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19Yzerman19 · 03-30-2014, 09:27 PM

I'll always measure teams by virtue of Fenwick Close, rather than standings position, until something more reliable is come up with as a predictor. Here are where the Canadian teams stand in the NHL in that regard.

Vancouver - 9th @ 52.1%
Ottawa - 13th @ 50.7%
Winnipeg - 16th @ 49.6%
Montreal - 21st @ 48.7%
Calgary - 26th @ 47.7%
Edmonton - 28th @ 43.5%
Toronto - 29th @ 41.9%

So yeah they pretty much do suck, on balance. Vancouver isn't as bad as the standings suggest, Montreal isn't as good as the standings suggest, and Toronto has only recently gotten to a point where its results match its play.

Toronto is possibly the most fun team to watch fail because it's like the epicentre of denial in Canada. Anyone could have told you this team was a house of cards waiting to fall. They're better than their possession numbers because they have guys who can offset fewer shots with higher shooting percentage but it's nowhere near enough. They were being propped up by insane goaltending numbers from two guys who are probably about average. Over time things even out - in this case, leading to people abusing James Reimer's wife on twitter (http://theleafsnation.com/2014/3/22/reminder-it-s-a-game-and-these-are-people). Incidentally, if you really want to vicariously enjoy misery, listen to the Steve Dangle podcast. His most recent great quote: "The Leafs are the Boston Bruins of losing".

Ottawa is a bit of a weird one because they have two legit good lines going for them right now, one of the best defensemen in the world, and overall seem to be playing as well or better than their opponents on many nights. But in a complete 180 from last year they simply cannot get the goaltending. 21st in the NHL in even strength save percentage after being 3rd last year. I think the reality is somewhere in the middle and they should be a playoff team next year.

Two reasons Vancouver has been so bad this year are its shooting percentage and power play - team shooting percentage for Vancouver is 19th in the NHL, but the PP shooting percentage is hilariously awful at 28th. They're fourth in the league at generating shots, (SJ, WAS, PIT, VAN). Do their players just really suck at scoring? Goaltending is also mediocre. Their defense corps is still good, though, and the oldest guy on there is 32. They've had a lot of injuries. So it looks worse than it is. But they'll probably overreact and further screw up their whole team structure trying to fix the illusory problems while ignoring the real ones because haha it's Vancouver of course they will.

As far as Winnipeg all that needs to be said is LOL Pavelec. Seriously. The guy might be the worst full-time starting netminder in the NHL. As obvious as Ottawa's goaltending futility is at 21st in the league, Winnipeg is worse; they're 24th. But they're actually a fun team to watch. If they got one solid blueliner to anchor things and got a tendy who can stop the puck at even an average level, they'd be in the postseason for, oh, I don't know, five or six games.

Calgary and Edmonton basically are who we thought they were but considering how consistently and predictably terrible the Oilers are it's still baffling to watch them. I'm like this guy watching them.

03-30-2014, 09:27 PM	#25
19Yzerman19 Lifetime Suspension Join Date: Jun 2013 Exp:	I'll always measure teams by virtue of Fenwick Close, rather than standings position, until something more reliable is come up with as a predictor. Here are where the Canadian teams stand in the NHL in that regard. Vancouver - 9th @ 52.1% Ottawa - 13th @ 50.7% Winnipeg - 16th @ 49.6% Montreal - 21st @ 48.7% Calgary - 26th @ 47.7% Edmonton - 28th @ 43.5% Toronto - 29th @ 41.9% So yeah they pretty much do suck, on balance. Vancouver isn't as bad as the standings suggest, Montreal isn't as good as the standings suggest, and Toronto has only recently gotten to a point where its results match its play. Toronto is possibly the most fun team to watch fail because it's like the epicentre of denial in Canada. Anyone could have told you this team was a house of cards waiting to fall. They're better than their possession numbers because they have guys who can offset fewer shots with higher shooting percentage but it's nowhere near enough. They were being propped up by insane goaltending numbers from two guys who are probably about average. Over time things even out - in this case, leading to people abusing James Reimer's wife on twitter (http://theleafsnation.com/2014/3/22/reminder-it-s-a-game-and-these-are-people). Incidentally, if you really want to vicariously enjoy misery, listen to the Steve Dangle podcast. His most recent great quote: "The Leafs are the Boston Bruins of losing". Ottawa is a bit of a weird one because they have two legit good lines going for them right now, one of the best defensemen in the world, and overall seem to be playing as well or better than their opponents on many nights. But in a complete 180 from last year they simply cannot get the goaltending. 21st in the NHL in even strength save percentage after being 3rd last year. I think the reality is somewhere in the middle and they should be a playoff team next year. Two reasons Vancouver has been so bad this year are its shooting percentage and power play - team shooting percentage for Vancouver is 19th in the NHL, but the PP shooting percentage is hilariously awful at 28th. They're fourth in the league at generating shots, (SJ, WAS, PIT, VAN). Do their players just really suck at scoring? Goaltending is also mediocre. Their defense corps is still good, though, and the oldest guy on there is 32. They've had a lot of injuries. So it looks worse than it is. But they'll probably overreact and further screw up their whole team structure trying to fix the illusory problems while ignoring the real ones because haha it's Vancouver of course they will. As far as Winnipeg all that needs to be said is LOL Pavelec. Seriously. The guy might be the worst full-time starting netminder in the NHL. As obvious as Ottawa's goaltending futility is at 21st in the league, Winnipeg is worse; they're 24th. But they're actually a fun team to watch. If they got one solid blueliner to anchor things and got a tendy who can stop the puck at even an average level, they'd be in the postseason for, oh, I don't know, five or six games. Calgary and Edmonton basically are who we thought they were but considering how consistently and predictably terrible the Oilers are it's still baffling to watch them. I'm like this guy watching them.