1. LA Kings
2. Vancouver Canucks
3. Chicago Blackhawks
4. San Jose Sharks
5. Detroit Red Wings
6. Anaheim Ducks
7. Nashville Predators
8. St. Louis Blues
9. Minnesota Wild
10. Calgary Flames
11. Colorado Avalanche
12. Columbus Blue Jackets
13. Edmonton Oilers
14. Dallas Stars
15. Phoenix Coyotes
I'll take a first round vs the Preds. Will be a tough series, but Vancouver plays well against them.
In fact if the Seeds hold their position the 2nd round would be: Kings, Sharks, Canucks Hawks. Could be the best 2nd round in a long time.
Come up with excuses all you want for last season's suckery, but I don't buy that your goaltending is much better than last years. Varlamov is made of glass, and Giguere is well past his expiry date.
And I really don't understand why Aves fans get so mad that people have them as a bad team this year. They were a bad team last year and didn't improve much. 2 + 2 = 4
*shrug* because they were a good team for the most of the season before falling a part alongside epically bad goaltending and some terrible luck with injuries? A very similar team the year before made it to the playoffs and guess what the difference was? They didn't have epically bad goaltending and luck with injuries. It's a very young and improving team that did improve upon its weaknesses significantly from last season. I'm not really mad, just curious why people seem so convinced that the avs will be terrible next year when it took some serious negatives to make the avs terrible last year. Negatives that have either been improved upon or are out of our control and will be determined by fortune over the next year.
1. San Jose Sharks
2. Vancouver Canucks
3. Chicago Blackhawks
4. Detroit Redwings
5. LA Kings
6. Calgary Flames
7. Nashville Predators
8. St. Louis Blues
------------------------
9. Anaheim Ducks
10. Columbus Blue Jackets
11. Minnesota Wild
12. Dallas Stars
13. Colorado Avalanche
14. Edmonton Oilers
15. Phoenix Coyotes
Come up with excuses all you want for last season's suckery, but I don't buy that your goaltending is much better than last years. Varlamov is made of glass, and Giguere is well past his expiry date.
And I really don't understand why Aves fans get so mad that people have them as a bad team this year. They were a bad team last year and didn't improve much. 2 + 2 = 4
See I mean thats such a ****ing Ignorant post, we were bad at the end of last year, but On January 5th we were 5th in the West, we were a top 10 team in the League at the Mid Point last year, even still with Horrible Goaltending!
And we did nothing but Imrpove this offseason, we Added a Shutdown Dman in Heja, a Very good Prospect whos NHL Ready in Landeskog, a Good 3rd/4th Liner in Kobasew, and the Biggest return is a Healthy Mueller.
Out of those players only 10 of those players were playing for the Avs at the end of last season, its a Completely new team and a better team then last years team, a team that was 5th in the West In January!
I just dont see how anyone can say the Avs will be as bad as last year, unless you can predict injuries! And Injuries are fluke any team can go down with unlucky injuries.
See I mean thats such a ****ing Ignorant post, we were bad at the end of last year, but On January 5th we were 5th in the West, we were a top 10 team in the League at the Mid Point last year, even still with Horrible Goaltending!
And we did nothing but Imrpove this offseason, we Added a Shutdown Dman in Heja, a Very good Prospect whos NHL Ready in Landeskog, a Good 3rd/4th Liner in Kobasew, and the Biggest return is a Healthy Mueller.
Out of those players only 10 of those players were playing for the Avs Last season, its a Completely new team and a better team then last years team, a team that was 5th in the West In January!
I just dont see how anyone can say the Avs will be as bad as last year, unless you can predict injuries! And Injuries are fluke any team can go down with unlucky injuries.
I sort of agree with this post... and I suppose the trades were a necessaary evil to improve the team. They were in the playoffs in 2010 so why would it be hard to think they could not make it?
I like the D immensely more, but still the price was heavy. And I am not sold on Varlamov, especially what the value returned was. But the Avs should be a playoff contendor.
I sort of agree with this post... and I suppose the trades were a necessaary evil to improve the team. They were in the playoffs in 2010 so why would it be hard to think they could not make it?
I like the D immensely more, but still the price was heavy. And I am not sold on Varlamov, especially what the value returned was. But the Avs should be a playoff contendor.
