I'll go with the Habs. Here's why :

- Price is top 3 goalie in the NHL
- Subban will be next year's Karlsson
- Pacioretty, Eller, Cole, Desharnais, Plekanec = all pure goal scorers
- Emelin-Gorges will demolish people with their sweet bodychecks
- One of the best prospects pools in the entire league
- French coach and assistant coaches
- oniremosewa

Since we are playing this game I might as well bit although I do not beleive it.

Montreal will be the Kings of 2013 because we have:

1- a stellar goaltender
2- an injury free line-up to start the season
3- a balance of established veterans and top end rookies
4- Pernell Karl
5- a GM who plans on addressing the needs many have expressed for years
6- a coach who's game plan is based more on attack than Defense which was contradictory to the players we had
7- #Emelinboom
8- A bunch of kids who'll be knocking on the door

- thomas81

Typical reply from a Habs hater.

Hey Ek. Completely off topic, but are we ever going to get a reliable Blogger for the Flames???!!! Pretty big couple of weeks coming up with the draft and free agency and Vetter is nowhere to be found.

If you would let your obvions Leafs hate aside, you would admit that Gardiner is not going to be a star but he's going to be a superstar. Every GM in the league would give a ransom to get him.
- thomas81

I love you

Nice place. People sometimes talk funny though.
- CanadianTom

there's a big newfie that posts on here. that guy is bat sh!t crazy.

- CanadianTom

Just joking actually I like it the best out of the three major cities.

Repeatedly.....not 1 year as a bottom 5.
When have the Leafs last made the playoffs? Teams pretty much never go from being among the worst in the league for 5 years to cup favorite.

Your whole presumption is what if.

Well what if Gardiner digresses like most players do in their 2nd year? What if Lupul goes back to his old form? What if Connolly stays injured. What if Toronto does not lure any big ticket UFA's.

Toronto is extremely distant from being a contender.
- willey101

Funny how Lupul got hurt all of a sudden when Carlyle was hired......

How???the Kings already had an established YOUNG core in Brown, Kopitar and Doughty all they did was add some components such as Carter and Richards for more secondary scoring.

The Wild have a rotting Heatley a injury prone Latendresse and Bouchard and Koivu is starting to see 30 ,so is Backstrom. It will take time before Granlund, Coyle, Hackette and the rest will be able to carry this team.
- Alexzanki

You Forgot Setoguchi

Hockey is a game of skill, but it's also a game of luck. Sometimes weird things happen.

One of those weird things included the Minnesota Wild's start to last season. It was clear from the numbers that their great record was a mirage. They were getting outshot and outchanced at even strength. Their special teams were not especially good. They were riding high on the percentages (historically unsustainable combination of goaltending and shooting success) and were absolutely due for a regression. Dig past the wins and losses and look at the numbers underneath, and it was clear the Wild just weren't that good of a team, even as they sat atop the conference.

Any team can get lucky over a stretch of a few months. It would be a mistake to point to Minnesota's run of great fortune and bet that "if only they stay healthy, they can sustain that level of play for a full season." They can't and they won't, unless they make MAJOR upgrades to the roster in the offseason.
- Sven22

This is pretty much spot on. Their run to start the year was a product of a team that had a small margin for error and didn't make many. When they did, the goaltending bailed them out. No way they were as good as their record was in mid-December. With the injuries came guys playing outside the roles they were best suited for and many more mistakes that they couldn't overcome.

But, they're also not as bad as their record from mid-December on. If they were to add Parise and Suter, it would go a long way toward filling the major holes that made them a team with such a slim margin for error.

I love you
- Symba007

you fall in and out of love so easily. i'm beginning to think you don't have any standards.

you fall in and out of love so easily. i'm beginning to think you don't have any standards.
- RealityChecker

I'm a whore...what can I say

Typical reply from a Habs hater.
- oniremosewa

I'll go ahead and make you a statement: the Habs will finish dead last next year.

Do you guys even have any prospects or young solid NHL players?

Please don't name me Subban.

