I don’t have money on it either and I think any of the remaining teams would make for a good final. But Toronto has the best collection of higher end talent with solid depth while Florida has some never say die players who just won’t quit. No matter the final I think we’ll be in for a treat.
- paulr

I'm with you, Paul. I'm not a Leafs hater and do kind of root for them, especially now that Ryan Hardy is GM of the AHL and ECHL affiliates and also the Director of Player Personnel. He was the architect of building the Steel into a powerhouse and I'm quite sure he was a big part of TOR drafting Kniess out of the USHL.. They also nabbed the Steel's last coach to be head coach of the Marlies.

And who could root against McDavid being in the Finals especially v Matthews and TOR for an all Canadian Final.

I think most would root for HC Rod Brindamour. I kinda root against their owner and GM for going on the cheap and not adding at the TDL, every yr, especially with Pacioretty out at the time. But the team is really fun to watch.

I'm a fan of GM Zito and love his going out and IMO overpaying for Tkachuk.

I do still kinda root against the Stars for moving out of The State of Hockey. How can they allow a franchise to move outa MN?!?!

I guess LVG is easy to root against for the way they discard players but man management plays to win.

But yea, I agree whoever ends up in the Finals should be a good series for the fan.

Do you think a championship team can be made up of solid depth players in all positions but without elite players? I’d like to think it can be the case but until it’s done I’m not sure. One good thing if it can be done is you won’t have two to four player taking up over half the cap and any be able to having a winning intact club for a longer time.
- paulr

I really don't know but if I had to answer right now I'd say no. Over the yrs it shows you have to have a. or some, difference makers. But as pointed out the Blues did it without "superstars" but I'd argue Pietroangelo is damn near a superstar.

This is a copycat league so let's see how far and well Seattle does. Maybe same with CAR without Svech and even Pacioretty. ........ Can a group of hungry, bought in, structured, well coached, speed players win without superstar{s)?

Damn pulling the goalie already

The Blues were close to that when they won. Was O Reilly elite?, Tarasanko?, Piterangelo? I would call them pretty good players, but elite would be a stretch.
- LAHawk

O’Reilly in those playoffs was elite. The rest were just great. I think it’s an important distinction. Pietrangelo is borderline elite, Tarasenko was great. You could make arguments for Schenn, Perron, Parayko, and for that postseason only (I loathe him) Binnington.

I used to also think that you needed an All Star number 1 Defenseman to win a cup. The Penguins without an injured Kris Letang proved that wrong. I’m

If we play the five great players game with the teams left in the playoffs, who qualifies?
CAR: Aho, Burns, Slavin, Pesce, Jarvis/Necas?
NJD: Hughes, Hischier, Hamilton, Palat, Bratt
TOR: Matthews, Tavares, Marner, Nylander, O’Reilly, the elite among elite Kampf
FLA: Barkov, Tkachuk, Ekblad, Bobrovsky, Montour/Forsling?

Bedard - yes.

Fantilli - maybe, but leaning no.

I am a believer that a team needs 1 - 3 truly elite players to be a Cup winner. Bedard is as close as you will get to a "sure thing" so I'd pay the price. Fantilli is likely to be very good, but will he be truly elite? Some risk, so harder to pull the trigger. Especially since pick 3/4/5 just might be as good.
- LetsGoHawks

Lafreniere was supposed to be a sure thing.

Nearly every one of the last dozen cup teams has had five or more GREAT players. That’s a broad term, but it is a notch below elite and a step above and beyond good.
COL: MacKinnon, Makar, Raantanen, Landeskog, Toews
TBL: Stamkos, Kucherov, Hedman, Vasilevski, Point, Sergachev
STL: O’Reilly, Pietrangelo, Tarasenko, this is the one team that doesn’t really have five
WAS: Ovi, Kuznetsov, Carlson, Backstrom, Holtby
PIT: Crosby, Malkin, Kessell, Letang, Guentzel, Kunitz
CHI: Kane, Toews, Keith, Hossa, Hjalmarsson, Seabrook, Sharp, Bufglyien, Ladd, Campbell - (later there was Bickell at playoff time) yikes this team was loaded!
LAK: Kopitar, Carter, Doughty, Quick, Muzzin, Gaborik
BOS: Bergeron, Chara, Marchand, Krejci, Thomas
DET: Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Datsyuk, etc.

