NHL Standings: Want A Tanking Team? Watch Shark Tank
As multi-millionaire Kevin O’Leary, better know as Mr. Wonderful, on ABC’s Shark Tank would say, “Stop the madness!”
It’s getting beyond ridiculous.
It seems that this season, every time a team hits a rough patch fans or pundits line up to talk about tanking.
We all know the upcoming 2015 NHL Entry Draft is supposed to be one of the deepest and most talented in years. For three years, yes, three years already, people have been drooling over the potential prospect of scooping up the young Ontario Hockey League sensation Connor McDavid.
McDavid is expected to be the undisputed first overall pick for that luckily, awful team that wins the Draft Lottery. Jack Eichel is a close runner-up; he’s in line to go second overall to the next luckiest, or worst team.
The sentiment for the season seems to be, forget the Cup, it’s all about the draft baby.
With moves like these, it’s easy to see why:
So there’s a bit of hype, and we haven’t delved deeper than the first two picks. For many fans, that seems to be all that matters.
It’s easy to get carried away, especially when your team is in the midst of a long and terrible season.
However, every fan or writer of a team that loses two consecutive games asks the question, “Should Insert Team Name Here tank this season?”
For teams like the Edmonton Oilers, Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils, or Philadelphia Flyers; it’s a regular conversation.
As much as the prospect seems like the dream situation, it’s anything but.
This is the NHL. It’s a professional hockey league. General Managers looking at a bigger, or long-term, picture might ponder the idea of tanking a season to put their franchise in place to select one of the two “once in a generation” players. Though the term, once in a generation, has become so overused that it seems generations only last for two-three years these days.
Regardless of what GM’s might say or do, players that work for their respective teams have a lot more in mind. Like their careers for instance. No one, no one, makes it to the NHL level without a competitive spirit. Players want to win. If a coach or GM comes into a locker room and says, “fellas, go out and lose this one for the gipper!” players are not going to listen.
If you ask most NHL head coaches, they would probably tell you players don’t really listen anyway (Cough* Edmonton).
Players have their careers to consider, and in the NHL careers are based on performance. No one can say to themself, “Yeah, I should just stop trying so maybe I can play with the dreamy Connor McDavid next year. That’ll be sweet. Then we’ll be good.”
Dec 16, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Flyers former player Peter Forsberg shakes hands with center Claude Giroux (28) and Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) before dropping the puck at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
First off it’s just not in their DNA. NHLers are ultra-competitive. Second, if they start to think that way they may not be around that next season to play in the NHL with the likes of McDavid. Third, it’s a draft and it’s a lottery, nothing is guaranteed. Fourth, every player in the NHL is used to being one of the best of the best. That’s how they individually got to the NHL.
Claude Giroux thinks he’s the best player on the planet, and sometimes he plays like it. Sidney Crosby knows he’s the best. So does Steven Stamkos, Tyler Seguin, Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan Getzlaf, Patrick Kane, etc., etc., all the way down the fourth line players like Shawn Thornton, Jarret Stoll, or Bryan Bickell (all three of whom have won at least one Stanley Cup). Some of them know they’re not Crosby, or McDavid in terms of talent, but they know how to play and they know how to work. A lot of them know how to win at the NHL level, and that experience is invaluable. They don’t need the next hot-shot to achieve their childhood dreams of raising the Stanley Cup.
The same goes for head coaches. A coach, whose job is to get his team to win, isn’t going to tell them to go out and lose. After all, what kind of coach would that be? And again, it’s his job to win, if he doesn’t he might not be coaching that team next year anyway.
GM’s have a little more control, but are more or less in the same boat as coaches.
Now look at it from the prospective that your team is lucky enough to get McDavid or Eichel.
While one player can dazzle and make a difference, especially in terms of entertainment value, one player won’t win you a Stanley Cup. It takes the right makeup of an entire team. It’s one of the reasons this is the best sport in the world: it requires maximum effective team cohesion.
When it comes to the playoffs NHL teams focus their entire strategy to shut-down the Sidney Crosby’s and Patrick Kane’s. It’s the ancillary players that make the difference. Ask Chicago if they would allow Dustin Byfuglien to walk away again.
It’s easy for people to forget because of all his awards, but Sidney Crosby has won one Stanley Cup, been to the finals twice, and has 0 Conn Smythe awards.
Top picks help, but they can’t lift the world and move continents.
The Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche are stocked with top draft picks and prospects that are now in the NHL.
In the last six years the lowest Edmonton has drafted is 10th overall. The Oilers had 3 consecutive years from 2010-2012, where they drafted the 1st overall pick. Edmonton is currently the worst team in the NHL with 20 points and a record of 7-20-6. Looks like there’s more to winning than just picking.
In 2009 the Avalanche drafted center Matt Duchene 3rd overall. In 2011 Gabriel Landeskog was selected 2nd overall. 2013’s pick was 1st overall, and Colorado selected Nathan MacKinnon. Colorado is tied for fifth worst in the NHL with 28 points and a record of 10-13-8.
Jan 24, 2014; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban shouts at referees during the second half against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. The Brooklyn Nets won the game 107-106. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Tanking is a fun proposition for fans to ponder. The grass is, of course, always greener on the other side. It’s just not a reality. If you’re interested in tanking for entertainment, watch ABC’s Shark Tank. Even there you’ll see cut-throat competitiveness. You can get the feeling of what Mark Cuban really thinks of tanking.
Cheer for your team, not for a losses. It’d be one thing if it was draft time, but right now everyone needs to step back and relax.
What’s your opinion? Do you agree or disagree? Do you want your team to tank their season? Are you a fan of Shark Tank? Join the discussion and leave your comments below.
Nov 1, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) and Buffalo Sabres left wing Tyler Ennis (63) battle for a face-off during the third period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won 5-0. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports