00:00Every year in the NHL, we have some teams that were playoff teams a year ago that find
00:11themselves on the outside looking in, and the opposite, some teams that couldn't quite
00:15get over that hump last year, finally get into the 16-team dance this year.
00:20And so today, we're going to try to predict who they are.
00:23We got five coming out, and five going in.
00:25Let's start with the teams that are coming out, because we need space for these new teams
00:28entering our dance.
00:30And admittedly, when you look at the name power of the out, and then the name power
00:34of the in, I don't know if it's exactly what the NHL would want, but I do think that there
00:39is still some intrigue here.
00:41So let's start first with the out.
00:44And at number five, I don't know, like, they are kind of five because I just needed five.
00:52Quite frankly, because I found five on the in, and, you know, lists are better when they're
00:55top five, right?
00:56So, um, I have Vancouver.
00:58I do think that there is a world where the goaltending situation just doesn't correct
01:02itself, right?
01:03Like, Thatcher Demko is dealing with an injury that they don't, you see the quotes at a camp,
01:08and it doesn't totally feel like they have a grasp on it.
01:10And that feels concerning to me.
01:13You combine that with, um, like, a lot went well for them last year.
01:18Like, I don't, I just can't believe that JT Miller is going to be that good again.
01:22And like, Elias Pettersson was on another level for a while.
01:26And like, they got some very good play from their depth forwards as well.
01:30And it just, it felt like last year was a everything is going right for Vancouver year.
01:34And so I do think that there is a opportunity for them to maybe step back a little bit.
01:40Now, stepping back a little bit, for a team that finished first in their division and
01:44was with, in a stones throw of the President's Trophy again, like, that is a large falling
01:50off.
01:51And so this is why they're at number five.
01:53I do think it would take a bit of catastrophe for them to fall off, or one team to be so
01:57much better than we thought they were going to be, and moving into that spot.
02:00But I do think that they are a team that has the potential to fall out.
02:03At four, it's the Los Angeles Kings.
02:05They once again got just curb stomped by the Edmonton Oilers, and um, they go out and acquire
02:12Pierre Loup.
02:13No they didn't.
02:14They got rid of Pierre Loup Dubois.
02:15So that helps.
02:16Um, they maybe kind of figured out the goaltending situation, so that maybe also helps.
02:22But I still, there still feels like there's something lacking.
02:25And also, it does kind of feel like Drew Doughty is fading a little bit, and they don't really
02:29have the blue line to help make up for that.
02:33And so, I just feel like there is maybe a little bit of a falling off, as, like, what
02:39we kind of thought, there was a lot of these young pieces, and you got excited about it,
02:42and they traded a few of them away for PLD, and I think that set the franchise back a
02:46little bit.
02:47Now they still made the playoffs.
02:48Um, but, now you look at kind of those younger, depth pieces that are supposed to be pushing
02:52up, they're not.
02:54In the way that I think they need to.
02:56Bifield looks like he could have another really good year, after a great year last year.
02:59But I just don't know if there is enough there to make up for some of the other guys who
03:03are starting to fall off a little bit.
03:06And I still have some concerns about the goaltending situation.
03:08At three, the Winnipeg Jets.
03:11Last season, everything kind of clicked for them, until the playoffs.
03:15Like, they were a team that legitimately I thought could win the Stanley Cup.
03:18But that was, again, with Connor Hellebuck playing, like, the best goalie in the world
03:21for some really long stretches, and getting some very strong performances out of a few
03:27of your guys.
03:28Now, this year, you have a controversy around Ehlers, there was the whole thing with the
03:35prospect who didn't want to be there, and I just, again, I think that this is actually
03:39quite a good team, and just kind of needed to pick some ones to fill into this spot,
03:44but when you're looking at the teams out West, who have the chance to maybe fall off
03:47a little bit, there are just, quite frankly, a lot of very good teams.
03:52And I don't think Dallas falls out to the point where they're out of the playoffs.
03:54I don't think Colorado falls out to the point where they're out of the playoffs, and, like,
03:58Nashville got quite a bit better this year, so, where else are you going to fall?
04:03And that could be a little bit of a two, is that there are just some other teams who are
04:06pushing up and making life a little bit more difficult on Winnipeg.
04:09The next two are out East, the New York Islanders.
04:12And I know, I perpetually underrate the New York Islanders.
04:14I still, for the, like, fifth year in a row, just don't think they're good enough to make
04:19the playoffs.
