Predict the Atlantic Standings

[JD1]

Top 4 in no order
TB
Florida
Boston
Toronto

Bottom 4 in no order
Montreal
Ottawa
Detroit
Buffalo

Downside surprise - Boston. Rask out long term. Krecji gone. Bergeron and Marchand getting old. Miss playoffs with 5 metro teams making it

Upside surprise - Ottawa. Enough goaltending options to have the position stabilize. The young talent keeps progressing. Miss playoffs but finish with 90 points

 

[bobholly39]

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.

Price had a really poor regular season last year. He can do a lot better (as he just showed) - and I expect him to. That alone should be a huge difference. For years the issue with the Habs was that they relied way too heavily on Price during the regular season to carry them to the playoffs (or close). They actually have scoring depth and support now, and a decent backup goalie. With Price having a good season, I think they're a playoff team.

And yes - I expect Suzuki and Caufield to do well.

Also - yes, they objectively own the title of 2nd best team in hockey last season by making the finals. That's how team get ranked. I'm not saying 'on paper' it means they have the second best roster - but if you rank teams based on last year's result, they're #2. I think they should be getting a bit more respect than they do. A year ago Dallas unexpectedly made the finals, and going into the next season everyone had them as a top team. This year Habs made the finals, and this year almost no one has them as even a playoff team, let alone a top team. A bit of double standards.

I'm not trying to convince others they should believe Habs will finish 2nd, that's a high bar. That's just my own, optimistic prediction. I just think people should give them much better odds at being a playoff team - a much lower bar

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Price had a really poor regular season last year. He can do a lot better (as he just showed) - and I expect him to. That alone should be a huge difference. For years the issue with the Habs was that they relied way too heavily on Price during the regular season to carry them to the playoffs (or close). They actually have scoring depth and support now, and a decent backup goalie. With Price having a good season, I think they're a playoff team.

And yes - I expect Suzuki and Caufield to do well.

Also - yes, they objectively own the title of 2nd best team in hockey last season by making the finals. That's how team get ranked. I'm not saying 'on paper' it means they have the second best roster - but if you rank teams based on last year's result, they're #2. I think they should be getting a bit more respect than they do. A year ago Dallas unexpectedly made the finals, and going into the next season everyone had them as a top team. This year Habs made the finals, and this year almost no one has them as even a playoff team, let alone a top team. A bit of double standards.

I'm not trying to convince others they should believe Habs will finish 2nd, that's a high bar. That's just my own, optimistic prediction. I just think people should give them much better odds at being a playoff team - a much lower bar

We are crap every year and exceed expectations compares to what we are on paper basically every single year I've ever watched this team. We are probably going to make the playoffs lol

 

[newfy]

The division could have 2 or 3 legit cup contenders while also having Detroit and Buffalo compete for first overall.

 

[The90]

Price had a really poor regular season last year. He can do a lot better (as he just showed) - and I expect him to. That alone should be a huge difference. For years the issue with the Habs was that they relied way too heavily on Price during the regular season to carry them to the playoffs (or close). They actually have scoring depth and support now, and a decent backup goalie. With Price having a good season, I think they're a playoff team.

And yes - I expect Suzuki and Caufield to do well.

Also - yes, they objectively own the title of 2nd best team in hockey last season by making the finals. That's how team get ranked. I'm not saying 'on paper' it means they have the second best roster - but if you rank teams based on last year's result, they're #2. I think they should be getting a bit more respect than they do. A year ago Dallas unexpectedly made the finals, and going into the next season everyone had them as a top team. This year Habs made the finals, and this year almost no one has them as even a playoff team, let alone a top team. A bit of double standards.

I'm not trying to convince others they should believe Habs will finish 2nd, that's a high bar. That's just my own, optimistic prediction. I just think people should give them much better odds at being a playoff team - a much lower bar

We are crap every year and exceed expectations compares to what we are on paper basically every single year I've ever watched this team. We are probably going to make the playoffs lol

I think Carey price has proven that if you get him to the playoffs, you have a chance. He was spectacular this year in the playoffs. Leaf fans know this first hand as he dominated them after game 4. But the reality is he has a sub .910 save percentage in 3 of his last 4 years with the exception being 18-19 where he had a .918. To expect him to have a Vezina worthy season at this point is unlikely. If you can get him to the playoffs, you have a chance.

