Puck Drop Preview: 2014-15 Full NHL Standings

Easily the biggest discrepancy here was the Colorado Avalanche. Almost nobody predicted that the youthful team would have nearly the success that they were ultimately achieved the past season. We had them at 25 in the league, a huge difference from their 3rd place finish. We were also off on the Tampa Bay Lightning, underestimating the cast surrounding Stamkos. We had them missing the playoffs at 21st, they did quite the opposite gaining home ice for the first round with their number 8 finish.

It was all Canadian teams in this category. The biggest was the Vancouver Canucks, who we assumed would once again be a contender in the Western Conference. The John Tortorella experiment failed miserably, however, and our prediction of 7th in the NHL looks ridiculous next to their 25th place finish. The Ottawa Senators were another team we overestimated, thinking they would grab the wild card in the Atlantic. We had them at 11th, 10 spots shy of their 21st place finish.

There were actually a fair amount of teams whose finishes Last Word correctly predicted, although no consistency based on where in the standings. The Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars, Columbus Blue Jackets, Winnipeg Jets, Carolina Hurricanes, Buffalo Sabres and Florida Panthers all finished within two places of where we predicted they would.

So with last year’s projections now in the books, we bring to you the 2014-15 NHL Standings, as predicted by the LastWordOnSports hockey department panel!

1. Chicago Blackhawks (average ranking – 1.7)

Ken, John, Ben, Mitch & Matt– 1st

Paul, Deidre & Dave – 2nd

Markus & Shawn – 3rd

THOUGHTS by Matt Ricks : The Chicago Blackhawks were a fantastic team last year and didn’t surprise many by making it to the Western Conference final and being so close to the Stanley Cup Final. Just think, during the offseason, management was able to make this team better with a key acqusition in Brad Richards. There is no reason to doubt when you hear that the Blackhawks will come out on top of all teams this season, win the President’s Trophy and have another long stretch of a playoff run.

2. Boston Bruins (average ranking – 3.5)

Paul – 1st

Ken & John – 2nd

Deidre & Dave – 3rd

Ben & Shawn – 4th

Markus & Matt – 5th

Mitch – 6th

THOUGHTS by Ken Hill : Despite some teams behind them making up ground, the Bruins are still clearly the class of the East. Boston was the best 5-on-5 team in the league last year, a trend that should continue. Look for Vezina-winner Tuukka Rask and the possession dynamos in front of him to be dominant yet again.

3. Anaheim Ducks (average ranking – 3.8)

Shawn – 1st

Markus, Mitch & Matt – 2nd

Ken, Ben & Paul – 3rd

Deidre & Dave – 4th

John – 14th

THOUGHTS by John Carroll : Yes, the Ducks improved in the offseason by adding Ryan Kesler as their second-line center (though the amount of improvement has been overstated by many, as Kesler is well past his peak). But improvements won’t be enough to offset the inevitable regression that should hit their sky-high shooting percentage from last season. Add in an unproven and shaky blue line and two rookies in goal, and the Ducks really don’t look like the contender some are making them out to be. Expect them to take a Wild Card berth in the tough West, but that’s about it.

HOWEVER, Ken Hill thinks: Last year’s Western Conference leaders will be right in the thick of things again. The team is deep, and the addition of all-around threat Ryan Kesler makes the Ducks even more dangerous than last year.

4. Los Angeles Kings (average ranking – 4.7)

Deidre & Dave – 1st

Ken – 4th

John, Ben & Mitch – 5th

Markus, Paul & Matt – 6th

Shawn – 9th

THOUGHTS by Ben Kerr : Small Stanley Cup hangover early in the season is the only thing that keeps them out of the top 3.

Shawn Wilken adds: I have their Stanley Cup hangover playing somewhat of a bigger role for the Kings here. They have such an astounding amount of talent from crippling offense on all four lines to one of  the best goaltenders in the game today, yet they are all human. I think it will be a rough start to the season before they wake up and start the machine up again.

5. St. Louis Blues (average ranking – 4.7)

Markus – 1st

Ben & Shawn – 2nd

John & Mitch – 3rd

Paul – 4th

Dave & Matt – 7th

Ken – 8th

Deidre – 10th

THOUGHTS by Dave Gove : How much longer does St. Louis have with this core before the window starts to close? If the Blues don’t win this year will Ken Hitchcock be out of a job?

