2016/17 Season predictions (your team)

[Finnflash]

Fairly straight forward

1. Your team - Winnipeg Jets
2. Where they will end up in the standings - 5th in the centeral and 20th in the league
3. Why - they didn't improve a lot. They have some good young talent but I can't see them beating anyone ahead of them in the central. It will take another year for this team to make a significant move up in the standings

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[ProstheticConscience]

1) Canucks.
2) Just outside playoffs.
3) Some of the young guys will improve, the Sedins with Eriksson will give us back top line scoring, but we're still run by morons. The team will be just good enough to get a middle-of-the-pack draft pick and still miss the playoffs.

 

[RememberTheName]

1) Devils
2) 5th in the Metro, 15th in the league
3) The Devils have been one of the most improved teams in the league in the past 2 years. They added one of the best 5v5 scorers in the game, with Mike Cammalleri hopefully staying healthy, and Zacha joining the Devils (99% sure), I dont see why the Devils cant add a good 30-40 goals to their total from last year. Even though they lost their top defenseman in Larsson, they still have a top 3 goalie in Schneider, and a slightly below average defense. I feel like the Devils might just be able to squeak into the last wild card spot in the East, but it would be reasonable to expect them to not make the playoffs. I would have to think that by as early as this year, they could possibly be a playoff team.

 

[Mike Hasselhoffman]

1)

2) 2nd in Atlantic, 7th overall in the league

3) With a healthy Carey Price, this team is an automatic playoff contender. The additions of Weber and Shaw add some much needed grit and leadership, filling a void that was sorely kamina last year. The addition of Radulov finally gives us that 1 more top-6 forward we've been looking for. With Galchenyuk finally established as the #1C, we finally have a legit top line. Plus Kirk Muller behind the bench should help as well.

 

[TheImpatientPanther]

1)

2) 2nd in Atlantic, 8th overall in the league

3) Our whole defense was overhauled to become more efficient at the transition game. If our PP starts clicking around 20% then we are fighting for the division title with Tampa and Montreal. Yandle replaces Campbell, Demers replaces Gudbranson and many will get a glimpse of Matheson and the speed and puck moving skills he has. We lost some grit and sandpaper in trades but confident this defense is will show up on the scoresheet more than last year and we need it. Honestly think Ekblad could hit 20 goals this year.

Jagr and Jokinen may take a step back but the young guns will step up to take the slack. Our top 6 stayed the same but that wasn't a concern at all last year. Bottom 6 has a lot more speed and skill now. Excited to get a look at McCann and what he can do on a line with Bjugstad. Huberdeau, Barkov and Trocheck will be counted on as leaders this year.

Lu is healthy but feel a 50-55/25-30 split with Reimer would keep him fresh for the playoff run. These two are full of personality so it'll be fun to see them together. Hope Reimer can pick Lu's brain and take his game to the next level.

 

[KirkOut]

Blues

2nd-4th in the Central, 3rd-7th overall in the west

They will most likely be worse than last year. They lost Backes, Elliott, and Brouwer. They replaced them with David Perron and Carter Hutton. Doesn't look like Sobotka is coming back. Hopefully Fabbri and Parayko continue to improve after good rookie seasons.

 

[Flair Hay]

I can't shake the feeling Jets end up finishing 9th this year with Edmonton beating them for the final spot.

 

[CrypTic]

2nd in Pacific, 10th in the NHL.

Modest improvement over last season, mostly due to Couture being healthy

Thornton and Pavelski slightly regress but having Couture back will help more than their regression hurts. Marleau and Boedker are wild cards: Boedker might work really well either with the Joes, Couture, or on the 3rd line or he might not work out. Marleau might continue to regress or he might bounce back (not to his career highs, obviously).

D and goal:
Schlemko and DeMelo are improvements over Polak. Burns, Vlasic, and Braun should continue to play well. Martin should be fine for this season, although they may need to watch his minutes.

Jones should be a bit better now that he has a full season as starter under his belt. They need to find a good back up though. I don't want them riding Jones the way TMac used to ride Niemi.

For the young forwards:
Donskoi will improve: he and Couture started clicking in the playoffs and I expect that to continue. Tierney should continue to improve. I don't know which rookies will make the team (if any) but I think Meier, Sorenson, or Goldobin could potentially add a lot. (emphasis on potentially)

 

[Blueshirts 94]

4th in Metro, 7-8th in East.

