Central Division Predictions

Tommigun

Registered User
Jan 5, 2018
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I liked Stastny and was happy we signed Mason last season, but those are luxuries we can no longer afford. Trouba is a fly in the ointment, but IMO it is getting the young core under contract and watch them keep pushing forward. We still have a couple gems in Niku and Vaselainen to add still keep costs down.

As I said I agree that our future is bright, but I think next year can be tough. We may very well be a weaker team next year. And it’s ok to have an off season, I am fully on board but still saying that I think we may be weaker coming out of the gates NEXT season. Which is what the thread was about.
 

ffh

Registered User
Jul 16, 2016
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With Helly breaking out like he did you can't have a $4.1 M backup. Just doesn't make cap sense to pour that kind of money into a backup. Which team out there has a $6 M + starter that is willing to pay $4 M + on a backup?
no one was saying keep mason I meant a capable nhl back up with some nhl experience in case our starter goes down. plus backups now play around 25 games. what now 70 games for helle and pray he stays healthy. to big a gamble. around 2 mill for a capable back up like every other nhl contender has.
 
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KingBogo

Admitted Homer
Nov 29, 2011
31,529
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Winnipeg
As I said I agree that our future is bright, but I think next year can be tough. We may very well be a weaker team next year. And it’s ok to have an off season, I am fully on board but still saying that I think we may be weaker coming out of the gates NEXT season. Which is what the thread was about.
Don't see it. This very talented and still very young team just got their first taste of post season success. Most pundits are calling for another step forward for the Jets which I fully expect. We will have to shed even more over priced veteran talent with each passing season but with each turn of the calendar the internal growth will easily surpass these calculated loses.
 
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Peggy

Registered User
Aug 6, 2016
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Jets definitely got weaker but I doubt they’ll fall to second last. HOWEVER it’s such an even division that it’s not outside the realm of possibility. I just hope you guessed wrong :D

They got weaker just based off the principle of losing some players
, but they haven't actually gotteb weaker

They're young so age is their friend right now

Mason barely played(13 games)
Enstrom was let go for a reason
And as much i liked armia. He's not the biggest piece of the puzzle to replace

The back bone of this team is the young kids with a couple of vets leading the way who all just got some deep playoff experience
 

nobody imp0rtant

Registered pessimist
May 23, 2018
10,812
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I hate making predictions but, what the hell...

Perds (should have won the Cup last year, will win it this year)
Avs (tons of talent, will continue to rise)
Stars (they can't suck forever, can they?)
Hawks (top tier organization but Crawford has to return for this to happen)
Jets (sorry, I also think they've regressed, Cup Nazi says, no playoffs for you)
Blues (what did you think would happen when you picked that name? Seriously?)
Wild (flip that W, these are the Mild. Even with Hendricks. Still happy with those Parise and Suter signings?)
 

Guffman

Registered User
Apr 7, 2016
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Jets did not really get weaker. Year over year, we get a young team back that learned how to win, and advanced deep into the playoffs without losing anyone important. The organic growth of our young players will offset minor pieces we gave up.

The Jets were a top team before acquiring Stastny. It will be interesting to see what Roslovic can do and I think it is premature to write off Little after a single mediocre campaign.
 

Inflict

Registered User
Jul 12, 2011
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Winnipeg
1. Jets - Team to beat. Core is intact and young players like Vesalainen, Roslovic, Niku and Appleton are ready to make an impact. Not to mention the improvements expected out of our other young players like Laine, Ehlers, Connor, Morrissey and etc.
2. Preds - Don't count on Rinne having another Vezina like season (though it is in the realm of possibility). Preds will drop slightly.
3. Blues - Their forwards improved quite a bit. Expect the Blues to be in the top 3 this year.
4. Avs - Improved their offensive depth with Calvert and Nieto but their defensive depth is still pretty poor. I like their firepower and goaltending over Dallas.
5. Stars - As good as Heiskenen and Honka are, I don't think they're going to put them in any better position than last year. Wildcard is a strong possibility.
6. Hawks - Were better than their record last year but still a team that will be on the outside looking in. Could possibly compete for a wildcard spot.
7. Wild - Going to be a rough season for the Wild. Lots of utility only players signed in the offseason. Questionable offence especially since Staal is expected to take a step back.
 
