Quote: (10-08-2014 04:39 PM)blacknwhitespade Wrote:
How did all the best hockey teams end up in the West? Chicago is the only original 6 on this side, most of these other teams have relatively poor fan support compared to Eastern conf. teams (Boston, Montreal, Toronto, Detroit, Philly, Pittsburg, etc). Even Los Angeles had poor TV ratings in their 2nd cup run in three years.
With the salary cap fan base doesn't matter all that much. Teams like the Rangers can't buy success like they used to, so things evened out. I don't think the gap between East and West is as bad as people make it seem, it switches year-to-year. West has the East beat on depth no problem, but Boston and Pittsburgh can compete with anyone, which is all that matters.
For best division it is either Central or Pacific. I personally would pick Chicago, Colorado, Dallas, and St. Louis over Anaheim, LA, and San Jose. Chicago and LA are the safe picks for the cup, but I'd like to see St. Louis win it. Statsny could bounce back a little and give them the offense they've been lacking. I'm a Bruins fan though, so I'd prefer them. They should have an easy time with their new division too, which is good. Losing Boychuk is a big loss though.
Any guesses on scoring leaders or anything? I'm predicting a first-time winner. Taveres or Seguin most likely. I'm also expecting a further slide by Ovi. I'm so tired of borderline fans in DC worshipping the guy. He's a negative player even with the powerplay goals, and for that he's collecting one of the highest cap hits in the league. So much to spend on a guy who's checked out.