You Forgot Setoguchi
- Kuleminator

To hell with Setoguchi

I'm a whore...what can I say
- Symba007

that's what i was implying. i just wanted you to admit it to yourself. in any event, what are you doing later?

Holy drinking the cool aid batman.

Don't you find an issue with Toronto in that they completely suck?

I could see a team like Ottawa, who had a great playoffs. I am not sure that Toronto is ahead of the Islanders.
- Daman

Problem is we got to many dead wood as gapstopper:

Army
Connolly
Bozak
Mac
Lombardi

+ you got Lupul and Steckel also UFA in just one year

So it's a great time to rebuild

Common Burke Do The Kessel+5th Deal for Nash and the second overall

If you would let your obvions Leafs hate aside, you would admit that Gardiner is not going to be a star but he's going to be a superstar. Every GM in the league would give a ransom to get him.
- thomas81

I am not denying Gardiner has ability I am saying he'll likely slump much like the top D-men in the league have. Ask Myers, Subban, Doughty, etc..... it happens all the time.

This has nothing to do with Toronto hate, has to do with an idiotic statement. LA was favored by many to win the cup this year. Toronto has been favored by many to perhaps maybe make the playoffs as an 8th seed.

Major difference here.

You have major holes on D which is why Gardiner was forced to play the minutes he did. Schenn has underperfomed this year, Franson didn't dress for lord knows how long because the team had no confidence in him, Phaneuf played well, Gunnarsson was OK and Liles was njured so hard to gauge but you're gonna compare this to what LA has.

Second who is your Quick who has been an elite goalie for 3 years now?

Compare forwards? Championship teams have strength down the middle whether is Kopitar-Richards or back in the day of Yzerman, Fedorov, larionov. Hardly comparible to Bozak, Grabovski, Steckel, Connolly.

I love you
- Symba007

Laugh all you want. You obviously didn't watch him very often. He plays with poise and confidence. He's just an all around great young defenseman. A complete package.

Just joking actually I like it the best out of the three major cities.
- Morris

I see what you did there fellow Maritimer.

I'll go ahead and make you a statement: the Habs will finish dead last next year.

Do you guys even have any prospects or young solid NHL players?

Please don't name me Subban.
- thomas81

I think you should take off the Blue and White glasses and watch some hockey other then the Leafs ...educate yourself with a little knowledge of the league then come back here and have a proper conversation with all of us.

I'll go ahead and make you a statement: the Habs will finish dead last next year.

Do you guys even have any prospects or young solid NHL players?

Please don't name me Subban.
- thomas81

Subban

Problem is we got to many dead wood as gapstopper:

Army
Connolly
Bozak
Mac
Lombardi

+ you got Lupul and Steckel also UFA in just one year

So it's a great time to rebuild

Common Burke Do The Kessel+5th Deal for Nash and the second overall
- Kuleminator

wow

To hell with Setoguchi
- Alexzanki

Hey he's almost good in shootout ....well except when he felt down

[url] http://youtu.be/8WouP3lbn7o

Problem is we got to many dead wood as gapstopper:

Army
Connolly
Bozak
Mac
Lombardi

+ you got Lupul and Steckel also UFA in just one year

So it's a great time to rebuild

Common Burke Do The Kessel+5th Deal for Nash and the second overall
- Kuleminator

5 and Kessel for Nash and 2nd......Nash is worth more than Kessel and 2nd is worth more than 5th?

I'll go with the Leafs. Here's why:

-young defensemen with lots of upside: Gardiner, Schenn, Gunnarsson and Franson along with quality vets like Phaneuf and Liles.
-a potent offense led by Kessel, Lupul and Grabo.
-a strong season (after a terrible one) by Kulemin
-a bounce back season by Reimer
-a strong defensive system with an excellent coach
- thomas81

No... just no...

The Leafs don't have any players (with the exception of possibly Kessel) that you can compare to Brown, Richards, Carter, Kopitar or Doughty. Nor do they have a goalie that's even close to Quick's level.