Season Predictions thread

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by The Fonz

...who has been playing?

- Horak
- Brodie
- Butler
- Backlund

To add to this, Butler only played 5 games.

[hah]

At least the Flames will still be in a playoff position in January!

[troutman]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2013/...ns_favourites/

The Vancouver Canucks, at 9-to-1, have the best odds of all the Canadian teams. The Edmonton Oilers have odds of 25-to-1; the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs are at 30-to-1; the Ottawa Senators are at 40-to-1 while the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets are 50-to-1 favourites.

Here is a look at the complete list of odds to win the 2013 Stanley Cup:

Pittsburgh Penguins 8/1
New York Rangers 17/2
Vancouver Canucks 9/1
Los Angeles Kings 12/1
Philadelphia Flyers 12/1
Chicago Blackhawks 14/1
Boston Bruins 16/1
Detroit Red Wings 16/1
St. Louis Blues 16/1

[HPLovecraft]

New Jersey at 30/1? Looks pretty good.

[clancy]

Originally Posted by HELPNEEDED

Whole sale changes? Compared to 2-3 seasons ago we only have Iggy and Kipper left.

Pretty sure thats not true. You must be thinking 03/04, which is a lot more that 2-3 seasons ago.
This would be a great season to tank and retool for the following reasons:
- Dont care right now
-Spring is only 6 weeks after the start of the season
-Deep Draft

[Enoch Root]

Detroit 16:1??? same as Boston?

That's is way too optimistic.

[Fire]

When a new coach coming in for the Flames this season will probably be a write-off. They will have a "good" excuse because Hartley didn't have enough time to implement his system.

Next season the Flames better start turning it around or we will be seeing empty seats in the dome.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by Fire

When a new coach coming in for the Flames this season will probably be a write-off. They will have a "good" excuse because Hartley didn't have enough time to implement his system.

Next season the Flames better start turning it around or we will be seeing empty seats in the dome.

his first year in Colorado his record was 44-28-10 and he took the team to the conference finals

His first year in Atlanta as an interm 19-14-6

His first year in Herhey he was 43-22-10 won a championship

His first year in Cornwall 38-33-9 went to the third round

First year in Laval 38-27-5 won a championship

I don't think your theory holds water, especially when he was hired specifically because his system is suppossed to be easy to pick up.

[Violator]

9-1 odds somebody is sniffing glue

2011 was the Canucks year its not gonna happen for another ten minimum

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by Violator

9-1 odds somebody is sniffing glue

2011 was the Canucks year its not gonna happen for another ten minimum

They did win the presidents trophy last year, but that was largely on the back of the goaltender that the fanbase seems intent on running out of town, however the Sedins are both a year older and Kesler is in a state of perma-injured which makes the loss of Hodgson just a little bit more painful right now considering Kassian, while a good player doesn't appear to be able to slot into a top 6 role yet and now the Canucks strength at one time (their centers) now appears to be their main weakness with Sedin, Lapierre, and Malholtra being their only NHL proven centers, relative to the start of last year when there was Sedin, Kesler, Hodgson, Lapierre and Malholtra. Big hole in the second line right now until Kesler gets healthy... actually that should read, if Kesler gets healthy.

[Kiran403]

LA repeats as cup winner.

[Pierre "Monster" McGuire]

NY/Boston in the East. LA/Nashville in the West.

[AR_Six]

Originally Posted by Mean Mr. Mustard

They did win the presidents trophy last year, but that was largely on the back of the goaltender that the fanbase seems intent on running out of town, however the Sedins are both a year older and Kesler is in a state of perma-injured which makes the loss of Hodgson just a little bit more painful right now considering Kassian, while a good player doesn't appear to be able to slot into a top 6 role yet and now the Canucks strength at one time (their centers) now appears to be their main weakness with Sedin, Lapierre, and Malholtra being their only NHL proven centers, relative to the start of last year when there was Sedin, Kesler, Hodgson, Lapierre and Malholtra. Big hole in the second line right now until Kesler gets healthy... actually that should read, if Kesler gets healthy.

Canucks predictions are always interesting on CP, but obviously they are generally pessimistic as to the outlook. There are five points you're making here for assuming they're about to experience a major drop-off compared to last year: the starting goalie run out of town, kesler injured, centre depth lacking, Kassian not being in the top 6, and Sedins getting older.

1. Schneider was 3rd in the league in GAA and 2nd in save percentage last year among goalies who started 30 or more games. I don't see a major step down here from Luongo, really.

2. Kesler injured is obviously a blow, but recall that last season he was a shadow of his former self in any case and was not terribly effective. Playing 2nd line minutes and quite a bit of PP, he had 49 points in 77. In other words, whoever replaces him in those minutes probably won't be a big step down in scoring. In shut-down, yes. Either way you would expect he won't be out all season.

