Battle for Bedard

[RationalExpectations]

For me MTL CHI ARI are the worst teams by far. SJS PHI are poorly built. ANA and BUF are still rebuilding but should be better than MTL. SEA is Somewhere between MTL and BUF. Then there is NJD OTT DET CLB which are starting to contend but we'll see if the Windows really is opening.

I think Kaprizov situation is going to be Key for MIN. If he does not play while they lose Fiala, they could lose a lot of points.

 

[Justin11]

Don’t sleep on Leo Carlsson if we are out of bottom 3

If no Bedard, at the moment he’s next in line for me.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Which they missed the POs with.

By 3 points, they had 94 points and only had Eichel for 30 games.

They had the most points of all non playoffs teams, 6 short of 100, despite being disorganized. With Cassidy replacing Deboer, they'll probably play a lot better.

You're reaching.

 

[BenchBrawl]

DROP FOR MICHKOV

 

[BehindTheTimes]

I didn’t pick the ducks in my 8, I actually picked the Jets. I think their room is toxic and changes will have to be made.

 

[Habbietat]

everyone vote Florida, let's envision it into being

 

[OpenIceHit]

Without Price, definitely bottom 3. But Arizona are just too putrid to not finish last.

 

[NewEraGM]

Habs weren’t as bad as they showed last year but it’ll be very tonight for the max east is super strong and Atlantic in particular. Ottawa, Buffalo and Detroit all got better

I think it’ll come down do Philadelphia and Montreal for last place in the east.

 

[Milhouse40]

Without Price, definitely bottom 3. But Arizona are just too putrid to not finish last.

Arizona almost looks like a Stanley Cup finalist next to the Hawks

 

[gravitas]

everyone vote Florida, let's envision it into being

 

[Habs Icing]

I prefer Fantilli to Bedard or Michkov

I'm guessing you're referring to their looks.

 

[Skip Bayless]

I'm guessing you're referring to their looks.

Size

Habs weren’t as bad as they showed last year but it’ll be very tonight for the max east is super strong and Atlantic in particular. Ottawa, Buffalo and Detroit all got better

I think it’ll come down do Philadelphia and Montreal for last place in the east.

We just got one of the worst defenders in the game and he’s going to play big minutes, so it bodes well for next season.

 

[Tuggy]

I want to say the Habs will finish bottom 5 and it's definitely a good possibility, but we'll have to see how some things play out.

Price being one and a full season of MSL. If some of our young players have big seasons then that will change things.

The defense is looking pretty rough and could be very inexperienced depending on what they roll out. That could hold the team back for sure.

 

[NORiculous]

Why do people think Ana will take a step back? Aren’t Zegras, Terry, McTavish, Steel and co going to take a step forward?

 

[Treb]

By 3 points, they had 94 points and only had Eichel for 30 games.

They had the most points of all non playoffs teams, 6 short of 100, despite being disorganized. With Cassidy replacing Deboer, they'll probably play a lot better.

You're reaching.

But they had Pacioretty and Dadonov.

They are weaker than they were unless some rookies step up.

 

[nhlfan9191]

Without Price, definitely bottom 3. But Arizona are just too putrid to not finish last.

Chicago is worse then Arizona. I would say we finish between 3-8. I don’t see us being worse then Chicago or Arizona. I’m sure there will be a few surprise teams we finish ahead as well. Bedard very likely isn’t happening but I guess it is a lottery. It’s a shame we were a year early on our collapse to the very bottom of the standings.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

But they had Pacioretty and Dadonov.

They are weaker than they were unless some rookies step up.

Replacing Deboer by Cassidy will have a much bigger effect than losing Dadonov and Pacioretty. Having Eichel for the whole season, hopefully for them, will compound part of those losses.

94 points was the low end of performance for such a roster. Deboer was bad.

 

[Treb]

Replacing Deboer by Cassidy will have a much bigger effect than losing Dadonov and Pacioretty. Having Eichel for the whole season, hopefully for them, will compound part of those losses.

94 points was the low end of performance for such a roster. Deboer was bad.

We'll see.

 

[NORiculous]

I also think Sea takes a step forward:

Burakovsky / Beniers / McCann
Schwartz / Wright / Eberly
with Gourde on the 3rd.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Still, Eichel, Stone, Marchessault, Stephenson, Theodore, Smith, Roy, Karlsson, Pietrangelo...

They still have a strong core.

Yeah & theie D is pretty good.

Issue is bottom 6.

They still haven't signed Roy, but I expect they'll use Weber's LTIR for that. Currently, they still have $6,4625m to sign Roy ($3.5m? And some depth) using Weber's LTIR.

They still need to move Brossoit. Surprised they haven't done so already.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

I didn’t pick the ducks in my 8, I actually picked the Jets. I think their room is toxic and changes will have to be made.

Too many guys want out. Chevy let that fester for way too long. Something is deeply wrong with that team's dressing room.

They've lost a lot of depth. Hellebucyk has already stated that if they're not contenders he's not resigning in 2 years. Schiefele & Dubois contracts end in 2 years too.

Don't see Hellebucyk resigning there at all. They are going to be in rebuild summer 2023.

 

[MarkovsKnee]

Why do people think Ana will take a step back? Aren’t Zegras, Terry, McTavish, Steel and co going to take a step forward?

They didn't qualify Steel. Also their D is really bad, and they lack depth on bottom 2 lines. Top 6 & Gibson will win some games for them, but it's not enough over an 82 game season.

 

[Habs]

Chicago is going to be disgustingly bad

 

[absolute garbage]

I also think Sea takes a step forward:

Burakovsky / Beniers / McCann
Schwartz / Wright / Eberly
with Gourde on the 3rd.

Also Tanev is one of the better bottom 6ers out there, and they also have Donskoi and Wennberg who are overpaid but decent bodies to fill up the top 9. They lack high-end talent (maybe Beniers and Wright are on their way to that level) but have a lot of depth upfront.

That said, their defense is complete trash, probably even worse than Habs, and their goaltending was just disastrous too. Overall I'd say they are pretty similar team to Habs. Probably worse as a team, but because the east and atlantic are much tougher, they might finish higher.

 

[MarioLeMoose]

Without Price, definitely bottom 3. But Arizona are just too putrid to not finish last.

Price has been my favourite player for the last decade, but let’s face it… even with Price playing this year we should still be bottom 3.