Time Capsule - Prediction Thread for 2016-17 NHL season

[hlinkas wrister]

 

Ok, I've gotta be honest here, I'm not much of a prognosticator so I'll keep mine Canucks specific:

           20 games in and it's all coming up roses for the Canucks. The twins and Loui are all top 20 in scoring, Sutter is healthy and scoring on the PP, the D is making a decent contribution offensively and the tendy tandem is top shelf. Projected points-27 in the first 20. Yet oddly enough, the whiners on CDC will still find fodder for their tirades with such gems as "Willie gets his line combos from tea readings" or "Why can't we have a Conor McMatthews, Wahhh".

           Unfortunately, this is where I think the first shoe drops. If there is one glaring weakness in this team, its the drop off in talent/experience after the first line and top pairing and the compressed schedule is likely to take its first significant casualty around this point. Is it a twin or one of Edler, Tanev or Gud? Can't say, but we got a good look last year at the ability of this roster to cope with adversity at this stage in development. Projected points 17 in the second 20. The only caveat I would give is if the injury is not one of the twins they may still have enough in the tank to push the Canucks point total to 20-22.

           Somewhere in the 41-61 game mark the second shoe will drop with another significant injury to the primary core and its 2015-16 all over again. Projected points 12 out of 21 games- the six day break (and trade deadline) can't come quick enough. Suffice to say, the noisy neighbors will be out in full force at this point in time- regaling us with pearls of wisdom like calling Willie "twitchy" or Benning "dim Jim", heck, why stop there? Go whole hog and chalk it all up to owner meddling whilst you're at it! Anyways, this quarter of the season concludes with JB being unable to move anybody for picks (not that he's even going to try) and Linden announces that Willie has been extended for 2 more years due to his ability to get the best from young players while the team is in transition. CDC implodes.

          The last 21 games the Canucks turn a corner. They are healthy for the first time since November and Willie looks relaxed and tanned after signing his new contract and a short southern California vacation. Projected points 25 in 21 games for 81 total and they move from second last to fifth from the bottom, eliciting more whinging from the braying tankers- but don't despair, the Canucks will win the second pick at the 2017 draft. As per players point totals, I don't have a clue what they may be. And I have two wishes for this season I'd like to see come true- the first would be for Gudbranson to destroy Lucic when he trots out his McDiver police act, and secondly, I would like for Virtanen to get the coaches voices out of his head and do what he does best- take the puck to the net with speed. If he stays true to what he really is, success will follow.    

[Guest]

• Eriksson gets 25 goals
• The Twins both get 60+ points
• Horvat gets 20 goals
• Hutton gets 30 points
• Virtanen gets 25 points

 

[Guest]

Sedins and Eriksson each get 65+ points. Baertschi gets 45 points. BoHo has 52 points. Sutter drops to third centre. Granny gets 20 points. Hutton gets 23 assists and 4 goals. Edler drops his point total. Burrows is rejuvinated. Marky becomes starter by January 23. We make the playoffs as the second team in the division behind Anaheim. We beat Dallas in the first round. We beat ST Louis in the second. Lose to Chicago in the third. Tampa wins the cup.

[Jeaves]

Young guys play well, defense is tough to play against, but we are still missing some top end scoring, all adding up to....

 

First round exit, later first round pick, cdc loses their mind!

[Googlie]

It's tempting to make a prediction

but right now would just be science fiction

who will retire,

and who will we acquire?

I'll wait till after the tourney in Penticton

[cuporbust]

Reserved 

[Warhippy]

Canucks will finish 12th in the west.  And last in our division based on better overall play by our divisional rivals and near clockwork injuries to our blue line that we don't have the depth to cover 

[Soren5556]

Some basic predictions:

 

 

-Canucks will make the playoffs as the last wildcard spot but end up out in the first round again; depth scoring still a major issue

-Sbisa and Etem will both not be on the canucks by the trade deadline. 

-Horvat will have 50 points and Baerstchi will have at least 40

-Sedins will put up at least 70 points and Loui 65 

-Edler puts up at least 30 points as does Hutton

-Stetcher ends up with at least 30 NHL games by the end of the season

-Gaunce sticks with the team for the full year

-Biega is waived before Christmas

-Granlund puts up 38 points 16g22a 

-Rodin  turns out to be the biggest surprise of the season and puts up at least 50 points and 25 goals

[GettinGuddyWithIt]

Erikkson gets 30

Both Sedins get ~70 points give or take

Horvat gets 50 points

Baerstchi nets 24

Hutton with ~35 points

Guddy with 22 points

Edler rejuvenates himself

Marky becomes the starter after December

We make the playoffs as the 1st Wild Card

We win the Satanley Cup over the Flyers in game 7 overtime on the road as Horvat gets the CWG (Cup winning goal)

 

[luckylager]

Our defense isn't even close to being as improved as most on CDC are expecting. Maybe a bit better, sure. A little bit.  Less goals scored against us than last season. -15%.

