You Crazy?

by hockeyphreak on Sep 24, 2010 12:34 AM EDT

I would like to take some time off and make some predictions, and you will probably say "You CRAZY?!?".

I have Leafs finishing the season somewhere between 7th and 10th. They will make/miss the playoffs on the last weekend.

Here are my reasons:

Confident Defence: Notice, how I said confident and not better, as I have always thought the Leafs had a pretty decent defence from before. Its just more confident, after spending a season together. This defence pairings are trusting each other to bail them out. They have something else that will be discussed in my point number two.
Better Goaltending: With the trade on January 31st, 2010, Toronto made the best trade, by trading Toskala and Jason Blake for J-S Giguere. With Jiggy, Leafs got a goalie who was looking for a new start, after his job was taken over by a young Jonas Hiller. Leafs' were looking for an older goalie who can mentor their young Swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson.

Scoring By Committee: Leafs may not have a top 6 and bottom 6 that they are looking for, but Leafs DO have players who can pot in 15-20 goals on the season, and with Kessel who, if healthy can pot 30. Below is the list of people who I believe can pot 15-20 goals.
- Kris Versteeg- Colby Armstrong
- Tyler Bozak
- Nikolai Kulemin
- Mikhail Grabovski
- Tomas Kaberle
- Dion Phaneuf
- McArthur
- Phil Kessel

So there is my reason for Leafs ending with a playoff spot.

Here is something to chew on: Stanley Cup Finals Prediction: Pittsburgh Penguins v/s San Jose Sharks. What is yours? Leave your predictions in the comments below....

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Stanley Cup Finals Prediction:

Detroit/WSH

20 miles to Legoland!

by nhlcheapshot on Sep 24, 2010 3:23 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Red Army Line likes this.

I’m looking for Lombardi to make another move and for Los Angeles to take the West. At this point, the favorite in the East I think is Pittsburgh. I really can’t predict Washington to take the East—they have a giant hole to fill (2C) which to fill via trade likely involved losing either depth or a great two-way winger in Alexander Semin (or a top prospect like Marcus Johansson or Cody Eakin or Evgeny Kuznetsov). I can still hope though, which is kind of sadistic since I’m pretty sure the Caps are going to cause me tons of pain.

My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the winger that has now terrorized over 70 NHL goalies.

by red army line on Sep 25, 2010 7:24 AM EDT up reply actions

Just because the East is so week

we have an outside shot at a low playoff berth. More likely we will finish 9th-11th in the East.

To do that, I think we have to push to finish third in our Division.

Finals?

Tough one

NJ/Van

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

Albert Einstein

by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Sep 24, 2010 3:48 PM EDT reply actions

Qualifier, third sentence should have been the second sentence.

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

Albert Einstein

by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Sep 24, 2010 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions

for NJ to be in the finals, brodeur has to play MUCH better.

by hockeyphreak on Sep 25, 2010 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions

counterpoint

Goaltending in the Cup finals..

ummm.

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

Albert Einstein

by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Sep 25, 2010 2:10 PM EDT up reply actions

Tor/Edm cup finals….

ok maybe not.

There is no "I" in team, but there is an "M" and an "E"

by Matt_Roberts on Sep 24, 2010 3:49 PM EDT reply actions

I would want this, but Pens/Sharks is a bit more possible

"Hockey captures the essence of Canadian experience... hockey is the chance of life, and an affirmation that despite the deathly chill of winter we are alive." - Stephen Leacock.

by Leafer87 on Sep 25, 2010 11:16 AM EDT up reply actions

I wouldn't go nuts over the Sharks yet, their D thinned out and they lost their #1 goalie.

Their offense is still crazy good, but that wasn’t enough last year…

20 miles to Legoland!

by nhlcheapshot on Sep 25, 2010 11:26 AM EDT up reply actions

It has never been enough. Their streak of underperforming in the playoffs has got to end eventually, and I just have a feeling about them for this year

"Hockey captures the essence of Canadian experience... hockey is the chance of life, and an affirmation that despite the deathly chill of winter we are alive." - Stephen Leacock.

by Leafer87 on Sep 25, 2010 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions

I am saying sharks, because they lost Blake and I think Niemi is the type of goalie which will make those timely saves, unlike Nabakov… but we will see…

by hockeyphreak on Sep 25, 2010 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions

Nabokov>Niemi

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

Albert Einstein

by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Sep 25, 2010 2:12 PM EDT up reply actions

Nittymaki > Nabokov, maybe.

