Contenders vs Pretenders Breakdown (4 part series by division)

[LastWordArmy]

Welcome to Last Word on Hockey’s mini-series that will be distinguishing the playoff contenders versus the pretenders of each division in the Eastern and Western Conferences. In a league full of parity, it seems like everyone is in the race for a playoff spot, but is it a product of the league, or is the team just that good that they could challenge for the Cup? Find out as we start with the Atlantic Division.

Read More

http://lastwordonhockey.com/2017/02/07/contenders-vs-pretenders-atlantic-division/

Metro Division

http://lastwordonhockey.com/2017/02/08/contenders-pretenders-metropolitan/

Central Division

http://lastwordonhockey.com/2017/02/10/contenders-and-pretenders-central-division/

Pacific

http://lastwordonhockey.com/2017/02/12/contenders-and-pretenders-pacific-division/

Click to read more...

 

[LastWordArmy]

Metro now up.

 

[LastWordArmy]

Central done.

 

[PRicci09]

Kinda stating the obvious.

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I'm awaiting one particular person from the Rangers board to come on this thread and make a stink about the Rangers being considered contenders in this article. Nice job, though.

 

[Barrie22]

Hahaha at the leafs and sens being contenders. Unless those 2 teams face off in round 1 (good chance of it) both will be gone in 5 games or less in round one.

And if they do face each other it just means that the semis will be a cake walk for the winner of the other series.

 

[Zarzh]

So every team which has a shot at making the playoffs is a contender? And the lottery teams are pretenders?

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Hahaha at the leafs and sens being contenders. Unless those 2 teams face off in round 1 (good chance of it) both will be gone in 5 games or less in round one.

And if they do face each other it just means that the semis will be a cake walk for the winner of the other series.

you have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to Toronto

they won't win the cup but they are not a cake walk for ANYBODY

 

[Seath The Scaleless]

Hahaha at the leafs and sens being contenders. Unless those 2 teams face off in round 1 (good chance of it) both will be gone in 5 games or less in round one.

And if they do face each other it just means that the semis will be a cake walk for the winner of the other series.

Because the Habs and Rangers/Jackets are miles ahead of both teams, right?

 

[euhchepas]

Because the Habs and Rangers/Jackets are miles ahead of both teams, right?

yes?

Ottawa is a middle of the pack team, probably another 1st round exist
Toronto has no defense or team defense, they can't hold 3-4 goal leads

The rangers, Columbus and Montreal have top 10 offense and defense in the league and are 3rd, 4th and 6th in goal differential.

 

[acor]

What is "contender" ??? How I understand that word...

Washington
Pittsburgh
Chicago
Nashville
St. Louis
San Jose
Anaheim
Los Angeles

This is the list of teams I WON'T be surprised if they win the cup... Everything else would be a huge surprise for me...

 

[voxel]

LA and St.Louis really? Maybe in years past. Minnesota is a true contender this season,

 

[acor]

LA and St.Louis really? Maybe in years past. Minnesota is a true contender this season,

If Minnesota wins the cup, Im changing my nickname to Me Idiot, if its legal/possible...

 

[Karl Eriksson]

Stopped reading when I saw the leaves listed as contenders.

 

[voxel]

If Minnesota wins the cup, Im changing my nickname to Me Idiot, if its legal/possible...

Have you watched them this season? Only three teams completely smothered my Oilers - Wild, Preds (post New Years), Sharks. Wild have great D, great goaltending, and fast or physical forwards who can score.

They are the Rangers with better D and consistent goaltending.

 

[Zen Arcade]

So every team which has a shot at making the playoffs is a contender? And the lottery teams are pretenders?

Yeah, some teams are just bad or rebuilding. I'd consider the late Bylsma era Penguins to be pretenders, not a team like the current Devils.

 

[pucky]

Stopped reading when I saw the leaves listed as contenders.

LOL. Did a Leaves fan write that? You should have watched the game against the Sabres. Only their fans would consider them 'contenders.' They're not even pretenders by any stretch of the word. Their real team showed up. No team D and a bunch of stiffs, all of them as their defence core. Guys like Reilly and Gardiner are so overrated, it's not funny. None of them know how to play the position - meaning low hockey IQ. The entire team is a joke save the goalie and their prospects/young stars which they were able to get for finishing near the bottom for so many consecutive years. Even with that, they only managed three stars with all that time.

Somehow, they don't really regress until the middle of the year so they often finish with only a top ten pick instead of top 3 although they folded/tanked last year for real.

 

[MikeyMike01]

Was this written by an illiterate toddler that can't speak English? Painful to read, grammatically and content-wise.

 

[Michael Scarn]

LA and St.Louis really? Maybe in years past. Minnesota is a true contender this season,

St. Louis is a very different team without Hitch and with new goalie coaches. Defense playing better and blocking shots. And they're finally winning on the road. Will see how they do when playing the better teams in the west, which will be the barometer, but they look like the team from early in the year that was very good.

 

[piteus]

you have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to Toronto

they won't win the cup but they are not a cake walk for ANYBODY

You mean a bunch of rookies making the playoffs as a low seed (still a big if) won't be a cakewalk? Toronto is still a couple years away from even being a threat in the post season. It takes time to learn how to win ... unless their goalie gets super hot. No one can predict that.

St. Louis is a very different team without Hitch and with new goalie coaches. Defense playing better and blocking shots. And they're finally winning on the road. Will see how they do when playing the better teams in the west, which will be the barometer, but they look like the team from early in the year that was very good.

They lost a lot from last year. Still behind the Wild and Hawks in the old Norris. I don't think they scare anyone this year ... unlike last year.

Have you watched them this season? Only three teams completely smothered my Oilers - Wild, Preds (post New Years), Sharks. Wild have great D, great goaltending, and fast or physical forwards who can score.

They are the Rangers with better D and consistent goaltending.

The Wild are very good. However, they still have Alfred Hitchcock coaching the team and have to get past their big brothers. But definitely legit contenders. The Wild have good experienced talent.

What is "contender" ??? How I understand that word...

Washington
Pittsburgh
Chicago
Nashville
St. Louis
San Jose
Anaheim
Los Angeles

This is the list of teams I WON'T be surprised if they win the cup... Everything else would be a huge surprise for me...

Contenders:
* Minnesota, Chicago, and San Jose in the West.
* The entire Metro and Montreal in the East.

 

[LastWordArmy]

In the fourth and last instalment of the Contenders and Pretenders series we take a look at a division that has contained several Stanley Cup Final participants in recent years: the Pacific Division.

http://lastwordonhockey.com/2017/02/12/contenders-and-pretenders-pacific-division/