Predict the Atlantic Standings

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

There was a thread for this a while back but it was made way too early before Boston made their signings and got way off track. I made this thread exactly 1 year ago: Predict the Atlantic Standings and got all 4 playoff teams right. Way off on the non-playoff teams. Here’s my order:

1. Toronto-116 points: This isn’t the playoffs, time and time again the Leafs have shown they are a great regular season team. While the Matt Murray move looks real bad to me, Campbell was one of the worst goalies in the league (if not the worst) in the 2nd half and Mrazek was garbage, and they were still very good, so I see no concerns. They lost some minor pieces but of the big 4 in the Atlantic, they definitely lost the least.
2. Florida- 109 points: If I read 1 more time how much worse Florida will be due to losing Giroux and Chariot I will lose my mind. Florida was on a 120 point pace before trading for them in March. They finished with 116 points in 2021. The loss of Weegar, Duclair and Marchment will hurt, but this is still a very good regular season team that Vegas still has 4th in President’s Trophy odds (not that I see a repeat). I have no idea why the loss of Weegar, Duclair and Marchment are so backbreaking to cause Florida to lose 30 points and miss the playoffs like part of HF seems to think but neither myself or Vegas buys it. As is I have them down 13 points which is significant.
3. Tampa- 106 points: A team that’s never cared about positioning, with the loss of McDonagh and Palat along with major injuries to Cirelli and Bogosian, I have them firmly in 3rd. One of the more interesting moves of the summer was keeping Philippe Myers, who has looked bad for several years and who had a unique buyout that actually would have increased Tampa’s cap room this year. They chose to keep him and he looks slotted in a top 4 role. Diamond in the rough of rare slipup?

4. Boston-99 points (wildcard): I may have had Boston out of the playoffs if the didn’t bring back Bergeron and Krecji. An older team, significant injuries to Marchand and McAvoy will have the Bruins in a tough spot the 1st half. But bringing back 2 good players should give them enough leeway. I like Jim Montgomery but have no idea why Cassidy was fired and not Sweeney. I'd have done it the other way around.


5. Ottawa-89 points: For these non-playoff teams it gets tricky. I don’t really buy the Sens hype. Giroux is still very good, nice signing. Debrincat trade, what a fleece job. But this was a 70 point team last year. Sure they had a tough covid run but I just don’t see the 30 point improvement needed to make the playoffs. Please get Chabot some help back there.

6. Detroit- 88 points: Copp and Perron are nice players. They have some great young players. I like Husso. In the same vein as Ottawa though, I don’t think they’ve closed the gap enough on the top teams. Also I don’t know what Ben Chariot does to a MFer, Zito gave up so much and Yzerman gave an awful contract, both of these guys are good GMs but no idea why he’s being paid as a borderline top pairing guy/#3.

7. Buffalo-85 points: Buffalo was good in the second half. A lot of fun to watch. Tage Thompson and Tuch were great, Dahlin improved, Power looks like the real deal. I’m just not a fan of their goaltending. 6k doesn’t look ready to carry the load, Comrie was good but 15 starts last year isn’t enough and he hasn’t shown much in his career till then, and Craig Anderson is 800 years old.

8. Montreal-62 points: Kent Hughes has done a nice job (Monahan and a 1st, BEN CHARIOT FOR A 1ST, excuse the caps) and they have some nice young players but this is going to be a very bad year (or good, Bedard sweepstakes?). It’s a great year to tank but they’ll have some tough competition in Chicago, Arizona and Philly.

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[hirawl]

Florida
Toronto
Boston
Ottawa
Tampa
Detroit
Buffalo
Montreal

 

[PlayersLtd]

Better season than last year with Samsonov and a goalie to be named later shouldering the load when Matt Murray is inevitably put on LTIR? Not so sure about that...

