2012 Playoff Predictions

[Guest 13GoWings40]

Since we pretty much know what teams rosters will look like heading into the season, I thought it would be fun to guess what the seedings for the 2012 playoffs will look like. Of course injuries and the trade deadline will change all of this, but I'm curious to see where everyone thinks certain teams are at this point. Mine first:

East

1. Philadelphia

2. Boston

3. Washington

4. Tampa Bay

5. Montreal

6. Carolina

7. Winnipeg

8. Buffalo

West

1. Vancouver

2. Detroit

3. Los Angeles

4. San Jose

5. Chicago

6. Calgary

7. Nashville

8. Anaheim

Thoughts?

[Wing Across The Pond 196]

Since we pretty much know what teams rosters will look like heading into the season, I thought it would be fun to guess what the seedings for the 2012 playoffs will look like. Of course injuries and the trade deadline will change all of this, but I'm curious to see where everyone thinks certain teams are at this point. Mine first:

East

1. Philadelphia

2. Boston

3. Washington

4. Tampa Bay

5. Montreal

6. Carolina

7. Winnipeg

8. Buffalo

West

1. Vancouver

2. Detroit

3. Los Angeles

4. San Jose

5. Chicago

6. Calgary

7. Nashville

8. Anaheim

Thoughts?

Said it in the 'Bold Posts' thread also, but agree the Pens probably wont make it if Crosby doesn't return. They lose too much. However don't think that Winnipeg will make it this year, maybe in a few. Essentially the same team as last year, and whilst a change of location and atmosphere can do wonders, no one on the roster put up 60 points last year. Andrew Ladd lead the team with 59 if I'm not mistaken. Rangers could sneak it if Richards plays well...

As for the West, pretty much spot on. With the pieces they aquired this off-season, the Wild may be the outside shot, and I agree the Kings will do better than SJ. They're a team that's been progressively getting that little bit better year on year, whilst the Sharks traded away some useful pieces this year.

[rick zombo 3,739]

East:

1. Washington

2. Philly

3. Boston

4. Tampa Bay

5. Buffalo

6. Montreal

7. Pittsburgh

8. NYR

-----------------

9. Carolina

10. New Jersey

11. Winnepeg

12. Toronto

13. Ottawa

14. Florida

15. NYI

West:

1. Vancouver

2. San Jose

3. Detroit

4. Chicago

5. Los Angeles

6. Nashville

7. Anaheim

8. Minnesota

-----------------------

9. St Louis

10. Calgary

11. Columbus

12. Pheonix

13. Edmonton

14. Colorado

15. Dallas

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

No way Winnipeg makes it. Not too many surprises amongst the rest of your list. Carolina & Calgary....meh.

[McAwesome 754]

For those saying there is no way that Winnipeg makes the playoffs this year, if I recall they were in the 7th or 8th spot as late as March. I don't necessarily think they will make the playoffs, but I would not be so quick to count them out, after all they do play in the Southeast still, and the will probably finish no worse than 3rd in their division.

Aside from that, I don't think we will see many surprises this year, mainly a bit of shuffling spots among the perennial playoff teams, and the 8 seed in the West will be 10 or more points higher than the 8 seed in the East.

[Guest 13GoWings40]

For those saying there is no way that Winnipeg makes the playoffs this year, if I recall they were in the 7th or 8th spot as late as March. I don't necessarily think they will make the playoffs, but I would not be so quick to count them out, after all they do play in the Southeast still, and the will probably finish no worse than 3rd in their division.

This. I'm really surprised that the wpg prediction is drawing the most objection. They were leading their division for a good part of the first half if I remember correctly. I thought car, buf, cgy, and even nas with the possible management/Weber strife were riskier picks.

