NHL Playoffs thread - Pick the Winners

[rah]

I saw the final pool results and had to laugh. While most of us would not equate how we finished with our knowledge of the game, some in this thread have. In fact, in the early going Ben tried to use how well he was doing as some type of proof of his superior knowledge of the game compared to some others. Seeing how he finished after that bragging is quite satisfying.

And congrats to the hawks.

[rah]

And one last funny note. When they were showing the after game passing of the cup, as they were giving it to Shaw, my daughter asked out loud, I wonder how many f-bombs he has dropped just seconds before his muttering of *ucking-A was caught on mic. I had to laugh.

[Asher]

The NHL has been good the last few years (even without the Hawks winning), despite offensive numbers continuing to suck. It's good to see the major markets having success... the LA's, the Boston's. Having two original sixes in the Finals was great. This is so much better than some of the bull**** years when it was a Carolina in there, or Edmonton, or Calgary, or Tampa Bay... nobody cares about those teams. Vancouver is a scumbag city, but at least big enough to matter a bit. But aside from Toronto and Montreal, the rest of Canada is basically a feeder system for the rest of the serious NHL teams... the franchises that matter.

Even a desolate failure of a city like Detroit is a more legitimate NHL franchise than the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, and Winnepeg Jets. Those teams should be perpetually devoid of talent... kind of like that team the Harlem Globetrotters always destroys.

0.1/10

[Asher]

Hmm. Wikipedia gave me false stats. 1.92 GAA

Hockey reference ftw

But still. MVP is usually the player most valuable to a team's success. By definition, it should not go to the losing team.

The MVP is the most valuable player, period.

[rah]

I don't know. I guess I'm in the camp that the MVP should come from the winning team by definition. (at least when we're talking about NHL playoff MVP)

For baseball I wouldn't be that strict, but I wouldn't give it to someone on a losing team.

[Ben Kenobi]

the rest of the serious NHL teams... the franchises that matter

In terms of fanbases, the big three are Toronto (nobody close), Montreal (nobody close), Vancouver is third. Then it goes Rangers, Detroit, Boston, Chicago, Philly and Pittsburgh. There was a good article posted on this somewhere.

You could cut every other team out and lose maybe 1/4th of the total market. Add Colorado and you'd have a 10 team league that would look like this:

Vancouver (folding in LA and San Jose)
Colorado (folding in Anaheim and Phoenix)
Detroit (folding in Calgary and Edmonton)
Chicago (folding in Winnipeg and Minnesota)
Pittsburgh (folding in Dallas and St. Louis)

Montreal (Folding in Ottawa and Columbus)
Toronto (Folding in Buffalo and Nashville)
Boston (Folding in Carolina and Tampa Bay)
Rangers (Folding in NYI and New Jersey)
Philadelphia (Folding in Washington and Florida)

Be interesting to look at some of the lines...

[snoopy369]

Sava, the Conn Smythe (as opposed to the baseball/football/basketball versions) is for the entire playoffs, not just the finals. Giguere was amazing for three series and vital - if not solely responsible - for his team's success. Yes, his team fell short a game, but he deserved credit for being that close. (Brodeur would also have been a good choice, but he did backstop a much better team defensively and offensively.)

I agree it should usually come from the Cup winner, but in extreme circumstances it's appropriate to come from another team (most likely the Cup finals loser, the others don't have enough games to get significant stats). Imagine the extreme case - you score 19 goals in the playoffs, yet your team loses in 4 because your team's goaltending and defense sucks (and the other team is a superpower). Aren't you giving the trophy to that guy even though his team lost?

[Asher]

I prefer these rankings: Loyalty of fans.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1284339-ranking-the-loyalty-of-each-nhl-teams-fanbase/page/31

[Ben Kenobi]

I prefer these rankings: Loyalty of fans.

I'm sure that and a toonie gets you a cup of coffee at Timmies.

The Canucks have come a long way from where they used to be.

Edit, Forbes has the Canucks all the way up to 7th in terms of value.

They just passed Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Here's the list:

Toronto 1 billion
Rangers 750 Million
Montreal 575 million
Chicago 350 Million
Boston 348 Million
Detroit 346 Million

Vancouver 342 Million

Vancouver is the most valuable non-original 6 team.

[Sava]

And one last funny note. When they were showing the after game passing of the cup, as they were giving it to Shaw, my daughter asked out loud, I wonder how many f-bombs he has dropped just seconds before his muttering of *ucking-A was caught on mic. I had to laugh.

hehe, i enjoyed this part

[Sava]

Sava, the Conn Smythe (as opposed to the baseball/football/basketball versions) is for the entire playoffs, not just the finals.

I know this. Did I say otherwise?

My only point was that only one team has success in the playoffs... the cup winner. And the Conn Smythe should go to the most valuable player on that team.

Otherwise, a guy could have 10 goals in 7 games in one series, his team loses in the first round... technically, his contribution made him most valuable.

It's just stupid. Players on losing teams should never have get the playoff mvp award.

Aren't you giving the trophy to that guy even though his team lost?

No. Absolutely not. He wasn't valuable at all because his team lost every game.

[Asher]

I'm sure that and a toonie gets you a cup of coffee at Timmies.

The Canucks have come a long way from where they used to be.

Edit, Forbes has the Canucks all the way up to 7th in terms of value.

They just passed Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Here's the list:

Toronto 1 billion
Rangers 750 Million
Montreal 575 million
Chicago 350 Million
Boston 348 Million
Detroit 346 Million

Vancouver 342 Million

Vancouver is the most valuable non-original 6 team.

A fascinating argument for those who wish to debate business financial models and pricing schemes, which is what this list reflects.

I agree that the Canucks are nearly as bad as the Leafs in raping people with overpriced tickets for a team which hasn't won a Cup in over 42 years.

Metro Area plays a massive, massive role in those rankings. Per capita numbers would be far more illuminating.

[snoopy369]

He scored NINETEEN goals in the playoffs, Sava. That's the NHL record. Why is he not valuable? He clearly is why his team was IN the finals... I understand the argument 95% of the time. But in extreme cases, when a single player plays his ass off and gets a mediocre team into the finals by sheer force of will, that player deserves the trophy.

(To be fair, the 1976 Flyers weren't a "mediocre team", though they certainly played that way in the finals...)

[Ben Kenobi]

A fascinating argument for those who wish to debate business financial models and pricing schemes, which is what this list reflects.

I agree that the Canucks are nearly as bad as the Leafs in raping people with overpriced tickets for a team which hasn't won a Cup in over 42 years.

Metro Area plays a massive, massive role in those rankings. Per capita numbers would be far more illuminating.

Canucks are the highest value team without a cup, btw. You want to talk about fan loyalty? No fans, no money.

[Asher]

There's something to be proud of.