I literally listed how the two bottom teams in the division still have 88 and 87 points....... In my post I talk about how much parity there is going to be in the east with very few high end teams. But not very many bad ones either. I think the teams with the 3 best records in the east will be in the Metro.
ok then I guess it's possible. Florida losing 12 pts and Boston 9 pts, shared within the division between the progressing teams (Ottawa, Buffalo, etc)
The Rangers and Canes are quite good but who would be that 3rd team? Caps? Maybe Devils or Flyers
As for the rest of your post you really dont seem to grasp the concept of players playing in their correct roles and teams are being built with a purpose. Not just accumulating as much talent as they can when its fitting a square peg into a round hole. They have a better HOCKEY team this year. Players with defined roles and jobs, playing in positions to succeed. Players that are not inconsistent, that have more leadership and hockey sense. For all the hating you do on Dorion you dont seem to recognize that his biggest fault of all was not understanding how to build a hockey team. He has never been in a room he doesnt know the sport this way. He was a good scout, he could identify talent he could not and did not know how to build a winner with a strong culture. Thankfully real hockey people are making the decisions now that have actually been there.
lol I have been talking about "proper roster construction" for years. There was so many Dorion "faults" that it's impossible to mention everything in every post.
It's ok if you believe that having a declining 34 y/o instead of Chabot/Chychrun on RD will fix this team but personally I think it comes down to :
- much better goaltending
- efficient 2-way coaching (play "the right way")
- more health from Chabot, Norris and Stutzle (and even Zub, no serious injury to key players)
- continued progression of Sanderson, Stutzle, Pinto and Greig
All of this happens and we are a contender IMO (but no playoffs experience though)
That said, outside of replacing Chychrun with a real RHD, not sure why the other changes are much more "fitting"
Perron vs Tarasenko : Perron brings different elements than Tarasenko but thought Tank was actually quite decent last season. 33 ESP in just 57 games. Perron had 30 ESP in 76 games. Neither are defensive stalwarts at this point but Perron could be an upgrade defensively and physically at least. I don't mind this change but wish it was a one year deal
Amadio vs Joseph : I don't see what's so wrong about the way Joseph plays. He's a really good skater very often first on pucks, He plays with fire and feistiness and excels on the PK. He scored more ESP than perron last season. Amadio has a better scoring touch and went to the "right school" in Vegas so at least he shouldn't be a downgrade but I don't like the speed we're losing in Joseph. Today's league is about speed, hockey IQ, transition ability and skill.
Gregor vs Kelly : Kelly is much tougher, more physical and better defensively. Gregor is a better skater and both are probably equal offensively. Also don't see how this change contributes to building a team with a "purpose"
Kleven vs Brannstrom : Kleven has the size for the corners and in front of the net but lacks NHL experience and we have no idea how good he's going to be in transition/play driving. Maybe I'm not realistic but I don't expect Kleven to be better in his rookie year. Maybe optically for some he will but
what interests me is to outchance and outscore the other team. That is why I'd much much rather have a guy like Brannstrom than Hamonic, for example.
