Quote (Killingyouall @ 1 Dec 2020 18:31)
Difficult to determine.
I feel a lot of the Canadian teams have regressed (at least temporarily).
Canucks: Overall regression. Long term I think they will do well as the younger players get even better but for this season there is a huge limitation on defense and inexperienced players will have to fill in.
Markstrom won the Canucks many games in 40+ save efforts. I don't expect that consistently from Demko or Holtby. Holtby is used to having a strong defense in front of him. I don't think he is going to look good.
The top end talent the Canucks have could be a wildcard though. Sometimes you win games on talent alone.
Oilers As others have said it is likely you see a drop in production from Draisatl, Mcdavid and RNH. The wildcard on offense is Kailer Yamamoto.
He was a point a game player after he was called up but fizzled in the playoffs. If he puts up point a game numbers for an entire season (doubtful) you won't see a regression from the big three.
After those players the Oilers have nobody else to rely on offensively, the D is weak overall and goaltending is nothing to get excited about.
Flames I expect a rebound from Monahan and Gaudreau in terms of their offensive production. A lot of flames had down years. Odds are the offense rebounds overall from last season.
The Flames pilfered Markstrom, Tanev and Stecher. The team is bolstered for sure, at the expense of long term cap pain. Marky could push this team into one of the strongest in the proposed Canadian division.
It is always a mixed bag with how good a goalie will perform with a new team/system. Time will tell how much of a difference he makes.
Leafs They have the talent to be one of the better regular season teams for sure. I just have no faith in them having any playoff success so it won't matter.
I would not be surprised if they finish with the highest point total in the division only to get bounced in the first round by one of the more rugged, gritty teams.
The Leafs success will hinge on their ability and willingness to win the tough battles.
Jets I am predicting Patrik Laine puts forward the best season of his career. He is playing for that big money contract after taking a two year bridge deal.
A higher effort level will be seen from him which will help offset Hellebuyck likely regressing a bit after a stellar season. I also like this team in the playoffs due to their experience and combination of toughness/skill.
Habs Price and Weber will benefit from having an extended rest. This team made a lot of changes. Overall I feel they are a better team.
Price has the ability to steal a series. As he recently proved once again. Jonathan Droiun is going to put up way more than 15 points this year. I feel other guys will step up as well.
While I don't feel Montreal is one of the higher end teams I feel they can make some noise.
Sens The biggest surprise with this team is Eugene actually spent some money. Matthew Murray is the obvious wildcard.
He was awful last year but in the past he has been effective. A fresh start may spark some life back into him after injuries and a disappointing season set him back.
I still don't see the Sens getting anywhere this season.
Rankings - Ranked based on who I believe will have the most playoff success. Regular season has been discussed a bit more, so I wanted to go into more detail for the playoffs.
1: Winnipeg
2: Calgary
3: Montreal
4: Toronto
5: Vancouver
6: Edmonton
7: Ottawa
Hurts to put Calgary at #2 lol.
Good points, however I can't see jets being #1 haha. Hellebuyck was literally godmode, and they weren't #1 last season. Jets have insane top 6 talent, and godlike goalie but the rest needs help. Even if Laine scores 60g I don't think it will be enough for them to be #1 Canadian team.
I agree most teams regressed aside from the Habs, however I still think the leafs will easily be first or 2nd behind Habs. They got enough talent, but they also lost some depth and replaced them with aging experienced players. (Johnsson, kapenen for jumbo Joe, Simmonds} I guess adding bogosian and vesey helps too.
Flames finally have a goalie that can steal games, and have great depth everywhere. Although, I find their top end talent weaker than jets, leafs, oilers, and arguably Lolnucks but they lost toffoli so ye.
Oilers improved in an area where they didn't struggle by adding barrie. It should further improve their powerplay and rack up more numbers for mcdavid and drais. However losing klefbom is huge, their defensive game is their problem, and they lost one of the guys that is a big part of that. I find it odd that Holland didn't opt to try replacing Smith in a rare saturated goalie musical chair fiesta. Basically, they'll score more for sure, but also let more in. Who knows maybe pool party will also become another Yamamoto and oilers continue to win games just by outscoring their opponents. Who needs defense when you can just blitzzzz, seems to always work in reg season.
Everyone expects Ottawa to be last which can work in their favour. The players on that team will have a good time just playing hockey and further develop their game without any pressure. I'm sure they'd want to win games toward end of season that are crucial for other teams thst are in a race to make the playoffs
My bad, just read you are basing it on playoffs too. I feel Habs and flames will go furthest in post season
This post was edited by Secksii on Dec 2 2020 05:47am