Post by Beans (BOS) on Apr 28, 2016 17:21:01 GMT -5
TSN Staff - April 28, 2016
Current Ranking (Previous Ranking) | Team | Comments |
1 (1) | St. Louis Blues | Nothing to see here, just more domination from the defending iChampions. 2nd best goal differential in the iNHL and Captain David Backes is 2nd in league scoring. |
2 (3) | Philadelphia Flyers | We knew they were good, but we don't think anyone thought the iFlyers would be quite so dominant. They've led the East from day 1 and show no signs of letting up. Tanner Pearson has yet to make an impact but this team keeps humming along. |
3 (18) | Ottawa Senators | Winners of 9 of their past 11 games, the iSens are finally where they belong - atop the Atlantic Divison. GM Robott's ruthless tactics have turned the season around. |
4 (6) | San Jose Sharks | The Wizard has hit some turbulence in the last few weeks (3-6 in their last 9 games played) but the iSharks have been incredibly consistent in the Isaac-era so we see this as statistical randomness. |
5 (2) | Washington Capitals | Like the iSharks, the iCaps have not been themselves lately (6-5 in their last 11 games played) but they're still one of the contenders in the East, with iOvechkin on pace for another 50+ goal season. |
6 (13) | Chicago Blackhawks | The iHawks have been absolutely lights out since the acquisition of perennial-Norris candidate Drew Doughty. They've been punishing teams with an overpowering offensive and a smother defense. Hard to bet against the iHawks in a best of 7 series. |
7 (9) | Tampa Bay Lightning | After a so-so start to the season, the iLightning have been on fire, rising to just 3rd in the Atlantic, just 2 points behind the iBruins with a game in hand. They're also 3-0 against the iBruins - their current first round opponent. |
8 (5) | New Jersey Devils | Somewhat forgotten this season, the iDevils have breezed through injuries (3rd most man-games lost this season) to key players (Bergeron, Seabrook, Krug, etc.) and are our pick for breakout team in the second half...provided they stay healthy. |
9 (4) | Calgary Flames | The loss of OEL for the remainder of the regular season will be a big blow for the iFlames, but this team remains our most pleasant surprise of 2016-17. |
10 (11) | Boston Bruins | Scoring 0.81 GPG more than the 2nd place team, the iBruins are an offense to be feared (resulting in the best goal differential in the iNHL). But their defense is just as scary...and not in a good way (22nd in the league - worst of all playoff teams). |
11 (10) | New York Rangers | The iRangers sit 6th in their division but with games in hand could be a major contender for home-ice advantage in the brutally competitive Metropolitan division. This is a team to watch around the deadline - what will GM Mike Best do to improve this team...and will those improvements be for this season? |
12 (15) | Pittsburgh Penguins | This team makes no sense. They're lights out one minute, getting destroyed the next. GM Ben has been working the phones looking to improve his team, and we expect a blockbuster out of Pittsburgh before next week's trading deadline. Fearless leader Sidney Crosby is having (as usual) a fantastic season - top 10 in assists and points. |
13 (23) | Detroit Red Wings | The iWings got off to a slow start but are just 2 points out of a playoff spot. If they continue their current hot streak, they should push themselves into the elite of the Atlantic with Ottawa, Boston, and Tampa Bay. |
14 (14) | New York Islanders | Wow - adding the Sedins to a team that was already a playoff contender will probably be the boldest move made during the 2016-17 season. We fully expect a threeway battle to the death between the tri-state teams for the final playoff spot: NJD, NYR, NYI (and WSH too!). |
15 (17) | Vancouver Canucks | We definitely didn't see this one coming. Thanks in large part to Rick Nash's resurgence, the iCanucks are proving all the doubters wrong and are poised for a return to the playoffs this season. GM Kurt is a candidate for GM of the year in our eyes. |
16 (8) | Nashville Predators | The first of the disappointing teams in our rankings, the iPreds just haven't seemed to hit their stride yet (4th in the Central). We expect more from a team with Josi, Weber, and Forsberg in the lineup and we expect the iPreds to rocket up these rankings in the not too distance future. |
17 (22) | Minnesota Wild | Born with ice in his veins, the iWild GM has remained steadfast in the face of wheeling and dealing from his rivals. He's been rewarded with a remarkably consistent effort from his team - and with youngers like Jake DeBrusk and Jeremy Lauzon in the lineup, we only expect them to get stronger. |
18 (24) | Montreal Canadiens | Far and away the leader in man-games lost this season (371 so far), GM Matt has somehow kept this team competitive. It will take a small miracle to make the playoffs this season, but the iHabs have simply been devastated by injuries to critical pieces of their lineup. |
19 (21) | Los Angeles Kings | Finally! The iKings have a GM and he's not afraid to make moves. Within the course of about 8 hours, GM worm remade the iKings. This looks like iBruins 2.0 so we fully expect a lot more trade activity coming out of Hollywood. |
20 (26) | Edmonton Oilers | Maybe Paul was right and his team isn't that good? We thought the iOilers would be a top team in the West but they've resembled the rOilers and just haven't taken that next step. They do have a young team but we don't think anyone saw them 7 points behind the iCanucks at this point in the season. To be fair, the McJesus injury did not help things. |
21 (7) | Hartford Whalers | Freeeeeeeefaaaaaalllllllll......2-8 in their last 10 games and falling out of the playoff chase at a blistering pace. We thought the iWhalers would be a contender for the division title, so we're surprised to see this happen. GM Steve made a really nice deal, picking up Gabe Landeskog and Semyon Varlamov. It may be too little, too late this season, but we still really like the overall trajectory of this franchise. |
22 (25) | Colorado Avalanche | Like the iKings, the iAvs have a new GM who isn't afraid to make moves. Losing Landeskog and Varlamov should hurt in the short term but will pay dividends in the long term given the return they extracted from the iWhalers (Lawson Crouse looks like a stud to us!). There could be a concern the iAvs are too top heavy so don't be surprised to see a move that adds depth to this group. |
23 (19) | Toronto Maple Leafs | The iLeafs looked like they'd could contend for a playoff spot through the first quarter of the season but have fallen back into the bottom third of the league since then. This isn't a bad thing - the iLeafs were never expected to contend this season and their younger players look further along than expected. Even better: Mitch Marner looks like he could be the next Pavel Zacha. |
24 (12) | Dallas Stars | Unlike some of their rivals, the iStars have fully embraced the tank. This will mean short term pain, but should step up the iStars for future seasons. New GM Jacob has done a very nice job fixing some of the mistakes of previous regimes. |
25 (20) | Buffalo Sabres | We all know that slow and steady wins the race. So when Kris captures the iCup in 2020, we should have all seen it coming from a mile away. |
26 (16) | Arizona Coyotes | We all know that slow and steady wins the race. So when Travis captures the iCup in 2020, we should have all seen it coming from a mile away. |
27 (27) | Winnipeg Jets | Not much going on in the 'Peg this season...except that Dmitry Orlov has emerged as an absolute stud and Norris trophy candidate. Also, we miss you Dax! |
28 (28) | Anaheim Ducks | The iDucks have had a tough year, but this was expected with the restructuring undertaken in the offseason. If the iDucks can add top prospect Nolan Patrick, they'd be poised for a return to icing an explosive offense in the near future. |
29 (29) | Carolina Hurricanes | The iCanes - still with the best D prospects in the league - are a case study in advanced statistics. Not a single iCane has a positive Corsi.On rating...which means that the iCanes are mathematically destined to lose this season. |
30 (30) | Columbus Blue Jackets | Whoever turns this mess around deserves GM of the year. This is a long term project for a GM with masochistic tendencies. |