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sipowicz

The thrill is gone
Mar 16, 2011
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? And is a team supposed to add a new player every year to be considered better?
Jets young players are a year older. That should make them better

You have wild who are an older team and didnt inprove anywhere from last yeae, vut you hace them 2nd...

Jets placed 2nd and lost armia and enstrom...

Maybe the jets don't do as well, but not because of your reasoning

Second line centre Paul Stats says hi from Vegas!
 
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sipowicz

The thrill is gone
Mar 16, 2011
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Jets did not really get weaker. Year over year, we get a young team back that learned how to win, and advanced deep into the playoffs without losing anyone important. The organic growth of our young players will offset minor pieces we gave up.

The Jets were a top team before acquiring Stastny. It will be interesting to see what Roslovic can do and I think it is premature to write off Little after a single mediocre campaign.


We lost Armia, Stats, Enstrom, Mason and Gramps...we added Jack Squat!

Moose lost the Melch, Tinder "pinkie" De Leo
 
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GNP

Here Comes the Jets -look out hockey world !!!
Oct 11, 2016
9,140
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Winnipeg
1. Jets
2. Preds
3. Blues
4. Avs
5. Stars
6. Wild
7. Hawks
______________________________________________________

I see it this way as well- except spots 1& 2 are a coin toss between Nashville / Jets. I also see the Avalanche surprising this year, and at least finishing in 3rd place. I think the Blues will struggle to make 4th place, but may end up being the same as last year.
 

Tom ServoMST3K

In search of a Steinbach Hero
Nov 2, 2010
27,751
18,484
What's your excuse?
The Jets were a top team without Stats, and will be a top team this year, as long as Helle doesn't drastically regress.

Too much firepower up front, and even though our defense is vastly overpaid, at least they're above average at every point in the depth chart.

Connor-Scheif-Wheeler (Above Average 1st line)
Laine-Roslo-Ehlers (Maybe best 2nd line in hockey)
Matty P-Little-Petan (Best 3rd line in hockey)
Copp-Lowry-Tanev (Elite Shutdown line, will probably be a 2nd line according to minutes alone)
Dano (13th Fwd who can play anywhere in the lineup)

Morrissey-Trouba (Ideal first pairing)
Poolman-Buff (Dynamic, steady)
Kulikov-Myers (Absolutely stunning as a third pair)
Niku (Hot young Prospect)

Hellebyuck (Venzina Finalist, although he played way too much last year)
French named backup whose name I have 0 chance of spelling (I like buying players from EDM, but this is the weakest spot in the lineup)

This is a lineup good enough to win the cup. I kinda hate our Goalie situation. Hopefully Helle gets a lot more rest this year.

EDIT: Also I forgot Vesalinin or however you spell that Finnish name.
 
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Jets4Life

Registered User
Dec 25, 2003
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Westward Ho, Alberta
Jets definitely got weaker but I doubt they’ll fall to second last. HOWEVER it’s such an even division that it’s not outside the realm of possibility. I just hope you guessed wrong :D

I don't think the Jets necessarily got any weaker.

We lost:

Enstrom: Turning 34, in decline, will be replaced by Niku.
Stastny: While it is a significant loss, we had to free up cap space to sign players. I'd rather lock up Morrissey, Helle, Laine, and Wheeler than a 33 year old 2nd liner.
Joel Armia: this one hurt, as he had potential to break out to a top 6 position but failed. Regardless he was a reliable 3rd liner, that provided depth
Steve Mason: 30, no big loss, injured majority of year, and underachieved.
Michael Hutchinson: 28, this may hurt if Helle is overworked or injured, and Brossoit fails to improve.

We will gain (rookies):

Sami Niku: turning 22, and had a breakout year in the AHL.
Kristian Vesalainen: will probably make Jets lineup if he comes over from Finland
Mason Appleton: good change he gets called up for a bottom 6 role
Brendan Lemieux: excellent chance he may make bottom 6 on the roster

Players under 25 that will improve:


Jacob Trouba: 24, will be determined to have a career year to drive his value up, for the 2019 trade.
Nik Ehlers: 22, will only get better
Kyle Connor: turning 22, potential 40 goal scorer
Patrik Laine: 20, potential 50 goal scorer
Jack Roslovic: 21, going to have a breakout season
Nic Petan: 23, may ahve a breakout season

Players on the decline:

Blake Wheeler: 32, questionable whether he is regressing, but included him because of age.
Dustin Byfuglien: 33, had a great season, but age is catching up with him.
Bryan Little: turning 31, seems to have regressed the last couple of seasons
Mathieu Perreault: 30, past his prime, but still no signs of a decline

*note: I honestly believe Kulikov will not play over 30 games, and this could be his last season. The back injury he has is career threatening, which should give Niku a shot at #2 LHD.
 
