2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs

[Argus]

But you will not finds the situation that used to exist, where teams like the Wings and Rangers outbid everybody else.

And yet certain teams consistently have payroll budgets 25% higher than others.

Oh, and despite the resounding lack of Cups in the last two decades, how many CDN teams are suffering from a lack of attendance in a gate-driven league?

You're saying Bettman is responsible for Canadians liking hockey?

Hey let's have a contest. Link us to stories about the arena being built in Moncton, and the backing of fantastically cash rich New Brunswick

corporations, and season ticket drives colecting cash. Here, I'll kick it off here is a story about all of that and the privately funded arena

going up right now http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/nhl-to-las-vegas-looking-more-like-a-done-deal/article23471555/

That 'privately funded arena' is not being built for hockey. It's being built for concerts, boxing and other shows. They will, of course, welcome a hockey team there as a tenant, until it goes bankrupt, but a sports site which recently did an estimate of the number of hockey fans in various cities put the number in Vegas as being 40% lower than Nashville. So all a franchise in Vegas will do is draw millions more Canadian TV equalization dollars south of the border until the inevitable end.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/half-of-the-nhls-rumored-expansion-cities-dont-make-sense/

[Argus]

If that is true, Bettman will be fired tomorrow since 5 out of 7 Canadian teams made the playoffs.

At least two, and likely three will be gone in the first round.

[BubberMiley]

At least two, and likely three will be gone in the first round.

It takes quite the evil genius to devise a playoff system that ensures that Canadian teams are eliminated early and to get those teams to play along by losing just enough games to carry it out.

[overthere]

And yet certain teams consistently have payroll budgets 25% higher than others.

It's their choice, there are minimum and maximum salary ranges, which has transformed the game, forced parity, enabled many more teams to survive- especially small market teams including most of the Canadian teams. They'd all be gone without the cap. In the past, big market teams simply bought the best free agents. Have you forgotten the lessons of the recent past, or just being obtuse again?

Did you happen to notice the dogfights and incredibly tight groupings of the 3rd through 10th place teams in both conferences this year?. Salary cap......

You're saying Bettman is responsible for Canadians liking hockey?

The existence of teams in Edmonton , Calgary, Ottawa and Winnipeg is the direct result of the new financial certainty engineered by Bettman with the support of the owners.

That 'privately funded arena' is not being built for hockey.

I noticed you've shut your piehole that every US arena is publicly funded.

Every arena is built for concerts, since NHL teams have only about 45 dates per year excluding playoffs, that leaves 300+ nights to be filled with other revenue producing events. It is no different than every arena in North America.

Try again, but harder this time.

So all a franchise in Vegas will do is draw millions more Canadian TV equalization dollars south of the border until the inevitable end.

Yeah, those US billionaires behind the arena and team are so anxious to get a few crumbs from Sportsnet, they've based their whole business plan on it. Best of all, they get paid in valuable and collectible Canadian dollars!

Their season ticket drive only got halfway to their goal in the first 48 hours....... New Brunswick would do better than that if only they could get over the trauma of having four(4) AHL franchises flop.

[guyser]

And yet certain teams consistently have payroll budgets 25% higher than others.

There is a max and a min. Currently that is at $69 and $51. Most are at or near the cap at all times.

You're saying Bettman is responsible for Canadians liking hockey?

That 'privately funded arena' is not being built for hockey. It's being built for concerts, boxing and other shows. They will, of course, welcome a hockey team there as a tenant,

Cant do it, no tenant makes enough money to pay the rent and lose out on all the other income generating they need to thrive. The owners of the rink will be owner of the team.

[Argus]

It's their choice, there are minimum and maximum salary ranges, which has transformed the game,

Transformed the game? Drivel.

The existence of teams in Edmonton , Calgary, Ottawa and Winnipeg is the direct result of the new financial certainty

engineered by Bettman with the support of the owners.

