Atlantic Division Preseason Power Rankings

[Lenny the Lynx]

And yet in the same article, it said we acquired "no one worth noting".

... but then he ended up noting O'Connor like one paragraph later in a crazy notion of him being our possible starting goalie?

It's saying he'd be the starting goalie for a terrible team though. So not notable.

Doubt he will make it till playoffs, after Boston finishes 6-7th in the division this season.

Boston finishes 4th. Did you even read the article?

 

[QuietOnTheFront]

Should've read the comments first..

 

[OgieO]

Saying the Sens did nothing to improve has been heard fairly constantly this off-season, and its lazy.

The development of our younger players - Zibby, Stone, Hoffman, Ceci, Weircioch, Lazar, Pageau, Chiasson, Prince, Puempel, etc are our "moves" this offseason. That's exactly why we didn't really "stay put" or "stand in the same position" as last year. We're trending up and our youth is driving the bus.

Heck, even Karlsson can be better than last year and he's already a superstar.

 

[topshelf15]

Saying the Sens did nothing to improve has been heard fairly constantly this off-season, and its lazy.

The development of our younger players - Zibby, Stone, Hoffman, Ceci, Weircioch, Lazar, Pageau, Chiasson, Prince, Puempel, etc are our "moves" this offseason. That's exactly why we didn't really "stay put" or "stand in the same position" as last year. We're trending up and our youth is driving the bus.

Heck, even Karlsson can be better than last year and he's already a superstar.

But if we got Kassian or Semin..........

 

[BankStreetParade]

Guys, take it easy on the kid, he's only been a hockey fan since 2011.

 

[source]

Saying the Sens did nothing to improve has been heard fairly constantly this off-season, and its lazy.

The development of our younger players - Zibby, Stone, Hoffman, Ceci, Weircioch, Lazar, Pageau, Chiasson, Prince, Puempel, etc are our "moves" this offseason. That's exactly why we didn't really "stay put" or "stand in the same position" as last year. We're trending up and our youth is driving the bus.

Heck, even Karlsson can be better than last year and he's already a superstar.

Our young players will improve, for sure. But, our 4th line remains a big problem unless new players like Puempel, Prince, or others can improve drastically and take the spots of Neil, Chiasson, Greening, Smith, etc.

If we had Montreal's 4th line and they had ours last playoffs, we would have won that series.

 

[tony d]

No way should Buffalo be ranked ahead of us, also Florida's better than #7 in the division.

For the record here's mine:

Tampa Bay, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Florida, Buffalo, Boston, Toronto

 

[Xspyrit]

Lightning
Sens
Wings
Habs
Panthers
Bruins
Sabres
Leafs

Does it makes more sense?

 

[aragorn]

I expect Ottawa to be around 3rd in our division & 7th in the conference again.

1. Tampa 110 pts - solid team in every respect, should be the class of the division
2. Montreal 108 pts - Price should again win half their games by himself
3. Ottawa 102 pts - should be a better team at every position with much more depth
4. Detroit 98 pts - they find these gems who fill in the missing pieces
5. Boston 94 pts - off season moves could hurt this team significantly
6. Florida 92 pts - at some point their young players have to step up
7. Buffalo 78 pts - if Lehner can play well Buff should be much improved
8. Toronto 68 pts - I expect Toronto to pick first overall in 2016 draft

 

[Sens of Anarchy]

Price had a hell of a year last year. IMO he will need to be very similar for Montreal to finish ahead of the Sens. I see them around the 100 pt mark if all goes well. That should be good for 3/4 in the Division and 7/8 in the conference.

The core young guys will need to take another step and Anderson will need to stay healthy.

 

[operasen]

Tampa - got Condra
Montreal - still a force with Price
Detroit - they got better with Richards
Ottawa - lost Condra, crap roster bottom with Greening, Smith, Neil, Chiasson
Buffalo - they will be right behind us all year
Boston - loss of Lucic and Hamilton will hurt
Florida - could leap Bruins
Toronto - they are looking for No1 overall anyway

Once we promote Prince, Puempel, Paul quality players we will move up. Keeping Greening, Neil, Chiasson, Smith quality is not good enough. Been said all summer, and not much can be done about it until Murray polishes his magic trade wand.

 

[Nac Mac Feegle]

Honestly, after Tampa, there are about 5 teams (Ottawa, Florida, Montreal, Detroit, Boston) fighting for the last 2 playoff spots in the division. I do not see the Atlantic bringing 4 teams to the playoffs next year.

So, we basically have a 50/50 shot of getting in (yes, I know 5 teams for 2 spots isn't exactly 50/50, but we have some upward momentum in our favor). Nothing significant separates that group of 5. It'll come down to puck luck and injuries throughout the year, methinks.

