Atlantic Standings Predictions Thread

[Pavels Dog]

Red Wings goaltending and aging roster (D group especially) get exposed and they take a step back.

Wings defense is younger this year, much younger in fact.

 

[Miller Time]

Wings defense is younger this year, much younger in fact.

Average age today, of their top 7 on paper, is 30.4.

Seems obvious Yzerman has work to do about Petry & Matta to make room for the younger guys ready to push into NHL lineup, but adding 32year old EG @2M certainly didn't scream "ready for youth movement"

 

[SNES]

Same teams make, same teams miss.

User name checks out

 

[Joe n]

They play alright in the regular season. Never a President's Trophy contender. Very seldom a division leader. Usually a bubble playoff team on the upper edge of the playoff bubble.

Do you really think they'll finish ahead of Florida or Boston with a #1 goalie who is often injured and has played less than 40 NHL games in his career and a piecemeal uninspiring defense?

Top 10 in the league the last 4 years and top 6 3 of those years is a bubble team. I think you need to learn math.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Everybody putting habs at the bottom , I really hope so man. Ottawa scared me this past year

 

[BLNY]

Everybody putting habs at the bottom , I really hope so man. Ottawa scared me this past year

I'm not seeing Montreal get less than 70 points. Continued progression from the first line, a healthy season from Dach with Newhook building on last year; I think there's more offense to be had. Defensive play and special teams will determine final points, but I think an 11 point improvement to get into a spot that would have them finish in the area of 20th overall is realistic.

 

[Panthaz89]

Boston
Florida
Tampa

Toronto
Montreal
Ottawa
Detroit
Buffalo

Boston & Florida will be cream of the crop again. Florida takes small step back from short summer/cup run hangover.

Toronto slides behind TB because of adjustment period of new coach & def overhaul.

Habs surprise a lot of pundits and stay in WC hunt all year, riding stability of minimal roster changes and fully bought in young core.

Red Wings goaltending and aging roster (D group especially) get exposed and they take a step back.

Ottawa continues to be Ottawa (sum = less than the parts), locker room issues boil over to major roster change (big trade)

Buffalo falls to last as Ruff resets the culture and habits, goaltending continues to be big problem.

UPL posted .910 in 54 games last year goaltending was not the problem for Buffalo. I fail to see Montreal making a leap over pretty much anyone without injuries.

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

Top 10 in the league the last 4 years and top 6 3 of those years is a bubble team. I think you need to learn the math.

Overall League standings are irrelevant to the playoff bubble and Leaf history extends back further than the last 4 years.

Leaf fans were proclaiming the Leafs as a bubble President's Trophy team when they trailed the President's Trophy by eight points in 2022. Since it's a Leaf created measuring stick, it's the standard I use for their measurement.

 

[saska sault]

Florida
Toronto
Boston
Tampa
Buffalo
Detroit
Ottawa
Montreal

 

[HuGort]

Everybody putting habs at the bottom , I really hope so man. Ottawa scared me this past year

How did Ottawa scare you?

 

[Spring in Fialta]

UPL posted .910 in 54 games last year goaltending was not the problem for Buffalo. I fail to see Montreal making a leap over pretty much anyone without injuries.

There's a lot of hope going around the fanbase because of 'natural progression' without taking into account that this can also apply to other teams.

I agree with you - the Habs have some really nice young players but if the roster today is what they're starting with I too struggle to see them as anything but last in the division.

 

[Golden_Jet]

How did Ottawa scare you?

Maybe because they’ve won the last 9 or 10 in a row, head to head.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Florida and Boston both look like the top 2 imo. Tampa has improved but I don’t think enough to really challenge. Toronto looks to have lost more forward depth, improved a bit on D and still has questions in net.
I’d go:
Florida
Boston
Toronto
Tampa
It’s tough to predict who breaks out amongst Buffalo, Detroit, and Ottawa but I’ll pick Buffalo for about the 5th year in a row.
Montreal at the bottom.

 

[ThrowDemTongs]

People overrating Toronto. We're actually going to be relegated this year.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

How did Ottawa scare you?

They almost finished worst than us and were basically behind us all year in the standings

 

[TheOrangeDesk]

I predict the Atlantic will continue to be overrated in order to excuse Leaf’s failures.

Dude it’s wild.. the Atlantic has been so bad for so many year. Half the teams lottery teams. One elite florida team, a soft leafs team with 2-3 NHL quality dmen and then an overachieving aging bruins team

 

[Golden_Jet]

Everybody putting habs at the bottom , I really hope so man. Ottawa scared me this past year

I can see that after losing 9 or 10 straight to them.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

I can see that after losing 9 or 10 straight to them.

Yes please do better next year you guys almost out tanked us

 

[Spring in Fialta]

I can see that after losing 9 or 10 straight to them.

Do you have trouble with reading comprehension? The poster is clearly referring to the fact that the Sens keep sucking ass despite rebuilding forever and somehow are always neck-to-neck in the standings with the Habs.

No Habs fan give a crap about the Sens winning a bunch of meaningless games against us. I hate the Sens way more than the average Hab fan and even I couldn't care less. We're awful. You should be whopping our ass.

 

[Barry Amsterdam]

Florida
Boston
Toronto
Redwings
Buffalo
Tampa
Ottawa
Montreal

 

[Aashir Mallik]

I think it’s gonna be very similar, maybe we flip with tampa

Florida
Boston
Tampa/Toronto

Detroit
Buffalo

Ottawa
Montreal

Until one of detroit or Buffalo actually does take a playoff spot, I can’t have them over the Toronto or Tampa. It’s been back to back years where one has folded really close to the end.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Barring some catastrophic injury or some player(s) playing at a level no one could predict, I think the top 4 and the bottom 4 will be the exact same as this past season. What order those will be in can change, but I don't see any of the bottom 4 surpassing the top 4 this year.

 

[BostonBob]

1. Toronto
2. Florida
3. Ottawa
4. Boston

I'm guessing that as a Montreal fan that it's simply wishful thinking that you have Ottawa finishing ahead of Boston.

 

[HockeyVirus]

I predict the Leafs play well enough to get 2nd or 3rd in the division and play a competitive playoff series to 7 games.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Florida
Buffalo
Toronto
Boston
Tampa
Detroit
Ottawa
Montreal