Having five+ great players doesn’t guarantee a cup, look at the Sharks and Rangers over the years, but it does make sure you’re competitive enough to have a shot.

Hopefully whoever the Hawks get with the top five pick becomes a great player, and he joins some of the other top prospects in becoming a great player. Who the other four are will be interesting.
- ObeseOprah

Adjusted...

I think the team that comes out of the Toronto Florida series will be the eventual winners.
- paulr

No.

Do you think a championship team can be made up of solid depth players in all positions but without elite players? I’d like to think it can be the case but until it’s done I’m not sure. One good thing if it can be done is you won’t have two to four player taking up over half the cap and any be able to having a winning intact club for a longer time.
- paulr

No.

No.
- mohel

Don’t you have a shmok to remove.

Don’t you have a shmok to remove.
- paulr

3 today so far.

3 today so far.
- mohel

fokus aoyf di arbet in hant aun nisht aoyf azoy fil geredt

fokus aoyf di arbet in hant aun nisht aoyf azoy fil geredt
- paulr

Finally something sensible outta you!

Lafreniere was supposed to be a sure thing.
- rpeters01

Surprised wiz how Lafraniere has turned out so far? What is the reason(s) his not becoming a point producing two way forward?

Other:
Rockford bowed out being swept. Teply scored and Reichel tallied after Texas had built a 4 -1 advantage. We outshot them 29-19 but they were better. The vaunted prospects on blue line and our pretty good goaltender fell short

I somehow conjured up an old memory after seeing the final score….so it’s over I said to myself and immediately the data bank in my memory remembered the old ‘80’s song “When it’s over” by Loverboy

Back then I occasionally found myself replying “No Reply at all” (Phil Collins) in ordinary conversation

Ok fast forward today….wondering if Maple Leafs, Oilers, Kraken will leave their opponents with no reply at all. Those teams is the story of playoffs should they advance to the next round.

If no reply at all then truly it will be when it is over for them

Do you consider Toews to have been elite in his prime?
- paulr

Absolutely

Do you consider Toews to have been elite in his prime?
- paulr

Yes.

Surprised wiz how Lafraniere has turned out so far? What is the reason(s) his not becoming a point producing two way forward?

Other:
Rockford bowed out being swept. Teply scored and Reichel tallied after Texas had built a 4 -1 advantage. We outshot them 29-19 but they were better. The vaunted prospects on blue line and our pretty good goaltender fell short

I somehow conjured up an old memory after seeing the final score….so it’s over I said to myself and immediately the data bank in my memory remembered the old ‘80’s song “When it’s over” by Loverboy

Back then I occasionally found myself replying “No Reply at all” (Phil Collins) in ordinary conversation

Ok fast forward today….wondering if Maple Leafs, Oilers, Kraken will leave their opponents with no reply at all. Those teams is the story of playoffs should they advance to the next round.

If no reply at all then truly it will be when it is over for them
- jhawk59

Prospects = Suspects,
Were hardly "shut down" all year in the AHL.

Prospects = Suspects,
Were hardly "shut down" all year in the AHL.
- rpeters01

One prospect in particular, I Mitchell, is what you might refer to as a lingering prospect
Although he played very little in Rockford this season.

“Linger” The Cranberries. My favorite version Paris 1999

Last night pavelski with 4 goals. Tonight Draissitl. He is up to 11 goals so far this playoffs-amazing.

Lafreniere was supposed to be a sure thing.
- rpeters01

I never thought so. he wasn't shooting and he wasn't getting assists in his first two seasons. He seemed like a high second round pick in his first two seasons.
I'm glad we didn't get him for Kane

5-3-5-4-5

Last night pavelski with 4 goals. Tonight Draissitl. He is up to 11 goals so far this playoffs-amazing.
- Revco38

What are the odds of 2 guys 2 nights in a row scoring their teams only 4 goals and losing? Can't imagine.

5-3-3-1-4

Absolutely
- LetsGoHawks

You posted you were leaning no to Fantilli because he wasn’t elite and by all accounts he’s a very similar player to Toews with possibly higher offensive upside?

4-4-4-4-5