Quote:
Originally Posted by ComixZone
They freaking should be. They suck. Absolutely locked in mediocrity with no real way out. They made the conference finals riding the best coach in the league at the time, and he's gone.
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This is ridiculous. They ended up with 84 pts this year, and almost certainly would have been in the mix in a weak division like the PAC. They lost the last 4 games of their 13 (
thirteen) game road trip, and then their next 4 at home (+ 3 more OTLs).
No team has ever had a more valid excuse for a terrible losing streak. Imagine living out of your suitcase for a month trying to play competitive hockey against guys who...aren't living out of a suitcase.
Dobson is 22
Barzal and Beauvillier both just turned 25
Pelech/Pulock turn 28 this summer/fall and are locked up on sweetheart deals for another 7/8 years
Sorokin turns 27 soon (though only 2 yrs to UFA)
Overall their young core isn't necessarily any better than CGY's, but they at least lock down more important positions.
They've got too many guys in their earlier 30s eating up cap space, but none of the deals stand out as particularly bad. Lee and Cizikas are the only ones that go past age 34. Palmieri is probably the most concerning, though it might be a chicken/egg thing as his TOI and OZs% are down from his productive years, too.
Their division and conference remain really tough, but I'd expect them to be back in the mix next year.