Next. Your team would be working on a streak of 4 straight years of not making the playoffs if not for covid. You’ve now lost your captain and top 3 d man in Weber, and your minute eating KK and Suzuki protector in Danault. And replaced them with a pp specialist winger and a middle pairing right shot less physical edmunston.

You have some nice pieces there, but to expect a second place finish is very lofty expectations. You have not exceeded expectations every year, you won a play in round you wouldn’t have even been in, and went on a run in another season you wouldn’t have made the playoffs. Now you’re back in the Atlantic. Probably the strongest division this season. Buckle up.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Price had a really poor regular season last year. He can do a lot better (as he just showed) - and I expect him to. That alone should be a huge difference. For years the issue with the Habs was that they relied way too heavily on Price during the regular season to carry them to the playoffs (or close). They actually have scoring depth and support now, and a decent backup goalie. With Price having a good season, I think they're a playoff team.

And yes - I expect Suzuki and Caufield to do well.

Also - yes, they objectively own the title of 2nd best team in hockey last season by making the finals. That's how team get ranked. I'm not saying 'on paper' it means they have the second best roster - but if you rank teams based on last year's result, they're #2. I think they should be getting a bit more respect than they do. A year ago Dallas unexpectedly made the finals, and going into the next season everyone had them as a top team. This year Habs made the finals, and this year almost no one has them as even a playoff team, let alone a top team. A bit of double standards.

I'm not trying to convince others they should believe Habs will finish 2nd, that's a high bar. That's just my own, optimistic prediction. I just think people should give them much better odds at being a playoff team - a much lower bar

I expect Suzuki and Caufield to do well too. I think they are good young players. I do not think they are superstars though. Suzuki, at best, is Bergeron-lite. Caufield could be a 35-goal scorer, sure, but he is not the straw that stirs the drink type of player.

The other teams the Habs will be competing against all have better top talent than they do. Florida (Huberdeau, Barkov, Ekblad), Tampa Bay (Kucherov, Point, Vasi, Hedman), Toronto (Matthews, Marner), Boston (Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak) and even Ottawa (Stutzle, Chabot, Tkachuk).

And that's only their division. Carolina (Svechnikov, Aho, Slavin), Washington (Backstrom, Ovechkin, Carlson), Pittsburgh (Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel, Letang), Islanders (Barzal), Rangers (Panarin, Fox and their young talent has more potential than the Habs'). Add Philadelphia who is likely going to be in the mix as well.

In their division, I think they will finish 4th at best. 5th is my prediction and I would not be surprised if they finished 6th. So, if they finish 4th, they need to be better than 2 of the teams I have fighting for playoff spots in the metro. If they finish 5th, which is the likeliest scenario in my opinion, they'd need to do better than 3 of the 6 to make the playoffs.

My prediction would be:

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

I mean, I won't argue too much about your "they objectively finished second" stance, but do not forget that they finished the regular season 18th while playing in a SHIT division. They had a great playoff run, sure, but that does not make them a better team for THIS season. They finished 24th the year prior. The larger sample size is much more indicative of their real worth. You think 34-years-old Price will return to 2015 form and sustain his playoff performance for an 82-game season? I certainly hope so for you, but I would not count on it. Their depth is nice, but the top of the roster is very poor. They'll be competitive, but not a serious contender. One fluke run under very particular circumstances does not change that and is not indicative of their potential. In a normal year, they would not even have made the playoffs and if they did, they would have been Bolts fodder by the second round at best.

So, I admire your optimism, but, objectively speaking, the Habs are a long shot to make the playoffs. They'll compete for a spot, but I would not favor them for one. Having them finishing 2nd is borderline lunacy, not a "high bar". That would require them to overperform 3 of 4 clearly better teams. I think they can beat Boston and finish 4th, but that's the high bar for that team, IMO. It is the definition of a mediocre team. Lots of depth, no top talent, entirely dependent on their goalie. If I had to give a probability of them making the playoffs, I'd say 25% at best.

 

[pb1300]

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

1. Tampa is not Tampa. They lost their whole third line. But they are still one of the top teams in the league because they have the arguably the best winger, along with Dman and goalie.

