Claimed:No Playoffs? Maybe Problem

[CowboyinAmerica 2,911]

 

 

No Playoffs? Maybe Problem.

 

Halfway through the season, the Seattle Bears sit at 23-12-1, good for 47 points. Now, I recognize that the team isn’t likely to do as well in the second half as it did in the first, given recent trades of Hamilton, Muller and Clegane. However, it only has to be a league average team to make some history.

 

Since expansion occurred in Season 31, there have been 11 teams that have averaged at least one point per game (72) and still missed the playoffs. Some of them, such as the S42 Bears, were one year away. Others, such as the S36 Iron Eagles or S41 Legion, were never actually going to get there.

 

For the Bears, it would take just 25 points to reach this 72 point threshold, an easily obtainable figure given that the team still holds a number of solid players and has five games a piece left against Riga and Calgary, among others. Meanwhile, an average 18-18-0 record would put them at 83 points, tied for the second-most among all teams that missed the playoffs all-time.

 

Who are those teams since S31 who did the best while missing the playoffs? Here is the full list, with a few notes about the most unlucky teams.

 

11. S42 Seattle Bears – 72 points

 

10. S31 Cologne Express – 75 points

 

9. S39 Cologne Express – 77 points

 

8. S36 Vasteras Iron Eagles – 78 points

 

7. S41 Toronto Legion – 80 points

 

6. S45 Stockholm Vikings – 80 points

 

5. S32 HC Davos Dynamo – 81 points

 

4. S45 Cologne Express – 81 points

 

In the future, I think Season 45 may be one of the more fun ones to examine for VHL historians. Just one season removed from their third straight finals appearance, the Express may have traded O’Malley and let Koenig leave for free agency, but it still featured a top-flight goaltender in Waldron and solid wingers in Miller and Shock. Unfortunately, though, the Reign decided to go for it all in trading for Thomassen, and along with Davos and Helsinki’s rebuilds, there was no spot for Cologne.

 

What makes S45 more interesting to me, though, is that Cologne almost finished fifth. Notice team number six up there? With Lord Karnage entering his fourth season, alongside Blake Campbell in his final Stockholm go, the Vikings also had a strong team and were contending for a playoff berth. I’d bet that S45 Europe may have the record for most points by a conference.

 

3. S46 Cologne Express – 82 points

 

Poor Cologne. In Season 46, the European Conference standings ended the exact same way… with the Express in fourth once again, despite still fielding a strong team. This time, it was the emergence of strong goalie Sandro Clegane, alongside offseason pickups Tyson Stokes, Rami Jakobseen, and Benjamin Zeptenbergs that led the team. Still, with Davos picking up Koenig and Riga picking up Wingate, they weren’t quite able to do enough, and had to rebuild for its current run in the offseason.

 

2. S37 New York Americans – 83 points

 

If the Bears had a blueprint for what they would like to be, it’s this Americans squad. Filled with youngsters, the Americans finished fourth in a strong North American conference. However, look at the other squads. The Legion, who ended up winning the Season 37 championship, had an aging LeBeau, Zhumbayev and Lindberg. The Bears, who lost in the conference finals, were perennial underacheivers who would start to hit depreciation the next year as well. The Meute would lose Alexander Valiq in the offseason and soon blow it up. Just as the Bears are waiting out the current North American leaders, the Americans bided their time… and were rewarded with two titles in the coming seasons.

 

1. S34 Toronto Legion – 92 points

 

I’ll be frank – I totally forgotten this one had happened. It’s no surprise that a team with Hall of Famer Remy LeBeau in his fourth season, then-strong young forwards such as Smooth Jive, Teemu Lehtinen and Niklas Lindberg thriving, and a defense anchored by Nikola Lebedev and Jack Sound would do well enough to get 92 points. It’s just that everyone else somehow did better. The conference-winning Meute had just mortgaged the farm to bring in Wesley Kellinger and Skylar Rift. The Wranglers were the preexisting favorites led by veterans Chershenko, Rybak, Marcellin, and (I guess) Satan. And the Americans, who beat the Legion by 2 points, brought in a similarly aging Rafter and Smalling and pull off the upset playoff berth. The Legion would be fine eventually, but I think it’s safe to say their record of 92 points and still missing the playoffs will likely be safe

Edited June 8, 2016 by CowboyinAmerica

[Dmoushey_31 106]

Interesting! Nice to learn some history

[Kendrick 4,741]

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