What teams are best set for contending the next 5yrs?

[Lshap]

yes, but 5 years from now is very different from "over the next 5 years".

Yes, the thread title sounds like it's asking which current contenders will remain contenders over the next five years. Frankly, the most logical answer is none of them. The next year or two? Sure. Over five years? Doubtful. Which is probably why the conversation has drifted into the more interesting tangent of upcoming contenders.

And that's where teams like San Jose, Montreal, Anaheim, Seattle, etc. come in. It's a safe bet that between now and 5 years, at least one bottom team will become a contender, while at the same time many top teams will fall out of the playoffs.

 

[dgibb10]

Yes, the thread title sounds like it's asking which current contenders will remain contenders over the next five years. Frankly, the most logical answer is none of them. The next year or two? Sure. Over five years? Doubtful. Which is probably why the conversation has drifted into the more interesting tangent of upcoming contenders.

And that's where teams like San Jose, Montreal, Anaheim, Seattle, etc. come in. It's a safe bet that between now and 5 years, at least one bottom team will become a contender, while at the same time many top teams will fall out of the playoffs.

I'd say the top 5 teams of the last 5 years have been VGK, Colorado, Tampa, Florida, and Boston.

4/5 of them were already contenders 6 and 7 years ago.

And florida was more mediocre than bottom feeder. They were projected to make the playoffs preseason of 19-20

You can throw in Dallas, Carolina, TML, Edmonton, and NYR to round out the 10 best teams if you want. Only NYR and Edmonton weren't projected to make the playoffs heading into 2019-2020

Teams like Anaheim, MTL, SJS likely have best case scenarios of 3 playoff appearances in the next 5 years.

 

[TheDoldrums]

Reading much? Top9 aint a topliner... That is part of the 3 top lines. Helps to comprehend what you read. "7of the 9 topliners" usually mean Top9 doesnt it?

"9 topliners" to describe the top 9 is not something I've ever heard or anyone has ever said. Sounds like you're saying 9 players capable of playing on the top line. Helps to be writing in your first language when you act condescending Laine fan!

 

[dalewood12]

Dallas
Vancouver
New Jersey

 

[Chaos2k7]

It takes both the organization proving their plan and worth to the players they want to retain and a desire from those said players to stay within the team framework to keep the band together.

AM34 for an example gave no discount to the Leafs in negotiations while simultaneously reaping all the tax benefits of a no state income tax with the way they set up his bonus structure and yearly salaries inside of his new deal. While still having access to all the extra opportunities to make cash away from the rink in one of the largest markets in the league.

Nowadays players have enough knowledge and financial planning/assistance to be able to make many of these perceived tax advantages work for them regardless of where they are playing.

Winning in this league is alot more complicated than simple geography and tax brackets unfortunately.

 

[AvatarAang]

.

 

[Pablo El Perro]

Why are you discussing with another strawman? I never argued any of this.

Taxes are surely a factor, as is weather and country (USA) along with everything else that can be a variable, such as whatever you discussed with our straw friends.


I don't disagree with you.

You never argued anything. An assertion isn't an argument.

 

[RandV]

5-6 years ago, Edmonton and NYR were bottom-feeders, and Florida didn't make the playoffs. Among the top teams were San Jose, Calgary, Washington, and NYI.

People have a hard time remembering how drastically the landscape changes in 5-6 years.

Yes but realistically what you have half a dozen or more of these types of teams each year and room for maybe only 1 of them to take the next step up. The last two seasons that's been New Jersey and Vancouver, there's no guaranteed method to predict who's next and even if you do make the jump to the playoffs doesn't make you a 'contender'.

There's a gradual change over but still half the teams making to look the jump now were still in the same place 5 years ago.

 

[Lshap]

I'd say the top 5 teams of the last 5 years have been VGK, Colorado, Tampa, Florida, and Boston.

4/5 of them were already contenders 6 and 7 years ago.

And florida was more mediocre than bottom feeder. They were projected to make the playoffs preseason of 19-20

You can throw in Dallas, Carolina, TML, Edmonton, and NYR to round out the 10 best teams if you want. Only NYR and Edmonton weren't projected to make the playoffs heading into 2019-2020

Teams like Anaheim, MTL, SJS likely have best case scenarios of 3 playoff appearances in the next 5 years.

Tampa is a potential playoff team but no longer a serious contender. They had their window; it's closed.

Florida missed the playoffs five years ago. As you said, they were mediocre until becoming a top team in 2022. Bobrovsky is 36 and other key players are 29/30. They've enjoyed a three-year window, but I don't see it lasting another five years.

