2016-17 Standings prediction

[BurntToast]

There are 4 teams that form the guranteed spots in the east and are a step above everyone else.

Pitt, Florida, Tampa, Washington.

Those 4 are getting in and contending barring injury issues.

Everyone else is a step down but don't really have much seperation between them right now.

Anyone of Rags, Isles, Devils, Boston, Montreal, Buffalo, Detroit, Columbus, Ottawa, Philly could finish between 5th and 13th in the conference.

Some have better odds than others (team like Ottawa more likely to be closer to 13) but there won't be a ton of seperation here.

Can't realistically guranteed the Rags a spot. They have not improved a meh team from last year. Their D is another year older (and slower) and Henry is getting older too. They will still
Have issues scoring as well.

There are a number of match up headaches in the Metro alone for them that could see them pushed out. Speed is that team's kryptonite and there are a number of speedy teams in this division.

Honestly no team is a lock. Using that logic Caps should of been a lock to win the cup for a few years. Canadians started the season like a bat out of hell, and the Pens were struggling to stay even before they went in opposite directions. I feel both Florida teams are overrated, but the Panthers made a few moves this offseason to keep them going in the right direction.

 

[Zippy316]

Honestly no team is a lock. Using that logic Caps should of been a lock to win the cup for a few years. Canadians started the season like a bat out of hell, and the Pens were struggling to stay even before they went in opposite directions. I feel both Florida teams are overrated, but the Panthers made a few moves this offseason to keep them going in the right direction.

Tampa, Florida, Washington, and Pittsburgh al have elite top-end talent at all positions, great depth, and solid goaltending.

The rest of the teams have only one or two of those areas.

 

[DevilsFanInFla]

Florida may have an issue with goaltending. I am a big fan of Lu but he is coming off hip surgery. While it may be fine and no big deal, he is 37 so recovery time is likely to be slower and judging any lingering effects is impossible. They signed Reimer to a long deal and he is ok but hard to get a read on as he was in Toronto but looked decent enough there and looked good in SJ but how can he handle a starters workload in the system in Florida remains to be seen. Otherwise, Florida looks good for a playoff spot but I'd argue it all rests on goalie performance. I'd say that Tampa, Pitt, Washington are all more or less locks for the playoffs barring injuries and the rest of the teams are in the hunt. I do think this will be a VERY interesting season and will keep us all watching well past the trade deadline. A nice change of pace from the past 4 seasons regardless of the outcome.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Honestly no team is a lock. Using that logic Caps should of been a lock to win the cup for a few years. Canadians started the season like a bat out of hell, and the Pens were struggling to stay even before they went in opposite directions. I feel both Florida teams are overrated, but the Panthers made a few moves this offseason to keep them going in the right direction.

A lock for the cup and a lock for the playoffs are not the same thing. Unexpected things are more likely to happen in the playoffs. Regular season still follows trends more.

Those are above and beyond the most talented teams in the east.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Tampa, Florida, Washington, and Pittsburgh al have elite top-end talent at all positions, great depth, and solid goaltending.

The rest of the teams have only one or two of those areas.

Depending on how things work out we could have at least two of those as well, maybe even three if some young guys step up.

On the flip side, I don't believe Pitt has elite talent on defense or in net. They have some good talent, but not elite.

 

[BurntToast]

A lock for the cup and a lock for the playoffs are not the same thing. Unexpected things are more likely to happen in the playoffs. Regular season still follows trends more.

Those are above and beyond the most talented teams in the east.

I would say unexpected things happen all season but the margin for error is less in the playoffs. Panther finally have "one" good season and Tampa was a product of a poor division if anything else. They haven't won their division and the metro had 5 better teams. At some point Sabres, Sens will be better. The only team I feel is a true lock is the Caps. Without Cammy's injury and shipping off Stemps we had a good probability to make the playoffs. I think with Corey this team can be top 3, realistically WC. We are better then Flyers, NYC teams. 2 out of 3 have crap goalies and one is imploding with bad contracts.

 

[Zippy316]

Depending on how things work out we could have at least two of those as well, maybe even three if some young guys step up.

On the flip side, I don't believe Pitt has elite talent on defense or in net. They have some good talent, but not elite.

Pittsburgh is the only debatable one of that group.

However, I would say Letang is elite. Maatta, Dumoulin, and Daley are solid depth. Cole, Schultz, and Pouliot are also solid bottom-pairing guys. The way Murray played in the playoffs, he was elite. Regardless, between Fleury/Murray, they could easily have high-end goaltending.

