VIC_CITY Posted November 5, 2015 Share Posted November 5, 2015 I remember when the NHL’s whole division structure changed. I thought how the hell are we going to make the playoffs with LA, SJ and Anaheim all in the same division? Plus those Oilers are bound to break out soon! Oh how things have changed (or stayed the same in Edmonton’s case). I know we still have the majority of the season to play, but I can’t help but notice the way the Central is shaping up. A lot could change between now and the spring but with the way things are looking, the Central is going to be one hell of a dog fight. So what does that mean for Vancouver? Well, if I was a betting man, I’d say that the chances of us grabbing a 7/8 seed could be pretty slim. At this point, only one team in the Central (Colorado) is under 500 and the defending Stanley Cup champs are sitting in 6th…check that…SIXTH PLACE in their division. Then you take a look at the Pacific division, where only two teams have records better than 500 and one of them (our Vancouver Canucks) owe a big thank you to everyone’s favorite “loser point”. You’d have to think the divisions will somewhat balance out as the season continues. Calgary and Anaheim are far from last place teams. Heading into this season, Anaheim was considered a Stanley Cup favorite and after the year that Calgary had last year, plus the addition of Dougie Hamilton, they weren’t that far behind. In the Central division, we know Dallas has top end offensive punch but can their defense and goaltending keep this up? Can Winnipeg continue to build off last year and earn a playoff spot in 2016? In Minnesota, was Devin Dubnyk’s 2014/2015 season a fluke or will he come back with another Vezina caliber season? A lot of questions are still left to be answered, but IMO the Canucks are going to have to beat one Californian team at the absolute minimum and more likely two if they have any hopes of making the playoffs. Of course I could be wrong. I could be jumping the gun since we’ve only played 13 games. Only time will tell… 1 Dallas13103020104637+95-1-05-2-0-8-2-0Won 12 St. Louis139311993631+54-1-15-2-0-7-2-1Won 13 Winnipeg138411784035+53-2-15-2-0-6-3-1Won 14 Minnesota117221673532+35-0-02-2-2-6-2-2OT 15 Nashville117221653225+74-0-13-2-12-06-2-2Lost 16 Chicago137511573332+16-1-11-4-0-5-4-1OT 17 Colorado12471943336-32-4-12-3-0-3-6-1Won 1 PacificGP W L OT P ROW GF GA Diff Home Away S/O L10 Streak 1 Los Angeles128401682925+44-3-04-1-0-8-2-0Won 12 Vancouver136341653829+92-3-34-0-11-04-3-3Lost 13 San Jose126601253333E2-3-04-3-01-04-6-0Lost 14 Arizona115511153032-21-3-04-2-1-4-5-1Lost 25 Edmonton135801053641-53-4-02-4-0-5-5-0Won 16 Anaheim12372821731-143-2-10-5-11-13-6-1Won 27 Calgary133917 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cory40 Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Simple. Salary Cap. Top teams all spend the same amount of money. So if you spend too much on your top two three players you get bit in the depth department. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nom_de_plume Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 I would agree with you about Anaheim, bit Calgary on the other hand is right where they should be. A ton of comeback wins and games they wom last year they had no business winning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Biestra Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 I would agree with you about Anaheim, bit Calgary on the other hand is right where they should be. A ton of comeback wins and games they wom last year they had no business winning.Honestly, Calgary playing .250ish hockey is still pretty shocking. Last year's team plus Doug Hamilton. There's no way they should be below .500, which is still terrible. It's damn near impossible to go 3-9-1 in today's NHL. You have to almost be trying to lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tortorella Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Simple. Salary Cap. Top teams all spend the same amount of money. So if you spend too much on your top two three players you get bit in the depth department.this. Chicago will have difficulty soon with kane and toews unless canadian dollar rebounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathew Barzal Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Honestly, Calgary playing .250ish hockey is still pretty shocking. Last year's team plus Doug Hamilton. There's no way they should be below .500, which is still terrible. It's damn near impossible to go 3-9-1 in today's NHL. You have to almost be trying to lose.They won a lot of games they shouldn't have last year. Poor puck possession team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
