I wouldn't put too much stock into a list that has Vancouver ranked above Calgary and the Rangers and Thrashers at 13-14 in the East, below Toronto, Florida, Buffalo and Montreal. The Ducks at 6th is about right, I think 5-8 is a realistic scenario.
The only team I can really object to being listed ahead of the Ducks is the Canucks. I think the Flames are far more impressive. However, Paul's right. I have the Ducks finishing anywhere from 4-8.
I think the Ducks should finish 4th. The Ducks made it to the playoffs last year and beat the Sharks despite having goaltender issues and no secondary scoring. Now they have one of the best top 6 forward groups in the NHL, and the departure of Pronger should be filled well by Ryan Whitney and James Wisniewski. The Red Wings got a bit worse and lost some players that will reveal their weak goaltending. The Ducks should challenge the Sharks but will probably fall a bit short of the division. Profantasyconsultants.com has the Ducks finishing fourth and thinks the Ducks' top 6 is one of the best in the league as well.
I think the Ducks should finish 4th. The Ducks made it to the playoffs last year and beat the Sharks despite having goaltender issues and no secondary scoring. Now they have one of the best top 6 forward groups in the NHL, and the departure of Pronger should be filled well by Ryan Whitney and James Wisniewski. The Red Wings got a bit worse and lost some players that will reveal their weak goaltending. The Ducks should challenge the Sharks but will probably fall a bit short of the division. Profantasyconsultants.com has the Ducks finishing fourth and thinks the Ducks' top 6 is one of the best in the league as well.
I agree with this.. however we will only finish 4th if the youngsters step up.. with the departure of pronger there will be that domino effect and thus everyones ice time will increase... hopefully the young guns can handle that..
The canucks were the team that I was very unhappy bout being rated that high.. i think the ducks n flames are definitely a better team than the canucks.. if i were to place them it'd be around 7th
I agree the Canucks are not that good. They don't improve and if you look around, the Jackets are young and improving, the Blues are young and are getting Johnson and Kariya back from injuries, Ducks improved a lot, Dallas is getting Richards, Morrow, and Lehtinen back from injuries, and teams like LA and Edmonton will continue to challenge. The Canucks will have to win their division, which they won't because the Flames have improved, they will have to hope for 8th. They are kind of like the Wild, just staying afloat, not improving.
Personally It has zero impact on me because I know as long as we get into the playoffs whether it is at #1 in the league or the 8th seed I strongly feel like we have a great chance to win the cup or at least go deep into the playoffs. I truly believe this could be the funniest team to watch in Ducks history and I am so stoked for this season!
Personally It has zero impact on me because I know as long as we get into the playoffs whether it is at #1 in the league or the 8th seed I strongly feel like we have a great chance to win the cup or at least go deep into the playoffs. I truly believe this could be the funniest team to watch in Ducks history and I am so stoked for this season!
Considering the fact that we are usually a great home team(except for last season) I think it would help if we finished well in the season rather then not well
Personally It has zero impact on me because I know as long as we get into the playoffs whether it is at #1 in the league or the 8th seed I strongly feel like we have a great chance to win the cup or at least go deep into the playoffs. I truly believe this could be the funniest team to watch in Ducks history and I am so stoked for this season!
While you may feel that way, I believe they keep showing some statistic where the Cup winning team is almost always ~1-3 seeded in the conference. The losing SCF team has been a lower seed semi-frequently, but not the winning team.
While it may just be history, I'd certainly prefer a higher seed.
I'm not even a Ducks fan, but I think they are going to be better than a lot of people expect (including THN). Losing Pronger hurts, but I saw several games with Sbisa, and I think he's going to be a terrific player. Also getting Koivu is a solid, underrated move. You guys still have the best goaltending tandem out there. The Ducks will challenge the Sharks for the div.
