The Rant Man

"The Rant Man: Bumbling and Babbling and Bleeding Hockey"

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Response to a Response: Ducks' Cup Hangover Blog Post

This blog post is relevant to everyone in regards to blogging.

I accidently deleted the comment on the post left by duxcup07 on my recent post on my blog covering the issue of whether or not the Ducks will repeat the outcome of the last Stanley Cup Championship team; the Carolina Hurricanes. Duxcup07's comment was a complete retort against my article, and so to response to him, I feel I should respond to everyone by addressing another blog to respond to a response on the blog as a response. (And if that made sense, then I'm proud of myself haha). I dug up his response from my “temporary internet files” on my computer:

October 9, 2007 1:43 AM ET | Delete
Holy Crap! They Ducks played five games over 2 continents and 5 time zones without their number one goalie, their number one penalty killer, their arguably number two defenceman and you're ready to write them off? I'm not going to mention that they played on opening night for three teams. The Ducks play 13 of their next 15 at home and Pahlson and Giguere are both expected back soon, if they're still under .500 then maybe you can talk. One other thing, to compare Shane Hnidy to Scott Neidermayer is completely ridiculous and it's probably why no one has posted a response to your blog.

My response to his remarks go:
Understandable feelings from both sides here. Let me state this to duxcup07: I only approached the topic because the numbers tell the story UP TO THIS POINT. To be honest with you, I write what I observe, and on another site where I had this posted, the respondent wrote that the Ducks historically have a problem every time they play the Blue Jackets. Ok, well warranted that the timing is off on how things are playing out. But to look at the overall picture I'm trying to get across, my blog is simply stating that there is always the possibility. With each team that has won a Stanley Cup, the question is always brought up early on in the season if the "Cup Hangover" will affect a team. At this point, it can be argued both ways. You threw out numbers, I threw out facts, and people do the math and deduction of all things put together. A lot of questions are thrown out in the beginning of the season. Is there a question on whether or not the Anaheim Ducks have depth? Of course! My answer to that question is that they do have depth, but there are a couple of holes that need to be filled by those few players that the team brought on to fill the gaps. The Ducks lost two very seasoned players. It just so happened that the Hurricanes of 2005-06 lost some good players after they won the Cup, as well.

I was just tying together all things that are aligning TO THIS POINT IN THE SEASON. I know it's fairly early on, and the excuse of playing a couple of games in London? Well, if losing to the Red Wings three days after in overtime is a sign of jet lag, then I'm under-estimating the Ducks. If the jet lag isn't gone by now, then I think that the entire team needs Ambien (sleep medication) and cure the problem. It should have been done by now. Fatigue is a mental issue. If a team is not mentally prepared to go to work, then obviously the team needs to adjust now and fast because they don't get paid millions of dollars to hand me excuses like you are right now in your argument. So if you're going to trash me, God Bless the constitutional right to do so, but on the basis of judgment on whether or not I think that Shane Hnidy is a good filler for Scott Neidermayer's absence, your argument lacks one thing: You think I'm right if you don't think he is a good filler. The reason I say that I'm right is because then you have proven that the Ducks are like the Hurricanes in the end result of losing games. To tell me that I cannot talk until when Giguere and Pahlsson return and only if they're under .500 is a pointless comment. It's not like they can hit the restart button, refresh the season and start at game one of the 2007-08 campaign. The games that happened counted, and they have hurt their standings.

You can argue against the Cup Hangover if they don't return because a Hangover team is essentially more than three-quarters the team they were when they won the Stanley Cup. Doing the math proves to me that without Pahlsson and Giguere, the team is still majority of those who saw the ice as Ducks last season. Bryzgalov played 27 games and Giguere 56 during the regular season last year. Bryzgalov played 5 games, and Giguere played 18 in the playoffs. His performance still reflects the Ducks of last year in this year. I don't know how to sketch this out any better for you. UP UNTIL THIS POINT in the season, things match. The Ducks will not have a Cup Hangover, but they won't be as good as they were last year. If that makes sense, then mazaltof. If it doesn't, then I'm sorry. What I'm hoping that an open minded, educated hockey fan will take from this article is that there is a slight connection right now. Never are any of this postings by people actually binding. It would be like me writing, "The Flames are Going to Win the Cup" and think that it's engraved in stone. The same goes with my article duxcup07. So for Pete's sake, have an open mind and grasp what I'm actually conveying.

Kinglove1, the Devils' schedule is tougher and they are going to have major issues this year. ESPN.com posted a nice article on how the possibility of them finally missing the playoffs may become reality this year. I placed them as 7th in the East for my preseason prediction for the regular season, but I wouldn't doubt that they have the possibility of slipping off the playoff map. Is Lou Lamoriello going to fire Brent Sutter and take the bench back like he is famously known for doing? We'll have to wait and see. But, thanks for the compliment on the blog, and thank you for reading. Yes, not many people post about the Ducks. Traditionally, it's usually about the Eastern Conference teams more than the Western Conference it seems on this site and in the NHL overall, I believe.