2020 Stanley Cup Favourite #6

[M2Beezy]

So the Las Vegas Golden Knights take the 5th spot after another pretty solid year. Can see them being another top competitor next year as their new core is still there and in tack. Anyways 6 is next folks

1 Tampa Bay 67% 2020 Stanley Cup Favourite #1
2 St Louis 24% HFBoards 2020 Stanley Cup Favourite #2
3 Boston 29% HFBoards 2020 Stanley Cup Favourite #3
4 Washington 31% HFBoards 2020 Stanley Cup Favourite #4
5 Las Vegas 30% 2020 Stanley Cup Favourite #5

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[Huck Cheever]

Should be Nashville, Toronto is just too soft on forward and d. Nashville's goaltending is a notch above as well... Nash has the makings of a Stanley cup winner this year.

Forsberg-Johansen-Arvidsson
Granlund-Duchene-Turris
Tolvanen-Bonino-Smith
Jarnkrok-Scissons-Watson
Grimaldi

Josi-Ellis
Ekholm-Fabbro
Hamhuis-Santini

Rinne
Saros

 

[Stewie Griffin]

Homer vote to SJ at this point. They lost Pavelski and Donskoi but made it 2 rounds further than Toronto or Nashville last season, with those guys not having huge impacts in the playoffs (other than maybe game 7 against COL where they both scored).

If Martin Jones improves even the slightest they can improve drastically.

 

[bobholly39]

Should be Nashville, Toronto is just too soft on forward and d. Nashville's goaltending is a notch above as well... Nash has the makings of a Stanley cup winner this year.

Forsberg-Johansen-Arvidsson
Granlund-Duchene-Turris
Tolvanen-Bonino-Smith
Jarnkrok-Scissons-Watson
Grimaldi

Josi-Ellis
Ekholm-Fabbro
Hamhuis-Santini

Rinne
Saros

They lost their best player/playoff performer

I know he had a really down year but doesnt really matter. He's a substraction of how good they were prior. If they couldn't win with Subban playing great (and he always did in playoffs) - to me seeing them win without Subban seems unlikely.

I am admittedly a big fan of Subban

 

[Huck Cheever]

They lost their best player/playoff performer

I know he had a really down year but doesnt really matter. He's a substraction of how good they were prior. If they couldn't win with Subban playing great (and he always did in playoffs) - to me seeing them win without Subban seems unlikely.

I am admittedly a big fan of Subban

Nashville needed stability down the middle and now they have it. Subban was a luxury and overrated one imo, he lost lots of speed over the past couple years.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

They lost their best player/playoff performer

I know he had a really down year but doesnt really matter. He's a substraction of how good they were prior. If they couldn't win with Subban playing great (and he always did in playoffs) - to me seeing them win without Subban seems unlikely.

I am admittedly a big fan of Subban

I mean they're grooming a really good dman in Fabbro and they have a #1 center in Duchene now.

 

[Huck Cheever]

Homer vote to SJ at this point. They lost Pavelski and Donskoi but made it 2 rounds further than Toronto or Nashville last season, with those guys not having huge impacts in the playoffs (other than maybe game 7 against COL where they both scored).

If Martin Jones improves even the slightest they can improve drastically.

I wanted Sj to beat Vgk but they were grossly outplayed. That PP sealed the anomoly. Sj battles for a playoff spot this year imo.

 

[LetsGoBLUES91]

Nashville, Dallas, SJ, Toronto with Marner. in that order. Those are the last of the 10 teams that truly would not shock me with a cup win.

 

[izzy]

pens still have crosby, malkin, letang, murray and playoff guentzel.

solid enough forward depth behind the top guys

dcore is a bit suspect behind their top 3 but they finally got an actual summer off

 

[Kamiccolo]

Should be Nashville, Toronto is just too soft on forward and d. Nashville's goaltending is a notch above as well... Nash has the makings of a Stanley cup winner this year.

Forsberg-Johansen-Arvidsson
Granlund-Duchene-Turris
Tolvanen-Bonino-Smith
Jarnkrok-Scissons-Watson
Grimaldi

Josi-Ellis
Ekholm-Fabbro
Hamhuis-Santini

Rinne
Saros

We've heard this for the past 10 years now. Preds are in Edmonton territory now where they need to win it to get that level of respect IMO. I don't see them winning anything and they played like crap last season.

Homer vote to SJ at this point. They lost Pavelski and Donskoi but made it 2 rounds further than Toronto or Nashville last season, with those guys not having huge impacts in the playoffs (other than maybe game 7 against COL where they both scored).

If Martin Jones improves even the slightest they can improve drastically.

