Sisu plays Swami
Welcome to my 2006-07 Predictions. I found this very difficult this fall. It seems like the bad teams got better while the good teams got worse, making for a big glut of parity.
Now for the explanations.
West
Anaheim 116
This prediction comes with a big fat asterisk on the person of Teemu Selanne. An injury to him and the offense comes tumbling down.
Detroit 114
A slow decline has begun, due as much to the aging of key players as to the departure of Yzerman and Shanahan.
San Jose 110
A full season with Joe.
Calgary 104
Tanguay should address the desperate need for offense. It's hard to fault their changes, sacrificing some defense for offense.
Nashville 98
Looks like they lost some depth. How healthy is Vokoun?
Vancouver 97
A massive turnover on the blueline and in goal makes it hard to get a feel for how they'll do. Luongo >> Coutier/Auld
Dallas 95
The Big E sideshow moves to Big D. Defense looks even stronger than last year.
Minnesota 93
Another club hard to peg, this time due to an apparent shift in philosophy. They have better players, now what will Lemaire do with them?
Edmonton 87
Their goaltending problems have been solved... by a 37 year-old with a wonky knee. Nice looking attack, though.
Colorado 85
They've reached the point where enough puzzle pieces have been lost that they bear no resemblance to their championship days.
Columbus 83
A full season of Rick Nash should do wonders. Pascal Leclaire is getting his chance.
Phoenix 82
Curious additions here. Laraque, Nolan, Roenick? This thinking is almost as unconventional as what's going on in Long Island.
Los Angeles 80
Just how does a mediocre team put up such phenomenally sucky special teams numbers? They're in tough against the strong looking Sharks and Ducks.
Chicago 70
Havlat was brought in to kick-start the offense. Unfortunately, he promised to stop kicking after his last suspension. On the upside, the Hawks' current group of young defensemen will be strong presences on other more successful teams' bluelines seven years from now.
St. Louis 67
The salary floor compels Pleau to collect overpaid retreads. If they had any developing youngsters, they would find this very frustrating.
East
Ottawa 110
Lost some personnel, but maybe Spezza will have grown up a little.
Philadelphia 104
Their struggles last year (if you can call a 100 point season 'struggles') had more to do with injuries than some stubborn adherance to an 'old NHL' style of play by Clarke. The retirement of Primeau and Desjardins alone should cut in half their man-games lost this season.
Atlanta 97
Pairing Kovalchuk and Hossa with old, broken down defensive centres like Holik and Rucchin is like Julia Roberts hooking up with Lyle Lovett. Nevertheless, the Thrashers finished last season strong. With reasonable goaltending they should be OK.
Buffalo 96
These guys won with special teams last year. They lost major special teams contributors in Connoly, Dumont, Grier and McKee. Therefore, they will be worse.
Carolina 96
Hello, hangover. The injuries to Stillman and Kaberle tell of the grind that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Two scoring lines and two energy lines are a substantial drop from three scoring lines and one energy line.
Montreal 95
I hesitate to place these guys in this neighbourhood. It doesn't seem right. However, they are pretty much the same team as last year plus Samsonov. Even if goaltending disappoints it can't be worse than the Theodore fiasco. With several competitors getting worse, I have no choice but to place them 6th.
NY Rangers 93
These guys look old. Not everyone, of course - just most of the expected major contributors on offense.
Florida 91
I like the look of their defense. This club has a lot of size.
Boston 90
Another big player shuffle, another hard one to place. I am not a believer in Marc Savard, but he will help the PP. They could be as bad as last year; they could contend for the division. I'll split the difference.
Toronto 89
They scored a ridiculous number of 5-on-3 goals last season. 5-on-3s will be much more rare this season. I wonder how Raycroft will do...
New Jersey 88
This salary cap thing will catch up to them sooner or later.
Tampa Bay 86
Their defense, never a strong point, got even weaker in the offseason. This is a case study of the "handful of overpaid stars surrounded by filler" team building apporach.
NY Islanders 81
Remember how bad we all thought the Sillinger deal was? We had no idea...
Pittsburgh 77
No one expects anything from the Pens this year, other than to have Crosby & Malkin learn on the job. Should be a fun ride. Sid Crosby, meet Art Ross.
Washington 75
Last place in the East, not that it matters. No one expects anything from the Caps this blah blah blah, see above.
Now for the explanations.
West
Anaheim 116
This prediction comes with a big fat asterisk on the person of Teemu Selanne. An injury to him and the offense comes tumbling down.
