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Calder Cup: SemiFinal Review
by PuckStopsHere on 05/25/09 at 11:58 PM ET
Comments (6)
The semi-finals have completed in the AHL Calder Cup. I will review them here. The first round review is here and the second round here.
Hershey Bears defeat Providence Bruins four games to one Hershey is the Washington Capitals affiliate and Providence is that of the Boston Bruins. Hershey had big offensive contributions from Alexandre Giroux, Chris Bourque and Keith Aucoin. Michal Neuvirth has been very good in their goal. He sports a .929 saves percentage in the playoffs so far. Providence’s offence was led by Martin St Pierre and Brad Marchand, with Jeff Penner leading the defence. Tuukka Rask was good in goal with a .930 saves percentage.
Manitoba Moose defeat Houston Aeros four games to two Manitoba is the Vancouver Canucks affiliate and Houston is that of the Minnesota Wild. Manitoba took a 3-0 lead in this series but failed to end it in two straight overtime games in which Houston prevailed. Manitoba ended it with a strong showing in game six. Manitoba was led offensively by Jason Krog and Jason Jaffray. Mark Fistric led the defence. Cory Schneider provided top goaltending for the Moose. Houston was led by current playoff top scorer Corey Locke and Matt Beaudoin. Maxim Noreau was their defensive leader. Anton Khudobin began the series in goal for the Aeros but suffered an injury in the third game and he was replaced for the final games by Matt Climie.
Hershey and Manitoba will meet in the Calder Cup finals. These begin on Saturday.
Filed in: | The Puck Stops Here | Permalink
Tags: Calder+Cup, Hershey+Bears, Houston+Aeros, Manitoba+Moose, Providence+Bruins,
Comments
so, are either of these teams eilte?
I will pretend that question is actually a serious one and attempt to answer it because it is a useful question.
If we define “elite” in this context as being some of the best teams ever to compete in the AHL, then no neither of these teams are elite. It is not possible to build an elite team in the AHL today. Player turnover is too fast. Anybody who is good will quickly find themselves in the NHL.
The elite teams in AHL history played in the 1950’s and 60’s. Teams like the Cleveland Barons, Rochester Americans and Springfield Indians were barely below NHL level at different times. If they were added to the six team NHL it isn’t obvious that they would necessarily have finished in last place in the league.
The structure of the league has changed. The teams are all “slaves” to NHL franchises. There no longer exist independant AHL clubs who can build elite rosters. That probably is a good thing. It funnels more of the best players in the world into the NHL. In the 50’s and 60’s some very good players who could have been NHL All Stars (see Johnny Bower and Bill White as examples) were kept in the AHL for years. I am happy with the loss of elite AHL teams if it makes the NHL better. I am happy with so much player turnover at the AHL level that elite teams in that league are a thing of the past, as long as we see a payoff elsewhere.
The problem comes when the NHL then institutes its own rules to reduce or eliminate its own elite teams. The salary cap and the expansion to 30 markets is doing that. There is more player turnover because of the salary cap. It is harder to keep a good team together because of the salary cap. It is harder to build a good team in the first place because there are more markets competing for the talent. These factors give us weaker teams than we could have had. They give us weaker teams than we should have. The Stanley Cup finals should be a battle between two elite teams and that is unlikely to happen when the rules the league voluntarily chose prevent any elite teams from being built.
I think we might be seeing a turning point like the AHL had with the NHL expansion where the best teams of today will never match the best teams of the past for the amount of talent and star power they could get. That is a harmful move for the NHL. It is bad for hockey in general. It is something that is happening gradually and may not be totally apparant for 15-20 years and when it becomes apparant it might be too late to fix it.
Or if we use “elite” in a less historically relevant way to mean a pretty good team that will likely win the trophy, then the Manitoba Moose are that.
Posted by PuckStopsHere on 05/26/09 at 04:41 AM ET
Or if we use “elite” in a less historically relevant way to mean a pretty good team that will likely win the trophy, then the Manitoba Moose and Hershey Bears are that.
Hit submit too soon
Posted by PuckStopsHere on 05/26/09 at 04:45 AM ET
so, are either of these teams eilte?
That is a good question. Do you think they have several players on a hall of fame track?
Also, who was the MVP of the AHL playoffs through the first 3 games of round 1 in 1987?
Posted by Chris Pronger Rosetta Stone on 05/26/09 at 11:18 AM ET
I think we might be seeing a turning point like the AHL had with the NHL expansion where the best teams of today will never match the best teams of the past for the amount of talent and star power they could get. That is a harmful move for the NHL. It is bad for hockey in general. It is something that is happening gradually and may not be totally apparant for 15-20 years and when it becomes apparant it might be too late to fix it.
Or if we use “elite” in a less historically relevant way to mean a pretty good team that will likely win the trophy, then the Manitoba Moose are that.
Apparent - not “apparant”.
And I disagree totally. The 2008 Wings would be able to keep up with any of the previous winners. And the 2009 Wings talent-wise would also be able to do the same.
Plus look at the Pens, they have two of the most talented scorers in history on that team.
Go blow it out your ass Cartman.
Posted by moore00 from Columbus, OH/Grand Rapids, MI on 05/26/09 at 01:34 PM ET
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I don’t follow the AHL and even though I didn’t read the article, I just know it blows.
Posted by ME on 05/26/09 at 12:31 AM ET