Chitchat Chat for hockey fans

[The Silent Z]

Ooooof. That’s not good.

Yea I’m still sad about it since it was a stupid fielding error that lost us that series. KC was just better in the end.

SMH…. And just like that Phillies win. Blue Jays failed and couldn’t return the favor. Yikes

Yeah understandable

 

[Edric Blight]

SMH…. And just like that Phillies win. Blue Jays failed and couldn’t return the favor. Yikes

Yeah understandable

Yea that’s unfortunate…. Come on Blue Jays we were counting on you….

 

[The Silent Z]

Yea that’s unfortunate…. Come on Blue Jays we were counting on you….

Yeah it’s definitely that. Looks like the Braves are up next for Philly followed by the Cubs, Nats and Astros to finish out the season.

While the Brew Crew have the Reds, Cards, Marlins and D-Backs to finish the season. Brewers have the better schedule to finish out least on paper.

 

[Edric Blight]

Yeah it’s definitely that. Looks like the Braves are up next for Philly followed by the Cubs, Nats and Astros to finish out the season.

While the Brew Crew have the Reds, Cards, Marlins and D-Backs to finish the season. Brewers have the better schedule to finish out least on paper.

I hope the Braves lose all those games so they don’t catch the Mets lol.

Those games against the Cards are gonna be big, divisional rivals.

 

[The Silent Z]

I hope the Braves lose all those games so they don’t catch the Mets lol.

Those games against the Cards are gonna be big, divisional rivals.

Haha I’m hoping for all Phillies losses til Houston then it’s kinda tough cause I don’t like either team. But understandable on your side.


Yeah that will be a big 2 game series there. We’ve shown we can hang with them that’s for sure but will be huge. No idea which version of my Brewers I’ll See. We’ve got Woodruff on the mound for the second game so that’s a positive sign going into that series.

 

[Edric Blight]

Haha I’m hoping for all Phillies losses til Houston then it’s kinda tough cause I don’t like either team. But understandable on your side.


Yeah that will be a big 2 game series there. We’ve shown we can hang with them that’s for sure but will be huge. No idea which version of my Brewers I’ll See. We’ve got Woodruff on the mound for the second game so that’s a positive sign going into that series.

Yea, I'm conflicted here. Obviously I don't wanna see Philly win but they need to against the Braves so they don't catch up to us Mets in the pennant race.

I hope the Brewers play some really good baseball tho. They need to. It's do or die now for them if they wanna have any hopes of making these playoffs.

 

[The Silent Z]

Yea, I'm conflicted here. Obviously I don't wanna see Philly win but they need to against the Braves so they don't catch up to us Mets in the pennant race.

I hope the Brewers play some really good baseball tho. They need to. It's do or die now for them if they wanna have any hopes of making these playoffs.

Agreed. Brew crew have placed themselves in a tough spot and it’s now or never.

 

[Edric Blight]

Agreed. Brew crew have placed themselves in a tough spot and it’s now or never.

Yea. Kinda like the Islanders were at one stretch of the season last year.

They had proved that they could play well and go on good stretches of hockey, and eventually clawed their way to having a chance at making the wild card spot in the playoffs, but we choked and played like shit, missing the window of opportunity when it was a do or die situation. Hoping that doesn't happened for the Brew Crew tho.

 

[The Silent Z]

Yea. Kinda like the Islanders were at one stretch of the season last year.

They had proved that they could play well and go on good stretches of hockey, and eventually clawed their way to having a chance at making the wild card spot in the playoffs, but we choked and played like shit, missing the window of opportunity when it was a do or die situation. Hoping that doesn't happened for the Brew Crew tho.

Oh yeah that’s a good comp. I didn’t think of that one but it’s a good one.

Yeah, tough follow up last season for the Islanders going from 20/21 to 21/22. Unfortunate turn of events since then. Hopefully the Brewers do not miss out on the playoffs but if they do…. I’m not usually the sort to call for someone’s job but gotta atleast consider making some changes in the off-season. Going from a pretty awesome pitching staff with the reigning Cy young winner paired with Woodruff and some other noteworthy names and a decent lineup featuring Yelich…. We should have been way more consistent then this imo. I don’t know if the Espn baseball crew picking the Brewers as a dark horse or back to back years hearing them speak highly of the brew crew and picking them is becoming a curse or what (likely not but does comes to mind) But something doesn’t seem right to me in Milwaukee. (I’m not wanting to see a rebuild though…. Yikes, really not ready for that move)

 

[Edric Blight]

Oh yeah that’s a good comp. I didn’t think of that one but it’s a good one.

