Agreed. Most of these prediction threads suffer from a failure of imagination. Our predictions for the future are usually just repetitions of what happened in the immediate past. I think both LA and Chicago are done as elite contenders. Chicago already took a hit before the Kane incident; his drama could make it even worse for them.
We're due for the next wave of contenders. Get ready for Washington, Tampa, Columbus, Anaheim, St Louis, maybe even my Habs.
For next season I'd bet against Tampa making it back to the SCF (sorry - it's extremely rare for the same team to repeat), but provided Bishop is healthy or Vasilevskiy steps up, I see them among the elite and winning the Cup within the next two/three seasons.
The top of the East is pretty tight, although I will say I think we're going to be a better team than last our. Our only player who appears to be on a major decline is Carle, and we have two or three eager replacements for him. The rest of our players are on the upswing. Stamkos can't possibly be worse than last year (knock on wood) and Drouin looks set to explode if/when Cooper takes him off the leash. And, IMHO, we haven't seen the best of Anton Stralman.
Those are reasons for us to be positive. On the other side, Bishop's health is always a concern, and, I'm probably in the minority here, but I don't think Vasilevskiy is close. I think it was a mistake to forego a solid backup, leaving us vulnerable again, while Vasi could/should have been getting reps in the AHL. (I still think Drouin is about a coinflip for the NHL this year too.)
Meanwhile, CBJ looks like an undercover powerhouse, I don't think the Rangers are going anywhere, and Carey Price is Carey Price. So it's tight. I think, on paper, we have the best team in the East, but we're still very young and we saw last year how we struggled vs. good coaching.
I don't know what to think about Chicago. They look like they've taken a step back, but certain teams just know how to win. That said, over the past few years, the theories about all those extra playoff games adding up on teams, year after year, appear to be legit.