bigpush Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 I have been looking at how the new conferences will play out and the main thing that has stuck out to me is that IMO Dallas is now in an easier division and are a much improved team. They were playing SJS,LA,ANH,PHX lots last year and now will be playing mostly against CHI,STL,NAS,WIN,COL,MIN. Other than CHI and STL I don't think that division will be great, MIN might have a solid year but WIN, and COL are pretty weak. They have a pretty wicked group of forwards with both veteran role players and high end youth. Seguin, Peverly, Horcoff, Nishushkin, Chiasson (full season) and one of Ritchie or Faksa are all additions IMO this season. There has been talk of Benn switching back to the wing to play with Seguin but he had a really solid season as a centre and I think it will make sense to spread out the offense. I think they also have one of the best groups of bottom 6 forwards in the league as well. Whitney Benn Chiasson Cole Seguin Nishushkin Eakin Peverly Ritchie/Faksa Roussel Fiddler Horcoff Garbutt,Peterson The back-end is filled with older players but guys who are very mobile. They also have some massive young defenders who look to be either ready( Dillon) or close to the big show ( Oleksiak, Gaunce and Connaughton). People on this board might not agree with Connaughton but he put up pretty impressive numbers for Texas in AHL after being traded. 9gp 2G 4 A in regular season and 9gp 2G 3 A in playoffs. Goligoski Robidias Dillon Daley Gonchar Rome Oleksiak/Benn Lehtonen is a legit #1 goalie who can steal games and seems to of gotten over some of his injury troubles. Ellis and Nilstorp are servicable backups and Jack Campbell put up decent numbers in his first full year in the AHL. They also picked up the most experience coach availible this off-season in Lindy Ruff who I think might end up being the most understated addition they have made. Anyways I like how this team is built and think they are going to be pretty good this year (depending on how good the young players are ) and very good moving forward. I think they make the playoffs, come 2nd in their division and surprise a lot of teams with their skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Go Faulk Yourself Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 I don't see where you think Dallas has improved? They got rid of 3 key players on their team at the deadline basically signalling a rebuild. They trade for Segger who had a down year, I don't really think they're going in the right path. They also have to face the likes of Minnesota, Chicago, & St. Louis, who in my opinion, are miles better than the team Dallas has on paper, as well as a Colorado team that could surprise & Winnipeg who is hungry for a playoff spot (I doubt they'll make it though). Lehtonen has been up and down in his career, he's been decent at best, I wouldn't peg him as a legit #1 goaltender. He's come off his best season yes, but last season it seemed like every goaltender had a "best season". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ButterBean Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 They'll be better than they have the past few years but they won't be contenders. Lehtonen is either overrated, or not very good when he plays the Canucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warhippy Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 They will be at or on a par with the canucks. This is a young hungry team with some cap space and something serious to prove and a bona fide franchise center in Seguin who is going to absolutely break out one season very soon here plus Nicushkin a revamped D core and some serious help out front. If they could lose Cole and bring in someone younger i`d peg them in the 6-8 spot in the west. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigpush Posted July 21, 2013 Author Share Posted July 21, 2013 I don't see where you think Dallas has improved? They got rid of 3 key players on their team at the deadline basically signalling a rebuild. They trade for Segger who had a down year, I don't really think they're going in the right path. They also have to face the likes of Minnesota, Chicago, & St. Louis, who in my opinion, are miles better than the team Dallas has on paper, as well as a Colorado team that could surprise & Winnipeg who is hungry for a playoff spot (I doubt they'll make it though). Lehtonen has been up and down in his career, he's been decent at best, I wouldn't peg him as a legit #1 goaltender. He's come off his best season yes, but last season it seemed like every goaltender had a "best season". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanucksFanMike Posted July 21, 2013 Share Posted July 21, 2013 They'll be better than they have the past few years but they won't be contenders. Lehtonen is either overrated, or not very good when he plays the Canucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigpush Posted July 21, 2013 Author Share Posted July 21, 2013 They'll be better than they have the past few years but they won't be contenders. Lehtonen is either overrated, or not very good when he plays the Canucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownUndaCanuck Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Depends on how well Seguin plays. If he and Benn develop chemistry watch-out, that will be one of the best young top lines in the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master Mind Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 The new division means nothing in terms of opponents. They'll play their own division