Yeah, tough follow up last season for the Islanders going from 20/21 to 21/22. Unfortunate turn of events since then. Hopefully the Brewers do not miss out on the playoffs but if they do…. I’m not usually the sort to call for someone’s job but gotta atleast consider making some changes in the off-season. Going from a pretty awesome pitching staff with the reigning Cy young winner paired with Woodruff and some other noteworthy names and a decent lineup featuring Yelich…. We should have been way more consistent then this imo. I don’t know if the Espn baseball crew picking the Brewers as a dark horse or back to back years hearing them speak highly of the brew crew and picking them is becoming a curse or what (likely not but does comes to mind) But something doesn’t seem right to me in Milwaukee. (I’m not wanting to see a rebuild though…. Yikes, really not ready for that move)

Yea I just see a big similarity to the position the Brewers are in and the way they are playing to a point where the 21-22 Islanders were at, to some extent.

That would be unfortunate if the Brew Crew needed to enter a period of rebuild tho.

 

[The Silent Z]

Yea I just see a big similarity to the position the Brewers are in and the way they are playing to a point where the 21-22 Islanders were at, to some extent.

That would be unfortunate if the Brew Crew needed to enter a period of rebuild tho.

Agreed.

Yeah that’s the last thing I want to see. It doesn’t feel like it’s been too long since we got out of the last one. Plus some of our top guys are on the younger side so really would suck cause they’d likely get moved and we’d pull a Blackhawks move of trading young stars or potential stars in a rebuild turnover. Thinking maybe just a new perspective on the bench and change in coaching staff maybe along with some depth moves to improve our rotation. (Wouldn’t complain about another key bat or two though) But, idk, hard to say what’s the right move just feels like something is needed.

 

[Edric Blight]

Agreed.

Yeah that’s the last thing I want to see. It doesn’t feel like it’s been too long since we got out of the last one. Plus some of our top guys are on the younger side so really would suck cause they’d likely get moved and we’d pull a Blackhawks move of trading young stars or potential stars in a rebuild turnover. Thinking maybe just a new perspective on the bench and change in coaching staff maybe along with some depth moves to improve our rotation. (Wouldn’t complain about another key bat or two though) But, idk, hard to say what’s the right move just feels like something is needed.

Yea, if the Brew Crew ends up like the 21-22 Islanders, that'll just be crushing. Crushing for the players and for the fan base. I hope we don't see that. I really hope they can make a super hard one last push to make the playoffs. It's gonna be hard but they HAVE to start winning games and playing consistent baseball. It's entirely possible. The Islanders failed to do it because like the Brewers, that push was hard to make and they had to win a ton of games to possibly make the playoffs in the wild card position.

Best of luck to the Brew Crew from this Mets fan tho.

 

[The Silent Z]

Yea, if the Brew Crew ends up like the 21-22 Islanders, that'll just be crushing. Crushing for the players and for the fan base. I hope we don't see that. I really hope they can make a super hard one last push to make the playoffs. It's gonna be hard but they HAVE to start winning games and playing consistent baseball. It's entirely possible. The Islanders failed to do it because like the Brewers, that push was hard to make and they had to win a ton of games to possibly make the playoffs in the wild card position.

Best of luck to the Brew Crew from this Mets fan tho.

Agreed and appreciate it!

 

[Edric Blight]

Agreed and appreciate it!

Of course bro!

 

[The Silent Z]

Of course bro!

 

[The Silent Z]

Man lol, I’m watching THG’s cup champs likelyhood rankings/predictions for 22/23 and it’s a head scratcher for me so far. He’s been pretty consistent though on some of these teams and it’s just fun predictions but reminds me of the hype I keep seeing on some of these teams that doesn’t make sense to me personally. But still, fun stuff to see here imo. just quite different then I’d likely predict it. (98.5% bias free I think from me… But perhaps a bit still would slip through)

I’d have to review my predictions list and see how I’d rank that 1-32 with cup odds involved.

