Are the Red Wings the Atlanta Braves of the NHL?

[D.C.U.P.]

Yeah, I know we have 3 Cups and the Braves only won 1 World Series. However, I can't help but see the parallel between the two franchises. Loads of talent, awesome regular season records, long stretches (a decade or more) of overall domination, playoff disappointment more often than not.

At least our announcers are better. :D

[Dedge]

It must be me. I was a diehard fan of the Braves for years. Loved them back when they had Dale Murphy, Ozzie Virgil and all those guys and finished in the cellar every year. Then they got good. Real good. And I just lost interest in it. Haven't watched a full game since I was like 18 or so.


Dan

[William H Bonney]

Colorado might be little more appropriate being the "Braves",,,:lol:

[fish eater]

In answer to your question.......no.


Playoff disappointment?
16straight years in the postseason, longest streak in all of pro sports.
3 championships.
4 finals appearances
6 Conference Finals appearances
Continued to be the envy of the league, even when the league went to a salary capped sport, and is supposed to be so full of parity.
Overachieved in a season where ESPN picked them in Sept. to not make the playoffs.
Appear to be 2 or 3 moves away from a championship thanks to a reloaded Core on the fly.
Are led by one of the brightest, freshest, young energetic coaches in the league today.
Owned by an owner that UFA's throughout the NHL want to play for due to his passion, loyalty, and committment to excellance.
Run by a front office that continues to be brilliant, creative, and has become even wiser thanks in part to the fresh input of one Mister Steven Gregory Yzerman.
Have several prospects on the way, and at least 1 of them appears ready to make a serious impact on the team in the upcoming season.



How many things of the above mentioned can also be said by Braves fans?;):cheeky-sm Also, keep in mind that it is much tougher to win in the NHL postseason, than the MLB postseason. I don't care what anyone says, the Stanley Cup is by far the hardest championship to win.:sad:

[D.C.U.P.]

In answer to your question.......no.


Playoff disappointment?
16straight years in the postseason, longest streak in all of pro sports.
3 championships.
4 finals appearances
6 Conference Finals appearances
Continued to be the envy of the league, even when the league went to a salary capped sport, and is supposed to be so full of parity.
Overachieved in a season where ESPN picked them in Sept. to not make the playoffs.
Appear to be 2 or 3 moves away from a championship thanks to a reloaded Core on the fly.
Are led by one of the brightest, freshest, young energetic coaches in the league today.
Owned by an owner that UFA's throughout the NHL want to play for due to his passion, loyalty, and committment to excellance.
Run by a front office that continues to be brilliant, creative, and has become even wiser thanks in part to the fresh input of one Mister Steven Gregory Yzerman.
Have several prospects on the way, and at least 1 of them appears ready to make a serious impact on the team in the upcoming season.



How many things of the above mentioned can also be said by Braves fans?;):cheeky-sm Also, keep in mind that it is much tougher to win in the NHL postseason, than the MLB postseason. I don't care what anyone says, the Stanley Cup is by far the hardest championship to win.:sad:


That's my point. Year after year, they both seem to have fantastic talent, and excellent teams. Come playoffs, they both usually lose their last game. That's disappointing for a team that has one of, if not the, best record in the entire league. Go ask any Red Wing (or any other pro player) how he feels about their post-season when they go home losers. The word "disappointment" or a synonym thereof just may come up.

Although I understand playoff hockey is a bit different than regular season, I can't really buy into the excuse that the Cup is harder to win. If they don't like the competition, they need to adapt or else join MLB, as it is so easy. And, if it's so hard to win, then why does someone do it every year? Think about that for a while! :dizzy: :lol:

And who cares what ESPN picks? It's all about Don Cherry. :lol:

I'm just looking at the bottom line. To me, there is an undeniable parallel. I am too lazy to go dig up stats, but I know the Braves have had a record run of regular season excellence. Didn't they win 12 straight division titles or something like that?

[ckhanna]

Great answer Fish Eater!!! no cense in quoting you

[redwingsdude]

I think they're more like the Ottawa Senators of the NHL. ;)

Seriously though, 3 cups is tied for the most of any other team in the past 15 years, and is a lot different than 1. We're blessed with a successful team.

[D.C.U.P.]

