2010 Cup Final Prediction - Hawks vs. Caps

[gcom007 1,465]

Chicago made it to the Western Finals this year and the Caps were as close to the Stanley Cup Finals as Pittsburgh in the Eastern Semis. The teams that went on both are taking hits this offseason while the Caps pick up a solid guy in Mike Knuble and the Hawks lock in Hossa longterm.

I still think Detroit and Pittsburgh will be in the final 4 fray or a Conference semi's that will yield the Cup Final representative.

But...

From a distance, and certainly it's a longshot from this far out, I wouldn't be shocked to see the Hawks and Caps battle for the Cup next year.

My money is on Ovie and the Caps though...not because I'm bitter about Hossa or share any of the absurd hatred some here have for him. I just think next year might be the Caps year.

Flame away...

[xtrememachine1 795]

In your title, you misspelled Detroit Red Wings.

[Reds4Life 51]

Yeah, Craps and their crappy defense will go to the SC final

[titanium2 867]

How is Washington supposed to get to the finals?

[CenterIce 83]

Chicago made it to the Western Finals this year and the Caps were as close to the Stanley Cup Finals as Pittsburgh in the Eastern Semis. The teams that went on both are taking hits this offseason while the Caps pick up a solid guy in Mike Knuble and the Hawks lock in Hossa longterm.

Where were the Hawks before this year. You don't just go from not making the playoffs to winning the Stanley Cup two years later. It takes a few years, keeping your team together, gaining experience. The Blackhawks just lost Habibulin, so they are lacking goalie depth. They might make the playoffs, again, but I don't see them going all they way to the finals.

The Capitals have a similar issue with goaltending. We don't know how Varmalov will be for a full season, and we have seen how well Theodore has been, lately. The Capitals have the scoring, but I don't think their defense/goaltending can take them that far.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Washington arent doing anything next year but more golfing. We'll see how Chicago does.

[Swayze 81]

You think Huet can get them that far? Chicago got so far last year because of Khabibulin, there's no way they'll be in the SCF this next season.

[jollymania 162]

chicago could possibly make it but no way is washington

[Wings_Fan_In_Exile 3]

I just don't see Chicago getting the the SCF's with Huet as their #1. I've never seen that guy as a #1 goalie.

And the Capitals... I think they are still missing a couple players on both ends of the ice to be true contenders.

[MadMan Mark 0]

Defense is the issue with both your Cup finalists.

As of now, I like Detroit back in the Finals against Boston.

[gcom007 1,465]

Where were the Hawks before this year. You don't just go from not making the playoffs to winning the Stanley Cup two years later. It takes a few years, keeping your team together, gaining experience. The Blackhawks just lost Habibulin, so they are lacking goalie depth. They might make the playoffs, again, but I don't see them going all they way to the finals.

The Capitals have a similar issue with goaltending. We don't know how Varmalov will be for a full season, and we have seen how well Theodore has been, lately. The Capitals have the scoring, but I don't think their defense/goaltending can take them that far.

I don't know...sure, there's questions, but at this point I think every team has questions. In the east I think it's pretty easy to think it will be between Pittsburgh and Washington. The West is a bit more of a crapshoot. While it's easy to suggest that the Sharks will blow it again, heaven knows when they decide to shock the world and actually do something in the playoffs. They've got the talent. The Ducks could be in the thick of things again. The Wings will still be there. Edmonton will be interesting to watch if they land Heatley and now with Bulin. Flames look set to stay strong.

But the Hawks are still right there in the thick of it. They proved a lot this last year and they're only going to be better with the experience and Hossa and anything else they manage to pull off. I trust that Bowman's influence is heavily at play here and the guy knows how to put a winner together. You think about that and you think about the guys they've had and now Hossa...this is clearly going to be a better team and a more confident team. They know they can go a ways in the playoffs now and they're only better. And as I've been saying for awhile, I'm expecting Hossa to be a big force in next years playoffs. He's got it in him despite what many fickle people say here.

Time will tell in the West, but after today, I really think Chicago's as good of a bet as anyone at this point to head to the Finals in the West. I still think they've got to get that far and lose before they learn how to win, but I think they've got a good shot of making it this year.

[b.shanafan14 733]

Capitals have a laughable defense and the Hawks got where they were solely because of Khabibulin. Lets try not to predict SC finalists based solely on the Hossa acquisition. I love Hossa, but do you remember what he added to the Wings in the post-season? Cause I sure don't

[gcom007 1,465]

You think Huet can get them that far? Chicago got so far last year because of Khabibulin, there's no way they'll be in the SCF this next season.

Well, I'd say that's certainly the big "if" for Chicago. Their defense isn't hte best for certain, but they've got a hell of a lot of firepower to combat that issue now. Will Huet have to be as good as Bulin with Chicago's offense plus Hossa? Probably not. I've never been big on Huet, but if he can keep things somewhat tight, Chicago's going to win a lot of games based on their offense.

