2010-11 NHL Season Thread

[IceCap]

I hope the Caps face as much adversity as possible in the regular season. They had no idea what to do when they were down vs Montreal last year. I hope Tampa and Atlanta have improved, but we'll see.

Have the Caps improved on defence? If not it'll be the same song and dance this post-season. Well that and Ovie needs to get over his habit of chocking in high profile games.

[BrySmalls]

Eastern Conference:

1. Pittsburgh
   
2. Washington
   
3. Buffalo
   
4. Philadelphia
   
5. New Jersey
   
6. Tampa Bay
   
7. Boston
   
8. Carolina
   ------------
   
9. Ottawa
   
10. Montreal
    
11. New York Rangers
    
12. Toronto
    
13. New York Islanders
    
14. Atlanta
    
15. Florida
    

Western Conference:

1. Chicago
   
2. Vancouver
   
3. San Jose
   
4. Detroit
   
5. Los Angeles
   
6. Calgary
   
7. Phoenix
   
8. St. Louis
   ------------
   
9. Colorado
   
10. Anaheim
    
11. Columbus
    
12. Nashville
    
13. Minnesota
    
14. Dallas
    
15. Edmonton
    

Quarterfinals:

Pittsburgh over Carolina

Boston over Washington

Tampa Bay over Buffalo

Philadelphia over New Jersey

-----------------------------

Chicago over St. Louis

Phoenix over Vancouver

Calgary over San Jose

Los Angeles over Detroit

Semifinals:

Pittsburgh over Boston

Philadelphia over Tampa Bay

-----------------------------

Phoenix over Chicago

Los Angeles over Calgary

Conference Finals:

Pittsburgh over Philadelphia

-----------------------------

Los Angeles over Phoenix

Stanley Cup Final:

Pittsburgh over Los Angeles

[JQK]

Sean Avery is a pu*sy. The End.

[Don]

I hope the Caps face as much adversity as possible in the regular season. They had no idea what to do when they were down vs Montreal last year. I hope Tampa and Atlanta have improved, but we'll see.

Have the Caps improved on defence? If not it'll be the same song and dance this post-season. Well that and Ovie needs to get over his habit of chocking in high profile games.

We've gotten younger, but I'd say we've improved on D. John Carlson and Karl Alzner who are absolute studs replace Shaone Morrisonn and Joe Corvo. Could we add one more physical d-man? Absolutely, and its not like they didnt try as they were in on Willie Mitchell right to the end. To me defense didn't really kill us in the playoffs though, we honestly were just not tough to play against. As for Ovie, he had 10 pts in the 7 games vs Montreal, so it wasn't all on Ovie, and most of the time it isn't. Guys like Fleischmann and Semin need to show up as well.

Big question for me is down the middle. Most of the good teams in the league are strong down the middle and honestly unless some young guys like Mathieu Perreault or Marcus Johansson step up, it'll be Tomas Fleischmann as the 2nd line center and frankly its not good enough if we want to be taken seriously as a Cup contender. Never know what will happen at the deadline though.

Alot of people will question the goaltending but that doesnt bother me as much, Michal Neuvirth and Semyon Varlamov are young, but they both know how to win. Having them split time does not worry me.

Coaching could really improve as well. Its really hard for me to say this after we won a Presidents Trophy, but it honestly looked like we were completely unprepared for what hit us in the playoffs, and there were no adjustments made by the coaching staff to adjust to the way Montreal played us. We kept pounding it at the net from out wide making life easy for Halak, and there was no answer when that didnt work, its like the coaching staff just shrugged their shoulders and said "oh well, just keep pounding away boys, maybe he'll get a hole in him" or something.

[ElwoodCuse]

Coaching could really improve as well. Its really hard for me to say this after we won a Presidents Trophy, but it honestly looked like we were completely unprepared for what hit us in the playoffs, and there were no adjustments made by the coaching staff to adjust to the way Montreal played us. We kept pounding it at the net from out wide making life easy for Halak, and there was no answer when that didnt work, its like the coaching staff just shrugged their shoulders and said "oh well, just keep pounding away boys, maybe he'll get a hole in him" or something.

ding ding ding ding

Bruce Boudreau should be a lot cooler for having been in Slap Shot. But he's a whiny baby who can't put a talented team over the top.