04:20I like a couple of the pieces that they have, but I just don't think that they are about
04:25that life, and are a team that I see really making a push into the playoffs this year.
04:31I think because there are a couple of other improving teams out East, that they kind of
04:38get knocked off here.
04:39I think there's been a couple of times where it's felt they kind of got in a bit by default,
04:44because some of these younger teams just couldn't quite get over that hump.
04:46And at number one, it's Washington.
04:48They were the ones who traded for Pierre-Luc Dubois, I have concerns about that.
04:52They go out and acquire Andrew Mangiapane, if you guys listened to any of my Flame stuff
04:56last year, you know I was not super high on the kid, and I worry that they are going to
05:01expect the 35 goal scorer that was there a couple of years ago, who's not anymore, I
05:06worry about that.
05:07And they had a goalie get hot for the first time in his career, and it got to the playoffs.
05:13I don't know if I have confidence that that happens again.
05:16And so I think Washington is the team that I do think falls out here when we get into
05:21it this season.
05:24And then, the teams now that get into the playoffs.
05:28Sorry, I just got a thing on my OBS that says welcome to the chat.
05:32So hopefully I didn't miss a whole lot here, but it looks like everything is going fine
05:36now.
05:37They are going into the playoffs now.
05:39At 5, it's Utah.
05:40They go out and acquire Sergeyev.
05:43This was a team I thought that could make a run into the playoffs last year, and then
05:46you had the whole where are they going to live situation, and where, like, there was
05:52just so much negativity around the arena, around being in Arizona, about potentially
05:56moving, and all of that, that I think it just kind of became too much of a distraction for
06:00them to overcome.
06:01I think now that they are in a new place, reinvigorated, all of that, I think that this
06:05is a team that makes the bump into the playoffs this year.
06:08At 4, it is the Minnesota Wild.
06:10I think injuries really hindered this team last year.
06:13They are now just about out of the purgatory for, um, toxic, yes I did, yes.
06:22Doing this part today, saying, oh yeah, Utah's going to make it into the playoffs, after
06:26they did the own goal last night in the preseason, that's not great.
06:30It doesn't help me all that much.
06:34And so yeah, that's, you know, it's mildly concerning, it's a problem, but I do think
06:38that there is a team there that can really make a push.
06:43For Minnesota now, this is a team that was hampered by injuries a lot last year, and
06:47now they are coming in and I think, like, Kaprizov is still one of the best players
06:52in the league, man.
06:53And Eriksenek, I think, doesn't get enough credit.
06:56They have this cap situation that's been hanging over them for a while that is coming
07:00towards an end anyway.
07:02And so I think that there is some reason for optimism out in Minnesota.
07:06At 3, it's Seattle.
07:07I didn't love what they did this offseason in terms of long term contracts, but Montour
07:12and Stevenson make this a better hockey team than they were last year.
07:15And so I think with another year of development for some of the young guys, and now adding
07:20a couple of very good playoff proven pieces, that this is a Seattle team that can push
07:24for the playoffs.
07:25At 2, it's Montreal.
07:27This is assuming that there is some growth in Patrick Laine, and he just kind of gets
07:31back into being the guy that he was a few years ago, and the guy we all thought he could
07:36be.
07:37But I think, like, my breakout player of the year this year is Cole Caulfield.
07:42Slefkoski was on that list as well.
07:44Like, that they have all these guys who I think are these young players who can take
07:50this step into being, like, that type of a caliber of player, and that will really help
07:56them going forward.
07:58And I think that this is a team now that takes that step, that is done rebuilding.
08:02They have a couple of pieces on the blue line that you don't mind.
08:05And I have said before, like, there's some advancement that needs to be done tactically
08:10and from quite a few players to get them there, but I do think that they are ready to take
08:14that next step into the postseason.
08:15And at 1, it's cheating a little bit, but it's New Jersey.
08:18I thought they could have been legitimately a Stanley Cup contender last year if they
08:21would have acquired Tanev and Markstrom from the Flames.
08:25They got neither, and missed the playoffs.
08:27But now, they made a big move in the offseason to get a defenseman.
08:30They made a big move in the offseason to get the goalie Markstrom.
08:32This is a team that feels complete, and yeah, huge injury sucks, but this is a team that
08:38feels complete right now, and feels like they can make a real run, not just at a playoff
08:42spot, but a very high seat in the Eastern Conference, and then do some damage starting
08:47in the postseason.
Comments