Last year was the second year I did this, and I wasn't terrible in the predicting of the playoff teams (6 correct in the West, 6 in the East). I even got a conference champion right. I was terrible, though, at the player postseason awards, though. I mean, I did get the right team for the Vezina (wrong goalie, though), and I got the Selke right. So, that’s improvement. And, as we always say here (stolen from Gregg Easterbrook himself) “All predictions wrong, or your money back!”
Anyways, I'm back at it again. Time to predict the future (poorly). NHL's regular season starts tomorrow, so get ready!
Western Conference:
Pacific: San Jose
Northwest: Vancouver
Central: Chicago
Other 5 Playoff Teams: Los Angeles, Detroit, Anaheim, Nashville, St. Louis
Conference Champion: San Jose
HOMER ALERT! But seriously, is there any more complete team in the Western Conference? The Sharks completely overhauled their blueline, to the point where it’s a top 5 unit in the entire league. And their scoring will still be super dangerous. They’re going to be a hard team to score on, and will therefore win a lot of games. I think their new balanced lineup will also translate well to the preseason. 2 years in a row in the Conference Finals, I think they finally break through this year.
Eastern Conference:
Southeast: Washington
Northeast: Buffalo
Atlantic: Pittsburgh
Other 5 Playoff Teams: Boston, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Philadelphia, NY Rangers
Conference Champion: Washington
As complete as the Sharks are in the West, the Caps are in the East. They added in a stellar, top 5 goaltender in the offseason. They also added defensive forward depth, and should be very hard to score against. Another year of growth from Carlson and Alzner will make their blueline that much better. They’re kind of like the Sharks of the East…talented teams who never seem to be able to get over the hump in the playoffs. Let’s have them meet for the Ultimate Prize.
Stanley Cup Champion
San Jose Sharks
This is their year, I think. They’re so balanced, so stellar on the blueline, and still have awesome scoring. Their defense should set up perfectly with Niemi’s style of goaltending (get in front of everything, but there will be rebounds to pounce on). Also, Brent Burns’ addition to the blueline should really give the Sharks that added dimension on the power play. The PK should also be rock solid. As Boston showed last year, and many teams have shown in years prior, teams that are hard to score against do well in the postseason. The Sharks have a team that, on paper, should be exactly that. If it happens, we might finally get to bring the Cup home to the Bay. Here’s hoping, anyways!
Award Predictions:
I got one right last year! Go me! Let’s shoot for doing even better.
Hart Trophy (MVP): Alex Ovechkin, WAS
Art Ross (Most Points): Martin St. Louis, TB
Rocket Richard (Most Goals): Steven Stamkos, TB
Vezina Award (Top Goalie): Pekka Rinne, NSH
Norris Trophy (Top D-man): Shea Weber, NSH
Selke Award (Top Defensive Forward): Pavel Datsyuk, DET
Calder Award (Top Rookie): Adam Larsson, NJ
Adams Award (Top Coach): Barry Trotz, NSH
Conn Smythe (Playoff MVP): Joe Thornton, SJ
So, yeah, all of these will be wrong come the end of the season...but its still fun to speculate.
Hockey season is upon us, and I couldn't be happier. See you at The Tank!
3 comments:
GO SHARKS!
Should be a great year!
Ok, if we're supposed to meet Washington, you can't go there for a hockey trip! Third time wouldn't be a charm.
Nope, we're going to Columbus! Gonna really put this thing to the test!
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