Standings Predictions

Forums/Armchair-GM

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Created by: squashmaple

Team: 2023-24 Custom Team

Initial Creation Date: Aug. 8, 2023

Published: Aug. 8, 2023

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

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This will be an interesting year. I think there end up being a lot of teams bunched up together near the playoff line rather than the extreme haves/have-nots we've had the past couple of seasons. This feels like a big transition year for a lot of teams, and therefore for divisions. I expect a big, squishy middle.

At the polar opposites, I think Dallas wins the President's Trophy and San Jose wins Celebrini.

Predicting both Western WC come from the Pacific. Arizona's my pick to surprise everyone, but I don't think they make the playoffs. I think the uncertainty about the UFA's ultimately hurts both Calgary and Winnipeg, and that Vancouver manages to sneak past them both to get the second WC berth. I don't expect there to many points of difference between Arizona, Nashville, Winnpeg, and St. Louis in the Central.

The East is going to be a dogfight with every team who isn't Carolina/NJ/Toronto at the top and Montreal/Philadelphia at the bottom all in the mix to some degree until the deadline. I don't think Detroit/Washington/Columbus have any actual chance at the playoffs but I think they'll both hover just below the line all year rather than being total garbage. To be honest with you, this is the first year since it's existed that I feel kind of meh about the Metro--Carolina's got to prove they're not just a Very Good Regular Season Team and I worry that NJ overachieved hugely last year and might regress a bit, and then I don't find any of Pittsburgh or the NY teams impressive at all on paper. For the Atlantic, I think Florida's injuries keeping key players out of the lineup well into the season is going to cost them a playoff spot and I think Boston has a worse center core than Columbus now. I think Buffalo will be the Devils of last year, shooting up the standings and staying there.

This may change with more movement in the coming weeks especially once training camps begin, but I feel pretty good about this as of the first week of August. Happy to hear feedback, for example why I should be a bigger Rangers believer or that I'm too high on Vancouver!

ROSTER

LONG-TERM OUTLOOK

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ROSTER SIZE	SALARY CAP	CAP HIT	OVERAGES	BONUSES	CAP SPACE
32	$83,500,000	$109,016,547	$0	$10,132,500	-$25,516,547

Left Wing	Centre	Right Wing
Marchment, Mason $4,500,000$4,500,000 LW, RW M-NTC UFA - 3	McDavid, Connor $12,500,000$12,500,000 C NMC UFA - 3
Lehkonen, Artturi $4,500,000$4,500,000 LW, RW NTC UFA - 4	Karlsson, William $5,900,000$5,900,000 C M-NTC UFA - 4
Maroon, Patrick $800,000$800,000 LW, RW M-NTC UFA - 1	Beniers, Matthew $897,500$897,500 ($1,850,000$2M) C RFA - 1
Crouse, Lawson $4,300,000$4,300,000 LW, RW UFA - 4	Kopitar, Anze $10,000,000$10,000,000 C NMC UFA - 1
Nyquist, Gustav $3,185,000$3,185,000 LW, RW UFA - 2	Blueger, Teddy $1,900,000$1,900,000 C, LW UFA - 1
Namestnikov, Vladislav $2,000,000$2,000,000 LW, RW, C UFA - 2	Backlund, Mikael $5,350,000$5,350,000 C NMC UFA - 1
Vrána, Jakub $2,625,000$2,625,000 LW UFA - 1	Carlsson, Leo $950,000$950,000 ($3,250,000$3M) C RFA - 3
Foligno, Nick $4,000,000$4,000,000 LW, C, RW UFA - 1	Eklund, William $863,333$863,333 ($850,000$850K) LW RFA - 3

