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Sylvanfan · 12-27-2007, 04:09 PM

9.)Predators
Many predicted the Preds would be much better than their current standing in the preseason. But a 2-5-3 stretch see's them on the outside of the playoffs and the two teams behind them have gained 5 and 6 points in the past 10 to get within one point of them.

Henrik Sedin and Marc Savard have both passed the 40 point barrier, but than there is a drop to Raflaski with 29. 8 Predators have 22 to 29 points and in that group is several under achievers. Niedermayer, Erat, Sullivan in particular should have done more. Despite his struggles Niedermayer still leads the D with 22 points in 41 games, well off his usual pace. Nabokov has not been able to fix things in net as his numbers are similar to Vokun who struggled before him. Jocelyn Thibault does a nice job of collecting his paycheque as he's being paid 5.2 million to play what woud prorate out to 16 games this year.

The Preds have a huge payroll, high average age and no extra money secured for next year. They have too many draft picks and not enough roster spots for all the picks. The team is going to need to get it in gear and decide what to do here as the same path they're on will spell disaster.

10.)Stars
With a 6-4 record in their past 10 the Stars have crept back to within 3 points of the 8th spot and only one point back of 9th place Nashville. After being on life support for much of the offseason the Stars have done a nice job of surviving. Has it been a smoke and mirrors show, or are they poised to make a run?

Todd White's 19 goals and 44 points paces the Stars. Mik Sameulsson, Dan Sedin, and Kim Timmonen also have passed the 30 point mark. Danny Markov, Matt Cullen, Hannan, and Cooke also have more than 20. Garnet Exelby's +19 is tops on the team. Manny Legace has a 13-18-2 record, 3.71 GAA, and .879Sv%, yet somehow the team is still in the playoff race. Backup Caron hasn't been much better but he's 5-4 on the year.

The Stars are very thin after their top 6 forwards and top 4 defencmen. They are not getting good goaltending, yet they're still in it. Is that a sign of how mediocre the other teams are, or are they hanging in there waiting to get it going? I'd look for them to fall off if the first half trends continue. But maybe they're righting the ship.

11.)Sharks
Not that long ago the Sharks were at a critical point where they either get going, or it's better luck next year. The urgency registered with them as they have got it going and have swam back into playoff contention.

Marian Hossa's 19 goals and 44 points lead the way. Yashin, Whitney, and Horcoff all are past the 30 point plateau and Afinogenov has 29. Sarich who was just traded for Ohlund lead te defence with 19 and Bryan Allen's+11 is tops on the team. Peter Budaj's 10-15-5 record coupled with his .884 Sv% and 3.48 GAA wasn't cutting it. He was moved for Belfour just before Christmas. Toivonen has been solid in relief and has seen his fair share of action so far. The Sharks hope Belfour can stabalize the position for them down the stretch.

Sharks GM RT is as competitve as they come and wants to win. The Sharks are greatly improved this year and he hasn't relented in making bold moves to try and push the team forward. He's had some speedbumps, but just keeps putting the gas down as he plugs on. Look for the Sharks to fight till the end to try and get inside the top 8.

12.)Wings
Once again the Wings look to be underachieving and find themselves looking like they'll be outside the playoffs for the second straight year and 3rd time in 4 years. The Wings were looking to get back in, but a 3 game skid has sort of set them back to being 7 points out again and needed to pass 4 teams.

Cole's 18 goals and 39 points pace the team. Recchi, Huselius, and Ryder also have passed 30 points. Comrie has 28 points in 29 games as well and Connoly and Stepniak have produced well enough to give the Wings adequate scoring up front. Tom Poti leads the defence, but isn't living up to his 7 million dollar contract. Marty Turco's numbers are far better than his backups, but probably not where the team needed them to be.

It's been a disappointing start for Detroit, and it looks like back to the drawing board. The talent looks to be good enough that they should do better than they do. But results are what counts and so far not so good.

13.)Ducks
Well the Ducks have made a lot of trades so far. First they went for it, than they were rebuilding. Right now they're sitting at 35 points and looking like they'll give the Canucks a 2nd straight top 5 pick for the pleasure of paying Trevor Daley 4 million dollars.

Nash, Tanguay, and Zherdev lead the Ducks attack up front. Komisarek, and Ranger have been the top contributing defenceman while Ryan Whitney has struggled. The Ducks hope recent acquisition Legwant will get his act together and have a better second half. In net Ryan Miller is miles ahead of the 6 other guys used at the position...Miller's 2.83 GAA and .899Sv% are more than adequate. I guess Labarbera is the official backup over Kevin Wanks. Anaheim has a lot of goalies they'll need to determine how to structure the position here going forward, Miller seems a good starter, Labarbera a decent backup, and Montoya the heir appaent.

Ducks are too far out of the playoffs right now and appear to be in rebuild mode. They have a lot of picks, and prospects right now as well as about 300 special conditions to satisfy. They might be able to get themselves out of the bottom 5 with a good second half. Lots of pieces in place..what will they do with them?

