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In this edition of the hotstove we predict some teams that will exceed expectations and surprise some people in the 2016-17 season.
Todd Cordell
I know they play in an extremely tough division but I like the Winnipeg Jets.
They have an excellent forward core with some of the most underrated players in the league (Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Mathieu Perrault, etc.), a couple rising stars (Mark Scheifele, Nik Ehlers) and now young guns like Patrik Laine, Marko Dano and Kyle Connor will be added to the mix to give the team even more scoring prowess.
The bottom couple defensemen on the roster worry me a bit but they're set up fairly well with Dustin Byfuglien, Tobias Enstrom, Jacob Trouba and Tyler Myers eating up the vast majority of the minutes.
For me it comes down to usage. If Paul Maurice and co. lessen the workload of Ondrej Pavelec (give his starts to Connor Hellebuyck), Mark Stuart and Chris Thorburn I think they can be a very good team.
Again, the division worries me a bit but this is a better roster than the one that made the playoffs two seasons ago.
My backup surprise team, if you will, would be the Toronto Maple Leafs. I'm sky high on the kids that will be full timers this year (Auston Matthews, William Nylander, etc.) and I think Mike Babcock, the best coach in the NHL, will be able to get the most out of them. The weak division helps their cause, too.
Adam French
The Montreal Canadiens.
They will sneak into the playoffs in the Wildcard on the back of "Corey" Price and a more rounded offense. Their defense is very worrisome to me, but I think that it's good enough to get through the East.
About the forwards though.
Galchenyuk has continued to improve year by year and now looks to be given the reigns to play centre and give the Canadiens some much needed options there.
Radulov, whether you love him or hate him is an extremely talented and driven player. Whether he's driving to a coke den at 3am or driving his team to the Gagarin Cup, he's always an interesting player to watch. It's also not like he's an unknown quantity in North America. When he was younger he was well on his way to becoming Nashville's top forward and during his brief resurgence he WAS the Preds best forward. We forget that he was having himself a fantastic playoffs before he pissed it all away for a party night with the ugliest Belorussian in town. I think he will bring some much needed scoring to the Habs and pot 20-25 goals and 50-60 points.
Pacioretty is always good for 30 goals and Plekanec 50-60 points. A fully healthy Gallagher and the addition of Shaw make them more difficult to play against.
Desharnais can't get any worse...so there's that...? Can he?
I also think that Andrighetto will have a good year. Not anything crazy, but a 15g 25a year is my expectation. I really like his determination.
James Tanner
There's one team I think will absolutely shock the hockey world with a revaltory barrage of wins, highlight reel goals and cause tons of "no one saw this obvious and completely predictable progression of events" type commentary.
But this team's roster is so ridiculously good that their ascension should be obvious to anyone, if they could just see beyond the baggage. Thus I can't, in good conscience, say they'll be a "surprise" team.
So in that case, I'll say that the Hurricanes will be surprisingly competitive and get a playoff spot.
Recent posts:
Metro Division bold predictions
Atlantic Division bold predictions
Pacific Division bold predictions
Central Division bold predictions
Metro Division breakout players
Atlantic Division breakout players
Pacific Division breakout players
Central Division breakout players
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