Left Defense	Right Defense	Goaltender
McCabe, Jake $2,000,000$2,000,000 LD/RD M-NTC UFA - 2	Hamilton, Dougie $9,000,000$9,000,000 RD NMC UFA - 5
Samuelsson, Mattias $4,285,714$4,285,714 LD UFA - 7	Chatfield, Jalen $762,500$762,500 RD UFA - 1
Sergachev, Mikhail $8,500,000$8,500,000 LD/RD UFA - 8	Schneider, Braden $925,000$925,000 ($400,000$400K) RD RFA - 1
Sanderson, Jake $925,000$925,000 ($1,850,000$2M) LD UFA - 1	Ruhwedel, Chad $800,000$800,000 RD UFA - 1
Grzelcyk, Matt $3,687,500$3,687,500 LD UFA - 1	Mayfield, Scott $3,500,000$3,500,000 RD NTC UFA - 7
Ekman-Larsson, Oliver $2,250,000$2,250,000 LD UFA - 1	Jiricek, David $918,333$918,333 ($1,000,000$1M) RD RFA - 3
Edvinsson, Simon $894,167$894,167 ($850,000$850K) LD RFA - 3	Jensen, Nick $4,050,000$4,050,000 RD UFA - 3
Harris, Jordan $1,400,000$1,400,000 LD/RD RFA - 2	Grans, Helge $847,500$847,500 ($82,500$82K) RD RFA - 2

Aug. 8, 2023 at 12:18 p.m.

Grapevine

Brandon Wheat Kings

Joined: May 2021

Posts: 555

Likes: 144

Nashville and Arizona aren’t better than us (Jets). And Ottawa isn’t better than Boston. They probably aren’t even better than Buffalo.

Aug. 8, 2023 at 12:41 p.m.

HockeyBoy87

Lifelong Pens Fan

Joined: Jul. 2023

Posts: 407

Likes: 215

As of now, Boston is better than both Ottawa and Buffalo. Also, I don't think Florida's injuries will hold them out of a playoff spot. Last year the bruins started the year with some injuries and they still did amazing so I wouldn't count Florida out

Aug. 8, 2023 at 12:44 p.m.

Luguber

Joined: Jun. 2022

Posts: 777

Likes: 415

Interesting read, well thought through and all!
I do think many have the Wild a bit to high. I think Gustavsson won't have the same monster of a season as last 22/23, and Zucarello might regress to some extent etc.
I also believe that Boston will be in the playoffs, their D core is still great and their goaltending aswell.
The Kings I feel will be in the running for the 1st in the Pacific. That is if Kopitar continues to play the way he has, Doughty keeps it up and that the goaltending doesn't disappoint. Alot of ifs 🙂 But I think Dubois will prove to be a great addition for them, they're really strong down the middle.
The Jets I think have every chance to finish 3rd or 4th, depending on what happens from now to october though of course.

Aug. 8, 2023 at 12:54 p.m.

Caniac2000

Joined: May 2018

Posts: 19,540

Likes: 5,033

So you worry the Devils will regress and note Carolina are an exceptional regular season team... and put the Devils above the Canes? I've had this discussion with multiple people, can you give me a reason? On paper, the Canes are hands down better. Carolina's trio is stronger in goal than Vanacek and Schmid. Defensively, the Devils are very very good but Carolina's blueline is on enough steroids to be an MLB player. New Jersey's top 6 is definitely very strong and better than the Canes, but even the bottom 6 may favor the Canes because of the depth the roster has... As you mentioned, Carolina have to prove this was the right decision in April and May, so the regular season means very little. That said, why the Devils over Carolina?

Aug. 8, 2023 at 1:20 p.m.

seanrushton

Joined: Apr. 2023

Posts: 4,334

Likes: 1,237

Edited Aug. 8, 2023 at 1:27 p.m.

The Hurricanes did prove that they can win in April and May... a run to the ECF without two of their top six forwards and they won a round each of the past five years (including the qualifying round in 2020) which no other NHL team has done

Aug. 8, 2023 at 2:37 p.m.

squashmaple

Thread Starter

not a he )

Joined: Apr. 2022

Posts: 3,224

Likes: 4,388

Quoting: Caniac2000

Quoting: seanrushton

I've got to say I didn't expect the most vitriol from Canes fans who are wounded that I put the Devils ahead of them. My line of thought is that both regress from 112 and 111 points respectively, perhaps to 103 for the Devils and 102 for the Canes. The're both so close, so I gave more weight to the team I expect to score more goals and that's New Jersey. These two teams are much, much closer to one another than either is to the rest of the division.

