1. Tampa Bay Lightning

They can’t have a repeat of last year and they shouldn’t.

2. Toronto Maple Leafs

This is a crucial year for this group to finally live up to their potential.

3. Boston Bruins

After coming up short in the Stanley Cup final, they’re still contenders once again.

4. Florida Panthers

They have a new goaltender and a Stanley Cup winning coach to go with their high powered offense.

5. Montreal Canadiens

The health of goalie Carey Price will determine their fate this season.

6. Buffalo Sabres

Once again they made a coaching change, but their talent pool is as deep as it’s ever been.

7. Detroit Red Wings

With Steve Yzerman now in charge it’ll be interesting to see how long it takes for them to be contenders.

8. Ottawa Senators

The long rebuild continues north of the border. Continue reading →

1. Tampa Bay Lightning

This team is stacked and there’s no reason they shouldn’t get to the Conference Finals again.

2. Toronto Maple Leafs

They won the John Tavares sweepstakes and now they have their eyes set on the Stanley Cup.

3. Boston Bruins

They’re mixing in some good youngsters with their savvy veterans.

4. Florida Panthers

There’s plenty of talent here, but they play in a top tier division that won’t give up the top three spots easily.

5. Buffalo Sabres

They made some savvy moves in the offseason and it should improve their point total quite a bit.

6. Detroit Red Wings

This ‘Hockeytown’ will have to wait another year to be considered potential playoff contenders.

7. Montreal Canadiens

Rebuilding is never easy, especially when you still have one of the best goaltenders in the game.

8. Ottawa Senators

The only thing they will compete for is the number one pick of the draft. Continue reading →