice, Lucic is.. ok. Once they get Kopitar and Doughty going they'll be in good shape.

 

Sharks 6-0-0 on their road trip :love: always good to see the homeboys pull together a solid road trip. Anybody else's team doing well ?

 

Leafs are 5-2-3 in their L10! Still a far bit out of the playoffs but we're looking better every day.

They're in a bad position right now I'd say lol. Not high enough to make playoffs and not low enough for a good pick, gotta make a decision soon

 

Yeah. Depending how they're doing mid season, if they're still far out of the playoff picture, I'd say start doing poorly in hopes of a good draft pick

 

My Oilers so far have a garbo record, but we keep losing games by one goal. We're not getting outplayed nearly as bad as last year. We competed great against Chicago and Washington and blew out NJ in our last three games. We just embarked on a 5 game road trip. Lost the first game to Washington, now we play some teams I think we should do well against. I'm feeling 3/5 this road trip, with our only loss against Pittsburgh.

Interesting how the Leafs are exceeding expectations. They've also beaten the Stars twice and Nashville. Not bad.

Also: Washington wins the cup this year. Ovies first. Book it.

 

Watching the Oilers this year, they definitely have more step in their game. I forget exactly who said it, but it was along the lines of "when we are scored against and go down 1-0 or something, it's not 'here we go again' it's 'let's go back out there and get one for us'" or something like that. They're starting to put together a very solid offensive roster. If they can shore up some defensive issues with some trades or some new talent, they'll quickly start turning into a top half team.

And Washington... idk.. Are they a playoff team? Yeah. Are they a cup contender? Yeah. Are they a very serious cup contender? I'm not so sure. Although with Kuznetsov playing well, Oshie added to the mix, and a solid Braden Holtby, I think they may have a shot at it. I think it'd be a bit of a stretch to say they will win it though.

 

Yeah, it's like they're down but they still have spring in their stride and are still fighting. Will get even better when Mcjesus is back

Honestly I'd hold off on any predictions - atm the caps don't look like a serious contender but it's hard to judge when we're only a quarter into the season. A lot can change in that time, I'd still say even now all teams are still in it, the playoff race i mean