2. Toronto is not a better team than Florida. If you want to write a whole paragraph about the Panthers, why not write one about the Leafs? Their D core is not better than the Panthers. While both team have questionable goaltending, Florida has the opportunity to be the better of the two. Their depth up front is not as good as the Panthers. And the Panthers are better coached. The Panthers players are in their prime as well, and if you want to mention Nylander, than you can mention Reinhart in the same sentence, because he is just as good, albeit playing for a MUCH worse franchise since entering the league.

And while I hate the Leafs, Im not going to slot them where I do because of that. I base my predictions off talent, depth, coaching, and even management, and Toronto is not better overall than other teams I have higher than them.


Florida
Tampa
Toronto
Boston
Montreal
Ottawa
Detroit
Buffalo

 

[Artorius Horus T]

1. Florida - The most improved team in the NHL, maybe the best roster in the entire NHL? -
2. Montreal - You won't get to the SC Finals by just luck -
3. Tampa - Bolts are not as nearly as good what last season, but their top guys will win them 3rd spot -
4. Boston - Average/Good team, is better what 5, 6, 7 and 8, but not good enough what 3, 2, 1
5. Toronto - Roster has improved from last season, but the 4 teams ahead, are better -
6. Ottawa - Keeps improving, keeps challenging, small margins -
7. Detroit - There are lots of quality young pieces, but really bad coaching hurts them -
8. Buffalo - What is or are the Buffalo Sabres? -

makes the play-offs
misses the play-offs

 

[pb1300]

The two wild cards in this division (not WC playoff spots) are Montreal and Ottawa. We know Montreal exceeded expectations, but they arent as bad as some make them out to be. The problem is, the injury bug hit them hard, and with the top half of the division having four of the top 10 teams in the league, I dont see how they can pass any one of those teams.

Ottawa is young, and talented. If they can gain some confidence and momentum, they will fight for that 5th spot in the division, and maybe chase a WC birth.

 

[Artorius Horus T]

I see not many believe in Montreal.... (still not)

People forget that Shea Weber's role was not that big/important last season to begin with,
so losing Weber means less to none for them.

What comes to Price...surgeries make you better, not worse..
and Price is believed to be ready and healthy when the next season begins.
- Habs have a good goalie duo in Price & Allen

All the Habs young, star players are now 1 season more experienced, better, stronger and what not.

The addition's of David Savard to D, Mike Hoffman and Cedric Paquette to F are significant ones.

D Chris Wideman is a wildcard, who comes from the KHL, so is F Mathieu Perrault, who joins them from Wpeg.

-----

Not sure what people see when they look at Habs roster, but they should look at it again and give it more time and thought

 

[Necrobutcher]

People forget that Shea Weber's role was not that big/important last season to begin with,
so losing Weber means less to none for them.

This is just wrong. False. Inaccurate. Total bullshit.

 

[Captain Awesome]

#1 bull shitters
Bears
Laffs
Kitties
Scabs
Melnyks
Pizza made from cardboard
Swords

I was overthinking this so much, for a second I thought the Habs had some weird anti-union sentiment they were associated with, but then I realized it's just a gross thing that rhymes with Habs.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

I see not many believe in Montreal.... (still not)

People forget that Shea Weber's role was not that big/important last season to begin with,
so losing Weber means less to none for them.

What comes to Price...surgeries make you better, not worse..
and Price is believed to be ready and healthy when the next season begins.

All the Habs young. star players are now 1 season more experienced, better, stronger and what not.

The addition's of David Savard to D, Mike Hoffman and Cedric Paquette to F are significant ones.

D Chris Wideman is a wildcard, who comes from the KHL, so is F Mathieu Perrault, who joins them from Wpeg.

-----

Not sure what people see when they look at Habs roster, but they should look at it again and give it more time and thought

You probably should not look at the Habs roster in a vacuum. You need to compare it to who they are competing against for a playoff spot and you will understand why most people are ranking them where they are.

Nobody is saying their roster sucks. For my part, I think it severely top-end talent compared to the other teams they will be competing with and I think they are very dependent on how Carey Price plays. I also think their young players, while very good, are also a little overrated. They have good depth though, I'll give them that.