14.)Jackets
Paying for last years mistakes the Jackets were rebuilding going into this season. After a horrific start though the team is only 2 games under .500 in it's last 33 games. For a stretch of 29 games this joke of a team was over .500. Which is surprising given how bad the team really is.

Hamilton's 18 goals and 38 points lead these losers. T.Ruutu, and Joan Pikanen have 25 points while Pavelski has 22. Barnes has been a nice surprise with 9 goals and 17 points in 18 games. Garon has come back from a terrible first 4 games to post a 7-9 record and 3.56 GAA. He's 7-5 with a 3.05 GAA and Sv% just under .900 since those first 4 games.

This team sucks. They have absolutely nothing. They should be closer to the Jets and Lightning than they currently are, and have the worst asset base in the entire league...can you say...Contraction?

15.)Canucks
Last year they performed very well. This year it's all gone wrong. With only 10 wins in their first 42 games the Canucks have been a big disappointment.

Kunitz with 36 points and Zajac with 15 goals lead the squad. Zubov has 30 points but a chilly -23 rating. Recent acquisitions Christenson and Svatos both are above the 20 point mark as is Campbell, Perrault, and Prucha. Biron had a great year last year, but has been a big disappointment this year. His .860 Sv.% rates as the worst of all goalies who've played 30 or more games. His 3.96 GAA and 6-22-3 record also are very poor.

The Canucks seem to be the target of the Sims evil ways in the Howe. They should be better than they are, but the SIM has been rather cruel so far. The good news is that this draft is supposedly good and they could have two top 5 picks.

16.)Jets
Jets are right where they were predicted to be. But their 16 points in 43 games has them on pace for 32 and a new futility record. Their 2-7-1 record recently is their best 10 game stretch of the season.

Petr Cajanek with 31 points leads the Jets. Olesz has 25 and Stafford has 21. NHL castoffs, Allison and Perogy boy have 22 and 28 although Allison is currently suspended for 5 games. Trevor Daley and his 4 million dollar contract lead the defence with 14 points. The goaltenders feature Aebischer who has all 6 wins as well as JDD and Mike Leighton. Yeah no wonder their record is where it is.

Paul Raisin doesn't give a rip about this team, his zoo is waay more important to him. I don't blame him, this team is going to finish last, and get Steve Stamko's. At least he's going to be a good player.