I think they're more like the Ottawa Senators of the NHL. ;)

Seriously though, 3 cups is tied for the most of any other team in the past 15 years, and is a lot different than 1. We're blessed with a successful team.

No doubt they're successful. Many fans would love their teams to be as good for so long. Ditto for the Braves.

I just wanted to point out the seemingly obvious parallel between the two franchises. Regular season dominance, not just squeaking by and happy to get into the playoffs. That leads to many seasons of "playoff experience," which theoretically gives them an edge on everyone. Then, the playoff loss. Maybe it wasn't so obvious.

I'm not bashing the Wings or the Braves. Not at all. I just wondered if anyone else ever saw the similarities. I guess not.

Wait till next year!!!

[thousandcasts]

No...the difference is that people actually care about baseball. :evil:

[fish eater]

Again, no. This thread is a miss as most of us agree. The comment that "if the Cup is so hard to win, how come somebody wins it every year" is a poor counter-point IMO. I'm not gonna waste tons of my time trying to teach someone that a championship in the NHL is much much harder to win than a championship in the MLB. Now granted, it is quite harder to qaulify for the MLB postseason, but once you get in, you only gotta win 3 rounds in a non-contact sport. Plus the 1st round is only best of 5. PLUS, that's only within the last 10-11 years. If you go from the mid-90's and beyond, there were only 2 playoff rounds. In the NHL you go through 2 months of getting your rear end royally kicked.:sick: Someone wins it every year, because somebody has to. Its a war of attrition.:dizzy:

In all honesty, the Red Wings are more like the N.Y. Yankees of MLB. And many many sports commentators and analyts have used that analogy for quite a few years now. The similarities are that they either lose early, or they go all the way. Plus their both the 2 classiest franchises in the United States the past 20 years, bar none. Couple ways that the Red Wings are above and beyond the Yankees right now are because of the following:
1-They have a championship more recent than the Yankees most recent World Series title and....(2002, 2000 respectively)
2-The Yankees post-season appearance streak is going to be snapped this season at 12.

Another point that voids the Braves comparison. All 3 of the Red Wing Stanley Cup Titles are more recent than the Braves (1995) lone championship.

[D.C.U.P.]

Again, no. This thread is a miss as most of us agree.

There are over 10K members here. I haven't seen an official vote, but apparently I am getting trounced by a count of 1 to 1. :rolleyes: :lol:

The comment that "if the Cup is so hard to win, how come somebody wins it every year" is a poor counter-point IMO. I'm not gonna waste tons of my time trying to teach someone that a championship in the NHL is much much harder to win than a championship in the MLB.

And I won't waste time trying to explain facetiousness and understanding smilies (aka emoticons) contained within posts.

Now granted, it is quite harder to qaulify for the MLB postseason, but once you get in, you only gotta win 3 rounds in a non-contact sport. Plus the 1st round is only best of 5. PLUS, that's only within the last 10-11 years. If you go from the mid-90's and beyond, there were only 2 playoff rounds. In the NHL you go through 2 months of getting your rear end royally kicked.:sick: Someone wins it every year, because somebody has to. Its a war of attrition.:dizzy:.

Few would deny that hockey players are about as tough as it gets and baseball players are close to the opposite end of the spectrum. But, my post isn't about which sport is harder and I am not sure how that came in. All I ever stated was regular season excellence followed by much playoff failure...over a long period of time.

In all honesty, the Red Wings are more like the N.Y. Yankees of MLB. And many many sports commentators and analyts have used that analogy for quite a few years now. The similarities are that they either lose early, or they go all the way. Plus their both the 2 classiest franchises in the United States the past 20 years, bar none. Couple ways that the Red Wings are above and beyond the Yankees right now are because of the following:
1-They have a championship more recent than the Yankees most recent World Series title and....(2002, 2000 respectively)
2-The Yankees post-season appearance streak is going to be snapped this season at 12..

That's a fair comparison, and one with which I agree. But how does one determine who is the "classiest" franchise? Is it having the most money? Pinstripes?

Another point that voids the Braves comparison. All 3 of the Red Wing Stanley Cup Titles are more recent than the Braves (1995) lone championship.

