Ranking the Atlantic Cores

[schenneuf]

*Core Players = Legitimate #1C’s, #1D’s, 1G’s, and bona fide top-line wingers.
*Complementary = Veterans. Current secondary forwards, middle-pair dmen, and projected complementary forwards and defensemen.

1. FLORIDA
• [C] = Barkov (20)
• [D] = Ekblad (20)
• [W] = Huberdeau (22)
• [G] =
• Complementary:
• D = Gudbranson, Matheson, Kulikov, McCoshen
• C = Trochek, Bjugstad
• W = Jagr, Jokinen, Crouse, Grimaldi,
• G = Luongo, Montembeault

Outlook: Barkov and Ekblad. Basically a foundation that guarantees a cup at some point in the future. Hubderdeau’s become a first-line winger, Trochek’s blossomed into a good 2C, and Bjugstad has potential to do the same. Crouse will add toughness and size. They’ve got some big-bodied, tough defenders in Gudbranson, Matheson, and McCoshen. Some stability in net with Luongo, and what looks like a future stalwart in net with Montembeault. Jagr and Jokinen are invaluable vets. A goal-scoring winger and a stud D to pair with Ekblad would probably result in a cup.

2. BUFFALO
• [C] = Eichel (19), O’Reilly (25)
• [D] = Ristolainen (21)
• [W] = Reinhart (20)
• [G] =
• Complementary:
• D = Bogosian, McCabe, Guhle, Ruhwedel,
• C = Larsson,
• W = Girgensons, Fasching, Bailey, Baptiste, Kane, Carrier, Karabacek, Olofsson
• G = Johnson, Lehner, Ullmark

Outlook: Eichel, O’Reilly, and Reinhart are probably the best 1-2-3 punch down the middle in the league. Yes, Reinhart has thrived on Eichel’s wing, but Reinhart is a natural C in the Bergeron/Zetterberg mold. Ristolainen has the size (6-4) and skill to be a 1D that all teams envy. This is basically the core of a future cup winner. Buffalo has depth at forward. They just need to beef up their blueline and for a goalie to distinguish themselves.

3. TORONTO
• [C] = Matthews (18)
• [D] = Rielly (22)
• [W] = Marner (19)
• [G] =
• Complementary:
• D = Gardiner, Zaitsev, Dermott, Carrick, Valiev, Nielsen, Lindgren
• C = Nylander, Kadri, Bozak, Gauthier
• W = Van Riemsdyk, Komarov, Brown, Soshnikov, Timashov, Bracco, Dzierkals, Leivo, Hyman, Lindberg
• G = Bibeau

Outlook: Matthews is probably going to bring a cup to Toronto at some point in his career. That’s how good he’ll be. Not too many Selke C’s with elite offensive skill fail to do so. Matthews and Marner will probably be the next Toews and Kane. If Nylander continues to develop into a good C, watch out. They have a ton of skilled forward depth. Rielly will be good, but can he be great? Timeline-wise, he’s ahead of where Keith and Letang were; however, Rielly may end up more of a 2, and if that’s the case then Florida (Ekblad) and Buffalo (Ristolainen) will have the upper hand here. There is depth on D. Other than a true 1D, Toronto’s Achilles heel is the lack of a star goalie, especially with no real quality prospects in the pipeline.

4. Tampa Bay
• [C] =
• [D] = Hedman (25), Stralman (29)
• [G] = Bishop (29), Vasilevsky (22)
• [W] = Drouin (21), Kucherov (22), Palat (25)
• Complementary:
• C = Johnson, Filppula, Boyle, Namestnikov, Point, Stephens
• D = Koekkoek, DeAngelo, Masin
• G = Gudlevskis
• W = Killorn, Callahan,

Outlook: Tampa will probably have sustained success for a long time, but it’s hard to dismiss their lack of a star #1C. It’s probably what forever holds them back. Although it’s hard to label conference and cup finals as simply “sustained success”. They’re loaded everywhere else, although they really need their young D prospects to blossom to take the load off of Hedman. Drouin has essentially replace the overrated Stamkos. If Yzerman can mine a gem 1C then the sky’s the limit.

