Where does Montreal finish in the Atlantic?

[Deaner]

Ottawa
Boston
Toronto
Detroit
Tampa Bay
Montreal
Florida
Buffalo

Just to be different, and to make it easy for the Habs to exceed my expectations.

 

[Hackett]

Most likely somewhere in the top four, though it's hard to say where.

The Atlantic is very lopsided, with four top-third teams (Detroit, Boston, Montreal, and Ottawa) and four bottom-third teams (Florida, Tampa Bay, Toronto, and Buffalo) with a very large gap in-between. One of the top-4 teams might get unlucky with injuries or shooting (like Montreal in 11-12), or one of the bottom-4 teams might get correspondingly lucky (much like Toronto in 12-13), but in terms of team quality, the top-4 should make the playoffs and the bottom-4 should end up near the cellar.

Between the top-4 teams, while Montreal may be seen as the weakest of that lot, the four are really close enough that standard variations in performance should matter more than the actual differences in team quality.

I wish that to be true but I believe its wishful thinking to lump toronto into the bottom grouping. Can it happen? Sure. Is it likely? No. I see them being in the middle of the division with montreal.

 

[rafal majka]

I wish that to be true but I believe its wishful thinking to lump toronto into the bottom grouping. Can it happen? Sure. Is it likely? No. I see them being in the middle of the division with montreal.

Toronto's possession stats were terrible last season (very near bottom) while their team SH% was way above league average. They're doomed to regress.

 

[Teufelsdreck]

The Habs won't match last season's point total but there's no denying they have greater depth both in Montréal and in Hamilton.

 

[PhysicX]

The Habs won't match last season's point total but there's no denying they have greater depth both in Montréal and in Hamilton.

Oh no? You sure they won't match LAST SEASON's point total?

 

[onemorecup*]

Boston
Ottawa
Detroit
Montreal
Toronto
Tampa Bay
Buffalo
Florida

bang on , and we miss the playoffs

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

I think TO's making the playoffs. They've got some young kids coming up who are good players. As much as I hate Kadri I think he'll have a good season.

That being said, I don't see Reimer being as good this season. They might miss but I have them in the playoffs. I think they'll surprise people.

 

[googlymoogly]

Oh no? You sure they won't match LAST SEASON's point total?

If we can't match last seasons points in an 82 game schedule we'll definitely be picking top 5

 

[Whitesnake]

bang on , and we miss the playoffs

How's that possible. Tell me your first 5 in the Metrosexual division so we'll which #4 and #5 would be better than us.

 

[groovejuice]

Oh no? You sure they won't match LAST SEASON's point total?

He's obviously talking about prorated points.

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

Detroit
Boston
Montreal
Ottawa
Toronto
Florida
Tampa
Buffalo

I think it will be a dog fight between us, Ottawa and Toronto but Detroit I have doing extremely well. Unless age indeed changes up, their forward depth is loaded.

Probably being too optimistic there, but who cares.

 

[Hullois]

Boston
Montréal
Ottawa
Toronto
Detroit
Florida
Tampa
Buffalo

Detroit will have a problem with NE type hockey, even Montréal is full of goons now, and playing Boston, Toronto and Ottawa all the time will wear them down.

 

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

Low expectations because there's too many players that I hate on this team that will most likely be gone next summer. I actually feel like we will still get a lot of injuries, probably some important pieces like Pacioretty, Subban and Price and we will have no other choices but to tank if we want to get something back from guys like Markov, Bouillon, Gionta, Emelin, etc.
Short explanation:

Great start of the season, injuries and suspensions happens, bad losses leads to frustration, trading away players, calling up AHL players & tank.

Briere will be our most consistant foward, Price will be great until he break his wrist in a fight, Galchenyuk will get concussed, Pacioretty long term injury, a lot of short term injuries and a big part of our D core won't be back in 2014. We will do whatever it takes to draft Aaron Eblad next draft and Michel Therrien will keep his job.

Standings:

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

It's not my final prediction, I'll wait until monday night because I'll probably change my mind 100 times before then.

EDIT: It feels like 2011-12 for me

 

[Le Barron de HF]

Lol Florida and Buffalo ahead of Montreal, what a joke.