 

[Sticksandsun]

Florida
Toronto
Tampa
Ottawa
Boston
Detroit
Buffalo
Montreal

 

[leafsfan5]

1.) Toronto - Finishes 2nd in the league behind the Avs, Matthews/Marner with 100+ points each and Murray surprises people. We get at least 1 Murray for Vezina thread.
2.) Tampa - Cruise to another 110 point season
3.) Florida - Not as good as last year, but still a solid club
4) Boston - Make WC2 after starting off the season really, really bad. Boston fans want to tank for Bedard by thanksgiving but Marchand comes back and breathes life into them. Sets up a Toronto vs Boston matchup in round 1. The playoff series will be dubbed as the final battle between the two, the loser blowing up their roster in the summer


5.) Ottawa - Start off amazing in the first month or two, people ask if they're a contender. We have at least one thread about them coming to "burn down your village". They fall off as teams settle in and play better defense
6.) Buffalo - They play very good hockey overall, but lack one or two pieces to get them into the playoffs
7.) Detroit - No defense played, lots of high scoring hockey
8.) Montreal - 2nd worst team in the NHL, but win the season series against Toronto 3-1. Both fanbases hate the fact that this happened as MTL loses out on last place due to this and Toronto shows they still sleepwalk a lot

 

[BostonBob]

I said it before the Bergeron and Krejci signings and I'll stick with this prediction.

1 - Boston
2 to 8 -

 

[Sticksandsun]

I said it before the Bergeron and Krejci signings and I'll stick with this prediction.

1 - Boston
2 to 8 -

Boston finished 4th and lost Marchand and McAvoy until January while only adding Krecji, how lol?

 

[golffuul]

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

Tampa and Boston are ripe to regress and Florida and Toronto could struggle if Toronto can't get goaltending and Florida can't play defense. Detroit, Ottawa, and Buffalo are improving and should be there to compete for playoff spots if the struggles get to be too bad for the usual top 3-4.

The changing of the guard in the Atlantic is slowly starting to take place. The improving teams will win more games which means more losses for the usual top 3-4 which could make things interesting.

 

[BostonBob]

Boston finished 4th and lost Marchand and McAvoy until January while only adding Krecji, how lol?

So you don't think Boston will win the Atlantic this season......well guess what:

 

[Pavels Dog]

The Atlantic will be a bloodbath. I have them in tiers:

1. Tampa - still the most solid team top to bottom imo.
2. Toronto - weak goaltending but should be a great regular season team still.
3. Florida - didn't love their offseason but there's enough there to be a top 3 seed.

4. Detroit - One of the few teams this offseason that has undoubtedly improved in all areas, both on and off the ice.
5. Boston - fighting injuries and old age, they can never be ruled out but I think too much is working against them this season.
6. Ottawa - great offensive pieces and will be competitive with Detroit/Boston but lacking in defense/goaltending to come out ahead.
7. Buffalo - takes a step forward but lacks the depth to truly compete in a tough division.

8. Montreal - might win <5 games vs. divisional opponents

 

[waitin425]

Tampa
Toronto
Ottawa
Boston
Buffalo
Detroit
Montreal
Florida








I hope.

 

[NYRfan85]

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

 

[miscs75]

1-3: Tampa/Toronto/Florida (in some form)
4-7: the other teams
8: Montreal

 

[AvroArrow]

Toronto - Has kept the same core pieces as last year

Tampa - Below Toronto because of the loss of McDonagh/Palat. The series went 7 last year, 2 of their best players are now gone with no viable replacement

Florida - The loss is bigger than you'd like to admit. Huberdeau, Weegar, Marchment, Giroux, Chiarot, Duclair (injured)

Ottawa - Great additions, young up and coming core

Boston - Older core and some injuries on the roster

Detroit - Up and coming team, just not there yet

Buffalo - Still figuring it out

Montreal - Tanking for Bedard

 

[BB88]

The Atlantic will be a bloodbath. I have them in tiers:

1. Tampa - still the most solid team top to bottom imo.
2. Toronto - weak goaltending but should be a great regular season team still.
3. Florida - didn't love their offseason but there's enough there to be a top 3 seed.

