#1: Toronto Maple Leafs 108 PTS
#2: Florida Panthers 101 PTS
#3: Tampa Bay Lightning 97 PTS
#4: Boston Bruins 95 PTS
#5: Buffalo Sabres: 92 PTS
#6: Detroit Red Wings 91 PTS
#7: Ottawa Senators 86 PTS
#8: Montreal Canadiens 73 PTS
Metropolitan:
#1: Carolina Hurricanes 115 PTS
#2: New Jersey Devils 113 PTS
#3: New York Rangers 106 PTS
#4: Pittsburgh Penguins 95 PTS
#5: New York Islanders 91 PTS
#6: Washington Capitals 79 PTS
#7: Columbus Blue Jackets 68 PTS
#8: Philadelphia Flyers 57 PTS
#1: Vegas Golden Knights 114 PTS
#2: Edmonton Oilers 110 PTS
#3: Los Angeles Kings 101 PTS
#4: Seattle Kraken 100 PTS
#5: Vancouver Canucks 89 PTS
#6: Calgary Flames 84 PTS
#7: Anaheim Ducks 69 PTS
#8: San Jose Sharks 58 PTS
Playoffs:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
TOR (A1) VS BOS (WC1) Leafs in 5 games
FLO (A2) VS TBL (A3) Lightning in 7 games
CAR (M1) VS PIT (WC2) Hurricanes in 5 games
NJD (M2) VS NYR (M3) Devils in 7 games
WESTERN CONFERENCE
COL (C1) VS SEA (WC1) Avalanche in 7 games
DAL (C2) VS MIN (C3) Stars in 5 games
VGK (P1) VS NSH (WC2) Knights in 5 games
EDM (P2) VS LAK (P3) Oilers in 7 games
EASTERN CONFERENCE
TOR (A1) VS TBL (A3) Leafs in 7 games
CAR (M1) VS NJD (M2) Devils in 7 games
WESTERN CONFERENCE
COL (C1) VS DAL (C2) Stars in 7 games
VGK (P1) VS EDM (P2) Knights in 6 games
EASTERN CONFERENCE
TOR (A1) VS NJD (M2) Devils in 7 games
WESTERN CONFERENCE
DAL (C2) VS VGK (P1) Knights in 7 games
CUP FINAL
NJD (M2) VS VGK (P1) Devils in 7 games
Vancouver is better than Seattle, they actively got better in the off-season while Seattle simply being relatively inactive outside of re-signing Dunn will most likely result in them regressing
Tarasenko is the only big UFA that is still unsigned. He's the only one that could help a team that I have missing the playoffs, make the playoffs. The only other UFAs that can impact this list is Bergeron and Krejci for Boston.
Onto predictions.
Atlantic Division:
Toronto Maple Leafs 113 points 1st in Atlantic (They are as much as many ppl hate to admit it, the best team in the Atlantic at least in the regular season)
Tampa Bay Lightning 106 points 2nd in Atlantic (Vasy should be rested. Hedman and Cernak should be healthy. Losing Killorn and Colton will hurt, but I think they should be better this season)
Ottawa Senators 96 points 3rd in the Atlantic (I hope Korpisalo doesn't end up like Talbot)
Buffalo Sabres 92 points 4th in the Atlantic (I feel like one bad stretch somewhere during the middle of the season is going to cause them to miss the playoffs)
Boston Bruins 86 points 5th in the Atlantic (The chances of Bergeron/Krejci coming back seems unlikely espescially Bergeron based on what happened after Game 7 against Florida. Honestly this was a tough pick.)
Detroit Red Wings 82 points 6th in the Atlantic (Why did they get Justin Holl? Goaltending is still a question mark. The Yzerplan seems to be taking quite a bit...)
Florida Panthers 7th in the Atlantic 78 points (OEL and Mikkola. No Ekblad and Montour. They will end up like the 2021-22 Montreal Canadiens but not as bad)
Montreal Canadiens 8th in the Atlantic 72 points (If healthy, this team could get 85 points but key players will continue to miss significant time. That's the story of Montreal for the past 2 seasons)
Metro Division:
Carolina Hurricanes 116 points 1st in the Metro President's Trophy Winner (They were great last season and only got better this season)
New Jersey Devils 108 points 2nd in the Metro (One of the best Top 9s in the league. Vanacek I do think could lose the starter's role to Schmid)
New York Rangers 104 points 3rd in the Metro (Tough playoffs. But hey, they still are a very good team)
New York Islanders 98 points 4th in Metro 1st Wild Card (Basically the same team as last year. They will at least make the playoffs)
Pittsburgh Penguins 5th in the Metro 97 points 2nd Wild Card (I thought they looked pretty bad for good portions of last season with the bad losses and the games that they got goalied, and they still barely missed the playoffs. One more playoff appearance for the core.)
