Predict the Standings - 2011-2012

I forget where it was said... maybe a Toronto thread or something. I took exception to what people were saying when they claimed Ottawa was no where near those other 3 teams. BS from start to end.

I think the fact that we got a real number one goaltender + Spezza + Alfie being relatively healthy were a massive contributor, but obviously this season is on MacLean and Karlsson emerging as a number one D-man - I'm not sure we thought that would happen so quick.

Regardless, neat stuff!

http://www.gmhockey.com/t5499p160-ottawa-boston-sept-29th-2011-7pm#257522

He pretty much called it

NEELY wrote:I forget where it was said... maybe a Toronto thread or something. I took exception to what people were saying when they claimed Ottawa was no where near those other 3 teams. BS from start to end.

In that thread that I linked, mattshock says that in order to make the playoffs we would have to be better than Montreal, Toronto, Buffalo or the very least two of those three. I thought maybe you had responded to that post, but no. It was somewhere else. But I assume it was during the pre-season or shortly before.

Damn, that is pretty accurate.

It's official - the Sens are all on coke!

It'll be just as interesting how they do next year. Now there will be some pressure to repeat and I'm guessing Tampa, Montreal, Buffalo, Toronto will be better.

What they do with the blueline over the summer will go a long day.

NEELY wrote:I forget where it was said... maybe a Toronto thread or something. I took exception to what people were saying when they claimed Ottawa was no where near those other 3 teams. BS from start to end.

Truth be told though, the collapse the Leafs had also far exceeded expectations. Epic does not begin to describe it.

#delicious

I guess a lot of people bought all that "rebuild" nonsense, hook, line and sinker.

Riprock wrote:Damn, that is pretty accurate.

It's official - the Sens are all on coke!

I believe he said something like half

Hoags wrote:It'll be just as interesting how they do next year. Now there will be some pressure to repeat and I'm guessing Tampa, Montreal, Buffalo, Toronto will be better.

What they do with the blueline over the summer will go a long day.

Melnyk et al. are keeping expectations where they belong -- this is a 3-year rebuild and, while we are ahead of schedule, we're still in year two next season.

There are a few huge things that will be different right off the bat next season, though:

1. The team has had one full year of MacLean's coaching, so forget that three-week period to adjust.
2. We will have Kyle Turris as our 2nd line center instead of a tag-team of 18-year-old Mika Zibanejad and first-year-pro Stephane DaCosta. We will also have the likes of DaCosta or Zibanejad as call-ups, with some more experience under their belts.
3. We are not going to have David Rundblad attempting to "learn-on-the-job". I would suspect anyone called up from Bingo, with a few years playing on NA ice will do better at the "standing around, not sure what to do" part.
4. Who knows what impact Silfverberg will have. I suspect his ceiling is quite a bit higher than Greening, but I also suspect he doesn't start the season riding shotgun on the top line. But, boy, when he earns the promotion, I think the Sens scoring could be even stronger than this year (I say "could be" because, let's face it, some guys overachieved this year, and are bound to have fall-back seasons).

Overall, the biggest change I would expect is from Anderson (he was quite inconsistent to start the season) and (hopefully) less running around in our own zone. That *should* translate to a better season. Also, I think the Leafs and Habs will be worse (to start the year) than this season. And it's not like they could be any tougher on us late in the season than this year, right?

I think the Habs will bounce back more than the Leafs do next season... unless the Leafs pull off some crazy magic and land a serious #1 goal tender. Would love to see them both miss the playoffs again. #delicious

If the Habs hire the right GM, they will slowly but surely get better. But they don't have a #1 center and those usually take years to draft/develop. Unless they win the lottery, draft someone like Grigorenko (6'3" 200 lbs, plays in NA, could be NHL-ready) and he steps in and makes an immediate impact. The chances of all that aligning are pretty slim.

But we'll see.

wprager wrote:If the Habs hire the right GM, they will slowly but surely get better. But they don't have a #1 center and those usually take years to draft/develop. Unless they win the lottery, draft someone like Grigorenko (6'3" 200 lbs, plays in NA, could be NHL-ready) and he steps in and makes an immediate impact. The chances of all that aligning are pretty slim.

But we'll see.

I was basing my prediction solely on them addressing the GM/Coach issue and the fact that they have Price as well as good d-men. PK and Markov should be much better next season.

Third coach in less than two seasons, the upper management had been a joke so it'll take a while to attract free agents, cap issues, still too small down the middle.