2025 NHL Eastern Conference Preview | Predictions, Point Totals & Playoff Picks

Name: 2025 NHL Eastern Conference Preview | Predictions, Point Totals & Playoff Picks
Uploaded: 2025-10-07T15:05:57+00:00
Duration: 12 min 44 s
Channel: Peter Klein

00:00We are right on the doorstep of another NHL season and things feel wide open right now.

00:05The defending champions are beat up. The defending Western Conference champions

00:09have two of the best players in the game but also feel vulnerable. There it was a bit of an

00:14offseason of change and now everything is shaken up in the NHL. So where's everyone going to fit

00:21in? Let's break it all down as we start with the Eastern Conference preview.

00:30All right going to run through each team's projected point totals and let you know what

00:39we think. We're going to start in the Atlantic Division. Up first it is the Boston Bruins at

00:4679 and a half points. I will just let you know that the Boston Bruins they didn't make the final cut

00:53on overvalued teams but they were an honorable mention. It's not a good hockey team. It just

00:59isn't. They are not nearly deep enough down the middle. They are not nearly talented enough

01:04anywhere maybe aside from goal. It's just it's not great. It is a time of transition and they are

01:11still holding on to well maybe we can something this that or the other thing and it's just it's

01:16not happening. So I think the fall off that started last season continues into this year. I don't see

01:23anything that makes me think that the Bruins are going to have a season where their point total

01:28finishes above 500 so I'm liking the under on the Boston Bruins for the upcoming season. Buffalo

01:36Sabres at 84 and a half. It feels like this one is here just based on well they have to be better

01:44at some point right like they they got rid of Paterka. They did better in that trade than people

01:48think but I don't think we're just shooting pens all over the place. I don't think they've added

01:54enough to this roster that makes me think oh yeah no now is going to be the breakout time and they've

02:02had enough of the the kids there for a bit that their breakouts have happened it's just nothing

02:07else around has been good enough. Maybe the goaltending gets better that that maybe gets

02:12them there but I'm inclined to go under on Buffalo. They are now officially a I will believe it when I

02:18see it hockey team. Up next it's the Detroit Red Wings at 83 and a half. We talked about before

02:23on the coaches on the hot seat. Someone brought up Steve Iserman as a front office obviously not a

02:28coach but a front office guy on the hot seat and this is a really tricky year for Detroit because

02:33like they were so close last year and so so close a couple of years ago and there are so many pieces

02:38on this team that I like but when I look at the rest of the division and the rest of the playoff

02:45picture like I came into this expecting to get Detroit in to the playoffs. I can't. I can't. I

02:54can't. I can't. I can't get them there. I can't put them ahead of Ottawa. I can't put them against

02:59Florida, Toronto, Montreal, Tampa Bay, whoever. I can't. So again you have a lot of young incredible

03:07talent and just unable to really break through. Now we'll see maybe the goaltending change helps

03:13but like I like a lot on this team. The problem is like they got nothing from their depth last year

03:19and I don't think they did enough to address that this year. So I guess you are assuming that a few

03:25of your veteran pieces aren't going to be that bad but I feel like assuming that 33, 34, 35 year old

03:33power forward types having a bounce back season we're kind of whistling past the graveyard there a

03:38little bit. So I have Detroit over 83 and a half but I do not have them making the playoffs this

03:45year. Up next in the Atlantic it is the Ottawa Senators. They come in at 95 and a half points

03:52and I think that's a great number for them. I think they're going to be right there. That playoff

03:57experience that they gained last year is going to be very valuable. I think a full seasons of cousins

04:02down the middle is going to help them out a ton. Allmark having a regular training camp offseason

04:08run I think helps them out as well. Gets him a little bit more comfortable there. Again they're

04:13just in a very difficult division. So I kind of lean under on them a little bit but not to the point

04:22where I think they're going to fall out of the playoffs. I will say that right now. But yeah Ottawa

04:26just a touch under 95 and a half. Up next the Florida Panthers the two-time defending Stanley

04:32Cup champions at 99 and a half. They did a fantastic job of keeping the band together after three

04:38straight Stanley Cup appearances. The thought was okay they're not going to be able to keep Bennett

04:42Marchand and Ekblad. And then they laughed in the face of everyone who was saying that

04:46gleefully waving the tax status of Florida in everyone's face and signed them to those contracts.

04:53And then things started to happen. Matthew Kachuk is out until December. Alexander Barkov is out until

05:01next season probably. And so now a team that has played a lot of hockey over the last few years

05:08that is in probably the toughest division in the sport. One of the at least toughest divisions in

05:14the sport. They got some work to do now all of a sudden. Now they've built an excellent roster.

05:20A very very good one. And also they don't if they don't win the division they're fine. Okay whatever.

05:28They just need to get into the tournament and they will be dangerous. I think they do that. I think

05:33they get under 99 and a half though. I just too many injuries too much going on. I think that there's

05:38going to be a tick under. I don't see this being a 100 point season for the Florida Panthers. Up next

05:43with the same over under total is the Toronto Maple Leafs. They come in at 99 and a half as well.

05:50Obviously the big news of the offseason is Mitch Marner leaves Toronto for the Vegas Golden Knights.

