Around The League 2018-19 Offseason part III

[Nubmer6]

Philadelphia and Florida locks for the playoffs?

The rest seem like pretty safe bets for a spot, but there are still no guarantees. I don't see Carolina or the Rangers even competing for one.

Frankly, I don't even think Pitt is an absolute lock. Up to the last week or two they were in real danger of missing last year.

 

[Blender]

Frankly, I don't even think Pitt is an absolute lock. Up to the last week or two they were in real danger of missing last year.

We finished tied with Columbus in points, and only 1 point behind Philadelphia, 3 points behind Pittsburgh, and 8 behind Washington and Toronto.

 

[Bleedred]

These 7 are locks to get in:

Wash
Pitts
TB
TML
Philly
FLA
Boston

We battle Cbj, Rawly and the Rags for that final spot.

Only you would think Florida are a lock and the Rangers would even be in the hunt for a spot.....

Also very surprised you didn’t pick the Islanders to compete for that spot.

 

[Bleedred]

And also remember

Every year there's at least one ''lock'' team (if not two or three) that miss the playoffs.

For instance, how many people were picking St. Louis to miss the playoffs before the start of last year? How many people were picking Ottawa and Montreal to miss the playoffs? Remember when Florida won their division and made the playoffs in 2016? How many people were picking them to miss the next year?

Because those last three teams that I mentioned really weren't locks any more than teams like Florida or Philadelphia. St. Louis coming into last year was probably a lock right up there with a team like Washington, Pittsburgh, TB, etc.

 

[Camille the Eel]

These 7 are locks to get in:

Wash
Pitts
TB
TML
Philly
FLA
Boston

We battle Cbj, Rawly and the Rags for that final spot.

I don’t consider Philly, Fla, or Boston to be any more locks than us or Columbus. I would not be surprised to see all or a bunch of of these clubs, including us, finish within 4 or 5 points of each other.

When it’s that close it’s a few head to head matchup games.

Also Florida’s and Toronto’s alleged improvement, and Buffalo being tougher to play (maybe) means many more competitive games for Boston.

Who gets off to a hot start? That was so important for us last year. Because you can seize a position and then play a lot of 500 hockey and hang in the race that way.

 

[Nubmer6]

We finished tied with Columbus in points, and only 1 point behind Philadelphia, 3 points behind Pittsburgh, and 8 behind Washington and Toronto.

I wonder what this board would have thought if we didn't rest players for the final game and won. We would have been been in the top 3 in the metro instead of a wildcard ahead of Columbus and Philly, and just 1 behind Pitt. I'm thinking those two points would have affected a lot of people's mindset.

-edit-
It's interesting how t would have affected the draft tough. We would have ended up picking 20th and probably missed out on Ty Smith. Perhaps we would have snagged K'Andre Miller instead.

 

[Devils Dominion]

And also remember

Every year there's at least one ''lock'' team (if not two or three) that miss the playoffs.

For instance, how many people were picking St. Louis to miss the playoffs before the start of last year? How many people were picking Ottawa and Montreal to miss the playoffs? Remember when Florida won their division and made the playoffs in 2016? How many people were picking them to miss the next year?

Because those last three teams that I mentioned really weren't locks any more than teams like Florida or Philadelphia. St. Louis coming into last year was probably a lock right up there with a team like Washington, Pittsburgh, TB, etc.

NYb will be much better than expected, but will prob fizzle out around March.

The Rags will be right there in the mix

 

[Triumph]

NYb will be much better than expected, but will prob fizzle out around March.

The Rags will be right there in the mix

The Rangers are awful. They got absolutely destroyed after their selloff and did nothing to improve this offseason. They will get Shattenkirk back but that is about it. Lundqvist is 36, they have 0 1st line players, and basically no one on their team suppresses shots against.

 

[Emperoreddy]

I wouldn’t even call Boston a lock. That DD list is nonsense.

 

[SpeakingOfTheDevils]

The Rangers are awful. They got absolutely destroyed after their selloff and did nothing to improve this offseason. They will get Shattenkirk back but that is about it. Lundqvist is 36, they have 0 1st line players, and basically no one on their team suppresses shots against.

For the Rangers to be respectable, they need one of Andersson/Chytil to be their Nico, one of their defenders to surprise and be a Butcher, and for a lot of other things to go right.

It's not impossible, but it's far from likely.