I have a feeling the biggest reason people want us to lose is they want to see us finish last and not get Yakupov so they can laugh, but yea it was a heavy price, but it had to be done so we could get our Goalie for not only now but the future aswell!
I don't know Why people are having Calgary so low... i mean sure in a few years their team is gonna fall apart and they have no one to replace them, but that doesnt affect this upcoming Season. And while they're certainly Not a slam dunk for the Playoffs, they will be in contention. Right now, I'd take them over
-Edmonton
-minny
-Colorado
-Phoenix
-Dallas
- St.Louis
-Columbus
Granted, it's gonna be a dogfight for the last playoff-spot, but I've seen them ranked in the Playoffs only once and often As low as 13 and 14.
I sort of agree with this post... and I suppose the trades were a necessaary evil to improve the team. They were in the playoffs in 2010 so why would it be hard to think they could not make it?
I like the D immensely more, but still the price was heavy. And I am not sold on Varlamov, especially what the value returned was. But the Avs should be a playoff contendor.
It really comes down to health for us. If we're decently healthy we'll have much better goal tending than last season, we'll also remain more consistent on offense and our defense is better by leaps and bounds. But if injuries pile up leaving our top line to have such wingers as Porter and Yip, then of course we're ****ed yet again.
I don't know Why people are having Calgary so low... i mean sure in a few years their team is gonna fall apart and they have no one to replace them, but that doesnt affect this upcoming Season. And while they're certainly Not a slam dunk for the Playoffs, they will be in contention. Right now, I'd take them over
-Edmonton
-minny
-Colorado
-Phoenix
-Dallas
- St.Louis
-Columbus
Granted, it's gonna be a dogfight for the last playoff-spot, but I've seen them ranked in the Playoffs only once and often As low as 13 and 14.
Columbus and St. Louis have made efforts to improve as well as having blue chip prospects ready to make the team. Minnesota has made significant changes as well but it's too early to tell if they'll be better. Edmonton lacks in defense, but they are improving in offense as their young guns mature.
Calgary is more or less hoping that they can run at the same pace for the entirety of next season for what they did in the last 3 months of last year to be anywhere near contention. But they ran out of gas in that short span, so I don't see how likely that will be.
Come up with excuses all you want for last season's suckery, but I don't buy that your goaltending is much better than last years. Varlamov is made of glass, and Giguere is well past his expiry date.
And I really don't understand why Aves fans get so mad that people have them as a bad team this year. They were a bad team last year and didn't improve much. 2 + 2 = 4
They get mad because dumb people write Aves when it's Avs.
1. vancouver
2. san jose
3. chicago
4. detriot
5. st.louis
6. LA
7. anahiem
8. nashville
9. columbus
10. minnesota
11. edmonton
12. colorado
13. dallas
14. calgary
15. phoenix
st louis will surprise many this year. they have good depth, leadership and a top dman in pietorangelo.
la doesnt meet expectations as the doughty deal doesnt get done til mid october, and doughty shows up very out of shape.
nashville just gets in as the rinne-suter situation looms over the team for the duration of the year
Don't apologize for stating your opinion. As long as it's not based on pure spite and bias, it's a valid claim.
Thanks man i just didnt wana ya know put my kings number 1 and ducks and sharks in 14 and 15... as much as i wanted too I dont really post alot on message boards cause of trolls and yeahh haha
Columbus and St. Louis have made efforts to improve as well as having blue chip prospects ready to make the team. Minnesota has made significant changes as well but it's too early to tell if they'll be better. Edmonton lacks in defense, but they are improving in offense as their young guns mature.
Calgary is more or less hoping that they can run at the same pace for the entirety of next season for what they did in the last 3 months of last year to be anywhere near contention. But they ran out of gas in that short span, so I don't see how likely that will be.
That's why.
Or they play at a level between the way they played at the start of the season and how they finished. That in itself would put them in contention for 6-10 in the conference. Which one would think is the most plausible of all scenario's.
I don't have a ranking of the West, but here's the options for a poll I had planned that (if you can get through the snark) more or less sums up where I think the realistic possibilities are for the Jackets...
__________________
Remember - when you're a hockey fan, it's not "reckless driving", it's "good forechecking".
"Viqsi, you are our sweet humanist..." --mt-svk on the CBJ boards
Thanks, Howson, for cleaning up MacLean's toxic waste. Welcome, Kekalainen; let's get good things built!
