Predictions Thread

[NJDevs4978]

Except Tri who gets his own threads because of his volumnous previews

Sidenotes: Funny how I can't remember the damn generic division names, but I still remember Patrick, Adams, Norris and Smythe. So much for it being easier to remember the generic names And like Tri I had to go to extrordinary measures to educate myself of who's on whose roster - I did something a little different though - I manually edited the rosters of NHL2K6 which took several hours, but did help me know generally who's on who's team

*-playoff teams, **-division winners

Atlantic - **Philly, *Devils, *Isles, Penguins, Rangers

Northeast - **Ottawa, *Boston, *Toronto, Montreal, Buffalo

Southeast - **Tampa Bay, *Atlanta, Florida, Carolina, Washington

Central - **Nashville, *Detroit, *Columbus, Chicago, St. Louis

Northwest - **Calgary, *Vancouver, *Edmonton, Colorado, Minnesota

Pacific - **San Jose, *Anaheim, Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles

East notes: I do see Toronto making one last run at least to make the playoffs, but it depends on Belfour. If he's healthy the Leafs will probably make the playoffs with Grumpy Old Men, if not then Montreal or Florida'd probably be the beneficiaries. Of course same applies with Atlanta if they have no Kovalchuk, but I think they find a way to work it out Devils-Isles are very close for me I could see it going either way for second place in the division.

West notes: Almost picked Colorado for last cause I could see guys either getting hurt or packing it in, but then I remembered Quenneville's there and he probably won't let that happen. I'm not as high on Columbus as everyone else, but really not a lot of the teams in the West are any good anyway, might as well go with a trend playoff pick. I almost picked Dallas over Anaheim cause I'm wary of Giguere, but even if he's not that great Burke's teams usually GET to the playoffs and they do have the Nieds connection now. I picked Phoenix over LA for fourth just cause CuJo's usually better when he's got something to prove and when he gets to see more shots.

Playoffs (first round)

East - [1]Philly over [8]Toronto in 5, [2]Ottawa over [7]Atlanta in 6, [6]Boston over [3]Tampa in 6 (just cause I have to pick an upset), [4]Devils over [5]Isles in 7

West - [1]Calgary over [8]Anaheim in 6, [2]Nashville over [7]Edmonton in 7, [6]Columbus over [3]San Jose in 6, [4]Vancouver over [5]Detroit in 6

Playoffs (second round)

East - Philly over Boston in 5, Ottawa over Devils in 6

West - Calgary over Columbus in 4, Vancouver over Nashville in 6

Conference Finals - Ottawa over Philly in 7, Calgary over Vancouver in 6

Stanley Cup Finals - Ottawa over Calgary in 6 - yeah pretty gutless final pick, since usually one non-chalk team makes it every year.

Edited September 30, 2005 by Hasan4978

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

I won't go as far as to pick what team will finish where, but I have Devils finishing somewhere in the bottom four seeds and getting knocked out in the first round. I think the next couple of seasons are going to be rough, by Devils' standards. When you're capped out with a less than spectacular roster and don't have a lot of immediate help coming from within, sometimes you have to take a step back. It's no one's fault...every team goes through this at some point, and we've had a long and prosperous run. But I definitely see this coming.

[Derek21]

East

*1.Flyers

*2.Lightning

*3.Senators

4.Bruins

5.Devils

6.Islanders

7.Canadiens

8.Thrashers

Comments: Originally I had Toronto sixth but the preseason has changed my mind. They sound old and slow and those aren't good combos entering this new NHL wave. The Flyers boast plenty of depth and talent everywhere you look. The questions are is that D mobile enough and can Esche deliver a Cup. Tampa has as much talent as anyone up front, it's scary. Their D remains solid. Is Grahame good enough to repeat? The Senators are once again loaded. How will Heatley do and does Hasek have anything left?

The Bruins look to be darkhorses to compete for the Cup. Yes, I said it. Raycroft will not fizzle out and they will score a lot of goals. Thornton will challenge for the Art Ross and Hart and silence critics. The question is on D. Is Leetch too old and when will O'Connell wake up and re-sign Boynton? The Devils have by far the best goalie and now it's a double edged sword because his puckhandling skill will be even more dangerous with two-line passes allowed. So much for the so-called Brodeur rule hurting him. I really like this team's forwards but a lot depends on the health of Elias, Mogilny and rookie Parise. The big question is will their D be as good as it was without the cornerstones?

The Islanders boast some of the best talent up front. Robert Nilsson is one to watch and Hunter could score 40 this year. York looks good too. DiPietro is ready to grab the mantle as a top five goalie and Snow looks surprisingly good without all that equipment. Is a D of Brad Lukowich, Brent Sopel and Alexei Zhitnik Cup calibre? As long as Jose Theodore stays healthy, Montreal should be competitive. Their top two lines will be fun to watch and Latendresse looks to have made the roster. After Sheldon Souray though on D, what else is there?

Ilya Kovalchuk's greed might cost Atlanta their first ever postseason. The addition of Holik and trade for Hossa and deVries should help as well. Is Lehtonen ready to carry this team? How much will Kovalchuk be missed and can that D get the job done?

Rest of Pack:

9.Sabres-could benefit from no Kovalchuk

10.Leafs-old, older and oldest

11.Penguins- if they had a D, they'd be in

12.Panthers- hard to figure out what Keenan is doing

13.Hurricanes- no goalie and no D = little hope

14.Rangers- Tom Poti, and Dale Purinton: enough said

15.Capitals- well at least they have the Calder winner

Playoffs:

Round 1- Flyers over Thrashers in 5, Lightning over Canadiens in 6, Islanders over Senators in 6, Bruins over Devils in 7

Semis- Flyers over Islanders in 6, Bruins over Lightning in 6

Conference winner: Bruins over Flyers in 7 (angry Flyer fans toss beer on ice after Patrice Bergeron undresses Derian Hatcher for the OT winner and millions of Flyer fans wonder about that whole "Back where they belong" campaign)

I'll do the West later.

[NJDevs4978]

I had my picks a while back but the thread got buried I think mine were something like:

1 - Flyers - the pressure's gorilla-sized on them but they have enough vets and leadership to handle it

2 - Ottawa - if they don't do it this year with the new rules and Hasek, when?

3 - Tampa Bay - the long layoff should help in defending the Cup, losing Khabibulin won't but should still win the third-best division

4 - Devils - always at their best when people doubt them

5 - Islanders - if York, Blake and Hunter are their third line they're the best third line in the league

6 - Boston - so many new players they might get off to a slow start but they should be fine over the long haul especially NOT getting the #1 seed

7 - Atlanta - substitute Florida for them if no Kovalchuk

8 - Toronto - they'll limp into the playoffs and then limp out (as much as I hate Quinn he does usually ice a competitive team one way or another)

9 - Florida - so long as Luongo doesn't sulk too much they should have a shot

10 - Pittsburgh - I might buy the hype if Crosby has a field day on Wednesday, but for now I don't buy the hype

11 - Montreal - a lot of overachievers in '04 due to come back to earth

12 - Carolina - one physical D and probably one more scorer away from doing some damage

13 - Buffalo - when you're in last and in a nasty division, going backwards in FA is a bad sign

14 - Rangers - youth movement is good and bad for the Rangers, bad cause it guarantees another couple years of Sather

15 - Washington - I think Friesen will be renting, not buying this time

[Derek21]

Ottawa wins the Cup. They certainly have the talent to but I don't know about Hasek.

If a Canadian team won, it would be the first time since the '93 Canadiens.

[msweet]

Bump