NHL Back of the Net thread

cestuneblague · 2022-10-08T23:14:53-04:00

Yes hockey's back in the picture and even though the M's have distracted me I'm still excited for the season. Interesting in the fact there doesn't seem to be too much change in predictions from last season, just a lot of potential breakouts from the younger teams. Unfortunately none of my teams look promisinf this year but still excited to go to some games, got Panthers & Kraken and perhaps Red Wings on the docket. Anyways for the surely wrong progniscations: Eastern Conference 1) Tampa Bay- Always seems like the cap is creeping up on them, but once again they seem primed to rule a stacked east. Smart offensive play and shutdown goaltending, don't really need much more than that and could see the first four-straight Stanley Cup appearances in generations. Target, meet back. 2) Toronto- Greatest regular season team, they'll outscore everybody and look dominant most nights, but until their goaltending can be effective consistently they're going to keep seeing playoff heartbreak. 3) Florida- Were at their best last year but also a bit lucky, got exposed a bit during the playoffs. If their offense can be more dominant early in games they can see a long playoff run, especially with those goaltenders, but their front lines still seem far from flawless. 4) Carolina- Boring but fairly brilliant, they have the easier division in a brutal east. 5) NY Rangers- As an Islanders fan it hurts to say this team is really good, especially behind the blue line. If their scoring stays consistent and they get a key breakout (namely Kokko) they could be a dark horse. 6) Pittsburgh- This is where it gets murky, I could see many teams competing for the last few playoff spots but all seem a few cuts below the top 5. Pitt still looks good enough to have one last hurrah, but it really is time to move on. Expect a clearance sale by January if they fall out of playoff contention. 7) Washington- Ditto all of the above. 8) Detroit- This is my no guts no glory prediction, Detroit has acquired so much young talent and they all have a great chance at a breakout year, Seider is my favorite young player next to Caufield and Beniers. Again, alot has to go right, but it looks lime the dynasty is coming back for a long time. 9) Boston- If they were healthy I would put them as a playoff team no exception, even with a heavily aging core. But so many injuries to key players, including many who won't be back till after the brwak, makes them a question mark. Can they make up a lot of ground so late in the season? Skeptical, but its very likely ill be proven wrong. 10) NY Islanders- Leagues steadiest team, donno if that's serving them well. They seem a long way off from their near-Stanley Cup appearance in 2021. Perhaps though their defensive-minded , keepaway-friendly hockey will help them earn a low playoff seed. 11) Colombus- Poached Gaudreau from the Flames, that was cute I guess, but despite some other decent moves they still need to do more to gain relevancy. However, they should be playing meaningful games in march. 12) Ottawa- Have made the right moves, should improve, but until they can stop the cheap goals they're not seeing the playoffs. 13) Devils- Have amassed some top young talent thanks to thumb-on-the-scale lottery luck good drafting, but still seem to be searching for consistency throughout their lineups and an overall identity. Jack Hughes staying healthy will be huge for them being relevant this year. 14) Sabres- Was impressed with how they handled the Eichel drama last year and were pretty competent overall on the ice. The east is too stacked for them to be competitive year-round, but for the third-times-a-charm this rebuild is actually going in the right direction. 15) Montreal- Wow they fell off hard after their Cinderella run, even with Carey Price healthy :cry: they don't seem anywhere near a playoff spot unless they're betting the farm on Kirby Dach. I donno, if Caufield and Suzuki have that long-awaited breakout they may be decent this year, but whether they want to admit it they're fully in reload mode these days. 16) Philadelphia- Both the twin dragons of bad luck and underachievment from their veterans have burned the franchise, its time to be awful and go after a Bedard and finally speed up a window of contention. Western Conference 1) Colorado- Still the team to beat, even with some losses, back to dynasty mode in the west? 2) Edmonton- How will they respond now that expectations are so high? Not only the two best skaters but arguably top offensive lines in the whole game. Is Jack Campbell the answer in front of the net to keep them from giving up cheap goals? If he stays healthy watch out, and they should dominate the pacific. 150 points for Bedard? 3) Wild- Only worry was Kaprizov and he's here, this is a potentially fierce team that may finally push Minnesotta back to NHL relevance, but finally seeing postseason success is vital in making that happen. 4) Calgary- Gad jilting them at the alter for the Blue Jackets ps wasn't great PR, but honestly they still looks just as good as last year's team overall. Deciding whether to blow up an aging core will have to be done in the next couple of years, but could see a Battle of Alberta rematch in the spring. 5) LA Kings- Have had a really nice rebuild, and even with virtually the same roster have a chance to see even greater improvement with all their young talent. 6) St.Louis- Stanley Cup core slowly withering away but they still got a pretty good team, should be competitive even if the roster blowup may be coming soon. 7) Nashville- Have had a quiet but effective rebuild, and with better goaltending should lock up a lower seed. 8) Las Vegas- Everything caught up to them last year, but made some deft low-key moves that should see them at least return to the playoffs. 9) Vancouver- It sucks when you make so many win-now moves and don't win, but may have enough talent to sneak into the West's open-ended playoff race. 10) Winnipeg- Were a canuck favorite to end the national championship drought, but got exposed a bit last year. Have very similar team as last uear, so really have to prove last year was a hiccup and not a team that has fallen hard from their recent peak. 11) Dallas- Defense and toughness will keep them in the playoff contention, but shou!d still struggle to put the puck in the back of the net. 12) Anaheim- This is where the bottom of the west drops out. They have a lot of young talent and modestly overachieved last year, so they could surprise. 13) Seattle- Made some savvy off-season moves and having Matty B. all year should help them be more competitive and (with better goaltending mind you) stop getting destroyed on the power play, but likely will take another lottery and pick-rich year before they start having an eye on contention. 14) Chicago- Schadenfreude for their struggles? No this is all by design, another bad year for a chance at a top player to finally speed up a rebuild. 15) San Jose- No longer have the Evander distraction, but should still be pretty awful this year. Frontrunners in the Bedard sweepstakes. 16) Arizona- The El Misterio Voyage de Homer episode was less bizarre than the Coyotes story. No, its not a joke, they're playing home games at ASU stadium which has about 6000 seats. That's going to be nearly 80 bucks for nosebleed tickets to watch the Coyotes lose badly. If this doesn't work are they going to play their home games on a frozen lake in New Mexico? Its time to take Old Yeller to the back of the shed and put it out of it's misery, move the damn team already. For playoffs I think its definitely plausible we see a Conference Finals repeat in both matches. For shits and giggles I'm picking for the Stanley Cup? Lightning over Oilers in 6, the former the new dynasty and McDavid ageees to a record-breaking contract in the near future with Edmonton.