4. Detroit - One of the few teams this offseason that has undoubtedly improved in all areas, both on and off the ice.
5. Boston - fighting injuries and old age, they can never be ruled out but I think too much is working against them this season.
6. Ottawa - great offensive pieces and will be competitive with Detroit/Boston but lacking in defense/goaltending to come out ahead.
7. Buffalo - takes a step forward but lacks the depth to truly compete in a tough division.

8. Montreal - might win <5 games vs. divisional opponents

How does Detroit high end talent stack up against the top?


Yeah they got better but they are still very thin at the top and their offense lacks true superstars.

Boston& Ottawa should easy be ranked higher than them

 

[HabsQC]

Great division to be in if you're aiming for Bedard

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

1. Florida- 109 points: If I read 1 more time how much worse Florida will be due to losing Giroux and Chariot I will lose my mind. Florida was on a 120 point pace before trading for them in March. They finished with 116 points in 2021. The loss of Weegar, Duclair and Marchment will hurt, but this is still a very good regular season team that Vegas still has 4th in President’s Trophy odds (not that I see a repeat). I have no idea why the loss of Weegar, Duclair and Marchment are so backbreaking to cause Florida to lose 30 points and miss the playoffs like part of HF seems to think but neither myself or Vegas buys it. As is I have them down 13 points which is significant.
2. Tampa- 106 points: A team that’s never cared about positioning, with the loss of McDonagh and Palat along with major injuries to Cirelli and Bogosian, I have them firmly in 3rd. One of the more interesting moves of the summer was keeping Philippe Myers, who has looked bad for several years and who had a unique buyout that actually would have increased Tampa’s cap room this year. They chose to keep him and he looks slotted in a top 4 role. Diamond in the rough of rare slipup?

4. Boston-99 points (wildcard): I may have had Boston out of the playoffs if the didn’t bring back Bergeron and Krecji. An older team, significant injuries to Marchand and McAvoy will have the Bruins in a tough spot the 1st half. But bringing back 2 good players should give them enough leeway. I like Jim Montgomery but have no idea why Cassidy was fired and not Sweeney. I'd have done it the other way around.

1. Ottawa-89 points: For these non-playoff teams it gets tricky. I don’t really buy the Sens hype. Giroux is still very good, nice signing. Debrincat trade, what a fleece job. But this was a 70 point team last year. Sure they had a tough covid run but I just don’t see the 30 point improvement needed to make the playoffs. Please get Chabot some help back there.
2. Detroit- 88 points: Copp and Perron are nice players. They have some great young players. I like Husso. In the same vein as Ottawa though, I don’t think they’ve closed the gap enough on the top teams. Also I don’t know what Ben Chariot does to a MFer, Zito gave up so much and Yzerman gave an awful contract, both of these guys are good GMs but no idea why he’s being paid as a borderline top pairing guy/#3.
3. Buffalo-85 points: Buffalo was good in the second half. A lot of fun to watch. Tage Thompson and Tuch were great, Dahlin improved, Power looks like the real deal. I’m just not a fan of their goaltending. 6k doesn’t look ready to carry the load, Comrie was good but 15 starts last year isn’t enough and he hasn’t shown much in his career till then, and Craig Anderson is 800 years old.
4. Montreal-62 points: Kent Hughes has done a nice job (Monahan and a 1st, BEN CHARIOT FOR A 1ST, excuse the caps) and they have some nice young players but this is going to be a very bad year (or good, Bedard sweepstakes?). It’s a great year to tank but they’ll have some tough competition in Chicago, Arizona and Philly.

Toronto - Has kept the same core pieces as last year

Florida - The loss is bigger than you'd like to admit. Huberdeau, Weegar, Marchment, Giroux, Chiarot, Duclair (injured)

Ottawa - Great additions, young up and coming core

Boston - Older core and some injuries on the roster

Detroit - Up and coming team, just not there yet

Buffalo - Still figuring it out

Montreal - Tanking for Bedard

There she be!!

