With the 2014-2015 NHL Season just around the corner, now is as good a time as ever to take a look at how things will shape up this year.
Here is the key to understanding the predictions set out below.
◆ means playoffs by division
◇ means playoffs by wild card
□ means division winner
■ means conference champions
Eastern Conference - Atlantic
1). Tampa Bay■
2). Boston◆
3). Toronto◆
4). Montreal◇
5). Detroit
6). Florida
7). Ottawa
8). Buffalo
Yours truly, like many others, think that Tampa will be the best team in the East and Boston is an obvious pick, even with their cap issues. A gut feeling says that every person on the Leafs will play over their heads and they trade Reimer early. Bernier will stay healthy while relishing his number one role, along with great seasons from JVR Kessel Bozak and Dion, while Gardiner and Reilly take huge steps forward. Nylander is also going to be in the Calder discussion. Montreal is the first wild card if, and only if, Datsyuk and Zetterberg play less than 60 games (then Detroit is the 2nd Wild Card with Montreal just missing the Playoffs). The Panthers will be improved, but with this division, it will not be enough, even with Luongo in net. Improved production and bounce back season will not provide enough for them to make the playoffs, they will compete, however. Ottawa and Buffalo seem a cut below everyone else in the division.
Eastern Conference - Metropolitan
1). Pittsburgh□
2). NY Islanders◆
3). NY Rangers◆
4). Columbus◇
5). Philadelphia
6). Washington
7). New Jersey
8). Carolina
This is a very tough division to predict. There are six teams that have a realistic chance at only three spots. Pittsburgh is head and shoulders above the rest, and it is difficult to see Carolina being a factor at all. Pittsburgh will be coming together as a team this year and the new coach will give the superstars of the team a new approach. The middle is packed with teams that have an infinite amount of combinations of which order they may end up. The Islanders will take major strides this year, and with a full season with a healthy Taveres, Okposo, as well as contributions from their upcoming young players, they will be a fun team to look. The Rangers had some key departures, but with the core they have, along with Lundqvist, they will be okay. Here is where it gets tricky, with this writer seeing Columbus taking one of the Wild Card spots, but that depends on Ryan Johansen. The more of the season he misses, the more points that may slip away from the Blue Jackets. Philadelphia has a shaky defense and shaky goaltending in my mind, and it is hard to be sold on those factors holding up enough for them to reach the postseason. Washington is an interesting case. They have the best pure offensive player in the league, and they go and hire a coach who has a reputation for defensive structures. The depth at forward is a small concern and Brooks Orpik was given the worst contract this summer. New Jersey has their number one goalie, and it he should have a great season this year, however, their top scoring players (save for Adam Henrique at 24 and Travis Zajac at 29) are older than 30, and it will be hard for many of them to replicate production.
Western Conference - Central
1). Chicago■
2). St. Louis◆
3). Minnesota◆
4). Dallas◇
5). Colorado◇
6). Nashville
7). Winnipeg
The Central is hands down the best division in the NHL and it is going to be tight and fun to look. There is one weaker team in the division, being Winnipeg, but every other team is good. The same teams should be making the Playoffs from the West this year, as they did last year. Chicago and St. Louis, as we all know, will dominate during the first 82. Minnesota is a good, rising team with very good players. With that, and what this writer see as a breakout year for Charlie Coyle, will be the catalyst to them grabbing the 3 seed in the division. Dallas and Colorado will have their struggles early, but will beat out Nashville and take the Wild Card spots in the West. Dallas is the sleeper going into the Playoffs and Colorado will take a step back this year. However, with good goaltending and offensive production, they will edge Nashville. Nashville will be overjoyed to have Pekka Rinne back and healthy and has a true offensive performer in James Neal. We all know about their defense, but their Centers are essentially has-beens who will not be able to carry the load.
