So the Isles' streak of 14 losses has been snapped. Does that mean they're no longer on pace to be epically shitty? Perhaps. The NHL is more evenly competitive than it's ever been, and streaks just happen. However, we can always hope to see a new mark for futility.
Next, we examine a surprisingly less shitty team than I remember:
9. 2009-2010 Edmonton Oilers
Point Total: 62
Record: 27-47-8 (W-L-OTL)
Points Behind Next Worst: 12 (Maple Leafs)
Goal Differential: -70 (Worst in NHL)
The Season
The lone bright spot of these Oilers (besides the high first round draft pick, which is more than the Leafs can claim), was their shootout record of 8-6. With only 2 OT losses the entire year (excluding Shootout Losses), I think it's safe to say their points total was inflated.
They started out, as many poor teams do, pretty decently, going 6-2-1 in their first 9 games. Optimism was perhaps crushed when they dropped their next 6 out of 7, losing every game by at least 2 goals and finding their only win in a shootout. After an up-and-down rest of November, they hit the jets in December, winning 5 straight road games. Confident, they began a homestand of their own, expecting great things.
[Oops}
They were swept on their 4-game homestand, then scored a whopping 3 goals over their next 3 games. Still, 6-8-0 is not a terrible December record, if not an encouraging one. Of course, they didn't win a single game the next month, going 0-10-2. On Dec. 30, they had 36 points. 31 days later, they had 38. They traded streaks down the stretch for the most part, but the Oilers were completely unable to recover from their mid-season slump, and finished dead last in the NHL.
Good Signs
Dustin "Offer Sheet" Penner scored 32 goals (including the 100th of his career), a team high. Unfortunately, no one else scored over 17. Ales Hemsky, injured most of the season, was a point per game, netting 22 in 22 games, and an impressive +7. Ryan Whitney, acquired in a trade from Anaheim, led the team with +7 in 19 games. And while Khabibulin had a fairly shitty 3.03 GAA, his SP was .909, better than many goaltenders who made the playoffs. Oh, and then the draft.
Did They Make the Best of It?
Too soon to tell. Taylor Hall is a franchise player, sure. But it's uncertain what kind of franchise player he'll be. Currently he's 6th among rookies, not a position you want from a number one pick. 11 points in 22 games and a -6. Teammate Jordan Eberle has 14, and possibly the year's highlight reel goal (not involving an inept Mike Green). But in a relatively weak-looking draft, Edmonton grabbed one of the two notable players. That has to count for something, right?
Right?
- Matt
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Decade of Suck, part 1
The Islanders' recent 13-game slide has understandably epic. After all, in today's NHL, with a salary cap/floor and shootouts giving teams free wins, it's almost inconceivable that a team could go on such a slide. But one quarter of the way into the season, the Isles are improbably riding 12 points, putting them on roughly a 47 point pace. The Devils are there as well, but you have to figure they have more to play for once Brodeur is healthy.
Anyway, this got me thinking. Could this year's Isles be the worst team in modern hockey history? I did some digging, and while there were quite a few bad teams over the last decade or so, I settled on the worst team of each season. Starting with the Atlanta Thrashers of 1999-2000, and finishing up with last year's Oilers, I then ranked them from 10th worst to absolute worst. And trust me, the worst is very, very bad.
Since I'd like to milk an idea for all it's worth, I'm going to break these up into segments. My rankings totally depend on total points, and I'll admit it's flawed. Yes, the OT loss now counts for 1 point, rather than the zero it used to. But you have to figure some of those ties end in shootout victories, enough to cancel out the OT losses being worth nothing. So, let's bring out number 10:
10. 2007-2008 Tampa Bay Lightning
Point Total: 71
Record: 31-42-9 (W-L-OTL)
Points Behind Next Worst: 0 (tied with Kings, fewer wins)
Goal Differential: -44 (3rd worst)
The Season
So what makes this team so bad? Actually, not much. They're easily better than every other "worst team", including not even being the worst by much. In actuality, in the current tiebreaking system, Los Angeles would be the worst with their 5 shootout wins to Tampa's two.