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Poll: Next Great Hockey City?

Quebec City:	36%	[4]
Yellowknife:	0%	[0]
Houston:	9%	[1]
Kansas City:	0%	[0]
Cincinatti:	0%	[0]
Fargo:	0%	[0]
Anchorage:	9%	[1]
Providence:	9%	[1]
Halifax:	9%	[1]
Hamilton:	0%	[0]
Nuuk:	9%	[1]
Victoria:	0%	[0]
Portland (Maine):	9%	[1]
Yes Saskatchewan does exist:	9%	[1]

Total Votes : 11

cestuneblague Otana, but No Hito Profile
Straight Outta Ballard

Yeah it does in the end make sense why FA's would want to go to Florida, but I've lived right in Broward County, and I can tell you... it's the epitome of Fair-Weather fans. Even people there can attest that before they started contending for Stanleys, it was mostly Canadians who were attending the games. Now not a team I'm going to actively root against, which I don't find too productive these days. Other than the Blackhawks, unforgiveable what happened and the NHL "disciplinary team" for not even finding a wrist to slap.

Otherwise been an interesting off-season, I Donno about the Habs, they really need those extra enforcers to compliment their terrific scoring front-line. Bullish on the Islanders future 'cuz Schaffer's an absolute beast at 19. The Kraken are a loooooonnnngggg way from being relevant, they really need some basic oomph to their lineup.

cestuneblague Otana, but No Hito Profile
Straight Outta Ballard

Late and definitely don't have the know-how to put together a predictions/season preview, but go Habs. They look dangerous this year, but still need that enforcer (or two) to really make a deep playoff run. Islanders (team of the future Tim Blake Nelson says) are finally exciting again, and that was a dominant first game for the Kraken... at least! Should be exciting, have Islanders and Flyers and hopefully Habs tickets so will be great to get back to the ice. For Love of Jased Gawd no Vegas-Florida Stanley cup. Where are you Juno

junodog4 Future Grumpy Old Man Profile
Calgary

My prediction:

EAST
ATL
1. Panthers (booooo)
2. Canadiens (upstarts)
3. Lightning. (nearing end)
MET
1. Hurricanes. (still stacked)
2. Devils. (will surprise)
3. Caps. (not as good as people say, but...)
WILDCARD
7. Sabres. (tough division)
8. Leafs. (bounce back, but flawed)

9. Flyers (bounce back from bad start, but too late)
10. Bruins (lacking depth)
11. Senators (boo Tkachuk)
12. Islanders (lacking gamebreakers)
13. Rangers (will fade)
14. Bluejackets (directionless)
15. Penguins (too old)
16. Wings (disfunctional)

WEST
Central
1. Avalanche (scary)
2. Stars (still stacked)
3. Wild (also strong)
Pacific
1. Knights (best of bad division)
2. Oilers (one dimensional)
3. Sharks (Celebrini = ace)
Wildcard
1. Mammoth (sneaky good)
2. Jets (stubborn)

9. Ducks (out of balance)
10. Blues (transitioning)
11. Preds (not that bad)
12. Kraken (directionless)
13. Blackhawks (getting there)
14. Flames (finally rebuilding)
15. Kings (like the Kraken)
16. Canucks (bad on purpose)

Playoffs
EAST
Panthers over Leafs in tough one
Canadiens past Lightning
Canes squeak past Sabres
Devils surprise Caps

Canadiens upset Panthers
Canes tough it out over Devils

Canadiens past Canes

WEST
Avalanche crush Jets
Wild best Stars
Mammoth upset Knights
Oilers over Sharks

Avalanche in tough one over Wild (real west final)
Oilers struggle over Mammoth

Avalanche run over Oilers

Final - Avalanche over Canadiens
_________________
Finnegan was super bad-ass.

cestuneblague Otana, but No Hito Profile
Straight Outta Ballard

Im loving your optimism with the Habs, but I still think they need some in-season additions, as much as I love their front line they still need more depth 2-4 to have a deep playoff run, mainly in defense/enforcers because consistently stopping goals is their Achilles heel rn. Where can they find their Shea Webber (bloody impossible). Anyway got Devils-Habs birthday tickets so excited, and plan to be obnoxious in the francophone way.

Anyways yeah Im excited about Schaffer and the Islanders but they still need more talent around him, and the Kraken... have not been terrible! Though injury is rearing it's ugly head, I think they made addition by subtraction by moving on from Wright.

Again with you, No Florida or Vegas in the finals.

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