 

Forwards have improved a little as well. I was expecting a big increase in production, I'm not gonna let WD's first game line up bring me down. We will score at least 60 more goals this season than last!

 

Canucks battle for a wild card is the best case scenario.

 

Worst case is a top 5 pick, again.

 

But nowhere near as bad as the media wants us to be

 

 

[Oldmanpower]

1-Virtannen party's like a rock star and starts the season in Utica

2-Horvart and Bear cheese both have career best seasons

3- twins production declines

4-Markstrom challenges for top spot in the crease

5-our defensive play and penalty kill improve significantly due to Tree and Eric

6- 3 on 3 overtime record improves 

7- injury bug f-- is off and strikes some other team

8- and finally...... We make the playoffs and exit in the first round due to not having a first line

yayaya baby!!

[GreyHatnDart]

I have serious bets on these Canucks. I am one of the apparently decreasingly few that thinks we're going to have a successful year. 

 

I have 2 separate bets of $100 each that says we make the playoffs. One is with a fellow Canucks fan (who hates everything about Benning) and the other is a Bruins fan. 

I have $20 that says I hit the over on the over/under of Eriksson hitting 24.5 with 70 or more games played. 

I also have $20 that says the Canucks finish above the Oilers. 

 

I don't have any actual predictions. I guess those are mine. 

Canucks make the playoffs. 

Eriksson scores 25+

Canucks are still better than the Oilers. 

[Salacious Crumb]

We surprise many and lead the division at Xmas. We are due for some good luck and this year things break our way.

Markstrom plays so well Evender Kane (cleared of all charges) makes his way here at tdl for Miller so he can go home for a couple of years.

Sedins and Loui total 200pts. 

Hutton is the best dman on the team by end of the season with 37pts.

94pts for the team and birth in the playoffs.

[J.I.A.H.N]

Reserved

 

But their place in the standings will come down to injuries on our team and injuries to Calgary and Edmonton 

 

That is where we will get or lose our extra points from!

 

Just saying! 

[PunjabiCanucks]

Reserved. 

 

Wont make any definitive predictions yet, but right now we will finish barely not making the playoffs. Finish 10th to 12th in the west

[Outsiders]

Alright here we go.

 

Bo adds to his totals offensively  21G 25A = 46P

Sutter stays healthy puts up 41P

Juolevi doesn't make the team

Eriksson has a solid season 33G 38A = 71P

Tryamkin plays great earns spot in Training Camp

Baertschi drops 37 points 18G 19A = 37P

Rodin Surprises puts up 30P

Gud adds to his offence puts up 13P 4G

Sedins get 70+ points each

Virtanen pots 13G

Canucks make playoffs win in first round, lose second 

[hatedkid666]

resexciteed

 

[ruilin96]

I posted this at another thread 

Will write the same thing for here as well:

 

I believe the Canucks will be a playoff team if the team can stay healthy and play to their potential.

 

Forwards:

 

First Line:

D. Sedin - H. Sedin - Eriksson

 

Expect the Sedins to bounce back, because last year up until Henrik's injury they are a point a game player, adding Eriksson a solid 2 way winger would only make the Sedins better. They will also have some extra time to familiarize with each other playing for Sweden in the World Cup of hockey before the start of the season, and that should be a plus when it comes to developing chemistry.

Projection: Daniel 22~26 goals and 70~80 points, Henrik 12~18 goals and 70~80 points, Eriksson 25~32 goals and 55~65 points

 

Second/Third Line:

??? - Sutter - Hansen

 

A healthy Sutter is capable of scoring 20 goals and play smart shut-down defensive hockey and also able to help out our penalty kill drastically. Hansen and Sutter are both hard working guys are aren't afraid to go to the net and the dirty areas. On the left side of this line, I don't see permanent guy playing there throughout the season, it will all depend on the chemistry, injuries, who's hot and who's not. We will see the likes of Rodin, Etem or Virtanen rotating on the left side of that line.

