Comments for July 21, 2012 at http://hockey.dobbersports.com , comment 1 to 3 out of 3 comments http://hockey.dobbersports.com Sat, 18 May 2013 14:52:18 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4783-july-21-2012#comment-21906 Stanley cups are usually won by teams with 3rd and 4th liners who play like second liners. LA, Boston, and Chicago stick out the most to me when I think of teams who won the cup with practically three sets of second line players, but you can almost make this statement with pretty much any championship team since the lockout. Gone are the days where you can 'Patrick Roy' your way to a Stanley Cup (when he was in Montreal). Because of the salary cap, I believe the goal for any GM is to assemble a $90 million team while paying them $70 million, meaning you are paying them just before the peaks of their careers where they cash in huge. This was most evident in Chicago because as soon as they won the Cup and they had to re-sign their players, many of their depth players were signed to bigger offer sheets elsewhere because Chicago won the Cup right before everyone cashed in on their big contracts. I guess my point is that Philly has been close to wining the cup for a few years now, and such a huge contract is worth it's price if it brings Stanley home. To me, the only time you pay the big bucks is when you can almost taste a championship. I consider Nashville a playoff contender, but not a cup contender. For this reason, I say let Weber go, use your 8 first round picks wisely over the next 4 years, and work towards building a team that can contend perennially. Just my two cents. - Mark Sat, 21 Jul 2012 12:43:52 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4783-july-21-2012#comment-21904 Because Weber and Suter are so good defensively, they generally only allow low percentage shots to go through to Rinne. So the degree of difficulty in the shots Rinne faced was significantly lower than those of many other goalies in the league. - Brady19 Sat, 21 Jul 2012 10:22:28 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/24-rambling/4783-july-21-2012#comment-21903 Did the thought ever occur to anyone that perhaps Rinne was the reason Weber and Suter had good plus minuses last season? Pekka Rinne took the MOST SHOTS of any goaltender in the NHL in 2011-2012 with 2153. Lets put this into perspective. Steve Mason of the Columbus Blue Jackets (the worst team in the league with the most anemic defense) took 1355 shots last season in 46 games. That averages out to 29 shots per game against. Rated over a 73 game season just like Rinne, Mason takes about 2150 shots. I mean Jonas Hiller took less shots last year in the exact same number of games and Anaheim didn't exactly have 200 million dollars on their blue line last year. My point is that statistically speaking, IF Weber and Sutter we're such incredible defensive contributors, then you should expect Rinne's shot total to balloon tremendously over the course of next season. Conversely, it's also possible that Rinne continues his good play and Sutter/Weber are exposed more defensively on their new teams. (Assuming Nashville doesn't match the OS) - Nate Sat, 21 Jul 2012 09:05:39 +0100