Which Division will be the best next season? + My thoughts

[Jam126]

Hi All,

 

 

Now, this is just for fun to see what people think about the different divisions and which ones are great in peoples eyes.

With my choice of best division, I would choose the Central:

The Central has looked great since the re-alignment and now full of elite teams like Dallas, Chicago, St. Louis and I guess I can put Winnipeg in there. But the best team I believe in the division next year will be Nashville. With the recent acquisition of Subban, the D is IMO the best D in the league along with Josi, Ekholm and Ellis. But, they've got great forwards too. Ryan Johansen, Forsberg, Neal, I think the Nashville Predators will go deep into the Play-offs and possibly win the cup.

 

With my choice of worst division, I would have to choose the Atlantic:

With the Leafs "Shanaplan", they are going to stay at the bottom half of the league standings to acquire another high pick next draft. Ottawa is a team with an internal cap (That sucks), they have some great pieces in place (Mark Stone, Cody Ceci and Erik Karlsson) but they are not a complete team that can really do anything in the Play-offs if they even get there. The Habs are just screwed up right now, the Radulov signing was a great signing, but considering his history in the locker room especially Shea Weber it isn't that great of an upgrade supposedly from what Subban was doing (I don't believe it, but hey, I'm not the GM). Speaking of Subban, such a bone-headed move by MB, trading a SUPERSTAR D in his prime for a drastically declining D that isn't a PMD either and doesn't really contribute as much offensively as Subban, plus who is he gonna play in Montreal? Markov? That pairing would be shredded. The Bruins, they have been going downhill very fast and appear to be retooling/rebuilding with the recent signing in David Backes (Terrible contract btw), do I think the Bruins will be better? Certainly, do I think they are a Play-off team? Nope, not with that D. Plus, since his Vezina year Rask hasn't been amazing, he's been an average goalie. Boston's drafting since Sweeney has took over can be seen as mixed, while this year he drafted a promising D prospect in Mcavoy, they "purposely" went for a third-liner at 29th. The 2015 draft the Bruins had 3 picks in a row in the 1st round and a lot of Bruins fans weren't pleased with those picks. With the Bruins, I guess we'll see what they do this season but they still need a lot of work to do.

My picks of Atlantic teams going to the Play-offs this year are Tampa, Florida and Buffalo. Other than that, not a very strong division.

 

 

Well, these are my thoughts. I'd like to congratulate you for reading this unorganized mess! I'd like to hear your opinion, which division will be the strongest in this upcoming season? Who will be the worst?

 

 

 

Cheers,

Jam126

[Master Mind]

It's close, but I think the Metropolitan will be the toughest. Having both the President's Trophy and Cup champs in it is a good start. Add in a couple of good teams in NY, Philly, and an improved Devils, Hurricanes, and Jackets squads.

 

Atlantic is the easy pick for worst. Aside from the Florida based teams, there's no real threats there.

[Xbox]

Lol the East is such a mess right now. Teams like Florida, Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and Washington mind as well put the playoff clinching "x" beside their names right away.

 

There's so many opportunities in the East for teams to rise up. It's hard to tell which division is worse tbh.

[Madness]

Central strongest. Some very good teams in that division. 

 

Atlantic weakest. Only the Florida teams are any good. 

[SaintPatrick33]

Central all day. Hawks Blues Stars Preds are quite stacked teams

 

However, last year I bet many would have voted Pacific division, given how parity is, some teams fall off when you do not expect it, while others rise up. Who knows, maybe this will finally be the oilers year, right? 

[Grape]

Metro is very top heavy with WASH and PIT, then you have teams like NJD, CAR and CBJ, who aren't too bad and are getting better but bring the division down a lot. Both NY teams and PHI were borderline playoff teams which is good, though I have no idea which direction their heading tbh. I'd say they're #2.

 

Atlantic is quite awful and frankly I think most of their teams are also overrated. FLA is the only team that looks to be trending upwards but they've only had 1 good season. TBL needs to lock up some guys even after Stamkos and Hedman and then they'll be a consistent playoff team. But the rest of those teams such as DET and BOS are old and pretty much in shambles. BUF and MTL are overrated as hell imo but TOR has some promise for sure. They're last for me.

 

Central IMO is the best and all of their teams are a threat to make the playoffs and even possibly contend. DAL, STL, and CHI are their big three and might be the most competitive trio of teams within a division (part of the reason why I hate the new playoff format). NSH is right up there and might in fact take over STL who've lost some key key pieces. MIN, COL, and WPG are all teams with a lot of potential and could cause damage.

 

Pacific is also very top heavy but with a little more competition at the top. SJS, LAK, and ANA are much like the central's big three in terms of how competitive they are with each other. Their cores play a heavier game and are much older than the Central's which is why I think the Central is better. After those teams you have 4 of the 5 worst teams in the NHL last season. #3 for me although interchangeable with Atlantic.

[wai_lai416]

2 hours ago, Grape said:

Metro is very top heavy with WASH and PIT, then you have teams like NJD, CAR and CBJ, who aren't too bad and are getting better but bring the division down a lot. Both NY teams and PHI were borderline playoff teams which is good, though I have no idea which direction their heading tbh. I'd say they're #2.

 

Atlantic is quite awful and frankly I think most of their teams are also overrated. FLA is the only team that looks to be trending upwards but they've only had 1 good season. TBL needs to lock up some guys even after Stamkos and Hedman and then they'll be a consistent playoff team. But the rest of those teams such as DET and BOS are old and pretty much in shambles. BUF and MTL are overrated as hell imo but TOR has some promise for sure. They're last for me.

 

Central IMO is the best and all of their teams are a threat to make the playoffs and even possibly contend. DAL, STL, and CHI are their big three and might be the most competitive trio of teams within a division (part of the reason why I hate the new playoff format). NSH is right up there and might in fact take over STL who've lost some key key pieces. MIN, COL, and WPG are all teams with a lot of potential and could cause damage.

 

Pacific is also very top heavy but with a little more competition at the top. SJS, LAK, and ANA are much like the central's big three in terms of how competitive they are with each other. Their cores play a heavier game and are much older than the Central's which is why I think the Central is better. After those teams you have 4 of the 5 worst teams in the NHL last season. #3 for me although interchangeable with Atlantic.

lol how is buffalo overrated? they are in a rebuild and wasn't expected to make the playoff? that's overrated? they given up far less goals than us and scored more on a team that gutted it's roster the previous year for the McDavid sweepstake.. more like they overachieved based on what they have..