Predict the Atlantic Standings

[WetcoastOrca]

1. Tampa
2. Florida
3. Boston
4. Toronto
5. Montreal
6. Ottawa
7. Detroit
8. Buffalo​

 

[DrMartinVanNostrand]

ITT: take a shot every take somebody says "Lightning" and "cruise control".

Though not that I disagree at all. At least, not in the net effect. I don't know how much things will be cruise control and how much they'll be Cup hangover/playoff fatigue. By the time the 2021-'22 season will begin, the Lightning will have played 47 playoff games in the previous 14 months. No team has ever had it quite like that. Point being, "cruise control" implies something of an intentional effort not to go all-out, whereas fatigue suggests you aren't capable of going all-out even if you wanted to.

If I had to take a guess:

1. Florida
2. Tampa Bay
3. Boston
4. Toronto
--
5. Montréal
6. Ottawa
7. Detroit
8. Buffalo

I'm expecting Florida no matter what. 2-4 could end up in any order. They'll probably finish within 5-6 points of each other. I do expect four playoff teams because, while the Metro has more good teams overall, they also have fewer games against Detroit/Buffalo (and their likely worst team is still going to be tough to play against in their own right). Those are the games for the Atlantic's best teams to get that extra cushion for one of the wild cards.

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

Tampa, Florida, Boston...top three, no particular order.

The rest all have enough flaws to hit or miss...depending on circumstances.

 

[HockeyVirus]

I guess I'll say it, Panthers will not be winning the division. Yes they have a very nice looking forward group, but their D core is very meh especially with no idea if A) Ekblad repeats the career year he was having and B) how his injury impacts him. Secondly, they lose their starting goalie who was masking the defensive issues and now have a rookie and a guy that has failed them before. To top it off, their forward additions have really only have had small sample sizes themsevles. Bennett playing a handful of games but does that mean he is a different player than what he was in CGY? Reinhart has had 1 breakout season and it was on a terrible team where he was getting top deployments. This usually leads to inflated stats.

So saying that

Tampa - They are Tampa

Toronto - Matthews, Marner, turn 24. Nylander is 25. They are now in their primes. I expect them to continue to be a strong regular season team and show last year was not a fluke.

Boston - Still can't count them out but wouldn't be surprised if they missed.

Florida - I think they have an amazing first 8 weeks and then go on a big skid and just barely beat out the rest for the last spot in the final week.

Ottawa - Can see them being a bubble team

Montreal - Massive downgrades to the team who has placed 24th and 18th in the regular season last 2 years. Price having surgery and not being ready to start the year also impacts things.

Detroit - Still better than Buffalo

Buffalo - Buffalo

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

ill be shocked it Ottawa finish above Montreal.

 

[GoLeafsGo96]

Top four of TB/FLA/TOR/BOS in no order. All 4 should be top 10 teams in the regular season and their specific placements will largely come down to goaltending and injury luck.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Tampa
Florida
Boston

Those should be the top 3.

 

[cgc83]

tb
tor
flor
bos
mtl
ott
det
buff

 

[Ciao]

Just a guess:

Florida, Tampa and Boston somewhere near the top.

Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa somewhere around the middle.

Detroit and Buffalo somewhere near the bottom.

I have no clue as to the exact order of who finishes where.

TBH, I just hope the Leafs make the playoffs, which is not a lock. After that, I really don't care but I wouldn't mind seeing Ottawa, Buffalo and Montréal outperform their expectations.

 

[2028 7th]

Florida
Tampa
Boston
Montreal
Ottawa
Toronto
Detroit
Buffalo

 

[BruinsFan37]

Tampa on paper is the most talented, seeding will depend upon how much they coast (high 1, low 3)
Toronto is the next best team (scoring wise anyway) and not as likely to coast during the regular season (high 1, low 2
Boston is the last team that I'd call a near lock, I consider them a bit of a wild card until I see them play with Ullmark in net (high 1, low 4)

Rest of the division is sketchy. Florida, Montreal and Ottawa could all make the 4th seed with a good regular season run. Florida and maybe Montreal could even take the 3rd seed if the stars align right.

Buffalo and Detroit are not making the playoffs, but of the two Detroit has less baggage and is the better team imho.

I'll go:

1) Toronto
2) Boston
3) Tampa
4) Montreal
5) Florida
6) Ottawa
7) Detroit
8) Buffalo

Tampa beats my Bruins in 6 (sigh)
Leafs beat Montreal in 7, and have a moment that makes Jack Edwards "infamous" Game 7 closing speech seem tame...

Then Tampa destroys the Leafs in 4.

 

[Beezeral]

2. Montreal 107 points

Thought you could just sneak that in and nobody would notice?

 

[Sticksandsun]

Tampa on paper is the most talented, seeding will depend upon how much they coast (high 1, low 3)
Toronto is the next best team (scoring wise anyway) and not as likely to coast during the regular season (high 1, low 2
Boston is the last team that I'd call a near lock, I consider them a bit of a wild card until I see them play with Ullmark in net (high 1, low 4)

Rest of the division is sketchy. Florida, Montreal and Ottawa could all make the 4th seed with a good regular season run. Florida and maybe Montreal could even take the 3rd seed if the stars align right.

