Post by James on Oct 10, 2023 22:49:08 GMT -7
Its been a long summer, a very long summer. The kind of summer where stewing takes place. Unfinished business sitting on the back burner getting sticky on the bottom of the pot. I guess I should give it a stir.
I look at the Champ's lineup and I just don't know how he is currently sharing space with my trophy, er I mean the Linden Cup. He has a couple nice pieces, Robertson, Kyrou, Quinn Hughes, and a real good goalie. But he added two or three big pieces in the off season and still does not measure up. He probably won't even win his own division. But the cup doesn't lie and I will be keeping my eye on him this time. He won't get past game 5 if we meet again.
How about the former champ? His reign was short and no wonder. Career years from his big guns could not be repeated. He knew he got lucky, but luck has been a flakey pregnant dog lately and she clearly joined up with the Horsemen last year. Still Doug has the guys to finish first in his division. He has lots of flexible forwards and a decent core of defensemen even though he missed out on the legendary fire sale. His goaltenders are not the worse in the league. Worse case, he finishes 2nd.
So who wins the Division? Probably one of the Peter's brothers. Bob and his Sharks have won it a couple times recently. Even snuck into the playoffs to knock his brother's vastly superior team out. But lets face it, the Sharks are not really ready to compete with the lucky horses or deep dolphins. The fishes will have to swim very hard to make the playoffs. Richard deserved a better fate than missing the show by a single point. His team of young stars is on the rise to be sure, but they are still closer to their World Junior glory than to NHL stardom. Soon, good host, soon, but not yet. Probably beats out Bob for the last spot in the playoffs though. Could climb a bit higher if all his young guys take a step.
So that leaves Gordy and his Oilers. Any team with Leon on it should compete. Should. Adding a big dman, and balancing his wings should guarantee Gord a spot in the playoffs, and it would be surprising if he didn't win the division. But maybe Gord will leave injured guys in the line up for weeks at a time. Maybe he will start a goalie assigned to the minors (since traded). Maybe a bunch of deleted points will let someone else into the top spot. Maybe. Definitely my pick to rule the Platinums this year. A division clearly up for grabs.
But never count out the Ice Breakers. After 3 straight missed post seasons, Ed added the biggest fish in the fire sale and has a deep team. Ed also makes the most lineup changes and milks his middle of the road talent for every point. You can't really call him to win the division when he hasn't finished in the top three for more than a decade, but I would not pick the Ice Breakers as a lock to miss the post season. And as Mr Penner proved a few short months ago (where did I put my drink?) Anything can happen if you make the playoffs.
After winning two straight cups, this is definitely the more exciting and competitive division to watch... and the legendary fire sale made it even more competitive. Lets go talk about that...
I look at the Champ's lineup and I just don't know how he is currently sharing space with my trophy, er I mean the Linden Cup. He has a couple nice pieces, Robertson, Kyrou, Quinn Hughes, and a real good goalie. But he added two or three big pieces in the off season and still does not measure up. He probably won't even win his own division. But the cup doesn't lie and I will be keeping my eye on him this time. He won't get past game 5 if we meet again.
How about the former champ? His reign was short and no wonder. Career years from his big guns could not be repeated. He knew he got lucky, but luck has been a flakey pregnant dog lately and she clearly joined up with the Horsemen last year. Still Doug has the guys to finish first in his division. He has lots of flexible forwards and a decent core of defensemen even though he missed out on the legendary fire sale. His goaltenders are not the worse in the league. Worse case, he finishes 2nd.
So who wins the Division? Probably one of the Peter's brothers. Bob and his Sharks have won it a couple times recently. Even snuck into the playoffs to knock his brother's vastly superior team out. But lets face it, the Sharks are not really ready to compete with the lucky horses or deep dolphins. The fishes will have to swim very hard to make the playoffs. Richard deserved a better fate than missing the show by a single point. His team of young stars is on the rise to be sure, but they are still closer to their World Junior glory than to NHL stardom. Soon, good host, soon, but not yet. Probably beats out Bob for the last spot in the playoffs though. Could climb a bit higher if all his young guys take a step.
So that leaves Gordy and his Oilers. Any team with Leon on it should compete. Should. Adding a big dman, and balancing his wings should guarantee Gord a spot in the playoffs, and it would be surprising if he didn't win the division. But maybe Gord will leave injured guys in the line up for weeks at a time. Maybe he will start a goalie assigned to the minors (since traded). Maybe a bunch of deleted points will let someone else into the top spot. Maybe. Definitely my pick to rule the Platinums this year. A division clearly up for grabs.
But never count out the Ice Breakers. After 3 straight missed post seasons, Ed added the biggest fish in the fire sale and has a deep team. Ed also makes the most lineup changes and milks his middle of the road talent for every point. You can't really call him to win the division when he hasn't finished in the top three for more than a decade, but I would not pick the Ice Breakers as a lock to miss the post season. And as Mr Penner proved a few short months ago (where did I put my drink?) Anything can happen if you make the playoffs.
After winning two straight cups, this is definitely the more exciting and competitive division to watch... and the legendary fire sale made it even more competitive. Lets go talk about that...