Standings Predictions

Team: 2023-24 Custom Team

Initial Creation Date: Aug. 8, 2023

Published: Aug. 8, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

This will be an interesting year. I think there end up being a lot of teams bunched up together near the playoff line rather than the extreme haves/have-nots we've had the past couple of seasons. This feels like a big transition year for a lot of teams, and therefore for divisions. I expect a big, squishy middle.

At the polar opposites, I think Dallas wins the President's Trophy and San Jose wins Celebrini.

Predicting both Western WC come from the Pacific. Arizona's my pick to surprise everyone, but I don't think they make the playoffs. I think the uncertainty about the UFA's ultimately hurts both Calgary and Winnipeg, and that Vancouver manages to sneak past them both to get the second WC berth. I don't expect there to many points of difference between Arizona, Nashville, Winnpeg, and St. Louis in the Central.

The East is going to be a dogfight with every team who isn't Carolina/NJ/Toronto at the top and Montreal/Philadelphia at the bottom all in the mix to some degree until the deadline. I don't think Detroit/Washington/Columbus have any actual chance at the playoffs but I think they'll both hover just below the line all year rather than being total garbage. To be honest with you, this is the first year since it's existed that I feel kind of meh about the Metro--Carolina's got to prove they're not just a Very Good Regular Season Team and I worry that NJ overachieved hugely last year and might regress a bit, and then I don't find any of Pittsburgh or the NY teams impressive at all on paper. For the Atlantic, I think Florida's injuries keeping key players out of the lineup well into the season is going to cost them a playoff spot and I think Boston has a worse center core than Columbus now. I think Buffalo will be the Devils of last year, shooting up the standings and staying there.

This may change with more movement in the coming weeks especially once training camps begin, but I feel pretty good about this as of the first week of August. Happy to hear feedback, for example why I should be a bigger Rangers believer or that I'm too high on Vancouver!