 

[93gilmour93]

Toronto
Tampa
Florida
Boston
Ottawa
Detroit
Buffalo
Montreal

 

[WhereAreTheCookies]

1 - Tampa - 110 points - Still the team to beat in the division. Don't think they start as cold as they did last season. Kuch and Point remain healthy.
2 - Toronto - 105 points Goaltending is a mystery box, but they can outscore their problems in the regular season most nights.
3 - Florida - 101 points - Lost some depth and a top pairing Dman. I think they find themselves playing a lot more close games than last season and relying more on Bob and Knight.
4 - Ottawa - 96 points - Added scoring and improved in goal. D will be a concern, but I think they did enough to make a push for a playoff spot if they get the same level of goaltending as last season.
5 - Boston - 92 points - Early season injuries could put them in a hole, will fight to the end, but I think they just miss.
6 - Buffalo - 86 points - Minimal adds externally, a lot of young players coming in and a full season from Tuch. Comrie had 1 good season, but has a low bar set following Tokarski, Dell and Subban.
7 - Detroit - 84 points - Added a lot of UFA's, not convinced that D is significantly better. 3rd most goals against last season, not sure Husso and the UFA's added will be enough to drop that by 50 or 60.
8 - Montreal - 64 points - I think we see growth from their youth, and maybe a little more effort from some of the vets. Still a team that looks to be in transition and their D is probably worse than last season.

 

[dalewood12]

Toronto
Florida
Tampa
Buffalo
Boston
Ottawa
Detroit
Montreal

 

[TheRumble]

If Montreal finishes with above 60 points, say goodbye to Bedard.

There's gonna be a lot of teams this year chasing him.

 

[Pavels Dog]

How does Detroit high end talent stack up against the top?


Yeah they got better but they are still very thin at the top and their offense lacks true superstars.

Boston& Ottawa should easy be ranked higher than them

Boston’s dealing with injuries and if Bergeron/Marchand slow down at all they’re in trouble. Ottawa’s forward talent is slightly better than Detroit but I think Detroit’s better at D and goalie.

 

[wintersej]

Boston finished 4th and lost Marchand and McAvoy until January while only adding Krecji, how lol?

When did November become January in these boards? Bruins are losing Marchand and McAvoy for 20 odd games…while adding Lindholm and Krejci for 70-80 games.

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

1- Toronto ( they show no heart in the playoffs but still a very good regular season team )
2- Tampa ( Mcd and Palat gone but still have elite players like Hedman,Kucherov,Point and Stamkos )
3 - Florida ( losing Huberdeau and Weegar will hurt but still a good team )
4 - Ottawa ( the young guns will be better and adding Giroux and Debrincat will help alot )
5 - Boston ( still a good team but getting older )
6 - Detroit ( slowly moving up )
7 - Buffalo ( probably the team with the best prospects but still early )
8 - Canadiens ( already a bad team and we lost Toffoli,Chiarot,Lehkonen,Kulak and Petry )

 

[thewookie1]

1. Tampa - 108 pts - Do their typical early season stumbles but yet again roll out of it to capture #1 in the Atlantic Division
2. Toronto - 103 pts - The goaltending is suspect, Murray at one point looks good and is lauded as the Vezina favorite only to spiral badly. Toronto's offense is why they are here.
3. Florida - 102 pts - Losing so many instrumental pieces causes them some strife early on but they rebound well once chemistry is formed.
4. Buffalo - 96 pts - The Sabres finally make the playoffs after continued success of Thompson and Dahlin along with the group having competent goaltending. They are able to finally connect a hot start with a good finish
5. Boston - 90 pts - The start of the year kills the Bruins and although they have the 2nd best record past February, they are too far gone to catch the Wild Card
6. Ottawa - 87 pts - The Sens have a slow start as the new pieces meld but untimely injuries harass the roster through the latter stages of the year
7. Detroit - 80 pts - The masters of inconsistency, multiple streaks of wins and losses and Husso struggles behind such a different defensive system. Seider has a slight hiccup early on causing threads to pop up only for him to resume his normal course by December.
8. Montreal - 63 pts - The Canadiens have a few bright spots but goaltending and spotty offensive output leaves their fans in agony. Allen is traded in December, out west, and it deflates what little hope the team's faithful had for this year; however hope still brews with Caulfield, Suzuki, and friends.