Quoting: Caniac555
I believe that Carolina can win the Metro, but wouldn’t make that definitive statement. The Metro and the Central are the toughest divisions in the NHL, and no team or fan base in either of those division should claim they know what’s going to happen.
I agree that anyone saying that Pesce is Bobby Orr (even jokingly) should be removed from this site. I love Pesce, and what he does well (defense). Adding to that his, likely, NHL best contract = value.
The Metro is not at all a tough division, you have a mixture of former dominant teams getting worse and former terrible teams getting better which makes it a crap shoot division. The best 3 teams in the East very likely could be all from the Atlantic and after that, Florida and Montreal are strong contenders for the wild card spots. I think there will be only 3 teams from the Metro in the playoffs and at least 2 Atlantic teams will finish with higher points than anyone in that division. Summary, the Atlantic is hands down the strongest division (Albeit a very top heavy division). The Central I am not sure is as strong as people think. Nashville should be good but I think Duchene is a cancer in the room, they are getting older and slower in certain areas, have some bad contracts and I don't see enough scoring upfront. And that is the best team in the division. The Jets have some major question marks, St Louis can't expect a insane historic run like they went on last year and the rest of the division is a mixture of old teams getting worse and young teams getting better.
The Pacific is the worst though. I think we can all agree on that.
As for Pesce, he doesn't have the best contract in the league. Far from it. He has a fair contract, a defensive defenceman shouldn't make more than 4 million in this current market. I'd like to see what Pesce would do if Slavin, Hamilton and Faulk were hurt. If he had to carry the load, I don't think he has the tools to do so. He's as much a product of his environment as anyone in the league. A very good player but needs a supporting cast and a system that works for his skills. He doesn't even have the best contract on your team. Slavin is a steal, as is Aho at his new price tag.
McKinnon has the best contract, Rielly has an amazing Contract, Josi's current contract is amazing. Pesce is not even close to the calibre of those elite players making way under market value wages.