How can the Oilers NOT be the most desperate team? They've had 10 top 10 picks in the last 11 seasons.. two of them were top 5 picks. FOUR of them were first OVERALL picks. That horribly mis-managed franchise absolutely has to feel desperate to win. They have the best player in the world locked up through his prime and they are WASTING it.

So you expect to fill your top 4 with guys for 700K?
- RedRevenge

I believe the spot of "League's Lowest Spending Team" has already been filled by the Sens.

The most desperate team should be the Lightning. Anything less than an appearance in the Stanley Cup finals is not acceptable, and heads will roll there.

It should be BUFFALO

Toronto just won a NBA championship. Don’t tell me that doesn’t count.

The NHL has never had greater parity than right now.

Baseball does have small market teams win. Basketball is more the issue. The Raptors are the only "Non Favourite" in years to win it all.

The Leafs being "Good" means more $ for small market teams to spend on players in the NHL.
- RogerRoeper

Baseball always seems to have Boston, New York, Los Angeles, and a couple others.

Yes, basketball is the same way.

The NFL is better at giving teams a shot. IMO.

Definitely Tampa. Stamkos Hedman Johnson Palat and Mcdonagh all 29 or older. First time in Tampa the leadership was questioned after worst loss in nhl playoff history.

Toronto’s best player is 21 the window is wide open

San Jose is win now. Old team. Window being held open by a brick

Nashville isn’t getting any younger or faster. Window definitely shutting soon

Penguins 4 best players all 32 or older. Window gonna crash soon

Winterpeg Vegas and Washington all have windows closing
- leafluver27

No homer, but the Pens are far from desperate. Three cups in the Crosby era, so the Pens have accomplished what they set out to do, but of course they want more. Would I call them desperate? No, but they're definitely scrambling to right some of their wrongs and build a better team.

I forgot about SJ, but you're dead on there.

Nashville is still in good shape IMO. Picking up Duchene is huge and they still have a solid defense. They're not an old team per-se, but they're not young.

So there you have it. A cap casualty (my argument entirely). Muzzin gone. Barrie making 7-8M. Dermott has yet to prove he's a reliable top 4. This will impact his salary. Sandin and Lillgren have yet to prove anything at the NHL level. I wouldn't pencil these guys into your line-up .

Overpay? 4.5M for a #3. Since when is that an overpay?
- RedRevenge

A solid but frequnetly injured defenseman coming off his second bout of serious shoulder surgery (on the same shoulder, no less.)

He's good, and will continue to be good if he's healthy, but for Carolina he was just a little too much of a risk to keep around.

How can the Oilers NOT be the most desperate team? They've had 10 top 10 picks in the last 11 seasons.. two of them were top 5 picks. FOUR of them were first OVERALL picks. That horribly mis-managed franchise absolutely has to feel desperate to win. They have the best player in the world locked up through his prime and they are WASTING it.
- Snowman X

Agree.

There are two forms of desperation, I'd say one is to simply be relevant again, and the second to win a cup....and I think they have to be compared separately because the desperation factor is completely unique to each.

The former is a tie between Buffalo and Edmonton, and the latter id say it's a toss up between the Lightening and Leafs with Jets and Preds pretty close as well.

Definitely Tampa. Stamkos Hedman Johnson Palat and Mcdonagh all 29 or older. First time in Tampa the leadership was questioned after worst loss in nhl playoff history.

Toronto’s best player is 21 the window is wide open

San Jose is win now. Old team. Window being held open by a brick

Nashville isn’t getting any younger or faster. Window definitely shutting soon

Penguins 4 best players all 32 or older. Window gonna crash soon

Winterpeg Vegas and Washington all have windows closing
- leafluver27

I think you missed the point about this thread. The thread asked which team is "most desperate" NOT "which team's window is closing".

Penguins won 3 cups over the last decade. Yes, their window is closing, but they succeeded and to a lesser extent Washington aswell.

Vegas window is wide open, and they have no pressure since they've only been in the league for 2 years.

Most desperate team are the clowns running this site. Boom roasted.

While I don't necessarily disagree with all the people suggesting the Leafs are the most desperate, I would like to consider the following:

Teams that have been consistently atop the standings, yet are starting to drop, are definitely in the conversation here. Teams like Chicago, LA, NY Rangers, maybe even Pittsburgh and Washington (in a few more years) are under major pressure to remain relevant on a scale outside of their respective local markets.

Do you remember how popular the Red Wings were for so long as they kept tearing it up? Just a few short years of not making the playoffs, and no one seems to talk about or support them anymore.

The aforementioned teams have aging rosters, and will look very different in just a couple more years. Chicago certainly has some promising prospects, and the break-out season DeBrincat had definitely goes a long way to offer the fans some sort or assurance to a positive future.

I know Washington won the cup just 13 months ago, but Ovi (33), Backstrom (31), Oshie (32), Holtby (29), Carlson (29) and much of their core are getting old, and are likely to begin their decline on the wrong side of age 30.

Are the Caps desperate today? Of course not. But my point is that a lot of the teams that have been the upper echelon in the league will be desperate a lot sooner than people might think.

Best moments is Sabres history...

Winning Perreault lottery
Dave Andreychuk hoisting cup... as captain of the Lightning
Winning Dahlin lottery

Pretty pathetic huh?

Everything else is now irrelevant including 2/3 above and unless win a cup 3/3

True...also, Offense and another forward was NOT their problem. Should have passed on Tavarez and added one or even TWO good D-men for the 11 million.
- hawk35

If Drew Doughty were available the Leafs would've certainly spent their $11mil on Doughty instead of Tavares but there were no elite D available. Instead they added an elite center without trading away anything.