Again, bloody nonsese. What are you, Bettman's wife? Do you think the sun rises only because of Bettman too?

The existence of the Canadian teams is due to the number of fans in those cities, and the higher television revenue which is a product

of the competition for product between the growing number of entertainment service providers.

I noticed you've shut your piehole that every US arena is publicly funded.

Hard to talk with you braying at the top of your lungs every second.

LV has no pro teams. It's unique in that respect. It's also a unique city in terms of the massive number of hotel rooms and its status

as a sort of resort city. The fact of the matter remains that Canadian cities need to build their arenas with private money. American

cities just get the city and state to build them a new arena, then exempt them from the taxes.

Every arena is built for concerts,

No, they're not. Without pro teams few cities would have these kinds of arenas. Cities and states put in huge money for football and

baseball stadiums, and for basketball. Most of the time the hockey team rides on the basketball team's coattails to get those new

arenas built. Cities like Dallas, Denver, Miami and Phoenix never would have built an arena for an NHL team. The savings for those teams can be tens of millions a year compared to Canadian teams in terms of financing costs and taxes.

Yeah, those US billionaires behind the arena and team are so anxious to get a few crumbs from Sportsnet, they've based their

whole business plan on it.

They have? Interesting. I went to the web site and it doesn't even mention hockey! It talks about concerts and circuses and boxing

instead. They are not basing anything on hockey. The stadium was built for other purposes.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Argus

[Argus]

There is a max and a min. Currently that is at $69 and $51. Most are at or near the cap at all times.

There seems to be a lot of teams with much lower payrolls.

You're saying Bettman is responsible for Canadians liking hockey?

I said the opposite.

Cant do it, no tenant makes enough money to pay the rent and lose out on all the other income generating they need to thrive. The owners of the rink will be owner of the team.

In most cities, but Vegas is quite a bit different. There's a reason they're building it right on the strip. Do you see any mention of hockey in here?

http://arenalasvegas.com/home.aspx

[overthere]

Transformed the game? Drivel.

There would not be teams in Edmonton, Wiinipeg, Calgary or Ottawa without the cap and perhaps 7 or 8 in the US gone too.

The existence of the Canadian teams is due to the number of fans in those cities,

Bullshit. Without cost control introduced by the cap, they'd be as dead as that lump between your ears

Without pro teams few cities would have these kinds of arenas. Cities and states put in huge money for football and

baseball stadiums, and for basketball. Most of the time the hockey team rides on the basketball team's coattails to get those new

arenas built.

No, you don't get to shift the goalposts by starting to yap about stadiums now.

Of course arenas are built for tenants like pro hockey and basketball teams, who take up a nice chunk of the available nights on a regular basis . But they fill their pockets the majority of the time via concerts, religious events. sales events, MMA fights, rodeos, and whatever their community pays for. I know you're angry about being wrong about who pays for the Vegas arena, but you'll get over it.

I went to the web site and it doesn't even mention hockey!

Now you're just being childish. Stop pouting and pretending hockey is not on the Las Vegas NHL agenda....Here is just one of many links talking about it....http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/nhl-to-las-vegas-looking-more-like-a-done-deal/article23471555/

I know how reluctant you are to be right, so I'll quote the relevant bit for you:

The first big key to the Vegas franchise had been getting an arena built, but that process is well underway. The $375-million, 17,500-seat facility is now expected to be ready for late April of next year and construction has started behind the New York-New York Hotel on the Strip.

MGM Resorts and AEG have partnered on the building, so they have both casino-backing and one of the world’s top arena-companies involved.

[guyser]

There seems to be a lot of teams with much lower payrolls.

They have to be between those two numbers all year. IN the summer they can go over or under but have to amend by the fall.

I said the opposite.

Actually that was not edited out of my reply and made to seem I said that, but you had earlier. Misquote

In most cities, but Vegas is quite a bit different. There's a reason they're building it right on the strip. Do you see any mention of hockey in here?

