Eastern Conference Power Rankings Position 1

[Inferno]

I've been doing this for like 5+ years now, so let's get this party started.

Rank what will be the best team in the Eastern Conference. You can choose to pick what team you think will win the East and be in the SCF, OR what team you think will finish 1st overall at the end of the regular season, use whatever criteria you think is most applicable.

Here are the current Division setups:

Atlantic Division
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Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs

Metropolitan Division
__________________
Carolina Hurricanes
Columbus Blue Jackets
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals


Here are the current results of our polls

Atlantic Division
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-
-
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-

Metropolitan Division


Here are the current Eastern Conference Playoff Rankings:
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-
-
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Playoff Matchups:
Division Winner with Best Record (1) VS Worst Wild Card Team (8)
Division Winner with 2nd Best Record(2) VS 2nd Worst Wild Card Team (7)
Metropolitan Division #2 VS Metropolitan Division #3
Atlantic Division #2 VS Atlantic Division #3


Poll to come shortly....

Click to read more...

 

[YoSoyLalo]

I'll say Pittsburgh finishes first and Boston takes a small step back (like to 100-105 points). Tampa Bay and the Rangers will be in the mix too, I think.

 

[NYRFAN218]

Still think the top dog is the Bruins even with the bad offseason they had.

 

[Inferno]

this one is tough. the only team to significantly improve itself (imho) are the Bolts...but then again, they lost MSL from the team that won the bulk of their games last year. They did add Boyle, Stralman, Cally and will have Stamkos all year (presumably). Plus Bishop.

Bawstun lost Iginla, and i think they are still over the cap right? or close to it? or have a few ppl still to sign?

Pittsburgh lost Neal, a big time goal scorer, and they did get a bit of depth there, but i think the loss of their coach, the culture change, etc, i think it will rejuvenate them as well.

I think I'm going with the Brooins here, but Pittsburgh still isnt far off...adding Ehrhoff will help them a lot, despite losing Niskanen and Orpik.

 

[BlueshirtBlitz]

I'm gonna go Bruins, Pitt, than have to decide between TBL/NYR.

 

[NYRFAN218]

this one is tough. the only team to significantly improve itself (imho) are the Bolts...but then again, they lost MSL from the team that won the bulk of their games last year. They did add Boyle, Stralman, Cally and will have Stamkos all year (presumably). Plus Bishop.

Bawstun lost Iginla, and i think they are still over the cap right? or close to it? or have a few ppl still to sign?

Pittsburgh lost Neal, a big time goal scorer, and they did get a bit of depth there, but i think the loss of their coach, the culture change, etc, i think it will rejuvenate them as well.

I think I'm going with the Brooins here, but Pittsburgh still isnt far off...adding Ehrhoff will help them a lot, despite losing Niskanen and Orpik.

They're over by 800K right now according to CapGeek with Smith and Krug left to sign but they still have to put Savard on LTIR when the season starts so they should be good.

EDIT - Did the math....maybe not unless they put the screws to them big time.

 

[Tawnos]

Bruins, but this is the first year I'm going to throw out this:

At what point has age eroded Chara enough to where he's no longer a #1 defenseman? I know he got nominated for the Norris last year, but I feel like it was more of a reputation nomination than an earned one. He was still a #1 D. You never know how fast or slow this issue will affect a 37 year old, but it's worth pondering.

 

[YoSoyLalo]

this one is tough. the only team to significantly improve itself (imho) are the Bolts...but then again, they lost MSL from the team that won the bulk of their games last year. They did add Boyle, Stralman, Cally and will have Stamkos all year (presumably). Plus Bishop.

Bawstun lost Iginla, and i think they are still over the cap right? or close to it? or have a few ppl still to sign?

Pittsburgh lost Neal, a big time goal scorer, and they did get a bit of depth there, but i think the loss of their coach, the culture change, etc, i think it will rejuvenate them as well.

I think I'm going with the Brooins here, but Pittsburgh still isnt far off...adding Ehrhoff will help them a lot, despite losing Niskanen and Orpik.

They traded Neal for Hornqvist and Spaling, they didn't just "lose" him. Hornqvist could easily put up 25-30 playing with Crosby/that powerplay. I think they got better this offseason. More so than Boston.

 

[NYRFAN218]

They traded Neal for Hornqvist and Spaling, they didn't just "lose" him. Hornqvist could easily put up 25-30 playing with Crosby/that powerplay. I think they got better this offseason. More so than Boston.

Well Boston flat out didn't do anything to improve the team, mainly because they couldn't with their cap situation. The only major thing to happen to them is losing Iginla.

 

[Inferno]

They traded Neal for Hornqvist and Spaling, they didn't just "lose" him. Hornqvist could easily put up 25-30 playing with Crosby/that powerplay. I think they got better this offseason. More so than Boston.

maybe. hes a good player, a different player than Neal. Neals a 35-40 guy in Pittsburgh, so if they go from him to a 25-30 guy in Hornqvist thats about 10 goals lost. They also lost Oprik & Niskanen. Ehrhoff will help. Maybe a net push? after all is said and done, they still have Fleury in net.

 

[YoSoyLalo]

Well Boston flat out didn't do anything to improve the team, mainly because they couldn't with their cap situation. The only major thing to happen to them is losing Iginla.

Yeah, I think Chara takes a bit of a step back, too. Hopefully those Krug to the KHL rumours are true.

