The 2013 NHL Season Thread

[riki]

The San Jose Sharks and the Toronto Maple Leafs will be the playoff teams most affected by the "shootout win is equal to a regulation win" travesty:

-The Sharks have a losing regulation/OT record !

"SOW = 2 pts" record: 25-15-7

"W+OTW - L+OTL - SOW+SOL" ("Playoff Record") record: 17-18-12

-The Maple Leafs would be in first place in their division if Shootout Wins did not count as 2 points, Boston would be in 3rd, a Montreal win and a Toronto loss (in regulation or OT, of course) in their last games would tie the two teams.

I'll post my year-long project "'Playoff Record' Win Percentage + Average 'Playoff Record' Win Percentage of Opponents" after the BOS-OTT game tomorrow. Fewer surprises than expected during the year of tracking the data; things have started to mesh, right now, both conferences differ by only 11% from the "cumulative (2-2-2-1-1-0) point system."

Florida is more awful than Pittsburgh is boss.

Why must SOW be worth anything more than a point?

[Nyk33]

I was just looking at the Eastern Conference standings and noticed that Washington is in 3rd with only 55 points.

If the Capitals were to maintain third place but played a sixth place team with more points than the, who would get home field advantage? The team with the higher seeding or the team with more points?

I am a new fan so I still do not know much yet.

[charger77]

The seed gets home ice, not the record.

[NEW.ERA]

I was just looking at the Eastern Conference standings and noticed that Washington is in 3rd with only 55 points.

If the Capitals were to maintain third place but played a sixth place team with more points than the, who would get home field advantage? The team with the higher seeding or the team with more points?

I am a new fan so I still do not know much yet.

Capitals would. All division champs get home ice in the first round.

It's stupid, but you know it's the NHL.

[Still MIGHTY]

Caps would still have home ice.

[Kramerica Industries]

It's like the complete opposite of the NBA, which has a seedings system that holds zero relevance under certain circumstances.

I mean, right here, we're seeing the likelihood of 6th seeded Ottawa having more points but having to travel to D.C. to face the 3rd seeded Caps, because the seeding is most important here, but if the Grizzlies had won one more game than the Clippers in the NBA, then the Clippers, despite being a #4 seed, would've had to go Memphis to face a #5 seed.

It was really bad last year when 38-win Florida was hosting a 102 point New Jersey team. Stuff like that should never happen and, thankfully, will never happen again starting in 2013-14.

[Nyk33]

It's like the complete opposite of the NBA, which has a seedings system that holds zero relevance under certain circumstances.

I mean, right here, we're seeing the likelihood of 6th seeded Ottawa having more points but having to travel to D.C. to face the 3rd seeded Caps, because the seeding is most important here, but if the Grizzlies had won one more game than the Clippers in the NBA, then the Clippers, despite being a #4 seed, would've had to go Memphis to face a #5 seed.

It was really bad last year when 38-win Florida was hosting a 102 point New Jersey team. Stuff like that should never happen and, thankfully, will never happen again starting in 2013-14.

To be quite honest I am against division winners getting guaranteed spots in both sports.

It makes things more complicated than it needs to be and doesn't allow the standings to truly represent the comparative skills of each team. It is also completely unnecessary as I have never seen a division winner so bad that they would not have been able to make the playoffs on their own.

[rams80]

It's like the complete opposite of the NBA, which has a seedings system that holds zero relevance under certain circumstances.

I mean, right here, we're seeing the likelihood of 6th seeded Ottawa having more points but having to travel to D.C. to face the 3rd seeded Caps, because the seeding is most important here, but if the Grizzlies had won one more game than the Clippers in the NBA, then the Clippers, despite being a #4 seed, would've had to go Memphis to face a #5 seed.

It was really bad last year when 38-win Florida was hosting a 102 point New Jersey team. Stuff like that should never happen and, thankfully, will never happen again starting in 2013-14.

To be quite honest I am against division winners getting guaranteed spots in both sports.

It makes things more complicated than it needs to be and doesn't allow the standings to truly represent the comparative skills of each team. It is also completely unnecessary as I have never seen a division winner so bad that they would not have been able to make the playoffs on their own.

In most (all?) sports the scheduling is unbalanced to emphasize the number of games you play against teams in your division. Based on that, I'm fine with guaranteeing a playoff spot to the division champion.

[The_Admiral]

We Jets fans appreciate your support. We have three big-ticket RFA's coming due (Wheeler, Little, Bogo) and a ton of UFA's that can be released into the wild, so we'll see what happens next year.

I always like what I see from Wheeler. Little had a down year but seemed strong last year; maybe that helps to retain him.