 

[Edric Blight]

Man lol, I’m watching THG’s cup champs likelyhood rankings/predictions for 22/23 and it’s a head scratcher for me so far. He’s been pretty consistent though on some of these teams and it’s just fun predictions but reminds me of the hype I keep seeing on some of these teams that doesn’t make sense to me personally. But still, fun stuff to see here imo. just quite different then I’d likely predict it. (98.5% bias free I think from me… But perhaps a bit still would slip through)

I’d have to review my predictions list and see how I’d rank that 1-32 with cup odds involved.

Oooo that sounds good.

I’d also be interested in seeing your 1-32 predictions for the cup, that’d be cool.

 

[The Silent Z]

Oooo that sounds good.

I’d also be interested in seeing your 1-32 predictions for the cup, that’d be cool.

It was a fun vid. I have a hard time seeing some of the team’s ranked that high including my own Calgary flames (regular season I had them ranked high. But playoffs? Oof… I’m still reeling from Battle of Alberta series in the second round, so I couldn’t rank them quite that close to top 5.)

Oh? Alright cool. Since I’ve already done a fun little predictions rankings for this season, I’ll go find that and make a list using those predictions. (Might get confusing if I went a different route with it. Least it would confuse me a little bit.)

 

[Edric Blight]

It was a fun vid. I have a hard time seeing some of the team’s ranked that high including my own Calgary flames (regular season I had them ranked high. But playoffs? Oof… I’m still reeling from Battle of Alberta series in the second round, so I couldn’t rank them quite that close to top 5.)

Oh? Alright cool. Since I’ve already done a fun little predictions rankings for this season, I’ll go find that and make a list using those predictions. (Might get confusing if I went a different route with it. Least it would confuse me a little bit.)

Yea I think the Flames go down hill from here sadly tbh….

Oilers probably a solid second or third round exit.

I honestly can’t remember if you did make a prediction list this season. Now that I think it, you actually did and I might have responded to it.

 

[The Silent Z]

Atlantic Division:
————————
1. Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Tampa Bay Lightning
3. Ottawa Senators
4. Florida Panthers
5. Buffalo Sabres
6. Detroit Red Wings
7. Boston Bruins
8. Montreal Canadiens

Metropolitan Division:
——————————
1. New York Rangers
2. Carolina Hurricanes
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
4. New York Islanders
5. Pittsburgh Penguins
6. Washington Capitals
7. Philadelphia Flyers
8. New Jersey Devils

Central Division:
————————
1. Colorado Avalanche
2. Nashville Predators
3. Minnesota Wild
4. Winnipeg Jets
5. St. Louis Blues
6. Dallas Stars
7. Chicago Blackhawks
8. Arizona Coyotes


Pacific Division:
————————
1. Calgary Flames
2. Los Angeles Kings
3. Edmonton Oilers
4. Vancouver Canucks
5. Anaheim Ducks
6. Vegas Golden Knights
7. Seattle Kraken
8. San Jose Sharks

(Just a few notes here-)


• Blues losses of Husso & Perron lead me to believe they will still be good just not as good. But I don’t think Griess at this stage of his career can do what Husso did for the blues in relief of Binnington. Beast-Mode has gone to Detroit and Griess might be ok, but doubtful he’ll be as good as the departing net minder. Perron, glue guy and key vet from that cup team, tough loss. Not sure who can fill that role or what young guy steps up though maybe I’m forgetting a new acquisition? There for I think they will struggle at times and miss out on the playoffs even if only by a slim margin. (Above .500 for sure. Thinking of last years VGK team and that kind of narrow miss on the playoffs.)

• Dallas, The Stars loss of Klingberg and the question of some of their key and highly paid vets bouncing back along with some other concerns…. I think they will narrowly miss out on the playoffs and finish behind the Blues in the West. I’m not sure Marchment repeats that kind of season this year and Miller might be ok, but he isn’t quite Klingberg imo.

