Really???? How successful would your backwater franchise have been if this system was in place before you won your cup??? Nobody was pissing and moaning like this when Pittsburgh was drafting phenoms left, right and center. Now that Toronto has a chance to draft 1st overall for the first time in 30 everyone starts complaining!! Deal with it.
- kayakerjack

Amazing as it sounds, not everything revolves around Toronto.

Ok. Tell you what. If you want a league where it's more dog eat dog like the one you're promoting let's also go back to the days where teams had to survive on their own financially. No more big fat welfare checks from certain cities north of the border. I have a feeling this particular blogger may all the sudden have a different viewpoint when it comes to leaving certain things purely to chance!!!!

This is not actually a problem in the NHL. The Oilers haven't been sucking on purpose for 10 years. Do you think a lame duck coach like Ted Nolan was losing games on purpose last year?

The Pens tanked for Lemieux in '84 and the lottery was instituted. Problem solved 30+ years ago.

This is only still a problem for teams like the current Carolina Hurricanes, who find themselves in the no-man's land between good lottery odds and good playoff-making odds.

Ok. Tell you what. If you want a league where it's more dog eat dog like the one you're promoting let's also go back to the days where teams had to survive on their own financially. No more big fat welfare checks from certain cities north of the border. I have a feeling this particular blogger may all the sudden have a different viewpoint when it comes to leaving certain things purely to chance!!!!
- kayakerjack

Yep and just take out the cap and see how fair the league is. The bottom line still comes down to the fact that the most well managed and coached teams win and have success.

Hey, New Jersey and Carolina. I'd be a little more courteous to Leaf fans. We are afterall keeping your Mickey Mouse franchises from folding up shop and skipping town. You had no problem asking for special treatment at the last lock out did you??? Stop biting the hand that feeds you!

Hey, New Jersey and Carolina. I'd be a little more courteous to Leaf fans. We are afterall keeping your Mickey Mouse franchises from folding up shop and skipping town. You had no problem asking for special treatment at the last lock out did you??? Stop biting the hand that feeds you!
- kayakerjack

"The Arrogant Canadian" is my favorite hockeybuzz character.

"The Arrogant Canadian" is my favorite hockeybuzz character.
- eichiefs9

I wish they were just a hockeybuzz character.

I wish they were just a hockeybuzz character.
- BINGO!

Time for Canadian teams to raise the Canadian-Confederate flag and secede from the NHL.

Us overweight, no-healthcare-havin', Kardashian-lovin 'Mericans will have to make do with the remaining 23 teams all to ourselves.

I'm sure all the top Canadian players will be dying to sign with the brand new 7 team league.

Ok. Tell you what. If you want a league where it's more dog eat dog like the one you're promoting let's also go back to the days where teams had to survive on their own financially. No more big fat welfare checks from certain cities north of the border. I have a feeling this particular blogger may all the sudden have a different viewpoint when it comes to leaving certain things purely to chance!!!!
- kayakerjack

The Hurricanes ownership and former management group has a lot more to do with any financial struggles the team has endured, sir.

The salary cap DID NOT level the playing field. It is artificially propping up teams who's buildings are half empty every night. How is that fair???

The salary cap DID NOT level the playing field. It is artificially propping up teams who's buildings are half empty every night. How is that fair???
- kayakerjack

God you're cute.

You do realize that Pittsburgh traded their best player and sat their starting goaltender for half the season in order to draft Mario right? Just sayin. Funny how everybody is taking so much exception to "tanking" all the sudden.

I agree tanking sucks and i wish it werent apparent teams did it

but eliminating entry level contracts and such wont work, not that i think it isnt worth a discussion because maybe it could work with the right rules, as is, just allowing any rookie to sign at any amount wont work

it would lead to instant contract disputes, imagine Edmonton drafted Mcdavid, and he thinks hes worth 5.75m right off the bat and edmonton doesnt think they can swing that sort of deal for someone whos never even proven anything at the NHL level,

so then what? theyre forced to trade them? or what if this kid, is super bummed to be drafted by edmonton, and basically tells them, ill sign for 7 mil here, or ill sign for 3.5 somewhere else?

i mean these are hypothetical and maybe if we implemented some rules on what can and can not take place,

i just doubt any team is not going to draft the highest talent regardless of what they should be drafting according to budget

the only real solution i think is to straight up say all 14 teams who miss the playoffs get the 7.14 percent at the draft, and everyone after that is random? its not exactly a great method, but even if we said they get equal shot at draft they would then still take to ensure the #2 pick right? so you would need to jumble the remaining teams, or basically continue to lottery 1-14 picks until all 14 teams got someone?

I dont think anyone would like that

You do realize that Pittsburgh traded their best player and sat their starting goaltender for half the season in order to draft Mario right? Just sayin. Funny how everybody is taking so much exception to "tanking" all the sudden.
- kayakerjack

Its not so much all of a sudden, any year this happens there are people upset with it. Its more predominant in years with better talented 1st over all draft pick

The salary cap DID NOT level the playing field. It is artificially propping up teams who's buildings are half empty every night. How is that fair???
- kayakerjack

Um.... it absolutely helps to level the playing field, imagine every year Toronto or the Rangers want the best UFA, theyll get them and if someone isnt working out, just buy them out immediately? A lot of teams simply cant piss money away like that,

God you're cute.
- BINGO!

