Quote:
Originally Posted by TurnedTheCorner
It's tempting to generalize things in this kind of fashion - but anomalies pop up everywhere.
There's Carolina, Anaheim, TB, and Calgary showing up in the last three finals pre-cap. Carolina, Edmonton, and LA show up in the finals in the post-cap world. Anaheim shows up as the underdog pre-cap, and more like the powerhouse they're considered to be post cap. Philly shows up only twice in 20 years, once pre and once post cap. Nashville and Minnesota have been the most consistent performers since expansion, yet haven't been deep in the pre or post cap league.
There's some patterns for sure, but there's some randomness as well. In both financial landscapes.
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Yes, but the general impression provided by the 20 years of data shows who's been good spanning both eras. And that not all of that is due to good management - some of it was purely financial advantage.
A bit tough to only count a finals appearance as success as just 2 teams can do that in a given year (I prefer semi finals appearance as a measure, although post season wins is probably better still).
And you can't look at just 1 year as a "fluke". You have to follow up for the following season. For example, the Flames followed up their finals appearance by winning the division. The Oilers by missing the playoffs.