Markus Meyer adds : When having a tandem of Brian Elliott and Jake Allen in goal is your biggest problem, you know you’re good. Fantastic all-round team.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins (average ranking – 6.8)

Mitch & Matt – 4th

Dave & Shawn – 5th

John, Ben & Deidre – 6th

Ken – 7th

Markus – 11th

Paul – 14th

THOUGHTS by Ken Hill : The rotating cast of characters around Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin continued to spin this off-season, though the team will largely look and feel the same. As usual, expect the Penguins to be a very strong regular season club and then throw all that out the window when the playoffs begin.

7. San Jose Sharks (average ranking – 8.0)

John – 4th

Shawn – 6th

Markus, Ben, Deidre & Mitch – 7th

Matt – 9th

Dave – 8th

Ken – 12th

Paul – 13th

THOUGHTS by John Carroll: The Sharks had a very curious offseason and they have a surprising number of holes for a team that’s been as good as they have for so long. But San Jose still has one of the deepest top-six forward groups in the league, and a criminally underrated top defenseman in Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Expect the battle for the top seed in the Pacific to go down to the wire between LA & SJ, but give the Sharks a slight edge, if based nothing else than by recent history.

But Ken Hill thinks: Despite all the hoopla surrounding the team over the summer, the Sharks are still an elite team that has rebuilt on the fly in the right way. However, off-ice distractions could be a real test of this team’s already questionable mental fortitude, which will cause a slide down the standings only mitigated by how good this team still is on the ice.

8. Tampa Bay Lightning (average ranking – 8.1)

Markus – 4th

Paul – 5th

Dave – 6th

John – 7th

Matt- 8th

Ken, Deidre – 9th

Ben – 10th

Mitch – 11th

Shawn – 12th

THOUGHTS by Matt Ricks: The Tampa Bay Lightning should be led through the season by Stamkos and his offensive presence to put up around 50 goals should make him competitor for the Maurice Richard Trophy. If Tampa can produce the same offense as they did the season prior (which shall be difficult without Martin St.Louis on their wing), and be backed up in net with Ben Bishop posting up another fantastic year, you can expect the Lightning to be one of the top ten teams in the league.

9. Montreal Canadiens (average ranking – 8.5)

Matt – 3rd

Ken – 5th

Ben, Shawn, Deidre – 8th

Dave, Mitch – 9th

Markus – 10th

Paul – 12th

John – 13th

THOUGHTS by Ben Kerr: P.K. Subban takes first steps to justifying his contract, and Carey Price proves that 2014 Gold Medal was no fluke.

And Ken Hill adds: The Habs will be in tough to try to steal the Eastern Conference back from the Bruins while teams like Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay are right there with them. However, Carey Price in net gives Montreal the edge they need.

10. Dallas Stars (average ranking – 10.8)

Ken – 6th

Markus, John – 9th

Paul, Mitch, Matt – 10th

Ben – 11th

Dave – 12th

Shawn – 15th

Deidre – 16th

THOUGHTS by Ken Hill: Perhaps no team improved their roster more than the Stars this summer. While the defense might be suspect at times, Kari Lehtonen in goal can hold down the fort while Tyler Seguin and company can score the team out of trouble on most nights.

David Gove adds: Jaime Benn and Tyler Seguin might be the most fun pairing to watch in hockey right now. Dallas got better up front, but still needs work on the backend.

11. New York Rangers (average ranking – 11.4)

Paul- 7th

John, Mitch – 8th

Shawn – 10th

Deidre, Dave, Matt – 11th

Ben – 13th

Markus – 17th

Ken – 18th

THOUGHTS by John Carroll: The Rangers are undoubtedly worse than they were a year ago, losing strong contributors like Benoit Pouliot, Anton Stralman, and Brad Richards (well, at least before the playoffs started he was). Losing Derek Stepan for the first 8-10 games of the regular season will likely see them start out on the wrong foot, too. But the Rangers still boast a deep blue line, underrated forward depth, and the most consistently elite goaltender in the NHL. Look for them to start slow, just like last year, before ultimately claiming the 2nd seed in the Metro, again just like last year.

HOWEVER, Ken Hill thinks: It’s not that the Rangers will be bad this season, it’s just that the competition in the East will force them to the outside. The team lost a number of key contributors over the offseason, but no loss will be felt as greatly as that of their number one center Derek Stepan. The Rangers will go as far as Henrik Lundqvist can take them this year, which will be a fight for the final playoff spot in the East.