NO mention.

And I will tell you why.

Winnipeg.

Pure and simple. Winnipeg.

After the debacle of Ballsillie and RIM, whereby he shot his mouth off and had tickets printed and adverts up and was seen yakking it up with every reporter he could find, it did not sit well with the Governers nor with Bettman.

Bettman is a prickly little shit , and a fantastic head of the NHL, but he would not stand to be bullied publically and shot down the idea of Balsillies Kitchener fantasy NHL team.

Now we come to Winnipeg.

Most everyone in the country had no fricken' clue that Winnipeg had done all the work they did behind the scenes. The owners in Winny talked to Bettman all the time, Apprised him of their wishes and how they would go about it, all done on the QT.

When Bettman saw the plan, met the good folks behind it, reviewed their monetary sources, saw the corporate interest (againa all done quielty)he was impressed.

So (IIRC) Bettman said 'Ok , go public and if you get 10,000 (or more cant recall) seasonstickets sold in 48 hours, you ARE IN"

I trhink they sold out in less than a half day and had to cut off more requests. The Jets could have sold almost every damn ticket as a season ticket, but that left no ticks for anyone else.

So Vegas has the Torontonian poker (Negreano) play in on this, among others. And they are well versed in the Winnipeg strategy on how to do it right. SO thats why no mention in that document. Besides it isnt a stretch to think that Hockey could be played there.

Now couple that with a few other unique issues with Vegas and it isnt har to see what it is slow to develop.

The NFL, MLB, NBA have all kept out of Vegas because of gambling and the associated risks inherent with the two being in the city.(Not to mention in the past LV was Adults only, thats now changed)

Do you recall the Raptors having issues when gr5anted a team and the NBA said you have to stop the sports lotto if you do want a team?

The NHL followed suit and stayed away. But with the advent of betting becoming commonplace everywhere and not just Vegas, the thinking is that the time has come to look into a team there.

[sharkman]

Okay, back to the action on the ice. Subban deserved to be tossed from the game last night, turns out Stone has a micro-fractured wrist and is doubtful for the rest of the series. Subban should be suspended for as long as Stone is out, but he wasn't. The Canadians will win that series, but because of their meathead tactics, will receive plenty of bumps/bruises/injuries that they wouldn't have to endure. They'll go into the second round more beat up than any other team.

My Canucks played some pretty excellent hockey but the Flames are for real. This might go to 7.

[guyser]

Okay, back to the action on the ice. Subban deserved to be tossed from the game last night, turns out Stone has a micro-fractured wrist and is doubtful for the rest of the series. Subban should be suspended for as long as Stone is out, but he wasn't.

Cant happen , double edged sword.

Subban was rightly tossed , but thats enough.

What must really bite is that the Sens coach will be fined but that is slow coming.

The Canadians will win that series, but because of their meathead tactics, will receive plenty of bumps/bruises/injuries that they wouldn't have to endure. They'll go into the second round more beat up than any other team.

Always a risk in playoffs. Plenty of teams beat on the other. Thats why its the best playoffs in all of sport.

My Canucks played some pretty excellent hockey but the Flames are for real. This might go to 7.

They are for real, b ut I think the Canucks will prevail. That had to sting when half a minute is left, but not as bad as being up 3-0 and choking to the Hawks.

[overthere]

The luckiest team always wins.

I learned that here.

[guyser]

The luckiest team always wins.

I learned that here.

No you didnt.

[sharkman]

No you didnt.

Uh, could you turn it down a little, thread killer?

[Black Dog]

The luckiest team always wins.

I learned that here.

I'm not sure why you're finding the idea that luck plays a huge role in hockey to be so baffling.

[PrimeNumber]

I'm not sure why you're finding the idea that luck plays a huge role in hockey to be so baffling.

