The Official 2018-19 Season Talk Thread

[Majingir]

It's September and you know what that means!

Pre-season begins September 15 with Bruins/Flames in China. Regular season begins October 3rd.

First NHL season since 99-00 with no Sedins. And from Canucks standpoint, no team with

Naslund,Sedins,Smyl,Kerns or Quinn(as player or coach) on it for first time in franchise history.

Any predictions/hopes for this season?

Quote:

Atlantic: 1. 2. 3. Metro: 1. 2. 3. East WC: 1. 2. Pacific: 1. 2. 3. Central: 1. 2. 3. West WC: 1. 2. Last Place: Stanley Cup Final:

My picks so far:

Atlantic:
1.Lightning
2.Leafs
3.Bruins

Metro:
1.Caps
2.Pens
3.Flyers

East WC:
1.Jackets
2.Panthers

Central:
1.Preds
2.Jets
3.Wild

Pacific:
1.Kings
2.Sharks
3.Ducks

West WC:
1.Blues
2.Flames

Last Place:
Wings

Stanley Cup Final:
Lightning vs Preds (my hopes would be Leafs vs Preds or Jets)

[TheMatrix31]

Gonna wait for predictions to see if anyone gets hurt during camp/preseason. But I'm sure glad it's creeping up.

[Majingir]

I just hope one day NHL abandons this stupid playoff format. It's my least fave of all the leagues.

And what's sadder is how it seems like people in the league itself(players/gms/owners) don't mind it. Probably won't even be addressed unless something crazy happens like a team missing out on playoffs when 3rd seed in other division is worse.

Sure, "to be the best you have to beat the best", but who would want to face the best early on? You at least want the journey and great moments in playoffs leading up to that matchup instead of possibly being out in round 1 in 6-7 games because you had a conference finals worthy match to kick off the playoffs.

Loser point is a whole different debate which won't be bothered with either, even when you just had a season where a team who not only made playoffs but finished top 3 in their division had 2 fewer wins than a team that missed the playoffs.

[Majingir]

After what we've seen this week, I should change my predictions. I'd put Sharks ahead of Kings to win division, and Knights topping the Flames for the final WC spot.

[mjavon]

Quote: Originally Posted by Majingir

I just hope one day NHL abandons this stupid playoff format. It's my least fave of all the leagues. And what's sadder is how it seems like people in the league itself(players/gms/owners) don't mind it. Probably won't even be addressed unless something crazy happens like a team missing out on playoffs when 3rd seed in other division is worse. Sure, "to be the best you have to beat the best", but who would want to face the best early on? You at least want the journey and great moments in playoffs leading up to that matchup instead of possibly being out in round 1 in 6-7 games because you had a conference finals worthy match to kick off the playoffs. Loser point is a whole different debate which won't be bothered with either, even when you just had a season where a team who not only made playoffs but finished top 3 in their division had 2 fewer wins than a team that missed the playoffs.

I wouldn't be surprised if they change the divisional structure once Seattle comes along and they're at 32. I want to see eight divisions of four teams like the NFL.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Operation Sports mobile app

[Majingir]

Quote: Originally Posted by mjavon

I wouldn't be surprised if they change the divisional structure once Seattle comes along and they're at 32. I want to see eight divisions of four teams like the NFL. Sent from my SM-G955U using Operation Sports mobile app

That's what I've been hoping for all sports for ages now. NFL has best division setup.

NHL more than any of the big 4 leagues I think benefits from that format the most. In an East and West conference, you need 16 teams from each. In an NFL style division, you need 8 true west and 8 true east.

With that format, you have 4 division winners and 4 "wild card" teams. Division winners aren't guaranteed home ice advantage, and we have re-seeding after each round. That'd be my dream scenario for a 32 team league.

West 1: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg
West 2: San Jose, LA, Anaheim, Seattle
South 1: Arizona, Colorado, Dallas, Vegas
South 2: Tampa, Florida, Carolina, Nashville
North 1: Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Buffalo
North 2: St.Louis, Minnesota, Chicago, Detroit
East 1: Boston, Rangers, Islanders, New Jersey
East 2: Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, Columbus

[DrJones]

An NFL-style format of 8 divisions/4 teams makes zero sense for the NHL. Either division games will make up a tiny amount of the schedule, or you're playing the same division rivals 10-16 times per year. Hard pass.

It's much more likely (and desirable IMO) that the Coyotes get punted to the Central once Seattle joins the league. The current playoff format needs a re-do, but there's nothing wrong with 4 divisions of 8 teams.

[Money99]

Quote: Originally Posted by DrJones

An NFL-style format of 8 divisions/4 teams makes zero sense for the NHL. Either division games will make up a tiny amount of the schedule, or you're playing the same division rivals 10-16 times per year. Hard pass. It's much more likely (and desirable IMO) that the Coyotes get punted to the Central once Seattle joins the league. The current playoff format needs a re-do, but there's nothing wrong with 4 divisions of 8 teams.

Totally agree.
I loved the old format of playing out of your division. It created some great rivalries.
My biggest concern is that the NHL will do something stupid and add more teams to the playoff picture once Seattle joins.



Sent from my iPhone using Operation Sports