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It’s that time of year again...Prediction time! I’ll have a few posts like this where I try to predict certain things that will happen in the regular season, and first off it is the divisional standings. It seems like there’s more parity than ever, and I definitely had to go back and change my picks multiple times. What I’m saying is, don’t use these if you’re betting online...
Nevertheless, I’ll stick with what I have here:
Atlantic: (*= wildcard)
1. Tampa Bay Lightning
2. Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Boston Bruins
4. Florida Panthers
5. Buffalo Sabres
6. Montreal Canadiens
7. Ottawa Senators
8. Detroit Red Wings
The top four seems pretty set, although I wouldn’t count out a surprise Sabres push. The Canadiens, Senators, and Red Wings could all realistically finish dead last in the Atlantic, and I’d be shocked if they weren’t grouped in the bottom-3. Although the Lightning look like the best team on paper, I was close to picking the Maple Leafs for first just because I think it will be very close. Even the Bruins still have a very solid team. At the end of the day though, Tampa Bay probably has the best roster in the entire league.
No other division has this much separation from the good and the bad teams.
Metropolitan:
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Columbus Blue Jackets
3. Carolina Hurricanes
4. Washington Capitals*
5. Philadelphia Flyers*
6. New Jersey Devils
7. New York Rangers
8. New York Islanders
I feel pretty confident in the two New York teams finishing at the bottom, and I’m not really sold on the Devils either so 6th seems like a good spot for them. The top five was a lot harder to choose though, because I could envision every team except for the Hurricanes winning the division. I still like the Hurricanes as a team though, and I’m going to fall into the trap of picking them to make it again, despite them failing every single time that people pick them to be the surprise team. It all depends on Scott Darling and Petr Mrazek, because with the acquisition of Dougie Hamilton, they’ve assembled one of the best blueline’s in the game, and they have some talented forwards up front. Maybe they won’t make me look stupid this time.
I have both the Capitals and Flyers in the wildcard spot because I just can’t keep any of those top-5 teams out of the playoffs. I love the Flyers offense, and although I think the Capitals will take a step back this year, I doubt they’ll miss the playoffs entirely. The Penguins didn’t get better over the off-season, but a rebound season from Matt Murray will go a long way for them. I love the Blue Jackets roster too and I think this year they might finally be able to win a round or two in the playoffs.
Despite the reigning Stanley Cup champions being here, there certainly isn’t a standout team that I felt compelled to put first, but the Penguins are always a good bet.
Central:
1. Winnipeg Jets
2. St. Louis Blues
3. Nashville Predators
4. Dallas Stars*
5. Minnesota Wild
6. Chicago Blackhawks
7. Colorado Avalanche
I think the top-3 in this division are going to be phenomenal. The Jets lost Paul Stastny, but they are still fantastic all-around and will challenge for a Cup. The Blues easily had the best off-season of any team, and now have one of the best offensive lineups in the game. They added Ryan O’Reilly, Patrick Maroon, David Perron, and Tyler Bozak, plus they have rookies Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas who have a chance to make the team. That is in addition to the forwards they already have like Vladimir Tarasenko, Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn, Robby Fabbri, and Alex Steen. I’m expecting big things from the Blues.
Then there’s the Predators who I feel wrong putting in 3rd, because they should also be one of the best teams in the league. They have depth everywhere in the lineup, and finishing 3rd would be a cruel punishment for playing in the Central division. I’m not confident in the rest of the division, but to me the Stars look like the best bet to make it. They could fall flat on their face again, but they have some incredibly talented players.
Then again, I can’t reasonably write off any of the Wild, Blackhawks, or Avalanche because realistically they aren’t bad teams. Obviously the Avalanche made the playoffs last season, but I don’t think they’re quite there as a legitimately good team---and last place in this division will be much higher than in other divisions.
Pacific:
1. San Jose Sharks
2. Vegas Golden Knights
3. Calgary Flames
4. Arizona Coyotes*
5. Los Angeles Kings
6. Anaheim Ducks
7. Edmonton Oilers
8. Vancouver Canucks
I’ll be honest, I could’ve thrown darts at a wall to choose the 2nd-7th spots, and it would look reasonable to me. After adding Erik Karlsson, the Sharks look like the team to beat, and the Canucks look like an obvious last place team. Besides that though, I think that any combination of three teams could make the playoffs in addition to San Jose. The Knights are still a really good team and I like what they did by getting Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny, but they’re due for slight regression as well. At the same time, there’s an argument to be made that they should repeat as division champions.
I was all over the Flames last season and they severely disappointed, but I think they are going to bounce-back from that, especially after adding James Neal. It's risky putting the Coyotes in a playoff spot because that'd be a huge jump, but I like what they've done. Antti Raanta is legitimately a top-10 and maybe even top-5 goalie in the league, plus their defense is very talented. The forward group has some pieces but is still underwhelming, but overall the team has a chance to sneak in.
It feels strange putting the Kings, Ducks, and Oilers on the outside looking in, but it’s more about not having enough spots rather than me not thinking they are any good. Having said that, it is preposterous that the Oilers haven’t done more to surround Connor McDavid, and if they do end up missing the playoffs again then the organization needs a clean sweep. Overall, the Pacific is all over the map and you’re lying if you say you know how it will shake out. Seven teams here have realistic chances of making it in, and some of them are impossible to differentiate between each other.
Like I said earlier, these picks were very hard to make. I’ll almost certainly look back at them in a month or two and wonder what I was thinking, because that happens every year. It’ll sure be interesting to see how far off or how close I am on these at the end of the year.
What do you think the standings will end up looking like?
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