Buffalo and Detroit are not making the playoffs, but of the two Detroit has less baggage and is the better team imho.

I'll go:

1) Toronto
2) Boston
3) Tampa
4) Montreal
5) Florida
6) Ottawa
7) Detroit
8) Buffalo

Tampa beats my Bruins in 6 (sigh)
Leafs beat Montreal in 7, and have a moment that makes Jack Edwards "infamous" Game 7 closing speech seem tame...

Then Tampa destroys the Leafs in 4.

Florida, the 3rd best team in the league last year and a team that improved in the off-season, behind a .500 Montreal team? Huh?

 

[Syckle78]

Florida, the 3rd best team in the league last year and a team that improved in the off-season, behind a .500 Montreal team? Huh?

Florida is a good team but last years regular season records don't mean shit.

 

[Gordian Knot]

Tampa Bay
Boston
Florida
Montreal
Toronto
Ottawa
Detroit
Buffalo

 

[Coach Reggie Dunlop]

1. Toronto(always a good regular season team, playoffs big big question mark)
2. Florida(much improved and poised for a big year)
3. Lightning(cruise control)
4. Bruins
5. Montreal
6. Detroit(surprisingly better than many will expect)
7. Ottawa
8. Buffalo(dumpster fire franchise)

 

[BertMcDrai]

Florida
Tampa
Montreal
Toronto
Boston
Ottawa
Detroit
Buffalo

 

[LOFIN]

1. Florida (they were pretty good this season and only have improved)
2. Toronto (slight downgrade but should do well in the regular season regardless)
3. Tampa (lost some pieces, 2 cups so maybe a bit complacent but should make it still).

4. Boston (big losses, they get Hall for a whole season but other than that their additions don't impress me)
5. Ottawa (they continue where they left off and improve)
6. Montreal (young kids will step up but Price will be regular season Price again + the losses of Danault and Weber)
7. Detroit (not their season yet)
8. Buffalo (they will embrace the tank battle with Arizona and Anaheim)

Both wild cards go to the Metro.

 

[bobholly39]

Thought you could just sneak that in and nobody would notice?

Yes - i posted publicly on the main forums on the internet because i wanted no one to notice. Good catch.

Habs won 3 more playoff rounds in the past 3 months than Panthers have in the past 25 years.

 

[LOFIN]

Yes - i posted publicly on the main forums on the internet because i wanted no one to notice. Good catch.

Habs won 3 more playoff rounds in the past 3 months than Panthers have in the past 25 years.

Habs would have also missed the playoffs with their record for 4 straight years. They've also lost their captain and top center. I think there's a greater chance that Detroit surpasses them on the standings (let alone Ottawa) than them making the playoffs.

 

[Pavels Dog]

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

5. Detroit
6. Montreal
7. Ottawa
8. Buffalo


I expect Tampa and Boston to take a step back. Montreal will come down to earth. Detroit will be better than most expect. Buffalo will be the worst or 2nd worst team in the NHL, the division will overall be probably the best.

 

[Necrobutcher]

their D core is very meh especially with no idea if A) Ekblad repeats the career year he was having

Is it really? Weegar is a beast, Forsling was great and Montour & Gudas are pretty solid bottom 4 guys. The sixth spot is probably Nutivaara's who had difficult season with covid and all and will likely be better and if not, there's a lot of depth to fill thay spot. Oh and i gotta point out that Ekblad was already really good in 19-20 so it's not just a one year thing.

They're not on Colorado & Tampa level but i wouldn't call their D just "meh".

 

[bobholly39]

Habs would have also missed the playoffs with their record for 4 straight years. They've also lost their captain and top center. I think there's a greater chance that Detroit surpasses them on the standings (let alone Ottawa) than them making the playoffs.

Would have could have should have.

Habs went to the finals last year and as such were the 2nd best team in the league.

Habs will win a playoff divisional spot this season. And Detroit isnt going to pass them - they might pass Florida though

 

[The90]

Would have could have should have.

Habs went to the finals last year and as such were the 2nd best team in the league.

Habs will win a playoff divisional spot this season. And Detroit isnt going to pass them - they might pass Florida though

Well, You’re optimistic anyways.

What he said wasn’t wrong though…

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Would have could have should have.

Habs went to the finals last year and as such were the 2nd best team in the league.

Habs will win a playoff divisional spot this season. And Detroit isnt going to pass them - they might pass Florida though

No, they were not. They got hot at the right time.

They were a mediocre team who overachieved in the playoffs... and they lost key pieces of that run (Danault, Weber) and replaced them with nothing impressive (Hoffman, Savard). They have no top talent outside of Price. Suzuki and Caufield COULD be, but aren't yet.

I mean, the game is played on the ice and they could perform better than expected, but predicting them to finish 2nd is going on quite the whim.