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Originally Posted by thefoss1957
Heep...Hartley had a pretty good run in Colorado, where he had some elite talent. He had some building years in Atlanta, but only one playoff season. For you guys, two seasons to build, and last year's playoffs, he seems a good motivator, but, I question his abilities with x's and o's to give his guys an edge.
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I kind of agree. I think he's a great coach for this team right now, giving young guys lots of leash, etc. but I don't think he's the guy to lead this team into contender status. I love the Flames breakouts when they work, but it's so easy to coach against the stretch play in the playoffs. The way Anaheim played us last year in the playoffs it felt like we were constantly punting on the second down for some reason.
Quote:
Originally Posted by thefoss1957
Kings...Decent roster...decent coach (though with a short shelf life)...Too dependent on goaltending
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Can't disagree with you more about their coach. I know that as a Flames fan I'm biased and all, but in the last 6 seasons that Sutter was a head coach he's won the Stanley Cup 2 times and reached the finals 3 times. In fact my top 5 head coaches in any order would be Sutter, Quenneville, Babcock, Vigneault, and Trotz. These guys all manage to elevate their stars while keeping the rest of the team involved and competitive.
As for the Division, it's so hard to say. With every night being a crapshoot for so many pacific teams you would have to think that this is a good thing for the young teams. It's like everyone in the division hit the first hurdle they saw and fell over. The Flames and Oilers are still playing meaningful games in the middle of January and with the start that both teams had neither deserve to be (well the Oil are probably out now). The Coyotes came back from their early stumbles and are playing like a real hockey team.
So the losers in this are probably the Sharks, Ducks and 'Nucks. Older teams who for whichever reason haven't done anything but be below average.
I thought Anaheim would be the WCF champ before the season began. I still think they can make the playoffs and even make some noise there, but they aren't playing like the team to beat, just like a team to beat.
I'm not too surprised that Vancouver is hanging around as the Sedins still look like superstars most nights. They also have a pretty decent top pairing on defence. And almost nothing else. But this wild wild pacific has to kill them. They are just below good enough for the playoffs and have almost zero redeemable assets at the trade deadline (unless someone looses their marbles).
San Jose is in flux. We knew they would be. They knew they would be. And this season have to be particularly flummoxing because they can't even point to the standings the next time they ask Joe or Patty to gtfo.
So to me the young teams win this. Well, LA wins this. But CGY, ARI and EDM probably benefit the most for being in this years weakest division. Because continuing to play meaningful games and competing as a team for the win is one of the best ways to foster good play in younger players.