David Savard, Cédric Paquette, Chris Wideman and Mathieu Perreault are not "significant" additions. They are depth signings. None of these guys are needle movers. Good guys to have, but dime-a-dozen players that will do their job. Good moves, but nothing fixing the real issue the Habs have: lack of top-end talent.

Mike Hoffman should help them on the PP (their PP was dreadful). He is a good addition, but, once again, not a transformative one.

Basically, they swiped depth for different depth, lost Danault and Weber, gained Hoffman. It is a very similar team to the one that finished 18th in the league last season... while playing a shit division. Their competition will be better this year and, while they might be more lucky with injuries, they still are not at the level of Tampa, Toronto or Florida. I think Boston are also a better team. They COULD finish 4th, but 5th is the most realistic. They COULD also finish 6th if Ottawa, who has better top-end talent, takes a leap forward.

So, the Habs are a competitive, middle-of-the-pack team, that most likely won't make the playoffs in a tough division. Nobody is saying they are a lottery team or "underestimating" them. I think they are fairly rated. Could they do better? Sure! Caufield and Suzuki could have a greater leap than I think they will. A guy like Romanov could have a bigger impact than I think he will. Price could stay healthy and be dominant. There are many variables at play. But the conservative prediction is them finish 5th in their division.

 

[bobholly39]

I expect Suzuki and Caufield to do well too. I think they are good young players. I do not think they are superstars though. Suzuki, at best, is Bergeron-lite. Caufield could be a 35-goal scorer, sure, but he is not the straw that stirs the drink type of player.

The other teams the Habs will be competing against all have better top talent than they do. Florida (Huberdeau, Barkov, Ekblad), Tampa Bay (Kucherov, Point, Vasi, Hedman), Toronto (Matthews, Marner), Boston (Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak) and even Ottawa (Stutzle, Chabot, Tkachuk).

And that's only their division. Carolina (Svechnikov, Aho, Slavin), Washington (Backstrom, Ovechkin, Carlson), Pittsburgh (Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel, Letang), Islanders (Barzal), Rangers (Panarin, Fox and their young talent has more potential than the Habs'). Add Philadelphia who is likely going to be in the mix as well.

In their division, I think they will finish 4th at best. 5th is my prediction and I would not be surprised if they finished 6th. So, if they finish 4th, they need to be better than 2 of the teams I have fighting for playoff spots in the metro. If they finish 5th, which is the likeliest scenario in my opinion, they'd need to do better than 3 of the 6 to make the playoffs.

My prediction would be:

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

I mean, I won't argue too much about your "they objectively finished second" stance, but do not forget that they finished the regular season 18th while playing in a SHIT division. They had a great playoff run, sure, but that does not make them a better team for THIS season. They finished 24th the year prior. The larger sample size is much more indicative of their real worth. You think 34-years-old Price will return to 2015 form and sustain his playoff performance for an 82-game season? I certainly hope so for you, but I would not count on it. Their depth is nice, but the top of the roster is very poor. They'll be competitive, but not a serious contender. One fluke run under very particular circumstances does not change that and is not indicative of their potential. In a normal year, they would not even have made the playoffs and if they did, they would have been Bolts fodder by the second round at best.

So, I admire your optimism, but, objectively speaking, the Habs are a long shot to make the playoffs. They'll compete for a spot, but I would not favor them for one. Having them finishing 2nd is borderline lunacy, not a "high bar". That would require them to overperform 3 of 4 clearly better teams. I think they can beat Boston and finish 4th, but that's the high bar for that team, IMO. It is the definition of a mediocre team. Lots of depth, no top talent, entirely dependent on their goalie. If I had to give a probability of them making the playoffs, I'd say 25% at best.

You started out your post discussing elite talent and then proceed to listing how all the teams have easily 3 more elite players than the Habs do....but then stopped short at the Islanders, naming only one, Barzal. Price is better than Barzal. Suzuki is certainly not as proven as Barzal - but I don't think there's a huge gap. Barzal who had 4 more points than Suzuki last season in his 4th year vs Suzuki's 2nd season. The Islanders - who HF just got done voting 2nd best team in the East going into next season, so above all the others outside Tampa.

And then - while posting elite talent, you left out Buffalo (Eichel, Dahlin). Even NJ with multiple 1st overall picks lately.

