Friday, December 30, 2022

2022 In Sports

2022 has been quite the year in the world of sports, both college and professional. Lot of great moments and some not so great. We won't get into the bad, we only discuss the good for this article. That being said, here's a look back at what was in 2022.

Tennis:
Australian Open: Rafael Nadal, Ashleigh Barty
French Open: Rafael Nadal, Iga Świątek
Wimbledon: Novak Djokovic, Elena Rybakina
U.S. Open: Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Świątek

NASCAR:
Daytona 500: Austin Cindric
Geico 500: Ross Chastain
Coca-Cola 600: Denny Hamlin
Cup Series Championship: Joey Logano

Golf:
Masters: Scottie Scheffler
PGA Championship: Justin Thomas
U.S. Open: Matt Fitzpatrick
The Open Championship: Cameron Smith

Football:
2022 CFP National Title Game: Georgia def Alabama 33-18
'Super Bowl LVI: Rams def Bengals 23-20

Basketball:
Men's National Championship: Kansas def North Carolina 72-69
Women's National Championship: South Carolina def UCONN 64-49
NBA Finals: Golden State def Boston in Six Games!

Baseball:
World Series: Astros def Phillies in six games!

Hockey:
Stanley Cup: Colorado def Tampa Bay in Six games!

In Memorium:
-Dan Reaves (77)
-Don Maynard (86)
-Bill Fitch (93)
-Emile Francis (95)
-Jean Potvin (72)
-John Clayton (67)
-Gene Shue (90)
-Tommy Davis (83)
-Mike Bossy (65)
-Clark Gillies (67)
-Guy LaFleur (70)
-Marian Barber (38)
-Bob Lanier (73)
-Bill Russell (90)
-Vin Scully (93)
-Maury Wills (89)
-Bruce Suter (69)
-Ray Guy (72)
-Paul Silas (79)
-Franco Harris (72)
-Pele (82)

Sunday, December 25, 2022

Merry Christmas

Happy holidays to one and all and a Very Merry Christmas. Enjoy our holiday tradiion



Friday, December 23, 2022

Pro Bowl Roster Announced

Pro Bowl time is drawing near. Its the collection of the best of the best from around the National Football League during the 2022 regular season. So here's what we got for the Pro Bowl this year.

AFC:
Offense:
Quarterback: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City, Josh Allen, Buffalo, Joe Burrow, Cincinnati
Running Back: Nick Chubb, Cleveland, Josh Jacobs, Las Vegas, Derrick Henry, Tennessee
Fullback: Patrick Ricard, Baltimore
Wide receiver: Tyreek Hill, Miami, Stefon Diggs, Buffalo, Ja'Marr Chase, Cincinnati, Davante Adams, Las Vegas
Tight End: Travis Kelce, Kansas City, Mark Andrews, Baltimore
Offensive Tackle: Laremy Tunsil, Houston, Terron Armstead, Miami, Orlando Brown Jr., Kansas City
Offensive Guard: Quenton Nelson, Indianapolis, Joel Bitonio, Cleveland, Joe Thuney, Kansas City
Center: Creed Humphrey, Kansas City, Mitch Morse, Buffalo

Defense:
Defensive End: Myles Garrett, Cleveland, Maxx Crosby, Las Vegas, Trey Hendrickson, Cincinnati
Defensive tackle: Chris Jones, Kansas City, Quinnen Williams, NY Jets, Jeffery Simmons, Tennessee
Outside linebacker: Matt Judon, New England, Khalil Mack, LA Chargers, T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh
Inside/middle linebacker: Roquan Smith, Baltimore, C.J. Mosley, NY Jets
Cornerback: Sauce Gardner, NY Jets, Pat Surtain II, Denver, Marlon Humphrey, Baltimore, Xavien Howard, Miami
Free Safety: Minkah Fitzpatrick, Pittsburgh
Strong Safety: Derwin James, LA Chargers, Jordan Poyer, Buffalo

Special Teams:
Long Snapper: Morgan Cox, Tennessee
Punter: Tommy Towsend, Kansas City
Placekicker: Justin Tucker, Baltimore
Return Specialist: Devin Duvernay, Baltimore
Special Teams: Justin Hardee, NY Jets

NFC:
Offense:
Quarterback 1 Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia 7 Geno Smith, Seattle 8 Kirk Cousins, Minnesota
Running Back: Saquon Barkley, NY Giants, Tony Pollard, Dallas, Miles Sanders, Philadelphia
Fullback: Kyle Juszczyk, San Francisco
Wide Receiver: Justin Jefferson, Minnesota, A.J. Brown, Philadelphia, CeeDee Lamb, Dallas, Terry McLaurin, Washington
Tight End: George Kittle, San Francisco, T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota
Offensive Tackle: Trent Williams, San Francisco, Lane Johnson, Philadelphia, Tristan Wirfs, Tampa Bay
Offensive Guard: Zack Martin, Dallas, Landon Dickerson, Philadelphia, Chris Lindstrom, Atlanta
Center: Jason Kelce, Philadelphia, Frank Ragnow, Detroit

Defense:
Defensive End: Nick Bosa, San Francisco, Brian Burns, Carolina, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dallas
Defensive Tackle: Aaron Donald, LA Rams, Jonathan Allen, Washington, Dexter Lawrence, NY Giants
Outside Linebacker: Micah Parsons, Dallas, Za'Darius Smith, Minnesota, Haason Reddick, Philadelphia
Inside/Middle Linebacker: Fred Warner, San Francisco, Demario Davis, New Orleans
Cornerback: Darius Slay, Philadelphia, Trevon Diggs, Dallas, Tariq Woolen, Seattle, Jaire Alexander, Green Bay
Free Safety: Quandre Diggs, Seattle
Strong Safety: Budda Baker, Arizona, Talanoa Hufanga, San Francisco

Special Teams:
Long Snapper: Andrew DePaola, Minnesota
Punter: Tress Way, Washington
Placekicker: Jason Myers, Seattle
Return Specialist: KaVontae Turpin, Dallas
Special Teams: Jeremy Reaves, Washington

Thursday, December 22, 2022

Playoff Clinching Scenarios Week 16

Week sixteen has arrived in the NFL. We got three weeks left in the regular season and teams have a great chance to lock up playoff spots this week. Here's how that could go down.