Projection: Sutter 17~24 goals 36~46 points, Hansen 15~20 goals 35~45 points

 

Second/Third Line:

Baertchi - Horvat - ???

 

Having Sutter back full time will give Bo more sheltered ice-time and reduces a fair-share of his responsibility and work-load. Bo was our leading scorer for the 2nd half of the season, where he scored 14 of his 16 goals. Sven also took off around December and January, the two looked great together and developed some great chemistry. Both Sven and Bo will likely get 2nd unit PP time as well, and I expect this to be another solid line of ours. Candidates for the right wing of this line would be Rodin, Etem, Virtanten, Gaunce or Dorsett, all depending on chemistry, injury, who's hot and who's not.

Projection: Horvat 18~24 goals and 45~55 points, Baertchi 20~25 goals 40~50 points

 

Fourth Line:

Gaunce/Burrows - Granlund/Gaunce - Dorsett

 

I like the shaping of our fourth line with strong veteran presence on the wing in Burrows and Dorsett, 2 guys who works hard everyday and a great role model for the 2 younger guys on this line in Granlund and Gaunce. One of these guys will be up in the press box every game, and that would all depend on injuries and performances. Granlund and Gaunce both can play center/wing which gives us a good option to take a look at both of them in different positions. There are potentially other candidates such as Virtanen or Etem may also be slotted into this line sometime in the season. This line has a good mix of good grit and skill, and it is going to be line that we can depend on defensively and also chip in the odd goal.

Projection: Burrows 10~15 goals and 25~30 points, Granlund 10~15 goals 25~30 points, Gaunce 5~10 goals 20~25 points, Dorsett 5~10 goals and 18~23 points

 

Wild Cards or X-Factors among forwards:

Virtanen - Main question for Virtanen is, will he be able to have a solid training camp after a solid summer of hard work to earn himself a roster spot and have a bounce back second year similar to Draisaitl's last season? I don't think he would put up the numbers Draisaitl put up last season yet and think a bounce back for him would be a solid 10+ goals and 30+ points guy. Or is he going to start his season in Utica and earn his way back up to the big league in call-ups? If he puts everything together and have a solid year improving his production to 10+ goals and 30+ points and his strong physical presence, we will have a solid player that would not only just help us get to the playoffs but also be a great player to have when we are in the playoffs.

 

Rodin - Perhaps the biggest question mark of our forward group is Rodin. He is been able to light it up in the SHL, but can he translate his game to NHL ice when the ice is smaller? Can he still put up offense playing against the big, bad and tough Western Conference heavy teams? Is he our Artemi Panarin or would he just be another player who can play in the European leagues but not the NHL (he is most likely somewhere in the middle)? He is definitely the most difficult to project the goals or points he is going to put up, but his style of play suggests that a top 6 scoring role is definitely much more suitable for him. He should be able to make his way out of camp and anything onward would depend on how much he can adjust to the NHL ice. 

 

Etem - If the last 5-10 games of last season is any indication of the real Emerson Etem, we definitely have got ourselves another quality top 6 winger if he can consistently put up those numbers on a regular basis. He was acquired last season to improve our bottom 6 scoring, but since his days in Anaheim, I have always believe that he can be solid top-6 scorer in the NHL if he is able to utilize all his tools. Personally I like to see him on the line with Horvat and Baertchi as it seems he played his best hockey as a Canuck when he plays with Bo Horvat. It is hard to project how many goals he will score because I believe it can be anywhere between from 10 goals to even 20 goals if everything goes right for him. I see him making our line-up out of camp, but anything onward is all going to depend on him. (waived and picked up by the Ducks, best luck to him)

 

Defense:

 

First Pairing:

Edler - Tanev

 

Despite the constant bashing and ripping of Alex Edler, I still believe him and Tanev are our best defencemen heading into next season. Our records last year without Edler was abysmal and he is really not as bad as most people here describe him as. The acquisition of Gudbranson is a significant upgrade to our D-corp in general, and it will reduce some penalty killing and defensive responsibility from both Edler and Tanev. Edler is a much more effective player when he isn't counted on to do everything at every situation. He was a great player for us when we had other guys like Bieksa, Hamhuis, Erhoff and Salo at their prime sharing his workload. I expect Edler to have a solid bounce back season, and he may also improve his offensive numbers now as we don't have to drain him out game after game now that we have a better defensive depth. The World Championship winning experience should be great for Tanev, and he has always been a solid smart, shut-down defenceman for us, don't expect much change to Tanev's style of game and he should still gradually improve since he is still 26.

