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The Playing Field Is Level
by Paul on 04/28/08 at 05:07 PM ET
Comments (7)
from Puck-rakers at the Columbus Dispatch,
The West is so diluted Dallas might reach the finals. I was watching a game from the Colorado-Detroit series recently and, uh, oh wait that was a rerun from ESPN Classic. These are your father’s Red Wings and Avs.
Anyway, the best young talent in the West is on developing teams: Chicago, Phoenix, even Los Angeles. Will the big money clubs such as Detroit retool? No doubt. But in the salary cap era they can only do so much.
Translation: The Jackets have never been on a more level playing field. Let’s see if they can take advantage.
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Comments
Well if Dallas could reach the Finals, the West must be atrocious. Pretty humorous coming from a beat reporter for a franchise who has yet to sniff the playoffs.
Posted by Chad on 04/28/08 at 06:18 PM ET
The West is so diluted Dallas might reach the finals.
I don’t like this characterization of the west either.
For one, what separates this year’s results from past years, when the 7th-seeded Mighty Ducks, the 6th-seeded Flames, or the 8th-seeded Edmonton Oilers reached the cup finals? Were those an indication of a diluted west?
And even if there is dilution, there’s still a gap between where Columbus is and where it needs to be. There’s some suggestion that Columbus just needs to wait around until there are no more western powerhouses, when really the Blue Jackets do need to improve.
It is a deep west, as it has been for years, but I don’t think that’s the same thing as it being “diluted”.
Posted by Earl Sleek from Los Angeles, CA on 04/28/08 at 06:20 PM ET
yeah, that guy is an idiot. West diluted?!? How many times to i have to hear about the old never-hitting red wings. UGH!
Posted by cowboycoffee on 04/28/08 at 06:58 PM ET
It is a deep west, as it has been for years, but I don’t think that’s the same thing as it being “diluted”.
Exactly. “Deep” does not equal “diluted.”
Translation: The Jackets have never been on a more level playing field. Let’s see if they can take advantage.
Aww… that’s cute.
Posted by Incognetis from Exile in Alabama on 04/28/08 at 11:43 PM ET
Is this a joke? The West is incredible.
Posted by NHLJeff from Boston, MA on 04/29/08 at 02:09 AM ET
Agree with what people are saying above… this guy is talking crazy.
And if he thinks the Wings/Avs series has been Wings/Avs of old, he needs to go watch a replay of game one and two. It was more like Wings/Avs since the lockout (all Detroit).
Posted by Nathan on 04/29/08 at 08:50 AM ET
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Umm, no.
In 150 East vs West games, the West outpointed the East 180-150. And it wasn’t just a few of the top teams doing the damage. Eight West teams (including such powerhouses as the Kings, Blues, and Reed’s own Blue Jackets) earned more points than they gave up, and another team was even.
Posted by shep from california on 04/28/08 at 06:14 PM ET