AFC: Clinched- Buffalo Bills (playoff spot) Kansas City Chiefs (AFC West)
Buffalo Bills:
-Buffalo can clinch the AFC East with a win OR a Miami loss

Cincinnati Bengals
-Cincinnati can clinch a playoff spot with a win OR a Jets loss

Baltimore Ravens
-Baltimore can clinch a playoff spot with a win AND losses by the Jets, Dolphins and Patriots

Los Angeles Chargers
-Los Angeles can clinch a playoff spot with a win AND losses by the Patriots Jets and Raiders

NFC: Clinched- Philadelphia Eagles (playoff spot) Dallas Cowboys (playoff spot), San Francisco 49ers (NFC West), Minnesota Vikings (NFC North)

Philadelphia Eagles
-Philadelphia can clinch the NFC East with a win
-Philadelphia can clinch home field and top seed with a win or a tie and Minnesota loss

New York Giants
-New York can clinch a playoff spot with a win AND losses by Washington, Detroit and Seattle

Thursday, December 15, 2022

Playoff Clinching Scenarios Week Fifteen

The playoffs are right around the corner in the NFL. We have a couple of spots already clinched. Heading into week fifteen we have a few more teams that can clinch playoff spots. Here's what we got for this week in the NFL.

AFC:
Buffalo Bills
-Buffalo can clinch a playoff birth with a win, OR a tie and a loss by the Jets Patriots and Chargers

Kansas City Chiefs
-Kansas City can clinch the AFC West with a win OR a Chargers loss
-Kansas City can clinch a playoff spot with a Tie and losses by the Jets, Dolphins and Patriots

NFC: Clinched Philadelphia Eagles (playoff birth)
Dallas Cowboys
-Dallas can clinch a playoff birth with a win OR losses by Seattle, Detroit and Washington

Minnesota Vikings
-Minnesota can clinch the NFC North with a Win OR a Lions loss

San Francisco 49ers
-San Francisco can win the NFC West with a win

Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Rare Air For Great Eight

In the game of hockey, goal scoring is essential. You do it once, you got skill. You do it 800 times, that's a feet that three men have ever hit. Wayne Gretzky and Gordie How now have company as Alexander Ovechkin joins that exclusive brotherhood. It had been a hot streak for Ovechkin, who had scored goals in four straight games to reach the milestone.

What Ovechkin has done is nothing short of incredible.

There's no stopping him when he's on his game. Ovechkin has had a unique ability in his career to be able to find the back of the net in new and exciting ways. he makes the highlight films and he does it so easy. Since he's joined the league in 2006, in every full year that he has had, Ovechkin has scored 32 or more goals, he's gone over 60 goals once, eight more of 50 or more goals and three more seasons of 40 or more, the rest have been 30 or more. There are times watching the great eight, where he looks like more then a man.

Gretzky is going to have some company soon in the close to 900 goal club and Ovechkin is the guy to do it. Now don't get it wrong, there have been great goal scorers in this game. Jaromir Jagr looked like he might have had an outside shot at it, but didn't really come close. Brett Hull same thing when he was on top of his game in the early 90s.

With current skaters, Crosby could have come close to 600 had he managed to stay healthy, same thing with Steven Stamkos. Nobody else right now really looks like, at least on paper and based on past performances, that they will come close to doing what Ovechkin has done.

Ovechkin has been the face of the Capitals and one of the faces of the entire league since he burst onto the scene. He's been one of the most steady scorers that this game has ever seen and he's played at such a high level.

Next up to catch, #99

Thursday, December 8, 2022

College Bowl Schedule Announced

The time has arrived. Bowl season is just a week away. Lots to digest from the bowl games for the 2022 season. Fear not, we've got you covered. We will list the full bowl schedule below so you can keep track of it.

Friday, Dec 16, 2022
-HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl Miami (Ohio) vs. UAB Thomas Robinson Stadium Nassau, Bahamas 11:30am ET ESPN
-Duluth Trading Cure Bowl 25 UTSA vs. 24 Troy Exploria Stadium Orlando, FL 3:00pm ET ESPN

Saturday, Dec 17, 2022
-Wasabi Fenway Bowl Cincinnati vs. Louisville Fenway Park Boston, MA 11:00am ET ESPN
- Cricket Celebration Bowl Jackson State vs. NC Central Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, GA 12:00pm ET ABC
-SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl Florida vs. 14 Oregon State Allegiant Stadium Las Vegas, NV 2:30pm ET ESPN
-Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Washington State vs. Fresno State SoFi Stadium Inglewood, CA 3:30pm ET ABC
-LendingTree Bowl Rice vs. Southern Miss Hancock Whitney Stadium Mobile, AL 5:45pm ET ESPN
-New Mexico Bowl SMU vs. BYU University Stadium Albuquerque, NM 7:30pm ET ABC
-Frisco Bowl North Texas vs. Boise State Toyota Stadium Frisco, TX 9:15pm ET ESPN

Monday, Dec 19, 2022
-Myrtle Beach Bowl Marshall vs. UConn Brooks Stadium Conway, SC 2:30pm ET ESPN

Tuesday, Dec 20, 2022
-Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Eastern Michigan vs. San Jose State Albertsons Stadium Boise, ID 3:30pm ET ESPN
-RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Liberty vs. Toledo FAU Stadium Boca Raton, FL 7:30pm ET ESPN

Wednesday, Dec 1, 2022
-R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl WKU vs. South Alabama Caesars Superdome New Orleans, LA 9:00pm ET ESPN

Thursday, Dec 22, 2022
-Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Baylor vs. Air Force Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX 7:30pm ET ESPN

Friday, Dec 23, 2022
-Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl Louisiana vs. Houston Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA 3:00pm ET ESPN
-Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl Wake Forest vs. Missouri Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL 6:30pm ET ESPN

Saturday, Dec 24, 2022
-EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl Middle Tennessee vs. San Diego State Ching Complex Honolulu, HI 8:00pm ET ESPN

Monday, Dec 26, 2022
-Quick Lane Bowl New Mexico State vs. Bowling Green Ford Field Detroit, MI 2:30pm ET ESPN

Tuesday, Dec 27, 2022
-Camellia Bowl Georgia Southern vs. Buffalo Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL 12:00pm ET ESPN
-SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Memphis vs. Utah State Gerald J. Ford Stadium Dallas, TX 3:15pm ET ESPN
-TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl Coastal Carolina vs. East Carolina Protective Stadium Birmingham, AL 6:45pm ET ESPN
-Guaranteed Rate Bowl Wisconsin vs. Oklahoma State Chase Field Phoenix, AZ 10:15pm ET ESPN

Wednesday, Dec 28, 2022
-Military Bowl UCF vs. Duke Navy-Marine Corps Mem. Stadium Annapolis, MD 2:00pm ET ESPN
-AutoZone Liberty Bowl Kansas vs. Arkansas Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Memphis, TN 5:30pm ET ESPN
-SDCCU Holiday Bowl North Carolina vs. 15 Oregon Petco Park San Diego, CA 8:00pm ET FOX
-TaxAct Texas Bowl Texas Tech vs. Ole Miss NRG Stadium Houston, TX 9:00pm ET ESPN

Thursday, Dec 29, 2022
-Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl Syracuse vs. Minnesota Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY 2:00pm ET ESPN
-Cheez-It Bowl Oklahoma vs. 13 Florida State Camping World Stadium Orlando, FL 5:30pm ET ESPN
-Valero Alamo Bowl 20 Texas vs. 12 Washington Alamodome San Antonio, TX 9:00pm ET ESPN

