Miller Time
Registered User
- Sep 16, 2004
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- 15,378
East:
1- NYR
ridiculous mix of quality depth and elite talent up front, arguably best top-6 d group in the league (especially if Staal comes back ahead of last year's concussion marred season), one of league best goalies, & a coach who drives a tight ship.
2- Boston
while it will be fun to watch Lucic struggle (if he is as out-of-shape as reports indicate) & go from hero to zero in that market, Bruins have great depth & a roster with minimal changes. Stability should help contribute to strong start, depth to a strong finish.
3- Tampa Bay
A bit of a stretch... hinges on Lindback being above average in nets. They have scoring, solid (if unspectacular) top4-defense, and the right coach to get the most out of a relatively unknown group of depth players (bottom-6, bottom-pairing). My darkhorse pick
4- Philly
If Bryz comes back with a better season, could challenge NYR for conference title... great skill/depth up front, defense is still solid despite losing Pronger/Carle.
5- Pitt
Crosby/Malkin will need to carry a team that has lot's of holes in the lineup up front and on defense. Lucky for them that those two can probably handle it. Nevertheless Bylsma has his work cut out for him.
6- Carolina
another "reach"... their top-6 could be pretty damn effective with Staals, Semin, Skinner anchoring it. Losing Ruutu hurts depth big time & their defense lacks high-end talent... Ward will have to have a very strong year.
7- Washington
a bit weak through the middle of their lineup, relying on unproven goalie duo & rookie coach... but any team with Ovie/Backstrom/Green/Ribiero is going to produce some offense. Remains to be seen if they can carry over some of the defensive responsibility Hunter had success instilling.
8- Ott
Race for 8th will be very tight imo. Teams 8-14 could easily be swapped in any order. Giving it to Ottawa in part on belief that Alfie has a revelation year after getting extra time to get healthy & with end of career right around corner. If Lats is in shape & stays healthy, could have a monster year playing with Turris.
9- NYI
Biggest stretch I'm sure... NYI should be cellar-dwellars again, but "every dog has its day" feeling tells me that Tavares & co. surprise a lot of teams while youth & lack of pressure/expectation plays to their favor. Over 82 games, they'd be exposed, in 1/2 season? maybe they benefit most from additional chaos/randomness of shortened season.
10- Toronto
if Lombardi & Connolly are healthy and used properly, Toronto will have a very good top-9. Defense is solid, and Carlyle is a good coach. ? as always for them is in nets... if they land Luongo, Laffs get back into the playoffs, if not, will be fun to watch another year of futility in the center of the universe.
11- Montreal
I really hope they don't end up in the 9-11 range... playoff or bottom of the conference plz. But i think they are too good to fall that far again without another mind-boggling string of bad injury luck. Price, if he's on top of his game, takes the team into the playoffs.
12- Florida
ooops. While there is reason to believe they will improve on last year, I also think they were heavy overachievers. More inclined to think they regress back to being a non-playoff team this year given their lack of top-6 skill up front and relying on a goaltender whose been consistently inconsistent throughout his career (especially year-to-year)
13- NJ
No parise, no volchenkov (not that he was stellar for them anyhow), a kovalchuk who might have his mind on another continent... lackluster depth up front/on defense...doesn't look good for defending cup finalist
14- Buffalo
Not much I like about their roster... minimal elite skill, marginal depth, a goalie whose becoming more of a factor off-ice than he is on-ice. I think this will be ruff's last stand.
15- Winnipeg
Honeymoon is over... shorter season & tighter schedule means the travel factor will hit them even harder, and home-ice emotional factor will be a bit less impactful in year two. Don't trust Buff/Kane to have put in requesite off-season work in extended off-season, Hainsey (who is already needed beyond his capacity) was more focused on CBA than on training. Easily see them finishing as league worst team this season.
1- NYR
ridiculous mix of quality depth and elite talent up front, arguably best top-6 d group in the league (especially if Staal comes back ahead of last year's concussion marred season), one of league best goalies, & a coach who drives a tight ship.
2- Boston
while it will be fun to watch Lucic struggle (if he is as out-of-shape as reports indicate) & go from hero to zero in that market, Bruins have great depth & a roster with minimal changes. Stability should help contribute to strong start, depth to a strong finish.
3- Tampa Bay
A bit of a stretch... hinges on Lindback being above average in nets. They have scoring, solid (if unspectacular) top4-defense, and the right coach to get the most out of a relatively unknown group of depth players (bottom-6, bottom-pairing). My darkhorse pick
4- Philly
If Bryz comes back with a better season, could challenge NYR for conference title... great skill/depth up front, defense is still solid despite losing Pronger/Carle.
5- Pitt
Crosby/Malkin will need to carry a team that has lot's of holes in the lineup up front and on defense. Lucky for them that those two can probably handle it. Nevertheless Bylsma has his work cut out for him.
6- Carolina
another "reach"... their top-6 could be pretty damn effective with Staals, Semin, Skinner anchoring it. Losing Ruutu hurts depth big time & their defense lacks high-end talent... Ward will have to have a very strong year.
7- Washington
a bit weak through the middle of their lineup, relying on unproven goalie duo & rookie coach... but any team with Ovie/Backstrom/Green/Ribiero is going to produce some offense. Remains to be seen if they can carry over some of the defensive responsibility Hunter had success instilling.
8- Ott
Race for 8th will be very tight imo. Teams 8-14 could easily be swapped in any order. Giving it to Ottawa in part on belief that Alfie has a revelation year after getting extra time to get healthy & with end of career right around corner. If Lats is in shape & stays healthy, could have a monster year playing with Turris.
9- NYI
Biggest stretch I'm sure... NYI should be cellar-dwellars again, but "every dog has its day" feeling tells me that Tavares & co. surprise a lot of teams while youth & lack of pressure/expectation plays to their favor. Over 82 games, they'd be exposed, in 1/2 season? maybe they benefit most from additional chaos/randomness of shortened season.
10- Toronto
if Lombardi & Connolly are healthy and used properly, Toronto will have a very good top-9. Defense is solid, and Carlyle is a good coach. ? as always for them is in nets... if they land Luongo, Laffs get back into the playoffs, if not, will be fun to watch another year of futility in the center of the universe.
11- Montreal
I really hope they don't end up in the 9-11 range... playoff or bottom of the conference plz. But i think they are too good to fall that far again without another mind-boggling string of bad injury luck. Price, if he's on top of his game, takes the team into the playoffs.
12- Florida
ooops. While there is reason to believe they will improve on last year, I also think they were heavy overachievers. More inclined to think they regress back to being a non-playoff team this year given their lack of top-6 skill up front and relying on a goaltender whose been consistently inconsistent throughout his career (especially year-to-year)
13- NJ
No parise, no volchenkov (not that he was stellar for them anyhow), a kovalchuk who might have his mind on another continent... lackluster depth up front/on defense...doesn't look good for defending cup finalist
14- Buffalo
Not much I like about their roster... minimal elite skill, marginal depth, a goalie whose becoming more of a factor off-ice than he is on-ice. I think this will be ruff's last stand.
15- Winnipeg
Honeymoon is over... shorter season & tighter schedule means the travel factor will hit them even harder, and home-ice emotional factor will be a bit less impactful in year two. Don't trust Buff/Kane to have put in requesite off-season work in extended off-season, Hainsey (who is already needed beyond his capacity) was more focused on CBA than on training. Easily see them finishing as league worst team this season.
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