almost as much as they play ours. I'm thinking that they'll battle with Nashville for the final spot in their division, though ultimately missing the playoffs. St. Louis, Chicago, Minnesota, and Nashville are all better teams imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsasaki Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 How exactly does the playoff seeding go? Is it top 3 in each division + 2 wildcards? If its that they may have some difficulty makin the playoffs, here's how I see the Western conference playing out: Pacific: LA, Anaheim, Vancouver Central: Chicago, St. Louis, Minnesota/Dallas/Nashville However I don't think those last three will be better than San Jose and Phoenix, who I think will take the wildcard spots. Maybe one of them could beat out Phoenix, but we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil_314 Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 They look really good on paper. If they stack their lines maybe they'll do this? Whitney - Seguin - Benn (Tyler with Jamie and Whitney mean trouble for the other team) Nichushkin - Eakin - Chiasson (young, skilled line-- two big guys with skill centered by a gritty play-maker) Cole - Horcoff - Peverley (veterans with physicality, grit and some skill) Roussel - Fiddler - Garbutt (pretty good energy line) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UFCanuck Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 They'll be as good as Aaron Rome wants them to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jordan Subban Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 Now that Dallas has Seguin, Benn would move back to the LW position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeNiro Posted July 22, 2013 Share Posted July 22, 2013 How can you not have Seguin and Benn together? That would be a deadly combo. And I think alot of it depends on how ready Nichushkin is. If he comes in and is an instant star, suddenly their offense is pretty scary. They still have a questionable D though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigpush Posted July 23, 2013 Author Share Posted July 23, 2013 How can you not have Seguin and Benn together? That would be a deadly combo. And I think alot of it depends on how ready Nichushkin is. If he comes in and is an instant star, suddenly their offense is pretty scary. They still have a questionable D though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pears Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 They'll make a strong push for the playoffs, but will just miss out. And you have the lines wrong, here's what I would do: Benn - Seguin - Chiasson Whitney - Horcoff/Eakin - Nichushkin Cole - Eakin/Horcoff/Peverley - Peverley/Eakin Roussel - Faksa - Fiddler Pretty solid line up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Heffy Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 Ruff moves Rome down to the 7th spot where he belongs. Due to this demotion as well as Rome being uncomfortable with Seguin's advances, Rome gets angry and holds out, demanding a trade to NYR. Locker room is split and the team falls apart. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aqua59 Posted July 23, 2013 Share Posted July 23, 2013 I have been looking at how the new conferences will play out and the main thing that has stuck out to me is that IMO Dallas is now in an easier division and are a much improved team. They were playing SJS,LA,ANH,PHX lots last year and now will be playing mostly against CHI,STL,NAS,WIN,COL,MIN. Other than CHI and STL I don't think that division will be great, MIN might have a solid year but WIN, and COL are pretty weak. They have a pretty wicked group of forwards with both veteran role players and high end youth. Seguin, Peverly, Horcoff, Nishushkin, Chiasson (full season) and one of Ritchie or Faksa are all additions IMO this season. There has been talk of Benn switching back to the wing to play with Seguin but he had a really solid season as a centre and I think it will make sense to spread out the offense. I think they also have one of the best groups of bottom 6 forwards in the league as well. Whitney Benn Chiasson Cole Seguin Nishushkin Eakin Peverly Ritchie/Faksa Roussel Fiddler Horcoff Garbutt,Peterson The back-end is filled with older players but guys who are very mobile. They also have some massive young defenders who look to be either ready( Dillon) or close to the big show ( Oleksiak, Gaunce and Connaughton). People on this board might not agree with Connaughton but he put up pretty impressive numbers for Texas in AHL after being traded. 9gp 2G 4 A in regular season and 9gp 2G 3 A in playoffs. Goligoski Robidias Dillon Daley Gonchar Rome Oleksiak/Benn Lehtonen is a legit #1 goalie who can steal games and seems to of gotten over some of his injury troubles. Ellis and Nilstorp are servicable backups and Jack Campbell put up decent numbers in his first full year in the AHL. They also picked up the most experience coach availible this off-season in Lindy Ruff who I think might end up being the most understated addition they have made. Anyways I like how this team is built and think they are going to be pretty good this year (depending on how good the young players are ) and very good moving forward. I think they make the playoffs, come 2nd in their division and surprise a lot of teams with their skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Burrows 14 Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 They will make the playoffs, guaranteed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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