The problem with the Jets to me is that they don't feel like they have a cohesive long-term plan. I don't feel like there's a genuine core supplemented by strong organizational role-players. The only player with a truly elite ceiling seems to be Evander Kane. You look at the roster and there are plugs everywhere: Meech, Miettinen, Santorelli, Wellwood, all guys who will never be part of the team when it contends. Even Jokinen is in some sense a plug. That's fine in part, but the point is to fill the roster spot while superior players are coming up through the ranks. Where are they?

I realize it's not entirely their fault: The Thrashers and Wolves did a terrible job developing players and left the cupboard pretty bare. Getting Ladd and Byfuglien cost them 2nd rounders from 2009 and 2011, and those could have become the good organizational soldiers they need right now. 2011 was a weak draft for them and it's too early to say what 2012 was. This will be the first year that the Jets will get to draft in volume in the first three rounds thanks to the Oduya trade; the Blackhawks giveth and the Blackhawks taketh away.

Maybe that will help a great deal, but I think the reality of this team is that they have to build it virtually from scratch. They can keep doing this thing where they duct-tape-and-chewing-gum their way into finishing 8th or 9th to break open that piggy bank of playoff revenue, but every year they do that and finish 9th will just set them further and further back. I suspect that there's a lot of fear and pride involved with this, both in not wanting to crap all over the ice for a year for their high-paying fans and risking that revenue, but also a sense that True North as a hockey organization has always tried to put forth the best product from the AHL days to today, which is admirable but runs at cross-purposes with the reality of a team that needs elite cornerstones and a great number of very good cost-controlled players. They inherited a bad organization in a bad situation. That's probably part of why it only cost $110 million (plus the $60 million Gary Bettman fee).

[BLUELANDbeliever]

In essence, the Jets' roster is pretty much the same as any other year.

[NEW.ERA]

In essence, the Jets' roster is pretty much the same as any other year.

And it will change. It has to.

Give it up, guys.

[BLUELANDbeliever]

In essence, the Jets' roster is pretty much the same as any other year.

And it will change. It has too.

Give it up, guys.

Oh no doubt it will, Jets fans just need to be patient. I don't think they fully understand how badly put together the system they have is. It doesn't happen overnight. The fact they made it this far is a promising tell tale for the future.

[Funky Bunky]

Luckily for the Jets, they still have a bunch of young players who have yet to meet their potential. If some of those players can start to show some of that potential that got them drafted in the top 10, they could end up being a good team.

Looking over some previous drafts, some damn good players got picked directly after a Thrahser/Jet pick. OEL, Pietrangelo, Fowler, Couturier, and Hamilton could all be Jets right now.

[DaRadniz29]

I'm surprised at how the Beej have a good chance of making the playoffs.

If they get a point, they need Minny to lose in regulation (which is looking likely now)

If they win, the need a Minnesota loss in any fashion and/or a Detroit regulation loss.

I don't think they should lose against Nashville, I'll be glad they won't be playing far in the west because I'm watching every one of their playoff games.

Unless they do finish in 6th or 7th and play the Canucks or Ducks

Minnesota is going to show up angry, so the Avalanche will be ready and they should be as it's a Colorado home game, but it should be a good game, not saying the Wild will lose, but I don't expect them to lose like they did against the Oilers last night.

Actually, Columbus cannot finish 6th. The best they can do is finish in 7th. Also loss to Oilers removed any chance the Wild can finish 6th.

Basically: The top three are set in the Western Conference. The Blues, Sharks, and Kings are battling for the 4-5-6 spots. Leaving the Wings, Wild and Jackets to battle for 7-8 with the odd team out in 9th.

[njmeadowlanders]

Rangers avoid Pittsburgh. Phew.

Now have to hope it breaks where they can avoid Montreal too.

[Funky Bunky]

Let's go Jackets!

[Kramerica Industries]

Rangers avoid Pittsburgh. Phew.

Now have to hope it breaks where they can avoid Montreal too.

Gotta think it will. Boston should manage to nab the Northeast Division. And New York matches up very well with Boston, if the past two seasons are any indication (5-2, including 3-1 at the Garden).

[BLUELANDbeliever]

ALL ABOARD

[The_Admiral]

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS SCRATCHES

DAVE BOLLAND

ADAM CLENDENING

RAY EMERY

MICHAL HANDZUS

NIKLAS HJALMARSSON

MARIAN HOSSA

PATRICK KANE

HENRIK KARLSSON

DUNCAN KEITH

MARCUS KRUGER

STEVE MONTADOR

BRANDON SAAD

PATRICK SHARP

VIKTOR STALBERG

JONATHAN TOEWS

It's all yours, guys!

[BLUELANDbeliever]

LOL http://blackhawks.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=88715