Happy Holidays Hockey World!
I will be putting out three blogs today as I count down the ten most desperate teams based on their HBDQ “Hockeybuzz Desperation Quotient… which takes in several factors that are leading indicators in whether or not a team will be looking to make a BIG move over the next few months here…. For this first blog we will be counting down #10, #9, and #8
#10 The Calgary Flames HBDQ: 40.56
The Flames could have been a lot higher on this list were it not for their fantastic start and first year coach in Sutter…They are as good as it gets currently, but they still make this list because they have only won one playoff series over the last three seasons, and one of their top players, Johnny Gaudreau, is still a few months from walking away in Free Agency.
#9 The Pittsburgh Penguins HBDQ: 42.32
The Panguins are staring at a closing window and looking at Malkin and Letang as potential UFAs. They are also the third OLDEST team in the NHL with the averages age of their players currently 28.8 years. This is proud team, with a proud core, but they have only won 1 playoff series in the last three years.
#8 The Vegas Golden Knights. HBDQ: 44.92
The Knights have had a ton of success already and should be too young to be in this desperate of a situation….however they have an aging owner who has shown a propensity to be aggressive and never sit still. The decision to move Fleury out, along with the fear that this fan base is spoiled and won’t accept anything less than a Cup Contender weighs heavy…
Coming Up in the 1pm ET hour… #7, #6, and #5….
What are your predictions on the rest of the top ten?