The Boys are back

 There is a song that usually gets played right after thanksgiving and right up until new years. However the timing of it is all wrong. Right now it is "The most wonderful time of the year". ITSSSSS HOCKEY SEASONNNNN!!!!!!! Time for family fights about who is better. Friendly wars about which play from last night was the silkiest. From 10/12 until sometime in mid June we will have hockey at least 4 nights a week! I promised and NHL Preview and this is where I've come to shatter dreams, piss people off, and find a few random hills to die on. So without further dudes (name the reference) in the words of Joker. HERE WE GO. 

Eastern Conference

Metropolitan Division

Pittsburgh, Carolina, Columbus, New Jersey, Rangers, Islanders, Philadelphia

Finally the return of normal divisions. Last year the make shift divisions made no sense and eventually the cup final ended up being 2 eastern conference teams. But that's in the past and now we are back to 82 games and normal divisions. 

This one is always tough because there really is only 3 teams that ever make any real noise in terms of a playoff push. Pittsburgh for as much as you hate them always seems to find its way to the top of this division or at least in the playoffs. I don't expect much to change their. They didn't loose anyone of real value in the expansion draft and they have a healthy Malkin and Crosby for at least the start of the season. Goaltending may be an issue for them but again they are really fighting off 2-3 other teams. The hurricanes are a joke and ROD the BOD cant fix them. The Blue jackets fired Torettela in the offseason and frankly that's stupid because he may not have made them a cup contender but he made them relevant even after the whole Patrik Laine fiasco. New Jersey is attempting to re tool by signing Dougie Hamilton to a monster deal this off season and they didn't trade Subban. At least not yet. I don't think they sniff a playoff spot but they could be heading in the right direction. The rangers didn't get worse but they certainly didn't get better. They signed Ryan Reeves in the off season for some added muscle which will be good but he's going to be out some time after that injury in the pre season. They also have refused to name a captain instead naming 6 alternates. Come on boys you need one vocal leader and Krider is it. I think im just going to skip right over the flyers because well come on really? I saw an article the other day about how the Capitols are trending down and so many people lost their mind. But why? That's not wrong. They did not get any younger and they didn't add anything of note in the off season. Ovi is getting older, Oshie is heading towards the back 9 and Backstrom is well, He hasn't been good for a while now. That's not to say ovechkin isn't going to compete for the scoring title but that alone will not put them in the playoffs. Finally, The islanders. Arguably the best team coming out of last year with so much talent and poise. They signed Zdeno Chara which will add a lot to that back end. While they did lose eberle to the Kraken they didn't get worse. I look for them to lead or at least compete with Pittsburgh for this division crown.

Atlantic Division

Boston, Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Tampa Bay

Its always fun writing about this division because unless something drastic happens there are 2 teams from it that make the playoffs anyone else just barley will sneak in to that third spot. Ill save the obvious for last. Buffalo will be lucky to win 20 games this year. That entire franchise should be relegated to the AHL maybe even lower. All the way from ownership right on down to the team it is the definition of a dumpster fire. They have one of the best players in the world in their building and they essentially ran him out of town. Eichel will not play another game for the Sabers. Read my post about training camp to understand why. Detroit won fair much better. They have a budding superstar who is refusing to get the Covid vaccine and will most likely be deemed in eligible. I have thoughts on that but this isn't the post for it. The panthers are getting back Aaron Ekblad after a horrific injury last year and even though they lost the NHL's raining iron man in Keith Yandle, they did sign Jumbo Joe which will for nothing else add much needed veteran leadership to a slightly younger team. Montreal made the cup finals last year (god that hurt to type). That was the biggest fluke of the season. They were not a cup contender, they had the benefit of not playing the American teams until the third round of the playoffs so yea they shocked some people. Once Tampa figured out their game it was very quick work for them to repeat as cup champions. Ottawa is probably going to be near the bottom again as well, They have a lot to figure out. Toronto should be decent this year at least until the first round of the playoffs. They have so much talent but like the oilers they just cant seem to put it all together. Tampa Bay will no doubt be top in the league again. They have a full year from Stamkos and Kucherov and they have added Corey Perry who should make them a little better then that bottom 9. Boston didn't lose a single important piece to the kraken. They did lose David Krejci. Now some might say that's fine. I think we will miss him more then we know come playoffs. They signed Hall which is already in the cards when he came here and for the first time in a long time someone other then Tuukka Rask will be the starting goalie. Again this isn't the post for the conversation but ill just leave it at its the right choice. 

