Funny how we've gone through this entire process of analytics (corsi, war etc) only to come back to "so and so team is good on paper", which has been said by armchair GMs for the last 50 years. Analytics are important but not the only factor in building a good team, the small sample size of 82 games as well as a tonne of other unpredictable variables that need to be addressed.

quotes not working

Kane,Panarin, and Anisimov carried the team last year so well that most Hawks fans didn't really see Towes sink into 3rd line center status. The boards panned it off as Panik being his wing and the player to be named later on the other side, but there is some serious decline in #19's game both this year and last year just when the Hawks need him to be Captain serious, and the best player on the ice.

If Toews has 19 or 20 goals, his line mates would have a few more too, that changes the standings and the power play. The turd that is this season lays at the feet of 19. Crow on IR does not help, as all of the inexperienced and young players deficits are not being overcome by the core (read that as the high priced) players or the HOF coach. Occasionally the young'ings carry the squad or put the team back in the game but its too little and now too late to say that the Hawks will make the playoffs.

Tanner would look you squarely in the eye and tell you that the Arizona Coyotes are a better team than the Washington Capitals and the 34 standings point difference is all luck.

Sure.

Flames are 9-2-4 in their last 15 and two points out of second in the pacific

I bet they make it in the end

"Some people don't believe in luck or coincidence. This is understandable, the more you realize the role randomness plays in events, the less control you realize you have in your own life. Can you even take credit for your accomplishments? Was your hard work worthwhile? It's a slippery slope. Especially if you have the fundamental American belief that hard work will always pay off."

Hi James, I know I have been very critical of you at times but this note is VERY sincere, I promise. If you truly believe this excerpt that you wrote above, then you need to fix some stuff. I will assume that you use Spotify, and if so, please listen to Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich. There are others to study but this is the foundation. It will change your life. Listen to it from beginning to end, and then again, and again...etc. If you don't have a streaming service then the old fashioned book by the night table is a great way to end an evening.

Sorry to preach, but the excerpt above is dead wrong dude, you are in TOTAL control of your life. 100%

Also, nice write-up. I enjoyed this one.

The NHL has 31 teams, a salary cap and nearly full parity.

- james_tanner1

Except for Phoenix... oops, I meant Arizona... er I mean Houston!