Login

Matteo · 06-20-2024, 04:46 PM

In the SHL, there are six teams with real chances to be the first team to hit 5000 total regular season points, with those being:

Hamilton - 4769 Points
Blizzard

Edmonton - 4685 Points
Dragons

Calgary - 4667 Points
Aurora

Winnipeg - 4630 Points
Platoon

Baltimore - 4490 Points
Panthers

Los Angeles - 4405 Points

Hamilton isn’t surprising to see at the top here, and for me are the most likely to reach the milestone first, currently sitting just 231 points away from getting there. With many of their picks from the S70s looking good, it shouldn’t be long until they can call their rebuild a success and they’re back at the top. The only question will be whether they can run away with it before the teams behind them can catch up, the Steelhawks are nearly 100 points ahead of their nearest competition, but it should be a close race to the end. Those who have been around since at least the early S60s know that you should never bet against the Hamilton Steelhawks.

The next closest teams are all in a similar spot in the standings, Edmonton, Calgary, and Winnipeg. These three teams are all less than 400 points away from hitting 5000, however getting there may not be quick with where they currently sit in the standings. Edmonton is the closest to Hamilton, however having just sold off most of their cup-winning roster for futures they’ve just officially entered their rebuild, and look to be the furthest from the top of the standings. Calgary is the next closest, and with many strong picks from the mid S70s it shouldn’t be long until they can call their rebuild a success and they’re racking in the wins again. Winnipeg is the furthest of the three from 5000 and currently hasn’t committed fully to a rebuild, with many great veteran players who could help them to attract more free agents, time will tell if they enter a full rebuild or if this is just the beginning of a quick retooling phase.

The furthest of these six teams are Baltimore and Los Angeles, the former being just over 500 points away and the latter just under 600. It’s definitely a long shot for either of these teams to hit the 5000 point milestone first, however with where they’re at in the standings it’s certainly not impossible. Baltimore is fresh off of a Presidents’ Trophy winning season, Los Angeles is just two seasons removed from their Challenge Cup win, and with neither roster looking to regress too much for a few seasons, their windows should stay open until the early S80s at least. Both teams have improved every season since S69 and should continue to do well under strong leadership, they may just be slightly too far back to catch up to the record though as they would have to double Hamilton’s points to reach 5000 first.

Hitting this milestone first would be an impressive feat by any of these six teams, however it would be extra impressive if it were to be Edmonton or Los Angeles. Hamilton, Calgary, Winnipeg, and Baltimore (formerly West Kendall) are four of the six original teams that made up the league in its first season, along with Toronto and Tampa Bay (formerly Wisconsin, among many others). Edmonton joined the league in S2, as the Comets, and Los Angeles didn’t join until S5. This means that Edmonton has 40 fewer games played than any of the original teams, while Los Angeles is 160 games behind. This means that while both teams are unlikely to be the first to hit 5000 points, being the fastest to do it is a very high possibility for either of them, and this would be a record that would stand until the next youngest franchises get their chances many seasons down the line.

Code:
Deep Dive 2 - 620 words

Full list of stats in Team General History spreadsheet

*Scrufdaddy* · 06-22-2024, 01:47 PM

Approved @Matteo @CptSquall

Navigation

Extra Menu

About us