It's almost like OT has never played the game before. Have any of you heard of PDO or Puck Luck? It's a stat an Edmonton Oilers fan developed after their Stanley Cup Final run in 2006 to determime exactly how much puck luck they had that year. The answer was more than any other team. Last year the Colorado Avalanche had the best PDO or Puck Luck, no surprise that they kinda fell off this year. The Rangers and Canadiens had the highest puck luck this year, although the Canadiens is mostly attributed to Price playing well above average. Edited April 17, 2015 by PrimeNumber

[Mighty AC]

I'm not sure why you're finding the idea that luck plays a huge role in hockey to be so baffling.

Agreed. The top teams in the regular season win only 60-65 percent of their games. It's a fast paced, dynamic sport that leaves a lot of room for bounces.

I do have a problem with playoff officiating in the NHL though. Fewer penalties are called, especially as series progress, and as a result the game becomes quite different than that of the regular season. Speed and skill gives way to size and strength in the playoffs. This is unique to hockey and must be tough for GMs. Those building baseball, football and basketball teams don't have to face a different set of rules in the post season.

Edited April 17, 2015 by Mighty AC

[Black Dog]

It's almost like OT has never played the game before. Have any of you heard of PDO or Puck Luck? It's a stat an Edmonton Oilers fan developed after their Stanley Cup Final run in 2006 to determime exactly how much puck luck they had that year. The answer was more than any other team.

That's actually not true. The Oilers's PDO in 05-06 was 97.7, which means they were one of the unluckiest teams in the league. PDO as the the sum of a team's even strength shooting percentage and even strength save percentage. the Oilers' SH% that year was middle of the pack, but their SV% was hot garbage. Anyway...

[overthere]

You have to be lucky to win 4 best out of seven game series.

It's completely random after all.

[sharkman]

Game 2 Vancouver/Calgary, Van simply outclassed Calgary in this one dominating at times and Calgary seemed not ready in the first period. After Vancouver's third goal in the third period, Calgary upped their cheap shot/dirty plays, and the refs kept on letting it go. Slashes, falling on Eddie Lack, nonsense after the whistle. Anybody who knows hockey could have read the cards on what would happen at the end of the game if the refs didn't crack down.

So they didn't, and a major donnybrook broke out at the end. There was no need for it. It didn't change a thing and these things always look bad on the NHL. If the refs had started calling the cheap shots in the third period it would have prevented the brawling or at least kept it to a minimum.

Edit: So to top it off after all the penalties were assessed and play was to resume for the last 90 seconds, Hartley sends out Brandon Bollig. The Flames were to play short handed the rest of the game, and Hartley sends out a tough guy. At least the refs got this one right, they promptly gave bollig a 10 minute misconduct and sent him off before even dropping the puck. This tells you a lot about the kind of guy Hartley is.

Edited April 18, 2015 by sharkman

[bush_cheney2004]

Edmonton moves up to #1 draft pick...they sure need it !

[Black Dog]

You have to be lucky to win 4 best out of seven game series.

It's completely random after all.

It's ok to admit you don't understand the argument.

[overthere]

It's ok to admit you don't understand the argument.

Relax Skippy.

My side of the argument is that the NHL playoffs are easily the most physically grueling playoff test in pro sports.

Football- three or four games and there is a champ.

Baseball is a grind but simply is not on the physical scale of hockey where large men hit you over and over.

Baseball: like chipmunks arguing.

lacrosse: very violent but very short playoffs.

Rugby: same

Nobody but nobody else gets hammered that hard for that long.

And the best team wins every time.

Not the team that wins the regular season, where there is much floating and coasting.

The best team at the time of the playoffs wins the Cup.

[guyser]

The best team at the time of the playoffs wins the Cup.

99.9% of the time.

Every once in a while along comes.......

[overthere]

99.9% means one in a thousand times a team flukes is away through 4 rounds of the playoffs. The current pormat of four x best of seven playoff format is what- 30 years old?

Do you have a prediction on when we'll see your prophecy revealed in the next 970 years?