I guess my point is - elite talent is nice - but that's just one avenue to success, and not a guarantee. Winning behind depth (ie Islanders) is another path to success. No Habs don't have elite talent outside of Price - but they still performed better in the playoffs than any team outside of Tampa last year, and have a hell of a lot of depth.

The North division wasn't a shit division. Not anymore than the west at least.
34 year old Price was just the best player in the playoffs most of last year. Yes - I think he can do better in the regular season. Does that mean he'll sweep the hart/lindsay/vezina like in 2015? No - but it's not either/or. There's a lot of room for improvement in between.

I also think people are buying way too quickly into Florida. All they have is one good regular season recently, with still no playoff wins, and an extremely worrisome goalie situation. Boston has question marks. There's uncertainty at the top of the Atlantic. It's more open than people believe

 

[Artorius Horus T]

This is just wrong. False. Inaccurate. Total bullshit.

Well considering he is 36, his last season wasn't particularly good, he wasn't Habs top d-man, and other stuff as well

Like theres Romanov, then there's Petry whos > Weber and any who watched the play-offs saw how well Edmundson, Kulak and Chiarot played, i personally was soo surprised how good Chiarot was, everyone knew how good Edmundos is, so that was not a surprise.

So yeah, losing Weber isn't that big of a deal.

That D is good, top 3 division spot good, even without Weber.

Honestly i don't get why many see only their two regular season play
in where they highly underperformed, how about looking at their play-offs performance, or,
18-19 regular season, 16-17 regular season, years, they have done great work, developing players,
building the team and now they are ready pick the apples from the trees and have success.

 

[Mudz]

This is just wrong. False. Inaccurate. Total bullshit.

Why? You don't provide any insight. And the previous poster was mostly right anyway.

He's been meh defensively in the regular season and a non factor on the PP for the last 2-3 years. Savard can easily take his minutes and role on the PK. Hoffman should be a nice addition on the PP.

I say mostly right because he will be missed in his leadership role. It's hard to know how close to the team he will stay but looking at interviews from players that played with him, Weber leadership is always his number quality.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

I think Carey price has proven that if you get him to the playoffs, you have a chance. He was spectacular this year in the playoffs. Leaf fans know this first hand as he dominated them after game 4. But the reality is he has a sub .910 save percentage in 3 of his last 4 years with the exception being 18-19 where he had a .918. To expect him to have a Vezina worthy season at this point is unlikely. If you can get him to the playoffs, you have a chance.

Next. Your team would be working on a streak of 4 straight years of not making the playoffs if not for covid. You’ve now lost your captain and top 3 d man in Weber, and your minute eating KK and Suzuki protector in Danault. And replaced them with a pp specialist winger and a middle pairing right shot less physical edmunston.

You have some nice pieces there, but to expect a second place finish is very lofty expectations. You have not exceeded expectations every year, you won a play in round you wouldn’t have even been in, and went on a run in another season you wouldn’t have made the playoffs. Now you’re back in the Atlantic. Probably the strongest division this season. Buckle up.

I mean the team sucks on paper but it's a easy parity league. Making the playoffs/winning a round is not very hard/impressive the bar is pretty low for Habs since as fans all we can ask for is making the playoffs at this point with the team we have

 

[Scandale du Jour]

You started out your post discussing elite talent and then proceed to listing how all the teams have easily 3 more elite players than the Habs do....but then stopped short at the Islanders, naming only one, Barzal. Price is better than Barzal. Suzuki is certainly not as proven as Barzal - but I don't think there's a huge gap. Barzal who had 4 more points than Suzuki last season in his 4th year vs Suzuki's 2nd season. The Islanders - who HF just got done voting 2nd best team in the East going into next season, so above all the others outside Tampa.

And then - while posting elite talent, you left out Buffalo (Eichel, Dahlin). Even NJ with multiple 1st overall picks lately.

I guess my point is - elite talent is nice - but that's just one avenue to success, and not a guarantee. Winning behind depth (ie Islanders) is another path to success. No Habs don't have elite talent outside of Price - but they still performed better in the playoffs than any team outside of Tampa last year, and have a hell of a lot of depth.

