Task 2 – 2 TPE

a. Both teams are super impressive, but what has impressed me the most by Winnipeg is how they have been at or near the top of the SHL for almost 10 seasons now. Their regular season performance took a slight dip this season but they are always a threat. I think they could have been a little better closing out finals in the past, but regardless, what they’ve done over this span is incredible.
b. I think it’s definitely New England. They had to face both Buffalo and Philadelphia who were the #2 and #3 seeds in the league this season, respectively. Winnipeg has some tough matchups but I don’t think it can stack up to that type of competition from the East that New England had to go through.

Task 4 – 3 TPE

Team building in the SHL is quite complicated, so it is difficult to really say who made the better decision. While Montreal did dominate the league for a little bit, they did so for a shorter period of time. They were towards the top for 4 seasons, took advantage of their window and then tore the team down when they thought was the best time. The other 3 teams have been at the top for longer, and keeping the teams competitive was probably a little easier with the amount of depth they had. I respect Montreal’s decision, because I think the decision to go for it is just as hard as the decision to tear it down. For Montreal maybe they felt they needed to get ahead of the curb on the rebuild instead of waiting and having no assets to move and it would be too late after. They’re currently really bad, but they have assets that will help them get back to the top.

Task 5 – 3 TPE

I think the most impressive upset this post season has to go to San Francisco beating Edmonton. I think Edmonton was the clear favorite to win it all, and this upset probably cost a lot of people TPE in their playoff predictions. San Francisco had to upset the Los Angeles Panthers in round 1 and then move on to the juggernaut that was the Edmonton Blizzard. Edmonton was so dominant this season and so much better than everyone else that seeing the series shift in the Pride’s favor was crazy. The series did have 2 OT games that went in the Pride’s favor, however they still beat Edmonton 7-2 in Game 2 and 5-2 in Game 4. That really stuck out when I saw those scorelines. San Francisco got incredible goaltending and they ran with it in the series. Sometimes it happens when you’re outplaying your opponents but if the goalie doesn’t let you get anything past him, you get frustrated and things don’t go your way.

I’ll also give an honorable mention to New England beating BOTH Buffalo and Philadelphia and only losing 3 games combined.