Friday, Dec 30, 2022
-Duke's Mayo Bowl Maryland vs. 23 NC State Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC 12:00pm ET ESPN
-Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl Pitt vs. 18 UCLA Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, TX 2:00pm ET CBS
-TaxSlayer Gator Bowl 21 Notre Dame vs. 19 South Carolina TIAA Bank Field Jacksonville, FL 3:30pm ET ESPN
-Arizona Bowl Ohio vs. Wyoming Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ 4:30pm ET Barstool
-Capital One Orange Bowl 6 Tennessee vs. 7 Clemson Hard Rock Stadium Miami Gardens, FL 8:00pm ET ESPN

Saturday, Dec 31, 2022
-Allstate Sugar Bowl 5 Alabama vs. 9 Kansas State Caesars Superdome New Orleans, LA 12:00pm ET ESPN
-TransPerfect Music City Bowl Iowa vs. Kentucky Nissan Stadium Nashville, TN 12:00pm ET ABC
-Vrbo Fiesta Bowl 3 TCU vs. 2 Michigan State Farm Stadium Glendale, AZ 4:00pm ET ESPN
-Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl 4 Ohio State vs. 1 Georgia Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, GA 8:00pm ET ESPN

Monday, Jan 2, 2023
-ReliaQuest Bowl 22 Mississippi State vs. Illinois Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL 12:00pm ET ESPN2
-Goodyear Cotton Bowl 16 Tulane vs. 10 USC AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX 1:00pm ET ESPN
-Cheez-It Citrus Bowl 17 LSU vs. Purdue Camping World Stadium Orlando, FL 1:00pm ET ABC
-Rose Bowl Game 11 Penn State vs. 8 Utah Rose Bowl Stadium Pasadena, CA 5:00pm ET ESPN

Monday, Jan 9, 2023
-CFP National Championship Semifinal Winners SoFi Stadium Inglewood, CA 7:30pm ET ESPN

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Changing Of The Guard In Queens

There's a changing of the guard in Queens this winter. One ace out, another ace in. Jacob deGrom has taken his talents elsewhere. So to replace him, Justin Verlander has been brought in.

Losing Jacob deGzrom does sting a little, as he's spent his entire nine year career in the blue and orange. During that time, he won 82 games, struck out 1,602 hitters and had a 2.52 career ERA in New York, four of those years resulted in an all star game appearance. Oh and he managed to win a pair of Cy Young's and a rookie of the year. Now, he's taking those talents to Texas, signing a five year deal worth $185 Million.

It's kind of understandable why deGrom took off for Texas, he felt a bit of disrespect from the Mets organization. He was the team best pitcher but never fully got treated like it. It seemed as if he was playing second fiddle to Matt Harvey and even Noah Syndergaard. Both of whom the Mets put in higher esteem for whatever reason.

He hit the free agent market and landed in Texas. According to reports, deGrom liked the winning culture that's building around the Rangers. Part of it, from my point of view, is that he wanted to be a on a club where he was the true ace and he felt that way going in. He never truly got that in New York, and it wasn't helped any by adding Max Scherzer last year.

On a personal note, I know with injuries and him leaving, things kind of went south for Jake on the way out of Queens. But having said that, I want to thank deGrom for all that he did for this team and the memories he provided for the franchise.

Now the Cy Young winner from the AL last year, Justin Verlander comes into the mix. He comes to Queens on a two year deal worth $ 86 million. Verlander brings 17 years experience and 244 career wins into the mix. With almost 3,200 career strikeouts, a career 3.24 ERA, 3 Cy Youngs and a world series title. He reunites with former Tigers teammate Scherzer at the top of the Mets staff.

What worries me a little is Verlander age, he is 39 years old. He still got great stuff, there's no denying that. If he can stay healthy there's still plenty left in the tank for Verlander to be very good and very effective in Queens.

Friday, October 28, 2022

Series Showdown

The time has finally arrived. The 118th World Series is here and set to begin. We started this journey back in April with 32 teams looking for a shot at the Comissioners Trophy. Now here we sit with the last two standing. The Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies.

Philadelphia got here as a wild card team, winning 87 regular season games. They then disposed of the St Louis Cardinals in a sweep in the Wild Card round, then dispatched the Atlanta Braves in four games in the NLDS, and finally dispatched the San Diego Padres in the NLCS in five games.

Houston got here by winning the AL West with 107 wins. They had the wild card round off, starting the playoffs with a sweep of the Seattle Mariners in the ALDS. They then followed it up with a sweep of the New York Yankees in the ALCS.

The dates and times for this series are as follows:
1. October 28 Minute Maid Park 8:03 pm
2 October 29 Minute Maid Park 8:03 pm
3 October 31 Citizens Bank Park 8:03 pm
4 November 1 Citizens Bank Park 8:03pm
5 November 2 Citizens Bank Park 8:03 pm
6 November 4 Minute Maid Park 8:03 pm
7 November 5 Minute Maid Park 8:03 pm

Houston is looking to do something that nobody in the wild card era has ever done, sweep its way through the playoffs. Two teams have come close in the 99 Yankees and 05 White Sox, who both went 11-1 in the World Series years. Houston has a real shot at it. What would worry me is Justin Verlander, who's career record is 1-6 in World Series games. For whatever reason, Verlander can't seem to find the right mojo in fall classic games. But one advantage Houston does have is that the bullpen has the best ERAS in the entire playoffs. Houston can hit too, there's no denying that they got pop. Look at the monster home runs Yordan Alverez has hit this season.

But right now, Philadelphia has the hotter offense. Harper is hotter than a wild fire at the plate, and Schwarber has been heating up too. Plus it also helps that the Phillies are 5-0 at home this fall. And the Phillies have had to fight harder to get to the series than the Astros. nothing against Houston and winning 107 games, but the Phillies have had more of an uphill climb.

At the end of the day, as good as the Phillies are, the Astros are just that much better of a team. They are more balanced and well put together team

Pick: Astros in 5

Thursday, October 27, 2022

Best & Worst NFL Week Seven

Week seven has come and gone in the NFL and boy what a week it was. We saw one young gun QB have a monster day, while two older QB's seem to be going in the other direction. New York Football has been on fire as of late, while there are other teams that had higher expectations and are currently flopping. We also have other guys who come out of nowhere and are having monster years. All that and more has gone down this past week. So here's a look at some of the best, and worst, of week seven in the NFL.

Best: Cincinnati Bengals Passing Attack
To say that the Bengals had themselves a day on Sunday would be an understatement. Not only did they beat Atlanta 35-17, but Joe Burrow and his friends went off like a firecracker. First there's Burrow. He threw for 481 yards on the day. That number is not only the highest total in the NFL this season, but it was the 2nd highest total of his career and the third most in Bengals history. He's playing his best football right now and that makes for something very scary to go up against. Oh and lets not forget about the two guys who beniffited most from Burrow big day. Tyler Boyd had nine catches for 155 yards and a touchdown, while Ja'Marr Chase finished with eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. The yards for both of those guys were the best in the NFL this week. If the Bengals are heating up now, they gonna be scary good.