12. Columbus Blue Jackets (average ranking – 12.6)

Shawn – 7th

Markus – 8th

Ken – 10th

Deidre, Matt – 12th

Mitch – 13th

John, Dave – 15th

Ben – 16th

Paul – 18th

THOUGHTS by David Gove: This rank might be too high for the Blue Jackets if they can’t work things out with Ryan Johansen soon. This team can’t risk going a long losing streak if they want to make the playoffs again.

Ben Kerr adds: Solid goaltending, and a team that grinds out victories.  The Jackets take the East’s first wild card.

13. Minnesota Wild (average ranking – 12.6)

Ben – 9th

Dave – 10th

John, Paul – 11th

Mitch – 12th

Ken, Deidre, Matt – 14th

Markus – 15th

Shawn – 17th

THOUGHTS by Markus Meyer: Thomas Vanek was certainly a good addition, but I personally don’t see him as the absolute game changer many do. Other than that, the Wild didn’t really do much to improve their team in any drastic way. There’s a lot of question marks in Minny, making me uncertain about their playoff chance. Sure, they very well may make it, but it’s far from a certainty.

BUT Ben Kerr adds: Addition of Tomas Vanek is good, but the growth in their young talent is what is great in Minnesota.

14. Colorado Avalanche (average ranking – 14.6)

Deidre – 5th

Paul – 8th

Markus – 12th

Dave – 13th

Ben – 15th

Mitch – 16th

Ken – 17th

Matt – 18th

Shawn – 19th

John – 23rd

THOUGHTS by David Gove: Unless the defense improves, there is no way Colorado wins the Central division again. Nathon MacKinnon could end the season in the top 10 in scoring though.

AND Markus Meyer adds: They will regress, no doubt in my mind about that. But the talent is still there for another playoff run. That said, Semyon Varlamov will need to play well for this team to have any chance.

15. Vancouver Canucks (average ranking – 15.5)

John – 10th

Shawn, Markus, Ben, Mitch – 14th

Ken, Matt – 15th

Dave – 18th

Paul – 19th

Deidre – 22nd

THOUGHTS by Ken Hill: The Canucks are wiping away last year as an aberration and will look to make the playoffs again this season. The forward group, led by Daniel and Henrik Sedin, is deep and will be supplemented by some talented youth this season for the first time in many years. The blueline is a solid, veteran-laden group and the goaltending duo of newcomer Ryan Miller and sophomore Eddie Lack is highly dependable. Expect the entire roster to rebound nicely under new coach Willie Desjardins and compete for a wildcard spot in the West all season long.

16. Detroit Red Wings (average ranking – 16.9)

Matt – 13th

Deidre – 15th

Shawn, John – 16th

Dave – 17th

Markus – 18th

Ben, Mitch – 19th

Paul – 20th

Ken – 21st

THOUGHTS by Matt Ricks: Remember the good old days of the Wings always being on the top? Well I think that time is definitely over and looking at the ageing Red Wings, it’s going to be tough for them to grab a top spot in the playoffs. However, the Wings do have Mike Babcock who is a super wizard-coach, and if they can be healthy this season and not nearly as injury plagued (especially Zetterberg and Datsyuk) as last season, you can count on the Red Wings making the playoffs, again (or at least very close to it).

HOWEVER Ken Hill thinks: Yes, the streak will end. While the Wings boast a number of promising young players, this team lives and dies by its superstars and Pavel Datsyuk is already injured. Detroit just doesn’t have the top-end talent it used to.

17. Washington Capitals (average ranking – 17.2)

Ken – 11th

Paul, Dave, Matt – 16th

Mitch – 17th

John, Ben – 18th

Deidre – 19th

Shawn – 20th

Markus – 21st

THOUGHTS by Ken Hill: It looks as though things might finally be coming together in Washington. The Capitals massively upgraded their defense corps and have finally given the starting role to Braden Holtby without any distractions. Combining that improved defense with the usual dependable offense makes the Caps a team to be feared again.

Ben Kerr adds: Barry Trotz teaches Ovechkin to play defence… just well enough to claim the last Eastern playoff spot.

