Very Sad News: Montreal Canadiens to Face 10 Points Deduction from NHL Over Alleged Violations
I bet you didn’t wake up wondering what Tom Crean thinks about Kentucky’s early exit from the NCAA Tournament. Even so, I have the answer.
Crean, who coached against Kentucky at Indiana and Georgia and now works as a college basketball analyst, shared his thoughts on this year’s Wildcats during an appearance on the KSR Preshow with Billy Rutledge this morning. Crean said he doesn’t believe youth was the primary issue Kentucky lost in the first round, but rather roster makeup, particularly at the four spot.
“I think it’s just all about balance,” Crean said, pointing out that Kentucky did have veterans this year in Antonio Reeves and Tre Michell. “I think the one thing John [Calipari] didn’t have that he used to have this year, that’s so good, is he didn’t have that four-man that changes the game form where he can post them, he’s a three-point threat, he’s a driver.”For frustrated Habs fans, it’s probably no surprise that the team is firmly lodged in one of the most aggravating positions a team can find themselves in.
A playoff spot is growing more distant with each game, but they’re not strategic enough losers to work their way into the coveted draft lottery.
You could call it peak sadness. And it’s statistically supported.
As of yesterday, Montreal topped the sadness chart with a 75 per cent likelihood of both hanging up the skates early while not finishing among the league’s bottom five — which would put them in the running for one of the top three picks.
“Everybody wants their team to make the playoffs, until it doesn’t look like they’re gonna make the playoffs, and then all of a sudden, everybody wants their team to get a really good draft pick,” he said.
“The first pick is always amazing, the next several are generally also franchise-changing players and so I just picked top five as, ‘We’re clearly going to get a great player.’ If you’re in between that [and a playoff spot], that’s when the sadness starts to creep in — you don’t get to make the playoffs and the pick you get only has like a 60 per cent chance of being an NHLer.”
Habs’ playoff chances slim
McCurdy is the brain behind hockeyviz.com, a site dedicated to the visualization of hockey stats. He’s been producing the graphic representations of the numbers for a while now on his Twitter account @IneffectiveMath, but this is the first season he’s compiling everything in one place.
According to McCurdy’s models, which use predictive simulations, the Habs have about a seven per cent shot of making the playoffs this year. His own favourite team, the Ottawa Senators, have about a two per cent shot.