Best: Josh Jacobs, Running Back Las Vegas Raiders
Talk about having a monster year. no disrespect to Sequan Barkley of the Giants, who's the leading rusher in the NFL this season, but Josh Jacobs is having just as much of a monster year in Vegas for the Raiders. he just ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-20 win over Houston. Those 143 rush yards were second most in the NFL this week, behind Kenneth Walker. Jacobs is putting more pressure on the Raiders. Why? Because they declined the team option on him and he going to hit the free agent market in the offseason. To this point, he's rushed for 633 yards on the year, behind only Barkley and Nick Chubb.

Best: Patrick Mahomes, Quarterback Kansas City Chiefs
It's coming as a surprise to no one that Mahomes is doing what he's doing, he's one of the very best in the business. Kansas City put a 44-23 whooping on the 49ers, who were one of the better defenses in the NFL this season. Mahomes had himself a day, going 25 of 34 for 423 yards, three touchdowns and a pick. He was also sacked once. All this coming after getting trounced by the Buffalo Bills just one week prior. This type of performance proves that Mahomes is still top of the hill in the game today and its going to be a while before somone comes really close to knocking him off the top of the perch.

Worst: Tampa Bay Buccaneers Offense
There was supposed to be very high expectations for Tampa Bay this season. Look no further than the 21-3 loss in Carolina on Sunday. Nothing against the Panthers, but if your scoring just three points against them, then somethings wrong. Tampa hasn't been able to get the offensive mojo going. Brady hasn't been given the time he needs, or rather is used to, in order to develop the play. The pass game isn't anywhere close to what has become the sort of expectation here in Tampa. The talent is there, just not able to put it all together. It also not helping that the run game is just as MIA. Tampa's run attack is averaging just over three yards a play, which even in a pass happy league isn't going to be able to cut it.

Worst: Kenny Pickett, Quarterback Pittsburgh Steelers
Not to take anything away from the Dolphins, who are a very good team, but Kenny had a rough go of it. Miami walked away with a 16-10 win and Pickett looked off all day. He threw for 257 yards on 32 of 44 passing and a touchdown. But he was sacked twice and, even worse, threw three picks. Oh and those three picks were thrown inside the Miami 25. Look, there are going to be growing pains with some QB's in the NFL, they don't always mature as fast as others. Some guys can handle it quickly, while others it takes time. Pickett might not have hit his stride just yet, but he'll get there.

Worst: Dan Campbell Head Coach Detroit Lions
I feel bad for Dan Campbell I really do. He's on pace to be worse than what Matt Patrica did as head coach in Detroit. They were trounced 24-6 by the Cowboys. Dallas is a solid football team and with the loss, Detroit now sits at 1-5 on the season. Oh and each of the last three losses by the Lions have been by at least three scores. He's been delt a bad hand with a bad team, and there's only so much that some coaches can do with that talent, or lack there of. I feel bad for Campbell, because I don't see him coming back as head coach in the motor city next season.

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Best & Worst NFL Week Five

Week five is in the books around the NFL. Philadelphia is still the only unbeaten team left in the game, while we got a few other solid teams at 4-1. Everybody in the league has at least one win, while some teams are leaving their fans scratching their heads. We have some players playing up to their expectations, while others have been dropping the ball, so to speak. So lets not waste any more time and dive right into it. Here's the best, and worst, from week five in the NFL

Best: Brian Daboll, Head Coach New York Giants
No what you are about to read is not a typo. The New York Giants are in fact a 4-1 football team. For that, Brian DaBoll deserves a medal. It showed in a 27-22 win over the Packers in London on Sunday. DaBoll has Sequan Barkley running like his old self, he's got Daniel Jones playing inspired football. They are playing great football. Oh and all of this is being done after cleaning up the mess that had been left over by Joe Judge. Yes this team is playing good and he is an early frontrunner for coach of the year.

Best: Taysom Hill, Quarterback New Orleans Saints
Hill is, without a doubt a jack of all trades for New Orleans. It was on display on Sunday in a 39-32 win over Seattle. Andy Dalton was the starting QB, but Hill had just as much of an impact. He threw a 22 yard touchdown pass, he had 68 yards in kick return yards. Oh and he also rushed for 112 yards, which was five more yards than what Alvan Kamara did. He has proven in the past that he can do a little bit of everything for the Saints and it was on display again on Sunday,

Best: Gabe Davis, Wide Receiver Buffalo Bills
There's going off, then there Gabe Davis level of going off. In a 48-4 dominating win by the Bills over Pittsburgh, Davis was a huge reason for that. Three catches for a league best 171 yards and two of those catches went for touchdowns. He outreached a defender for a ball at one point on one of the touchdowns that it didn't look like he even really had a chance to make the catch on. This is one of those possibly future iconic performances.

Worst: Roughing The Passer
This has been called into question at times in the past and its getting called in there again. It was on display in a couple of games but most notably in the game with the Bucs. Grady Jarrett got a sack on Brady and the way he took Brady to the ground seemed like it was a normal football play, but it was flagged and called for roughing the passer. It, to the naked eye, looked like a normal football play but was called to protect Brady. I get it that you want to protect the quarterbacks around the league and it makes sense, but it was a horrible call and the ruling of roughing the passer needs to be changed.

Worst: Baker Mayfield, Quarterback Carolina Panthers
When Cleveland got rid of him it looked like it was going to be a fresh start for Baker. Turns out it hasn't gone that way for Mayfield in Carolina. In a 37-15 loss to Carolina, baker had a below average day. 20 of 36 for 215 one pick and was sacked four times. The numbers only tell cold facts. There maybe a reason why Cleveland didn't have too many bites from other franchises when they put Baker on the market. Carolina only took him because Sam Darnold was hurt at the start of the season. He isn't well liked in the locker room, according to some, and that's making this look even worse. If he was an above average quarterback it would make up for some of his issues, but he's not. And his future in this league doesn't look very good.

Worst: Tyreek Hill, Wide Receiver Miami Dolphins
Small part of me feels bad here for Hill. When he's on his game, he's one of the top five receivers in all of football. Right now, he doesn't really look that way. The Jets beat the tar out of the Dolphins, to the tune of a 40-17 New York win. Sure Hill had seven catches, but it was for just 47 yards. yes he had a third string QB throwing to him but still. Those numbers are below his standards. That's not why I got Hill on here. He's here because he was on the receiving end of a big stiff arm from Quinnen Williams, the defensive lineman who is five inches taller and 112 pounds heaver.

