Predictions

[charlio lemieux]

Inspired by other threads.

Everybody makes predictions. Sometimes we get them right. Sometimes we even back up our prediction with a wager. Be it luck or skill, it feels good to get it right.
So what are some of the best predictions you have made?
Did you back it up with a wager?

I have had a few that went right.

1) Being 4 for 4, picking the teams in the Stanley Cup Conference finals. This is harder than it sounds. Last time I had it perfect was the last year Pittsburg made it. Usually I'm good for 2-3, but there has been a lot of Cinderella teams the last few years. They throw it all out of whack. This is a necessary skill/luck for Playoff pools with limited or no trades.

2) Colorado Avalanche win the Stanley Cup 1996. When they picked up Roy, I was sold. Everybody I knew was sure Detroit was going to win. I enjoyed their money.

3) If only I had been older and had some substantial cash available. I hit the impossible, unthinkable, no way could they do it, 1990 Edmonton Oilers. No one thought they could do it after trading Gretzky. I was a bit worried when they went down in the First round series 3-1 to Winnipeg, but I never had a second thought after they made the comeback.

So when have you called it right?
Calling the Favorites doesn't count.:thumb:

[PDO]

I'd like to add times I was wrong as well.. :]

Lets see, off the top of my head times I was right..

1) Got the entire Eastern Confrence last year in the playoffs, inlcuding Tampa winning it all.

2) Saying that Heater would be a great addition to Ottawa

3) I've been a huge Matt Greene supporter - after a cup of coffee in the NHL, the kid looks like he's going to be a helluva player.. might be a bit early to say I was right; but so far I am ;).

4) I guarenteed Hemsky would be .9 PPG this year.. 51 GP 15 G 35 A 50 P

5) Said goalscoring would not be a problem for the Oilers this year and adding a "#1 center" was not a need thanks to the way this team was set up.

6) Said St. Louis was a flash in the pan... great year this year for mini mouse ;).

7) I said Morrison at best was an over-rated Horcoff.

Morrison playing with Bertuzzi and Naslund: 51 GP 12G 26 A 38 P +3
Horcoff playing with Smyth and Hemsky: 49 GP 16G 38A 54 P Even

As for terribly wrong...

1) I thought Markkanen was a legitimate starter in this league.

2) I thought Kiprusoff was a fluke.

3) I thought the Dallas Stars would be a mess this year, instead they're in first in the confrence.

4) I was convinced that not signing Nedved (at the time.. after the CBA I changed my tune very quickly; before the season started) was a huge mistake... the guy has shown his true colours though.

5) I thought Alex Semenov had a very bright future in the NHL.

6) I never thought the lockout would last an entire season.

Just for fun, a few I'll add are that MA Pouliot will not be an impact player in the NHL, and I have serious doubts he'll ever play 100 games at the NHL level. Robbie Schremp will shut a lot of people up with a 100 point season by age 26. The Canucks will not deal for a goaltender if Auld is healthy, but a deal for a depth defenseman would be very smart and should be expected. The Oilers Mike Morrison will be a legitimate starter in the NHL at some point.

[J.R.]

Lets see, off the top of my head times I was right..I remember you saying the Phoenix Coyotes would not be a "great" team this year and miss the playoffs. So far, so good. :thumb:

[Amoroq]

I said the Denver Broncos would lose to the Steelers.

[charlio lemieux]

I remember you saying the Phoenix Coyotes would not be a "great" team this year and miss the playoffs. So far, so good. :thumb:
Actually that was me.

I blame Brett Hull. :D

[J.R.]

I said the Denver Broncos would lose to the Steelers.
Bravo! So did most of the anti-Bronco biased media. :rolleyes:

They went further than anyone thought though, as picked by Sports Illustrated to go 7-9 and finish last in the AFC West.

Anyways...

I said the Washington Redskins would lose to the Broncos in week five.

:boogie:

[LiAmTrAnSdEmOn]

The prediction that I take most pride in by getting right was last year for History class in an NCAA pool. You had to pick the Final Four and as a tiebreaker, the biggest upset. I picked 3 out of 4. Illinois, North Carolina, and Louisville were my picks that I got right. My upset was Bucknell over Kansas, nice pick huh. Needless to say, or maybe needful to say I won the pool and passed with a 73. I think I got 4 points extra credit. That's clutch.:nod:

[MadDevil]

My best prediction came two years ago when the Red Sox came back from 3-0 on the Yankees to take the ALCS. It was at another board I posted at, the Yankees fans were all trash talking that the Red Sox were finished after Game 3. I told one of the Yankees fans that the Red Sox would come back and finish off the comeback, and they did. Of course, that was really just my hatred for the Yankees speaking, but it worked out.

Other than that I pretty much suck at predicting anything.:laughing:

I will predict this though: The Philadelphia Flyers will fail to win a Cup for the 31st straight year.:D

[LiAmTrAnSdEmOn]

I will predict this though: The Philadelphia Flyers will fail to win a Cup for the 31st straight year.:D

Did I ever mention how much I hate you???:D

But speaking of damn devils, where are all the predictors of the Martin Brodeur coming down to earth season??? He just seems to be getting better as he becomes more acclimated to the new NHL.

[MadDevil]

Did I ever mention how much I hate you???:D

But speaking of damn devils, where are all the predictors of the Martin Brodeur coming down to earth season??? He just seems to be getting better as he becomes more acclimated to the new NHL.