My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the winger that has now terrorized over 70 NHL goalies.

by red army line on Sep 25, 2010 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions

Below is the list of people who I believe can pot 15-20 goals.
…
Tomas Kaberle

Tomas Kaberle’s goal totals per season:
4, 7, 6, 10, 11, 3, 9, 11, 8, 4, 7
Highest: 11
Average: 7.27

Please tell me your justification for expecting Kaberle to have a career year and score 4 more goals than he ever has before, more than double the average over his career.

You CRAZY?!?

The artist commonly referred to as "Maple".
My Art Portfolio

by CanadianMaple09 on Sep 24, 2010 5:30 PM EDT reply actions

Well, he can skate decently and fire a wrist shot. Mike Green I don’t think had ever broken 20 goals before he hit 3o in 2008-2009, so while unlikely, it’s within the realm of possibility. A good PP also can get your goal totals right up there (I think more than half of Green’s goals that year were on the PP, and he beat Ovechkin for the Caps’ lead or something).

My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the winger that has now terrorized over 70 NHL goalies.

by red army line on Sep 25, 2010 7:25 AM EDT up reply actions

I think the Green/Kaberle comparison is extremely weak. For one thing, Green is 25 and just coming into his prime, Kaberle is 32 and starting to look at the downside of his career. Green’s career goal totals are 1, 2, 18, 31, 19. Who knows what kind of numbers he will settle into? With that very limited amount of data I’d say throw out 1, 2, and 31 and you’d expect him to maybe get 17-23 on a regular basis over the next few years. Kaberle on the other hand has consistently produced at about 8-10 goals over his entire career. While his points totals have fluctuated wildly, his goal scoring rate remains the same- well below 15.

The artist commonly referred to as "Maple".
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by CanadianMaple09 on Sep 25, 2010 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions

I don’t think it warrants calling someone “crazy.” The PP can do magnificent things. That’s how Dion Phaneuf got his goal totals right up there a few years ago. Shea Weber. Zdeno Chara.

My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the winger that has now terrorized over 70 NHL goalies.

by red army line on Sep 25, 2010 1:23 PM EDT up reply actions

You do realize that in the very first sentence of hockeyphreak’s post he says that his predictions will make you ask “You CRAZY?!?” and that’s why I put it at the end of my comment, to humour him, right?

The artist commonly referred to as "Maple".
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by CanadianMaple09 on Sep 25, 2010 1:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Whoosh to me

My blog and Twitter, featuring coverage of the winger that has now terrorized over 70 NHL goalies.

by red army line on Sep 25, 2010 1:58 PM EDT up reply actions

Sorry, had my serious hat on when I wrote that last comment. ;)

The artist commonly referred to as "Maple".
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by CanadianMaple09 on Sep 25, 2010 3:43 PM EDT up reply actions

4 more and he hits the 15 goal mark … besides people are more concentrated on Dion on PP, if he LEARNS to shoot more, he maybe can hit the 15 goal mark :D

by hockeyphreak on Sep 25, 2010 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions

if he LEARNS to shoot more

This is a myth that’s been debunked several times here with statistical analysis. The idea that he doesn’t shoot enough is completely false. I don’t have the motivation to go back and search to find all the posts about it, but if someone wants to jump in and share a link, please do.

The artist commonly referred to as "Maple".
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by CanadianMaple09 on Sep 25, 2010 1:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I believe he was 20-25th in shots by defenceman or some such thing.

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

Albert Einstein

by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Sep 25, 2010 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks for the back-up. ;)

The artist commonly referred to as "Maple".
My Art Portfolio

by CanadianMaple09 on Sep 25, 2010 3:30 PM EDT up reply actions

I don’t think you are crazy, as I pretty much see the Leafs as that kind of team. Which is good; even if they miss th playoffs, I want them to battle until the last day and gain the experience of a serious playoff race.

As for the final, it’s hard to say. If Malkin gets back to form, Pittsburgh will be tough to beat, but Philly and New Jersey ae both pretty awesome. The western contenders honestly seem weaker to me; i’ll guess Chicago again.

by samspade on Sep 25, 2010 9:21 AM EDT reply actions

I don’t think Philly has it in them to go back to the Finals.
Pens are definitely up there, Geno will be back in form and Mr Duff has been a great addition.
I think the Caps will be successful this year: look for them to actually get to the 3rd round

"Hockey captures the essence of Canadian experience... hockey is the chance of life, and an affirmation that despite the deathly chill of winter we are alive." - Stephen Leacock.

by Leafer87 on Sep 25, 2010 11:18 AM EDT up reply actions