One thing I think wpg has working in its favor is travel. They will get used to the travel over the course of the season, and while most of their road game will probably come as parts of road trips to cities in close proximity to one another, the other eastern teams are looking at a random trip out to Winnipeg in the middle of playing in Tampa and D.C. (for example), and that's not even mentioning the time change that eastern teams are unaccustomed to. In the west this wouldn't get a second glance, but I think it will be a significant factor with eastern teams.

[T-Ruff 47]

East:

1. Washington

2. Pittsburgh

3. Boston

4. Philly

5. Buffalo

6. Tampa Bay

7. New York Rangers

8. Toronto

West:

1. San Jose

2. Vancouver

3. Detroit

4. Los Angeles

5. Chicago

6. Anaheim

7. Minnesota

8. Nashville

[hooon 1,089]

Surprised everyone has Philly so high. They lost their two best offensive players in the offseason and did little to replace them besides signing Jagr.

I'll give it a stab.

1. Washington

2. Boston

3. Buffalo

4. NY Rangers

5. Tampa Bay

6. Pit

7. Montreal

8. Philly

1. Vancouver

2. San Jose

3. Detroit

4. LA

5. Anaheim

6. Chicago

7. Nashville

8. St. Louis

[T-Ruff 47]

Surprised everyone has Philly so high. They lost their two best offensive players in the offseason and did little to replace them besides signing Jagr.

They have Giroux and Briere at centre still which is real solid, and JVR had a bit of a coming out in the playoffs, he and Giroux are going to have big years, combined with stability in goal and I think they're going to contend with Pittsburgh for the division crown all season.

A top 6 of Giroux, Briere, JVR, Hartnell, Jagr, Voracek isn't bad.. Plus Simmonds and maybe even Brayden Schenn as well

[chrisdetroit 189]

I think that this is the year that Toronto sneaks in as #8. They almost did it last year and this year, they don't have Lebda to help them lose.

I think that Philly could be out with the loss of Carter and Richards and the uncertainty about Pronger.

I think that Hawks are going to just miss the playoffs. They got in through the back door this year and the Campbell loss is huge.

San Jose will make it but losing Setoguchi and Heatly is going to hurt them.

[Guest 13GoWings40]

I think that this is the year that Toronto sneaks in as #8. They almost did it last year and this year, they don't have Lebda to help them lose.

I think that Philly could be out with the loss of Carter and Richards and the uncertainty about Pronger.

I think that Hawks are going to just miss the playoffs. They got in through the back door this year and the Campbell loss is huge.

San Jose will make it but losing Setoguchi and Heatly is going to hurt them.

I agree Toronto could surprise us, but I see them in more of a 10-11 spot. They have some decent offensive pieces, but their team defense is awful. Their two leading scorers, Kessel and MacArthur, were -20 and -3 respectively and no D-men finished higher than -2. They only had 5 + players, two of which were only +1. +/- isn't everything, but numbers like this show a trend that I feel will keep them from the postseason until/unless they commit to more defensively sound play.

I'm with you on San Jose's lost depth hurting them come playoffs but I still expect them to put up some good regular season numbers. I pretty much feel the same way about Chicago, they have talent and will score a lot of goals but won't be able to handle the grind of the playoffs due to lack of depth. When I was making my predictions, I put them in the 4 and 5 spot because I know they'll make it and I can't think of any teams other than Detroit and Vancouver that I can definitively say are better than either SJ or CHI (I think LA will win the division but only by a couple points). The West honestly looks really weak right now. After the 5 teams I've already mentioned I see 5 or 6 teams that could all finish anywhere from 6-12. After years of the West being the better conference, I believe that has finally been reversed.

[chrisdetroit 189]

I agree Toronto could surprise us, but I see them in more of a 10-11 spot. They have some decent offensive pieces, but their team defense is awful. Their two leading scorers, Kessel and MacArthur, were -20 and -3 respectively and no D-men finished higher than -2. They only had 5 + players, two of which were only +1. +/- isn't everything, but numbers like this show a trend that I feel will keep them from the postseason until/unless they commit to more defensively sound play.