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KingBogo

Admitted Homer
Nov 29, 2011
31,529
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Winnipeg
We lost Armia, Stats, Enstrom, Mason and Gramps...we added Jack Squat!

Moose lost the Melch, Tinder "pinkie" De Leo
I can see you are being series Sip, but really? Stastny was a TD rental we couldn't afford to re-sign, Armia is an offensively challenged bottom 6 winger, Toby was quickly falling off a cliff with an expiring contract, Mason played 13 games with a .906 SV% and Gramps is Gramps. Total price tag $18+ M.

To be replaced with some combination of Roslovic, Petan, Dano, Vaselainen, Appleton, Niku and Brossoit. All less than $1 M per season depending on Vesalainen's signing bonuses which will likely be in the $500,000 range. If Brossoit can't cut it there is always a glut of usable backups as camps break and rosters have to be set.

That is what cap teams do. Move out over priced aging talent on the down swing and insert young talent on the up swing at a fraction of the cost. That extra $13 or so million is now needed to pay Ehlers, Helly, Trouba, Morrissey and very soon Laine and Connor. The internal growth of our young stars far exceeds the loss of declining veterans.
 
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ThinIce61

Registered User
Jul 11, 2018
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He, nor I, are arguing that we should have kept Mason at his cap hit. But you asked how we got weaker, and there’s your answer - we don’t really have a goalie backup atm. It’s risky business.

In reality we didn't have Mason most of last season and we did ok.

Brossoit might surprise with a real D in front of him on those 15 nights he plays.

And Mason was bought out by Montreal so is getting paid to sit around right now but it would seem no team is interested and he could likely be had cheap.

May during camps someone signs him but of all the teams the Jets know best about his medical condition.

Concussions can cause long lasting problems as we know.

Some teams will have to put some not horrible G's on waivers prior to the season. If Brossoit hasn't impressed maybe we do something then.
But again the cap plays a part.
 

wannabebluesplayer

Registered User
Apr 16, 2012
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Blues fan coming in peace. I would agree with most of you that the Blues will finish somewhere between 3rd and 5th. But, I think 5 teams make it from the central again. If Hellebuyck stays playing as well as he did, you guys will be top 2. Don't overrate Nashville. Saros is good, but he's not Rinne and Rinne is getting older. They will finish top 2 again in the division, but my guess is bow out in round 1 or 2 again.

I'd love to somehow see a Jets/Blues WCF.
 

SUX2BU

User of registers
Feb 6, 2018
17,734
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Canada
What does stats playing for vegas have to with the jets and the central division?

Statsny played 19 games with the jets

Read your comments in bold, Statsny not included ??

And Statsny played 17 playoff games too ....
 

JohnStaymoose

Bring Back The Trough
Jul 2, 2016
394
638
Mordor
The loss of Stastny stung for sure but if you looked at our team before Stasnty came aboard we were already a strong team holding down 2nd place in the Conference. We are still a solid team without him, we have enough young talent to replace an aging Stastny. I think some people are looking to much into that loss, it sucks but it's not detrimental to the development of this team, we will be just fine. Do I see another 114 point season from this team? I don't know, hockey is a very unpredictable sport where injuries can really derail a strong teams season yet our depth and young talent should be able to overcome more than most teams. I do believe we are a 100+ team but it's possible we don't match last years win/point totals. That being said a lot of teams in our division made some significant moves this off season which means wins will be harder to come by in the Central.

1st - Nashville
2nd - Winnipeg
3rd - St. Louis
4th - Dallas
5th - Colorado
6th - Minnesota
7th - Chicago
 

Peggy

Registered User
Aug 6, 2016
5,274
1,307
Read your comments in bold, Statsny not included ??

And Statsny played 17 playoff games too ....

Playoff games aren't relative to regular season standings...
Statsny only played 19 games
Jets were competing for first well before statsny was on the team

So again, what does statsny playing in vegas have to do with the central division
It's not like he joined the blues or the wild
 

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