[gcom007 1,465]

Capitals have a laughable defense and the Hawks got where they were solely because of Khabibulin. Lets try not to predict SC finalists based solely on the Hossa acquisition. I love Hossa, but do you remember what he added to the Wings in the post-season? Cause I sure don't

Remember what he added in Pittsburgh?

And I was saying over a month ago in the series that they'd win a Cup in the next 5 years. I think they just pushed things up a bit with the Hossa acquisition. And I'm not thinking they're winning this year. Maybe the year after if they pull off a cap miracle...

And my guts telling me watch out for Washington. They'll keep addressing needs.

How close were they to beating the Stanley Cup finalists this last year? Real close.

And are they a better team with Knuble? Absolutely.

[WingsCaptain 0]

I live in DC, so I go to about half of the Caps home games each year. They are steadily improving, but they are still a long way from the finals.

- They need to start Varlamov and get rid of Theodore. He's a liability.

- They just lost Viktor Kozlov and Sergei Fedorov. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is. Both were experienced, Russian, calming influences on Ovie.

- In conjunction with that, they now need more offense. They have Semin, Backstrom, Fleischmann and Ovie. That's it. The rest are "filler" players.

- They have no "D." Green is overrated. Yes, he scores goals, but he is often out of position or out of gas to catch up to opposing players that steal the puck from him when he pinches. And he pinches a lot. Apparently Boudreau has given him the green light to be a forward when he feels like it.

As a Wings fan, I'm spoiled I guess. Because when I watch the Caps, I point out their mistakes to my wife, usually followed by "The Wings would never do something that stupid." Ovie sure is fun to watch live, though!

Oh, and at least they just signed Mike Knuble!

~ Z

Edited July 1, 2009 by WingsCaptain

[gcom007 1,465]

Defense is the issue with both your Cup finalists.

As of now, I like Detroit back in the Finals against Boston.

I am not sold on Boston. In my mind, I think "Sharks of the East." Something just doesn't feel right with them.

Detroit will likely have a shot as they're still a real solid team, but it's not the given it was this last year especially if we lose Sammy and Huds. And if Lils is a long-term issue and doesn't play...time will tell how they bounce back, but like I said, I don't have the same confidence I've felt for the last few years going into this season. If we keep Sammy and Hudler and Lils is back at 100%, I'll have that confidence back. But right now, it's not there. Not saying it's out of the question at all, just saying, we're losing pieces, other teams are gaining pieces. Our divisions going to be tougher which could make for more difficult early rounds.

Again though, Lilja. I don't like the fact that Holland's worried about the situation. He's become a bigger part of our D than many realized. That was a huge loss for the playoffs and will be a bigger loss over the course of a season.

[gcom007 1,465]

I live in DC, so I go to about half of the Caps home games each year. They are steadily improving, but they are still a long way from the finals.

- They need to start Varlamov and get rid of Theodore. He's a liability.

- They just lost Viktor Kozlov and Sergei Fedorov. Doesn't sound like a big deal, but it is. Both were experienced, Russian, calming influences on Ovie.

- In conjunction with that, they now need more offense. They have Semin, Backstrom, Fleischmann and Ovie. That's it. The rest are "filler" players.

- They have no "D." Green is overrated. Yes, he scores goals, but he is often out of position or out of gas to catch up to opposing players that steal the puck from him when he pinches. And he pinches a lot. Apparently Boudreau has given him the green light to be a forward when he feels like it.

As a Wings fan, I'm spoiled I guess. Because when I watch the Caps, I point out their mistakes to my wife, usually followed by "The Wings would never do something that stupid." Ovie sure is fun to watch live, though!

Oh, and at least they just signed Mike Knuble!

~ Z

I agree about Kozlov and Federov, but gaining Knuble helps a lot. He's a real solid guy to have around and will probably be a better leader than Kozlov or Federov in terms of providing that veteran calming influence.

I don't think they're done or will be done come deadline day. I think they'll add guys and plug up some holes and then you've got to wonder.

Again, look how close they came to beating Pittsburgh this year. They would've taken care of Carolina and then they're in the Cup against the Wings. Too bad it didn't happen. We probably would've won...but anyways, I think they're closer than people are giving them credit for.

[Drake_Marcus 890]

Huh?

You think Hossa puts them over the top? They were dominated by the Wings in the WCF and they just lost their good goalie.

[puckbags 863]

Its seems we are five and a half hours into the free agent period and people are already counting our own Red Wings out for next year...typical for around here I guess !!

[LeftWinger 4,961]

if Bettman has his way, yes it will be Chicago Washington and I mentioned this a while ago while argueing with a pens fan about their dynansty hopes...

