Just my thoughts on where the league stands right now. You will find some hot takes here. These are my personal opinions, so if you want to have a little debate with me, I’m all ears, but don’t be a jerk.
Tiers:
LW- Cup Contender
C- Playoff team
RW- Wild Card Candidate
LD- Mediocre Team
RD- Bedard Watch
Explanations:
Metropolitan Division:
Carolina Hurricanes- Cup Contenders. Despite a couple of key losses, they were able to give up practically nothing in acquiring Patches and Burns. If they stay healthy, they will go far in the playoffs this year.
Columbus Blue Jackets- Wild Card Candidate. Despite winning the Gaudreau sweepstakes and resigning Laine, I think the Jackets lost more than they won this off-season. They gave up Bjorkstrand for peanuts and signed Gudbranson to quite the overpayment and are now over the cap. They will definitely be scoring more, but their dcore still looks a bit shaky.
New York Rangers- Playoff Team. This is my first hot take of these rankings. I know a ton of people will have the Rags as a contender on their rankings, but given how much the Rags struggled getting past the Pens and Canes in the first 2 rounds, which the only time they saw a starting caliber goalie before Vasilevskiy was Tristan Jarry in Game 7 against the Pens, and it was looking like Jarry wasn’t 100% during the game. If they were able to win either series in fewer games or do better against Tampa, my ranking would be different.
New York Islanders- Wild Card Candidate. A bit of a quiet off season so far for the Isles, but they have a lot of potential. All that needs to happen for them to be more successful is some in game adjustments and some more offense.
New Jersey Devils- Mediocre Team. I think the Devils will take a step forward, but I don’t think it will be enough to put them into the conversation for a Wild Card this year. Still not so confident in their goaltending, but it could lead to a nice surprise.
Pittsburgh Penguins- Playoff Team. A little back and forth between playoff team and Wild Card candidate, but I have learned not to bet against the Pens, as it will often hurt you down the line. Ever since the Pens won the cup in 2017, they haven’t been able to get out of the first round. Syd the Mid isn’t getting any younger, but the Pens still likely make the playoffs, although they will probably regret a couple of their signing down the line.
Philadelphia Flyers- Bedard Watch. Another hard one to decide, but I don’t think the Flyers will be good enough to be considered a Mediocre team. They will likely be closer to Bedard than Mediocre, but who knows, since Fletcher has made some odd moves and hiring Torts will be something to watch.
Washington Capitals- Wild Card Candidate. They have gotten older and their only way to win the cup this year if Ovechkin becomes unstoppable, which at his age I don’t think will happen. They will still be good enough to snag a Wild Card, but this will probably be the last year of their window.
Atlantic Division:
Tampa Bay Lightning- Cup Contenders. You can’t not call the back to back cup champs, who just lost in the cup final this year cup contenders. That being said, energy and fatigue will be biggest challenge for the bolts this year.
Toronto Maple Leafs- Playoff Team. I know people will want to yell at me for this, but they have not been to get out of the first round for 18 years if I remember correctly. Until they make it out of the first round, they just can not be called actual contenders.
Florida- Playoff Team. This one is probably the hottest take of the bunch. Yes they won the presidents trophy last year. Yes they landed Tkachuk this off-season. But they lost Giroux, they won’t have Duclair for a chunk of the season, they gave up Huberdeau in acquiring Tkachuk, but I think the biggest mistake this off-season, was trading Weegar. Even with Weegar, their dcore was already weak, and now it’s even weaker. Bob will have to play like he has never before. Add in a new coach who is defensively minded to a fault, I see a recipe for disaster.
Boston Bruins- Mediocre Team. Management wants to keep them in contention, but the Bruins are getting older, and they will be missing extremely key players to their roster for a big chunk of the year. Not to mention, Bergeron and Krejci aren’t guaranteed to return, so the Bruins will almost certainly have a terrible start to the year, but will their finish to the year be enough to snag a wild card? I can’t say for sure, but my guess is that it won’t.
