Team: 2021-22 Custom Team

Initial Creation Date: Jan. 5, 2022

Published: Jan. 5, 2022

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Credit to nintendofan721 for the idea.

Explanations:

Atlantic Division:
1. Detroit: Detroit will be the consensus to win the Atlantic with all their young talent. Guys like Raymond, Seider, and with Edvinsson coming along really secure this team as a top team.
2. Ottawa: Right now, Ottawa is a young and inexperienced team, but with Tkachuk at the helm, they will be a top team for a long while.
3. Buffalo: It might be a little bit of a surprise pick, but they have a great prospect pool. If they can develop them right, and not preemptively trade them, they should be a contender in 5 years.
4. Florida: Very talented right now, and also one of the playoff favorites right now, they are a contender in 5 years as well. I think unless the cap goes up more, they drop a bit more points the next couple years due to cap constraints, but not enough for them to miss the playoffs.
5. Montreal: Montreal has both an aging and a very young core. That alone is one of the reasons they went on that Miracle run to the Stanley Cup Final. If they can make better drafting, but more importantly, trade decisions, they can challenge Florida for a wild card spot.
6. Tampa: The first big fall out teams. The talent is there, but the cap is not. Plus, with their core not getting any younger, it’s only a matter of time before they fall out of contention.
7. Toronto: Another big fall out team. This is due to the same reasons as Tampa. Toronto cheaper out on their depth and overpays their stars. Plus, they don’t have the best history of Free Agent signings recently, see Ritchie and Tavares in that aspect. Campbell is playing amazing, but how long will it be before he is made the scapegoat for the Leafs problems?
8. Boston: The final biggest loser from the Atlantic is Boston. Their problem is an aging core, and they don’t have enough quality prospects to really replace what they will lose sometime in the next 5 years. They haven’t made the best drafting decisions, see the 2015 entry level draft first round.

Metropolitan Division:
1. Carolina: One of the best, if not the best all around team in the league right now. Cap might be a concern 5 years down the road, but quality of prospects will not be. Carolina has one of the best prospect pools in the league, only truly rivaled by LA and Detroit in my opinion.
2. NY Rangers: A team that has been chomping at the bit for a while now. One of the better teams in the east right now, although cap constraints might become a concern when it comes time for ELCs to expire.
3. New Jersey: Another young team in the league who need more leadership. Signing Hamilton will most likely push them into a playoff position as soon as next year, but his contract will become an anchor a couple years down the line.
4. Columbus: Columbus is a team that has only really gotten to the playoffs as a wild card to date, and that trend continues here. They have a great prospect pool, but until they can get a true top line center, they won’t see enough success to truly contend for the cup.
5. NY Islanders: The Islanders are a team who can make deep runs in the playoffs, but they have to go though top teams to make those runs, as their regular season record has not been the strongest of late. 5 years down the line that might change, but as a team built for the playoffs, they have to do better in the regular season.
6. Philadelphia: The Flyers have been very inconsistent for the last few years, and that trend will continue 5 years down the road. They have good prospects, but the Flyers all around game has to improve, starting with goaltending. Goaltending and sustained offense have been a crippling factor to the Flyers over the past couple of years.
7. Pittsburgh: With their championship core growing older by the day, their odds of making the playoffs are diminished. 5 years from now, if Crosby is still playing, I would have a hard time imagining it would be for the Penguins. He is used to playing playoff hockey, and he won’t want to play through a rebuild. Plus, it’s almost that time for the Pens to tank for another generational talent.
8. Washington: With their core growing ever older, they might be able to sustain their success for one more year, 2 at the most, but certainly not 5. Ovechkin will likely be retired by then, and the Capitals will be in a rebuild when he retires.

Central Division:
1. Colorado: They have a great prospect pool, and their core is still really good. The only weakness they have right now is goaltending, which I would be shocked if that went unfixed 5 years from now.
2. St. Louis: The Blues have a great prospect pool, and that has really been shown this season with all the injuries and other mishaps the Blues have faced this year.
3. Dallas: In 5 years, the Stars should be free from most of their older players and have their prospects taking over by then. If they can find more scoring it will solidify their spot as a contender.
4. Minnesota: I would have the Wild as a contender, but will the buyout penalties from Parker and Suter starting next year and lasting for 8 years, I think the Wild will be extremely cap strapped, but will only miss the playoffs by no more than 5 points.
5. Nashville: The Predators have a solid prospect pool, but inconsistencies in their game have me doubtful. Another team that should be in the playoffs, but with teams emerging in the Pacific, they miss the playoffs by about 7 points.
6. Winnipeg: The Jets should be in the playoffs, and they have a great prospect pool, but I think they fall short with the big emergences from the Pacific division.
7. Arizona: This pick might surprise people, but I see the Coyotes really starting to gear towards contention starting at year 6 from now. They probably won’t be a playoff team for another 3 years after that, but the future is a bright for the Coyotes.
8. This is one of the biggest fall from grace teams on this list. Chicago has maintained their championship core for a long time, but at some point all good things must come to an end. Toews and Kane probably won’t be with the Hawks 5 years down the road, assuming that they are still playing. Chicago also hasn’t had the same goaltending level ever since Crawford left. Fleury is an amazing goaltender, but he is close to retirement and almost certainly will be retired 5 years from now.

Pacific Division:
1. LA: The Kings are a team on the rise already, and their prospect pool being among the best in the league only adds to that. They will miss the pieces from their championship core, but I think a new championship core has already started to be formed.
2. Anaheim: The Ducks are coming out of their rebuild sooner than many expected, and you can thank Zegras, Drysdale, and Terry for that. Anaheim is easily one of the best teams in the near future.
3. San Jose: The Sharks are returning to where they were at when they went to the Stanley Cup Final. A great prospect pool will help them in their endeavor to win the cup. The Sharks will have to improve in the trading department, see Karlsson trade, and Free Agent signings, see Kane, to really contend.
4. Vancouver: Now that they are under new management, the Canucks are looking stronger than ever. All that needs to be ironed out is their defensive problems, but that should be sorted out with time.
5. Seattle: The Kraken are looking at the future for their contention period. I see them as the second Wild Card in the West, pushing out teams like Minnesota, Nashville, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vegas to do so. The Kraken will look to become one of the powerhouses in the west through the draft.
6. Calgary: The Flames are looking really hot right now (pun intended) and their prospects that should step in the next couple of years should only make this team better. Markstrom has returned to form and the Flames all around games has really improved over the last couple of seasons. However they just get slightly nudged out of the second wild card spot by Seattle, a battle that should get decided at possibly the last minute.
7. Edmonton: The Oilers have the 2 best offensive players in the league, but they have no offensive help from their bottom 6, their dcore is fairly weak defensively, and their goalies are old and not that good anymore. Smith is 39 right now, and Koskinen not that far behind in age. Koskinen also can’t handle the puck to save his life. Skinner will be their goalie of choice 5 years from now, but if they don’t fix these problems, McDavid and Draisaitl will never win a Stanley Cup unless it’s with another team.
8. Vegas: Possibly the biggest surprise on this list, but Vegas has sacrificed most of their future to make runs at the Stanley Cup now. With the addition of Eichel, they should really dominate in the playoffs, but being cap strapped and not getting any younger will cost them in the future.