Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteMoss
How did any of these teams try to tank? Nashville traded Erat (who asked for a trade), the Hurricanes and Avalanche made only minor trades. The only trade that qualifies as a potential tanking trade is the Flames with Bouwmeester. The Iginla trade was moving a free agent who may have left for nothing.
Just sucking doesn't mean you are tanking. The Flames suck this year... but they clearly aren't tanking or else they'd just trade anyone decent for picks and go with a full out rookie line-up.
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I have a question for you then. Outside of the Panthers do you see the Avs, Preds, Lightning, or Hurricanes picking top 5 in July? Not even close right and it looks like none of them will even pick top 10. The draft must have been pretty good for those teams to all improve so much just a season later or maybe just maybe there were some shenanigans after all? Like magic they are all better than the Flames and Oilers this season after all being worse last season despite all those teams having better talent.
Nashville for the first time in their history stopped being competitive for the last month of the season losing 13 of their last 15 games. Now they are back to being the Predators again this season. Not buying trades or injuries as they flat out stunk and it was the first time a Trotz team stopped competing. Stinks.
The Avalanche matching the ROR offer had more to do with ensuring other teams don't poach their future talent than it was about competing. I get that Roy is a better head coach but how does a team go from not even competing most nights and focusing more on Vegas trips than winning all of a sudden 13 games over .500 with the same roster? Stinks of a team that used last season to get a top player and blow up the coach to get the guy (Roy) that they wanted all along.
Carolina winning only 4 of their last 22 games? I get that they lost Ward but the Flames have been starting backup caliber goaltenders since the better part of last season and haven't been close to that bad and they have the Stahl brothers, Semin, Skinner, etc. No excuse for them to play as poorly as they did. Stinks.
I simply think some teams when they felt they were out of playoff contention used the shortened season as a chance to recoup a high draft pick to help turn things around.