• Bruins, Caps & Penguins… Perhaps it’s my bias against them and desire to see them fail, but in all reality they are older teams with depth concerns amidst the injuries to key guys that will miss a fair bit of time. Pens will be the best of the three cause that core with Petry added, Rust, Guentzel & Kappenan still there will not go down easily. But I don’t see them making the playoffs, too much reliance on the health of aging veterans like Sid, Malkin and Letang. While the Bruins I dare say might struggle to finish ahead of Philly & Montreal this season….. Yea, I’m going to risk it and make that take. Caps, Ovi or bust… Darcy might help the net minding when healthy, but not sold on that team beyond Ovi & Kuemper.

• Vegas, they can fit the Pens/Bruins/Caps for me bid wise. But really…. Those losses in the off-season plus injuries and despite their knack for finding money they don’t have for players they still manage to sign to fill the roster on bargain esque deals… I don’t see them being that good this year. Stone coming back from hip surgery or back? Whatever it was and Eichel is a question mark for if he’s going to be ready to go at the old Eichel level? Sorry VGK fans but those Knights are getting too much on the rating and playoff chances imo. Plus I just know what to expect in goal, the rookie could be ok to maybe pretty good, but he’s young and unproven for a full season as the potential starter. Hill just acquired might help, but he’s not the full time option just a pretty good backup imo (nothing wrong with that either. Just asking too much to save VGK) while the other guy is inured in addition to the big loss of Lehner who when healthy is pretty good. The hot dog eating, coke and beer drinking, loveable Kessel isn’t saving the Knights either imo. A nice addition but not enough…

• I’d say 3-6 might be pretty close in the Atlantic, Florida’s depth I’m just not sold on. But Tkachuk should be good and bring some fight, edge and grit to this team that sorely needed it last year in the playoffs. I’m a Sabres & Senators believer and optimist this year and going forward. Detroit…. Wow, they will be interesting and pretty good for a young team this year. Also, I’m not betting against Beast-Mode Husso… That dude just tortured my teams last year, each time I watched them play against him. While overall he was just really good in the regular season regardless of his play against a few teams.

• Seattle won’t be great, they won’t make the playoffs or even be that close for the most part. But I really like their moves especially Bjorkstrand who’s game I really like and have been a fan of over the years. Noticeable improvement in year two.

• I like what they have added but a young team still with questions marks. I’m not sold on Ruff as the coach for this team and wasn’t last year either especially when watching them play. Some depth concerns at forward if injuries start to hit again. Goalie situation might be ok, but again, health and consistency is the key for them. I like the Hughes Brothers but Jack hopefully can stay healthy and play like he did when healthy last year and overall get back to form and progress. Luke (I think that is the right brother… Man there are quite a few in the NHL now haha) all the Hughes bros seem to be just plain awesome when healthy though, likely won’t be on the roster or see much time on the nhl level but bright future imo. I just can’t place the Devils too high right now even if I do like what they have on paper for a young team.

• I’ve got concerns with the Wild. Gustafson is a young goalie and could be good going forward, but idk what to expect yet this year from him. Fleury is one of the best ever goalies and is still pretty good, but…. He is getting up there in age and had a fair bit of time off splitting with Talbot, I don’t want to see it happen or even say it as a possibility, but I’m not sure how much we can really expect from him this year realistically with the Wild. Who might be asking too much of him pending on how they use him and for how many games with Gustafson as the likely backup. We lost Fiala, Rossi may or may not be NHL ready and able to step up like that in his potential first full season in the NHL. Boldy likely could but again young and asking alot. Sam Steel might be a nice depth add who could surprise with a nice season in Minnesota but overall not sure yet if he can help produce some of the numbers we lost from Fiala and his big year last season. In the end, I’ve just got a gut feeling the Wild and their cap issues will be in for a tough season but still find a way into the playoff picture. Kirill is a real deal thrill and makes those around him that much better, just see how Zuccarello has turned back the clock a bit and found a incredible chemistry with Kaprizov since the kids arrival. So the Wild should be ok but it won’t be easy or pretty to watch at times.