Projection: Ice Time: 22-24 minutes per game. Offence: Edler 8~12 goals/30~40 points; Tanev 4~7 goals and 20~25 points.

 

Second Pairing:

Hutton - Gudbranson

 

Hutton was a nice surprise from last year's training camp and had a very solid rookie season putting up 25 points. He has also been working out hard this summer, and should have another good year of hockey and solid improvements from his game. Many criticizes his +/- stats last season, but keep in mind that the Canucks as a team last season has the league worst goals differential at -52, and most people on our team has an abysmal +/- stats. Considering the fact that Hutton played a lot of tough minutes with the injuries last season to Edler, Tanev and Hamhuis and also constantly playing with defensive liability partners in Weber/Bartkowski bailing out those 2's mistakes as a rookie. No doubt those are factors of why his +/-  takes a hit. This season, he would be playing with Gudbranson, a solid intimidating shutdown defenceman who is considered a goalie's best friend (see Lou's reaction on twitter on this trade). Gudbranson's solid defensive game would mean that Hutton can have more time to go out and develop his offensive game to reach the potential of an offensive puck moving defenceman. Gudbranson also serve as a guardian of our backend protecting our goalie and young defenceman like Hutton from being pushed around by oppositions. Gudbranson would also help improve our penalty kill and Hutton may also get some power play time as a quarter back on our 2nd unit and the duo could both improve our special teams.

Projection: Ice time: 20-22 minutes per game. Offence: Hutton 5~7 goals/30~35 points; Gudbranson: 3~6 goals/12~18 points.

 

Third Pairing: 

Sbisa - ???

 

Sbisa is another one of CDC's favorite whipping boy but just like Edler, he isn't as bad as most of the people on this board thinks he is. Last season was an injured riddle season for him, but when he was away from the line-up, the team miss his toughness from the back-end. He is much more effective when playing on a 3rd defensive pairing, and he still has rook to grow. Playing much sheltered minutes and less of a significant role would also help him to focus on his game and boost his confidence. His defensive partner would be a rotation between, Tryamkin, Pedan, Larsen or Biega (atleast 1 of 4 would be sent down in Utica to start the season). And this would depend on performance and injury.

Projection: Ice time: 16~18 minutes per game. Offence: Sbisa 5~7 goals, 16~20 points.

 

Wild Cards or X-Factors among defencemen:

Tryamkin - For him to make it to the opening night roster, it will solely depend on how hard he trains over the summer to stay in shape and how much he impresses the coaching staff during training camp and pre-season. He looked solid last season with the 13 games he played in. Most CDC here expect him to be the second coming of Chara but please note that Chara really just focused on his defensive game early on his career and his offensive output did not take a leap until his 6-7th season in the NHL and did not become a Norris caliber Dman until his 11th season. Tryamkin should also follow the similar foot-step, whether or not he becomes a Chara or not, I see his floor would atleast be a solid Top 4 defenceman in the NHL. If Tryamkin is hoping to be a regular in our line-up, he needs to show that he is capable of playing a solid defensive game and Gudbranson should be a great person for him to learn from.

 

Pedan - Pedan has speed, a hard shot, a big body-frame that is perfect for hitting and intimidating to play against. The question would be can he translate this to the NHL? Can he show the coaches and management that he can be the player that they have hoped to be? Last season in the call ups he show flashes of his brilliance and also revealed some signs of his weaknesses defensively. Similar to Tryamkin, if he wants to be a regular, he needs to show our coaching staff that he can play a solid defensive game in the NHL.

 

Larsen - Larsen was a puck moving offensive defenseman in the KHL, and he was brought in to improve the offence from the back end and the potential of becoming a solid quarter back for the power play. Larsen's biggest question would be translating his game to the NHL and able to play that same game consistently. Interesting note is that he requested for his rights to be traded away from Edmonton as he really wants to make a come back in the NHL and refuse to play for the Oilers organization (I mean who doesn't )

 

 

Goaltending:

 

Starter:

Ryan Miller - Yes, I do think atleast going into this season, Miller would be our starting goalie. Last season, in most nights, he was the only guy playing on the ice and most of the time, he kept the game close and give us a chance to win. He was often left hung out to dry with our injured and lack of depth defensive group last year, and it does not help his stats at all. With a much improved group of defense, Miller should have a bounce back year. However, given his age and the direction this team is heading in the future, I think his work load would be reduced, and Markstrom will likely get a few more starts then the average back-up goalie of the NHL. Miller is also a competitor and he is definitely working hard to prove that he is still a No. 1 goalie in the NHL. He is also  a strong veteran presence in the locker room, and if we are in a playoff spot by the deadline, I see him play his way out of the contract and become a UFA next season before passing on the torch to Markstrom.

