Predicting the 2017/18 NHL Season

It's August. I'm bored. What are you predictions for the 2017/18 season. They can be anything. Firing of coaches/GMs, team standings, division winners, cup winner, stat projections, etc.


West:
- Connor McDavid: 115 points (including 35 goals)
- Dallas Stars start hot but fall towards the end of the season with players losing respect for Hitchcock's "system"
- Chicago fights for a wildcard spot.
- Calgary most improved team in the West finishing second in the division behind Edmonton


East:
- Atlantic Division title will be between the Sens and Leafs
- Canadiens finish 6th in the division. Miss playoffs. Bergevin gets fired.
- Washington wins division but lose in first round.
- Pitt finishes behind Columbus and Washington
- Carolina squeaks into the 8th wildcard spot.

DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:It's August. I'm bored. What are you predictions for the 2017/18 season. They can be anything. Firing of coaches/GMs, team standings, division winners, cup winner, stat projections, etc.


West:
- Connor McDavid: 115 points (including 35 goals)
- Dallas Stars start hot but fall towards the end of the season with players losing respect for Hitchcock's "system"
- Chicago fights for a wildcard spot.
- Calgary most improved team in the West finishing second in the division behind Edmonton


East:
- Atlantic Division title will be between the Sens and Leafs
- Canadiens finish 6th in the division. Miss playoffs. Bergevin gets fired.
- Washington wins division but lose in first round.  
- Pitt finishes behind Columbus and Washington
- Carolina squeaks into the 8th wildcard spot.  

woops, I just got wood

These are all pretty reasonable predictions. I like it.

I'm hoping against hope that Toronto takes a step backwards and it turns into a circus.

Toronto misses the playoffs.

I think the East is going to be wild an unpredictable In the Atlantic, the Habs have gotten worse (Markov/Beaulieu replaced by Streit/Alzner is a huge downgrade; Drouin replacing Radulov is likely a wash offensively but Radulov is a power forward and Drouin is not; neither is Hemsky -- that could very well be a wasted contract; Galchenyuk is not going to suddenly blossom after 5 years in the league and on a brand new contract). Boston may have gotten better if Chara is not playing top-minutes on their back-end and Rask returns to form. Toronto will be better. Ottawa will be better. I laugh at the people who are projecting the Florida teams to do well. Panthers are likely to get worse before getting better. i don't think Stamkos will ever return to his old form (lots of injuries, not getting any younger) and they lost Drouin; they will have to transition their game to more offense from the back-end and that's not something you can do overnight. Still, I expect one of those two to push for a playoff spot. Buffalo will be better, assuming no more injuries. Who's left. Detroit. WTF are they in the Atlantic? Rangers/Islanders/Caps are literally on or very near the ocean, but we get Detroit in the Atlantic? Idiots. Divisions are pretty bad but they make it even worse giving them stupid names!

Ev wrote:Toronto misses the playoffs.

How? Injuries aside, what could happen to make them miss?

wprager wrote:

Ev wrote:Toronto misses the playoffs.

How?  Injuries aside, what could happen to make them miss?

Lots can happen. There are lots of decent teams on the bubble. I don't think they're that good. When you're relying on rookies to be good, the following year can not always go as predicted. It's likely they hit a bit of a wall IMO, and they still have a bad defensive core and average goaltending.

In my eyes they aren't ahead of teams like Carolina or Buffalo by much.

I think this is shaping up to be a disappointing season for Toronto.

Ev wrote:

I think this is shaping up to be a disappointing season for Toronto.

Fingers crossed. And if things get off to a slow start, the circus arrives. Delightful.

Ev wrote:Toronto misses the playoffs.

Ooh there we go again. Wood.

Ya I am not too sure about Toronto missing the playoffs but I do think it's possible.

I think the division is Ottawa's to lose and will depend on who can pick up Methot's minutes, the health of MacArthur and Ryan's production.

Tampa may be on the wrong side of the playoffs though they had a really good run towards the end of last season.

Im gonna make another bold prediction.
Jaros will be in the exact same spot as claesson was last year by the end of the season. Making the team. I wouldn't be surprised if in two years he's on the second pairing. Ceci becoming trade bait.

I can also predict that the big headline in Toronto after 10 games is "why isn't Marleau scoring enough goals?"

Flo The Action wrote:I can also predict that the big headline in Toronto after 10 games is "why isn't Marleau scoring enough goals?"

Oh ya. He's a prime candidate to be run out of town.

"Why would we add a slow veteran when we're a young, fast team?"

Flo The Action wrote:Im gonna make another bold prediction.
Jaros will be in the exact same spot as claesson was last year by the end of the season. Making the team. I wouldn't be surprised if in two years he's on the second pairing. Ceci becoming trade bait.

I like it. I see the first 40 games as make or break for Ceci's future in Ottawa. There are a lot of players breathing down his neck and as a pending RFA (with Stone and Turris needing new contracts) this could be the end of the line for him.

Jaros is a rightie -- that, alone, will help him break into the lineup sooner or later. But he is not a PMD but any stretch of the imagination.

That said, it's not like Ceci has been lighting things up on the offense side of the ledger. He gets a lot of ice time, plays ES/PP, not exactly a big hitter or shot-blocker. I really don't get what they're trying to do with Ceci. He *should be* a puck-mover and drive offense, but somehow "pilon" Dion is lapping him in offensive production *and* is an SOB to play against in his own zone.