13 replies to this topic

[redman12]

I am sure everyone had Buffalo and Carolina pegged to be soo good after the seasons they had in 04. :wink:

[kyuusei]

So long as SI doesn't predict it. I'm fine with THN predicting it, though.



I'm still looking for that issue, darnit. Someone said it has Crosby on the cover?

[kyuusei]

I found it today. The Iggy article was nice to see and left me hopeful for the upcoming season.



I don't think Sidney's going to have the most points.



I don't expect Thornton to get THAT many points (130-135) but I don't think it'll be a huge drop like they're predicting, either.



Bah. I want hockey to start.

[Mike_Oxlong]

Can't let this go to our heads. Last year they picked Philly to win it all IIRC, and look how far they got.

[Mike_Oxlong]

116 point isn't exactly a lot. Especially in light of the openness of the game last season. I would expect Thornton to improve on his totals from last year - maybe 130-135 points. Jagr will also probably be up there.

[flamesfan14]

Just curious.. has Sports Illustrated picked thier favorite to win the cup?

[ukflames]

I know SI is the big curse but i just hate being picked by any publication, just seems to jinx the season :evil:

[IGGYFORPM]

I picked up that copy of THN today. Aside from the obvious fact that they picked the Flames to win the Cup (also picking Iggy to win the Conn Smythe) I found several aspects of this issue interesting.



Namely, they picked the Canucks to miss the playoffs despite the addition of Luongo, yet they have Naslund an Morrison returning to form without Bertuzzi and Luongo posting at least 40 wins! Add to the fact that they also have the Sedin Sisters increasing their point totals again this year and it sounds like a recipe for a playoff/division contender. Kinda contradictory.



Also, despite picking Anaheim as an obvious favorite, they have dropped several Ducks' projected stats well below last year. I think that with the addition of Pronger, it only makes sense that the Ducks would INCREASE they offense from last year - not drop off.



Same can be said of the Preds' projections. Way too low, IMO! Even with one of the most dangerous 1st lines-in-the-making (Arnott, Kariya, Sullivan) THN give them a conservative 70-75 point average. I'm thinking these guys are gonna light it up this year in the 90-95 point range.



Same for SJ regarding Thornton and Cheechoo. Both are projected to produce 19 and 15 points less respectively.



Perhaps the most ridiculous projection I laughed at...Mats Sundin will score 95 points!!! With nobody but Darcy Tucker to play with. Okay...guess I'll try and snag him in the first round of my draft before any of the other poolies can.



And one last knock, they somehow have Tampa reaching the playoffs somewhere as high as a 5th seed!!! With Marc Denis in net? Try again Hockey News! And Atlanta is also in the playoff picture in the East by their calculations. Again, anybody wanna play goal? Name another all-around good player for Atlanta after Ilya and Mary-anne........................That's because you can't.



That said...I don't mind reading that the Flames are favorites of THN. But Flames fans, take this with a huge grain of salt. These guys perennially pick at least two Canadian teams to rip it up in the regular season (if only to sell more issues). They maybe so-called experts, but they picked Buffalo and Edmonton to finish 13th in their respective conferences last season, and Carolina to finish...14th!!!



It doesn't hold any water as far as I'm concerned. A good read nonetheless. Great sorted stats from last year for fantasy poolies such as myself. But their projections and predictions are just a silly crap shoot. Their logic for lower scoring is because many players apparently will understand the new rules and there will be less powerplays. Well, I got news for The Hockey News regarding less powerplays - Not while Bettman is in charge!



I do agree with one thing....Crosby will be even better this year, whether he plays on Malkin's line or not.



Whatever...that's my 2 cents after reading it cover to cover today.

It's fun to project stats. And everybody's version would be different. Personally I think they projected Iggy (93 pts) a little too high, and Tanguay (82 pts) a little too low. I think Tangs will challenge JI for team scoring leader.

[Bluenose_Redheart]

Yeah, I think it was me who said Crosby was on the cover before the server went down last week. It might not have Crosby on the cover in your part of the country. I know every year when I wait to get The Hockey News Yearbook, I see all these cool covers advertised and I always wanted to get the Flames cover with Iggy on it or something, but I am pretty sure they have different covers for different regions. All I get here in Nova Scotia evry year is a Damn Montreal Canadiens Cover. Obviously I think it's just smart marketing because a majority of fans out here are either Montreal or Toronto fans. I have shopped around Halifax and it's always the same cover. So anyways it might not have Sidney Crosby on it in your region, but it is called The Hockey News Pool Guide or something close to that. On a side note it predicts Iggy will end up with 93 points, Tanguay 82, and Langkow 71. They also have them pegged to play on the same line with Langkow in the center position. Those are some nice point totals if they are close to being accurate.

[Bluenose_Redheart]

Oh yeah, I forgot they picked Crosby to win the scoring title with 116 points. Just thought some people might find this interesting. I am sorry if this is considered being in the wrong thread, I just meant for it to be a continuation of my previous post in this thread.

[TheFlyingDragon]

QUOTE(flamesfan14)

---

Just curious.. has Sports Illustrated picked thier favorite to win the cup?

Nooo sports Illustrated curse. :twisted: I hope not :!: :mrgreen:



We know what the Flames can do Im not going to worry about projections.