*shrug* because they were a good team for the most of the season before falling a part alongside epically bad goaltending and some terrible luck with injuries? A very similar team the year before made it to the playoffs and guess what the difference was? They didn't have epically bad goaltending and luck with injuries. It's a very young and improving team that did improve upon its weaknesses significantly from last season. I'm not really mad, just curious why people seem so convinced that the avs will be terrible next year when it took some serious negatives to make the avs terrible last year. Negatives that have either been improved upon or are out of our control and will be determined by fortune over the next year.
Because Avs spent years beating up on teams, now the fans of those tams just want to see the Avs fail.
Revenge is the mother of all **** ups after all.
I can't even imagine what people would say about the Wings if they start to struggle, and miss a playoff.
Bitterness of fans around this board is just too funny.
The Avalanche did not just miss the playoff's...they were the second worst team in the league last season.
There is certainly reason for people to be skeptical about their playoff hopes or for them to significantly improve on the season they just had.
No, i think people are just being naive and going by last year's results when the Avs finished 14th in west. Two years ago before the season no one thought the Avs would make the playoffs also, but they did. And their defense is way better going into next season than it was when they made the playoffs two years ago.
I for one being a Avs fan picked the Avs to miss the playoffs at the beginning of last season, and they did. I just took my time to actually evaluate the team's position before i made the prediction them missing the playoffs, instead of going by what happened the year before when they made the playoffs. I wasn't so quick to say, IF THEY MADE THE PLAYOFFS LAST YEAR, THEY'LL MAKE IT AGAIN THIS YEAR.
I knew they made the playoffs mainly because of hot goalie, and i knew and said that Anderson wont be able to carry the team like he did that year. The Avs did not improve the team after making the playoffs, and just like i thought, Andy wasn't able to carry them. Also having bunch of injuries didn't help as well.
But this year they did actually improve, from goal tending to defense. Up front they got pretty much the same team that made the playoffs. Mueller should be healthy, and Landeskog will provide a good boost up front.
Again though, the only thing i'm worried about is the recent injury history with this team. But if they can stay healthy i'm picking the Avs to make the playoffs.
1. Vancouver
2. San Jose
3. Chicago
4. La
5. Detroit
6. Ducks
7. Nashville
8. St Louis
9. Columbus
10. Calgary
11. Phoenix
12.Minnesota
13. Dallas
14. Colorado
15. Edmonton
Of my picks, placing the Preds so low is probably the one I am going to get the most flak for but having quality players leave every year and getting absolutely no one in return is eventually going to catch up to a team. This team does have an elite goaltender and a solid D group however I can easily see this team being the worst western conference team in terms of goals for and frankly not many teams last in that category make the playoffs. Not even the magician Barry Trotz or Shea Weber's beard can drag the Preds to the playoffs this year.
Secondly I'm gonna have to defend my "homer" pick of the Stars.
"They didn't make the playoffs last year and then lost their best player how can you justify saying that they'll make the playoffs"
Ya Ya I know B-Rich is gone but remember that this team was one win away from the playoffs last year and what they lost in the elite talent of Brad Richards they did a decent job of filling with the depth provided by Ryder, Fiddler, Dvorak, Dowell, Souray, Pardy, and Godard. This added depth plus the emergence of Jamie Benn should counteract, reasonably effectively, the supposed "crippling" of the team after Richards left.
Their placement also has to do with the offseasons of some of the teams above and around them. The Yotes and Preds both playoff teams last year lost significant pieces while getting nothing in return and should drop in the standings as a result. As for the Blues and Jackets, The Blues stayed relatively stagnant this offseason and are a similar team to the stars in terms of goaltending and defensive depth with slightly worse top end offensive talent and offensive depth which is why I placed them just behind the Stars. The Jackets were one of the biggest movers in the offseason but one must remember just how bad they were last year. I don't think that the additions of Carter and Wisniewski really improve them to the point that in one season with them they are suddenly a playoff team.
I also just want to address the bickering about the Avalanche. This team is horrendous. It's not some conspiracy about how were getting revenge on Avs fans cause the Avs were good in the 00's or any crap like that it's just that the team is truly awful. Duchene could put up 100 goals and 250 points and it's still not going to stop the Avalanche from being scored on 700 times. And for those who think that Varly will be the saviour are in for a rude awakening
I dont really post alot on message boards cause of trolls and yeahh haha