Western Conference

Central Division

Arizona, Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, Minnesota, Nashville, St. Louis, Winnipeg

As we move on to the West, there are a number of good teams in this conference that just need to find someone that can get them over that hump weather it be a player, coach, GM. Most of the teams in this conference have 1 of the 3 but need that additional piece. Arizona is the exception. They are so bad that their own arena decided that they are not going to renew the lease for the team making them essentially homeless after this season. Now before everyone thinks this means they are going to move the team, there is already plans in place to move the team back to Scottsdale where they played before moving to the Gala River arena. So don't get your hopes up of seeing them move. I think however they saw the dwindling fan base and decided that they needed to make a splash. They did this by bringing back the best logo and jersey in NHL History. The Kachina!!! Its back full time as the home and away sweater. They will wear the old red coyote logo for 9 games as an alternate jersey. Chicago gets their captain back this season after he missed all of last year with a rare and random disease. That's going to help the offense a lot. They also went out and got them selves a Vezna winning goalie. Marc-Andre Flury. If you haven't heard this story yet the cliff notes version is he was traded and never told about it. He found out on the 12th green when he phone started blowing up cuz he was trending on twitter. If i were him im firing everyone on my PR team. Also shame on Vegas for not giving him  heads up either after he led you to 2 conference finals, 1 cup final and is the reigning vezna winner. One more interesting factoid. The Blackhawks have missed the playoffs in 3 of the last 4 seasons and have not made it past the first round since they won the cup in 2015. Marc-Andre Flury has never missed the playoffs in his entire NHL Career. So they have that going for them. Colorado will once again be a top contender in the west. They have a great lineup top to bottom and with Cale Makar on the back end they have one of the top defenses in the league. They may very well win the west. Dallas is one of those teams that should be good every year but somehow they cant string together consecutive years of good teams. They made the cup finals 2 years ago and were a favorite to go back last year but they stumbled a bit. Hopefully this year they can get back on track. Minnesota deserves a better hockey team. The Wild are just bad. Not buffalo bad but just bad. They don't have a decent goalie, Coach isn't great and the team needs top 6 help. I see them in the bottom of the league again. Nashville, is also one of those up and down teams. But even in their down years they still manage to squeak out a good season and sneak into the playoffs. I can see them doing that again this year. St. Louis' window for being good has been shut firmly. After winning the cup they have done nothing to show the same resurgence.  I expect they will make the playoffs but look for an early exit from them. Winnipeg is the most frustrating team in this division. They are loaded with talent and they win. They win a lot. But they cant seem to win when it matters. They swept the oilers last year and they got pounded by Montreal. They should have steam rolled them. Im not sure how to predict where they will end up but i suspect they will be in the playoffs again. How far they go will be anyone's guess.

Pacific Division

Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Los Angeles, San Jose, Seattle, Vancouver, Vegas

As i wrap up this NHL Preview i want to say that i hope everyone who reads this will comment on the blogs Facebook page with who they think will win the cup and if you have anything to add to the conversation leave that as well.

Anaheim has not been good since Gordon Bombay led the team. Im not kidding with the exception of 2007 the ducks have not really been a factor in the NHL playoff picture. I don't see them making the playoffs or really having any kind of decent season. If they win more then 30 games i will be shocked. Calgary is another one of those teams that i want to be good. I really do. They have talent, No not lucic. They have decent coaching and they seem to be right on that cusp of putting it all together. Then they implode. Bottom of the barrel in the all Canadian division last year and i suspect same thing this year with divisions back to normal. Edmonton. What to say about the Oilers. On paper and on the stat sheet they are hands down the best team in the NHL. They have the best player in the world in McDavid and his line mate Leon Draisaitl knows how to get him the puck as well as finish on his own. Those 2 guys alone should be able to win them a few playoff rounds. But for some reason that i cant figure out they never can string together anything. I know they will make the playoffs this year and i can only hope they make it past the first round. Id hate to have to compare them to Toronto in terms of not making it past round 1. Los Angeles lost their prestige long ago and I don't see them getting it back anytime soon. They have some up and coming guys but still need a few pieces to make them good again. The Sharks are a raging mess. When they signed Karlsson it was supposed to put them over that hump and get them into cup contention. But since they brought him in its been nothing short of a disaster. Now you throw in the added distraction of Evander Kane who is probably your best forward. They obviously didnt replace him in the line up but now they are left with attempting to do so until that all gets figured out. I don't see them having a good season. Vancouver tried to get better this year by signing Oliver Ekman-Larson. Will that one new guy help a team who has done next to nothing since losing to the Bruins in 2011? Maybe not but i think they wont be as bad as in years past. They might be 9-10 in the conference but will miss the playoffs for at least a few more years. I saved the 2 newest teams for last. Vegas decided to put all their eggs into to Robin Lenher basket. Not a bad thing but when your other guy wins you the vezna and you trade him without even informing him that just sets you up for bad juju. I think Vegas will compete and be good as normal this season. They should be in the top 4-5 of the conference. Finally we end with the newest NHL team. The Seattle Kraken. They didn't get as loaded of a roster as Vegas did when they came into the league but still they have a few guys with some real talent. They did also did something Vegas didn't do in its inaugural season. They named a captain. Mark Giordano. Good choice as he's probably the guy with the most experience on the team. Its always fun watching new teams and see how the rest of the league responds to them. I don't think they will have near the amount of success as Vegas did but none the less they will be fun to watch. 

Well there you have it. My NHL preview. I hope you like it and agree with it. If you don't or have suggestions please comment on the Facebook page. Also if you read this could you share it to your page. Let people know what I have. I would like to get more followers. For those that do read it all the time I appreciate your support.