05:55And that's it's tough to replace that. And they just didn't. I think they are hoping that a grittier

06:02play style can help that. Maybe extra attention for a Michelli can help this team grow. And

06:10Nicholas Waugh getting into better situations or something. But they're dealing with issues between

06:16the pipes. And I think right now like they have four top six forwards. Now one of them is one of

06:23the best in the world in Austin Matthews. William Nylander very good. John Tavares pretty good. And

06:28Matthew Nyes has worked his way into this category and is a good hockey player. But I don't think they

06:34did enough to replace Mitch Marner. So I still like it's obviously still a playoff team. Right. But I do

06:41think this is a kind of half step back year for Toronto. I am surprised that Moore was not done with

06:48the Marner savings to help kind of fill this roster out. Now True Living will be aggressive at the

06:54deadline and all of that. But I'm going again just a touch a touch under for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

07:00Up next it is the Tampa Bay Lightning at 102 and a half. That one again it just all these feel just

07:08a little bit high because of how competitive I think this division is going to be. Now you play

07:13teams outside of your division. Obviously that's how the schedule works. But this is a good hockey

07:17team. The Vasilevsky stuff worries me a little bit. But there's still so much talent on this group

07:24that they are going to be fine. I don't have much of a breakdown here. I think it's a really really

07:30good offensive team. I think that they have a very well put together roster. I have some concerns

07:35about the health of their goalie given how this training camp has gone on. So again it's a touch

07:41under for me on the Tampa Bay Lightning. So we've gone through the whole division save for one. This is

07:48probably the hottest take I have of the preseason picks. I have Montreal winning this division. I love

07:57the offseason that they had. And I think when you look at the other teams here not that no one's

08:02going to be trying but Florida ah they can take it or leave it. Toronto winning the division doesn't do

08:07anything for them. Um Tampa Bay same thing been there done that. Montreal regular season success

08:12matters. Growth matters. And to bring in uh Noah Dobson to just give them that much more on the defensive

08:21side. Now offensively on the defensive side but still uh to give them that a full year of Demidov a

08:27full year of Slavkoski having kind of figured it out and this young core really being dangerous.

08:33They have the scoring. They have the blue line. I feel pretty good about the goaltending and they

08:39have a ton of young pieces. They have a few bullets to fire if trades are needed. I think the world of

08:45this team I really do in the regular season. So I'm going to say Montreal way over 90 and a half

08:52and I got them winning the Atlantic division. I would imagine people may have some thoughts on

08:58this. So let me know um in the chat if we're watching live or in the comment section if we

09:04are watching after the live stream. Um or if you just if you're listening in podcast form hit me up on

09:10social media. I am at PrimetimeKlein on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Threads, Blue Sky, all of it.

09:16I am over there at PrimetimeKlein. Let's round out the Eastern Conference now with the Metropolitan

09:22Division. Up first it's the Pittsburgh Penguins at 75 and a half. It's just not a good hockey team.

09:28Um they are old. They are slow. They have a lot of experience but not a lot of talent left in some

09:34of those old legs. The story all season is going to be what happens with Sidney Crosby. Does he get

09:40traded to a team that I have winning the division and stuff like that? Where where does he end up

09:46going is going to be I think the big thing here. It's just it's not a good team and they have a lot

09:52of pieces that are in the way of them tanking but not in the way not not in a way that is going to be

09:58valuable for trades or anything. So they're just they're in a very very bad spot right now. At 83 and

10:04a half I'm going under on that by the way. 83 and a half it's the Philadelphia Flyers. I don't get this

10:08one at all. Um they made sell-off type moves last year and I don't think they got appreciably better

10:17this offseason. I I like some of the young pieces there. I think some of the veteran pieces like that

10:23the roster kind of fits together pretty well. I just I don't see them coming together in a way

10:28that gets them over 500 here at 83 and a half. So I think that this is maybe you'll see some

10:34improvements from some of the players on this roster but in terms of the whole team taking a

10:39step forward I just don't see it. Um so I'm going under 83 and a half on them. Islanders kind of same

10:44thing like they they made the Dobson move and it kind of you kind of thought okay this is the shift

10:49now to this direction so whatever. Um I don't view that that they didn't do it. So they just made their

10:57team a little bit worse. Now I think the play is going to tell you that this is not going to be a

11:03competitive hockey team and so I think there could be a real off sell here um around the trade deadline

11:09with the Islanders and a bit of a step back being taken in New York. So I'm going under 84 and a half

11:14for them. Also at 84 and a half uh the Columbus Blue Jackets. Last year was obviously a lot there.

11:21I appreciate that they didn't overspend to kind of fix or fill in some of the holes around there and

11:28everything like that and just continue kind of the normal progression that this organization has.

11:33I like a lot of the pieces on this team. I think they are a team where the young pieces have an

11:37opportunity to take a real step forward this season. So I have them going over 84 and a half.

11:42I like this group quite a bit. New York Rangers 95 and a half. I think this team's a disaster.

11:46Um last year was season from hell territory. I I don't like the roster. I don't like a lot of the

11:53decisions that have been made with this organization in the last 18 months. Um I I'm just I'm not there

12:01with this team at all. They have a very good goalie and they have some very good players but they have

12:05some guys who are really post apex and to assume that they're going to get back to that high level

12:11with a worse roster. I just I don't see it with this team at all. So I'm going under 95 and a half

12:18with them. The three playoff teams from the Metropolitan. I have Washington at 96 and a half.

12:24I have the Devils at 99 and a half and I have the Carolina Hurricanes at 106 and a half. So that is my

12:33Eastern Conference breakdown. What do you guys think of these predictions? Uh let me know again either in

12:39the chat or on social media or in the comments after the fact.

2025 NHL Eastern Conference Preview | Predictions, Point Totals & Playoff Picks

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