3. Centre depth is tied to the above. This may be resolved by a Luongo trade to some extent. It is a concern, but it really depends on whether Schroeder can hang in the bigs, as I don't think there's any concern with Lapierre and Malhotra centering the 3rd and fourth lines. They're perfectly capable of doing well in those roles and they have another guy (Ebbett) who is basically a standard replacement-level 4th line C, he was unremarkable but serviceable on the 4th line last season.

4. I imagine they'll see how Kassian does in the top 6 to start, but with Sedins / Burrows and Booth XXXXXXX Raymond / Higgins / Hansen there are enough players capable of playing in the top six that it's still a decent team offensively, even if he can't make it up there and ends up on the fourth line. In a 4th line role he should be fine.

5. You never know when the Sedins will decline but their style of game is not such that it should result in that happening early on. They aren't Ovechkin, their success is largely dependent on reading plays and making smart passes. So while I doubt they contend for the Art Ross again, I think they can be counted on for PPG or so, same as last year. They're only 32.

EDIT: I should note that you didn't mention defense. From last season, they're minus Salo and Rome, and plus Jason Garrison. I think that's a net gain in terms of Garrison being better than Salo (same big shot, but Salo's age has been obviously affecting his game for a couple of years). Chris Tanev is also a dependable, though not at all flashy, positionally sound d-man who is improving. So I don't think they take a step back on defense, either.

[MoneyGuy]

Both the Oilers and Flames miss the playoffs, but the Oilers finish ahead of there southern rivals in the standings. Get used to it, as you'll be seeing a lot of that over the next few years.

The Pens beat L.A. in six games to win the cup. Vancouver fails in the playoffs; no riots.

Regular-season MVP: Mr. Crosby.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Well I don't think that I am that pessimistic about the Canucks. I do think that the second line center is a position that at the current time is a massive whole on the team, especially in a shortened season. Kesler missing a couple months in a regular season would be a whatever occurrence, however in a short year where he hasn't been able to work out/condition to the usual level it could prove to be dicey. With regards to Schroeder I have my doubts, he is a small, skilled player who hasn't really excelled at the AHL level to date - I mean he is getting outscored by Andrew Ebbett, not really a great indication that he is ready to make any leap at the current time... however he is still young so it would be insanely stupid to write him off as a bust.

I don't think that Schneider will be a problem, however in a short season with a large number of back to back games (I presume) it would be nice to have a dependable backup who can shoulder some of the load.

As you say though it really does depend on what the eventual Luongo trade happens to be, personally I don't think it will be as bad for the Canucks as people here make it out to be, but at the same time the Canucks won't get fair value for a top 5 NHL goaltender (in my opinion).

[Cleveland Steam Whistle]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

his first year in Colorado his record was 44-28-10 and he took the team to the conference finals

His first year in Atlanta as an interm 19-14-6

His first year in Herhey he was 43-22-10 won a championship

His first year in Cornwall 38-33-9 went to the third round

First year in Laval 38-27-5 won a championship

I don't think your theory holds water, especially when he was hired specifically because his system is suppossed to be easy to pick up.

Yah, but I don't think the problem with a new system is going to have anything to do with our new coaches ability to implement a new system, it will be our rosters ability to actually learn something new or accept something new.

This Flames squad has proven time and time again they are adverse to change, aren't that sharp and take a lot longer to pick up new things than the average bear.

[getbak]

Kipper is so used to playing 70+ games in a season, he'll try his best to do it again, but falls just short as the Flames win the Cup after a 21 game playoff run.

[moon]

I think the young vs.old teams is a bit overrated. Yes young teams have the leagues in a short season but at the same time experienced teams have the experience (duh) of knowing how to win games when you might not be at 100%.

I think at the end of the day the same thing will happen as it always does talent will win out, good coaching will win out and likely the big difference will be good goaltending will be amplified this season.

Sure the Oilers have some young guys that have played together this year but they can't afford a bad 5 game stretch from Dubynyk. They can't afford a couple of games where Schultz needs to get up to playing defense against NHL quality players and they can't afford any time where their top guys can't carry the load game after game.

I think much like last year they will come out hot with posters like Money Guy telling us to "get used to it" and then fade when their consistency isn't good enough and their crappy support players don't step up.

[Roof-Daddy]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

Both the Oilers and Flames miss the playoffs, but the Oilers finish ahead of there southern rivals in the standings. Get used to it, as you'll be seeing a lot of that over the next few years.

Haha. I love how confident you are considering the fact that the grease haven't finished ahead of the Flames since 8 seasons and 2 lockouts ago, and have finished an average of 16 points behind the Flames over that span.

Sure it could happen, but to be so cocky about it is pretty funny.

[Username: Flames]

Flames and Oilers will meet in the second round of the playoffs (in which the good guys {FLAMES} win, of course.) It's about time I see The Battle of Alberta happen for real. Last time they met in the playoffs, I was one year old.