Off-Topic Forum

This is shaping up to be my greatest moment as a sports fan in my life...if they raise the Cup, it will be. 

These are all guys that nobody else wanted, a group of misfits and castoffs, coming together to overcome all odds and obstacles and possibly... hopefully...be the Champions. 

Saying the league is making them win is a straw man argument. Is Gary Bettman on the ice scoring pucks into the net at unexpected levels? No. Is Gary Bettman playing defense on a nighly basis? No. The players have not only done all that, they are doing it at a rate no one expected. No one predicted William Karlsson scoring 40+ goals. No one predicted every goalie would go down with injury, and fifth string guy would come in and succeed. And so much more I could say but have had about enough of typing on this tablet! 

Even if they should faulter, it's still one of the greatest season in a sport I've seen. I've loved every minute of it. I wish I could get a shirt with their logo, but they don't make hockey stuff big enough for me,  I need bigger than I really need cause I can't have anything too tight on my neck.

I didn't have a dog in this fight since my team was awful this year. But, I like that there are some different teams making it deeper into the playoffs. I was kinda hoping more for Winnipeg than Vegas, but the hard work this new team put in - especially never having played together, is great to see. I'm hoping Ovi and Co. make it past TB. I feel bad that every year people question how good he is because he can't make it past the Pens. Whoever wins, it'll be nice to see another team get the Cup.

I have been loving the Golden Knights run, they have a real hockey team feel, unlike some of the other southern and larger market expansion or relocation teams that have popped up (Thrashers, Coyotes, Hurricanes).  My only issue is this:

Golden Knights just come in and get a cup

Buffalo Sabres established 1970 = 0 cups.  So so frustrating!!!

To call them the unwanted players is a stretch. The NHL front office made this the best expansion team by far by allowing clubs to protect very little. especially when compared to expansions in the recent past. The Sharks, Sens, Mighty Ducks, and Lightning had some pretty horrendous teams out of the gate. The NHL did set this expansion draft up to be much more likely to have a competitive team from the start, unlike other drafts. I still think what the team was able to accomplish was way beyond anyone's expectations. Competitive? Yes. First-round playoffs? Maybe. SC Finals? Not a chance.

These are all guys that nobody else wanted, a group of misfits and castoffs, coming together to overcome all odds and obstacles and possibly... hopefully...be the Champions. 

What a load of made-for-Hollywood bullcrap.  NHL teams carry 23-man active rosters.  For the Vegas expansion draft, teams were able to protect at most 11 players - and as few as 9 if they wanted to protect more than 3 defensemen.  This was exactly the case for Nashville, a team that needed to protect Roman Josi, PK Subban, Ryan Ellis, and Mattias Ekholm.

That left James Neal exposed as a possible expansion pick.  To say that Neal, the Preds third highest goal scorer in 2016-2017, was a misfit is laughable.  There wasn't a RW who spent more time on the ice for Nashville in his last season with the team.  How that makes him "unwanted" isn't really even up for debate.

Sure, it's fun to pretend this Vegas team is today's Charlestown Chiefs.  And it's true, they aren't an all-star team.  But they're pretty darn close to a JV all-star team.  In today's NHL, that is good enough to compete over an entire regular season schedule and the playoffs.

Pointing out one of the three players that doesn't hold true for does not invalidate the fact that it IS for the other 20. 

Help me out...I don't even know which three you think I'm cherry picking from.

Just going down the list, in 2016-2017...
Marchessault was 3rd on the FLA team in scoring.
Perron was 5th for STL.
Smith was 5th for FLA.
Eakin looks to have been DAL second line C who was heavily involved in their special teams.

Fleury, Marchassault and Neal are the only there that would have counted as stars before this season. 

Teams were allowed to protect 11 players MAX for this most recent draft. Compare that to when the Ducks, Preds, & Thrashers all came in, and teams were allowed to protect up to 15 players in each of those drafts.

Those 4 unprotected players make a huge difference. I also only compared single team expansion drafts, not dual team drafts.

On one hand, what Las Vegas is doing is unpreciented and something we may never see again. As a fan of a team (Sabres) that wouldn't know a playoff game if it fell in their lap, it also makes me want to bang my head against the wall. Regardless of who plays, the Stanley Cup Finals are some of the best sports games around, and I'll watch happily.