Detroit 114
A slow decline has begun, due as much to the aging of key players as to the departure of Yzerman and Shanahan.
San Jose 110
A full season with Joe.
Calgary 104
Tanguay should address the desperate need for offense. It's hard to fault their changes, sacrificing some defense for offense.
Nashville 98
Looks like they lost some depth. How healthy is Vokoun?
Vancouver 97
A massive turnover on the blueline and in goal makes it hard to get a feel for how they'll do. Luongo >> Coutier/Auld
Dallas 95
The Big E sideshow moves to Big D. Defense looks even stronger than last year.
Minnesota 93
Another club hard to peg, this time due to an apparent shift in philosophy. They have better players, now what will Lemaire do with them?
Edmonton 87
Their goaltending problems have been solved... by a 37 year-old with a wonky knee. Nice looking attack, though.
Colorado 85
They've reached the point where enough puzzle pieces have been lost that they bear no resemblance to their championship days.
Columbus 83
A full season of Rick Nash should do wonders. Pascal Leclaire is getting his chance.
Phoenix 82
Curious additions here. Laraque, Nolan, Roenick? This thinking is almost as unconventional as what's going on in Long Island.
Los Angeles 80
Just how does a mediocre team put up such phenomenally sucky special teams numbers? They're in tough against the strong looking Sharks and Ducks.
Chicago 70
Havlat was brought in to kick-start the offense. Unfortunately, he promised to stop kicking after his last suspension. On the upside, the Hawks' current group of young defensemen will be strong presences on other more successful teams' bluelines seven years from now.
St. Louis 67
The salary floor compels Pleau to collect overpaid retreads. If they had any developing youngsters, they would find this very frustrating.
East
Ottawa 110
Lost some personnel, but maybe Spezza will have grown up a little.
Philadelphia 104
Their struggles last year (if you can call a 100 point season 'struggles') had more to do with injuries than some stubborn adherance to an 'old NHL' style of play by Clarke. The retirement of Primeau and Desjardins alone should cut in half their man-games lost this season.
Atlanta 97
Pairing Kovalchuk and Hossa with old, broken down defensive centres like Holik and Rucchin is like Julia Roberts hooking up with Lyle Lovett. Nevertheless, the Thrashers finished last season strong. With reasonable goaltending they should be OK.
Buffalo 96
These guys won with special teams last year. They lost major special teams contributors in Connoly, Dumont, Grier and McKee. Therefore, they will be worse.
Carolina 96
Hello, hangover. The injuries to Stillman and Kaberle tell of the grind that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Two scoring lines and two energy lines are a substantial drop from three scoring lines and one energy line.
Montreal 95
I hesitate to place these guys in this neighbourhood. It doesn't seem right. However, they are pretty much the same team as last year plus Samsonov. Even if goaltending disappoints it can't be worse than the Theodore fiasco. With several competitors getting worse, I have no choice but to place them 6th.
NY Rangers 93
These guys look old. Not everyone, of course - just most of the expected major contributors on offense.
Florida 91
I like the look of their defense. This club has a lot of size.
Boston 90
Another big player shuffle, another hard one to place. I am not a believer in Marc Savard, but he will help the PP. They could be as bad as last year; they could contend for the division. I'll split the difference.
Toronto 89
They scored a ridiculous number of 5-on-3 goals last season. 5-on-3s will be much more rare this season. I wonder how Raycroft will do...
New Jersey 88
This salary cap thing will catch up to them sooner or later.
Tampa Bay 86
Their defense, never a strong point, got even weaker in the offseason. This is a case study of the "handful of overpaid stars surrounded by filler" team building apporach.
NY Islanders 81
Remember how bad we all thought the Sillinger deal was? We had no idea...
Pittsburgh 77
No one expects anything from the Pens this year, other than to have Crosby & Malkin learn on the job. Should be a fun ride. Sid Crosby, meet Art Ross.
Washington 75
Last place in the East, not that it matters. No one expects anything from the Caps this blah blah blah, see above.
posted by Jeff J at 10:14 p.m.
3 Comments:
We will publish our own version of predictions at FAUXRUMORS in the upcoming weeks. We liked most of your picks. In the new NHL its anyone's guess to know who this year's 'rangers/Hurricanes/sabres' will be. We're sure some team will emerge that few expected to compete.
Nashville would be seeded 4th even though they have more points than Calgary. Division winners are ranked 1-3.
I should have said San Jose, not Nashville.
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