Detroit Red Wings- Wild Card Candidate. Big improvements to their roster this off-season, but the Chiarot signing was a big swing and a miss for Yzerman. Depending on how far the teams ahead of them fall, Detroit could make the jump for a wild card spot or even a divisional seed.
Ottawa Senators- Wild Card Candidate. I wanted to put them in the playoff team ranking, with how their roster is shaping out, but I had to put them in the wild card spot since they are unproven. Definitely the team with the biggest moves this year, and they will be taking big steps this year.
Buffalo Sabres- Wild Card Candidate. Yes the Sabres have been the laughing stock of the league for the past decade, but they are looking like they will be a playoff powerhouse in about 2-3 years. That long wait should end up being worth it, because within the next decade I think the Sabres get a cup. Bold take, I know.
Montreal Canadiens- Bedard Watch. With how the East stands, the Habs won’t be able to make the playoffs. They will surely be gunning for Bedard to fix their C problems.
Central Division:
Colorado Avalanche- Cup Contenders. Even though they have already taken a few steps back this off-season, and will likely take another couple of steps further back by the start of the season, they are still very much a cup contender.
St. Louis Blues- Wild Card Candidate. A hard one to place, and one where many will have as a playoff team. Losing a couple key pieces, not being able to land Tkachuk, and the Tarasenko situation not being resolved, are all very troubling to me. I am still pretty sure they land at either 2C or 3C, but I would not be completely surprised if they drop to WC1.
Minnesota Wild- Playoff Team. They should be a playoff team, but they will definitely miss Fiala. Also, depending on whether or not Kaprizov is able to play, their ranking could be VERY different.
Nashville Predators- Wild Card Candidate. They really haven’t shown me anything to really say they deserve a divisional seed over the teams above them, but I could see them rising to a divisional seed.
Dallas Stars- Wild Card Candidate. It all hinges on locking Robertson up long term and at least being able to bridge Oettinger. If they aren’t able to do either of these, (i.e. lose them to offer sheet) they drop in ranking.
Winnipeg Jets- Mediocre Team. The pieces are there to be a much better team, but the execution is lacking, and now players are seemingly wanting out (PLD, Sheifele).
Chicago Blackhawks- Bedard Watch. Easy decision since they have decided to tear it down.
Arizona Coyotes- Bedard Watch. They are embracing the tank in hopes of Adding Bedard for a very bright future.
Pacific Division:
Calgary Flames- Playoff Team. They have done amazing to mitigate the losses of Gaudreau and Tkachuk, but while they are still a playoff team, they are a little lower than last years team.
Edmonton Oilers- Playoff Team. I still think how Edmonton is structured will only lead to tears, but they got valuable playoff experience this past year. Need better depth and defense to be able to take it to Colorado though.
Vancouver Canucks- Mediocre Team. Another one people will probably scream at me for. The Pacific is quite weak right now, but I don’t think Vancouver is good enough to snag a divisional seed, and both Wild Cards are likely to end up with the Central, but they have the potential to snag a wild card.
Seattle Kraken- Mediocre team. Quite a few steps forward this off-season, but I don’t think that it will be enough to put them into a wild card spot. Start looking for the Kraken in a wild card spot next year though.
Vegas Golden Knights- Mediocre team. Losing Patches for nothing was a terrible move by McCrimmon. Eichel must get back to his usual self for the Golden Knights to have any chance at making the playoffs.
Low Angeles Kings- Playoff Team. Losing Brown will hurt, but the pieces are in play for sustained success. It’s only a matter of time at this point.
Anaheim Ducks- Wild Card Candidate. Another big mover this off-season, and they will be pushing for a Wild Card, but I think they will just fall short. Start looking for the Ducks in a wild card spot next year though.
San Jose Sharks- Mediocre Team. I don’t think they will be bad enough for Bedard, but I don’t think they will be good enough for a wild card spot either. The Sharks are one of my tweeners for this year.