CD282 and Tintin liked this.

Aug. 8, 2023 at 3:27 p.m.

CD282

Joined: Mar. 2017

Posts: 24,084

Likes: 7,766

Quoting: squashmaple

Canes fans get super triggered when anyone puts the Devils ahead of them in a projection. It's hilarious.

Tintin liked this.

Aug. 8, 2023 at 4:13 p.m.

Caniac2000

Joined: May 2018

Posts: 19,540

Likes: 5,033

Quoting: squashmaple

So, why would the Canes regress? They've not lost anything, they're getting Svechnikov back, added Orlov, Bunting and DeAngelo without losing anything? You suggest the Devils will regress, but the Canes are better now than they were last year

Aug. 8, 2023 at 4:23 p.m.

squashmaple

Thread Starter

not a he )

Joined: Apr. 2022

Posts: 3,224

Likes: 4,388

Quoting: CD282

Canes fans get super triggered when anyone puts the Devils ahead of them in a projection. It's hilarious.

I'm sure there's comments here I can't see because the trollier of their fans have long since been added to my ignore list for being trolls. The insecurity is palpable here.

Tintin liked this.

Aug. 8, 2023 at 8:58 p.m.

#10

seanrushton

Joined: Apr. 2023

Posts: 4,334

Likes: 1,237

Edited Aug. 8, 2023 at 9:08 p.m.

Quoting: squashmaple

It wasn't meant to be vitriolic on my part but simply refuting what you've said about the Hurricanes just being a very good regular season team... they are a good playoff and regular season team... the Hurricanes have proven that they can win more than 1 playoff series unlike certain teams *cough* *cough*. I'm personally okay with the 1 and 2 being some combinations of the Hurricanes and Devils

Aug. 8, 2023 at 9:06 p.m.

#11

seanrushton

Joined: Apr. 2023

Posts: 4,334

Likes: 1,237

Quoting: squashmaple

I'm sure there's comments here I can't see because the trollier of their fans have long since been added to my ignore list for being trolls. The insecurity is palpable here.

I think some Hurricanes fans see it as not giving the team their due after their continued success rather than it being insecurity and some of the Hurricanes fan can definitely be a bit much

Aug. 8, 2023 at 9:12 p.m.

#12

squashmaple

Thread Starter

not a he )

Joined: Apr. 2022

Posts: 3,224

Likes: 4,388

Quoting: seanrushton

I think some Hurricanes fans seeing it as not giving the team their due after their continued success

The Canes’ issue (and it’s not a massive one, as they are still very clearly a top five team in the league) is offense and they didn’t really address that. They added a (good) defensive defenseman to an already loaded defense and Bunting, who is mostly a passenger on a line although not without skill. Like Colorado, they need a 2C. KK is not it. I watched quite a few Canes games last season, especially near the end of the year because I couldn’t stand watching Columbus anymore, and I never found myself awed by them. Not like Boston or Edmonton, or some of those incredible mid-2010s Pens teams. They do everything well but aren’t spectacular. I just think New Jersey has a better chance of finishing with more points on the season because their ceiling is higher even if the floor is also lower.

seanrushton liked this.

Aug. 8, 2023 at 9:31 p.m.

#13

seanrushton

Joined: Apr. 2023

Posts: 4,334

Likes: 1,237

Quoting: squashmaple

As the team is currently constructed I agree that the scoring is an issue as the team is currently constructed but I still don't think this will be the team that will be the same on opening night... I think Don Waddell still has one more move up his sleeve before this offseason is over. I think that the 2C problem could be solved by Martin Necas moving to center and going and getting a scorer on the wing

Aug. 16, 2023 at 5:33 p.m.

#14

Kachowski47

Joined: Jun. 2023

Posts: 64

Likes: 2

Garbage prediction Columbus is not better than Washington, La is far better than Seattle, Arizona should be 7th in the central, Florida will not miss the playoffs and they are definitely not worse than Boston or Ottawa, and the lightning are still better than buffalo

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