X-PatLostInEdm Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Third highest scoring team in the conference, we are. Tied for best goal diff. If we can keep that up, getting a playoff spot shouldn't be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cowardrobertford Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Playoffs sounds good, but Austin Mathews sounds better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babych Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Playoffs sounds good, but Austin Mathews sounds betterSadly that ain't happening the way that Vancouver is playing now. We'll either just make the playoffs or get a draft pick just out of "blue chip" range (10-14). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Googlie Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Sadly that ain't happening the way that Vancouver is playing now. We'll either just make the playoffs or get a draft pick just out of "blue chip" range (10-14).And our historic picks in 10 - 14 place in 1st round are a mixed bag:Cody Hodgson - 2008Michael Grabner - 2006Luc Bourdon - 2005Brad Ference - 1997Josh Holden - 1996Mattias Ohlund - 1994JJ Daigneault - 1984Michel Petit - 1982Garth Butcher - 1981Richard Blight - 1975Certainly more luck with the defensemen we picked (except Luc - what a loss he was, our "Hutton" of 10 years ago) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABNuck Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 this. Chicago will have difficulty soon with kane and toews unless canadian dollar rebounds. I'm struggling to figure out what you mean by this comment. All NHL contracts are written in USD so the only differential there is in the NHL is at the Operating Budget level. And what with revenue sharing, again I don't think there's much difference in the USD/CND imbalance that affects how contracts are written in the NHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancin'Droid Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 I'm struggling to figure out what you mean by this comment. All NHL contracts are written in USD so the only differential there is in the NHL is at the Operating Budget level. And what with revenue sharing, again I don't think there's much difference in the USD/CND imbalance that affects how contracts are written in the NHL.if the Canadian dollar rebounds then the cap goes up as revenue sharing is in terms of USD if the dollar stays where it is at the will be little to no cap increase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABNuck Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 if the Canadian dollar rebounds then the cap goes up as revenue sharing is in terms of USD if the dollar stays where it is at the will be little to no cap increaseGracias Senor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancin'Droid Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Gracias Senor!At you service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jam126 Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Whatever, East still sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VanIsleNuckFan Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Our goal differential speaks volumes here.. Imagine if that average keeps up, and it's for a team that's just coming together with the new additions fitting in more and more each game.. My generally rose colored glasses are become more tinted every day.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homersexual Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 If Edmonton gets another lottery pick this year...grrrrr!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bookie Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 I don't really agree with calling the Pacific a 'weak' division. It's more that it's a tight cluster of mediocre to dark horse contender teams.Anaheim was the only true contender coming into the season, but they stumbled so hard out of the gate that it'll take them a long time to get back to sitting comfortably. Some would put LA in the true contender category, but imo that's based mostly on their success over the last few years. Beyond the fact that they missed the playoffs last year, their loss of depth players and the off-ice drama has had a serious effect. I'd consider them in the range of San Jose and Vancouver, bubble contenders. Some would argue Calgary is the same, but we're seeing their true colours now: absolutely mediocre. And Arizona and Edmonton seem to have finally turned the corner from being pushovers (remains to be seen how much the CM injury hurts the Oil).Anyhow, my point is there's no real lightweights, and only one ~contender~. Contrast that with the Eastern divisions: the Metro has Philly, Carolina, NJ; the Atlantic has Toronto and Buffalo.But yeah, the Central is a juggernaut and I'll be surprised if they don't take both the Western wildcards. Vancouver, San Jose and LA will be battling for #2 and #3 in the end is my prediction.It must suck to be an Avalanche fan these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c00kies Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 Just have to finish top 3 in our division to make the playoffs, regardless of how good the Central is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Tortorella Posted November 6, 2015 Share Posted November 6, 2015 I'm struggling to figure out what you mean by this comment. All NHL contracts are written in USD so the only differential there is in the NHL is at the Operating Budget level. And what with revenue sharing, again I don't think there's much difference in the USD/CND imbalance that affects how contracts are written in the NHL.Canadians are largest market per capita by far. Canadian teams are most profitable. Canadian fans pay in cdnCanadian teams subsidize poor US teamsleague salaries are in usd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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