Means nothing IMO. Every year we see different teams go deep. And on top of things, Boston is a better team than any team SJ faced last year. Not to mention the Leafs young players are getting a year closer to their primes. The team will be trending up.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

Means nothing IMO. Every year we see different teams go deep. And on top of things, Boston is a better team than any team SJ faced last year. Not to mention the Leafs young players are getting a year closer to their primes. The team will be trending up.

So you mean the Blues who beat Boston in the finals? Vegas is also one of the better teams in the league.(not trying to discredit Boston in any way)

Also that's great the Leafs younger players are getting better. I still just think San Jose has the better chance than them. San Jose's offensive depth was among the best in the league, and they just need Martin Jones to play average to win games.

 

[Kamiccolo]

So you mean the Blues who beat Boston in the finals? Vegas is also one of the better teams in the league.(not trying to discredit Boston in any way)

Also that's great the Leafs younger players are getting better. I still just think San Jose has the better chance than them. San Jose's offensive depth was among the best in the league, and they just need Martin Jones to play average to win games.

I meant (thought I communicated it better) in the first few rounds. Leafs losing to Boston 2 years in a row doesn't mean they suck. It's just poor luck for an up and coming team to run into an experienced team with their number. Both went to 7 games.

I just think your argument was a lazy one as for why they are better.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

I meant (thought I communicated it better) in the first few rounds. Leafs losing to Boston 2 years in a row doesn't mean they suck. It's just poor luck for an up and coming team to run into an experienced team with their number. Both went to 7 games.

I just think your argument was a lazy one as for why they are better.

Well I'm not here to type an essay on why I think the Sharks have a better chance of winning than the leafs. They have more experience (which you seem to value in the above quote), were a top-2 possession team with Carolina (who also made the conference finals), the sharks PP was 2 spots ahead of Toronto, their PK was 3 spots ahead of Toronto, and they brought back Bob Boughner to help with their defensive system (which was only 1 spot worse than Toronto last year).

Both teams have changed over the offseason, but this is my opinion. Btw you called my argument lazy yet did not give one yourself.

 

[Kamiccolo]

Well I'm not here to type an essay on why I think the Sharks have a better chance of winning than the leafs. They have more experience (which you seem to value in the above quote), were a top-2 possession team with Carolina (who also made the conference finals), the sharks PP was 2 spots ahead of Toronto, their PK was 3 spots ahead of Toronto, and they brought back Bob Boughner to help with their defensive system (which was only 1 spot worse than Toronto last year).

Both teams have changed over the offseason, but this is my opinion. Btw you called my argument lazy yet did not give one yourself.

The Leafs PP was a disaster last season, and by all accounts, they under achieved. From Jan on, the Leafs didn't even play at a pace of a playoff team. A ton of guys regressed hard as the year went on (Nylander, Brown, Marleau, Kadri, Hainsey, Gardiner (injured), Dermott (injured), Sparks) and most of these names are gone.

They retooled the entire defense and replaced the assistant coaches as the special teams were both terrible. And as I mentioned, their best players are all a year closer to their primes. IMO, the team is primed to have a breakout year next season. I think there is some hunger there for the kids to prove people wrong about them and their playoff success.

Sharks have some damn good players as well, but they lost some pieces, and their players are all a year closer to out of their primes. Experience 100% matters, but IMO it also matters that this core has a decade of contending without being able to get it done. What makes them get over the hump after they lose their captain? I don't know.

We will see of course, but I think the Sharks benefited from a pretty terrible division last year.

 

[Stewie Griffin]

Sharks have some damn good players as well, but they lost some pieces, and their players are all a year closer to out of their primes. Experience 100% matters, but IMO it also matters that this core has a decade of contending without being able to get it done. What makes them get over the hump after they lose their captain? I don't know.

We will see of course, but I think the Sharks benefited from a pretty terrible division last year.

What potentially makes them get over the hump this year would be a full season of Erik Karlsson healthy (hopefully), and the goal tending not being the worst tandem in the league.

And yes the pacific was terrible last year, but the Leafs also got to play Ottawa, Detroit, and Buffalo in their division (3 of the worst 5 teams in the league) so they could of just as easy benefited from a terrible division as well.

The sharks will also have an easier path to the conference finals, let alone the finals (Vegas/Calgary vs. Tampa/Boston)

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

This has got to be Toronto, they have everything you need to win a cup.

Their offense is loaded

Fredrik Andersen is a top 10 goalie in th NHL

and their defense both in terms of the starting 6 and overall depth has been MASSIVELY improved

Not to mention Garett Sparks is gone so whoever ends up being the backup be it Hutchinson or Neuvirth is an upgrade.

Toronto has gotten better in damn near every area including the quality of player they can call up from the AHL in case of injury.