18. Philadelphia Flyers (average ranking – 17.8)

Paul – 9th

Deidre – 13th

Dave – 14th

Shawn – 16th

Matt – 17th

Markus – 19th

Mitch – 21st

Ken – 22nd

Ben – 23rd

John – 24th

THOUGHTS by John Carroll: The Flyers have a ton of talent up front, but their blue line is a complete mess. Andrew MacDonald is one of the worst puck possession players in the entire NHL, and he’ll be playing upwards of 20-minutes per night for Philadelphia. Their best defenseman by a mile last year was Kimmo Timonen, who may never play another NHL game due to his issues with blood clots. And in goal is Steve Mason, who had a great season last year after years of struggling. Betting any amount of money on him recreating that kind of performance would be most unwise, and the Flyers decided to bet $12.3 million over the course of three years on it.

AND Markus Meyer adds: Like the Rangers, the Flyers didn’t do nearly enough to improve this off-season, and with teams below them like Columbus and Florida rapidly improving, Philly may be in tough to make the post-season.

19. New Jersey Devils (average ranking – 18.4)

John, Ben – 12th

Ken, Markus – 13th

Dave – 19th

Paul, Matt – 21st

Shawn – 22nd

Mitch – 25th

Deidre – 26th

THOUGHTS by Ken Hill: Anyone with a passing interest in the Devils will tell you how snake-bit the team was last season and how they probably should have made the playoffs. New Jersey will uphold their hallmark as one of the best defensive teams in the league, and should can only be better with a full season of Cory Schneider in goal. Expect the Devils to snag one of the wildcard spots in the East.

David Gove adds: It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Devils end up better than this if they can figure out their league worst shootout. Bringing in Michael Cammalleri should help.

20. Nashville Predators (average ranking – 19.5)

Shawn – 13th

Ben, Paul, Deidre – 17th

John – 19th

Ken, Markus – 20th

Dave – 22nd

Matt – 23rd

Mitch – 27th

THOUGHTS by Markus Meyer: Talk about a team that doesn’t get enough credit. Nashville added three decent offensive centermen in Olli Jokinen, Derek Roy and Mike Ribeiro along with a top-end goalscorer in James Neal, they’ll have a healthy Pekka Rinne and that blue line is excellent. If the Western Conference wasn’t so vicious they’re a playoff team, and as is they’re still decent.

Ben Kerr agrees: Another team that will put up enough points to make the playoffs in the East, but just can’t do it in a tough conference.  They are better than last year with Rinne between the Pipes, and while the offence improves too… it doesn’t improve enough.

21. New York Islanders (average ranking – 20.5)

Mitch – 15th

John – 17th

Shawn – 18th

Ken – 19th

Dave – 20th

Ben – 21st

Paul – 23rd

Markus, Deidre, Matt – 24th

THOUGHTS by John Carroll: It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the playoffs return to Nassau in the Isles last season there before their move to Brooklyn. They fixed their biggest problem (goaltending) in a big way with the signings of Jaroslav Halak & Chad Johnson, plus really boosted their forward depth with the always-underrated Mikhail Grabovski and his former Toronto running buddy Nikolai Kulemin. But they’re still too young and inexperienced on the blue line, and that will probably just barely keep them from making the playoffs.

22. Toronto Maple Leafs (average ranking – 20.8)

Paul – 15th

Ken – 16th

Mitch – 18th

Matt – 19th

Deidre, Dave – 21st

Ben – 22nd

Shawn – 24th

Markus, John – 26th

THOUGHTS by Matt Ricks: The Toronto Maple Leafs will be a team that will come out strong but not make the playoffs. The Leafs will tremble then later tumble, when having to rely on Jonathan Bernier and James Riemer in net. They’ve improved their defence with Stephane Robidas to help keep pucks out of the net but unless their netminders can get hot, the Leafs will fall.

Ben Kerr adds: Randy Carlyle won’t mesh with the way this organization is going under Brendan Shanahan and will be shown the door by the All-Star Break.

23. Arizona Coyotes (average ranking – 21.6)

Deidre – 18th

John, Ben, Matt – 20th

Shawn – 21st

Markus, Mitch – 22nd

Paul, Dave – 24th

Ken – 25th

THOUGHTS by John Carroll: The Coyotes boast perhaps the most impressive one-two punch of offensive defensemen in the entire league, with veteran Keith Yandle and youngster Oliver Ekman-Larsson. If those two were playing behind something resembling an NHL forward group, the Desert Dogs would really be in business. But as it is, this is almost certainly not a playoff team.

