NHL 2014-2015 Season

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
I made almost the exact same post right around the all-star break. I may be pissed off, but give me credit for being consistently negative.

When I say "old," I mean there's a good $20 million worth of aging players with oversized contracts we could dump and it wouldn't negatively impact the team. Sharp and Bickell, to name two. Darling should probably take over for Crawford, that's an extra $5 million right there. Add in some defensive depth with that money and we'll be scary.

Tampa is younger, more physical and just as fast. For all the eastern conference bashing, they'll probably win the series. But then the Hawks have a gift for underachieving only to make things interesting at the end.

Fun fact: under coach Q, the Hawks are 30-30 in games 1-3. They are 40-17 in games 5-7. Does this mean anything? I guess we'll find out.
 
Last edited:
This same discussion goes on in the NBA finals thread too. Game 1 passes and suddenly it's a loss for Cleveland and they'll be lucky if they win one game...

It's the finals. Both teams are there for a reason. Chicago is hardly to blame for Chicago's loss. There isn't much of anything anyone can do to build a better team that consistently makes the finals and wins cups. They're just being beaten by a team that's just as good right now.

Face it. If two teams play each other, someone has to win. Doesn't mean there is a serious flaw with the loser.

And goodness, if you think Patrick Sharp is a problem... good luck without him.
 
Patrick Sharp will be 34 before the year is out and has been on the slow decline for a while now. He's been invisible throughout the playoffs and sunk us in game 2 with back to back penalties while contributing little offensively.

I think I have perfectly good reason to be unsatisfied with his performance. There's a reason he was benched towards the end of the third.

Kane has been disappointing too, honestly. Awful puck handling this series and poor decision making with his passes. But he seems to show up when it matters most, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. If the man gets loose, he's gonna score.
 
Last edited:
I'd love to bitch about how crappy my team is now that they're losing in the SC finals :rolleyes:

I'd worry more about the fact that 35% of your cap next year is going to two players.

Which is why 90% of my posting content over the last page has been about potential salary cap cuts and not how bad the team is. Those contracts are a major concern going forward.

But sure, I make an offhand remark moments after a second heartbreaking loss in a row and that fully encapsulates my thoughts on the team going forward.
 
Patrick Sharp will be 34 before the year is out and has been on the slow decline for a while now. He's been invisible throughout the playoffs and sunk us in game 2 with back to back penalties while contributing little offensively.

I think I have perfectly good reason to be unsatisfied with his performance. There's a reason he was benched towards the end of the third.

Kane has been disappointing too, honestly. Awful puck handling this series and poor decision making with his passes. But he seems to show up when it matters most, so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. If the man gets loose, he's gonna score.


You're seriously complaining about Patrick Kane now. Dude, these are the players that have brought you to where you are. You're giving one of your best players the "benefit of the doubt?"

And Sharp was benched because of two costly penalties. That's it. Yeah, Sharp was gonna be older sooner or later, but he's only there because that's how, after being so successful, they were able to keep such a productive player behind two of the league's top performers.

You have nothing to complain about. Your great team is losing to another great team. Address the issues looking forward, but you should probably just appreciate how good they really are. I think you've lost sight of what the Blackhawks used to be, pre-Tallon.
 
You're giving one of your best players the "benefit of the doubt?"

...yes? He's not performing well (believe it or not), but I assume he will play up to his potential at some point this series, so he's earned the benefit of the doubt. Am I misusing the phrase?

Also, Sharp was benched last night, not in game 2 after the penalties. He was benched in game 3 simply because he wasn't playing well. Just a clarification.
 
Well, I understand you were quoting that one piece as a means of directly responding to it, but it definitely has different meaning in context. I'm saying it's fine to be disappointed in Kane, but he's hardly a problem.

Open your eyes to where your team is. There's no problem with the team as a whole that's restricting them from winning a cup. You have a Stanley cup team. Just hope it wins one.
 
I'm really not enjoying this series. I found the Ducks series awesome even when we were losing, but so far game 2 has been the only entertaining one. 1 was a slog decided by bad coaching and 3 and 4 are both a big sloppy mess. How many penalties have there been through 40 minutes, 6? 7?
 
Last edited:
Do you know how excited like... everyone else here who is a fan of another team would be if their team was in the finals? Most of us don't even see the playoffs routinely.
 
I only watched game 2, but it wasn't a great game of hockey. I can't comment on 1 and 3, I was trying to see U2 during one and slept through the other cause of work.

This game's been hella messy as well.

What I saw of 3 wasn't gold either.
 
Anyways to go back to what I was trying to interject into this conversation and to interpret what I think Travis is trying to say today (never going to defend his comments from Monday), I personally found the Ducks series to be better from a technical perspective. This series has felt like one of those "whoever makes less mistakes" wins, rather than the best team.

This game got a little better after the first period, but it's been riddled with mistakes, penalties, poor defense, etc., from BOTH sides. Hence it doesn't feel like as good a series as the last, imo.

Doesn't mean it's not a blast watching your team in the finals, for sure. I wish lemel wouldn't post immediately after losses. He says... Regrettable... Things.
 
Now to respond to this:

Based on WHAT comment? Go for it.

Your reaction to my Kane comments, for one. I'm surprised that anyone who has watched a second of this series could be shocked about someone calling out the $10 million man for doing nothing when it matters.

If you thought I was bad for DARING to criticize Kane (like, I dunno, every sports commentator this series), you'd have a nervous breakdown over at a Hawks forum. I'm being kind.

I don't care that the Panthers are terrible or what Florida fans might do in the event that they ever see a championship. I don't have to swallow all the shit that my team shovels me along the way. If you have a problem with how I handle a stressful playoff situation, put me on ignore. Thanks.
 
Last edited:
Now to respond to this:

Your reaction to my Kane comments, for one. I'm surprised that anyone who has watched a second of this series could be shocked about someone calling out the $10 million man for doing nothing when it matters.


Oh yeah, because my comments were totally in support of his play? My comments were criticizing your complaining. That's it. That's all they've been the whole time. You're complaining about Kane like your team would be better off without him. He's coming off injury, but otherwise is part of the identity of the team. Understandable to be disappointed. Not understandable to be upset.

If you thought I was bad for DARING to criticize Kane (like, I dunno, every sports commentator this series), you'd have a nervous breakdown over at a Hawks forum. I'm being kind.


You're doing a little more complaining than you are supporting. You're not supporting, at all. You're being an opponent of your team.

I don't care that the Panthers are terrible or what Florida fans do. I don't have to swallow all the shit that my team shovels me along the way. If you have a problem with how fans handle a stressful playoff situation, put me on ignore. Thanks.


You're overreacting. Totally unnecessary. This has nothing to do with "my team." It's anybody reading your comments who are fans of like, 25 other teams.
 
Back
Top Bottom