Western Conference - Pacific
1). Anaheim□
2). Los Angeles◆
3). San Jose◆
4). Vancouver
5). Edmonton
6). Arizona
7). Calgary
In this writer's opinion, 1 through 3 in this division is pretty easy to predict (barring extreme circumstances of course), but the rest is a toss up. Andersen will start hot, but by January, Gibson will be minding the nets. LA will have a typical LA season, and San Jose.... well... rebuild? Whatever you say Doug, yours truly still sees them as the 3 seed in the division. Ryan Miller will keep Vancouver in the discussion and the retool that Benning has done looks positive for the future. Edmonton will be improved, as everyone will finally see Nail Yakupov as the true talent he is, along with many of the other young rising stars in Oil Country. They will be holding a playoff spot into late February before falling off. Arizona with their New name, but will not see a new result as they lack a top flight offensive forward and have an average defense. Calgary is an interesting team, as Jhonas Hiller gives them credibility in net, Mark Giordano is a good top pairing D-man, but the offense will be the downfall as they lack depth. BUT let us not forget about Johnny (Gretzky) Gaudreau, who has a highly anticipated rookie season that should be a successful one.
Playoff Predictions
First Round: East
Tampa Bay defeats Columbus in 5 games
Pittsburgh defeats Montreal in 6 games
New York Rangers defeat New York Islanders in 6 games
Boston defeats Toronto in 6 games
Tampa will get over the first round hump with a healthy Bishop and an added dimension in Drouin. Pittsburgh has a capable backup in the event that Fleury struggles, but they will be performing well as a team this year and advancing. We have not had a NYI vs. NYR series in a while, and it will be a nice hard fought series, but the Rangers' experience will beat out the youth and excitement of the Isles. The Maple Leafs' luck will run out in their first round match up against the Bruins, but luckily, they will not be blowing a 3 goal lead with 13 minutes left in a Game Seven.
First Round: West
Chicago defeats Colorado in 5 games
Dallas defeats Anaheim in 7 games
Minnesota defeats St Louis in 7 games
Los Angeles Kings defeat San Jose in 6 games.
Colorado will be completely overmatched by the powerhouse that is the Chicago Blackhawks. In a rematch of last year's first round draw, this writer has a different result, as Dallas upsets the Ducks and becomes the bandwagon team. Unfortunately for Blues fans, the "first round curse" will continue as they run into a Minnesota team that ends the regular season hot, and the goaltending of St. Louis will fail them. In another rematch, LA wins without a dramatic comeback.
Eastern Conference Semifinals
Tampa Bay defeats Boston in 7 games
Pittsburgh defeats New York Rangers in 7 games
Western Conference Semifinals
Chicago defeats Minnesota in 6 games
Dallas defeats Los Angeles in 7 games
In this second round, there will be much excitement, with three of the four series going all the way to seven games. Poor Minnesota will catch Chicago for the third year in a row, and for the third year in a row will be bested by the Blackhawks. Dallas, feeding off the momentum of their upset over Anaheim, will upset the other Southern California team in a great seven game series. Tampa and Boston will fight to the death and Tampa's offense will outlast the depth of the Bruins. In yet another rematch, Pittsburgh will defeat the Rangers in another beautiful seven game series.
Eastern Conference Finals
Pittsburgh defeats Tampa Bay in 6 games
Western Conference Finals
Chicago defeats Dallas in 6 games
In the third round, the two number one seeds will meet from the East and Tampa's lack of experience in a high pressure situation of this magnitude will be the downfall against a Pittsburgh team with that experience and their new mindset. The luck of the Dallas Stars will finally run out, that coupled with being drained from the two prior series. The Blackhawks will continue their dominance of the Western Conference.
Stanley Cup Finals
Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins in 6 games
We finally see the dream match up for Lord Stanley. The machine that is Chicago will just be too much for the Penguins, although they will battle hard, and there will most likely be a couple overtime games. However, just like the last two years, the Chicago Blackhawks will win the Stanley Cup.
Please feel costless to sound off on these predictions!