The North division wasn't a shit division. Not anymore than the west at least.
34 year old Price was just the best player in the playoffs most of last year. Yes - I think he can do better in the regular season. Does that mean he'll sweep the hart/lindsay/vezina like in 2015? No - but it's not either/or. There's a lot of room for improvement in between.

I also think people are buying way too quickly into Florida. All they have is one good regular season recently, with still no playoff wins, and an extremely worrisome goalie situation. Boston has question marks. There's uncertainty at the top of the Atlantic. It's more open than people believe

I left out Buffalo and NJD because they most likely won't be better than the Habs. Buffalo certainly won't be. Devils could be I guess. If I had to make tiers, they'd be in the same one as the Habs, most likely.

Barzal is much better than any forward the Habs have. If you want to put Price has being more impactful, I won't disagree. Still, that's one team out of like 10 and the Isles have good depth and a much better system/coach. To me, they are a playoff team. I do not think they will finish 2nd in their division though. They are a team built for the playoffs, not the regular season (Habs too, but they are a worse version of that and lost the player who most embodied that playing style - Danault). Habs centers outside of Suzuki are very suspect. The Isles have more depth their. I like the Isles defense better.

By the way, the Isles might not have reached the SCF, but they played MUCH MUCH better than the Habs against the Bolts.

Florida might have questions mark, but their question marks are not as big as the Habs'. Toronto and especially Tampa are objectively more talented teams. Bruins, I could see the Habs overperform.

So, to me, the Habs' ceiling is finishing 4th in their division. 5th being the most likely outcome. 2nd is lunacy, IMO.

 

[GOZetterberg]

I think the Sens could surprise some people by grabbing a Wildcard spot

As for standings, I've got

Tampa
Florida
Boston
Toronto
Ottawa
Montreal
Detroit
Buffalo

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Tampa
Boston
Toronto
Florida
Montreal
Ottawa
Detroit
Buffalo

Tampa will be great. Boston will also be great, if the goalies play well. I’m not convinced about anyone else. Toronto, Florida, and Montreal will be in the playoff race, but I don’t think any of the three teams will be that good and any of the three can miss the playoffs or make it. Bottom three in the predictable order.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Tampa
Florida
Boston

Those should be the top 3.

Toronto is a pretty good season team, I'm pretty sure they'll be over Boston who've lost quite a few feathers in the last several years, and now lost an important center while Bergeron and Marchand aren't getting any younger.

 

[bobholly39]

I left out Buffalo and NJD because they most likely won't be better than the Habs. Buffalo certainly won't be. Devils could be I guess. If I had to make tiers, they'd be in the same one as the Habs, most likely.

Barzal is much better than any forward the Habs have. If you want to put Price has being more impactful, I won't disagree. Still, that's one team out of like 10 and the Isles have good depth and a much better system/coach. To me, they are a playoff team. I do not think they will finish 2nd in their division though. They are a team built for the playoffs, not the regular season (Habs too, but they are a worse version of that and lost the player who most embodied that playing style - Danault). Habs centers outside of Suzuki are very suspect. The Isles have more depth their. I like the Isles defense better.

By the way, the Isles might not have reached the SCF, but they played MUCH MUCH better than the Habs against the Bolts.

Florida might have questions mark, but their question marks are not as big as the Habs'. Toronto and especially Tampa are objectively more talented teams. Bruins, I could see the Habs overperform.

So, to me, the Habs' ceiling is finishing 4th in their division. 5th being the most likely outcome. 2nd is lunacy, IMO.

Isles played MUCH MUCH better than the Habs against the Bolts. You're right. So what?

Habs played MUCH MUCH better than the Avalanche against Vegas. Are the Habs better than the Avs going into next season? Habs beat Toronto - and you just said Toronto is a better team. Habs had a bad series against Tampa. It's unfortunate but it happens, and I don't think they should be judged solely on that.

I'm not trying to convince you or anyone else you should believe Habs will finish 2nd in division. That's just my own optimistic prediction. What I am trying to argue is that people are underestimating the Habs way too much. Majority have them a distant 5th or 6th - and I think all of 1 other poster than myself in this thread so far even had them in a playoff position. A lot of teams in the Atlantic have question marks - yet all of the question marks seem to be answered in the negative for the Habs, but not so for others:

Tampa - No questions. Baring catastrophe - they will again be a top team this year. I think most agree.

