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Atlantic 1. Toronto - No real big losses here this off season, and I like their healthy roster 2. Tampa - With Boston taking a step back, I think they're the most logical team to jump in the Atlantic standings. Tampa is still quite good and their core isn't that old. 3. Boston - Even if Bergeron doesn't end up coming back this is still a team that won 65 games. They took some big hits, but there's enough there to still comfortably make the playoffs 4. Florida (WC) - They were a top tier analytical team all season. Injuries and cup finals fatigue will prevent them from being a dominant team this year but I think they get back into the playoffs 5. Ottawa - I like their young core, but I don't like their coaching staff and don't think their UFA signings are enough to get them in. 6. Buffalo - Not really a great 5v5 team this past season, at least in terms of xgoals. They can score, but they've still got some building and progressing to do. 7. Detroit - I honestly like Detroit's off season, but someone has to be 7 here. 8. Montreal - They suck and I don't see a short term way out of that Metropolitan 1. Carolina - Not much to say here. They're excellent and they should be a cup contender. 2. New Jersey - A loaded top six. Interested to see how Hughes holds up on defense and whether they feel the loss of Graves and Severson. But the forward group is too talented to not vault them to #2. 3. New York Rangers - They're hilariously old for a team that embarked on a rebuild just a few years ago. But Adam Fox + Shesterkin in their primes is still a nasty core, and their star forwards are still capable of putting up big seasons. 4. Pittsburgh Penguins (WC) - Hey speaking of old. If the Rangers are old the Pens are a retirement community. I think Dubas had a good off season and their bottom six and defense are much improved. If they're healthy that should be just enough to get them in. Would feel more comfortable about this prediction if they picked up EK 65. 5. New York Islanders - They'll just narrowly miss. Or just narrowly make it. Much like the Pens. 6. Washington Capitals - Everyone is counting them out but with a healthy Carlsson I wouldn't be totally shocked to see them get into the playoffs. But I think on paper they're the worst out of this trio that figures to compete for the last spot here. 7. Columbus Blue Jackets - They're on the upswing and they'll be a regular playoff team in a few years. Not there yet imo 8. Philadelphia Flyers - Dogshit garbage Central 1. Colorado Avalanche - A great roster still and if Makar plays most of the season I see them taking the division 2. Dallas Stars - Great off season. Just narrowly beaten by Colorado for the top spot in this divison. 3. Minnesota Wild - Should be the third best team here. 4. Winnipeg Jets (WC) - I had to put someone here and they haven't moved out Hellebyuck yet. The rest of this division is just so bad. Someone has to make it. 5. Nashville Predators - Saaros tries to hulk them into a playoff spot but can't quite. 6. St. Louis Blues - They're in that weird spot right now where they need to figure out if they're a rebuilding team or first round fodder 7. Arizona Coyotes - They'll be bad. They need to make sure Cooley will actually play for them. He's gonna be great, and it'd be hosed up if he snubbed them. 8. Chicago Blackhawks - Bedard will light it up but this is a tremendously bad roster still. Maybe they can do better than Arizona but hard to see them climbing much higher than that. Remember the 05-06 Penguins? This roster seems as bad or worse. Pacific 1. Edmonton Oilers - McDavid is reaching heights that we haven't seen since like Lemieux/Gretzky. He's insanely good. Whose to say he doesn't take even one more step this year? This team is hungry as gently caress for a cup. 2. Los Angeles Kings - They've got a good roster and I think Vegas will suffer a bit from the usual Cup hangover 3. Vegas Golden Knights - They'll be good and a comfortable playoff team, but cup hangover etc 4. Seattle Kraken (WC)- See no good reason why they can't be a playoff team again. Solid roster 5. Calgary Flames - Should compete for a spot but I like Seattle better 6. Vancouver Canucks - Sorry Canucks fans. This team is stuck in that awful middle of not quite being good but not quite being terrible. 7. Anaheim Ducks - With San Jose likely moving Karlsson and not having Meier, Anaheim seems poised to pass them 8. San Jose Sharks - They will be dire without EK and Meier. Stanley Cup Finals - Edmonton def Toronto Awards Hart Trophy: Connor McDavid Rocket Richard: Connor McDavid Art Ross: Connor McDavid Vezina: Igor Shesterkin Norris: Cale Makar Calder: Connor Bedard Selke: Mitch Marner Lady Byng: Jack Hughes Jack Adams: Jay Woodcroft Presidents Trophy: Edmonton Oilers (add your own questions if you want)... Who gets Celebrini?: San Jose Most improved team: Uh this is hard because I don't have a ton of standings variance in mine relative to this past season. Pittsburgh? Which team is going to fall off a cliff?: I guess you could say Boston relative to being a 65 win team but I still have them in the playoffs First coach to be fired: Luke Richardson Dark horse pick to go deep in the playoffs, East: Pittsburgh I guess, but only because I think anyone else in the playoffs could realistically go far and nobody would be surprised. Dark horse pick to go deep in the playoffs, West: Seattle Where will Erik Karlsson wind up? Pittsburgh Will McDavid top last season's 153 points? Yes Which goalie is going to be unexpectedly incredible? I dunno I'll go with the Kings duo. Copley/Talbot Which goalie who was good last season is going to unexpectedly completely go to dogshit? I dunno. Based on my standings, nobody My predictions are a little boring. I don't see much change happening in the standings though.
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Jul 20, 2023 19:54
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Mr. Kite posted:But Ovi is better than Sid. It's kind of an interesting discussion. From 05-06 to 09-10 when Ovechkin was at the height of his powers you probably would take him over Sid. Sid did have his 19 year old season where he crushed Ovechkin in points but aside from that one Ovechkin was I think better the other 4 out of 5 years. I think that Sid has been generally the better player from 09-10 onwards. So I guess it depends on how much you value prime versus longevity. Obviously Ovechkin has had great longevity too and Sid also had a great prime. But for me Ovechkin from 05-6 to 09-10 was an outrageously good hockey player, and I'd rank the work he did in those years up with anything that Sid has done. So if we're talking each player at his peak, it's a legit debate imo. It's too bad that Sid took eighty concussions because I think he may have put up a similarly absurd prime from 09-10 to 13-14. In particular 10-11 was peak Sid and it's a damned shame he didn't finish that season out.
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Jul 27, 2023 20:31
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ThinkTank posted:Sid also just had the 6th best points scoring season by a 35 year old ever with 93, so I don't really question his longevity either. Gretzky only had 102 at the same age. We just got used to Crosby just being a flawless hockey robot (with an Achilles brain). I kinda wrote that clumsily but what I meant to say was both had great primes and longevity. And if someone were to argue one over the other I could see compelling reasons to do so even as a Sid fan boy.
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Jul 27, 2023 21:00
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