Two average $5.5 million D-men would not be better than having Tavares.

All teams have to manage the cap and for this season the Leafs have a great team. Next season if we want to be able to afford at least 3 d-men for our top two pairs we will have to trade a forward who has salary. That forward is Nylander.

I think you missed the point about this thread. The thread asked which team is "most desperate" NOT "which team's window is closing".

Penguins won 3 cups over the last decade. Yes, their window is closing, but they succeeded and to a lesser extent Washington aswell.

Vegas window is wide open, and they have no pressure since they've only been in the league for 2 years.
- RedRevenge

I think he's nailed it actually. If you have a team that is set up to contend over the next 5 years or so you probably are not considered desperate.

If you have a team that should win now or should have won over the past couple years and didn't, one may consider that you are starting to get desperate.


(of an act or attempt) tried in despair or when everything else has failed; having little hope of success. synonyms: last-ditch, last-chance, last-resort, last-minute, last-gasp, eleventh-hour, all-out, do-or-die, final;

How can the Oilers NOT be the most desperate team? They've had 10 top 10 picks in the last 11 seasons.. two of them were top 5 picks. FOUR of them were first OVERALL picks. That horribly mis-managed franchise absolutely has to feel desperate to win. They have the best player in the world locked up through his prime and they are WASTING it.
- Snowman X

Because they will always have the best team in the history of the NHL and maybe sports
Just buy a vintage Oilers shirt and prance around Buffalo.

So it’s got be Buffalo or Vancouver. Poor Canucks are cursed Bc they came into the NHL with Buffalo

As someone who is new to this site - I’m gonna fit in and say the Leafs...or Laffs. Seems like everyone rags on the Leafs for some reason. I get their fans are overbearing and crazy about their team, but that’s what being a fan is all about.

I’m all for being obnoxious and completely illogically bias about your team. You should be. It’s whats fun about being a fan.

For instance, I think Stevie will build a contender in 2 seasons and we will get back to dominating the NHL sooner rather than later!!

I think he's nailed it actually. If you have a team that is set up to contend over the next 5 years or so you probably are not considered desperate.

If you have a team that should win now or should have won over the past couple years and didn't, one may consider that you are starting to get desperate.


(of an act or attempt) tried in despair or when everything else has failed; having little hope of success. synonyms: last-ditch, last-chance, last-resort, last-minute, last-gasp, eleventh-hour, all-out, do-or-die, final;
- HockeyCanadian

The "do-or-die" part makes me think of Arizona. I'd like to see them have a good run for like 3 to 4 years and start building a sustainable fan base.

While I don't necessarily disagree with all the people suggesting the Leafs are the most desperate, I would like to consider the following:

Teams that have been consistently atop the standings, yet are starting to drop, are definitely in the conversation here. Teams like Chicago, LA, NY Rangers, maybe even Pittsburgh and Washington (in a few more years) are under major pressure to remain relevant on a scale outside of their respective local markets.

Do you remember how popular the Red Wings were for so long as they kept tearing it up? Just a few short years of not making the playoffs, and no one seems to talk about or support them anymore.

The aforementioned teams have aging rosters, and will look very different in just a couple more years. Chicago certainly has some promising prospects, and the break-out season DeBrincat had definitely goes a long way to offer the fans some sort or assurance to a positive future.

I know Washington won the cup just 13 months ago, but Ovi (33), Backstrom (31), Oshie (32), Holtby (29), Carlson (29) and much of their core are getting old, and are likely to begin their decline on the wrong side of age 30.

Are the Caps desperate today? Of course not. But my point is that a lot of the teams that have been the upper echelon in the league will be desperate a lot sooner than people might think.
- PavohnDatsvares

This...I remember people on here petitioning against the use of "Hockeytown" in Detroit two years after their 20+ year playoff run because they were now bad. Never heard that talk back in their "good" days.

If we are bringing hockey market revenue into this then the leafs are out. Lots of proof that they don't need to be good to be a profitable franchise...

C'mon EK 1pm is long gone, we all need to know.

Habs are desperate to make the playoffs followed by a first round exit.
- Bouffard19

I see the Leafs as desperate for sure, but it looks like they will get Marner signed eventualy and have a good few years with this core intact.

What I don't understand is the ridiculous derision from other fans about the current Leafs team. One year after finishing dead last they faced he presidents cup winners and took them to 5 OT games, before losing in 6. The next year they faced a team that finished higher than them, with the best record in the second half of the season, and lost in 7 after their #2C was suspended. Then they faced that team again, after finishing behind them, again, and Boston was a top 2 team this past year... oh and 2 key Dmen playing at about 50% and Kadri suspended, again...

It isn't like they are getting beaten by bad teams. They are inexperienced (compare Leafs vs. Boston and Washington playoff experience!) and the NHL playoff format hasn't been helpful.

It is time they won a round though.
- Aetherial

This

The Lightningfor sure.

Leafs, err Laughs are just 1st Round Losers.
- IonSabres

This here is what I call an expert on losers.

What the...so Marner makes every team an instant favourite unless its Toronto cause...you hate the Leafs. Great point.

How are things in say...Arizona or Ottawa better? 😂
- systemtool

Even I could see that that was sarcasm

As someone who is new to this site - I’m gonna fit in and say the Leafs...or Laffs. Seems like everyone rags on the Leafs for some reason. I get their fans are overbearing and crazy about their team, but that’s what being a fan is all about.

I’m all for being obnoxious and completely illogically bias about your team. You should be. It’s whats fun about being a fan.

For instance, I think Stevie will build a contender in 2 seasons and we will get back to dominating the NHL sooner rather than later!!
- Big23Questions