Totally a playoff team:
Tampa Bay
St. Louis
Boston
Toronto
Florida
Washington
Dallas
Nashville
Colorado
San Jose
Calgary

Probably a playoff team:
Carolina
Philadelphia
Arizona

Close, but should make the playoffs:
NY Rangers
Winnipeg

Close, but should miss the playoffs:
Vegas
Vancouver
Chicago
Pittsburgh
NY Islanders
New Jersey
Buffalo

Probably not:
Montreal
Columbus

Basically no chance:
Ottawa
Detroit
Los Angeles
Anaheim
Minnesota
Edmonton

Vegas vs. Winnipeg was really hard for me ... i decided to go with the last predictions i made where i had Vegas missing the playoffs, but the more i think about it the more i feel like Vegas is going to make the playoffs ... hard to predict, though. I definitely think they're kind of overrated.

isles>rags... absolutely no bias here

Rangers have improved so much this offseason

but im an islanders fan

Totally a playoff team:
Boston
St. Louis
San Jose
Tampa Bay
Toronto
Washington

Probably a playoff team:
Calgary
Carolina
Colorado
Nashville
Vegas

Close, but should make the playoffs:
Dallas
Florida
NY Islanders
Pittsburgh
Winnipeg

Close, but should miss the playoffs:
Buffalo
Chicago
Minnesota
New Jersey
Philadelphia

Probably not:
Arizona
Columbus
Edmonton
Montreal
NY Rangers

Basically no chance:
Anaheim
Detroit
Los Angeles
Ottawa
Vancouver

Totally in:
Carolina
St. Louis
San Jose
Tampa Bay
Washington

Probably In
Boston (would be higher if/when Mac and Carl sign)
Calgary
Colorado
Florida
Nashville
Toronto
Vegas

Inner Bubble:
Arizona
Dallas
New Jersey
NY Isles
Winnipeg

Outter Bubble:
Buffalo
Chicago
NY Rangers
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh

Probably Out:
Columbus
Minnesota
Montreal
Vancouver

Totally Out:
Anaheim
Detroit
Edmonton
LA
Ottawa.

Totally a playoff team:
Tampa Bay
Washington
San Jose
Boston
Nashville

Probably a playoff team:
Toronto
Colorado
Dallas
St. Louis
Vegas
Calgary
Carolina

Close, but should make the playoffs:
Florida
Pittsburgh
Chicago
Philadelphia

Close, but should miss the playoffs:
Buffalo
Arizona
Montreal
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
New Jersey
Winnipeg

Probably not:
Edmonton
Vancouver
Minnesota
Anaheim
Columbus

Basically no chance:
Detroit
Los Angeles
Ottawa

how would this work? you have 9 teams from the west making the playoffs

Wasnt thinking all the bubble teams make it. Probably bump Winnipeg

?

I'm a fan of both ... i hope both make it, but i think the Rangers realistically have a better chance ... we'll see, though.

I’m an isles fan so I’m biased in saying isles r better than rags

The first thing was sarcasm

Playoff Team:
Tampa Bay
Boston
Toronto
Washington
Pittsburgh
Carolina
Florida
Montreal
St. Louis
Nashville
Dallas
Calgary
Vegas
San Jose
Colorado
Winnipeg

Not A Playoff Team:
Detroit
Ottawa
Buffalo
Columbus
NY Rangers
NY Islanders
New Jersey
Philadelphia
Chicago
Minnesota
Anaheim
Los Angeles
Vancouver
Arizona
Edmonton

Here's a Question: How many teams from each division would make the playoffs in a 1-8 format?

Here's my answer:

Atlantic: 4
Metro: 4
Central: 6
Pacific: 2

The Atlantic is the most unbalanced division w/ 4 Cup contenders (in my opinion), one playoff contender (MTL), and 3 rebuilders.
The Metro has 7 playoff contenders, but only one top 10 team (WASH).
The Central has the best competitive balance with 7 playoff contenders (MIN is not as bad as everyone is saying and could surprise a lot of people) and 4 Cup contenders.
The Pacific is the weakest division by far with 4 rebuilders and only one top 10 team (VGK) league wide.

Atlantic: 3 cup contenders, 2 playoff contender, and 3 rebuilders
Metro: 2 cc, 4 pc, 2 rb
Central: 3 cc, 4 pc, 0 rb
Pacific: 3 cc, 0 pc, 5 rb

Division Rank (from strongest to weakest):
Central
Atlantic
Metro
Pacific

Who are you forgetting in the Pacific?

Either Anaheim, Arizona, Edmonton, Los Angeles, or Vancouver.