Sunday, October 9, 2022

2022-23 NHL Season Preview

The time has finally arrived. The chase for hockey's Holy Grail is finally upon us. Thirty Two teams all playing for the right to be called the best team in the league and a champion. Eight Two regular season games, if you can survive that, you make the playoffs. From there it only gets tougher. The start of the 2022-23 National Hockey League season is at hand. With that we take a look now at how things are going to go down this year.

We got teams coming in with new bench bosses this year. St Louis got the interim tag removed in Montreal. Meanwhile Winnipeg (Rick Bowness), Vegas (Bruce Cassidy), San Jose (David Quinn), Philadelphia (John Tortorella), the Islanders (Lane Lambert), Florida (Paul Maurice), Detroit (Derek Lalonde), Dallas (Peter DeBoer), Chicago (Luke Richardson), and Boston (Jim Montgomery) are all starting the year off with new bench bosses.

So with all that coming down, here's how the 2022-23 season goes down, as we see it.

Western Conference:
Central Division:
1. Colorado Avalanche (115 points)*
2. St Louis Blues (110 Points)*
3. Winnipeg Jets (105 Points)*
4. Minnesota Wild (100 Points)*
5. Dallas Stars (96 Points)
6. Nashville Predators (91 Points)
7. Chicago Blackhawks (79 Points)
8. Arizona Coyotes (70 Points)

It should come as no surprise that the Avalanche win this division, they are the defending champs and didn't lose too many pieces from the end of last season. They changed it up between the pipes adding Alexandar Georgiev as their number one in net. Core of the D with Makar and Toews leading the charge the Avs look pretty good. Up front is still mostly in tact, with Kadri gone and MacKionnion and Landeskog possibly missing time at start of the year, they still deep and in good shape. Then there's the Blues, who are going to have a big bounce back season this year. They have a solid core, lead by Ryan O'Reilly, Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas, and Jordan Binnington. They lost David Perron in the offseason, but added Nick Leddy to the mix. Should be a good year in St Louis. As for the Jets, making the playoffs is a good possibility for this club. They got their man in net in Connor Hellebuyck, and now they added a solid backup in David Rittich. Josh Morrissey going to be counted on to carry the load from the blue line, something he hasn't had much trouble doing in recent years. You got plenty to work with up front with Connor, Lowry, Scheifele and trying to get every ounce left out of Sam Ganger. With the Wild, they take a bit of a step back from last season after finishing 2nd in the division. It's still more than good enough for a playoff team this year with Kirill Kaprizov having yet another monster season. They have a very young core and still have Marc-Andre Fleury with something left to prove on a two year deal.

Now the teams that are gonna come up close in this division but miss out, starting with the Stars in Dallas. The core in Dallas is here and with Benn and Seguin still at the top of the offense, it may help keep Dallas close this season, But Dallas didn't really do much to improve while some of the other teams around them got better. And some of the Stars biggest stars aren't getting any younger. Now for the Predators, they locked in Filip Forsberg in for a long term deal, which is one of the smartest moves that the Nashville front office has made. There's positive stuff with Saros starting in net. Still have a solid blueline in Josi and they brought in Ryan McDonagh. They got a young core up front around Forsberg, with Nino, Granlund, and Jeannot. This team could be in the hunt for most of the year. Now is where we get the sharp drop off, because things aren't looking good for the Blackhawks right about now. Biggest loss in Chicago is Alex deBrincat now in Ottawa. They still have Kane and Towes, but both guys are getting a little bit older. There isn't much depth otherwise here and its going to be a long year in the windy city. The only team that could have a rougher season is the Coyotes, who are playing in a college arena for the season. There's no goaltending in the desert this season. Phil Kessel is gone. Clayton Keller, Nick Bjugstad and Nick Schmaltz are providing the offensive firepower for a bad team.

Pacific Division
1. Edmonton Oilers (115 Points)*
2. Calgary Flames (109 Points)*
3. Vegas Golden Knights (106 Points)*
4. Los Angeles Kings (101 Points)*
5 Vancouver Canucks (97 Points)
6. Seattle Kraken (90 Points)
7. San Jose Sharks (80 Points)
8. Anaheim Ducks (72 Points)

The facts are, the Oilers have the best player in the game right now in Connor McDavid, and another top five player in Leon Draisaitl. They have a balanced offense with Kane and Heyman and Nugent-Hopkins. Edmonton trying to sure up the problems in net by adding Jack Campbell to the mix. The Oilers are deep and balanced enough this should be their division to take. The battle of Alberta won't be over so quickly, as the Flames will be in the mix with the Oilers most of the year. The Flames took some steps backwards. Gaudreau was lost to free agency, Monahan traded to the Canadiens, Tkachuk traded to the Panthers. But they came back with Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar added via trade and Kadri brought in as a free agent. They still a deep team and built well to go on a solid playoff run. And with Markstrom holding down the fort in net, expect good things again this year in Calgary. Its been a good run at the start of the franchise for the Golden Knights. Goaltending could be a problem with Robin Lehnar out hurt to start the year and Aldin Hill starting. But Vegas has a good enough team to make up for some or most of it. They have Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore on the top of their blue line and should do just fine holding down the fort in front of Hill or whoever is in net. Yes Pacioretty is gone, but Phil Kessel is in to replace him, and he might not be as good at producing, he can still provide a bit of a jolt. The core is in tact and there's big things expected again in Vegas. Finally, there's the Kings, who are going to be the only California team to make the playoffs. Sure, they lost some depth players, but the core is still in tact and plenty of talent to go around.

As for the teams that mis out from the Pacific, the Canucks make the strongest push at making the playoffs. And why not with the group they have in Vancouver. They have the best shot to scoop up the outside shot at the playoffs from this division. The offense is loaded, with Miller, Horvat, Besser and Garland. Hughes and Besser lead from the back end and if healthy Markstrom can have a very productive season for the Canucks. In their second year, big steps will be taken in the right direction for the Kraken. Starting in goal they added Martin Jones to back up or split time with Grubauer. They got decent defense lead by Larson and Dunn. Andre Burakovsky was added to bolster the offense, and drafting Shane Wright 4th overall are major additions to this club. Not a playoff team yet, but they will be getting better. Here's where we see the drop off in the division, starting with the Sharks. Here's how you know they moving on for a new era, they traded Brent Burns. Vlasic and Karlsson lead the back end but it got a little harder with Burns not in the picture. Got a solid young core with Hertl, Bonino and Lebanc but the other guys are getting older and aren't being replaced fast enough. Finally, there's the Ducks. Anaheim brought in Strome, Kulikov and Vatrano. Getzlaf no longer in the Pond. Still upside with Gibson and Fowler, but not much else.