 

[StefanW]

Was hoping for a definition of 'power ranking' since the term is so ubiquitous. Sadly, none provided.

The writeup on Boston was especially painful to read.

I am not going to comment on the article, but the bolded part is interesting. I have heard the argument made several times that if a detailed outline of the weightings are not provided it is a prediction, not a power ranking. Power ranking is all about identifying key metrics, assigning values, and posting a rank order based on the those scores as the season progresses.

 

[DylanSensFan]

The Atlantic Division was wild down to the very end, and teams have made their moves in hopes it gets them in that top three or four spots into the playoffs. How does your team rank coming into the new season? Read and comment with where you think your team falls!

http://alongtheboards.com/2015/08/atlantic-division-preseason-power-rankings/

You have the bruins in 4th? HAHAHAHAHA

That right there tells the tale.

 

[DylanSensFan]

No way should Buffalo be ranked ahead of us, also Florida's better than #7 in the division.

For the record here's mine:

Tampa Bay, Detroit, Montreal, Ottawa, Florida, Buffalo, Boston, Toronto

Tampa,Montreal,Ottawa,Detroit,Buffalo,Florida, Toronto ,Boston

 

[bert]

The Atlantic Division was wild down to the very end, and teams have made their moves in hopes it gets them in that top three or four spots into the playoffs. How does your team rank coming into the new season? Read and comment with where you think your team falls!

http://alongtheboards.com/2015/08/atlantic-division-preseason-power-rankings/

Florida and Ottawa 6th and 7th haha ok dont quit your day job.

 

[Sens Rule]

I mean i do admit that i am little upset that we didn't fix our defense. This is will be third year in a row where we just go with our kids on defense.

It is still like a millionfold better then Buffalo's. Our goaltending a billion times better and our forwards quadrillions times better.

Picking Buffalo ahead of Ottawa is absurd.

 

[Icelevel]

Senators could win the stanley cup this year. Everyone knows this is true.

 

[DCHabitant]

In fairness to the author, his rankings aren't any worse than some of the "professional" rankings I've been listening to on the SiriusXM NHL Network. Some have Ottawa ranked 23rd/24th in the league, which I don't agree with. I think the Sens will battle with Detroit for 3rd in the Atlantic, and have a good shot of making it to the Playoffs again this year. (One of the "professional" analysts had Calgary at #3 in the NHL. IMO, way too much love for Calgary, not enough for the Sens OR Habs.)

The author may have gotten into hockey only recently, but his views aren't any worse than those of some hockey "veterans", including many on this board.

 

[Super Cake]

I stopped listening to predictions.

After the 2012-2013 season, the Sens were predicted to make the playoffs the 2013-2014 season. Well the Sens ended up missing.

After the 2013-2014 season, the Sens were predicted to miss the playoffs in the 2014-2015 season. Well the Sens ended up going on a miracle run and made the playoffs.

So i personally have stopped giving a **** what predictions "experts" have made on where the Sens will place in the 2015-2016 season.

 

[DCHabitant]

But if we got Kassian or Semin..........

Well, Kassian and Semin are a definite upgrade over Prust and Parenteau. Semin's a wild card, but is playing for an NHL contract (and last season aside, he's been reliably productive. And having him on the PP, will help create more room for Subban, who will again challenge EK for the scoring title among defensemen.) And Kassian was on pace for 20+ goals last season. It's not a stretch to say that together they might provide the Habs with 20-25 more goals--which might enough to move them from 18th in GF to 7th-10th.

So laugh away, but I think the Habs did improve in the off-season. As for the Sens, I think they'll be better because their young guns will have another year under their belt and continue to improve. I think Sens are 2nd best Canadian team right now, with Jets a close 3rd.

 

[DCHabitant]

Tampa,Montreal,Ottawa,Detroit,Buffalo,Florida, Toronto ,Boston

Almost right. I say Habs (homer ranking), Tampa, Ottawa, Detroit, Florida, Boston, Buffalo, Toronto.

 

[salomonster]

The Senators played .800 hockey the last part of the season to make the playoffs with huge seasons from key notable rookies in Stone, Hoffman, Hammon.

Why would they make big changes and delve into a super weak and highly overrated UFA pool.

I congratulate the upper management for not making big changes to the D corps.

Guys like Weircoch and Cowen don't have to / they MUST play to progress... And they will. Weirchoch showed the progression down the end of the season and in the WC with Canada.

Cowen has been injured... And now that he's healthy what you're not going to play him??? The SENS need to see what they have in him. Like it or not. He must play just in the fact to be showcased.

Senators will be battling it out with the Wing and Habs for 2nd in the Atlantic.