12-27-2007, 04:09 PM	#2
Sylvanfan Appealing my suspension Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Just outside Enemy Lines Exp:	9.)Predators Many predicted the Preds would be much better than their current standing in the preseason. But a 2-5-3 stretch see's them on the outside of the playoffs and the two teams behind them have gained 5 and 6 points in the past 10 to get within one point of them. Henrik Sedin and Marc Savard have both passed the 40 point barrier, but than there is a drop to Raflaski with 29. 8 Predators have 22 to 29 points and in that group is several under achievers. Niedermayer, Erat, Sullivan in particular should have done more. Despite his struggles Niedermayer still leads the D with 22 points in 41 games, well off his usual pace. Nabokov has not been able to fix things in net as his numbers are similar to Vokun who struggled before him. Jocelyn Thibault does a nice job of collecting his paycheque as he's being paid 5.2 million to play what woud prorate out to 16 games this year. The Preds have a huge payroll, high average age and no extra money secured for next year. They have too many draft picks and not enough roster spots for all the picks. The team is going to need to get it in gear and decide what to do here as the same path they're on will spell disaster. 10.)Stars With a 6-4 record in their past 10 the Stars have crept back to within 3 points of the 8th spot and only one point back of 9th place Nashville. After being on life support for much of the offseason the Stars have done a nice job of surviving. Has it been a smoke and mirrors show, or are they poised to make a run? Todd White's 19 goals and 44 points paces the Stars. Mik Sameulsson, Dan Sedin, and Kim Timmonen also have passed the 30 point mark. Danny Markov, Matt Cullen, Hannan, and Cooke also have more than 20. Garnet Exelby's +19 is tops on the team. Manny Legace has a 13-18-2 record, 3.71 GAA, and .879Sv%, yet somehow the team is still in the playoff race. Backup Caron hasn't been much better but he's 5-4 on the year. The Stars are very thin after their top 6 forwards and top 4 defencmen. They are not getting good goaltending, yet they're still in it. Is that a sign of how mediocre the other teams are, or are they hanging in there waiting to get it going? I'd look for them to fall off if the first half trends continue. But maybe they're righting the ship. 11.)Sharks Not that long ago the Sharks were at a critical point where they either get going, or it's better luck next year. The urgency registered with them as they have got it going and have swam back into playoff contention. Marian Hossa's 19 goals and 44 points lead the way. Yashin, Whitney, and Horcoff all are past the 30 point plateau and Afinogenov has 29. Sarich who was just traded for Ohlund lead te defence with 19 and Bryan Allen's+11 is tops on the team. Peter Budaj's 10-15-5 record coupled with his .884 Sv% and 3.48 GAA wasn't cutting it. He was moved for Belfour just before Christmas. Toivonen has been solid in relief and has seen his fair share of action so far. The Sharks hope Belfour can stabalize the position for them down the stretch. Sharks GM RT is as competitve as they come and wants to win. The Sharks are greatly improved this year and he hasn't relented in making bold moves to try and push the team forward. He's had some speedbumps, but just keeps putting the gas down as he plugs on. Look for the Sharks to fight till the end to try and get inside the top 8. 12.)Wings Once again the Wings look to be underachieving and find themselves looking like they'll be outside the playoffs for the second straight year and 3rd time in 4 years. The Wings were looking to get back in, but a 3 game skid has sort of set them back to being 7 points out again and needed to pass 4 teams. Cole's 18 goals and 39 points pace the team. Recchi, Huselius, and Ryder also have passed 30 points. Comrie has 28 points in 29 games as well and Connoly and Stepniak have produced well enough to give the Wings adequate scoring up front. Tom Poti leads the defence, but isn't living up to his 7 million dollar contract. Marty Turco's numbers are far better than his backups, but probably not where the team needed them to be. It's been a disappointing start for Detroit, and it looks like back to the drawing board. The talent looks to be good enough that they should do better than they do. But results are what counts and so far not so good. 13.)Ducks Well the Ducks have made a lot of trades so far. First they went for it, than they were rebuilding. Right now they're sitting at 35 points and looking like they'll give the Canucks a 2nd straight top 5 pick for the pleasure of paying Trevor Daley 4 million dollars. Nash, Tanguay, and Zherdev lead the Ducks attack up front. Komisarek, and Ranger have been the top contributing defenceman while Ryan Whitney has struggled. The Ducks hope recent acquisition Legwant will get his act together and have a better second half. In net Ryan Miller is miles ahead of the 6 other guys used at the position...Miller's 2.83 GAA and .899Sv% are more than adequate. I guess Labarbera is the official backup over Kevin Wanks. Anaheim has a lot of goalies they'll need to determine how to structure the position here going forward, Miller seems a good starter, Labarbera a decent backup, and Montoya the heir appaent. Ducks are too far out of the playoffs right now and appear to be in rebuild mode. They have a lot of picks, and prospects right now as well as about 300 special conditions to satisfy. They might be able to get themselves out of the bottom 5 with a good second half. Lots of pieces in place..what will they do with them? 14.)Jackets Paying for last years mistakes the Jackets were rebuilding going into this season. After a horrific start though the team is only 2 games under .500 in it's last 33 games. For a stretch of 29 games this joke of a team was over .500. Which is surprising given how bad the team really is. Hamilton's 18 goals and 38 points lead these losers. T.Ruutu, and Joan Pikanen have 25 points while Pavelski has 22. Barnes has been a nice surprise with 9 goals and 17 points in 18 games. Garon has come back from a terrible first 4 games to post a 7-9 record and 3.56 GAA. He's 7-5 with a 3.05 GAA and Sv% just under .900 since those first 4 games. This team sucks. They have absolutely nothing. They should be closer to the Jets and Lightning than they currently are, and have the worst asset base in the entire league...can you say...Contraction? 15.)Canucks Last year they performed very well. This year it's all gone wrong. With only 10 wins in their first 42 games the Canucks have been a big disappointment. Kunitz with 36 points and Zajac with 15 goals lead the squad. Zubov has 30 points but a chilly -23 rating. Recent acquisitions Christenson and Svatos both are above the 20 point mark as is Campbell, Perrault, and Prucha. Biron had a great year last year, but has been a big disappointment this year. His .860 Sv.% rates as the worst of all goalies who've played 30 or more games. His 3.96 GAA and 6-22-3 record also are very poor. The Canucks seem to be the target of the Sims evil ways in the Howe. They should be better than they are, but the SIM has been rather cruel so far. The good news is that this draft is supposedly good and they could have two top 5 picks. 16.)Jets Jets are right where they were predicted to be. But their 16 points in 43 games has them on pace for 32 and a new futility record. Their 2-7-1 record recently is their best 10 game stretch of the season. Petr Cajanek with 31 points leads the Jets. Olesz has 25 and Stafford has 21. NHL castoffs, Allison and Perogy boy have 22 and 28 although Allison is currently suspended for 5 games. Trevor Daley and his 4 million dollar contract lead the defence with 14 points. The goaltenders feature Aebischer who has all 6 wins as well as JDD and Mike Leighton. Yeah no wonder their record is where it is. Paul Raisin doesn't give a rip about this team, his zoo is waay more important to him. I don't blame him, this team is going to finish last, and get Steve Stamko's. At least he's going to be a good player. Last edited by Sylvanfan; 12-27-2007 at 05:08 PM.