Speculation: Atlantic Division Predictions

[Sypher04]

At least we arnt getting screwed in this way again. Habs getting the breaks and poor Ottawa but at least they are a young team.

the league needs to fix this crap. There’s no way Montreal (or anyone else) should get such an advantage

 

[Nineteen67]

Hart had a 914 sv% under vigneault’s system in 19-20. He sucked last year but if he bounces back they should do well. Who knows what will happen in Philly

 

[Morbo]

Pretty easy prediction that the Leafs aren't cruising to 1st place like they did last season.

They're too vulnerable to a single injury to any area of the roster for that.

if they stay healthy they should get one of the playoff spots.

 

[The CyNick]

Pretty easy prediction that the Leafs aren't cruising to 1st place like they did last season.

They're too vulnerable to a single injury to any area of the roster for that.

if they stay healthy they should get one of the playoff spots.

And I'm not even convinced of that. You have a shaky solution in net. The Leafs have been pretty lucky in terms of major stars not getting season ending type injuries. Matthews seems to get these minor injuries every year. Is this the one where we see a big one? JT is coming off a massive concussion and is in the point of his career where you would expect injuries to accumulate. Lots of red flags to me.

 

[kb]

Pretty easy prediction that the Leafs aren't cruising to 1st place like they did last season.

They're too vulnerable to a single injury to any area of the roster for that.

if they stay healthy they should get one of the playoff spots.

The Leafs were the only team to get BETTER for the beginning of this season over the beginning of last season. All other teams took a rather large step back.

I have no clue why anyone is picking Florida. I say they miss the playoffs entirely.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Leafs are massive favourites to make the playoffs and the most likely team outside of TB to win the division. Since making the playoffs and avoiding TB in the 1st round is about 98% of what interests me as far as the standings are concerned, I'm not going to spend time thinking about anything else.

 

[Morbo]

The Leafs were the only team to get BETTER for the beginning of this season over the beginning of last season. All other teams took a rather large step back.

All of those things have yet to be determined.

For me the best addition Dubas made this offseason was Kase, who is a better player than Nick Ritchie or Michael Bunting....but that is marred by injury risk. if he were healthy getting him would be an absolute coup. but to me it's a coin flip if he can make it through the year. if he does, he's the Leafs third best winger.

there's no quality NHL depth behind the top 4, which is solid but if one of them gets hurt it's a big step down to their replacement. Sandin and Liljegren have been unconvincing in the big show thus far. Dermott has seemingly stagnated as a decent but unspectacular 5/6.

in goal you have two injury prone inconsistent late 20s tandem guys. very good chance one of them goes down this year based on past history. the saving grace is that Andersen was so bad last season, we almost can't help but have better overall goaltending.

I have no clue why anyone is picking Florida. I say they miss the playoffs entirely.

they've got question marks too. but I don't see them any less of a contender for the playoff spots than the Leafs are.

 

[zeke]

Pretty easy prediction that the Leafs aren't cruising to 1st place like they did last season.

They're too vulnerable to a single injury to any area of the roster for that.

if they stay healthy they should get one of the playoff spots.

You think?

They have a backup #1C, a backup #1G, a backup #1W, and 3 top pair dmen. Not sure many teams are as well insulated from major injuries as the Leafs are.

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

Hart had a 914 sv% under vigneault’s system in 19-20. He sucked last year but if he bounces back they should do well. Who knows what will happen in Philly

They added Ristolainen... it's not going to get better in Philly.

 

[Nineteen67]

The Leafs were the only team to get BETTER for the beginning of this season over the beginning of last season. All other teams took a rather large step back.

I have no clue why anyone is picking Florida. I say they miss the playoffs entirely.

Like the Leafs, Florida lacks depth. The wrong injury on D last year and they were done. Same with the Leafs.
They both could make the playoffs, but I don’t think either is Cup a contender. Florida does have a little grit in their bellies and at least they offer up a fight and didn’t lose out to a lottery team.

 

[SprDaVE]

Pretty easy prediction that the Leafs aren't cruising to 1st place like they did last season.

They're too vulnerable to a single injury to any area of the roster for that.

if they stay healthy they should get one of the playoff spots.

You could say that about any team though. Seems unfair to make it a big issue for the Leafs. Maybe Tampa Bay isn't as affected by that... maybe? But they lost a good chunk of players in the off-season... so it certainly won't be as easy.

 

[kb]

Like the Leafs, Florida lacks depth. The wrong injury on D last year and they were done. Same with the Leafs.
They both could make the playoffs, but I don’t think either is Cup a contender. Florida does have a little grit in their bellies and at least they offer up a fight and didn’t lose out to a lottery team.

You can't lose a 1/2 D men and call it lacking in depth (Ekblad/Muzzin). You can't lose a Tavares and call the depth weak when his replacement got 5 points (but messed up the bottom 6 instead).

Florida had 6-7 players have career years all at once, and the main reason they were any good at all - signed with Seattle (Driedger). TB lost many good players. The Bruins lost players, and are aging.

The Leafs are stronger now than they were at the start of last season when they had Vesey, Boyd, and Thornton taking regular shifts.

 

[Menzinger]

You could say that about any team though. Seems unfair to make it a big issue for the Leafs. Maybe Tampa Bay isn't as affected by that... maybe? But they lost a good chunk of players in the off-season... so it certainly won't be as easy.

