Quote:
Originally Posted by Mathgod
The one thing I think you're not taking into account is that Carter Verhaeghe had a monster playoff performance and seems poised to have a bigger year than he had last season. The Panthers likely won't win the PT this season, but they'll be one of the teams in the mix to win the east.
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Teams fall for this all the time.
I like Verhaeghe and he's been great for the past 2 seasons, but I wouldn't bet that a 10 game sample size means he's now going to be over a PPG this season.
He's played on a 60 point pace the last two seasons, and maybe he can get to around a PPG if he's playing with Barkov full time and taking more reps on the top PP unit.
But to me that also means Tkachuk isn't getting 100 points again.
Personally I would put the Panthers between 92-96 points, which is right on the bubble. I think Tampa and Toronto are clearly better, and I think Ottawa has made big strides (although Talbot being hurt risks that) and Boston is always good but have lots of injuries.
As a whole the Eastern conference will be much tighter this year though and I doubt we see 8 clear playoff teams in the East by Christmas like was the case last year.