Quoting: reelkena
Initial assessments. Hoping for agree/disagree opinions.
North Division expected finish
1 Toronto (they were already the best team and they made all the upgrades they needed)
2 Montreal (filled a lot of holes this offseason, Toffoli and Anderson will surprise you)
3 Calgary (Give me back my Canucks you jerks)
4 Edmonton (Did nothing to make me think this team improved while other teams passed them)
5 Vancouver (Fell back a lot. Taking a year off to eat up bad money, will be back next year)
6 Ottawa (Tons of improvement. 1-2 years away)
7 Winnipeg (Injuries and Byfuglien decimated this team)
West Division
1 Vegas (My cup favorites)
2 Colorado (Goaltending is the only question mark. not even that big of a question mark though)
3 St Louis (Vancouver exploited this team. Losing Pietro didn't help either. LTIR adds more issues)
4 Min (Not a contender but better than the bottom group)
5 Ana, La, Sj, Ari (full rebuild mode)
Central Division
1 Tampa (their depth is still insane despite losing Kuch)
2 Dallas (their young guys just needed time. Now they're more ready)
3 Florida (goaltending is meh but I like their adds)
4 Carolina (if Bobrovsky is still trash they will move up to 3)
5 Columbus (close to a playoff team but their offseason was mediocre)
6 Nashville (sad times for Rinne and Saros)
7 Chicago (No Toews, no Dach, no chance)
8 Detroit (deadline sellers again)
East Division
1 Washington (Good adds, good team, no qualms)
2 Boston (No Pasta for a while is monstrous. Buf might beat them too)
3 Buffalo (These guys are going for it. Expect a deadline goaltender add also)
4 Philadelphia (They didn't add much)
5 Islanders (Losing Boychuk is more backbreaking than TB losing Kuch)
6 Rangers (the youth are coming, but the depth and size aren't there)
7 Pittsburgh (yeah I'm serious. This team is in shambles)
8 New Jersey (even with small improvements, this division is too tough)
North division: i’d have Winnipeg over Ottawa but agree with the rest
West: Colorado over Vegas but might be my inner Avs fan talking, and I’d put Arizona with Minnesota as a bad team but better than Californian teams
Central: I’d have Florida lower and Nashville higher, for me it would be Tampa, Dallas Carolina, Nashville, Florida, Columbus, Chicago/Detroit
East: I’d have Philly higher and Buffalo lower, for me it would be Washington, Philly, Boston, Islanders, Buffalo and the same for 6-8
Overall I think these are good predictions