I’m hoping 6.3 but I’m guessing 7x7

Anderson makes 5.5
Bratt is better than Anderson

Gosh I hate when players feel like they should go first overall.

who was the last player?

Kaapo Kakko

I don't mind it if the player is a lock to go 1st overall

Rent free.

Ya, if everyone also thinks they should go first overall then I don't have as much of a problem (for example guys like McDavid, Matthews, Bedard) but if it'sa guy who likely won't go first overall I don't like it.

lol

Wright said that too

It’s literally reporters asking “why do you think you should go 1st overall” not them starting the conversation with a declaration like that. I don’t see any issues with that at all. If this was any other sport we would be admiring his confidence and desire to be the best. Hockey’s so lame lol, I personally want guys that ruffle feathers and say what they think, but this isn’t even that, it’s just a leading question that the player uses to plug his strengths.

i was having an "argument" with someone about if the habs are worse than the leafs
said person brought up the point that the montreal canadiens are the only team ever to finish 32nd overall in the NHL

Ya I know, that was a bit better since he’s the consensus first overall pick, but I still don’t like it.



Each to his own, but when players do it they sound so cocky and entitled. Like I’d be fine with them saying something like “even though I’m not a favourite for the 1st overall I’m going to work hard and try to prove everyone wrong” but “I deserve to be first overall” just makes them sound so arrogant.

They aren’t wrong…

I mean, he kinda is
Leafs got 7 extra games, habs got Shane Wright
What scenario do you rather?


I thought so.

Proof that the habs are better
Tell thus to your buddy @Zuki9797

it wasnt a real argument lmao

Nah I’ll take the extra games.

Explanation, please

I can’t tell if you are kidding or not lol. Unless you are a rebuilding team making the playoffs is much better than getting the first overall pick. That’s the whole point of an NHL team, to make the playoffs and win in them.

I haven’t seen the full interview, but from the quote given, he didn’t even say that. He just plugged his strengths when the reporter asked a leading question. And Wright is the favourite to go 1st, but it’s not a consensus, a few big tournaments (U18s last year, Olympics and WC this year) plus his outstanding raw talents and a good not great year from Wright have really put Slafkovsky on the radar for 1st, and he deservedly tops some rankings now (i.e. Pronman). He easily has the highest upside in the draft imo.

when you consider the context definitely the 7 games. the habs were built for the playoff but instead are the first team to ever finish 32nd overall. they are bogged down by several long term bad contracts. it'll be another 5 years before the make the playoffs again. they probably wont win a series until the late 2020's.

with some adjustments the leafs could go on a run, maybe a cup, but i think that's less likely. they have lots of good pieces but are held back up management.

besides this years draft isn't that great. next year your point would be more agreeable.

WAAAAAY TOO EARLY predictions for next year:

Atlantic:
1. Toronto (Leafs finally have some consistent goaltending and don't suffer from many bad injuries which leads to the President's trophy, but do lose Liljegren to an offersheet)
2. Florida (Panthers get one more good chance at the playoffs before the bill starts to come due, but inconsistency from Bob and Knight lead to falling just behind Toronto)
3. Tampa (Lightning get a bit older and struggle to find a way past Florida and Toronto, lack of a backup to take a bit of load off Vasi harms the Lightning)
WC1. Boston (Swayman proves himself to be a great long term goalie and usurps the starting role from Ullmark, Boston is able to manage enough without Bergeron)
WC2. Buffalo (Don Granato cements himself as a Jack Adams winner as he takes Buffalo on a surprise playoff run, backed by quality goaltending and the prospects taking the next step)
6. Detroit (The Wings take another step towards the playoffs as they finish just behind Buffalo, but sorely wish for Cossa as goaltending becomes quite inconsistent)
7. Ottawa (The Sens are spurned by a tough Atlantic division, but big jumps from Gustavsson, JBD, and others give Ottawa plenty to be hopeful for)
8. Montreal (The next few years are going to be tough for Montreal, and while St. Louis helps the Habs improve, a strong Atlantic means they still finish last as Hughes sells more pieces)

Metro:
1. New York Rangers (Igor cools off some from his monumental last year, but other parts of the Rangers start to take a step forward and improve enough to take the Metro)
2. Washington (Controversial, but Washington squeaks by the Canes by a single point thanks to the emergence of Samsonov and the infusion of younger FAs and prospects)
3. Carolina (The Canes suffer a couple key FA losses including Trocheck, and Freddy goes back to his inconsistent form while Raanta and Kochetkov have similar struggles)
4. New Jersey (The Devils FINALLY get healthy, and Jack Hughes has a monster year to get the Devils within a few points of Buffalo for the WC2 spot)
5. New York Islanders (The Isles struggle despite a strong season from Sorokin, and Lane Lambert is forced to deal with poor seasons from many top players. Raty is a bright spot on the team)
6. Pittsburgh (The Pens struggle to succeed as Crosby can no longer do enough, try as he may, to carry the team into the playoffs, and the defense allows the most shots on net in the league)
7. Columbus (Kekalainen continues in his calculated rebuild, as Ceulemans arrives ahead of time and Johnson shows off some great skill, while the team allows this to be a developmental year)
8. Philadelphia (The Flyers "aggressive rebuild" fails miserably as Hart is crushed under the weight of a porous defense, and Chuck Fletcher is fired before the end of the season)