[ElwoodCuse]

Coaching could really improve as well. Its really hard for me to say this after we won a Presidents Trophy, but it honestly looked like we were completely unprepared for what hit us in the playoffs, and there were no adjustments made by the coaching staff to adjust to the way Montreal played us. We kept pounding it at the net from out wide making life easy for Halak, and there was no answer when that didnt work, its like the coaching staff just shrugged their shoulders and said "oh well, just keep pounding away boys, maybe he'll get a hole in him" or something.

ding ding ding ding

Bruce Boudreau should be a lot cooler for having been in Slap Shot. But he's a whiny baby who can't put a talented team over the top.

[dfwabel]

With the CBA having a loophole, what would you do if you were Wade Redden?

From the story (dated 9/27):

When Wade Redden clears waivers early Monday afternoon, he?ll be faced with a wrenching, career-altering decision and his employers will essentially be let off scot-free.

Redden will be forced to make a choice between basically burying himself in the minors or Europe for the rest of his career or turning his back on $23 million in guaranteed money for a chance to play in the NHL again for much, much less.

[NJTank]

With the CBA having a loophole, what would you do if you were Wade Redden?

From the story (dated 9/27):

When Wade Redden clears waivers early Monday afternoon, he?ll be faced with a wrenching, career-altering decision and his employers will essentially be let off scot-free.

Redden will be forced to make a choice between basically burying himself in the minors or Europe for the rest of his career or turning his back on $23 million in guaranteed money for a chance to play in the NHL again for much, much less.

No wonder they got Donald Fehr

[Eye]

Sean Avery is a pu*sy. The End.

I bet if he was a Devil, he'd be a tough, gritty lil' guy, right?

[charger77]

In a surprise to nobody Jose Theodore joins the Wild.

[Don]

Good for him. I'm glad hes on his feet in the NHL. Theodore is a class act all the way.

[NEW.ERA]

I'm not sure if anyone outside of Alberta has heard, but T.J. Brodie is building off of a strong junior season and is having himself a hell of a preseason. Maybe the youth movement in Calgary is better then previously thought.

[NJTank]

Sean Avery is a pu*sy. The End.

I bet if he was a Devil, he'd be a tough, gritty lil' guy, right?

Actually the Devils would never sign a coward like Sean Avery.

[TFoA]

Sean Avery is a pu*sy. The End.

I bet if he was a Devil, he'd be a tough, gritty lil' guy, right?

No, he's basically known for being a giant douche. Even the fans of the team he plays for will tell you that. That's basically his role on the team: Massive Douchebag.

[Eye]

Sean Avery is a pu*sy. The End.

I bet if he was a Devil, he'd be a tough, gritty lil' guy, right?

No, he's basically known for being a giant douche. Even the fans of the team he plays for will tell you that. That's basically his role on the team: Massive Douchebag.

Well of course he is known for that, but fans wrongly justify things just because certain guys play for the team they like.

[Don]

Sean Avery is a pu*sy. The End.

I bet if he was a Devil, he'd be a tough, gritty lil' guy, right?

Actually the Devils would never sign a coward like Sean Avery.

They did, however, have Claude Lemieux.

[charger77]

And he took the Conn Smythe while helping them win The Cup on two seperate occassions.

[Don]

Dont get me wrong, Claude was a great player, but he was in the same mold as Avery on the ice.

[CGYfan]

My predictions for this season

West

1. San Jose

2. Vancouver

3. Chicago

4. LA

5. St. Louis

6. Nashville

7. Colorado

8. Calgary

9. Detroit

10. Edmonton

11. Phoenix

12. Dallas

13. Columbus

14. Minnesota

15. Anaheim

East

1. Washington

2. Pittsburgh

3. Boston

4. Philadelphia

5. Buffalo

6. Tampa Bay

7. Ottawa

8. New Jersey

9. Montreal

10. Carolina

11. Atlanta

12. NY Rangers

13. Toronto

14. NY Islanders

15. Florida

Stanley Cup - Washington over LA

Hart - Alex Ovechkin

Richard - Steve Stamkos

Art Ross - Alex Ovechkin

Norris - Drew Doughty

Vezina - Tuukka Rask

Selke - Ryan Kesler

Adams - Guy Boucher

Calder - Jordan Eberle

[NJTank]

Dont get me wrong, Claude was a great player, but he was in the same mold as Avery on the ice.

Not even close. Avery is just a flat out punk who barely has any hockey skill. Lemieux was a solid player who raised him game in the playoffs and had the ability to skate and score. Just look at what he did in the 1995 playoffs. Lemieux also had some leadership abilities and helped his teammates. Avery is even despised by his own team.