News Article: Toronto's Official NHL Yearbook 13-14 predicts Ottawa to finish 9th in East

[CanadianHockey]

I'm hesitant to make a prediction. More divisional games where we seem to suck (Toronto and Boston recently) could make this a long season. Goaltending could fall back to average. On the other hand, what happens if Ryan and Spezza click, Karlsson's back in Norris form, and we get a good, healthy year from everyone?

 

[Punchbowl]

You do math funny.

Alfredsson (-)
Sergei Gonchar's (-)
Spezza (+)
Karlsson (0)
Ryan (+),
MacArthur (0)
Silfverberg (-)
Cowen (0)

I can see why you think the team will struggle.

No kidding, I'm not sure how adding Karlsson back in is a 0 when he was our #1 defenceman in the playoffs despite having returned early from a debilitating injury. He's now had an entire summer for rehabilitation and even at half strength is the best D on our team. Then Cowen is also a zero for whatever reason, but Spezza is counted? He should have just gone with:

Added
- Spezza
- Karlsson
- Cowen
- Michalek
- Ryan
- MacArthur
- Conacher
Maybe even Anderson

Lost
- Alfredsson
- Gonchar
- Silfverberg
- Bishop
- Latendresse
- Regin

Are the additions inferior or superior to those players we lost? I may have missed someone, but I'm 100% in the camp saying we've improved over the summer. The future is far less bleak than randomly assigning players values based on their contributions last year if you just look at net intake vs out-take. It will still be difficult to make the play-offs, but I'm confident we'll be in contention. No need to get upset over what a magazine says, a publication's first job is to sell papers and stay in business, their second objective is to be accurate. This is just as egregious as the 'Sens for cup' articles.

 

[tony d]

Yeah, I'd have it the other way around. Still it's a Toronto publication so what do you expect?

 

[Charliebox]

I'm not sure what this publication is, or who are the 'experts' making these predictions, but I almost think it's a joke. It's like an article in the Onion or something.

Let's just break it down.
Forwards - slight advantage Sens
I say that cause the Sens will have three legitimate scoring lines, while the Leafs only have two. Also, I can't see the Leafs 4th line getting much ice time. Pretty much all liabilities on that one

Defense - Well that one is pretty obvious. The Sens lost Gonchar and have a bit of a hole in the 4th spot, but the top 3 are far and above anything the Leafs have (maybe with Fransen as an exception).
Goaltending - what needs to be said. Ottawa has the best 1,2 punch in the league.

Coaching - Not taking anything away from Carlysle, cause he is a great coach, but

McLean just won the Adams. You have to give it to him.

So how can a so-called expert even come close to ranking the Leafs ahead of the Sens? Maybe they could have put the Leaf forwards ahead of Ottawa's (at least that one is up for debate), but the other three are not even close.

**Edit, it's publications like this that get Leaf fans expectations so high going into every season. I think the media in Toronto has a lot to do with Leafs fans delusions about their team every season. There is just as good of a chance that last year was a 'one off' as there is that they are for real.

 

[canadiancreed]

The title says everything about how valuable its content is.

 

[pageaus tooth]

Here is another prediction of mine:

1. Penguins
2. Boston
3. Red Wings
4. New York
5. Ottawa
.
.
.
.
3o Toronto

I think this is very possible with the exception of Toronto being 30. They will be hard pressed to beat Montreal in the coveted draft position of 1st overall.

 

[SensNo1]

The Sports Forecaster, a Toronto-based publication, predicts we win the cup!

The plot thickens.

 

[Margaret Trudeau*]

Alfredsson is the only reason this team wasn't in the lottery last year. Once Spezza is injured and Karlsson starts having ankle problems this team will have major problems.

 

[PlayItAgain]

Alfredsson is the only reason this team wasn't in the lottery last year. Once Spezza is injured and Karlsson starts having ankle problems this team will have major problems.

Really? Did you watch games last year? I think it's obvious the elite level goaltending the Sens got last year had a little more to do with us not being in "the lottery last year".

Player 11's mediocre offensive numbers certainly didn't put us in that position. We were one of the worst goal scoring teams in case you forgot.

 

[NyQuil]

We're going to be all over the map in terms of predictions because there's so little information to go on with all of the hijinks of last season and subsequent personnel changes.

 

[Margaret Trudeau*]

Really? Did you watch games last year? I think it's obvious the elite level goaltending the Sens got last year had a little more to do with us not being in "the lottery last year".

Player 11's mediocre offensive numbers certainly didn't put us in that position. We were one of the worst goal scoring teams in case you forgot.

good point about the goalies. Alfie was just playing with Turris though. I still stick to what I said.

 

[Penalty Kill Icing*]

Can someone please provide a link to this yearbook?

I tried google, but first result was this thread.

 

[My Sweet Shadow]

The fact that they have the leafs at 4 shows how heavily biased it is. The leafs made the playoffs in a shortened season and they are already predicting them to be fourth in the east in a full season.

The sens will be fighting for the 5-8 spot in the east. They will be fighting for the 3rd spot in the atlantic division just like montreal and toronto.

Isn't that true for every team that made the playoffs last year?

Obviously, you have to take every "forecaster" with a grain of salt. They're all 100% opinion; it's not like there's a mathematical formula you can use to eliminate the bias of whoever is writing it.