Eastern Conference:
Atlantic Division:
1. Florida Panthers (111 Points)*
2. Toronto Maple Leafs (109 Points)*
3. Tampa Bay Lightning (107 Points)*
4. Boston Bruins (100 Points)*
5. Ottawa Senators (90 Points)
6. buffalo Sabres (84 Points)
7. Detroit Red Wings (80 Points)
8. Montreal Canadiens (70 Points)

It still feels a little weird to see the Panthers as the top team in this division, but its possible with this core group. Florida got rid of Huberdeau and Weager, but in that trade brought in Matthew Tkachuk. He's added to a young core with Barkov, Verhage, Bennett and Ekblad. They have Spencer Knight as a solid backup and splitting time with Babrovsky. This is a team that won the Presidents trophy a season ago, and most of that core group is still in tact but they taking a step back this season. Right behind them are a regular season powerhouse in the Maple Leafs. Jack Campbell is gone, Ilya Samsonov replaced him in net. They still have Rilety and Muzzin and Brodie on a solid back end. Scoring won't be a problem in Toronto, with Matthews, Tavares, Marner and now added Jarnkrok at the core of this team. Now the big question is, can this team get it done come playoff time? Then there's the three time defending conference champions the Lightning. Tampa lost McDonagh, Palat and Rutta. They brought in Namestnikov and Cole. Tampa core is still in tact. Stamkos, Kucherov, Killorn, Paul, Hedman, Sergachev, Vasilevskiy. This team is very good and are going to be for a long time. Now there's been a few changes made to the Bruins lineup. They got solid young goaltending in Swayman and Ullmark in net, which is good but may leave a little something to be desired come playoff time. Back end still solid with Carlo, Clifton and McAvoy leading the way. Pavel Zacha was brought in to add more depth up the middle. Hall and Bergeron are going to miss the start of the season due to injury, but when healthy and add them in with Marchand, the Bruins have the talent to make the playoffs.

For a team that's outside looking in, the Senators are on the rise and quickly. Cam Talbot was brought in but will miss start due to injury so Anton Forsberg will start at the beginning of the year. Ottawa bolstered their lineup bigtime around Stuzel and Thakuck. How? Brought in Alex deBrincat and Claude Giroux. bluelinie still needs little bit of work, but there's a good young core in Canada's Capital and its going to get better from here. Goaltending is going to be a of a problem for the Sabres this year, but then again it has been for a while now. Craig Anderson is decent, but won't be the long term answer in Western New York. The blue line looks god and has two stars to build around with Power and Dahlin. Thompson is the emerging star up front, with Cousins and Skinner and Olofsson to work with. They a solid team but haven't quite turned the corner yet. The Red Wings are getting better with that youth core they've built around. Two solid young goalies in Villie Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic. They have very high hopes for Montez Seider on the back end and plan to really be able to build around him. They have solid veteran leadership up front with Larkin and Copp up front and with youth like Suter to build around there is a little hope in the Motor City. Same isn't likely to be said for the Canadiens up in Montreal. Sean Monahan and Mike Matheson both brought in via trades to add depth to this team. Jake Allen is set to take over in net while Carey Price figures things out. Youth looks good in Montreal, but its going to take time to build it all together.

Metropolitan Division
1. Carolina Hurricanes (108 Points)*
2. New York Rangers (107 Points)*
3. Pittsburgh Penguins (100 Points)*
4. Washington Capitals (98 Points)*
5. New York Islanders (96 Points)
6. New Jersey Devils (89 Points)
7. Columbus Blue Jackets (85 Points)
8. Philadelphia Flyers (76 Points)

There are a few pieces missing from last year squad with the Hurricanes, but they still have enough talent in their core to take a division title. Fredrick Andersen and Antti Raanta are a solid one two punch in net. They added depth with Brent Burns on the back end with Slavin and Skjeiu. Up front, Carolina has Aho and Svechnikov leading a solid and deep group. Even adding Max Pacioretti from Vegas was a huge move to bolster an already solid club. Right on their heels this year are going to be the Rangers. They have the top goalie from last season in Sersterkin and a new backup for him in Jaro Halak.  Biggest other addition was adding Vincent Torcheck up front to bolster a pretty good offense that still has Panarin and Zibanijad. Adam Fox anchors that blueline, with new captain Jacob Truba and Ryan Lindgrin. This team from Broadway is going to be very very good and is going to put the most pressure on Carolina for top spot in the division. Another team you can never count out are the Penguins. The core of Crosby, Malkin and Letang are back together again for one more season. The goaltending is solid with DeSmith and Jarry, but who knows if they can pull it off come springtime. They have youth to mix in with the veterans, guys like Rickell, Rust, Zucker and Guentzel. It will be enough to get in, but deep runs is a bit of a worry. When your the Capitals, as long as you still have Alex Ovechkin in the lineup, you always got a chance. In net its going to leave some worry, as I wonder how deep Darcy Kemper can really take this team. You still have Carlson and Orlov leading the blueline. Then they have Ovie up front with Kuznetzov, Mantha, Sheery, Strome and Johansson. They have talent but will it be enough to get there.

Now for the teams on the outside in, the Islanders get us going there. Goaltending looks really good with Sorokin and Varlamov. Back end with Pullock, Pelech and Dobson is going to be good. Adding Romanov at the draft could be a sleeper steal for the Isles if he can pan out. Matt Barzal is locked into a new long term deal, but can they actually get scoring depth around him. Lee and Nelson can. Beauviller is a streaky player and there's questions with Bellows and Wahlstrom and their consistent play. Then there's the Devils, who look like they could be taking steps in the right direction to be a team on the rise. They have Vaneck and Blackwood maning the pipes, and with both guys still young, it gives a lot of hope in net. Subban is gone due to retirement, leaving Hamilton, Smith and Severson as the stalworths on the back end. Up front, Hischier and Hughes are going to be the top dogs for this team for a long time. Add in Palat, Bratt, Sharangovich There's a lot to be hopeful for with this team. Making the biggest splash in the offseason this year was the Blue Jackets. Johnny Gaudreau comes in on a shiny new deal and is going to be worth it and then some. Add in patrik Laine and his potential, along with Jenner and

The time has finally arrived. The chase for hockey's Holy Grail is finally upon us. Thirty Two teams all playing for the right to be called the best team in the league and a champion. Eight Two regular season games, if you can survive that, you make the playoffs. From there it only gets tougher. The start of the 2022-23 National Hockey League season is at hand. With that we take a look now at how things are going to go down this year.

We got teams coming in with new bench bosses this year. St Louis got the interim tag removed in Montreal. Meanwhile Winnipeg (Rick Bowness), Vegas (Bruce Cassidy), San Jose (David Quinn), Philadelphia (John Tortorella), the Islanders (Lane Lambert), Florida (Paul Maurice), Detroit (Derek Lalonde), Dallas (Peter DeBoer), Chicago (Luke Richardson), and Boston (Jim Montgomery) are all starting the year off with new bench bosses.

So with all that coming down, here's how the 2022-23 season goes down, as we see it.