Do think Hamilton will step up and help offset Chara's decline a bit, though.

 

[Inferno]

Bruins, but this is the first year I'm going to throw out this:

At what point has age eroded Chara enough to where he's no longer a #1 defenseman? I know he got nominated for the Norris last year, but I feel like it was more of a reputation nomination than an earned one. He was still a #1 D. You never know how fast or slow this issue will affect a 37 year old, but it's worth pondering.

Chara wasnt that great last year either...theyre a team rather than individuals..everyone fits in. even when Chara isnt on the ice, they are damn good.

losing iginla hurts, wasnt he their leading scorer last year?

Rangers lost a lot too. Tough to say where we will be. I dont think we are as good this year as we were last year.

 

[YoSoyLalo]

maybe. hes a good player, a different player than Neal. Neals a 35-40 guy in Pittsburgh, so if they go from him to a 25-30 guy in Hornqvist thats about 10 goals lost. They also lost Oprik & Niskanen. Ehrhoff will help. Maybe a net push? after all is said and done, they still have Fleury in net.

Orpik leaving is a good thing, and Fleury was not their problem against us. Ehrhoff should replace Niskanen more than adequately.

 

[Krams]

I don't like to wager against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

 

[YoSoyLalo]

I don't like to wager against Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin.

Evgeni*

 

[Krams]

Evgeni*

No idea what you're talking about.

 

[Ail]

Wat **** no homer picks?

There's a new sheriff in town.

 

[Ghost of jas]

Wat **** no homer picks?

There's a new sheriff in town.

Yup...the Hayes signing puts a capper on a solid off-season, IMO. I expect more growth from Kreider, Step, Zucc, McD and possibly Hagelin and Brassard. Add in a full year from MSL and more offense on the blueline from Boyle. Only TB improved IMO.

 

[Jarkko Immonen]

I went with TB. I think they surprise some people with all that young talent they've got there.

 

[Kokoschka]

Going Boston. Chara's age will be a factor, but Hamilton could make up for it. Their depth up front is the best bar none in the EC - with or without Iginla.

Pens coming in 2nd, just an excellent team for the regular season. Put Crosby on line 1, Malkin on line 2, have Ehrhoff and Letang providing the necessary help from the blue line = 1st in the Metro. It's as simple as that, really.

NYR in a tight race with TBL, MTL and possibly CBJ if they re-sign Johansen. I think our D got considerably worse in their own end, losing Stralman. The interesting part for me is to see if JMoore makes good progress and if Dan Boyle's offense can make up for his inferior (to Stralman) defense.

 

[silverfish]

7 votes for NYR

Makes sense, I guess.

Went Boston. Then PIT, TB, then *maybe* NYR. Gotta re-evaluate when the time comes for that vote.

Center-depth here is still a major concern. Some of the best wing depth, d-depth, and best goalie in the world certainly helps, though

 

[Krams]

7 votes for NYR

Makes sense, I guess.

Went Boston. Then PIT, TB, then *maybe* NYR. Gotta re-evaluate when the time comes for that vote.

Center-depth here is still a major concern. Some of the best wing depth, d-depth, and best goalie in the world certainly helps, though

You're underselling the Rangers.

 

[eco's bones]

I would say Boston is still the best team but we're closing the gap. The Rangers right now to me are the second best team in the East but closer to Boston than we were last year.

 

[ecemleafs]

i think pitt will be top in conference at end of reg season. another year older for chara and iginla is no longer on the team so i can see them taking a slight step back. i think pitt will do better with a new coach and ehrhoff on the team. letang shud also play more this year than last.

 

[Mikos87]

Went with the defending ECF champs. The Rangers were one of the better teams in the east the 2nd half and were a top tier defensive team in the league after a horrendous start. This system works, and the players are familiar.

Lundqvist was also human the 1st half of last year, and I don't think that will be the case this year. Cam is no fluke either.

I think the Rangers easily have the best defense and goaltending in the east, and if JMoore shapes up, or is replaced by Allen, that it only gets better.

Rangers have the forward depth as well, the only issue is guys figuring out their roles, and that shouldn't take more than 10-15 games into the season.

Boston is a real deal contender, but losing Iginla hurts. They don't have a replacement, and their forward depth got weaker. Their 3rd and 4th line aren't the same, and neither is their 1st. They have cap constraints where they will need to move bodies out to re-sign Krug and Smith. One can expect Loui Eriksson to step up, but the Bruins need more than that.

Seidenberg wasn't exactly a great skater, and he's coming off of a bum knee. They might need to move out McQuaid, and their farm has two very good forwards and not much beyond that.

I see Boston taking a step back.

Pittsburgh doesn't have the depth, and they lost their two most reliable defensemen and got a free wheeler and a bunch of kids in place.

They lost top end scoring, and picked up marginal depth. They will be up there based on Malkin and Sid because between the two of them, they are pretty much good for generating 3 goals on any given night, but they won't be as good defensively and don't have the depth.

Tampa Bay is the up and coming team that just plugged it's holes with ex-Rangers and have an incredible talent in Drouin coming up. Bishop is the major question mark, if Bishop, who looked superhuman last year, regresses to his career norms or has the tape on him figured out, then they will take a step back, but I don't expect them to. Tampa is a riser.

These are the top 4 teams imo, with Columbus being another riser.