Working on a story ... pick me 5 cup contenders for this year

[Bingo]

as easy as it sounds.

5 from the list (pick 5 not one)

[Vansmack]

Penguins, Islanders Blackhawks, ducks, kings

[jroc]

No Flames?!?!

[Toonage]

Lightning, Penguins, Blackhawks, Capitals & Kings

[nik-]

Bolts, Pens, Hawks with Stars and Preds as my "off the board"

[Nsd1]

Edmonton
Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
Connie Mac
McJesus ft. The 6 Giordanos

[CroFlames]

You are missing Flames bro.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Blackhawks, Penguins, Kings, Capitals, Bolts.

Dark horse picks: Flames and Panthers.

[CroFlames]

Pens, Sharks, Kings, Caps, Hawks.

[GranteedEV]

Pittsburgh (by far) is on a class of its own. Especially if Malkin is healthy they can be better than the team that won the cup last June.

San Jose, Tampa, Nashville, Washington, are my other 4 votes in that order. All stacked rosters with mostly reliable coaching.

Kings are a wierd case. They are going to be in a transition year and could surprise with younger guys like Gravel, Dowd, Amadio, Forbort, Shore, Kempe taking on the reigns but I'm just not sure they have enough goal scoring with Lucic gone and Gaborik getting old.

I'm not sold on Chicago's forward depth. Last year they were carried by Kane/Panarin - they weren't the contender they've always been. And Seabrook's decline is mirroring Wideman's decline for us, people just haven't picked up on it yet.

Ducks, Islanders, Stars, Habs maybe have the talent to be contenders but their coaching isn't tight enough to really hang with the big boys.

Rangers are not even a playoff team without Lundqvist.

Bruins are still reeling from the losses of Boychuk/Hamilton and the decline/buyout of Siedenberg. Just don't see their defense being tight enough.

[Da_Chief]

Pens, Caps, Preds, Bolts, Hawks.

Easy peasy, the only one I though about that's not on the list was Dallas but with their goaltending they are not a contender.

[Five-hole]

Pens - Same roster as last year.
Bolts - See above, but a younger team with another year of experience under their belt.
Stars - Goaltending still suspect, but a strong team otherwise.
Preds - Best D in the league, great goaltending, average forwards. Just need to get hot at the right time.
Caps - Eventually they'll break through, right? Great goaltending, explosive forwards, just haven't put it together, much like the Sharks of last year.

[Cali Panthers Fan]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Pittsburgh (by far) is on a class of its own. Especially if Malkin is healthy they can be better than the team that won the cup last June.

San Jose, Tampa, Nashville, Washington, are my other 4 votes in that order. All stacked rosters with mostly reliable coaching.

Kings are a wierd case. They are going to be in a transition year and could surprise with younger guys like Gravel, Dowd, Amadio, Forbort, Shore, Kempe taking on the reigns but I'm just not sure they have enough goal scoring with Lucic gone and Gaborik getting old.

Carter, Toffoli, Kopitar. Those guys can all fill the net regularly. When you have a hard nosed shutdown rest of your forward group, top defensemen, and Jonathan Quick, you can still win a lot of games.

I'm not sold on Chicago's forward depth. Last year they were carried by Kane/Panarin - they weren't the contender they've always been.

I'm confused by this. You mentioned consistent coaching as being a key factor for you earlier, but the Hawks have Quenneville, arguably the most consistent coach in the league who does nothing but win. I don't disagree that their forward depth is terrible, but they still have a very good defense, and a very good goaltender. Add Quenneville and they'll likely be in the mix again this year.

Ducks, Islanders, Stars, Habs maybe have the talent to be contenders but their coaching isn't tight enough to really hang with the big boys.

Rangers are not even a playoff team without Lundqvist.

That's a pretty big statement. They've done fine with Raanta in when Lundqvist was out. The team doesn't have a lot of flashy stars, but they're built very solidly throughout the lineup.

Bruins are still reeling from the losses of Boychuk/Hamilton and the decline/buyout of Siedenberg. Just don't see their defense being tight enough.

Agreed, the Bruins defense might be one of the worst in the East. Good thing they have Rask.

[the_only_turek_fan]

Dallas
Nashville
Chicago
Pittsburgh
Tampa Bay

Los Angeles would be my number #6.

[dino7c]

boo-urns

[Cecil Terwilliger]

I only picked 3. I don't know why. Premature submission I guess.

[MarkGio]

Why so few people taking the Sharks? They were just in the finals and haven't suffered any losses to their team?

[Itse]

I don't think the Ducks will look like competitors at any point. I think their last seasons streak was more anomaly than a representation of their true shape.

[Weitz]

Originally Posted by MarkGio

Why so few people taking the Sharks? They were just in the finals and haven't suffered any losses to their team?

They are old?

I think I picked them though.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Cali Panthers Fan

Carter, Toffoli, Kopitar. Those guys can all fill the net regularly. When you have a hard nosed shutdown rest of your forward group, top defensemen, and Jonathan Quick, you can still win a lot of games.

Sure. And they probably are a playoff team. But I think when it comes to a tight playoff series against San Jose or Nashville, they don't have that Justin Williams to score that big goal.

I'm confused by this. You mentioned consistent coaching as being a key factor for you earlier, but the Hawks have Quenneville, arguably the most consistent coach in the league who does nothing but win. I don't disagree that their forward depth is terrible, but they still have a very good defense, and a very good goaltender. Add Quenneville and they'll likely be in the mix again this year.

In the mix? Sure. But Toews doesn't have a LW, and other than Kruger they possibly have the most barren bottom six in the NHL, even worse than the Oilers.

Whenever they won with Quennville they still had crazy forward depth. Whether it was a guy like Ladd on their third line, or their most recent win where their Teravainen-Vermette-Sharp third line was lighting it up. You need three or four lines to contend. They are a two line team. It might get them to the playoffs but will eventually expose them.

That's a pretty big statement. They've done fine with Raanta in when Lundqvist was out. The team doesn't have a lot of flashy stars, but they're built very solidly throughout the lineup.

Raanta played very well last year. In fact Raanta has been a good goalie for two years in a row. He's one of the best backups in the league. The Rangers do have some scoring ability. But their defensive play is brutal. If you thought we were bad defensively last year, they were worse. Girardi and Staal are both bonafide liabilities.