 

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

Lol Florida and Buffalo ahead of Montreal, what a joke.

It will be very close between those 3 teams

 

[Oleg Petrov]

MTL will come 5th in the division, but with all the extra points they'll get from playing crappy Buffalo, Tampa & Florida....I see 'em in 8th for the playoffs.

 

[Roulin]

Detroit
Boston
Ottawa
Montreal
Buffalo
Toronto
Tampa
Florida

 

[ECWHSWI]

pretty crazy to see what winning ONE round of P.O. (and being anihilated in the second by no-defense Penguins) can do to predictions...

 

[Le Barron de HF]

It will be very close between those 3 teams

Maybe if Montreal trades all of their UFAs because otherwise they have more talent and more depth than both of those teams.

 

[Roulin]

pretty crazy to see what winning ONE round of P.O. (and being anihilated in the second by no-defense Penguins) can do to predictions...

IMO losing Alfredsson and getting Spezza back is basically a wash. Then you have Ryan and MacArthur coming in, Zibanejad, Lehner and Wiercoch getting a year better and Karlsson maybe back to health. Of course I hope they fall on their faces, but unfortunately I think the Sens will be ok.

Also (unlike the Leafs), their success last season wasn't percentage based. They outshot their opponents an average of 33.1 to 31.3 - putting them firmly in MathMan's group of Bos/Det/Mtl/Ott, rather than with Buf/Flo/TB/Tor.

 

[sventington]

I guess it depends on which Habs show up. If they click like they did for the bulk of last year, and if Price can regain his form, I see us finishing 2nd, behind Boston. Otherwise, we will likely be 4th or 5th. I am not as scared of Detroit as many seem to indicate I should be, and I am on the fence about Ottawa.

 

[FrontierPsyCHiatrist*]

Maybe if Montreal trades all of their UFAs because otherwise they have more talent and more depth than both of those teams.

On paper we're the better team, but them injuries...

 

[ECWHSWI]

IMO losing Alfredsson and getting Spezza back is basically a wash. Then you have Ryan and MacArthur coming in, Zibanejad, Lehner and Wiercoch getting a year better and Karlsson maybe back to health. Of course I hope they fall on their faces, but unfortunately I think the Sens will be ok.

Also (unlike the Leafs), their success last season wasn't percentage based. They outshot their opponents an average of 33.1 to 31.3 - putting them firmly in MathMan's group of Bos/Det/Mtl/Ott, rather than with Buf/Flo/TB/Tor.

while it will strenthen their top6, they also lost Silfversberg in the deal... as for Ziba, Lehner and Wiercoch, them getting a year more of experience is no different than Gallagher, Galchenyuk or other youngsters on other teams having one more year in the pro...

it's not like their kids wil progress while kids from other teams wont you know.


and over a full season, I wouldnt expect a goalie to have a SV% of .940 or a GAA below 2.00 like Anderson had last season...

 

[Roulin]

while it will strenthen their top6, they also lost Silfversberg in the deal... as for Ziba, Lehner and Wiercoch, them getting a year more of experience is no different than Gallagher, Galchenyuk or other youngsters on other teams having one more year in the pro...

it's not like their kids wil progress while kids from other teams wont you know.

True, every team has them, the Sens just have more key players in their early twenties, and less well into their thirties.

and over a full season, I wouldnt expect a goalie to have a SV% of .940 or a GAA below 2.00 like Anderson had last season...

Their shooting % was 7.04, dead last in the league. That brings their PDO to 1003.4, pretty normal... and while Anderson's save % should come down, I'd bet on him remaining above average. I don't expect percentage regression to hurt them.

 

[ECWHSWI]

True, every team has them, the Sens just have more key players in their early twenties, and less well into their thirties.

like Price, Patches, Subban, Eller, Galchenyuk, Gallagher ?

Their shooting % was 7.04, dead last in the league. That brings their PDO to 1003.4, pretty normal... and while Anderson's save % should come down, I'd bet on him remaining above average. I don't expect percentage regression to hurt them.

come on now, we're talking about a goalie with a SV% of 0.940 or something with a GAA of +/- 1.7... be serious for a sec...