I'm with you on San Jose's lost depth hurting them come playoffs but I still expect them to put up some good regular season numbers. I pretty much feel the same way about Chicago, they have talent and will score a lot of goals but won't be able to handle the grind of the playoffs due to lack of depth. When I was making my predictions, I put them in the 4 and 5 spot because I know they'll make it and I can't think of any teams other than Detroit and Vancouver that I can definitively say are better than either SJ or CHI (I think LA will win the division but only by a couple points). The West honestly looks really weak right now. After the 5 teams I've already mentioned I see 5 or 6 teams that could all finish anywhere from 6-12. After years of the West being the better conference, I believe that has finally been reversed.

Agreed. A lot of the top Western teams have taken hits:

Vancouver showed that they don't have the toughness/grit and have unreliable goaltending

San Jose lost a couple of key pieces and Niemi was not good in the playoffs (0.891 save %)

Detroit lost Rafalski but he was ineffective last year anyway

Anaheim probably will lose Selanne to retirement and are only a shell of the team that won the Cup a few years ago

Chicago sold off their team after the Cup win and lost another of their key guys in Campbell

It will be an interesting year and most likely the last year that the Wings will be in the West

[Guest 13GoWings40]

It will be an interesting year and most likely the last year that the Wings will be in the West

Here's hoping you're right on this one!

[13dangledangle 968]

East:

1. Washington

2. Pittsburgh

3. Boston

4. Philly

5. Buffalo

6. Tampa Bay

7. New York Rangers

8. Toronto

West:

1. San Jose

2. Vancouver

3. Detroit

4. Los Angeles

5. Chicago

6. Anaheim

7. Minnesota

8. Nashville

This made me laugh, it's been so long they look funny in the mix. If Reimer plays like they think he's going to then they have a chance. Would be pretty sweet to see them in the playoffs again.

I've also always since I was a young kid loved the Wings-Leafs rivalry. We almost had a cup final with them but we ended up with Carolina instead. People around here (my home town) being an hour outside Toronto get so jacked up everyone turns into insane hockey fans when the Leafs make the playoffs, I miss that.

Edited August 29, 2011 by 13dangledangle

[13dangledangle 968]

East:

1. Washington

2. Pittsburgh

3. Boston

4. Philly

5. Buffalo

6. Tampa Bay

7. New York Rangers

8. Toronto

West:

1. San Jose

2. Vancouver

3. Detroit

4. Los Angeles

5. Chicago

6. Anaheim

7. Minnesota

8. Nashville

sorry double post...

Edited August 29, 2011 by 13dangledangle

[IllinoisRedWingsFan 49]

Here are my Picks

East

1. Boston

2. Washington

3. Buffalo

4. Tampa Bay

5. Philadelphia-I don't think they are more then a #5 to be honest with losing two of their best players.

6. Montreal

7. Carolina

8. Pens-IF Crosby is back and playing if not then I'll go with the Rangers.

West

1. San Jose

2. Vancouver

3. Detroit

4. LA

5. Anaheim

6. Chicago

7. Nashville

8. Calgary-This is my Wild Card Pick for the West

[edicius 3,269]

It's kind of funny how after years of ribbing and jokes, the Southeast Division has become pretty respectable in terms of playoff-potential teams. Seems like it's the Atlantic Division that could be the next joke.

[dallas27 7]

Don't really care about the East TBH, boring. While I am starting to warm up to the Wings chances this year I still gotta go with 5th in the West for them. I'd rather not play Anaheim in the first round though.

West:

1. Vancouver

2. San Jose

3. Nashville

4. Anaheim

5. Detroit

6. LA

7. Chicago

8. Minnesota

[Crashnburnluder 385]

Don't really care about the East TBH, boring. While I am starting to warm up to the Wings chances this year I still gotta go with 5th in the West for them. I'd rather not play Anaheim in the first round though.