David Gove adds: Dave Tippett deserves a better team for how good of a coach he is. If Arizona really wants to start making money they need to ice a better team to bring in fans.

24. Florida Panthers (average ranking – 23.8)

Markus – 16th

Deidre – 20th

John – 21st

Ken, Shawn – 23rd

Ben – 25th

Dave – 26th

Paul, Mitch, Matt – 28th

THOUGHTS by Markus Meyer: One of the most improved teams this off-season, the Panthers got better everywhere, from up front, to defense, to in goal. Ownership wants playoffs, and as it stands now, that’s a very reachable goal.

However, Ben Kerr adds: Off-season signings give them some improvement, but they really need their youngsters to grow and that will take time.

25. Ottawa Senators (average ranking – 24.2)

John, Matt – 22nd

Deidre, Mitch – 23rd

Markus, Paul, Dave, Shawn – 25th

Ken, Ben – 26th

THOUGHTS by Matt Ricks: Losing star players generally doesn’t make your team better; a lot of teams do such a thing willingly to rebuild. Unfortunately for the Senators, although they did lock up their core, they still lost a great piece in Jason Spezza. The team will then have to rely on Kyle Turris, Bobby Ryan, and Mika Zibanejad to generate offense while Craig Anderson will have to provide more than mediocre goaltending, which is exactly what Andy showed last year. With this, many should expect the Sens to be, at the very best, a bubble team and they will probably miss the playoffs in the end.

26. Winnipeg Jets (average ranking – 25)

Mitch – 20th

Paul – 22nd

Markus – 23rd

Ben – 24th

John – 25th

Shawn, Matt – 26th

Deidre – 27th

Ken – 28th

Dave – 29th

THOUGHTS by Ken Hill: On paper, the Jets should be better than this. However, a promising young core and some good players in top positions hide a team that has no depth. To make matters worse, they’re sticking by their goaltender, Ondrej Pavelec, who is unequivocally the worst in the NHL. The Jets are going to struggle yet again in a conference full of elite teams.

27. Edmonton Oilers (average ranking – 26.4)

Dave – 23rd

Ken, Mitch – 24th

Markus, John, Ben, Matt – 27th

Deidre, Shawn – 28th

Paul – 29th

THOUGHTS by Ken Hill: This is the year that the Oilers finally take a baby-step towards respectability. The team added some nice depth to supplement its young superstar forwards, while the goaltending has also been stabilized. However, goals against are going to be the story all season long, as a largely no-name defense corps will struggle on most nights.

David Gove adds: What’s the over/under on how many jerseys Oilers fans will throw on the ice this season?

28. Calgary Flames (average ranking – 28)

Mitch – 26th

Ken, Paul, Dave – 27th

Markus, John – 28th

Ben, Shawn, Matt – 29th

Deidre – 30th

THOUGHTS by Ben Kerr: The Rebuild continues, and there are some good young pieces in place, but overall the team lack depth and they play in a tough conference.

Markus Meyer adds: I’m pretty much expecting a season very similar to last season. They’ll work their butts off, the young guns will show promise, but the team simply won’t be good enough to make any sort of impact.

29. Carolina Hurricanes (average ranking – 28.5)

Deidre – 25th

Paul – 26th

Shawn – 27th

Dave – 28th

Markus, John, Mitch – 29th

Ken, Ben, Matt – 30th

THOUGHTS by John Carroll: The Hurricanes were going to be in tough to finish much higher than this even before they lost Jordan Staal for most of the season. As it is now, the only thing keeping them from finishing last is Buffalo.

Markus Meyer adds: Unless Anton Khudobin can emerge as some sort of star goalie or Cam Ward rebounds in enormous fashion, this team is heading to the basement. Their defense isn’t nearly good enough, and their forward group isn’t deep enough, in addition to the weak goaltending.

30. Buffalo Sabres (average ranking – 29.1)

Matt – 25th

Ben – 28th

Ken, Deidre – 29th

Markus, John, Paul, Dave, Mitch, Shawn – 30th

THOUGHTS by Ken Hill: The Sabres have done well to surround their plethora of youth with some quality veterans. However, the younger players are still too green to take over, while the veterans are largely role players that can’t carry this team. It’s no concern for the Sabres however, who are content to again be moribund as they continue to stockpile some incredible young talent.

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