2023 Stanley Cup Finals: Florida vs Vegas

[klos1963]

6 minutes ago, OverPowerYou said:

Let this sink in

The Sabres tanked for 2 years in a row in 2013 and 2014 and got the #1 and #2 overall picks. Those players are now playing against  each other in the final round of the Stanley cup finals. 

Here's the best part. One of the teams is an expansion team from 2019, which has made the finals twice already in 4 years. 

One of these two franchises will also win it all for the first time. Meanwhile buffalo hasn't done squat since 2007. 

But hey,  we almost finally made the playoffs this season. 

[DarthEbriate]

16 minutes ago, OverPowerYou said:

Let this sink in

The Sabres tanked for 2 years in a row in 2013 and 2014 and got the #1 and #2 overall picks. Those players are now playing against  each other in the final round of the Stanley cup finals. 

Here's the best part. One of the teams is an expansion team from 2019, which has made the finals twice already in 4 years. 

One of these two franchises will also win it all for the first time. Meanwhile buffalo hasn't done squat since 2007. 

Sabres' leadership said there would be suffering and they weren't lying.

[That Aud Smell]

6 hours ago, MattPie said:

 

Really looks like the NBA schedules to finals 2-3 days after the last possible conference final game ahead of time based on the spread of dates,

Thanks for digging into it. My sense is that, in recent times, the start date for the NBA finals is set once the playoffs start. Shoot - it might be set once the regular season schedule is released. 

Same goes for the NHL.

[MattPie]

1 hour ago, That Aud Smell said:

Thanks for digging into it. My sense is that, in recent times, the start date for the NBA finals is set once the playoffs start. Shoot - it might be set once the regular season schedule is released. 

Same goes for the NHL.

NP.

It might be. In terms of TV and partners, I'm sure they love being able to schedule things well head of time. Might just be my perspective, but spectator sports aren't the "drop everything and watch" events they used to be, so it's possible the people surrounding the leagues are less willing to throw everything into chaos based on the the outcomes of games; they want things more solid for marketing and scheduling.

[Doohicksie]

10 hours ago, OverPowerYou said:

Let this sink in

The Sabres tanked for 2 years in a row in 2013 and 2014 and got the #1 and #2 overall picks. Those players are now playing against  each other in the final round of the Stanley cup finals. 

Here's the best part. One of the teams is an expansion team from 2019, which has made the finals twice already in 4 years. 

One of these two franchises will also win it all for the first time. Meanwhile buffalo hasn't done squat since 2007. 

Actually they were both #2 picks.

[Doohicksie]

10 hours ago, klos1963 said:

But hey,  we almost finally made the playoffs this season. 

I'm willing to go with the Kevyn plan for now, and for each season they get better and deeper into the playoffs.  If it tops out or stalls then maybe it will be time for a front office/coaching change, but I'd rather see steady, incremental improvement than the gallant race to 9th place *every* season.

[Pimlach]

11 hours ago, OverPowerYou said:

Let this sink in

The Sabres tanked for 2 years in a row in 2013 and 2014 and got the #1 and #2 overall picks. Those players are now playing against  each other in the final round of the Stanley cup finals. 

Here's the best part. One of the teams is an expansion team from 2019, which has made the finals twice already in 4 years. 

One of these two franchises will also win it all for the first time. Meanwhile buffalo hasn't done squat since 2007. 

They were both second overall, not that it matters.  

[That Aud Smell]

11 hours ago, OverPowerYou said:

The Sabres tanked ... in 2013 and ... and got the #1 ... overall pick[]

Holy spit - the Sabres have McDavid?!

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

On 5/29/2023 at 9:56 PM, Thorny said:

Florida vs Vegas

 

[French Collection]

Florida

 

Vegas

 

Edited June 1, 2023 by French Collection

[Hawerchuk]

18 hours ago, OverPowerYou said:

Here's the best part. One of the teams is an expansion team from 2019, which has made the finals twice already in 4 years. 

One of these two franchises will also win it all for the first time. Meanwhile buffalo hasn't done squat since 2007. 

2017 not 2019 and 6 years not 4.

Meanwhile the Sabres... 53 years and counting😠(yeah i know, '75 and '99). The hockey gods hate us!

Edited June 1, 2023 by Hawerchuk

[Taro T]

5 hours ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said:

 

 

Five?  Looks like nine from this vantage point.  😉

[LTS]

The OMB is often the source of these "areas" because of census and other reasons: https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2016/beyond-bls/pdf/analyzing-omb-classification-of-regions-three-case-studies.pdf

Enjoy!  We also use them for statistics in our network footprint coverage, etc.

Go Florida... all the way.  Still not watching.

[klos1963]

11 hours ago, Doohickie said:

I'm willing to go with the Kevyn plan for now, and for each season they get better and deeper into the playoffs.  If it tops out or stalls then maybe it will be time for a front office/coaching change, but I'd rather see steady, incremental improvement than the gallant race to 9th place *every* season.

I agree, i'm actually fairly optimistic about the future and I'm pretty pleased with Adams.

[Doohicksie]

3 minutes ago, klos1963 said:

I agree, i'm actually fairly optimistic about the future and I'm pretty pleased with Adams.

I have some perspective:  I lived in Detroit from 1991-97.  I hadn't followed hockey in 10 years and started following the Red Wings as my primary team.  It was frustrating as hell, but they built it right and when it blossomed they were dominant for quite a long while.  This build that Adams is doing feels similar.  People are frustrated just like they were in Detroit, but I feel like we're the 1994 Red Wings.  The best years are just ahead.