Yes, they improved the bottom six forwards a ton. Vesey, Buchnevich, Pirri, and Grabner are a sizable improvement over E.Staal, Glass, Moore, and Stoll who we saw last year. That still doesn't make up for downgrading from Yandle and Boyle to Skjei and McIlrath/Holden. With Staal and Girardi both expected to be in the top 4 on D, I was reluctant to even give them a playoff spot, but with Hank it's almost a guarantee that they make it.

I can't see them above Pittsburgh, Washington, or the Isles, but they're a playoff team.

 

[MackAttack26]

4th in Atlantic, 16th in NHL

From the personal growth of the many young talented guys (Eichel, Reinhart, Ristolainen, etc) they should gain a few points alone, and you could see even the 2nd half of the year last year this impact had with a great finish. The change from Pysyk to Kulikov vastly improves our LHD which was a disaster last year and pushes Gorges to the 3rd pair where he belongs. The addition of a top line scorer in Okposo should help immensly for a team that still struggled to consistently produce last year. Getting Ennis back from injury gives us another 40+ point potential guy and a healthy Lehner could be a huge boost if he proves all the doubters wrong and establishes himself as a true #1 goalie. I expect a dogfight for that final WC spot with Ottawa.

 

[Liminality]

1)

2)7th in Atlantic, 13th in East, 24th overall.

3)Why they don't improve anymore than this. Too many inexperienced players will show their inconsistencies. Team defense and structure will be inconsistent on a nightly basis and make the defense and goaltending look worse than it really is. Lots of players being brought up and down to see what they can bring to the team.

Why they improved from last season. Rookies showing flashes of brilliance, dominating at times. Faster team game from the forwards with all the rookies and the defense with the addition of Zaitsev. Andersen stealing some games when the team makes mistakes in front of him.

 

[leaflover]

34-39-9 sounds about right.
More youth injected and very little chemistry again to start this season. Next season will see a further injection of youth as 3 of the bad forward contracts expire but some key prospects will have experience at that point so I can see a bigger improvement then.
Patience is important at this point in the project, there's still pain on the immediate horizon.

 

[SJSharksfan39]

Second in the pacific would be fine and I guess between the 9-12 range in the league. It's going to be another race between the California Teams, even though I would love to see teams like Calgary and Edmonton up there too. Heck, I want to see the entire division be good because that's exciting hockey.

I'm glad the Sharks got some depth in Boedker and Schlemko. One of the things I kept hearing last year was DeBoar can really get a lot out of his guys in the first year but then there is a drop off in the second. Well, the first year was the Sharks first trip to the Stanley Cup Final, so if there is a drop off, I hope it's not a big one. Once you get into the playoffs, it's such a different thing from the regular season but I expect the Sharks to go far in the playoffs again.

I'm really looking forward to the season now.

 

[IWantSakicAsMyGM]

Avs
Playoffs
Because the last two times we've had a new head coach, we made the playoffs.

 

[1Boliever]

1. Flames
2. 3rd in Pacific, 7th in West
3. Got 2 NHL caliber goalies, to go along with a top offense, and 3 fantastic defenders, with no Smid or Russell.

 

[Datsyukian Deke]

Wings
Battling for 8th or 9th
Because we still have a GM & front office that are utterly clueless.

(Same old mediocrity since 2010)

 

[Lapa]

1) Wild
2) 4th in the Central. Eliminated in the 2nd round by the Blackhawks.
3) Boudreau was a good addition, but we will get destroyed by the Hawks in the playoffs as usual.

 

[CanadianDestroyer]

1) Oilers
2) 4th in Pacific (Wild Card) lose first round
3) Lucic and Pulujarvi become the wingers McDavid needs, Larsson/Klefbom become a great tandem and the Oilers squeak into a wild card spot after a team or two collapses in the West.

 

[The Macho King]

Tampa
2nd in Atlantic. 5th in league.
No more Carle but not a lot has changed other than that. Some inconsistencies in the regular season the past few years probably will linger. Could win the Presidents Trophy or be a WC team depending on that consistency.

 

[Redline]

Blues

2nd-4th in the Central, 3rd-7th overall in the west

They will most likely be worse than last year. They lost Backes, Elliott, and Brouwer. They replaced them with David Perron and Carter Hutton. Doesn't look like Sobotka is coming back. Hopefully Fabbri and Parayko continue to improve after good rookie seasons.

That's a safe bet. Fabbri was very impressive during the regular season and even moreso during the playoffs.
Parayko, well the WC showed us he didn't lose anything over the summer.