The Ominous Window

Watching the San Jose Sharks going down in Game 3 to the St. Louis Blues on Monday night, a series that seems solidly in the control of the Blues, brought the situation of both clubs into sharp relief.

For the Blues, the window for winning a championship seems to be just opening. With their best youngsters just hitting their prime - Patrick Berglund was awesome in a 4-3 win in Game 3, the Blues' first road playoff win in nine years - its not hard to forecast the best days are ahead for the club. If Alex Pietrangelo becomes the star on defence many are suggesting he will be, all the elements may be there for St. Louis' first Cup in the near future.

For the Sharks, a strong NHL outfit for a decade that still hasn't been able to get to a Stanley Cup final, the window looks to be closing. Joe Thornton is 32, Patrick Marleau will be 33 when next season begins (if it begins) and Dan Boyle will soon turn 36.

The Sharks also have some good youth, notably Logan Couture and Brent Burns. But the chance for this team to win it all with the current group probably expired last spring, unless, of course, Thornton can lead a huge comeback in this series against St. Louis.

When you watch the playoffs, its hard not to put the teams you're watching into one category or the other.

Take Washington-Boston, for example, with the Bruins up two games to one in the series after winning last night in D.C.

For the reigning champs, the window is still open. They could triumph again, particularly if the NHL continues to let lawlessness be the theme for the 2012 post-season.

And the Caps? Their core - Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green, Alex Semin, Nicklas Backstrom - is much younger than that of the Sharks. Yet it feels like the Caps have underachieved with that core and that it will likely be broken up to some degree if, as looks likely, Washington goes out in the first round. 

It will be even harder to knock off the champs if Backstrom is suspended for his cross-check to the face of Boston's Rich Peverley after time expired on Monday night. It was similar in some ways, but not exactly the same, to the crosscheck delivered by Pittsburgh's Arron Asham on Brayden Schenn of the Flyers on Sunday.

Peverley wasn't injured, and neither was Schenn. But many are expecting five or more games for Asham. If Department of Player Safety boss Brendan Shanahan is going to recover an ounce of credibility - he has admitted that he was going to suspend Shea Weber for a game before being told Henrik Zetterberg wasn't significantly injured - there will have to be some relationship between the discipline meted out to Asham and Backstrom. They cannot produce wildly different results for this to make any sense.

But back to the window open/window closed discussion. What about the other teams still left in the playoffs?

Window opening: Rangers, Flyers, Predators, Kings.

Window closing: Penguins, Red Wings, Canucks, Blackhawks.

Open to debate: Panthers, Devils. Coyotes, Senators.

Comments

[John Carroll]

Agreed on all the openings (although with the Predators, if they lose Suter in the off-season they may have to re-tool a little first; they do have very good depth at the position in their prospect system, at least). On the closings, I think the Penguins' window with this group is indeed coming to an end, but it could be an extremely fast process as far as building it back up again, just because Crosby & Malkin are both still relatively young. That's obviously two huge pieces to start any building process. Their window could be wide open again as soon as a year or two from now.

For the Blackhawks, I'm not sure why you think their window is closing. Most of their key players, with the exception of Marian Hossa, are still on the right side of 30, and in the case of Toews & Kane, still not even 25. I think their window will remain open for at least a few more seasons. Maybe they have to make a few slight changes here and there to keep it open, but I think they will continue to compete for championships.

As far as the "open to debate" teams, I'll try and take a brief stab at them:

Panthers- This is the most interesting case, because honestly the team we're seeing now is just a placeover team. A lot of the guys they picked up last year in the off-season will move out as kids like Gudbranson and Huberdeau move in (not to mention the Markstrom kid in goal). So I think you put them further behind the traditional "window opening" teams, but they're on their way.

Devils- Another interesting case. They have some good kids both on the main roster and in the system, but the uncertainty surrounding the team's financial instability and the real possibility that could cost them both Parise (to free agency) and Brodeur (to retirement) haunts over this team. I think they are very likely to lose both this off-season, which will obviously set them back quite a bit.

Coyotes- I have no idea what to make of this team. Don't ask me.

Senators- Window opening. Yes, Alfie is going to retire, but they have so many kids coming up at the same time and still more waiting in the wings (Zibanejad will be the real deal) that they will still likely only go up from here.

[Ron]

Damien, I have posted before that this idea that the act must be punished depending on the injury is just B.S. The act is either punishable or not. What happens if the symptoms don't appear for a day or two or more? What happens if the team fabricates the injury? The NHL is not living in the 21st century. The NHL brass and owners are to blame for this shoddy attempt at controlling the game. I have been hoping that as the older folks running the game moved on( do they ever) that enlightment would occur. It appears that my hopes are just that and this foolishness will continue forever.

[Vic]

What "lawlessness" Damien? Offences are committed, penalties are given, punishment is handed out. I've been watching hockey since the early 70's and I've seen much rougher playoff action than this. It is what it is. You've been on your sanctimonious soapbox again lately in print and on the FAN. Even yesterday you couldn't finish your interview with Hockey Night in Vancouver play by play man Jim Hughson with bringing up the topic. The pure targetted flying elbow headhsots, nobody likes that stuff, but the scrums and fights provoked by the cheapshots I have no problem with at all. And if I did, I would simply change the channel, not try to impose my sense of morality on everyone else. Just drop it already.

[Cameron]

Red Wings Window closing? really? what evidence shows that?

We hear that every year Damien

[Andy Looney]

Time for big change in San Jose, out with the outdated GM, the coaching staff, and lazy players like Patrick Marleau and Slumbo Joe.

[Ostrich]

Perhaps one of the dumbest things I have ever read is that the Penguins "window" is closing, whatever that means. Letang, Crosby, Fleury, Malkin, Staal and Neal? This is the best team in hockey and will be for several years. Give me a break, just because they are - somewhat flukily - down 3-0 does not mean 'its over'. It might be this year, but if there was ever a team built to overcome a three game deficit, this is it.

[Chop]

The Penguins top players are almost all in the early/mid 20s (Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Fleury) so I can't see how their window is closing. The same for Chicago (Toewes, Kane) and Keith, Seakbrook, and Sharp are a bit older but not a whole lot. I would agree with Vancouver and Detroit.
The Penguins just seem to lack any consistent defense, and missed letang hugely in the last game...Orpik and Martin are Lovejoy are not going to get it done against a highly talented, confident Flyers team. After going from the first period of the first game leading 3-0, to losing 4-3 in OT they can't recover mentally.
As for the Sens, admire their effort but they lack the offensive finish outside of Spezza.

[Tree]

Foe the open to debate teams:

Ottawa - not quite opened yet, but the window is opening. Too much talent and youth with so much more to come to say their window is closed, or could even be considered closed (it closed a few years back, and now is reopening with a different cast).

Florida - I don't trust this team, and I honestly views this as a 1 year aberration (too many cast-offs signed to bigger deals than they should just to meet the cap floor - plus, Theodore is their goalie ...).

New Jersey - hard to say. A lot of great young players, but with the eventual retirement of Brodeur close, and Parise a UFA, it could all go south for them quickly. Hedberg is not a number 1 goalie.

Phoenix - again, hard to say. Depends entirely too much on their ownership situation. As is, they'll be hard pressed to keep their best pieces when contracts are up, and it's difficult to attract FAs with so much uncertainty. I would think they're on their way up - but that could change very quickly due to forces beyond the the players' and coaching staff's control.