Western Conference:
Central Division:
1. Colorado Avalanche (115 points)*
2. St Louis Blues (110 Points)*
3. Winnipeg Jets (105 Points)*
4. Minnesota Wild (100 Points)*
5. Dallas Stars (96 Points)
6. Nashville Predators (91 Points)
7. Chicago Blackhawks (79 Points)
8. Arizona Coyotes (70 Points)

It should come as no surprise that the Avalanche win this division, they are the defending champs and didn't lose too many pieces from the end of last season. They changed it up between the pipes adding Alexandar Georgiev as their number one in net. Core of the D with Makar and Toews leading the charge the Avs look pretty good. Up front is still mostly in tact, with Kadri gone and MacKionnion and Landeskog possibly missing time at start of the year, they still deep and in good shape. Then there's the Blues, who are going to have a big bounce back season this year. They have a solid core, lead by Ryan O'Reilly, Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas, and Jordan Binnington. They lost David Perron in the offseason, but added Nick Leddy to the mix. Should be a good year in St Louis. As for the Jets, making the playoffs is a good possibility for this club. They got their man in net in Connor Hellebuyck, and now they added a solid backup in David Rittich. Josh Morrissey going to be counted on to carry the load from the blue line, something he hasn't had much trouble doing in recent years. You got plenty to work with up front with Connor, Lowry, Scheifele and trying to get every ounce left out of Sam Ganger. With the Wild, they take a bit of a step back from last season after finishing 2nd in the division. It's still more than good enough for a playoff team this year with Kirill Kaprizov having yet another monster season. They have a very young core and still have Marc-Andre Fleury with something left to prove on a two year deal.

Now the teams that are gonna come up close in this division but miss out, starting with the Stars in Dallas. The core in Dallas is here and with Benn and Seguin still at the top of the offense, it may help keep Dallas close this season, But Dallas didn't really do much to improve while some of the other teams around them got better. And some of the Stars biggest stars aren't getting any younger. Now for the Predators, they locked in Filip Forsberg in for a long term deal, which is one of the smartest moves that the Nashville front office has made. There's positive stuff with Saros starting in net. Still have a solid blueline in Josi and they brought in Ryan McDonagh. They got a young core up front around Forsberg, with Nino, Granlund, and Jeannot. This team could be in the hunt for most of the year. Now is where we get the sharp drop off, because things aren't looking good for the Blackhawks right about now. Biggest loss in Chicago is Alex deBrincat now in Ottawa. They still have Kane and Towes, but both guys are getting a little bit older. There isn't much depth otherwise here and its going to be a long year in the windy city. The only team that could have a rougher season is the Coyotes, who are playing in a college arena for the season. There's no goaltending in the desert this season. Phil Kessel is gone. Clayton Keller, Nick Bjugstad and Nick Schmaltz are providing the offensive firepower for a bad team.

Pacific Division
1. Edmonton Oilers (115 Points)*
2. Calgary Flames (109 Points)*
3. Vegas Golden Knights (106 Points)*
4. Los Angeles Kings (101 Points)*
5 Vancouver Canucks (97 Points)
6. Seattle Kraken (90 Points)
7. San Jose Sharks (80 Points)
8. Anaheim Ducks (72 Points)

The facts are, the Oilers have the best player in the game right now in Connor McDavid, and another top five player in Leon Draisaitl. They have a balanced offense with Kane and Heyman and Nugent-Hopkins. Edmonton trying to sure up the problems in net by adding Jack Campbell to the mix. The Oilers are deep and balanced enough this should be their division to take. The battle of Alberta won't be over so quickly, as the Flames will be in the mix with the Oilers most of the year. The Flames took some steps backwards. Gaudreau was lost to free agency, Monahan traded to the Canadiens, Tkachuk traded to the Panthers. But they came back with Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar added via trade and Kadri brought in as a free agent. They still a deep team and built well to go on a solid playoff run. And with Markstrom holding down the fort in net, expect good things again this year in Calgary. Its been a good run at the start of the franchise for the Golden Knights. Goaltending could be a problem with Robin Lehnar out hurt to start the year and Aldin Hill starting. But Vegas has a good enough team to make up for some or most of it. They have Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore on the top of their blue line and should do just fine holding down the fort in front of Hill or whoever is in net. Yes Pacioretty is gone, but Phil Kessel is in to replace him, and he might not be as good at producing, he can still provide a bit of a jolt. The core is in tact and there's big things expected again in Vegas. Finally, there's the Kings, who are going to be the only California team to make the playoffs. Sure, they lost some depth players, but the core is still in tact and plenty of talent to go around.

As for the teams that mis out from the Pacific, the Canucks make the strongest push at making the playoffs. And why not with the group they have in Vancouver. They have the best shot to scoop up the outside shot at the playoffs from this division. The offense is loaded, with Miller, Horvat, Besser and Garland. Hughes and Besser lead from the back end and if healthy Markstrom can have a very productive season for the Canucks. In their second year, big steps will be taken in the right direction for the Kraken. Starting in goal they added Martin Jones to back up or split time with Grubauer. They got decent defense lead by Larson and Dunn. Andre Burakovsky was added to bolster the offense, and drafting Shane Wright 4th overall are major additions to this club. Not a playoff team yet, but they will be getting better. Here's where we see the drop off in the division, starting with the Sharks. Here's how you know they moving on for a new era, they traded Brent Burns. Vlasic and Karlsson lead the back end but it got a little harder with Burns not in the picture. Got a solid young core with Hertl, Bonino and Lebanc but the other guys are getting older and aren't being replaced fast enough. Finally, there's the Ducks. Anaheim brought in Strome, Kulikov and Vatrano. Getzlaf no longer in the Pond. Still upside with Gibson and Fowler, but not much else.

Eastern Conference:
Atlantic Division:
1. Florida Panthers (111 Points)*
2. Toronto Maple Leafs (109 Points)*
3. Tampa Bay Lightning (107 Points)*
4. Boston Bruins (100 Points)*
5. Ottawa Senators (90 Points)
6. buffalo Sabres (84 Points)
7. Detroit Red Wings (80 Points)
8. Montreal Canadiens (70 Points)

It still feels a little weird to see the Panthers as the top team in this division, but its possible with this core group. Florida got rid of Huberdeau and Weager, but in that trade brought in Matthew Tkachuk. He's added to a young core with Barkov, Verhage, Bennett and Ekblad. They have Spencer Knight as a solid backup and splitting time with Babrovsky. This is a team that won the Presidents trophy a season ago, and most of that core group is still in tact but they taking a step back this season. Right behind them are a regular season powerhouse in the Maple Leafs. Jack Campbell is gone, Ilya Samsonov replaced him in net. They still have Rilety and Muzzin and Brodie on a solid back end. Scoring won't be a problem in Toronto, with Matthews, Tavares, Marner and now added Jarnkrok at the core of this team. Now the big question is, can this team get it done come playoff time? Then there's the three time defending conference champions the Lightning. Tampa lost McDonagh, Palat and Rutta. They brought in Namestnikov and Cole. Tampa core is still in tact. Stamkos, Kucherov, Killorn, Paul, Hedman, Sergachev, Vasilevskiy. This team is very good and are going to be for a long time. Now there's been a few changes made to the Bruins lineup. They got solid young goaltending in Swayman and Ullmark in net, which is good but may leave a little something to be desired come playoff time. Back end still solid with Carlo, Clifton and McAvoy leading the way. Pavel Zacha was brought in to add more depth up the middle. Hall and Bergeron are going to miss the start of the season due to injury, but when healthy and add them in with Marchand, the Bruins have the talent to make the playoffs.