So anything that happened over a decade ago doesn't count? I still stand by my original analogy, in spite of your "void" of it. Blind faith is quite powerful and I understand that you're a Wings fan. So am I. I also have a friend who is a die-hard Braves fan, and he sees the same parallel that I do. I guess it's just him and me against the world. :help: :lol:

[Itchin' to go]

No you cant compare the Wings and the braves overall as a club.....

Braves world series......1
Wings cups.......10

More recently if you take the last 10-12 yrs then obviously the Wings have 3 and Atlanta has their 1. Comparing 3 championships to 1 just doesnt make sense, had the braves won 3 championships in that time it would be one the great runs in mlb history (exc. Yankees) and well 1 is just that....1, nothing too special about 1 from a history standpoint.

Ryan

[Dedge]

Hey DCUP, I think I see what you are saying, and am also guessing that just about everyone here is reading wayyyyyy too much into it.:lol:



Dan

[fish eater]

There are over 10K members here. I haven't seen an official vote, but apparently I am getting trounced by a count of 1 to 1. :rolleyes: :lol:


That's a fair comparison, and one with which I agree. But how does one determine who is the "classiest" franchise? Is it having the most money? Pinstripes?




There are over 10K on MS. There's a very small percentage of that number that post here in the Wings forum.;):lol: The majority of the members that have posted here in this thread have disagreed with you. So your 1 to 1 sarcastic comment is also null and void.

As far as your classy franchise question. If you don't know the difference between a well run and professional organization, and a poorly run franchise that's owned by owner who is strictly in it for the money, then this is hopeless.:help:

You have your opinion and that's awesome. Rock on with your bad self brotha. I've given my answer to your question and I've given my reasons why I answered the question in the manner I did. Thank you for your time, have a wonderful off-season and we'll see ya next year fellas.:)

[theredmission]

Again, no. This thread is a miss as most of us agree. The comment that "if the Cup is so hard to win, how come somebody wins it every year" is a poor counter-point IMO.

In term of playoff difficulty I believe the largest variable which makes hockey slightly more difficult is the high number of 'chance' scoring, and in a sport where one goal can send you packing, luck can play a large part in the postseason. I mean, how often do you see a NBA game where a team wins from a missed shot that takes a quick bounce of the rim, bounces off a guys leg, hits a guy's foot bounces up high off the top of the backboard then off the guards head and into the net for the series win? Sure, there are crazy things like 'Sheed making half court buzzer beaters ,but those guys can practice those shots.


2-The Yankees post-season appearance streak is going to be snapped this season at 12.


Darn right the Yanks are going to miss the postseason this year!

[William H Bonney]

I agree with the original comparison. I'd also say there's an argument there for anyone that says a World Series ring isn't as tough to win. Granted baseball isn't as physical as hockey but the NHL also doesn't play 162 games, plus a month of spring training,,, plus playoffs. Talk about a "grind".:yikes:

[D.C.U.P.]

There are over 10K on MS. There's a very small percentage of that number that post here in the Wings forum.;):lol: The majority of the members that have posted here in this thread have disagreed with you. So your 1 to 1 sarcastic comment is also null and void.

And that small membership who posts here is obviously a bunch of Wings fans, understandably. But it just seems that one has his/her head in the sand if he/she can't or won't recognize the fact that, more often than not, the Wings and Braves (and Yankees) have come away from the post-season hanging their heads after being the cat's **** all year long. But on that, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

As far as your classy franchise question. If you don't know the difference between a well run and professional organization, and a poorly run franchise that's owned by owner who is strictly in it for the money, then this is hopeless.:help:

OK, so explain the dynamics of a "classy" franchise. Is it the lineup? The record? The uniforms? The stadium? Educate me.

You have your opinion and that's awesome. Rock on with your bad self brotha. I've given my answer to your question and I've given my reasons why I answered the question in the manner I did. Thank you for your time, have a wonderful off-season and we'll see ya next year fellas.:)

My original question was mostly rhetorical. I did want to get discussion and opinions and I sure got them! I'm just as bummed about another playoff beating as any other fan, trust me. Maybe only us Yoopers can see the similarities I originally referenced.

Oh, by the way, anything you said that I don't agree with, I officially hereby decree to be "null and void" too. Now do you realize how silly that sounds? :lol:

Go Pistons! :cool: