Hockey is the most difficult sport to project. Just look at last year. The Blues had the worst record in the league when the calendar flipped, then ended up hoisting the Cup. The Lighting, meanwhile, had a historic regular season, then got swept in the first round of the playoffs. In the NHL, you really just never know. Which is part of what makes hockey so much fun!
Make no mistake, though. There are plenty of teams that enter the 2019-20 season with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations. Some of them had disappointing finishes to promising 2018-19 campaigns. Some are consistent contenders that simply haven't been able to get over the hump. Then there are the up-and-coming squads that are looking to build on what they did last year.
In the Atlantic Division, it's really all about three teams. Tampa Bay won 60 regular season games last year, Boston went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, and Toronto looks to be on the verge of doing something big. With most of the remaining teams in the division in some degree of a rebuild, expect those three to claim the guaranteed Atlantic playoff berths again.
If anyone is going to challenge that triumvirate, it might be Montreal. The Canadiens alternate between being legit playoff contenders and being completely out of it. I don't understand why. Because talent-wise, they should be in the mix. Florida and Ottawa have an outside chance of competing for a wild card, while the Sabres are still probably a year away. The Detroit Tigers won 47 games this season. The Red Wings won't.
As usual, you can make a playoff case for virtually every team in the Metropolitan Division. And, as usual, you can expect Pittsburgh and Washington to claim two of those spots. No matter what, the Penguins and Capitals have the talent and experience to do what they need to do. Then there's an Islanders team that had 100 points last season and the Hurricanes, who came out of nowhere to reach the Eastern Conference Final last year.
Columbus, meanwhile, had a great stretch run to get into the playoffs as the 8-seed...and went on to sweep the NHL-best Lightning in the first round! I'm expecting the Flyers to be much better this season, as well. Then there's the Rangers and Devils, who both just happened to add a dynamic potentially franchise-changing rookie in the draft. I think it'll take another year or two for Kaapo Kakko and Co. to return to the playoffs, but I'm really intrigued by what the Devils might be able to do. In addition to drafting Hughes, they made some big time offseason moves, most notably the trade for P.K. Subban. The Devils may not make the playoffs. But they'll be that team nobody wants to play.
The Central Division might be the one that's the most up-for-grabs. The Blues are the defending champions, obviously, and they'll enter this season as the division favorites. But don't count out the Predators or Jets. Nashville has taken a bit of a step back, but still has Pekka Rinne. And, compared to the rest of the Central, the Predators are in pretty good shape. Winnipeg might be the most talented team of the three, though.
But I can't make an argument against either Minnesota or Dallas as a possible playoff team, either. I think the Wild and Predators have less margin for error. But if they make the playoffs, they could be dangerous. Colorado also needs everything to go right. As for the Blackhawks, it won't be a return to the glory days from earlier in the decade.
Then there's the Pacific, the division that seems most likely to have some turnover at the top. Vegas followed up its magical expansion season with a return to the playoffs. San Jose advanced to the Conference Final. And I'm not sure either one is the best team in the division! The consistently-underachieving Ducks are loaded with talent. And so are the two Alberta-based teams. Edmonton is my real breakout candidate. Too many solid young players for the Oilers to sit at home watching the playoffs.
Don't sleep on Arizona, either. Remember how close the Coyotes got to the playoffs last year? They very well could go right back to the bottom of the league. Or that could've been the start of someting. Like the Blackhawks, the Kings have nothing to complain about with their franchise's fortunes during the '10s. They won't be having their names added to the Cup again, though. Neither will Vancouver. The Canucks' 50th anniversary season will be a long one. They might be the worst team in the league. And when Seattle joins, they might be hard-pressed to even be the best team in the Pacific Northwest.
So, here's what I'm going with for playoff teams...Tampa Bay, Toronto and Boston in the Atlantic (AND, I think the Leafs finally win a playoff series). Washington, Pittsburgh, Columbus in the Met. Islanders and Flyers get the wild cards, with Montreal just missing out. Give me Winnipeg, St. Louis and Nashville out of the Central, Calgary, San Jose and Edmonton out of the Pacific, with Anaheim and Vegas claiming the Western Conference wild cards.
When June hits and the Stanley Cup Final is about to start, I'm sure I'll look back and laugh at how wrong my pick was. But I'm gonna make one anyway. For some reason, I think this is the year Toronto puts it all together. The Leafs don't just win a playoff series. They win three and finally make their first Final appearance in 53 years. They play the Blues, but St. Louis doesn't defend. Instead, a year after the Raptors brought the NBA title North of the Border for the first time, the Leafs bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada for the first time since 1993.
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