Central:
1. Colorado (The Avs learn from the Grubauer debacle and bring back Kuemper, who has another solid year. The team still succeeds even with the loss of Nichushkin and/or Burakovsky)
2. Minnesota (The Wild manage to replace Fiala's value through the draft, and Rossi has a strong rookie campaign. The bill doesn't come due for another year, but cracks show in net)
3. St. Louis (Binnington's playoff run restores his confidence and he has a strong year while Husso struggles elsewhere. St Louis has one last good run before Thomas and Kyrou expire)
WC2. Dallas (Harley has a breakout year on defense and Oettinger has a Vezina year as Dallas sneaks into the playoffs under the radar. Hintz and Robertson both end over a point per game)
5. Winnipeg (The Jets deal Scheifele at the deadline, and a career year from PLD can't save Winnipeg from missing the playoffs. Perfetti and Heinola have decent seasons in the NHL)
6. Nashville (Filip Forsberg walks in FA as Nashville decides to try and capitalize on good years from Johansen and Duchene, and pivot to a retool that can be in place when Saros expires)
7. Chicago (The Blackhawks struggle again with a weak defense, and their attempts to improve goaltending with Husso backfires. Kane and Toews trade rumors swirl throughout the year)
8. Arizona (Playing at ASU becomes more embarrassing for the Yotes as they struggle to brings students in and rarely sell out games. The Tempe deal falls through, and a move to Houston is almost certain)

Pacific:
1. Vegas (We all don't want it to happen, but Vegas gets healthy and back to their winning ways as Eichel has a good year and Lehner improves from last year)
2. Calgary (The Flames take a step back with Gaudreau leaving, but Markstrom recovers from a poor playoffs to have a quality season, and Calgary benefits from good years by Kylington and Dube)
3. Vancouver (Bruce, there it is! Demko has a vezina caliber season as JT Miller proves his season wasn't a fluke, and Pettersson gets back to a Point Per Game pace and the team is a popular dark horse pick)
WC1. Los Angeles (The tandem of Quick and Petersen proves successful, as Byfield has a breakout campaign and a massive deal for Chyc buoys the Kings into the playoffs)
5. Edmonton (Sacrilege, right? Edmonton goaltending struggles massively as Skinner struggles to live up to expectations and Smith straight up sucks. McDavid has a great year but it isn't enough)
6. San Jose (Thomas Bordeleau has an amazing rookie year as the Sharks show signs of improvement, and other players like Merkeley and Dahlen cement themselves as mid-lineup players)
7. Anaheim (A Mid-season trade of Gibson shocks the hockey world as the Ducks work through another developmental year. Zegras and Drysdale give Ducks fans plenty to hope for)
8. Seattle (Dave Hakstoll is fired after another poor season, and Seattle stockpiles picks while Grubauer has a bounce back year in net. Beniers also has a solid rookie season)

@NoVaSpartan

I love it.

there is no way the Oilers are missing the playoffs in the Pacific division

The way I see it, the Oilers are in a tough place this off-season. I’d have to expect that they lose at least one of Pulju, Kulak, Yamamoto, or Kane in the off-season with only about 7 million in cap to do it. While it could get easier with a Keith retirement, I only see him doing it if Edmonton wins the Cup and that’s a scenario I don’t expect to happen. They could look at dumping one or two contracts but it will still be tough to bring back the 4 I mentioned without losing valuable pieces, and you still need enough space to hold the minimum amount of skaters on the roster. I expect their depth to take a hit and while some like Turris are easily replaced, I don’t have confidence that Holland will navigate this in a positive way. I also don’t have faith in a Smith-Skinner tandem as Smith is a prime candidate for massive regression and i don’t have confidence in Skinner to carry the load.

And looking at the rest of the Pacific, it could be quite tough anyway. The Kings are a young team that’s going to see improvement from multiple key players this year while shedding older guys like Brown, The Knights blew it this year but realistically won’t have that happen again, the Flames are deep and while they would take a hit with Gaudreau leaving, they can recover from that or maneuver the cap better than Edmonton can in order to keep him around, and the Canucks were quite good under Bruce with guys like Hoglander and Podkolzin progressing into next year. Given the issues facing Edmonton, I don’t see a playoff appearance happening.