Atlantic Standings Predictions Thread

[norrisnick]

Don't forget jack Campbell.

Now that my oilers bought him out. I fully expect him to win the Vezina!

Also, agree with your wings views.

Best backup in the AHL has an award called the Vezina? That's wild. Kinda like the two Calders (NHL rookie of the year and AHL Championship).

 

[NyQuil]

Best backup in the AHL has an award called the Vezina? That's wild. Kinda like the two Calders (NHL rookie of the year and AHL Championship).

How about the Rough Riders vs. the Roughriders?

 

[Czechboy]

Best backup in the AHL has an award called the Vezina? That's wild. Kinda like the two Calders (NHL rookie of the year and AHL Championship).

I could honestly see him start an NHL game.. win it.. gain momentum and go on a run. It's oilers luck.lol

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

Seeing this a lot from Leaf fans this year and I think there's a lot of squinting involved

• Squint and you might think Morgan Reilly is a #1 defenceman on a cup-winning team
• Squint and you might think Chris Tanev is a #2
• Squint and you might think Jake McCabe can anchor a 2nd-pair
• Squint and you can ignore how mediocre Oliver Ekman-Larsson has been for years in anything other than a sheltered role.
• Squint and you might think Benoit, Hakanpaa, Lillegren and Timmins represent good blueline depth
• Squint and you might think Woll and Stolarz represents a good duo in net
• Squint and you might think Craig Berube is going to transform the collection of kids and castoffs below the core 4 into the dead-puck era Devils

It's not i7mpossible that some of these plans will work out, but that seems like a lot of squinting.

To this outsider, it really looks the same old Leafs: a good team with hyper-concentrated top 4 talent surrounded by too many questions marks elsewhere.

Leafs squint. Reality has 20/20 vision.

 

[Satanphonehome]

I agree with Detroit fans that Moritz Seider is a better player than the numbers show, and also agree with them that Lucas Raymond doesn't get enough respect. I think each is very good already and talented enough to take another step.

The thing is, even if they turn into Pastrnak and Hedman, I'm not sure how much of a difference that is going to make. Detroit is often compared to Buffalo and Ottawa, but when I look at the Wings depth chart, I don't see a bunch of young talent ready to make a leap. I see two good young players on a veteran team that kinda played to its potential last year. And I don't really see many areas of their roster where they will be better.

I know the fans are looking to Talbot to bolster them between the pipes and Edvinsson to boost the backline. I think Talbot is fine at best, and there aren't many rookie defensive defencemen who are difference-makers. They've got a fine stable of youngsters but how many are ready to make an impact this year?

The flip side of this is that I don't think the team got worse either and it missed the dance by just a point last year. I don't see Detroit making any kind of dramatic leap, but it's a veteran squad that conceivably could find the extra couple wins needed to squeeze in.

 

[sabremike]

It's easy to lump the Sabres and Sens together as the young teams expected to get better that didn't, but they aren't exactly the same.

Rasmus Dahlin — kinda underrated on these boards — might be the best defenceman in the division, or at least in the conversation with Hedman and McAvoy. But outside of him, I think the Sabres are a step behind when it comes to proven core 4 talent.

I think they did a good job improving the identity of their bottom 6 forwards, but where the Sabres are very intriguing to me is in the sheer volume of guys you look at and say "I'd be surprised if that guy isn't going to be better this year": Thompson, Cozens, Tuch, Quinn, Benson, Power, Byram... there just seems to be a lot of untapped talent, with pretty high ceilings.

I see some parallels to where the Devils were under Lindy Ruff two years ago. The biggest question for me is: were last year's Sabres the result of immaturity and coaching — the natural growing pains many young clubs face — or a deeper cultural problem?

A lot of people rolled their eyes at the Ruff selection, but he does seem a good fit for what the team needs, both on the ice and off.

There was a single moment last season that summed up how awful Granato and his staff were: In his first game Byram is on our PP. Having played for one of the best coaches in the league in Colorado he knows what players should be doing in this situation. His new teammates were doing anything but, and an exasperated Byram literally starts pointing with his stick and directing guys where they should be and what they should be doing. If you watched the preseason games under Lindy the difference is night and day.

 

[albator71]

Ottawa got worse everywhere except goaltending