• San Jose Sharks… I just don’t know. Some very quality vets that can still produce, some good younger players that will contribute nicely and a goalie ive been very much a fan of and hate the fact the Wild chose to trade him…. But they need to just fully commit to a rebuild imo. It’s a tough decision I’m sure and know, but I can’t see them being a playoff team even with their quality players that can be really good when on their game. Also, Karlsson I’m a longtime fan of but he’s not prime EK anymore as much as I hate to say it, maybe he can bounce back and turn the clock back a little but no guarantees. Ferraro is good, but a younger defenseman with limited depth behind him imo. Those two vets EK & Vlasic will need to bounce back in a big way to change the Sharks fortune on the blue line and to remain competitive. No doubts they will compete and make it hard on teams they play but just not a bright outlook on their season as a whole.

Found it. Going to quote this and bring it back to current pages for when I put a list together. (I’ll probably try mixing in some bold picks too like I did here for the Cup odds rankings. Cause why not? It adds to the fun and makes it less predictable perhaps. Just maybe I’ll try not to go overboard with it)

 

[Edric Blight]

Found it. Going to quote this and bring it back to current pages for when I put a list together. (I’ll probably try mixing in some bold picks too like I did here for the Cup odds rankings. Cause why not? It adds to the fun and makes it less predictable perhaps. Just maybe I’ll try not to go overboard with it)

Yes I remember it! I did respond to it. It was a solid list that I had a very few grievances with lol.

That other idea would be a fun and cool thing tho lol.

 

[The Silent Z]

Yea I think the Flames go down hill from here sadly tbh….

Oilers probably a solid second or third round exit.

I honestly can’t remember if you did make a prediction list this season. Now that I think it, you actually did and I might have responded to it.

Yeah, we don’t have the money to keep throwing around to keep us going for much longer. Well, least I can’t see it and we got a tad older with JG and Tkachuk moving on with Huberdeau and Kadri moving along with Weegar. Huberdeau is roughly same age as JG I think but quite the age difference with Kadri and Tkachuk.

I’d agree there. (Bias aside tbh)

Yeah, I recall some of the picks or most really from the basic standpoint but exact I couldn’t recall them all. Definitely couldn’t recall the page either haha but found it and brought it back to current day for refreshing my memory and making a cup odds predictions list.

 

[Edric Blight]

Yeah, we don’t have the money to keep throwing around to keep us going for much longer. Well, least I can’t see it and we got a tad older with JG and Tkachuk moving on with Huberdeau and Kadri moving along with Weegar. Huberdeau is roughly same age as JG I think but quite the age difference with Kadri and Tkachuk.

I’d agree there. (Bias aside tbh)

Yeah, I recall some of the picks or most really from the basic standpoint but exact I couldn’t recall them all. Definitely couldn’t recall the page either haha but found it and brought it back to current day for refreshing my memory and making a cup odds predictions list.

Exactly. I agree with that assessment of the Flames.

Yea I’m starting to remember the list and what I said in response to it.

 

[The Silent Z]

Yes I remember it! I did respond to it. It was a solid list that I had a very few grievances with lol.

That other idea would be a fun and cool thing tho lol.

Appreciate it lol! It was fun to make and taking some bold picks is always fun even if some don’t feel as bold to me as others. But yeah it was fun I definitely recall that.

Oh yeah haha, I remember that now. We didn’t differ too much about the predictions.

Yeah it could fun to do like the others have been. Lol. I’m going to start putting things together now since I’ve already got the base there to use. Second half of the list should be pretty easy for me. Top half gets kinda tough but should be fun to run through and think over.

 

[Edric Blight]

Appreciate it lol! It was fun to make and taking some bold picks is always fun even if some don’t feel as bold to me as others. But yeah it was fun I definitely recall that.

Oh yeah haha, I remember that now. We didn’t differ too much about the predictions.

Yeah it could fun to do like the others have been. Lol. I’m going to start putting things together now since I’ve already got the base there to use. Second half of the list should be pretty easy for me. Top half gets kinda tough but should be fun to run through and think over.

Yea it was solid. Fun to speculate this stuff.

Also appreciated the unbiased list, because there’s a whole lotta biased lists out there. Like you’ll see some delusional people thinking the Pens will win the cup next year haha.