Atlantic division 2018-19 (two polls)

[yave1964]

  I am gonna do one of these for each of the four divisions, a two part poll:

 

1: WHO WINS THE DIVISION

2: HOW MANY TEAMS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS FROM THE DIVISION

 

I am going to list the teams with pros/cons for each, in the order that I see them finishing.

 

1) Tampa. PRO Deep talented mix all signed and hungry. CON: They are supposed to win and the pressure is mounting

2)Toronto PRO Tavares added to an already deep insanely skilled group of forwards. CON an average pedestrian defense

3)Florida PRO Young skilled core al signed long term and Hoffman added for free. CON Aging brittle goaltending

4) Boston PRO Veteran core all on same page, young hungry skilled kids. CON Veterans a bit long in the tooth.

5) Buffalo PRO A solid rebuild led by Dahlin, Hutton and now Skinner. CON still too many question marks 

6) Red Wings PRO great draft, finally a sign of direction. CON too many aging vets on long term deals, zetterbergs health

7) Senators PRO Karlsson still a Senator. CON Karlsson still a Senator.

8 Canadiens PRO none that I can find, other than maybe Price. CON at least they have their first pick for the Hughes sweeps.

 

SECOND part How many teams from the division make the playoffs?

[yave1964]

I personally have Tampa winning the division (and in fact, the Stanley Cup) and only three teams , Tampa, Toronto and Florida making the playoffs with Boston narrowly missing out and Buffalo a very improved team in 5th place, the other three are afterthoughts. 

[ruxpin]

2 hours ago, yave1964 said:

I personally have Tampa winning the division (and in fact, the Stanley Cup) and only three teams , Tampa, Toronto and Florida making the playoffs with Boston narrowly missing out and Buffalo a very improved team in 5th place, the other three are afterthoughts. 

Basically the same thought process here, but I flip flop Florida and Boston. I can see Florida, but that still doesn't mean a 4th team. It just means Boston falls a little further than I expect them to. 

[AJgoal]

I rank the Atlantic teams thus:

 

1) Tampa - Class of the division. No real weaknesses.

2) Toronto - They'll certainly try to outscore everyone. Still need to address their defense.

3) Boston - But only just barely. They rebounded nicely last year, but I'm not sure how much longer their core has.

4) Florida - It was a tough choice between them and Boston. I think they're going to tick up a bit this year with the addition of Hoffman.

5) Montreal - I don't know what Therrien is doing up there, but I believe they have one season before falling completely into irrelevance. Price is the only thing keeping them from falling further down the list.

6) Buffalo - I'm not as enamored of their offseason as many others seem to be. Hutton could be the man in goal, or he could go back to being a pumpkin. They were among the worst teams in the league in goals allowed, and didn't get better in that regard. 

7) Detroit - At least they're not Ottawa

8) Ottawa - Good god, will they be bad. But next year will be worse.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

I am staying "homer" here and picking the Lightning to repeat as divisional champs....however, I DO believe Toronto has the firepower to stay with the Bolts throughout the run, and if TB takes ANYTHING for granted, the high powered Leafs, suspect defense or not, will overtake and possibly win it themselves.

I think the Bruins were no fluke last year...rumors of their previous demise were greatly exaggerated.
Most, such as myself, saw that team slipping because I thought they would continue to rely on the likes of Chara and McQuaid on defense as their top guys.
Well, Krug has stepped up, McAvoy and Carlo are solid up n comers, John Moore and Kevan Miller should be decent for them, which means Chara and McQuaid just have to be rugged and smart, and NOT necessarily elite.
Plus Tuuka Rask can still play like a true #1.

 

If things fall right for them, and the Leafs and Bolts falter, Boston could claim the top.

As for how many teams, I think this year, we get an even split of 4 from the Atlantic, 4 from the Metro.

 

TB, Tor, and Bos should be the top three, and one of Florida or Buffalo (yes, I said BUFFALO) will end up being the 4th team.

 

Pitts, Wash (even with a SC hangover), and Columbus should get in..... and the other spot will be between the Flyers and Devils....BUT, if King Henrik is rejuvenated somehow, the Rangers may have enough to push for the 4th spot, and possibly displace one of Phi or NJ.

[BluPuk]

I think the Leafs will run away with this division. "Poor" defence or not. (I don't think we're as bad as advertised anyway).

 

Note that winning the division is not a guarantee of going anywhere in the playoffs. Two totally different games, and here I give Tampa the nod. Just gut feel. In the end Tampa is a tougher team mentally. Tough wins in hockey.