The answer here is Toronto I would go as far as to say they should have been gone already specifically before Washington because I feel Washington has gotten weaker

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

The Leafs PP was a disaster last season, and by all accounts, they under achieved. From Jan on, the Leafs didn't even play at a pace of a playoff team. A ton of guys regressed hard as the year went on (Nylander, Brown, Marleau, Kadri, Hainsey, Gardiner (injured), Dermott (injured), Sparks) and most of these names are gone.

They retooled the entire defense and replaced the assistant coaches as the special teams were both terrible. And as I mentioned, their best players are all a year closer to their primes. IMO, the team is primed to have a breakout year next season. I think there is some hunger there for the kids to prove people wrong about them and their playoff success.

Sharks have some damn good players as well, but they lost some pieces, and their players are all a year closer to out of their primes. Experience 100% matters, but IMO it also matters that this core has a decade of contending without being able to get it done. What makes them get over the hump after they lose their captain? I don't know.

We will see of course, but I think the Sharks benefited from a pretty terrible division last year.

Toronto EXCLUDING games Vs. Pacific Division: 34-25-7 (93 point pace), +8 goal differential

San Jose EXCLUDING games Vs. Pacific Division: 29-19-5 (97 point pace), +21 goal differential

You wanna stop saying this now?

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

The Leafs PP was a disaster last season, and by all accounts, they under achieved. From Jan on, the Leafs didn't even play at a pace of a playoff team. A ton of guys regressed hard as the year went on (Nylander, Brown, Marleau, Kadri, Hainsey, Gardiner (injured), Dermott (injured), Sparks) and most of these names are gone.

They retooled the entire defense and replaced the assistant coaches as the special teams were both terrible. And as I mentioned, their best players are all a year closer to their primes. IMO, the team is primed to have a breakout year next season. I think there is some hunger there for the kids to prove people wrong about them and their playoff success.

Sharks have some damn good players as well, but they lost some pieces, and their players are all a year closer to out of their primes. Experience 100% matters, but IMO it also matters that this core has a decade of contending without being able to get it done. What makes them get over the hump after they lose their captain? I don't know.

We will see of course, but I think the Sharks benefited from a pretty terrible division last year.

Toronto still had a top 10 PP last year. Disaster is a little far. That would apply more to Nashville honestly

 

[Kamiccolo]

Toronto EXCLUDING games Vs. Pacific Division: 34-25-7 (93 point pace), +8 goal differential

San Jose EXCLUDING games Vs. Pacific Division: 29-19-5 (97 point pace), +21 goal differential

You wanna stop saying this now?

Now do one with the Leafs only outside their division vs Sharks only outside their division.

 

[Kamiccolo]

Toronto still had a top 10 PP last year. Disaster is a little far. That would apply more to Nashville honestly

It was only top 10 due to the hot start. It was bottom of the league in the 2nd half. You should know that I know you were watching.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

It was only top 10 due to the hot start. It was bottom of the league in the 2nd half. You should know that I know you were watching.

true, but it still did contribute to wins at the start of the year. It doesn't matter when it's good, and all powerplays are streaky. Nashville had the worst PP in the league last year, so I'd expect more positive improvement from them

 

[Kamiccolo]

true, but it still did contribute to wins at the start of the year. It doesn't matter when it's good, and all powerplays are streaky. Nashville had the worst PP in the league last year, so I'd expect more positive improvement from them

And the Leafs had the worst PK ever in the playoffs last year as well. Things are going to normalize is the point. I doubt that the Leafs special teams are as useless as it was in the playoffs next year.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

And the Leafs had the worst PK ever in the playoffs last year as well. Things are going to normalize is the point. I doubt that the Leafs special teams are as useless as it was in the playoffs next year.

well, let's hope. Babcock still being in charge doesn't exactly inspire confidence to me, but I think Toronto has the most talented roster out of these remaining teams

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Now do one with the Leafs only outside their division vs Sharks only outside their division.

That would be an unfair comparison though, because then Toronto gets to benefit from the games they played against the weak Pacific Division, while San Jose doesn't.

If you go apples to apples and remove the weak Pacific from both groups, San Jose out-performed Toronto. In fact, if you remove their games against the Pacific, Toronto played at a 93 point pace which would have made them 10th in the East. It's incredibly ironic that you keep parroting this narrative that San Jose reaped the benefits of a weak Pacific Division when your own team actually didn't play at a playoff pace outside of the games they played against that weak Pacific.

 

[Kamiccolo]

That would be an unfair comparison though, because then Toronto gets to benefit from the games they played against the weak Pacific Division, while San Jose doesn't.

If you go apples to apples and remove the weak Pacific from both groups, San Jose out-performed Toronto.

Not really, as the Leafs only play the pacific teams twice a year vs the Sharks playing them 4 times a year. Leafs also face two of the better teams in the league in Tampa and Boston 8 games a year vs 2 for the Sharks.