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Franchise Player
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Boca Raton, FL
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Now that Buffalo, Calgary, and Edmonton are off the board we're starting to get into a guessing game. I'm listing the rest in normal standings order that I think they will finish in this year.
Nashville: Have some holes at forward for sure, but have a surprisingly decent depth of players at various positions. Getting Ribeiro, Jokinen, and Roy makes them at least passable at center, and they have a few wingers who can score some goals, but no great offensive threat. They have a very solid defensive unit (Weber, Josi, S. Jones, Ellis, Volchenkov, Eckholm), and they will hopefully have a healthy Rinne back. The one problem is no more Trotz coaching the team, so we'll have to see how they do with a different system. I'm guessing not as well, but they have enough talent to keep the puck out of their net and stay out of the basement.
Islanders: Halak and Johnson aren't terrible, but I doubt they're anyone's top 10 choices for building a tandem in net. Halak has consistency issues, but can be brilliant at times. They have a wonderful and relatively young d-core (Visnovsky, Strait, Hamonic, De Haan, Hickey, Reinhart) to help out Halak, providing they figure out how to play better overall team defense. They haven't replaced Moulson/Vanek on their top line, so hopefully someone steps up in the organization, and they could use a bit more bite in their bottom 6 other than Clutterbuck. This is still a pretty decent team, but are missing a few pieces to really compete and make the playoffs.
Ottawa: Sure, no superstars on this roster besides Karlsson, but just about every player is solid and has decent production. They had trouble keeping the puck out of their net last year, but both goalies had SV% above .910, so obviously they just gave up way too many shots. I chalk it up to an off year because the year before with relatively the same team, they were 2nd in the league in goals against. They are decent enough offensively to be slightly below middle of the pack, and as long as they get back to their defensive system the year before, they should be on the bubble for a playoff spot.
Toronto: Bernier showed starter potential last year to finally solidify the goaltending for Toronto, and Reimer isn't a slouch either when called upon. The issue is defense, and getting Robidas and Polak should help solidify the back end and get away from purely offensive defensemen. Phaneuf's overrating aside, he's still a decent top 4 defenseman, and Rielly, Gardiner, and Franson help round out an adequate overall d-group. Toronto's centers aren't the best by any stretch, but are serviceable enough. The wingers pack a lot of offensive punch at the top, but fall off significantly and their bottom 6 leave something to be desired. They will have trouble keeping the puck out of their net again this year, but should score enough to offset that. Still won't be anywhere near the playoffs however.
Winnipeg: It all hinges on Pavelec. He's never going to be an all-star, but there's nobody else even close to carrying the team right now. If he can keep the GAA below 3 they will be a decent team, because the Jets can definitely score goals. No real weakness in their forward ranks, except for maybe a shut down line. The defense is young and improving, so again, hopefully they protect Pavelec a little more. A full year of Maurice should help as well, as the coaching before was abysmal.
Florida: Luongo is back and helps take care of a position that has been a real organizational weakness since he was traded away in the first place. The defense had been below average, but adding Ekblad and Willie Mitchell should round out a group that already has Campbell, Kulikov, and Gudbranson. The question marks are still on offense as Huberdeau has yet to break out in a big way, and Barkov will be in his sophomore season. Bjugstad has potential to be a big scoring center, and they still have Boyes and Jokinen to add some offense on the wings. Bolland, despite being overpaid, solidifies the 3rd line both offensively and defensively, and there's enough depth of talent to fill out the wings effectively. All that being said, the Panthers have a long way to go to prove they aren't terrible, so here they are.
Vancouver: The declining Sedins need to return to form or there will be no offense to speak of in Vancouver. Bonino might be a decent 2nd line option, or he might have had a big year and return to what he was before. There are some decent forwards if they can get back to form, but it's incredibly hard to read right now, and they could struggle a LOT on offense this year. The defense is still solid and can do a lot to help out Miller and Lack, who are solid enough goaltenders despite Miller's decline. Still, team chemistry seems to be at an all time low and the organization seems on the way down. I predict a big drop off this year.
Arizona: I don't see any offense out of the forwards this year. That is a woeful group offensively. Ekman-Larsson and Yandle will have to provide a lot of offense to not be the worst offensive team this year. Still, they play a strong team game and do well to keep the puck out of their net, and Smith is a pretty good goaltender. Overall, there's just not enough talent on this team to keep them out of the bottom 5, especially with a tough Western Conference.
Carolina: They might have the worst defense in the entire league. When Andrej Sekera is your best defenseman you are in trouble. Cam Ward seems to have lost his game entirely, which means it's all up to Khudobin to be the go-to guy. He could handle it, but has never played more than 36 games in a season, so could be a question mark still. The team has decent forwards, but nobody who is near a PPG rate, so it's not enough to overcome the awful defense and suspect goaltending. Plus, they could be moving the Staals at some point to go full tank mode. I suspect they will be worse than 4th last, and I would actually switch Carolina and Calgary in this poll right now.
Anyways, here's my final list:
19th-Nashville
20th-NYI
21st-Ottawa
22nd-Toronto
23rd-Winnipeg
24th-Florida
25th-Vancouver
26th-Arizona
27th-Carolina
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"You know, that's kinda why I came here, to show that I don't suck that much" ~ Devin Cooley, Professional Goaltender
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