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What Are You Playing For?
by Mike Chen on 01/13/09 at 12:46 PM ET
Comments (2)
With all but one team at the halfway point of the season (Ottawa’s played 40 games, but they’re out of the picture anyways), we’ve got a little bit of separation now between the haves and have-nots. The problem is that there’s still a bunch of teams in limbo, and the trick to getting that magical 8th spot isn’t winning as much it is a combination of your own team winning and every other team losing.
Consider the wacky Western Conference, where 8th-place Colorado leads 14th-place Los Angeles by a mere five points. In the east, things are a little more settled, where four teams (Buffalo, Carolina, Florida, and Pittsburgh) are battling it out for the last two spots.
Here’s the question, though. Sure, miracle runs to the Cup final are possible (see: Edmonton, 2006) for teams that just squeak into the post-season…but how often does that happen? As fans, we want hope, and what gives more hope than a new franchise player?
So if your team is in that bubble where they are just barely on the outside looking in, what would you prefer? Do you want a complete tank for the rest of the season to ensure the John Tavares pick (good luck being worse than the Islanders) or do you want to scratch and claw for an 8th-place spot because, you know, anything can happen?
Filed in: NHL | Mike Chen's Hockey Blog | Permalink
Tags: John+Tavares, Playoffs,
Comments
Mike, IMHO any team that has a chance for a playoff spot will do their level best to make it.
Two reasons:
One, these guys are professionals. Pride plays a large part.
Two, playoff revenue is massively important to a franchise.
Unless there’s NO chance a team can make it (in which case they become sellers at the deadline), they’ll battle down to the wire.
In any case, with so many excellent young players available in the draft, the difference between the 1st and the 16th picks is not necessarily that great.
Posted by davetherave from Ottawa, Canada on 01/14/09 at 03:40 PM ET
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Two teams haven’t reached the halfway point of the season. Chicago’s also only played 40 games.
Posted by Mark on 01/13/09 at 05:52 PM ET