Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
I wonder how many people looked at the Vegas lineup their first year and said “they have no hope of competing for a cup”? Or the Habs in the bubble year. A lot of the same folks figured Boston was a lock, or Edmonton, or the Avs. Vegas finished out of the playoffs one season before last, because everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Things happen that make everyone’s predictions fall apart. Confiddently declaring “no reason to hope” seems both smug and wrong to me.
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You're making it like the following argument: "You can't completely rule this out; therefore, it must be true". You're also calling another opinion smug, which seems smug in itself(pot calling cattle black I know
).
Let's make it about odds instead of absolutes then. What odds would you want in order to place a bet on the Flames making it to the cup final this season? Would it be 1:5? 1:10? 1:16? 1:20? 1:32? Lower than that? I'm asking you because I would feel pretty confident even at 1:32 odds betting against them. If odds are hard to gauge, then how about a simple question of how many playoff rounds do you expect the Flames to win in the next 5 years? My money is on 2 or less.
Obviously there is a chance the Flames win the cup this season, but it would be a pleasant surprise. However, I don't see too many people in the organization or on the outside thinking this is the year. I'm still going to enjoy the hockey, but I won't be getting my hopes up until this team proves me wrong.
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In the Vegas argument you're also forgetting that they got Stone right before the playoffs, effectively circumventing the cap the way Tampa did with Kucherov. That gave them a huge boost at the right time. They had a $96.5M cap last year. MTL was a true surprise, but they fell apart in the finals just as quickly. You also convinemtly forget that Tampa made the finals 3 times in the last 4 years, and that Colorado was a favorite to win last year.