One of the most ignorant takes I see around is that the Jackets somehow had a bad off season. It's just born out of a fundamental lack of understanding of what their shortcomings were last year and what their current situation is. Anyone who says they're still over the cap immediately loses credibility too.
It took them 7 games to squeak past a Pens team that started the year in WBS
Ya but they were healthy by the playoffs and they had a solid regular season despite Injuries. Rangers won 10
Playoff games which is nothing to sneeze at.
One of the most ignorant takes I see around is that the Jackets somehow had a bad off season. It's just born out of a fundamental lack of understanding of what their shortcomings were last year and what their current situation is. Anyone who says they're still over the cap immediately loses credibility too.
I do believe that the Jackets has a good off-season. But winning the Gaudreau sweepstakes and the losing Bjorkstrand for peanuts and that bad Gudbranson contract, they still won more than they lost, but the margin is definitely a lot closer than would appear at first glance. I won’t say I’m an expert on the Jackets, or on many other teams, but as for my comment on over the cap, I was basing that on when I had last checked their cap situation, and it’s been a few days since I had done that.
I do believe that the Jackets has a good off-season. But winning the Gaudreau sweepstakes and the losing Bjorkstrand for peanuts and that bad Gudbranson contract, they still won more than they lost, but the margin is definitely a lot closer than would appear at first glance. I won’t say I’m an expert on the Jackets, or on many other teams, but as for my comment on over the cap, I was basing that on when I had last checked their cap situation, and it’s been a few days since I had done that.
So, you said the opposite in your description where you had the Jackets losing more than they won. They replaced Bjorkstrand with a player who literally scored twice as many points as him. There's no question that that is a massive win. Next, they replaced a rotation of 3 awful, below replacement level defensemen in Bayreuther, Kukan and Carlsson with Gudbranson who is at least NHL calibre. Not to mention the physical presence that Gudbranson provides is going to create a deterrent to the kind of cheap shots and abuse that the team's younger players were subjected to last season. Lastly, their cap situation has been sorted since they traded Bjorkstrand.
Columbus fans are going to turn on me but I’d have Columbus as a mediocre term vs a wild card team, I don’t think they did enough to solve their main issue and they have very glaring holes in the line up without a real top 6 center and without a number 2 defensemen or someone to play opposite Werenski. I’d say the Islanders, Devils, Penguins and capitals will be battling with Columbus for the 3rd spot in the metro.
They don’t really have a great team. Bad RW depth. Kreider isn’t going to score 50 again. Igor will probably regress a bit.
Depends if laf and kakko can step up both are still very young and could fill that rw spot. Kreisler won’t score fifty but likely 30. I think shesterkin keeps up the level of play
Ya but they were healthy by the playoffs and they had a solid regular season despite Injuries. Rangers won 10
Playoff games which is nothing to sneeze at.
The Pens weren't necessarily healthy by the playoffs. Jarry and to a lesser extent Zucker weren't there at the start, and arguably were never 100%. DeSmith, Rakell, and Dumoulin missed most of the series as well. Those aren't insignificant pieces of that team.
But at the same time, good teams find a way to win. It's that simple. The Penguins couldn't hold onto their momentum, and NYR made them pay the price. The Rangers' core played very very well, and despite not showing up on the scoresheet much, I think the kid line were some of the better players in that series. A lot of attention gets put on Laf and Kakko, but Chytil impressed me.
Ya but they were healthy by the playoffs and they had a solid regular season despite Injuries. Rangers won 10
Playoff games which is nothing to sneeze at.
They beat the WBS Penguins in round 1. They barely beat a Canes team that didn't have its starting goaltender and was playing Brendan Smith on the 3rd pair because Bear physically couldn't put weight on hsi foot, and got smoked by the first real team they saw. Chill. Shesterkin is going to come back down to earth and they'll fall back, Probably a playoff team, but they won't be what they were last year. Shesterkin covered all their issues.
Theozler liked this.
Reply
Perreault,
CapFriendly
CapFriendly