Quote:
Originally Posted by BACKCHECK!!!
Missing the playoffs isn't that big of a deal.
But the Flames didn't just miss the playoffs.
Calgary was within shouting distance of last place in the NHL. And that is a big deal.
The Flames needed a strong push down the stretch to make 26th place, and that is a very VERY different situation from "missing the playoffs".
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Last season the San Jose Sharks and Florida Panthers both finished 8 points out of a playoff spot. Now they're
both in. This season the Calgary Flames finished 10 points out of a playoff spot. That's how I'm looking at it.
The other thing I want to point out is that this year is more parity with no team outright tanking - each two points are harder to come by for almost everybody because the tanking teams suddenly decided to not suck. Below are the bottom 10 teams' point totals last year vs this year:
Code:
Bottom Feeder 2015 2016 Points Improvement Rank Change
Leafs 68 69 +01 -03
Oilers 62 70 +08 -01
Sabres 54 81 +27 +07
Coyotes 56 78 +22 +05
Hurricanes 71 86 +15 +08
Devils 78 84 +06 +05
Flyers 84 94 +10 +10
Sharks 89 98 +09 +12
Jackets 89 76 -13 -05
Avalanche 90 82 -08 ---
I dub it the Post-McDavid effect.