Vegas is good enough to win the cup

[matter2003]

I'm not sure how they did it, but Las Vegas is a pretty damn good team....they come at you in waves, they are relentless, they out work you, they are fast, they make tremendous plays with the puck...this team is good enough to win the cup.  How embarrassing is that for a lot of teams in the NHL(including the Sabres) who didn't want many of these players?

 

 

I don't think any team in the history of sports as an expansion team in the modern era has been this good in their first year...this team is the real deal and if they win this series they will give the Jets or Preds all they can handle in the the conference finals...

Edited May 1, 2018 by matter2003

[drnkirishone]

me thinks seattle is going to get a watered down expansion draft after all the success vegas is having

[SabresBillsFan]

I have season seats here in Vegas and this team is impressive. What people don’t get they have had great success in judging talent. They have a young defense core and the veterans on this team have been outstanding. Perron, Neal, Fleury and especially Engelland and Bellemare have been great for this team. I cannot tell you how important Engelland and Bellemare have been. I am just amazed at how Columbus didn’t see what I see at practice with William Karlsson. The guy is impressive and then you throw in the blunder that Florida did by letting a 30 goal guy go in Jonathan Marchessault and trading Reilly Smith. We watch these guys in practice daily and they are solid players. Then you add in Minnesota letting Haula and former first rounder Tuch go for next to nothing then you wonder why Fletcher was let go. During rookie development camp Tuch was here and took part with the three first rounders we had picked and all three first rounders stood out especially Suzuki and Branstrom. And I didn’t even mention Cody Glass who look much better in training camp. I have been very impressed at the scouting of this team. They are good because of their eye for talent.

I'm not sure how they did it, but Las Vegas is a pretty damn good team....they come at you in waves, they are relentless, they out work you, they are fast, they make tremendous plays with the puck...this team is good enough to win the cup.  How embarrassing is that for a lot of teams in the NHL(including the Sabres) who didn't want many of these players?

 

 

I don't think any team in the history of sports as an expansion team in the modern era has been this good in their first year...this team is the real deal and if they win this series they will give the Jets or Preds all they can handle in the the conference finals...

This teams management has a great eye for talent. The only blunder so far is the Tatar trade. I think McPhee panicked because he was so focused on Erik Karlsson and when that deal fell through made that move on a whim.

[North Buffalo]

They have a bunch of hard working twos and Karlson... They play really well together. No real 3rd and 4th line and really good goaltending.

[GoPre]

I'm not sure how they did it, but Las Vegas is a pretty damn good team....they come at you in waves, they are relentless, they out work you, they are fast, they make tremendous plays with the puck...this team is good enough to win the cup.  How embarrassing is that for a lot of teams in the NHL(including the Sabres) who didn't want many of these players?

 

 

I don't think any team in the history of sports as an expansion team in the modern era has been this good in their first year...this team is the real deal and if they win this series they will give the Jets or Preds all they can handle in the the conference finals...

 

 

Buffalo Bandits won it all in 92'.  That counts, right?   :lol:

[Marions Piazza]

Buffalo Bandits won it all in 92'.  That counts, right?   :lol:

With a behind the head shot from John Tavares in overtime to seal it!

[SwampD]

I would have loved to have Fleury on the Sabres this year.

 

The GKs had the advantage of taking every teams' next best player. Players who had actually been scouted and developed and would have been what they are for Vegas on those teams that were forced to hand them over.

 

Great way to drum up a new fan base.

[Drunkard]

me thinks seattle is going to get a watered down expansion draft after all the success vegas is having

 

They already stated that Seattle will have the same expansion draft rules as Vegas. The fact that they are paying all the non-Vegas owners $650 million pretty much seals it. 

[TrueBlueGED]

Teams making bad trades helped Vegas a heck of a lot more than the expansion draft itself. Other GMs made unforced errors in evaluating their own rosters and gifted Vegas players like Marchessault, Karlsson, and Smith.

[darksabre]

Teams making bad trades helped Vegas a heck of a lot more than the expansion draft itself. Other GMs made unforced errors in evaluating their own rosters and gifted Vegas players like Marchessault, Karlsson, and Smith.

Yup. This gets lost in the shuffle. 

[LGR4GM]

Teams making bad trades helped Vegas a heck of a lot more than the expansion draft itself. Other GMs made unforced errors in evaluating their own rosters and gifted Vegas players like Marchessault, Karlsson, and Smith.

They protected aging veterans over young players because reasons. 

[Doohickie]

me thinks seattle is going to get a watered down expansion draft after all the success vegas is having

 

I'm not so sure.

 

If they're paying top dollar for the franchise, they're going to expect the same draft rules.

[WildCard]

They're good enough, sure. But they won't. 

[Sabres Fan in NS]

They just might.  They are good enough and what is most important they are playing very well as a unit.  Very well coached ... shout out to JJ.

 

Fluery with something to prove will help a lot.

 

They may make the finals, but I think either Nashville, or The Peg, would give them a real run for it.

 

A team like Pittsburgh would probably beat them in the finals, should Vegas make it.

