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Who are the REAL Contenders? And a Thank You |
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I will be back with a winners and losers of the deadline blog tomorrow, but first I had to take the time to thank everyone out there and in here for what was our most successful trade deadline in our 9 year history. Honestly, I am blown away.
The Website ran incredibly smoothly despite us blowing away all of our previous traffic records on both the day before and the day of the deadline. That is no small feat!
The Hockeybuzz staff and writers are the reason for all these traffic records by providing great content for our ever expanding community of hockey fans. The writers and the community are the reason this thing works.
The Podcast team yesterday was amazing and it is always fun to welcome actual PEOPLE into my house I work with. This virtual workplace is convenient, but there is nothing better than hanging around people you love to talk hockey with.
And most importantly thanks to the readers! There are so many great readers that give this site its character. And to those of you who can afford to help out and buy a season ticket here and there, while not required, is SO very helpful in enabling us to keep this site alive.
I really can't thank you all enough.
So who are the real contenders?
I love stats, and because I love stats I know there are many people who do stats much better than I do...that said, I still love to do math once in a while.
I was watching a game the other night and the broadcasters were talking about the deadline and how to judge your team and the guest, a former GM who I can't remember (because I am still a little sleep deprived), said he used to look at the team's record from December 1st on to see who the real contenders were. His reasoning was that the beginning 45-60 days were always a different beast with teams adjusting to new players, coaches, etc. He also said often the best teams, teams who were coming off of long playoff runs the previous season, would not really ramp up their games until right around December 1st. (by the way, if anyone else saw this interview and can remember the guy's name I would love to know it and credit him)
So all of this got me thinking...
What are the records of the NHL teams since December 1?
A little math later and here they are...
Atlantic Division
1. Bruins 21-10-3 45pts
2. Canadiens 20-13-4 44pts
3. Maple Leafs 19-13-5 43pts
4. Lightning 18-14-4 42pts
5. Senators 17-12-7 41pts
6. Panthers 16-17-2 34pts
7. Red Wings 14-14-5 33pts
8. Sabres 12-15-6 30pts
Metropolitan Division
1. Penguins 23-7-3 49pts
2. Blue Jacket 22-11-2 46pts
3. Flyers 21-12-4 46pts
4. NY Rangers 19-13-4 42pts
5. Devils 16-12-8 40pts
6. Hurricanes 17-14-4 38pts
7. Capitals 15-13-8 38pts
8. NY Islanders 16-17-3 35pts
Central Division
1. Blues 23-10-3 49pts
2. Avalanche 21-11-5 47pts
3. Stars 18-14-6 42pts
4. Hawks 16-9-10 42pts
5. Wild 19-13-2 40pts
6. Jets 18-14-3 39pts
7. Predators 13-15-7 33pts
Pacific Division
1. Ducks 25-7-2 52pts
2. Sharks 21-14-2 46pts
3. Kings 19-15-2 40pts
4. Coyotes 13-16-7 33pts
5. Canucks 14-16-5 33pts
6. Flames 15-18-3 33pts
7. Oilers 12-17-6 30pts
There are a few things that really stand out.
*There are only 4 teams with 22 or more wins since December 1st. The Ducks, Blues, Penguins and Blue Jackets.
*Only the Ducks and Penguins have under 10 losses since December 1st.
* 4 of the 7 teams in the Pacific division are under .500 and have picked up 33 points or less since December 1st.
* The Red Wings have only managed 33 points. That is one less than the Panthers and only 3 more than the Sabres.
* The top five teams in the Atlantic are separated by only 5 points. The top three teams by only two points.
* The surprising start by Colorado has only gotten better over time!
* The Dallas Stars have acquired the same number of points as Chicago and both teams have only picked up three more points than the once believed doomed Winnipeg Jets.
Anyway...I though this was all very interesting.
Cheers.
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