I can't possibly take exception to a picture of Marty Feldman. It makes no difference what the level of conflict is. It has put this entire thing into perspective and I now realize the error of my ways! I go to the penalty box and feel shame. 👶

Im for the plan that once you're mathmatically eliminated from the PO, every win gives you a ball. Teams that fail the last day of the season/game are auto signed at least one. Then, all picks 1-14 are done by lottery.

I also think if the NHL wants to even the playing field, every teams cap should depend on their state income tax. Stamkos would make more in florida at $8mill than say NY or Cali at $9mill. Technically, florida and Tampa have an unfair advantage with the salary cap

Its not so much all of a sudden, any year this happens there are people upset with it. Its more predominant in years with better talented 1st over all draft pick
- digitalbath[/

At least it's not automatic anymore that if you finish last you draft first. On top of that championships are won by how you draft after the 1st round. If you can't find gems there you ain't winning anything. I just hope the fans in Pitt don't abandon their team again when the roster no longer has a phenom. It's a great sports city.

[quote=digitalbath]Its not so much all of a sudden, any year this happens there are people upset with it. Its more predominant in years with better talented 1st over all draft pick
- kayakerjack[/

At least it's not automatic anymore that if you finish last you draft first. On top of that championships are won by how you draft after the 1st round. If you can't find gems there you ain't winning anything. I just hope the fans in Pitt don't abandon their team again when the roster no longer has a phenom. It's a great sports city.

i cant imagine pens not having a phenom tho? what do you mean, they drafted top 5 like 5 years in a row?

There is no tanking problem in the NHL.

The Sabres decided to tear it down 2013 when they realized their core of Vanek, Pominville, Miller, Ehrhoff, and, um Ville Leino was getting them nowhere.

The Leafs decided the same thing in 2015 with Kessel and now Phaneuf.

The Oilers suck because they haven't drafted well outside of their high-1st round picks and they can't get quality free agents to come to the Arctic Circle.

The Jackets were supposed to be good this year and hired the NHL's premiere ass-kicker to get them in line.

The Yotes have exceeded all expectations.

Who is tanking?

Should teams like the Sabres and Leafs continue to throw good money after bad on their mistakes just so teams that suck less can get a better shot at Auston Mathews?

I agree. Problem is you and I both support teams with strong, committed and loyal fanbases. We'll never get the welfare recipients to sink or swim on their own merits. Do you know how frustrating it is to be 49 years without a cup, paying $275 for a hockey ticket and taking insults from some dork in Carolina who's team I'm paying for????

There is no tanking problem in the NHL.

The Sabres decided to tear it down 2013 when they realized their core of Vanek, Pominville, Miller, Ehrhoff, and, um Ville Leino was getting them nowhere.

The Leafs decided the same thing in 2015 with Kessel and now Phaneuf.

The Oilers suck because they haven't drafted well outside of their high-1st round picks and they can't get quality free agents to come to the Arctic Circle.

The Jackets were supposed to be good this year and hired the NHL's premiere ass-kicker to get them in line.

The Yotes have exceeded all expectations.

Who is tanking?

Should teams like the Sabres and Leafs continue to throw good money after bad on their mistakes just so teams that suck less can get a better shot at Auston Mathews?
- Snowblind

Well said, reasonable and solid points. Wasted on here I'm afraid.

The changes they've made to the lottery are enough to solve the problem. This year's bottom dwellers are on pace to do much better than last years bottom dwellers.

Lottery for the first three picks means that those bottom teams can drop by 3 spots. Due to the weighting of the draw the lower a team finishes in the standing, the more likely that team is to drop from that draft position.

All non-playoff teams have a chance to win the lottery.

30th, 29th and 28th is incredibly less valuable than it used to be.

The odds the last place team picks 4th overall lies somewhere between 45-50%.

Odds for last place if 17th and 18th place teams win first two draws:
1st: 20.0%
2nd: 16.2%
3rd: 13.2%
4th: 50.6%

Odds for last place if 29th and 28th place teams win first two draws:
1st: 20.0%
2nd: 18.5%
3rd: 16.1%
4th: 45.4%

Edmonton fans are curiously bitter in a certain way about winning McDavid. The amount of articles I read with angry Oiler fans because they feel McDavid doesn't get enough attention or that their franchise is disrespected because of negative media attention to their current state is remarkable.

I feel maybe they expected with McDavid in Edmonton they were suppose to become the hockey apex given his hype the way Pittsburgh gets a ton of league attention with Crosby. The truth is McDavid gets plenty of press time and while he was injured there wasn't much to speak of because he wasn't healthy. Now he is back and great so its fun to watch. The other truth is because of Edmontons small market nature and years of getting #1's people are sick of them. Oiler fans congrats you got McDavid he is yours for a decade plus please put a decent team together. But the truth is McDavid in Toronto, a US market, or any where else would've been better then Edmonton, so the Oil will hear for a long time a sense of regret when media talks about McDavid there because frankly it sucks in a marketing perspective that's where he is. As a Sabre fan while I would've completely hated Toronto getting McDavid, for the sake of hockey and as a fan of the sport in general it would've been amazing to watch him there. There are a ton of other markets that would've been more fun and interesting also but such is life. In response to general fact that Toronto or any other major market probably was a better place for McDavid just about every Oiler fan I meet hopes fans of team X who were not happy the Oilers got McDavid don't win the lottery which leads to comments like the one you just referenced.
- cmsabres48

What (frank)ing Oilers fans do you talk to? Certainly not the ones on this site, nor on any of the local boards like Oilers Nation. I feel like you're making this up. Oilers fans are bitter, but only because the team isn't making progress, not for the reasons you claim.