Bold predictions thread 18/19 edition

I didn't say he was the reason calm down. It would of sounded senile to say Duchene was the reason Colorado was historically bad (and I know he wasn't, but the fact they go from 40 something pts to 96 MAINLY only from subtrating him and Ottawa goes from a goal from the cup finals to one of there worst seasons in years and the turning point was when they got him says something) Sometimes teams can add by subtraction. You won't believe in junior hockey alone how many times I hear GM's, Coaches, Players, Owners say "this guy is a cancer" and when he's moved the team flourishes. Now this isn't fair to Duchene of course as there were so many factores like the Sweden trip, losing Methot, the Hoffman thing Karlssons contract questions, Anderson playing bad, Ownership talking about moving team, etc, etc. so don't quote me thinking that I'm blaming DUchene alone but when he was at the podium for the press conference and stated he couldnm't be apart of another re-build that kind of attitude just struck me the wrong way and he goes from losing to losing. ROR who coincidentally and convieniently was a teammate of Duchene struck me as a spoiled I deserve better type of guy too. Just think if he said what he did publically, imagine what he said privately. I don't care what year your in those comments effect you, your the team, the coach, the fans, the owner, the coach, the gm and most importantly his teammates who are young and impressionable and look up to someone older like ROR (Relatively older then the kids anyway) ..it's a proven fact attitude rub off on others, I can only hope Reinhart, Eichel and the younger ones didn't pick up too many habits from Kane, ROR's attitude, and Lehner claiming it was a conspiracy Buffalo lost games. It's funny how we got rid of all three. This subtraction COULD BE HUGE for Buffalo from a dressing room perspective. I don't care if your 1-80-1 in a season you don't say what he did when you play a game for a living and have one of the most lucrative contracts in the show. He's already getting spoiled by a billionaire owner who goes above and beyond what an owner should for his guys and he expects him to give him millions more on July first. Botterill said no thanks and couldn't find the phone fast enough. The fact we got 5 pieces for him and two are depth guys, one is still a respectable third line center (maybe 4th on an elite team) and two draft picks who are likely going to be MHL players , maybe we luk out on one or both. I don't understand how people judge trades so quick without seeing what it was first. But that's human nature I suppose. All I'm saying is with ROR we could of added by just losing him alone. (Although not likely, it's also a possibility after seeing the Duchene thing.) I understand his talent and all and how players like him are hard to find but we have Mittlestadt ready to go and if just that, with SOME negativity is gone (We finished 31st with ROR healthy all year we had to do SOMETHING....) I know it sounds like I'm pinning it all on him, like I am Duchene but I'm not trying too, I'm merely trying to explain my other post with these reasons. But what I was saying was if we just get Mittlestadt who gets three quarters the pts he did and our dressing room is more positive (Skinner looks like he has a great attitude) then we could be better for it. Those two things don't even count the 5 NHL pieces we got for him so I do have to laugh at the people who thought the trade was so one sided. I think if our hands weren't tied we may of gotten two first rounders and a similar package with it as well. But HF just loves to go OMG so and so got fleeced because that's a thing. here. Everything is dramatic. As far as attitudes go I know Jack Eichel is no angel and he could be part of the negativity too but I watch his interviews and he seems to never throw his team under the bus or say he's lost his love for the game. Eichels answered honestly and said after a season like this everyone needs to be better and that starts with me. Think about the fact he's just a kid in a way and was in on 32 percent of the offense despite missing 18 percent of the yea and he took the high road. So all in all I'm not blaming Duchene or O'Reilly as much as it sounds like I am I' just stating the reasons for my claim above. I could be over-reacting, I could be biased, I could be wrong, I'm just stating the reasons I feel things could happen the way they could.

I felt I had to clear those last things up at the end so there's no misunderstandings.

 

NY Rangers will make the playoffs

 

Oilers make conference fjnals

 

Bobrovsky and the Blue Jackets win three playoff games this year.

 

Dubois and Panarin both finish top 10 in scoring

 

The Capital's miss the playoffs.

 

Well, how about we start with the Canucks who have dropped 3 spots in the draft order since the the lottery format changed? And haven't won once since the lottery draft was implemented in 1995...

 

Ha!

 

W. Nylander finishes with the most points for the Leafs.

 

What do those Isles and Cavs teams have in common *thinking emoji*???

 

How long did that take you to write?

 

Habs make the playoffs.

 

Trotz gets Tavares-less Isles to playoffs. Lamariello makes a shrewd move to get them there.

Pittsburgh misses the playoffs. Due to injuries and little depth.

Florida has a breakout season.
Acquire Trouba for Borgstrom/Petrovic/etc.

E. Karlsson goes to Dallas. Jason Spezza goes to Ottawa.

The Jets win the Stanley Cup. Gary Bettman gets the friendliest reception he ever had in Canada.

 

Little depth? They could very well start the season with Brassard and Kessel on their third line.

 

As I said earlier in the thread, Monahan will score 40 goals, but I want to add that I think Elias Lindholm will end up posting 45+ assists, which is his current career high in points.

 

Barkov with 90+ points and a Selke.

 

And Price goes God mode in round one knocking off the Leafs in OT of game 7 - Plecks scores the winning goal.

May as well dream big.

 

The "big guns" in Toronto are targeted by the rats of the league every night and no one is there to stand up for them, including the refs. As a result, they go into the playoffs riddled by injuried to their best players and don't get out of the first round. In the offseason, Dubas reluctantly addresses team toughness only after their players remind management about their promise to make Toronto a safe place to play. However by then some of them have decided to look for a safer place to play.

Kadri does something stupid and the writing is on the wall for his relocation.

Contract squabbles hasten player changes.

 

Giroux and Wheeler had 68 assists last season, though Wheeler was a center for some 10-20 games, can't remember. Wheeler was the "center" for PP1 as well, and got most of his assists there. He was not really center, but he was the primary playmaker for the PP1, and pretty much all the pucks went through him in a way they often go through a center. If Jets scored on PP1, it was almost impossible that Wheeler did not get at least 2nd assist, often 1st assist.

So if Marner plays that role on PP, and that PP is very successful, it's not totally impossible for him to get even 65 assists, but for sure that's a bold prediction.

 

Yeah Sens v Canucks

 

Despite having a promising season, the youth in Vancouver is not quite yet enough to keep them out of a top spot for the draft lottery. Winning the lottery they bring together brothers Quinn and Jack, and start a new era of Canuck brothers.

 

Not really a "bold" prediction, I fully expect the canucks to have a good chance to win the draft lottery.

 

Toronto wins 55 games.

 

The sens make the playoffs because every player in their division get injured

 

- Coyotes will win the Pacific
- Caps will make another run to the final
- Oilers will make the playoffs
- Canucks ownership will be impatient again and blow the team’s prospects up like Burke did with the cancuks in the 90’s, depleting their prospect pool in the process.
- Habs ownership will finally pull their heads out of their backsides and clean the front office out of their terminal ineptitude.
- Leafs won’t make the playoffs.
- Kadri gets traded before the deadline
- Pens will barely make the playoffs
- Vegas will be dangerous In the playoffs as will San Jose
- Karlsson will win another Norris trophy