The season started off OK, if Wikipedia is any indication. Won their first three, and had 8 points in 6 games. Certainly nothing to sneeze at. An OT loss to the Sabres put them on somewhat of a slide, losing their next 5 in regulation. They rebounded impressively by winning their next 5 games. They traded streaks once again after a second OT loss, and then the wheels fell off.
[December]
After a solid January and a great start to February, the Bolts once again found themselves on the wrong end of the scoresheet, losing a season-high 11 games in a row. Again they traded streaks, and ended up winless in April. They missed the playoffs for the first time in half a dozen years.
Good Signs
The season wasn't a total loss. Lecavalier scored 92 points, including 40 goals. Brad Richards played in his 500th NHL game, before he was traded to the Stars. Mike Smith, the current goalie, was acquired in a trade. They also got Jussi Jokinen but for some reason let him go to Carolina. And most importantly, after a brutal 2007 draft that included a guy named "Cunti", they got the number one overall pick in '08.
Did They Make the Best of It?
The next year they went crazy with money on free agents. This is because they picked up franchise player and current NHL scoring leader Steven Stamkos. Anticipating immediate returns, they splurged on "stars" like Ryan Malone. However, their new owners were responsible for not only Saw, but Two and a Half Men, which are war crimes in less civilized nations. They failed to make the playoffs the next two years as well, but at least they didn't suck out loud in '09-'10.
In the end, Stamkos is worth being the laughingstock of the league for a year or three. They're in great position to re-enter the second season, and depending on matchup, do some damage.
That said, they'll fail horribly and they should feel bad about themselves.
- Matt
Anyway, this got me thinking. Could this year's Isles be the worst team in modern hockey history? I did some digging, and while there were quite a few bad teams over the last decade or so, I settled on the worst team of each season. Starting with the Atlanta Thrashers of 1999-2000, and finishing up with last year's Oilers, I then ranked them from 10th worst to absolute worst. And trust me, the worst is very, very bad.
Since I'd like to milk an idea for all it's worth, I'm going to break these up into segments. My rankings totally depend on total points, and I'll admit it's flawed. Yes, the OT loss now counts for 1 point, rather than the zero it used to. But you have to figure some of those ties end in shootout victories, enough to cancel out the OT losses being worth nothing. So, let's bring out number 10:
10. 2007-2008 Tampa Bay Lightning
Point Total: 71
Record: 31-42-9 (W-L-OTL)
Points Behind Next Worst: 0 (tied with Kings, fewer wins)
Goal Differential: -44 (3rd worst)
The Season
So what makes this team so bad? Actually, not much. They're easily better than every other "worst team", including not even being the worst by much. In actuality, in the current tiebreaking system, Los Angeles would be the worst with their 5 shootout wins to Tampa's two.
The season started off OK, if Wikipedia is any indication. Won their first three, and had 8 points in 6 games. Certainly nothing to sneeze at. An OT loss to the Sabres put them on somewhat of a slide, losing their next 5 in regulation. They rebounded impressively by winning their next 5 games. They traded streaks once again after a second OT loss, and then the wheels fell off.
[December]
After a solid January and a great start to February, the Bolts once again found themselves on the wrong end of the scoresheet, losing a season-high 11 games in a row. Again they traded streaks, and ended up winless in April. They missed the playoffs for the first time in half a dozen years.
Good Signs
The season wasn't a total loss. Lecavalier scored 92 points, including 40 goals. Brad Richards played in his 500th NHL game, before he was traded to the Stars. Mike Smith, the current goalie, was acquired in a trade. They also got Jussi Jokinen but for some reason let him go to Carolina. And most importantly, after a brutal 2007 draft that included a guy named "Cunti", they got the number one overall pick in '08.
Did They Make the Best of It?
The next year they went crazy with money on free agents. This is because they picked up franchise player and current NHL scoring leader Steven Stamkos. Anticipating immediate returns, they splurged on "stars" like Ryan Malone. However, their new owners were responsible for not only Saw, but Two and a Half Men, which are war crimes in less civilized nations. They failed to make the playoffs the next two years as well, but at least they didn't suck out loud in '09-'10.
In the end, Stamkos is worth being the laughingstock of the league for a year or three. They're in great position to re-enter the second season, and depending on matchup, do some damage.
That said, they'll fail horribly and they should feel bad about themselves.
- Matt
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