00:00All right, the NHL season is very rapidly approaching.
00:11Preseason games are already underway and so we are getting into the crunch time of it.
00:15And so today, I want to look at the teams that we think can make that jump from worst
00:20to first.
00:21Now, this is different from the, I do this in the NFL, and it's different because there
00:27are eight divisions that we can run through.
00:30And so, you know, you have the choice of one through eight.
00:32But with this, there's four.
00:34And I like to do lists of five.
00:36And so just the math doesn't work.
00:37And so, I have altered it slightly to make it teams that can go from the worst two to
00:43first in their division in the NHL this year.
00:46And so we start at number five.
00:48Oh hey, Soham04, how's it going?
00:52Thanks for popping in today, really appreciate it.
00:54And thanks for the follow.
00:55I really do appreciate that.
00:56Thank you very much.
00:57We're talking some NHL right now.
00:59Teams that have a chance to go from worst two in their division to first in the NHL.
01:04And I'm going to start with the Anaheim Ducks.
01:07They come in at number five.
01:08And they're at five because they are in a difficult division.
01:11It would be slightly miraculous if they were able to pull this off with Vegas in the division,
01:16with Edmonton and Vancouver and the Kings and all of those teams.
01:21Very talented division, be the Pacific.
01:24But I do think when you look at Anaheim, there is a real opportunity here for some
01:29of these kids to finally progress and really work into that role.
01:32We saw on the Flames video game stream what John Gibson is capable of doing.
01:36But they have so many really exciting young pieces.
01:39It just feels like now's the time.
01:41It kind of felt like last year might have been, but injuries really did slow this group
01:44up.
01:45But you now have some very good, very exciting young pieces that can take this jump.
01:51And so if there is a team like that, that is kind of the recipe, right?
01:54Like you have some injury problems.
01:57You have, and honestly, I think some of the young players have kind of outplayed their
02:00stats anyway.
02:02But you have some young pieces that are ready to take that big step all at the same time.
02:07And so that is why I think Anaheim can be one of those teams.
02:10And so putting them in worst to first does maybe feel a little bit exaggerated.
02:15But I do want to put them on this list as a team that I think can make a big jump this
02:19year.
02:20I have Chicago.
02:21Yes, the Central Division.
02:23Stacked, right?
02:24You have Dallas.
02:25You have Colorado.
02:26I still think Winnipeg is going to be good.
02:28Nashville kind of loaded up this year.
02:30But the Chicago Blackhawks now get a full year of Conor Bedard, we assume.
02:33They have gone out and added some better veteran pieces around.
02:36You are going to get, presumably, a full year of health from Taylor Hall to go along with
02:40the Bertuzzi that you add.
02:42And you now have like an actual kind of NHL roster here around a talent that feels special
02:48already.
02:49And so I do think that if a team is going to make a jump, Conor Bedard being on that
02:55team seems like a pretty good shot to me.
02:57So I think Chicago is in a world.
02:59Also, you have Chicago who, like they have some pieces they can move if they want to
03:04make a push and really go for it.
03:06So I think that they could be, given the fact that their star is making like, what, $925,000?
03:11I think that you can now make a push with that team and move them into a spot where
03:16it becomes a real contender in the NHL.
03:20And so I think Chicago makes this list for those reasons.
03:24At three, it's Utah.
03:26We talked about them the other day as a team that was out of the playoffs that could make
03:29it in this year.
03:30They acquire Sergeyev, who I think is fantastic on that blue line.
03:34They were aggressive in trades and free agency.
03:38And honestly, they were a team that we all thought was going to take a step last year,
03:42but then you have all the madness of everything that went on around Arizona where, no, no,
03:46no, we're not moving.
03:47No, we're not leaving.
03:48No, we just, Utah's got great skiing.
03:50Why?
03:51Of course we were visiting there.
03:52You know, they also have this rink, and they do have this owner, and we're basically playing
03:59in like a small town arena here.
04:01So you know what?
04:02Like, maybe, just maybe.
04:03And you have all those things kind of going on in these guys' heads about, okay, am I
04:06going to have to move from Arizona to Utah?
04:08Where am I going to go?
04:09Why am I dressing in the science lab?
04:12Like, what are we doing here?
04:14Why am I?
04:15Why?
04:16Why?
04:17And so things just spiraled.
04:18But I do think now, having that stability, having a very excited fan base behind you,
04:22not no shade on Arizona, but having a very excited actual NHL building behind you, having
04:27maybe even a home ice advantage, gasp, would be a very exciting thing.
04:33I just think that this is a Utah team that, again, has an opportunity, they have a lot
04:41of talent, that just had a lot going on around them.
04:44And so I think if they took the step that we thought they were going to take last year,
04:48this would seem very reasonable, that they could go out and make some noise in this division.
04:51And so that's why I have them at 3.
04:53At 2, it's Montreal.
04:55You guys have kind of figured out by now, if you've been watching every day, I am quite
04:58high on the Canadiens this year.
05:01I think that this is a team that has superstar potential in a guy like Caulfield.
05:07I think adding Patrick Lainé, again, if he can stay right, that is a scoring punch that
05:14this team needed desperately.
05:16I think that you have a great forward group, I think you have some pieces on the blue line
05:20that if it hits, can be quite good.
05:22The goaltending situation does kind of need to get figured out, but it does seem like
05:25they have a couple guys who could also take a step.
05:28So this is another one where it feels like everything has been building, and now Montreal
05:32has a chance to really push forward.
05:34And we have seen sometimes some young teams take a couple steps.
05:38And so I think Montreal has that opportunity there.
05:40But at number 1, this one seems like cheating.
05:42It's the New Jersey Devils.
05:43They got ravaged by injuries on the blue line last year, ravaged by inconsistent goaltending
05:49play last season, but there's so much talent on this roster.
05:53And then going out and adding Shea, and adding Jacob Markstrom, make this a legitimate championship
05:57threat in the Eastern Conference.
05:59And so that makes them the best option to go from worst two to first in the NHL this
06:05season.
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