I think they're all on the same Devils-hating bandwagon that seems to disappear when the playoffs roll around.:nod: :D

[LiAmTrAnSdEmOn]

I think they're all on the same Devils-hating bandwagon that seems to disappear when the playoffs roll around.:nod: :D

That bandwagon doesn't disappear, just some of the members jump off. I'm not one of 'em.:boogie:

[MadDevil]

That bandwagon doesn't disappear, just some of the members jump off. I'm not one of 'em.:boogie:

To borrow a phrase from one of your fellow Flyers fans...The gloves are off, wanna go?:wicked: :D

Seriously though, I don't know where all the Brodeur-haters have disappeared to. Not that is surprises me some thought he would be exposed as a fraud this year. Personally, I love it when people rip on Brodeur or the Devils, it usually means they're doing well.:thumb:

[LiAmTrAnSdEmOn]

Seriously though, I don't know where all the Brodeur-haters have disappeared to. Not that is surprises me some thought he would be exposed as a fraud this year. Personally, I love it when people rip on Brodeur or the Devils, it usually means they're doing well.:thumb:

Yeah, well I hate Brodeur but I do know and respect what he does. I have been under the opinion of him as the best goalie in the game for the past couple years and have defended him against the increasing Luongo lovers club that grows.

[PDO]

To borrow a phrase from one of your fellow Flyers fans...The gloves are off, wanna go?:wicked: :D

Seriously though, I don't know where all the Brodeur-haters have disappeared to. Not that is surprises me some thought he would be exposed as a fraud this year. Personally, I love it when people rip on Brodeur or the Devils, it usually means they're doing well.:thumb:

Brodeur's been the same goalie since '00.. the stats say still say it. Average tender living on a reputation of a few playoff runs and a couple great seasons almost a decade ago.

[a4l]

Let me see ............. The first time I was ever right in picking the Stanley Cup winners was in 1994. After 29 years of being wrong it felt good.

[Madferret]

Weight will get traded to Carolina on Monday Jan 30, 2006...

:conspire:

[MadDevil]

Brodeur's been the same goalie since '00.. the stats say still say it. Average tender living on a reputation of a few playoff runs and a couple great seasons almost a decade ago.

Just out of curiousity, how many Devils games have you watched over the last 3-4 years? I only ask because as somebody who's watched probably 80% of the Devils games the last 3-4 years, I can say there isn't a goalie in the league I'd take over Brodeur. Am I biased? Of course I am, but I wonder why it is that many fans, players, coaches, GM's, and other hockey experts also think he's the best goalie in the league. Have we all been duped by the Devils? Has Lou Lamoriello managed to pull the wool over all of our eyes?

It's easy to point to his stats and say "Oh, his save percentage has never been among the league leaders", but until you watch a lot of Devils games, it's hard to understand how important he is to their success. Has Brodeur been helped out by a great defensive system in front of him? Yes, but I'd also argue that the Devils system wouldn't be as effective without Brodeur.

You and I could go around and around on this subject I know, but that's what makes it an interesting subject.:thumb:

[Mel]

I follow Marty pretty closely because he's my main fantasy tender.

He got off to a bad start and I was cursing the fact that I wasted a first rounder on him... but if you split his stats from the past few months, I would guess his numbers are up there. He's been pretty reliable and even pitched a few shutouts.

He was accustomed to having a solid conservative team oriented defense in front of him lead by the warrior Sott Stevens... and he lost that.

However it looks like he's adjusted and is still one of the top goalies in the league.

He's no Henrik Lundqvist though :laughing: :hammer:

[charlio lemieux]

Why would anyone want a crappy goalie with a .921 lifetime playoff save % ?
Or a regular season lifetime .912% ?
You can keep his 20 playoff and 79 regluar season shutouts as well.

Received Vezina Trophy & named to NHL's 1st All-Star Team for 2nd straight season in '03-04
Winner of Jennings Trophy for 4th time; previously received honor in '97, '98 & '03
Represented East. Conf. as a starter in '04 All-Star Game; game marked his 8th appearance
Led league for 3rd time with 75 games (all starts), 3rd time with career-high 11 ShO, 4th time with an NHL-record 4,555 mins. & 6th time with 38 wins
Is only goaltender in history with 8 straight 35-win seasons & only goaltender to record 9 straight 30-win seasons
Has started 133 consecutive post-season games for Devils - the 2nd longest stretch in NHL history (P. Roy, Col., 136)
Is 2nd on the league's all-time ShO list with 20 (Roy, 23);
is 4th with 84 victories
Yep he is one over-rated goaltender.

[MadDevil]

Why would anyone want a crappy goalie with a .921 lifetime playoff save % ?
Or a regular season lifetime .912% ?
You can keep his 20 playoff and 79 regluar season shutouts as well.

Yep he is one over-rated goaltender.

Yes, but we all know it was just because of the team in front of him. He had nothing personally to do with those stats.:laughing: :D

[charlio lemieux]

What do you expect! It's the same damned team in front of him as he had in 1995.:wicked:
It's not like they had to get rid of 2/3 of their top line. Or let go of a 40 goal scorer.:rolleyes:
Winning three cups isn't all that hard, just look at all the other goalies that have done it in the last 20 years.
Why there's Patrick Roy and, can we count Grant Fuhr? He did share with Moog and it does go over the 20 year mark. Anyway Roy and who? Detroit won three cups with three different goalies. No other team has won the cup three times in the last 20 years.

So the only Goalies that have won three cups in the last 20 years are Roy and Brodeur? That must be some team they had to make up for all the lack of skill they had in net.:D

I'll bet Detroit would have won 6 or more cups in the last 11 seasons with Brodeur in net.

You know you are great when they start to make rules to limit your impact on a game. The no-touch zone for goalies might as well be called the "Brodeur Rule".

[charlio lemieux]

Just another example of Brodeur's shoddy play:

NEW YORK -- New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur, who led the NHL in victories with a 10-2-1 record, 1.73 goals-against average, four shutouts and .938 save percentage, has been named the League's Defensive Player of the Month.