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strombad · 10-31-2013, 09:02 AM

So, I thought I'd see what some of you thought regarding the trend lately of NHL teams acquiring what they immediately proclaim as the "Best Player Outside the NHL" (BPO for short!) and what you think it's going to take before either A). Teams stop doing it or B). Teams stop heaving lofty expectations on these players.

Obviously it's fresh in our minds because we current have two of them and just had another recently. That's not to say that Ramo and Berra have been exceptionally bad, but the expectation was that both would compete against each other for the starting role. Thing is, Ramo is barely holding the starting position together (not entirely his fault) and Berra is only above average in the AHL. I think both guys are playing just fine and I'm glad we have them, but what's the point of heaping on expectations to players who are really nothing more than your average NHL player?

If you look at a few others recently, it's kind of the same vibe. No "stars" have come out of it. Off the top of my head:
Ramo
Berra (kind of, wasn't touted THAT highly, but it was close)
Cervenka
Radulov
Brunnstrom
Schultz (only do the storm created around how 'great' he was and how the Oilers 'won' that lottery, yet now he's brutal)

Those are all guys who either weren't even good enough for the NHL, or are only good enough to stick around on bad teams.

Even if you look at some of the biggest point producers in the KHL (for example) you've got guys like Nigel Dawes, Dustin Boyd, Clay Wilson, Marcel Hossa, Brandon Bochenski, etc. All guys who couldn't even stick in the NHL and yet teams still look to see who is playing great overseas like it matters.

The NHL is the best league in the world, that's not a secret, but how long is it until we realise how FAR ahead it is? And why do General Managers continue to search the ranks overseas for players who are likely no better than the average guy over here? The gamble? Maybe hoping they strike gold?

Does anyone have any example of when this method has worked? Because I couldn't recall any recently.

Maybe I'm off my rocker on the whole thing, but I was just curious if anybody else had the same thought. To be clear, this isn't an overreaction to bad play from Ramo, but it did get me thinking of guys LIKE him.

10-31-2013, 09:02 AM	#1
strombad Lifetime Suspension Join Date: Aug 2013 Exp:	The "Best Player Outside the NHL" Experiment So, I thought I'd see what some of you thought regarding the trend lately of NHL teams acquiring what they immediately proclaim as the "Best Player Outside the NHL" (BPO for short!) and what you think it's going to take before either A). Teams stop doing it or B). Teams stop heaving lofty expectations on these players. Obviously it's fresh in our minds because we current have two of them and just had another recently. That's not to say that Ramo and Berra have been exceptionally bad, but the expectation was that both would compete against each other for the starting role. Thing is, Ramo is barely holding the starting position together (not entirely his fault) and Berra is only above average in the AHL. I think both guys are playing just fine and I'm glad we have them, but what's the point of heaping on expectations to players who are really nothing more than your average NHL player? If you look at a few others recently, it's kind of the same vibe. No "stars" have come out of it. Off the top of my head: Ramo Berra (kind of, wasn't touted THAT highly, but it was close) Cervenka Radulov Brunnstrom Schultz (only do the storm created around how 'great' he was and how the Oilers 'won' that lottery, yet now he's brutal) Those are all guys who either weren't even good enough for the NHL, or are only good enough to stick around on bad teams. Even if you look at some of the biggest point producers in the KHL (for example) you've got guys like Nigel Dawes, Dustin Boyd, Clay Wilson, Marcel Hossa, Brandon Bochenski, etc. All guys who couldn't even stick in the NHL and yet teams still look to see who is playing great overseas like it matters. The NHL is the best league in the world, that's not a secret, but how long is it until we realise how FAR ahead it is? And why do General Managers continue to search the ranks overseas for players who are likely no better than the average guy over here? The gamble? Maybe hoping they strike gold? Does anyone have any example of when this method has worked? Because I couldn't recall any recently. Maybe I'm off my rocker on the whole thing, but I was just curious if anybody else had the same thought. To be clear, this isn't an overreaction to bad play from Ramo, but it did get me thinking of guys LIKE him.