[lunatik-1]

[quote=IGGYFORPM] I picked up that copy of THN today. Aside from the obvious fact that they picked the Flames to win the Cup (also picking Iggy to win the Conn Smythe) I found several aspects of this issue interesting.[/quote] many expercts are picking the Flames to win the Cup... its hard not to pick a division champ who improved their team



[quote=IGGYFORPM]Namely, they picked the Canucks to miss the playoffs despite the addition of Luongo, yet they have Naslund an Morrison returning to form without Bertuzzi and Luongo posting at least 40 wins! Add to the fact that they also have the Sedin Sisters increasing their point totals again this year and it sounds like a recipe for a playoff/division contender. Kinda contradictory. [/quote]

not really if they expect the canucks to play Luongo for 70+ games... 40 wins is possible but with 35 losses its not as impressive



[quote=IGGYFORPM]Also, despite picking Anaheim as an obvious favorite, they have dropped several Ducks' projected stats well below last year. I think that with the addition of Pronger, it only makes sense that the Ducks would INCREASE they offense from last year - not drop off.[/quote] they're off base here thats for sure... the only defensive stats Pronger will help increase are blocked shots and give aways



[quote=IGGYFORPM]Same can be said of the Preds' projections. Way too low, IMO! Even with one of the most dangerous 1st lines-in-the-making (Arnott, Kariya, Sullivan) THN give them a conservative 70-75 point average. I'm thinking these guys are gonna light it up this year in the 90-95 point range.[/quote] i agree the Preds will be beetter i have them projected to win the Presidents trophy... but THN is justified in their choice the Preds have a ton of youth and inexperience to overcome especially on the blueline



[quote=IGGYFORPM]Same for SJ regarding Thornton and Cheechoo. Both are projected to produce 19 and 15 points less respectively.[/quote] also justifiable... Cheechoo has not proven to be a consistent offensive star... predicting a less production isnt a shock... they could hav epegged Cheechoo for a 15 goal drop and it would have been realistic



[quote=IGGYFORPM]Perhaps the most ridiculous projection I laughed at...Mats Sundin will score 95 points!!! With nobody but Darcy Tucker to play with. Okay...guess I'll try and snag him in the first round of my draft before any of the other poolies can. [/quote]assuming O'Niell's career is done? he has a coach he loved in Carolina behind the bench now... he is a proven comodity who had an off yeah dont be shocked at a 30-35 goal season... and if he stays strong and Steen continues to mature Sundin could easily make a case for 95 points... Sundin is still a star center



[quote=IGGYFORPM]And one last knock, they somehow have Tampa reaching the playoffs somewhere as high as a 5th seed!!! With Marc Denis in net? Try again Hockey News! [/quote] he hasnt had a chance to win since being quired by Columbus... give him a chance before you knock their move... and he cant be any worse than the Grahame/Burke tandem from last year



[quote=IGGYFORPM]And Atlanta is also in the playoff picture in the East by their calculations. Again, anybody wanna play goal? Name another all-around good player for Atlanta after Ilya and Mary-anne........................That's because you can't.[/quote] where have you been the last several years? Kari Lehtonen has been one of the top goaltending propects in the world... and last season he really showed what he can do... atlanta stuggled during the goalie caroussell when he was hurt... but they signed Brathwaite and Hedberg to really solidify their goaltending... and with the aquisitions of McCarthy and Vishnevski their defense has really become pretty solid... Ruchin had success centering Kariya so why cant he with Kovalchuk??... dont be surprised if Atlanta made the playoffs or even challenged for the SE title



[quote=IGGYFORPM]That said...I don't mind reading that the Flames are favorites of THN. But Flames fans, take this with a huge grain of salt. These guys perennially pick at least two Canadian teams to rip it up in the regular season (if only to sell more issues). They maybe so-called experts, but they picked Buffalo and Edmonton to finish 13th in their respective conferences last season, and Carolina to finish...14th!!![/quote]there is surprises every year... no one could predict the emergence of staal as a superstar... edmonton barely sneaked into the playoffs... and buffalo well lthere is always a few teams that just perform over their heads... and who would have guessed that the top 4 seeds in the west wouldnt make it into the 2nd round?? you also have to take into consideration that these guys arent fortune tellers... they can only judge a team by how good they are on paper... just like us



[quote=IGGYFORPM]It doesn't hold any water as far as I'm concerned. A good read nonetheless. Great sorted stats from last year for fantasy poolies such as myself. But their projections and predictions are just a silly crap shoot. Their logic for lower scoring is because many players apparently will understand the new rules and there will be less powerplays. Well, I got news for The Hockey News regarding less powerplays - Not while Bettman is in charge![/quote]penalties were down in the 2nd half... so chance are they will stay around where they were in the 2nd half last season for the full year... which would mean a slight decrease... its a more than likely possibility... just like overall scoring going down a little



[quote=IGGYFORPM]I do agree with one thing....Crosby will be even better this year, whether he plays on Malkin's line or not.[/quote]who cares? he's a Pen with a russian rookie who could turn into the next star or the next Bonk



[quote=IGGYFORPM]Whatever...that's my 2 cents after reading it cover to cover today.

It's fun to project stats. And everybody's version would be different. Personally I think they projected Iggy (93 pts) a little too high, and Tanguay (82 pts) a little too low. I think Tangs will challenge JI for team scoring leader.[/quote]i'm surprised at predicting Iggy to have a huge season point wise... i guess they think people will realize with linemates who can score iggy can also be a playmaker

[little_bones]

I Don't like it when people predict the flames to take it home! It does not please the Hockey Gods, would be nice though...

[PotvinKipper39]

dont count the chickens befire they hatch haha....



we def have a stronger team than last year cant wait to see us in action on the 5th gonna be awsome... great month hockey starts,NFL is on (GO BILLS) and my bday on the 7th hah



just gotta figure out how to see them live haha...



GO FLAMES!!!