 

[Emperoreddy]

Pittsburgh is the only debatable one of that group.

However, I would say Letang is elite. Maatta, Dumoulin, and Daley are solid depth. Cole, Schultz, and Pouliot are also solid bottom-pairing guys. The way Murray played in the playoffs, he was elite. Regardless, between Fleury/Murray, they could easily have high-end goaltending.

If Letang is elite than so is Greene and we also have elite talent everywhere.

So our question is our depth going from that metric.

 

[MadDevil]

Letang is like a .85 PPG player as a defenseman in the last 5 years. If that's not elite, I'm not sure what is. Unless you're using the same old "he's not good defensively" rhetoric that gets thrown out against every high scoring defenseman.

 

[Bleedred]

The Rangers could go either way.

They did look pretty frickin horrendous against the Pens in the playoffs though, though the Pens made almost every team look pretty bad in the playoffs. The Sharks and Lightning only survived as long as they did against them because of their goaltending. The fact than Henrik had his worst playoff series since his first playoff series in the league against us in 2006, might have made them look just a little worse than they could have. But the goaltending was good for the other 3 opponents and 2 of them only lasted 6 and the Bolts lasted 7.

 

[NJDevils17]

The Rangers are slow, old and middling. They have some nice young guys like Stepan, Miller, Kreider, Zibby and Hayes and a 28?! year old Zuccarello. Zuc is a first liner but the rest of those guys are middle 6 players. Lundqvist is old and their defense is a wreck outside of McDonagh who had one good year and is a 2/3. Not to mention they have like zero prospects outside of Buchnevich.

 

[Zippy316]

If Letang is elite than so is Greene and we also have elite talent everywhere.

So our question is our depth going from that metric.

Letang is like a .85 PPG player as a defenseman in the last 5 years. If that's not elite, I'm not sure what is. Unless you're using the same old "he's not good defensively" rhetoric that gets thrown out against every high scoring defenseman.

This is what I was getting at. Letting is a top-end puck-moving defender who puts up 50+ points a year. Greene is nowhere near that level.

 

[NjDevsRR]

The Rangers are slow

Their forwards are still one of the fastest in the league. Even faster now with Zibanejad.

People are underestimating the Rangers on here for next season. They still have Hank and he is still is good. They still have their core of forwards who are not old and they are fast and the team was 7th in goals scored last season. They are still a playoff team.

Obviously hope I am wrong.

 

[hutter]

Letang is like a .85 PPG player as a defenseman in the last 5 years. If that's not elite, I'm not sure what is. Unless you're using the same old "he's not good defensively" rhetoric that gets thrown out against every high scoring defenseman.

It's not like this is a ridiculous idea. A few of the best high-scoring defensemen are not even replacement level defensively. People always use the "well, offense is the best defense though." But it's not like these players are just totally pushing play all the time. They let up a lot of shots as well. They play very high event hockey.

Doughty, on the other hand, scored 51 points and 14 goals last year and still managed to be one of the best in the league at both creating shot attempts (8th) and denying them (2nd).

All that being said, i'd rather have Letang than Greene, and I would love him on the Devils if he'd stay healthy. This team can definitely afford a high-event net-positive defenseman.

 

[Bleedred]

Their forwards are still one of the fastest in the league. Even faster now with Zibanejad.

People are underestimating the Rangers on here for next season. They still have Hank and he is still is good. They still have their core of forwards who are not old and they are fast and the team was 7th in goals scored last season. They are still a playoff team.

Obviously hope I am wrong.

Yeah I don't think they've quite taken a dive from a playoff making team yet.

I do believe their team is probably done being a playoff threat for a while though. They could still win a round with a favorable matchup or if Henry has a hot round or two. Or if they meet up with the Caps and the Caps once again feel like rolling over to them like every other time, when they clearly should be able to beat them. Especially with a 3-1 lead in a series.

I could see the Islanders falling out though. They downgraded with Ladd replacing Okposo. And that Ladd deal kind of sucks. I also think their goalies are mediocre. Halak can't stay on the ice much anymore, Greiss is probably not as good as he was last year. Berube's NHL play last year was no better than Keith Kinkaid's rookie year in the NHL. I'm not saying they won't make the playoffs, but I think their spot in the playoffs is less safe than the Rangers spot, and much less safer than the Pens or Caps. As well as Tampa and Florida in the Atlantic. They're at Detroit level, could get in or not get in.

