Ruutu15 wrote:
I seriously don't see any scenario that places the Blues above 4th in the division. The Blackhawks and Detroit are interchangeable at 1st, followed by Nashville. You're talking about 80 year old Arnott? Nichol? The same Scott Nichol who could barely keep his job on the Blackhawks' 4th line when they were losing 60 games a year? Another Blackhawks reject in Kent Huskins? That's reason for optimism?!
I admire the optimism. I'm not even trying to be sarcastic here. But you're talking about a mix of unproven guys like Shattenkirk, a handful of 4th liners, and guys who are one season away from hanging 'em up. You don't know if Perron is coming back at all this season, and Oshie is wasting his career away tits up to the bar. Say what you want about Patrick Kane...he's a drunk, but at least he makes up for it by showing up to practice on time and scoring constantly.
I told you that if the Blues finished ahead of the Hawks this year, I'd donate to either the site or the Wickenheiser charity. When you start naming off guys like Kent Huskins, Scott Nichol, and the 2011 version of Jason Arnott, I'm feeling pretty damned confident that I won't be reaching for my wallet in April.
Flame away. You know I'm right.
Did you not see we have a new theme song this year? I believe you're seriously underestimating a team that now has the same song that propelled Detroit to years of success. Better start planning the April outlay of cash now!
Heard this on KSDK from a member of the Blues about the upcoming season.
If we have winning months, we'll have a winning record.
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WaukeeBlues wrote:Oh ok so THIS is the year of leaps and bounds? Got it... I got confused with '08, '09 and '10... my bad.
Would you disagree with the opinion that this team should be the best team we've had since coming out of the lockout?
No but I've thought that every season since the lockout. That was my point.
So did I. But looking back on those teams and comparing them to this one, it's easy to see that this one has the most potential.
And they would have faired better last year, and maybe made the playoffs had it not been for the massive amount of injuries to key players.
A healthier team, plus the addition of Stewart, Shattenkirk, Arnott, Langenbrunner, Nichol and Huskins...plus the breakthrough years of Berglund & Petro... this year's team should be quite a bit better...if they stay fairly healthy. Hopefully Oshie can net 20+...and I think he can if he stays healthy.
And it would be absolutely huge to get Perron back sometime this season. If he could contribute some, then that's just icing.
This team should be pretty good... a lot hinges on how well Halak will play. If he is solid, I like this team a lot.
I seriously don't see any scenario that places the Blues above 4th in the division. The Blackhawks and Detroit are interchangeable at 1st, followed by Nashville. You're talking about 80 year old Arnott? Nichol? The same Scott Nichol who could barely keep his job on the Blackhawks' 4th line when they were losing 60 games a year? Another Blackhawks reject in Kent Huskins? That's reason for optimism?!
I admire the optimism. I'm not even trying to be sarcastic here. But you're talking about a mix of unproven guys like Shattenkirk, a handful of 4th liners, and guys who are one season away from hanging 'em up. You don't know if Perron is coming back at all this season, and Oshie is wasting his career away tits up to the bar. Say what you want about Patrick Kane...he's a drunk, but at least he makes up for it by showing up to practice on time and scoring constantly.
I told you that if the Blues finished ahead of the Hawks this year, I'd donate to either the site or the Wickenheiser charity. When you start naming off guys like Kent Huskins, Scott Nichol, and the 2011 version of Jason Arnott, I'm feeling pretty damned confident that I won't be reaching for my wallet in April.
Flame away. You know I'm right.
I won't flame but will lay some facts.
Your team made the playoffs, not of their own accord, but because of another team's loss, on the last day of the regular season.
The Hawks scored 18 more goals than the Blues did last season. That's .22 goals a game. The offense wasn't necessarily the problem.
Nothing earth-shattering has occurred this summer to make me believe that equation will substantially alter. Maybe the Hawks have figured out who the real prospects are on their team now that they've wheeled and dealed a little bit. Maybe their defense is cheaper but weaker now that Campbell is gone. Maybe it's not. Maybe Brunette will do great and consistently produce and compensate for some lost offense and maybe he won't.
I guess my point is that you are a FAR cry from the outright assumption that "the Hawks and Wings are interchangeable at first place" in the division. The Central Division may very well end up being the best in the NHL this season and I think it's safe to say 4 of the 5 teams in it will make the playoffs. But with the massive changes that the Blue Jackets have made, and a (hopefully) re-vamped and re-stabilized Blues team, anything can happen in this division this year. And that's the only safe bet there is.
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WaukeeBlues wrote:
I won't flame but will lay some facts.
Your team made the playoffs, not of their own accord, but because of another team's loss, on the last day of the regular season.
The Hawks scored 18 more goals than the Blues did last season. That's .22 goals a game. The offense wasn't necessarily the problem.
Nothing earth-shattering has occurred this summer to make me believe that equation will substantially alter. Maybe the Hawks have figured out who the real prospects are on their team now that they've wheeled and dealed a little bit. Maybe their defense is cheaper but weaker now that Campbell is gone. Maybe it's not. Maybe Brunette will do great and consistently produce and compensate for some lost offense and maybe he won't.
I guess my point is that you are a FAR cry from the outright assumption that "the Hawks and Wings are interchangeable at first place" in the division. The Central Division may very well end up being the best in the NHL this season and I think it's safe to say 4 of the 5 teams in it will make the playoffs. But with the massive changes that the Blue Jackets have made, and a (hopefully) re-vamped and re-stabilized Blues team, anything can happen in this division this year. And that's the only safe bet there is.
All good points, and I can agree to everything you said about this quite possibly being the best division in the league. I can't wait to get it going!
