Ramblings – June 17 2015
Dobber
2015-06-17
My Stan Bowman Nostradamus prediction from 2009, bodog props, TB injuries, general hockey notes; and more…
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Duncan Keith won the Conn Smythe Trophy and it wasn’t even close. A group of Hawks fans (or temporary fans, given it was Toronto area) were watching and midway through the game the one guy loudly blurted MVP about Corey Crawford, and then ranted about how Chicago would be nowhere without him. Are we watching the same games? If I was in net, I could have backstopped this team to the Cup, come on. I’m not suddenly being hard on Crawford either. I said this when he was still a prospect – his situation with Chicago was looking like the perfect storm and that he could be the next Chris Osgood. Crawford will keep winning games on this great team and he continues to add Cup rings to his trophy case. But we all know that Scott Darling would have won the Cup too. So let’s not take anything away from Keith here when he carried this team on his shoulders.
Washington Capitals 18/1
New York Islanders 22/1
Winnipeg Jets 25/1
Columbus Blue Jackets 33/1
Detroit Red Wings 33/1
Edmonton Oilers 33/1
Calgary Flames 40/1
San Jose Sharks 40/1
Vancouver Canucks 40/1
Ottawa Senators 50/1
Colorado Avalanche 66/1
Dallas Stars 66/1
New Jersey Devils 66/1
Philadelphia Flyers 66/1
Toronto Maple Leafs 66/1
Florida Panthers 75/1
Arizona Coyotes 100/1
Buffalo Sabres 100/1
Carolina Hurricanes 100/1
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Some initial thoughts on those odds – I wouldn’t go Chicago or the Rangers there. Not that either team will be horrible, in fact I think they could get back into the final four. But I think their window for getting to the Final has closed. Chicago has to break up the roster. And the Rangers will lose ground to other teams (I’m thinking TB and NYI).
In terms of best value, I like the Capitals and the Islanders at the medium odds given. And the Panthers, Oilers and Flyers at the longer shots.
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Nashville signed their top goalie prospect Juuse Saros to an ELC. You can read up on him via our fantasy hockey prospect profile, found here.
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Other news tidbits and articles:
– The Red Wings have hired Todd Nelson to be their Head Coach in Grand Rapids.
– Ryan McDonagh is still in a walking boot but says that he won’t need surgery. He’ll be ready for camp. Girardi and Staal underwent ankle surgery earlier this month.
– The Habs signed Torrey Mitchell to a three-year-deal. Hard-working guy who turned it up a notch in the postseason.
– Hey, guess what? The Islanders have still been paying Alexei Yashin. But that ended Monday when the Cup was won. Amazing! His initial deal back in 2001 was 10 years at $87.5 million. They bought him out in 2007.
– Rick DiPietro’s buyout comes off the books in 2029.
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