[PromoTheRobot]

3 hours ago, Hawerchuk said:

2017 not 2019 and 6 years not 4.

Meanwhile the Sabres... 53 years and counting😠(yeah i know, '75 and '99). The hockey gods hate us!

There's a wide gulf between how they used to stock expansion teams, and how they stock them now.

[Taro T]

51 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

I have some perspective:  I lived in Detroit from 1991-97.  I hadn't followed hockey in 10 years and started following the Red Wings as my primary team.  It was frustrating as hell, but they built it right and when it blossomed they were dominant for quite a long while.  This build that Adams is doing feels similar.  People are frustrated just like they were in Detroit, but I feel like we're the 1994 Red Wings.  The best years are just ahead.

How friggin' frustrating could it have been?  They were in the Finals 4 yeers after you moved there and started winning them in droves 2 years later.

[K-9]

4 hours ago, Taro T said:

 

Five?  Looks like nine from this vantage point.  😉

I like all 18 of them.

[#freejame]

Great read on Montour in the athletic today. Love seeing more analytics on skating.

 https://theathletic.com/4571543/2023/06/02/brandon-montour-panthers-nhl-playoffs/?source=user_shared_article
 

[Doohicksie]

13 hours ago, Taro T said:

How friggin' frustrating could it have been?  They were in the Finals 4 yeers after you moved there and started winning them in droves 2 years later.

Yzerman was drafted in 1983.  I'm not talking about *my* frustration.  I was talking about the general fan base.

[French Collection]

49 minutes ago, Doohickie said:

Yzerman was drafted in 1983.  I'm not talking about *my* frustration.  I was talking about the general fan base.

I imagine there were days Stevie Y wanted out. He stuck it out revamped his game and led them through some great years.

I always liked him, glad he is back there. The Sabres might meet them in a few playoffs in the near future. I like our core and prospects way more but Stevie Y knows how to win, I give him a lot of the credit for building Tampa’s team.

[The Jokeman]

On 5/30/2023 at 6:48 AM, Claude Balls said:

So does winning. He was miserable last year when they didn't make the playoffs. 

To think Eichel may win a cup before McDavid is mind numbing to me. Oiler fans can't be very happy. 

Most of the NHL should be unhappy, as these expansion teams are doing far better than I would like. As to me I want expansion teams to struggle or be bottom feeders for at least 3-4 seasons. Yet here we are with teams like the Knights and Kraken making the playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals within years of starting up. 

[That Aud Smell]

44 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

Most of the NHL should be unhappy, as these expansion teams are doing far better than I would like. As to me I want expansion teams to struggle or be bottom feeders for at least 3-4 seasons. Yet here we are with teams like the Knights and Kraken making the playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals within years of starting up. 

Not sure whom you mean to encompass by "[m]ost of the NHL," but be assured that this is precisely the deal the owners intended to make: Get a significant premium on franchise expansion fees in exchange for the expansion teams' having a good chance of immediately being competitive. The successes of Seattle and Las Vegas have been by design.

[Marvin]

58 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

Most of the NHL should be unhappy, as these expansion teams are doing far better than I would like. As to me I want expansion teams to struggle or be bottom feeders for at least 3-4 seasons. Yet here we are with teams like the Knights and Kraken making the playoffs and the Stanley Cup Finals within years of starting up. 

Aside from the deals that the owners made to get such ridiculous expansion fees, I think the league was spooked by the failure of Atlanta and the continuing problems in Columbus.  Thus, they wanted Las Vegas and Seattle to be competitive right out of the gate.  No one expected Las Vegas to be this good this fast.

For some historical perspective, teams with good GMs who did not get embarrassingly unfavourable expansion rules made it to the playoffs before too long.  The Atlanta Flames made the playoffs in their 2nd season.  The Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, San Jose Sharks, Florida Panthers, and Minnesota Wild made the playoffs in their 3rd season.  The Vancouver Canucks, Anaheim Ducks, and Tampa Bay Lightning all made it in their 4th season.  Moreover, most of these teams were not 1 season wonders.  In the cases of the Flames, Sabres, and Islanders, their first playoff teams were strong teams in the upper half of the league.  To quote Paul Weiland with 43 seconds left in the "Thank you, Sabres" game, "...I think we have the beginnings here in Buffalo, of a real, bona fide Stanley Cup contender.  In fact, they were this year; they are this year, no matter what happens in the next 43 seconds.  They are one of the best clubs in the National Hockey League..."  88 points in 78 games, 8th out of 16 in the league, and 61 points in 39 home games buttress his claims.

Edited June 2, 2023 by Marvin

[The Jokeman]

52 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Not sure whom you mean to encompass by "[m]ost of the NHL," but be assured that this is precisely the deal the owners intended to make: Get a significant premium on franchise expansion fees in exchange for the expansion teams' having a good chance of immediately being competitive. The successes of Seattle and Las Vegas have been by design.

I suppose but it just irks me that expansion teams come in with a complete clean slate as to me it's far easier in a salary cap driven league to start at zero then rebuild on previously failed attempts (see Sabres rebuild as example). So I'm a disgruntled far that these new teams can be good right out of the bat meanwhile I have to endure what feels like a constant rebuild that's been going on since we lost Drury, Briere and Miller.