 

[None Shall Pass]

Yeah, in the Eastern Conference, as far as locks for the playoffs go, I see:

WSH, PIT, TBL, TML.

As for probably in:

BOS, CBJ.

I think we'll be battling around PHI.

To me, CAR, FLA, NYI, and BUF are anyone's guess.

 

[Emperoreddy]

CBJ could easily end up missing. They were pretty much on the bubble last season.

You could argue Philly has a better chance then they do to be honest.

 

[Oneiro]

'There's not an offseason anymore.' Darryl Belfry explains...

Cool article on how some of the top guys get better.

 

[My3Sons]

These 7 are locks to get in:

Wash
Pitts
TB
TML
Philly
FLA
Boston

We battle Cbj, Rawly and the Rags for that final spot.

Did you post that just to include FLA? I’m not convinced that PHI is a shoo in either.

 

[My3Sons]

CBJ could easily end up missing. They were pretty much on the bubble last season.

You could argue Philly has a better chance then they do to be honest.

If they have to move on from Panarin they probably miss the postseason.

 

[Triumph]

For the Rangers to be respectable, they need one of Andersson/Chytil to be their Nico, one of their defenders to surprise and be a Butcher, and for a lot of other things to go right.

It's not impossible, but it's far from likely.

Oh sure, I would almost never rule out a team from making the playoffs in August, and while the Rangers have no 1st liners, they have about 7 2nd line guys - there's scoring depth. I just don't think that's enough to overcome a terrible defense and average goaltending.

 

[Monsieur Verdoux]

'There's not an offseason anymore.' Darryl Belfry explains...

Cool article on how some of the top guys get better.

I would love if Zacha hired him. Zacha has all the tools but he needs someone to show him how to become a dangerous player especially in the offensive zone. I think that guy could do miracles with him.

 

[Bleedred]

I see the Rangers as being anywhere from a 70 point team to an 85 point team.

So I see them finishing somewhere between the 15-16 Devils and the 16-17 Devils.

If I recall correctly, DD was the only one not convinced in mid-March that the Rangers were completely done. That was even after they said they were giving up on the season and didn't give a f*** about it anymore.

He also said as of last November that they'd finish 14 points ahead of us by the end of the season last year, but that we were on track to pass them within two years....

 

[Nubmer6]

I see the Rangers as being anywhere from a 70 point team to an 85 point team.

So I see them finishing somewhere between the 15-16 Devils and the 16-17 Devils.

If I recall correctly, DD was the only one not convinced in mid-March that the Rangers were completely done. That was even after they said they were giving up on the season and didn't give a **** about it anymore.

He also said as of last November that they'd finish 14 points ahead of us by the end of the season last year, but that we were on track to pass them within two years....

I believe I said I'd never stop worrying about them until they were mathematically eliminated. But by the time they announced they were rebuilding, I changed my mind.

 

[Bleedred]

I believe I said I'd never stop worrying about them until they were mathematically eliminated. But by the time they announced they were rebuilding, I changed my mind.

I think they swept the Western Canada trip by beating Vancouver (sucks), Edmonton (Dumpster fire) and Calgary (Free fell out of a spot late in the season) and they even needed a 50 save performance to win one of those games. They looked pathetic even when they swept that trip.

That breathed life to them not being done yet, but I don't think many people thought they'd get in by that point.

I remember saying possibly after that (it may have been right before) that I saw them finishing with no more than 82 points at the absolute most. What did they finish with? 77 points?

 

[NJDevs26]

The Rangers already started their rebuilding last offseason but few noticed. When you trade Derek Stepan and a top backup goalie for futures, you're not truly a win-now team. They just couldn't be so overt about it until the trade deadline but they're clearly in full rebuild now, if they contend for a playoff spot it's strictly by accident.

 

[TheUnseenHand]

I think we finish 7th or 8th this year. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say one of Pit or Washington miss.

 

[Bleedred]

I think we finish 7th or 8th this year. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say one of Pit or Washington miss.

7th or 8th in the Metro?

 

[TheUnseenHand]

7th or 8th in the Metro?

Somewhere between in the Metro and in the league

 

[JrFischer54]

I saw this concept earlier and liked it.

This jersey is beyond sweet. I really miss the Xmas jerseys. 5ey absolutely have to wear the red green more then one time a year. And these whites are beautiful. I wish they changed the black to green