West:

1. Vancouver

2. San Jose

3. Nashville

4. Anaheim

5. Detroit

6. LA

7. Chicago

8. Minnesota

I understand that you don't want to rate the wings to high and I'm not trying to go after you or anything but Im curious why you think Nashville and Anaheim over the wings.

Nashville - They finished below us last year and they really didn't do anything to improve their roster.

Anaheim - One of the biggest impacts of their season was how Selanne stepped up huge for them and gave them a lot of great offensive depth. They most likely will be losing him and Perry had a big year but that big year from him and getzlaf having a big year as usual had then finishing 5 points behind us.

I understand that Detroit lost one of there best Offensive defenseman but I like to side on the side of optimism but I think our D will be a whole new beast this year. We missed the Conference finals by 1 goal. I also think we would have finished above SJ in the standings if we didn't lose Howard and Osgood both for a short amount of time and Datsyuk for an extended amount of time. I don't want to pick on you but I think some people sell the wings Short because we lost Rafalski. I think we can have a better overall season next season if we stay reasonably healthy and Howard can play at the level he did in the playoffs with the addition of hopefully a better Defensive effort we can have a great season. I Think we are younger, and hungrier with a lot of guys with something to prove. Howard, Mursak, Emmerton, White, Kronwall, Commodore, Ericsson... the list goes on. I JUST WANT THE PUCK TO DROP!!!!

crash

[kylee 727]

Columbus makes the playoffs this year. Detroit is either 1st or 2nd I haven't figured out the rest of our conference yet

[Guest 13GoWings40]

Columbus makes the playoffs this year. Detroit is either 1st or 2nd I haven't figured out the rest of our conference yet

I'm just curious, why do you think Columbus is gonna make the playoffs? I see them finishing 5th in the Central, and just above Edmonton and Colorado in the West basement.

[Guest Scrosby87]

LOL.

Pittsburgh will finish top 4 in the conference with our without Crosby.

hahaha --- i thought you guys knew hockey? All you guys know is how to be a bunch of bumbling idiots.

lol too funny.

[Din758 371]

LOL.

Pittsburgh will finish top 4 in the conference with our without Crosby.

hahaha --- i thought you guys knew hockey? All you guys know is how to be a bunch of bumbling idiots.

lol too funny.

Gonna make fun of OUR education when you spell "or" like "our."

Id say you lost your credibility right there, but it went flying out the window when you typed in that username of yours.

[Guest 13GoWings40]

LOL.

Pittsburgh will finish top 4 in the conference with our without Crosby.

hahaha --- i thought you guys knew hockey? All you guys know is how to be a bunch of bumbling idiots.

lol too funny.

1. Crosby played 41 games last season, exactly one half of the season. He scored 32 goals, 9 more than Kunitz and 11 more than Tyler Kennedy, the only two other 20-goal scorers on the team. Granted you'll be getting Malkin back, but your offense still leaves much to be desired. (fyi Crosby scored almost twice as many points as Malkin, 66-37, in 2 fewer games so don't count on Malkin's return too much).

2.Letang is a great offensive D-man but lacks defensively, Orpik is a nice physical #4, Martin is an OK all-around top 4 player, and the rest of your D sucks.

3. Fleury is overrated. He is a lot like Fuhr: solid enough to win behind a terrific team but unable to compensate for mediocrity.

4. The East is going to be really tough this year. Much tougher than recent years.

Is it impossible they'll sneak in? Yes. Are they a lottery team? No. Will they reach 100 points this season? Not a chance in hell. If the Penguins make the playoffs, barring a significant roster change the best they can hope for is 6th. Philadelphia will win that division by mid-march.

[GoWings1905 2,694]

East:

1. Capitals

2. Penguins

3. Bruins

4. Sabres

5. Lightning

6. Rangers

7. Flyers

8. Canadiens

West:

1. Canucks

2. Kings

3. Red Wings

4. Sharks

5. Blackhawks

6. Blues

7. Flames

8. Predators