[Iron Crotch]

I think they did a great job of scouting talent, but I also think the new expansion draft rules made it relatively easy for them to put together a good team out of the gate (although no one expected them to be this good). Most teams protected one goalie, so basically Vegas could choose any two backup goalies in the league. Teams like Nashville with good defensemen could protect four defensemen and then only four forwards. If you protect your top line (Johanssen, Arvidsson, Forsberg) that leaves only one other forward on the entire roster you can protect. That's how a guy like perennial 30-goal scorer James Neal couldn't be protected and ended up on Vegas. More-or-less every team in the league had to expose a second line forward or a second pair defenseman. McPhee could pick and choose the best of these.

 

In the 2000 expansion draft, every existing team could protect more players (9 forwards, 5 d-men, 1 goalie). And, the two new teams (Blue Jackets & Wild) split that talent, further watering down their rosters.

 

I don't think anyone wants an expansion teams to totally suck... but I'm not a fan of loading them up so much they can win the Cup year 1 (although I still think they aren't as good as Nashville or Winnipeg - the Central is really good).

 

[Taro T]

The frustrating part of Vegas being this good is their team is following essentially the '05-'06 Sabres model. No TRUE absolute overpowering 1st line, but 4 lines that can all skate essentially at a 2nd line level, and a stable of D that are able to get situational play where they aren't exposed if given 2nd pairing matchups, and an AS quality goaltending.

 

The Sabres should have had this team for 5-6 seasons, but because of self imposed constraints it was blown up after only 2. :censored:

[Swedesessed]

I also think and call me crazy, another factor was the terrible Vegas shooting tragedy at Mandalay Bay that took place right before the season set the tone for this team: It brought the city closer, and the Vegas Golden Nights became an outlet to bring people together: I truly think that motivated the team initially and got things off on the right foot.

 

 

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-golden-knights-sportsbook-2018-story.html

Edited May 1, 2018 by (E5)

[Weave]

The frustrating part of Vegas being this good is their team is following essentially the '05-'06 Sabres model. No TRUE absolute overpowering 1st line, but 4 lines that can all skate essentially at a 2nd line level, and a stable of D that are able to get situational play where they aren't exposed if given 2nd pairing matchups, and an AS quality goaltending.

 

The Sabres should have had this team for 5-6 seasons, but because of self imposed constraints it was blown up after only 2. :censored:

That Sabres team and this Vegas team is solid evidence that you don’t need to acquire franchise players to have Stanley Cup expectations.

 

The trick, of course, is timing the collection of 9 second line players to be on the roster at the same time.

[WildCard]

That Sabres team and this Vegas team is solid evidence that you don’t need to acquire franchise players to have Stanley Cup expectations.

 

The trick, of course, is timing the collection of 9 second line players to be on the roster at the same time.

Proof that you don't need to, yeah. They're also an insane outlier and a miracle but all standards, so maybe not the best example to use ;)

Edited May 1, 2018 by WildCard

[Weave]

Proof that you don't need to, yeah. They're also an insane outlier and a miracle but all standards, so maybe not the best example to use ;)

There were two examples in that post.

[WildCard]

There were two examples in that post.

Think I've been down the Sabres road arguing that point enough for one lifetime 

[LikeEich]

I doubt they'll beat the sharks, and positive they won't beat nsh or wpg.

 

They had virtually 0 expectations going into the season. You could tell a few games into the season, they were just having fun. That momentum has snowballed and they just keep living the dream. Absolutely no pressure whatsoever. Nothing in the back of their minds thinking we need to win we can't let x beat us.

[SabresBillsFan]

The frustrating part of Vegas being this good is their team is following essentially the '05-'06 Sabres model. No TRUE absolute overpowering 1st line, but 4 lines that can all skate essentially at a 2nd line level, and a stable of D that are able to get situational play where they aren't exposed if given 2nd pairing matchups, and an AS quality goaltending.

The Sabres should have had this team for 5-6 seasons, but because of self imposed constraints it was blown up after only 2. :censored:

The frustrating part of Vegas being this good is their team is following essentially the '05-'06 Sabres model. No TRUE absolute overpowering 1st line, but 4 lines that can all skate essentially at a 2nd line level, and a stable of D that are able to get situational play where they aren't exposed if given 2nd pairing matchups, and an AS quality goaltending.

The Sabres should have had this team for 5-6 seasons, but because of self imposed constraints it was blown up after only 2. :censored:

This is exactly what I have been telling people. I still think Buffalo was the best team that year until the defensive core was decimated by injuries and the loss of Tim Connolly who was playing unbelievably.

[GASabresIUFAN]

LV is where they are because of good coaching, very good management and a healthy dose of mass other GM stupidity.

 

Karlsson, Neal, Perron, Haula and Marchessault all came from expansion picks. McNabb, Miller, Schmidt and Fleury as well. In addition they picked up Tuch, Theodore and R Smith in trades. FYI McNabb was +26 this year.

 

That is a pretty talented team. Some of the exposed players is understandable like Neal and Perron because of age and contract, but to get Haula and Tuch out of Minn and Smith and Marchessault from Florida is in excuseable.

 

I doubt Seattle will do this well. I suspect most GM’s have learned their lesson.

[TrueBlueGED]

That Sabres team and this Vegas team is solid evidence that you don’t need to acquire franchise players to have Stanley Cup expectations.

 

The trick, of course, is timing the collection of 9 second line players to be on the roster at the same time.

Though nobody expected him to be, Karlsson had played the part of franchise player this year. Point per game, top line center, nearly 40 goals.