Projection: Games Played: 55, Wins: 28~30, Save-Percentage 0.917%, GAA: 2.43

 

Back-up:

Jacob Markstrom - As much as the fans love to put Markstrom as the starter, I think another season of backing up to Miller is not going to hurt his development. He had shown last season that he can be a NHL goalie, just like Miller, a lot of nights, he seems to be the only guy playing and give us a chance to win every game. His overall stats should also improved with our upgraded defensive group. I am predicting his stats to be slightly better than Miller because fewer games played and improvement over the season. We just signed him to an extension and if he can keep improving his game and become our version of Ben Bishop, his contract would definitely be one of the best bargaining contracts in the league.

Projection: Games Played: 33, Wins: 17~20, Save-Percentage 0.920%, GAA: 2.38

 

 

 

Wild Cards or X-Factors among Goalies:

Thatcher Demko - Demko should find himself sharing the net in Utica with Richard Bachman to start the season. However, if there is a possibly of an injury to one of our two regular goalies, would he be our first call up? And if this call up does happen, is he able to turn some heads and become a NHL regular sooner than most expected? This would depend on how he translates his game from college to the professional level. Goalies took the longest to develop and reach their prime after being drafted, fans and management should be patient with his development and don't rush him by throwing him out to a pack of wolves before he is ready. I saw him at the development camp in the practices and scrimmages, from my memory, he gives up very few goals and make the save look easy. He also doesn't give up many rebound as well. 

 

Overall:

I think the management group have upgraded our team overall and if everything goes right and the guys can find chemistry and win some games early on, I think this team would definitely make the playoffs and might even make some noise as a more underrated team. I think this squad would have a similar season to the 2014-2015 squad, wanting to prove it to the league after a bad year.

Team Projection: 45~50 Wins and 96~103 points, making the playoffs finishing anywhere between 2nd place in the Pacific Division to the final wild card spot of the Western Conference.

 

Edit on September 14th, 2016:

 

Troy Stecher - Stecher should be back into the Canucks line-up no later than mid-November when injuries kick in, and my prediction is he would stick and stay with this team for the rest of the season.

 

Jake Virtanen - Likely being sent down to Utica once Rodin is activiated from IR, and he will have a great season tearing it up in the AHL before being a real impactful power forward at the NHL. Be patient with power forwards because they need to be physically developed to my most effective.

 

League-Playoff Prediction:

 

Western Conference:

Pacific Division:

1). San Jose Sharks - Playoffs

2). Anaheim Ducks - Playoffs

3). Vancouver Canucks - Playoffs

4). Calgary Flames - Playoffs

5). LA Kings

6). Arizona Coyotes

7). Edmonton Oilers

 

Central Division:

1). Nashville Predators - Playoffs

2). St. Louis Blues - Playoffs

3). Chicago Blackhawks - Playoffs

4). Dallas Stars - Playoffs

5). Minnesota Wilds

6). Colorado Avalanches

7). Winnipeg Jets

 

Eastern Conference:

 

Atlantic Division:

1). Tampa Bay Lightning - Playoffs

2). Montreal Canadiens - Playoffs

3). Boston Bruins - Playoffs

4). Florida Panthers - Playoffs

5). Detroit Red Wings - Playoffs

6). Toronto Maple Leafs

7). Ottawa Senators

8). Buffalo Sabres

 

Metropolitan Division:

1). Pittsburgh Penguins - Playoffs

2). Washington Capitals - Playoffs

3). New York Rangers - Playoffs

4). Philadelphia Flyers

5). New York Islanders

6). New Jersey Devils

7). Carolina Hurricanes

8). Columbus Blue Jackets

 

 

 

 

 

[24K PureCool]

Finish just missing the playoffs with about ~80 points barring major injuries.

Sedins have a career resurrection of sorts with Erickson ridding shot guns.

Top ten in the NHL in PK and middle of the pack PP.

Sedins get ~65 points.

Erickson score ~30 goals.

Horvat and Beartchi each score ~20 goals and 50 points.

 

Solid defense for once.

Hutton get ~30 points.

Edler gets ~20 points.

 

Markstrom take over as starter by 2017.

 

Oh and I am going to stand by this:

Vancouver Selects ...  Nolan Patrick 

[NES Canuck]

Reserved