Toronto. Big question mark in nets. Jack Campbell had a great run last year, but he's never had success as a starter before. Will he crash and burn? I think that's very possible. Leafs also just had yet another playoff collapse, which has to start weighing on team morale/confidence. Will it lead to drama/issues this year, or bad performances? It's also possible.

Boston. They're older. Rask - is he back or not? I could go on but - question marks

Florida. Take the past 4 years combined - they have 0 playoff wins, and only 1 above average regular season. They were very good last season, but does that guarantee future success? The NHL of the past 10 years is full of teams who had a great unexpected surge one year - and everyone expected them to repeat - but instead they went back to mediocrity. To me - that's Florida until proven otherwise. Big question mark on their goalies.

Montreal has question marks too, obviously. But not moreso than some of the other teams outside of Tampa

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

i dont see losing Weber like a big lost for the habs on the ice,he was great in the playoffs but very bad in the regular season imo

same thing with Danault he wasnt great in the regular season but stepped up big time in the playoffs

that being said is KK ready to take over top 6 duties....if we lose Suzuki for a long period our centers become KK-Poehling-Evans and Paquette and thats very bad

picking up Hoffman and having Caufield will help our PP alot and thats something we needed badly

Habs still need a PMD and another center in case KK struggles


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

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

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

Interesting how you’re so high on Toronto when last month you made a thread saying their window was closed.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Isles played MUCH MUCH better than the Habs against the Bolts. You're right. So what?

Habs played MUCH MUCH better than the Avalanche against Vegas. Are the Habs better than the Avs going into next season? Habs beat Toronto - and you just said Toronto is a better team. Habs had a bad series against Tampa. It's unfortunate but it happens, and I don't think they should be judged solely on that.

I'm not trying to convince you or anyone else you should believe Habs will finish 2nd in division. That's just my own optimistic prediction. What I am trying to argue is that people are underestimating the Habs way too much. Majority have them a distant 5th or 6th - and I think all of 1 other poster than myself in this thread so far even had them in a playoff position. A lot of teams in the Atlantic have question marks - yet all of the question marks seem to be answered in the negative for the Habs, but not so for others:

Tampa - No questions. Baring catastrophe - they will again be a top team this year. I think most agree.

Toronto. Big question mark in nets. Jack Campbell had a great run last year, but he's never had success as a starter before. Will he crash and burn? I think that's very possible. Leafs also just had yet another playoff collapse, which has to start weighing on team morale/confidence. Will it lead to drama/issues this year, or bad performances? It's also possible.

Boston. They're older. Rask - is he back or not? I could go on but - question marks

Florida. Take the past 4 years combined - they have 0 playoff wins, and only 1 above average regular season. They were very good last season, but does that guarantee future success? The NHL of the past 10 years is full of teams who had a great unexpected surge one year - and everyone expected them to repeat - but instead they went back to mediocrity. To me - that's Florida until proven otherwise. Big question mark on their goalies.

Montreal has question marks too, obviously. But not moreso than some of the other teams outside of Tampa

Toronto completely dominated Montreal outside of game 7 (Habs were the much better team in game 7). Carey Price prolonged that series. Toronto are objectively better and outplayed the Habs in most of their series. Habs pulled off the win, so kudos there, but it is not indicative of how both teams would fare in 82-game season.

Habs did not play "much much" better than the Avs. They had a better result. Habs did well against Vegas, but the difference was mostly goaltending. Isles pushed the Bolts like the Habs never even came close to pushing them. They employed a similar style to the Habs and did it better. They are a much better comparable to the Habs than the Habs are to the Avs. Neither performance are really indicative of how each team will fare this year, I agree... but you are the one who said the Habs finished "2nd" and were the second best team in the league... which is just false. They were SCF finalists, but they were clearly not the second best team.

If you want to use a Cinderella run to justify an unrealistic prediction, go ahead, we'll just have to agree to disagree. You call it an optimistic prediction... but it is mostly unrealistic. Could happen, weirder things have happened, but with the data we have today, it is not a prediction that makes much sense. But, hey, it is the NHL and there is a lot of parity, so maybe you will be right at the end. I certainly hope so for your fanbase.