Columbus Blue Jackets 80 points 6th in the Metro (I feel like they will be a team everyone will not pay much attention to)
Washington Capitals 78 points 7th in the Metro (Same story as last season. Injuries take out Oshie/Backstrom/at least one more key player (not Ovi) for a significant amount of time.)
Philadelphia Flyers 69 points (Rasmus Ristolainen singlehandedly will cost the Flyers at least 5 games)
Central Divison:
Colorado Avalanche 111 points 1st in the Central (No Landy is gonna hurt again. Gotta hope Bo Byram and Cale Makar stay healthy. Gotta hope Drouin/Johansen can bounce back.)
Dallas Stars 108 points 2nd in the Central (Just send Suter to China and that's it.)
Minnesota Wild 100 points 3rd in the Central (Even though they are again slightly weaker, they still should comfortably make the playoffs)
Nashville Predators 96 points 4th in the Central 2nd Wild Card (Jusse Saros carries Nashville into the playoffs)
St Louis Blues 86 points 5th in the Central (I think they have another medicore and inconsistent season)
Winnipeg Jets 80 points 6th in the Central (I think Rick Bowness will be gone after this upcoming season)
Arizona Coyotes 74 points 7th in the Central (Similar season to last season)
Chicago Blackhakws 66 points 8th in the Central (I don't know if Bedard will live up to the hype)
Pacific Divison:
Vegas Golden Knights 109 points 1st in the Pacific (Maybe a slight Cup Hangover to start the season, but they'll get rolling quickly)
Edmonton Oilers 108 points 2nd in the Pacific (Vegas is just slightly better)
Calgary Flames 102 points 3rd in the Pacific (Somehow they make the playoffs every other year it feels like)
Seattle Kraken 100 points 4th in the Pacific 1st Wild Card (This team has too much depth scoring to miss the playoffs)
Los Angeles Kings 95 points 5th in the Pacific (I think they barely miss. I don't trust Talbot as a starter)
Vancouver Canucks 84 points 6th in the Pacific (Prove me wrong)
Anaheim Ducks 58 points 7th in the Pacific (Another terrible season)
San Jose Sharks 54 points 8th in the Pacific (Another terrible season)
Playoffs
Round 1
Eastern Conference
TOR (A1) vs NYI (WC1) Leafs in 6 (Unless the Isles can actually score goals, I see the Leafs winning)
TBL (A2) vs OTT (A3) Lightning in 7 (The Sens put up a valiant effort, but come up short)
CAR (M1) vs PIT (WC2) Canes in 5 (I do think at least 4 of the 5 games would be close games)
NJD (M2) vs NYR (M3) Devils in 5 (The Rangers are gonna flame out of the first round once again)
Western Conference
COL (C1) vs NSH (WC2) COL in 6 (Sarros keeps the Preds in the series)
DAL (C2) vs MIN (C3) DAL in 6 (Same story as last year)
VGK (P1) vs SEA (WC1) VGK in 7 (Seattle loses a heartbreaking Game 7)
EDM (P2) vs CGY (P3) EDM in 7 (Battle of Alberta Game 7 will be a classic)
Round 2
Eastern Conference
TOR (A1) vs TBL (A2) TBL in 7 (Leafs are now cursed to lose in the Second Round?)