Tamp has their worst team (on paper) that they've iced in years. They essentially lost an entire top 9 line this off season. They automatically get credibility as back to back cup winner but I'm not sure they should be seen as a lock for 1st.

Like if Hedman goes down for a while, it becomes a lot harder for them to make up that hole ect

 

[Nineteen67]

You can't lose a 1/2 D men and call it lacking in depth (Ekblad/Muzzin). You can't lose a Tavares and call the depth weak when his replacement got 5 points (but messed up the bottom 6 instead).

Florida had 6-7 players have career years all at once, and the main reason they were any good at all - signed with Seattle (Driedger). TB lost many good players. The Bruins lost players, and are aging.

The Leafs are stronger now than they were at the start of last season when they had Vesey, Boyd, and Thornton taking regular shifts.

The Leafs could do well but they have numerous unanswered question with key contributors expected do something they’ve never done before.
Typically contenders don’t have as many unknowns as the leafs have.

 

[zeke]

I'd say all of TB Bos MTL would be far more screwed by a more injury to any of their #1C, #1D, or #1G than the Leafs would be.

 

[Morbo]

You think?

They have a backup #1C, a backup #1G, a backup #1W, and 3 top pair dmen. Not sure many teams are as well insulated from major injuries as the Leafs are.

yeah I do.

they don't have a backup 2 or 3 C and they don't have any proven #1G. and on defence the dropoff is steep. see Toffoli's comments after the playoff series re: Muzzin. doesn't sound like a real deep defence to me, although as long as their top 4 can play the minutes they're a solid group overall.

left side is a near complete question mark, lines 1-4.

If Kase stays on the right, they have pretty good depth there.

there is little to no help available from the Marlies right now.

it's a playoff team on paper with health. should be anyway. but having a bunch of bodies does not denote quality depth. only quantity.

 

[zeke]

yeah I do.

they don't have a backup 2 or 3 C

But they have 2 #1Cs. BOS and FLA don't even have proven 2Cs, let alone 3Cs. TB has a 2C but no 3C.

and they don't have any proven #1G.

But we're talking about injury to the #1G - who is better prepared for that than us?

and on defence the dropoff is steep. see Toffoli's comments after the playoff series re: Muzzin. doesn't sound like a real deep defence to me, although as long as their top 4 can play the minutes they're a solid group overall.

I don't know how many teams have as good dmen as rielly and brodie to anchor pairs if Muzz goes down.

left side is a near complete question mark, lines 1-4.

Not sure how that applies to injuries?

there is little to no help available from the Marlies right now.

Seems to me we're waiving down a whole bunch of quality players this year tbh.

it's a playoff team on paper with health. should be anyway. but having a bunch of bodies does not denote quality depth. only quantity.

And I'm talking about quality, not quantity.

Our immediate competitors certainly don't have a Tavares to step up if a 1C goes down, a Mrazek to step up if a 1G goes down, or 2 guys like Rielly/Brodie to step up if a 1D goes down.

 

[kb]

But they have 2 #1Cs. BOS and FLA don't even have proven 2Cs, let alone 3Cs. TB has a 2C but no 3C.



But we're talking about injury to the #1G - who is better prepared for that than us?



I don't know how many teams have as good dmen as rielly and brodie to anchor pairs if Muzz goes down.



Not sure how that applies to injuries?




Seems to me we're waiving down a whole bunch of quality players this year tbh.



And I'm talking about quality, not quantity.

Our immediate competitors certainly don't have a Tavares to step up if a 1C goes down, a Mrazek to step up if a 1G goes down, or 2 guys like Rielly/Brodie to step up if a 1D goes down.

Why some people can't see this is almost comical.

Leafs are in way better shape than ANY other team in the Division. They are the only ones who improved from opening night last season.

 

[keonsbitterness]

Why some people can't see this is almost comical.

Leafs are in way better shape than ANY other team in the Division. They are the only ones who improved from opening night last season.

You know the answer to that: they want to see playoff results.

 

[Ashdown2]

Why some people can't see this is almost comical.
Leafs are in way better shape than ANY other team in the Division. They are the only ones who improved from opening night last season.

what wat about unforseen injuries !!!! lol ......... im joking , i have no idea how injuries got brought up in this conversation.

 

[kb]

You know the answer to that: they want to see playoff results.

But it is a conversation about where they will finish.....and how they got better, and all their competitors got weaker.

 

[flying v 604]

Calgary and Seattle ahead of the oilers and nucks is proof using analytics in hockey to predict wins and points is complete hokum.
Seattle icing their full roster against a nucks team missing 12 regulars all but 3 being their best players still completely dominated them even with 8 penalties.

 

[zeke]

Calgary and Seattle ahead of the oilers and nucks is proof using analytics in hockey to predict wins and points is complete hokum.
Seattle icing their full roster against a nucks team missing 12 regulars all but 3 being their best players still completely dominated them even with 8 penalties.

Well, feel free to post your predictions so we can compare.

 

[Notsince67]

Why some people can't see this is almost comical.

Leafs are in way better shape than ANY other team in the Division. They are the only ones who improved from opening night last season.

Call me a sucker but like every year...cup baby cup! Homer through and through. I'm psyched with this team.

 

[Dave92]

Florida will have their usual mid season collapse and miss the playoffs by 5 points.