5. MONTREAL
• [C] =
• [D] = Subban (27)
• [G] = Price (28)
• [W] = Pacioretty (27)
• Complementary:
• C = Galchenyuk, Plekanec, Desharnais, Eller, de la Rose
• D = Petry
• G =
• W = Scherbak

Outlook: Franchise goalie? Check. Norris-winning 1D? Check. Star 1C? Ahh, no. Galchenyuk’s made progress and still has plenty of time, but he hasn’t developed as hoped. Price is a UFA in 2 years. Pacioretty is a stud. Their drafting hasn’t been the greatest. Montreal could be facing a rebuild if Price bolts, or they could be just a shade below contender status if Galchenyuk takes the next step and Price re-signs long-term.

6. OTTAWA
• C =
• D = Karlsson (25)
• G =
• W = Stone (24)
• Complementary:
• C = Turris, Zibanejad, White, Pageau, Smith
• D = Ceci, Chabot, Phaneuf, Methot, Englund
• G = Anderson, O’Connor
• W = Ryan, Hoffman

Outlook: Karlsson is a UFA in 3 years. The Phaneuf trade is still baffling. However, there are real positives. Zibanejad is developing nicely and could end up being that pesky, Holik-type who Ottawa uses to counter studs like Barkov, Eichel, and Matthews. Or, he could merely be average. Ceci, Chabot and Englund are good prospects on D. White is going to be a stud at forward, likely an excellent 2C every team would want. Turris “should” rebound. Stone, Hoffman, and Ryan are a solid winger foundation, but they need more. Ottawa needs quite a few things to go right to reverse their fortune: Karlsson re-signing, Zibanejad and White becoming forces at C, Chabot and Ceci reaching their potential, and their scouts need to find offensive talent in the draft. Could be a ways away, if ever.

7. DETROIT
• [C] = Larkin (20)
• [D] =
• [G] = Mrazek (24)
• [W] =
• Complementary:
• C = Zetterberg, Sheahan
• D = DeKeyser, Kronwall, Ericsson, Marchenko,
• G = Howard
• W = Tatar, Svechnikov, Nyquist, Abdelkader, Athanasiou, Mantha,

Outlook: Detroit is going to seriously hemorrhage from Datsyuk’s retirement and Zetterberg’s rapid decline. Those 2 won’t be there to mask Lidstrom’s retirement anymore. Larkin brings hope, and they have plenty of wingers, but are lacking everywhere else. Their playoff streak ends now, and darkness is in the foreseeable future.

8. BOSTON
• [C] = Bergeron (31)
• [D] =
• [G] = Rask (29)
• [W] = Marchand (28)
• Complementary:
• C = Krejci, Spooner, Forsbacka-Karlsson,
• D = Chara, Zboril, Carlo, Lauzon, Krug, Morrow, Arnesson, Johansson
• G = Subban, Vladar
• W = Pastrnak, Senyshyn, Debrusk, Beleskey, Griffith

Outlook: Boston could hasten their return to relevance by trading Bergeron for a king’s ransom, but their meddling, dysfunctional and delusional ownership needs annual playoff revenue. Sweeney’s the scapegoat (and before him Chiarelli), but Neely is the one to blame. His incompetence oversaw Sequin traded for peanuts. Boston ownership isn’t too far behind. Boston has plenty of decent prospects, but they lack elite-level ones and will be on the treadmill of mediocrity until they find some. Many Bruins fans believe Rask has begun the downward slop of his career.

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[Albus Dumbledore]

your core players definition doesn't make any sense ....

 

[Kurisu]

wtf did I read?

 

[Ramako]

How is Nylander not a part of the Leafs' core?