CAR (M1) vs NJD (M2) NJD in 7 (I think the Devils do it. I think the Devils find a way to take out the Canes in 7)
Western Conference
COL (C1) vs DAL (C2) DAL in 7 (Colorado loses to Peter DeBoer once again. Bottom 6 scoring for Avs dries up)
VGK (P1) vs EDM (P2) VGK in 7 (One Vincent Desharnais mistake in Game 7 costs the Oilers the series)
Conference Finals
Eastern Conference
TBL (A2) vs NJD (M2) NJD in 7 (Ondrej Palat OT GWG in Game 7 in Jersey)
Western Conference
VGK (P1) vs DAL (C2) VGK in 6 (I don't see Vegas taking 3-0 series lead once again, but I still see Vegas winning in 6)
Cup Finals
NJD (M2) vs VGK (P1) VGK in 5 (Even though I think the series will be 5 games, I think the Devils will keep it close unlike the Panthers)
My Top 10 projected point producers:
1. Connor McDavid 82GP-62G-94A-156P
2. Leon Draisaitl 80GP-52G-78A-130P
3. Nathan MacKinnon 76GP-50G-67A-117P
4. Mikko Rantanen 82GP-58G-55A-113P
5. Jason Robertson 80GP-47G-54A-111P
6. Jack Hughes 82GP-46G-61A-107P
7. Elias Petterson 80GP-41G-63A-104P
8. Mitch Marner 80GP-36G-67A-103P
9. Auston Matthews 78GP-60G-40A-100P
10. Nikita Kucherov 68GP-28G-70A-98P
You are wayyyy too high on Calgary, even if they hold onto Lindholm, Backlund, and Hanifin, the uncertainty around that trio will become a huge distraction in the Flames locker room. You're letting recency bias get too far under your skin when it comes to Seattle, and it's sad that you don't give any legitimate reasons for putting Vancouver 6th in the Pacific, process of elimination isn't a good enough reason, cause they actually got better, they didn't choose to just stand-pat and wait for Harvey Two-Face to coin flip.
Vancouver is better than Seattle, they actively got better in the off-season while Seattle simply being relatively inactive outside of re-signing Dunn will most likely result in them regressing
You treat off-season activity like it actually relates to anything, look at last off-season
Washington: Pretty active, Result: 6th in Metro
Vegas: Mostly inactive outside of one trade: Won the Stanley cup
My favourite examples however are from the 2021 off-season
Chicago: insanely active, Result: Second-to-last in the central
Winnipeg: Actively tried improving the defence, Result: 6th in central
You treat off-season activity like it actually relates to anything, look at last off-season
Washington: Pretty active, Result: 6th in Metro
Vegas: Mostly inactive outside of one trade: Won the Stanley cup
My favourite examples however are from the 2021 off-season
Chicago: insanely active, Result: Second-to-last in the central
Winnipeg: Actively tried improving the defence, Result: 6th in central
There’s many more examples that I can name
Refresh my memory, in what way was Washington active in the 2021 off-season?
Vegas doesn't win the Stanley Cup if Pete Deboer is still the head coach. No, they didn't really have to tinker with the roster, but Cassidy is the one responsible for putting the team over the top
We all know Stan Bowman made a dumb trade acquiring Seth Jones. Winnipeg had an "expired" coach as well as other locker room issues. I never said that movement itself equates to improvement
Refresh my memory, in what way was Washington active in the 2021 off-season?
Vegas doesn't win the Stanley Cup if Pete Deboer is still the head coach. No, they didn't really have to tinker with the roster, but Cassidy is the one responsible for putting the team over the top
We all know Stan Bowman made a dumb trade acquiring Seth Jones. Winnipeg had an "expired" coach as well as other locker room issues. I never said that movement itself equates to improvement
Darcy Kuemper
Dylan Strome
Sonny Milano
Erik Gufstafsson
Connor Brown
And I meant the 2022 off-season for the capitals
And if Paul Maurice was an expired coach explain why the panthers even made the playoffs
And you’re clearly using the off-season to justify your ****ty biased takes
Darcy Kuemper
Dylan Strome
Sonny Milano
Erik Gufstafsson
Connor Brown
And I meant the 2022 off-season for the capitals
And if Paul Maurice was an expired coach explain why the panthers even made the playoffs
And you’re clearly using the off-season to justify your ****ty biased takes
You want to lecture me about bias? Cause I don't see any. Calendar year accuracy is key, so thanks for throwing me off intially
Excuse me, but Maurice was taking over a completely different roster in Florida to what he had in Winnipeg. It's not about how good he is as a coach, it's about how the locker room is receiving the coach's message, and it was growing stale in Winnipeg, while being a breath of fresh air in Florida. Duh
Ok now that Vasy will miss the first 2 months of the season, I think Buffalo should leapfrog Tampa and finish 2nd in Atlantic. I still think Tampa will finish 3rd in the Atlantic and I've moved Ottawa to out of a playoff spot cause Jon Cooper/Mike Sullivan/Lane Lambert are all better coachs than DJ Smith.
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