 

[Emperoreddy]

This is what I was getting at. Letting is a top-end puck-moving defender who puts up 50+ points a year. Greene is nowhere near that level.

He isn't that good defensively.

Elite is 40-50 points and still be excellent on defense. Letang isn't elite.

 

[Bleedred]

I think Letang is alright defensively, he's kind of like Brent Burns to me in that regard. Burns can make a lot of terrible mistakes in the defensive zone. Some horrendous giveaways, bad pinches, has to bail himself out of his own mistakes, etc. But he's tremendous at offense and I still think Burns does more good than bad, unlike say Eric Gelinas. And Burns mistakes usually come more from high risk plays and being a cowboy. Gelinas was dumb and had little hockey sense and small hockey intelligence. And that's okay that Burns isn't going up against the top lines, with Vlasic doing that for the Sharks.

I think Letang is kind of like that too. Although I wouldn't say he's on the level of Drew Doughty defensively or Duncan Keith either.

I think Letang is kind of like Brian Rafalski, though he's probably a lot better at offense than Rafalski, who was pretty good at offense himself. But Rafalski was never the guy you wanted going up against top competition, unless he was paired with Stevens or Lidstrom. Rafalski wasn't that good defensively either, I don't think he was as bad at defense as Jim does, as I know he's mentioned a few times that he thought Rafalski was one of the worst defensive defensemen to play for the team. I don't think he was THAT bad, but he certainly wasn't great either. He was an amazing puck mover and a good skater, though not a shutdown guy at all.

 

[Zippy316]

He isn't that good defensively.

Elite is 40-50 points and still be excellent on defense. Letang isn't elite.

Is 67 points in 71 games elite? Is 54 points in 69 games elite? Is 38 points in 35 games elite?

He had a .5ppg season in between those, but still, he comes very close to .8PPG or higher in recent years. That is elite in my book.

I don't even think his defense is that bad, to be honest. A lot of times players like him look bad because they are constantly moving around. They aren't stapled behind their forwards making sure they are in prime defensive position so there are times they get exposed. If you're putting up nearly .8 PPG and influencing offense that much, it's a valid opportunity cost.

 

[Edmonton East]

He isn't that good defensively.

Elite is 40-50 points and still be excellent on defense. Letang isn't elite.

As a long time Letang hater, his defense this past season was actually very good. Yes, he was elite.

 

[Stephen Gionta]

Letang is, and always has been, an elite #1 defenseman in the NHL.

Regarding the Rangers - Yeah I just don't see them making the playoffs this year. They aren't that good at all.

 

[Devils Dominion]

Cbj
Pitts
Wash
Rags
Philly
NYb
Carolina
Devils

 

[Bleedred]

Wash
Pitts
NYb
Philly
Devils
Carolina
Rags
Cbj

You actually picked the Rangers to finish second to last in the division?

Shame on anyone who picked the Blue Jackets to finish in last this year, don't you know they have Jarmo as their GM (a certified hockey building GENIUS!) and Torts as their head coach?

 

[tr83]

Letang is elite. The team is a lost without him back there. Most of the elite D in the league are not particularly good playing in their own zone, except Keith, Doughty, and Weber.

BUt he's a much better defensive defenseman than Erik Karlsson or Keith Yandle, who are forwards behind the play.

 

[njdevils1982]

Letang is elite. The team is a lost without him back there. Most of the elite D in the league are not particularly good playing in their own zone, except Keith, Doughty, and Weber.

BUt he's a much better defensive defenseman than Erik Karlsson or Keith Yandle, who are forwards behind the play.

if i were a GM and needed to skirt around the expansion draft criteria i'd make guys like karlsson a forward on the list if needed to make the protect list better for the team….see a guy like big buff.

i hope the concept makes sense even if i think i didnt present it as i would have liked to…..

 

[VoidCreature]

Their forwards are still one of the fastest in the league. Even faster now with Zibanejad.

People are underestimating the Rangers on here for next season. They still have Hank and he is still is good. They still have their core of forwards who are not old and they are fast and the team was 7th in goals scored last season. They are still a playoff team.

Obviously hope I am wrong.

Henrik Lundqvist is my wild card for them. If his performance against the Penguins was injury related, they should be okay.

If it was the bottom falling out on his career, they're in deep ****.