[gcom007 1,465]

Huh?

You think Hossa puts them over the top? They were dominated by the Wings in the WCF and they just lost their good goalie.

They're a young team that did a lot last year and I felt they were poised to continue in this fashion towards a Cup victory in the next five years. I said this awhile ago. Adding Hossa is going to help them a lot in many ways. He'll make them that much stronger offensively and ideally lead the way in improving team defense, leading by example. They would've had a stronger team of skaters making no moves with every bit of experience helping a really young team. They're also likely to be more confident for having gone as far as they did this last year. We may have tossed them around a bit, but how many people thought they'd even be there in the first place? They proved a lot to not only the rest of the league but to themselves.

And sure, without a doubt, Huet's going to be the wild card in the equation but I'm not ready to count him out yet. He's not going to have to be great with this offense and don't doubt that the Bowman influence will see them addressing other needs when and where they can be it this off-season or at the deadline. This team that was one of the last two teams standing in the West has a lot going for them heading into next season.

Meanwhile the Wings lost Hossa, are likely to lose Sammy and could lose Hudler before all is said and done. We're a weaker team going into next season. If Lilja is a major issue and doesn't play, that's another major hit that's been mostly overlooked thus far.

So I'm not so convinced that we'll have the same time we had last year against them. Like I said, this is obviously longshot stuff from this far out, but if we hit the semi's today against them, I think it's going to be a much tougher series.

[gcom007 1,465]

Its seems we are five and a half hours into the free agent period and people are already counting our own Red Wings out for next year...typical for around here I guess !!

Hardly. I'm not a bandwagon fan by any means and don't ride hype trains. Never have. Hell, I was one of the few people saying chill to pretty much the board on whole about this team through last regular season and especially in regards to Osgood. I'm not throwing in the towel by any means and I think Detroit will be right there. But there's no arguing that in the playoffs this last season, the #2 team in the West is getting stronger while the #1 team in the West is getting weaker. On top of that, Draper, Holmstrom and Maltby are going to be even older. We still could lose Sammy and Hudler. Hollands concerned about Lilja long-term as he's still having issues.

I've been saying for days that it's going to hurt us a lot more than we realize losing our scoring depth in Hossa and Sammy as well as possibly Hudler. But what makes it worse now and brought this thread on is who we happened to lose a superstar player to, that being the Blackhawks. They got closer than any other team in the West last year. They're going to be stronger this year, we'll be weaker.

Thus is it really so unreasonable to bring the matter up for discussion? I don't think so. I find it far more interesting to discuss than the countless "HOLLAND SIGN LAKDFJKLASFJKLASDFJASF" threads. It's just speculation...just good-spirited conjecture. I don't mean it to be anti-Wings or anti-Holland in any way. I am not pissed at Holland and I haven't made a single post suggesting he screwed up big time and needs to sign every player under the sun. I'm just tossing something else to discuss out there. Simple as that.

[Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

Hossa is a marginally better player then Havlat, who played a full season with them, and was much more impressive in the playoffs.

The Bhawks got destroyed by us, and didnt really get that much better at all, and Hossa was a total nonfactor that series besdies game 4, so it's not like if we didnt have him last season they would've beat us.

I'd be amazed if Chicago makes it to WCF next year. IMO San Jose is finally due or Calgary, both prove greater threats imo.

Wings still gotta be the favorite though.

[gcom007 1,465]

Hossa is a marginally better player then Havlat, who played a full season with them, and was much more impressive in the playoffs.

The Bhawks got destroyed by us, and didnt really get that much better at all, and Hossa was a total nonfactor that series besdies game 4, so it's not like if we didnt have him last season they would've beat us.

I'd be amazed if Chicago makes it to WCF next year. IMO San Jose is finally due or Calgary, both prove greater threats imo.

Wings still gotta be the favorite though.

I don't know about San Jose. I feel like every year they fail they just become more likely to fail again out of habit. Due to their talent, you've gotta say maybe, but I can't do it with a straight face.

And in regards to Hossa, I would put money on him having a huge playoffs next year similar to his outing with Pittsburgh in 2008. He's going to have a lot to prove and with guys as talented as Hossa (and Datsyuk for another example), if you give them a chance on a descent team, they'll prove it to you. If he plays like he did in 2008 for the Hawks next year, Chicago's going to be a tough team to play in the playoffs. All the more so if they address defensive issues over the summer and at the deadline. Don't think they're finished yet. They know they're a contender after this last year and adding Hossa only fuels that fire. Plus they've got Bowman in the organization. They're not done, and they'll keep getting stronger.

[shoe 165]

I think the flyers will be next years version of the ducks this year, who ever gets them in the playoffs will get run down hard, they may not win but they will hurt and grind down the opposing team, I think the improving Flyers will be good for the west coast teams. Take those penguins or caps and wear them down.