 

[StatsNightHeroes]

A neat premise for a thread, but with teams like Toronto and Buffalo it is tough to say what the core will become. Without giving it much thought I agree with most of your list but would likely have Tampa at 2 or 3 because they have lots of established young talent that has been the driving force of their playoff runs. Florida looks like they are also in really good shape. Buffalo and Toronto are still wild cards at this point, but both teams have enough prospects/young guys that a couple guys not panning out won't sink the ship. Detroit and Boston are in rough shape but Boston could turn it around with a great rebuild if they make some smart trades. Ottawa has some promise, but I don't see them getting out of the middle of the pack treadmill anytime soon. Montreal could go either way, the next couple years will be critical. If they can surround Galchenyul, Subban and Price with enough talent they are a cup contender for several years. If they don't make it work soon, they will waste The prime years of Price, Paccioeretty and Subban and be stuck in the middle of the pack with expensive veterans. So overall, 1) Florida (love Barkovs contract and their depth down the middle. Should be good for a long time). 2) Tampa. Lots of great established young guys but have aome tough decisions upcoming with their cap management. 3) Buffalo. Great C depth and good wingers. Could really use another D and a healthy Lehner. 4) Toronto. Lots of promising forward prospects: and could end up having the best C depth in the conference with Matthews, Nylander and Kadri. Needs another 1 or 2 top end D prospects/young players and a true young starting goalie. With so many prospects and picks the Leafs are probably the biggest wildcard in the conference right now. 5) Montreal) has the elite G, D and W. Looks like they may have the #1 C in Galchenyuk. Gallagher is also good but beyond the top 5 or so guys there isn't much there to be excited about. 6) Ottawa. Some good youngish pieces with Turris, Karlson and Stone. Also some good prospects. However, they don't have the money to put out a cap team and their core guys seem to be so spread out in age that they will never put it all together at once to do any damage in the playoffs. Perfect example of a treadmill team that will be stuck in mediocrity until they get really lucky in the draft or bottom out for a couple years. 7) Boston. Have had more than their fair share of first round picks in the last draft and this year which should help their prospect depth. They also have some veterans who could easily give Boston's future a major boost. As constructed they are going nowhere and would be best served by selling off their top vets while they are still highly valuable. Detroit. Like Boston they are not even close to being a true contender. They don't seem to be willing to trade off their vets who have been there forever and it will prevent them from rebuilding as quickly as they could. Their desire to keep the playoff streak going is admirable but IMO not a strategy which lends itself well to making any serious playoff runs in a cap league.

I see the NHL as being a very cyclical league. Meaning that teams need to recognize that they have a window to win that won't last forever and need to go for it when they can. With good managemt and some luck this window can be extended but it runs out for everyone eventually. Boston and Detroits windows are closed, it's time they prepare for their next one. Montreal, Tampa and Florida are in their window right now but a lot could change for Tampa and MTL in the next couple years and they could go either way. Ottawa doesn't really have a window in my opinion, seems like they just want to be consistently competitive on a discount and hope to get some playoff revenue every now and then. The windows for Toronto and Buffalo are just about to open up, but Buffalo is likely a year ahead of Toronto at this point.

 

[Josh92]

Apparently Florida Buffalo and the Leafs will all win the cup in the not so distant future. Not too shabby. Lmao. But in all honestly, if your going by who has the best young talent, it goes 1. Tampa 2. Florida 3. Toronto/Buffalo (I can't decide) 4. Detroit 5. Montreal 6. Ottawa 7. Boston

 

[A1LeafNation]

Standings in the next couple years:

1 Tampa Bay
2 Toronto
3 Florida
4 Buffalo
5 Montreal
6 Boston
7 Detroit
8 Ottawa

 

[Trapper]

Obviously there will be different views on who holds what status but for me, these are the players I protect at all costs:

Matthews(if drafted),Marner,Rielly.

As for Nylander, he is a big part of the future but if someone offered me a Seth Jones deal I would take it.

We still need 2 D, (a RHD Seabrook would be nice). Zaitsev could fit the other after I see him play.
A solid goalie who can play 60 games and is good for at least 40. Consistency.

The rest is coming along fine with Brown,Kappy,Lindberg,Hyman,Sosh,etc. A little more size with skill on the wing would be good. Finding players like Saad,Jenner is good. Keep the pipeline flowing.

 

[TheProspector]

Eichel, O’Reilly, and Reinhart as the best 1-2-3 in the league? Nopity nopity nope.