Colorado has been on the downswing since winning the Cup, and Boston hasn't made it past the 2nd round since 2019.

Vegas and Dallas might be the only current contenders who might still be good over the next 5 years. The rest had their time. The next wave of contenders to take their place will come from today's mid and bottom teams.

As far as bottom teams, going from bad to contender is common:
- In 2016/17 Colorado finished dead last in the league. Five years later they won the Cup.
- In 2015/16, Toronto was dead last in the league. The following year they were in the playoffs and have remained there.
- Edmonton was bottom-3 in the league from 2013/14 through 2015/16, and a lottery team five years ago in 2018/19.
- NYR were a lottery team in 2018 and 2019.

Yes but realistically what you have half a dozen or more of these types of teams each year and room for maybe only 1 of them to take the next step up. The last two seasons that's been New Jersey and Vancouver, there's no guaranteed method to predict who's next and even if you do make the jump to the playoffs doesn't make you a 'contender'.

There's a gradual change over but still half the teams making to look the jump now were still in the same place 5 years ago.

Sure. Not every bad team is rebuilding, and not every rebuild is successful. But some bad teams become really good within five years. As noted above, both of this year's Cup finalists missed the playoffs five years ago with one finishing 7th worst. Colorado went from league-worst to Cup champs within five years.

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

Yzerman literally already had an insane roster. Zito didn’t. Zito made the roster excellent. You’re reaching so hard Becuase your team can’t win at all. Taxes dont benefit as much as you think. Endorsement deals in Canada are worth so much more but let’s not talk about that.

I suspect endorsement deals in Canada are not worth much at all.

 

[dgibb10]

Tampa is a potential playoff team but no longer a serious contender. They had their window; it's closed.

Florida missed the playoffs five years ago. As you said, they were mediocre until becoming a top team in 2022. Bobrovsky is 36 and other key players are 29/30. They've enjoyed a three-year window, but I don't see it lasting another five years.

Colorado has been on the downswing since winning the Cup, and Boston hasn't made it past the 2nd round since 2019.

Vegas and Dallas might be the only current contenders who might still be good over the next 5 years. The rest had their time. The next wave of contenders to take their place will come from today's mid and bottom teams.

As far as bottom teams, going from bad to contender is common:
- In 2016/17 Colorado finished dead last in the league. Five years later they won the Cup.
- In 2015/16, Toronto was dead last in the league. The following year they were in the playoffs and have remained there.
- Edmonton was bottom-3 in the league from 2013/14 through 2015/16, and a lottery team five years ago in 2018/19.
- NYR were a lottery team in 2018 and 2019.


Sure. Not every bad team is rebuilding, and not every rebuild is successful. But some bad teams become really good within five years. As noted above, both of this year's Cup finalists missed the playoffs five years ago with one finishing 7th worst. Colorado went from league-worst to Cup champs within five years.

You again fail to understand the difference between "over the next 5 years" and "5 years from now"

Being good in the first 2-3 years is a significant part of contending over the next 5 years.

Here were the projected top 16 teams by preseason O/U going into 19-20.

5 years later, 12 of them still made the playoffs.

These big team jumps you are talking about are on the backs of literal generational talents.

McDavid
Mackinnon
Matthews
Igor

 

[Lshap]

You again fail to understand the difference between "over the next 5 years" and "5 years from now"

Being good in the first 2-3 years is a significant part of contending over the next 5 years.

Here were the projected top 16 teams by preseason O/U going into 19-20.

5 years later, 12 of them still made the playoffs.
View attachment 914953


These big team jumps you are talking about are on the backs of literal generational talents.

McDavid
Mackinnon
Matthews
Igor

I understood it perfectly. It was explained to you earlier:

Yes, the thread title sounds like it's asking which current contenders will remain contenders over the next five years. Frankly, the most logical answer is none of them. The next year or two? Sure. Over five years? Doubtful. Which is probably why the conversation has drifted into the more interesting tangent of upcoming contenders.

And that's where teams like San Jose, Montreal, Anaheim, Seattle, etc. come in. It's a safe bet that between now and 5 years, at least one bottom team will become a contender, while at the same time many top teams will fall out of the playoffs.

I later appended that by saying Vegas and Dallas may be the only teams to fit the thread's literal criterion. Aside from that, everything I said was 100% factual, based on actual results, not oddsmakers' projections.

A reminder the point of this thread is about being a contender over the next five years, not merely making the playoffs, or being good for two or three years.