And all the Penguins could do is bring in Jack Johnson. *Insert Price is Right loser music*
Amazingly, Matt Cullen is actually going to play another year and also signed with them. I don't expect much from Cullen but he had made it seem like he was probably going to retire after his year with the Wild. Time for the Pens to bring back Jagr and have these two hockey oldtimers together to change the fourth line to a fortieth line.
Seriously, though, I am very interested to see what the Leafs will look like now with Taveres joining them. I'm surprised JVR didn't want to stay with the Leafs with Taveres coming on but I guess he really wanted to go back to Philly for some reason. I'd say this puts the Leafs about equal with the Lightning at this point. They've definitely got a good shot at winning the Atlantic division in the playoffs now and as, Vegas and Washington just proved, anything can happen at that point.
Big shake-up in the Atlantic with this signing. I'd say this kind of solidifies the Metro though. Pens and Caps are still the top dogs but Philly gets a bit better. Columbus is still around their level but if Philly continues the level of play they had this year then I give them the edge for 3rd spot. Islanders stay weak, Carolina is stuck in its cycle of so-so talent and play, Devils are seeing some turnover and will probably be fighting with the Rangers, Panthers and maybe the Canadiens for a possible wild card spot.
In the west, I don't see much change in the Central division either. Jets couldn't keep Statsny but even without him they were pretty equal to Nashville and if Hellebuyck doesn't regress then Nashville and Winnipeg probably stay as the top teams in that division. Wild continue to stay good but not great and should be able to get the third place or wild card spot again depending on Dubnyk being able to bail the team out. St. Louis has made a few additions so maybe they challenge the Wild for that third spot or are just better than the Avs now to get that last Wild Card spot they lost out on this year. I think the biggest competition in the division will be who can claim the wild card spot as STL, COL, DAL are all just good enough to do so depending how their season goes. Heck, even CHI might have the chance to snag that last spot if they get lucky and have a good season out their top players.
But it is the Pacific where things are getting wild. SJ missed out on Kovalchuk and Tavares and were rumoured to be trying to get one of them. Kane has been a good fit for them and they are a tough team to face already with the talent they do have. Still, having Tavares or Kovalchuk really would have boosted this team's potential. Maybe Joe Thornton can have one more healthy playoff run but I wouldn't expect him to carry this team or be the difference maker he once was. Vegas did bring in Stastny which easily makes up for the loss of Perron. If they can keep Neal then they may not see much of a dip in their standings from last year. Thanks to their cap room, they continue to be rumoured of being in the hunt for Erik Karlsson and if they do pull of that trade then they just might pull off another season of being the best in the Pacific. But Kovalchuk to the Kings does make things interesting. Kings have had problems scoring for awhile now. Carter and Kopitar have really been the only players to really be considered scoring threats for them. They've been able to do well defensively and Quick has put up good stats but as the quick exit this year showed, that defense does no good when they've got no offence to protect. Can Kovalchuk change the offensive make-up of the team enough to make the Kings a stronger team? I'm not convinced it is enough to give them one of the top spots in the division but enough to get them in the playoffs.
Then there's Edmonton who have Conner McDavid on the team and came close to winning the Division a couple seasons ago. Was last year an off year? An anomaly for the team and players who got off to a bad start and couldn't recover? Or is it indicative of a poorly contructed roster? Will McDavid be enough this year to get them to the playoffs again or not? Same with Anaheim. The roster suffered from injuries of crucial players all year and continued into their brief playoff run. When they've got all the pieces together and healthy then their team can still compete with any of the teams in this division but they just don't seem to have the depth to recover if they lose a crucial player or two. With them not making many moves this year, they better hope they stay healthy or that Perry sold his soul to the devil to get back his scoring ability because it is going to be a struggle to make the playoffs again otherwise. Even though Calgary made the weird decision of getting rid of Hamilton, they are a team that is a trade or surprisingly good rookie or two away from being a really good team. They are a mix of high and low end talent and came close to making the playoffs before fading off in the last 6 weeks of the season. As for Arizona and Vancouver, they need a Vegas miracle season. I expect those two can be counted out. If some other trades happen yet during the offseason with the teams in the Pacific it will just further add to this being the most interesting division to watch next year. There was a lot of talk about it being the weakest division and perhaps it is but that didn't stop Vegas from making the Final. With none of these teams being completely stacked versus the others, this could be a six-way battle for any of the four playoff spots.
Topic: Hockey Discussion: The Leafs Would Like To Borrow Taylor Hall's Horseshoe (Read 228727 times)