For a team that's outside looking in, the Senators are on the rise and quickly. Cam Talbot was brought in but will miss start due to injury so Anton Forsberg will start at the beginning of the year. Ottawa bolstered their lineup bigtime around Stuzel and Thakuck. How? Brought in Alex deBrincat and Claude Giroux. bluelinie still needs little bit of work, but there's a good young core in Canada's Capital and its going to get better from here. Goaltending is going to be a of a problem for the Sabres this year, but then again it has been for a while now. Craig Anderson is decent, but won't be the long term answer in Western New York. The blue line looks god and has two stars to build around with Power and Dahlin. Thompson is the emerging star up front, with Cousins and Skinner and Olofsson to work with. They a solid team but haven't quite turned the corner yet. The Red Wings are getting better with that youth core they've built around. Two solid young goalies in Villie Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic. They have very high hopes for Montez Seider on the back end and plan to really be able to build around him. They have solid veteran leadership up front with Larkin and Copp up front and with youth like Suter to build around there is a little hope in the Motor City. Same isn't likely to be said for the Canadiens up in Montreal. Sean Monahan and Mike Matheson both brought in via trades to add depth to this team. Jake Allen is set to take over in net while Carey Price figures things out. Youth looks good in Montreal, but its going to take time to build it all together.

Metropolitan Division
1. Carolina Hurricanes (108 Points)*
2. New York Rangers (107 Points)*
3. Pittsburgh Penguins (100 Points)*
4. Washington Capitals (98 Points)*
5. New York Islanders (96 Points)
6. New Jersey Devils (89 Points)
7. Columbus Blue Jackets (85 Points)
8. Philadelphia Flyers (76 Points)

There are a few pieces missing from last year squad with the Hurricanes, but they still have enough talent in their core to take a division title. Fredrick Andersen and Antti Raanta are a solid one two punch in net. They added depth with Brent Burns on the back end with Slavin and Skjeiu. Up front, Carolina has Aho and Svechnikov leading a solid and deep group. Even adding Max Pacioretti from Vegas was a huge move to bolster an already solid club. Right on their heels this year are going to be the Rangers. They have the top goalie from last season in Sersterkin and a new backup for him in Jaro Halak.  Biggest other addition was adding Vincent Torcheck up front to bolster a pretty good offense that still has Panarin and Zibanijad. Adam Fox anchors that blueline, with new captain Jacob Truba and Ryan Lindgrin. This team from Broadway is going to be very very good and is going to put the most pressure on Carolina for top spot in the division. Another team you can never count out are the Penguins. The core of Crosby, Malkin and Letang are back together again for one more season. The goaltending is solid with DeSmith and Jarry, but who knows if they can pull it off come springtime. They have youth to mix in with the veterans, guys like Rickell, Rust, Zucker and Guentzel. It will be enough to get in, but deep runs is a bit of a worry. When your the Capitals, as long as you still have Alex Ovechkin in the lineup, you always got a chance. In net its going to leave some worry, as I wonder how deep Darcy Kemper can really take this team. You still have Carlson and Orlov leading the blueline. Then they have Ovie up front with Kuznetzov, Mantha, Sheery, Strome and Johansson. They have talent but will it be enough to get there.

Now for the teams on the outside in, the Islanders get us going there. Goaltending looks really good with Sorokin and Varlamov. Back end with Pullock, Pelech and Dobson is going to be good. Adding Romanov at the draft could be a sleeper steal for the Isles if he can pan out. Matt Barzal is locked into a new long term deal, but can they actually get scoring depth around him. Lee and Nelson can. Beauviller is a streaky player and there's questions with Bellows and Wahlstrom and their consistent play. Then there's the Devils, who look like they could be taking steps in the right direction to be a team on the rise. They have Vaneck and Blackwood maning the pipes, and with both guys still young, it gives a lot of hope in net. Subban is gone due to retirement, leaving Hamilton, Smith and Severson as the stalworths on the back end. Up front, Hischier and Hughes are going to be the top dogs for this team for a long time. Add in Palat, Bratt, Sharangovich There's a lot to be hopeful for with this team. Making the biggest splash in the offseason this year was the Blue Jackets. Johnny Gaudreau comes in on a shiny new deal and is going to be worth it and then some. Add in patrik Laine and his potential, along with Jenner and

The time has finally arrived. The chase for hockey's Holy Grail is finally upon us. Thirty Two teams all playing for the right to be called the best team in the league and a champion. Eight Two regular season games, if you can survive that, you make the playoffs. From there it only gets tougher. The start of the 2022-23 National Hockey League season is at hand. With that we take a look now at how things are going to go down this year.

We got teams coming in with new bench bosses this year. St Louis got the interim tag removed in Montreal. Meanwhile Winnipeg (Rick Bowness), Vegas (Bruce Cassidy), San Jose (David Quinn), Philadelphia (John Tortorella), the Islanders (Lane Lambert), Florida (Paul Maurice), Detroit (Derek Lalonde), Dallas (Peter DeBoer), Chicago (Luke Richardson), and Boston (Jim Montgomery) are all starting the year off with new bench bosses.

So with all that coming down, here's how the 2022-23 season goes down, as we see it.

Western Conference:
Central Division:
1. Colorado Avalanche (115 points)*
2. St Louis Blues (110 Points)*
3. Winnipeg Jets (105 Points)*
4. Minnesota Wild (100 Points)*
5. Dallas Stars (96 Points)
6. Nashville Predators (91 Points)
7. Chicago Blackhawks (79 Points)
8. Arizona Coyotes (70 Points)

It should come as no surprise that the Avalanche win this division, they are the defending champs and didn't lose too many pieces from the end of last season. They changed it up between the pipes adding Alexandar Georgiev as their number one in net. Core of the D with Makar and Toews leading the charge the Avs look pretty good. Up front is still mostly in tact, with Kadri gone and MacKionnion and Landeskog possibly missing time at start of the year, they still deep and in good shape. Then there's the Blues, who are going to have a big bounce back season this year. They have a solid core, lead by Ryan O'Reilly, Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas, and Jordan Binnington. They lost David Perron in the offseason, but added Nick Leddy to the mix. Should be a good year in St Louis. As for the Jets, making the playoffs is a good possibility for this club. They got their man in net in Connor Hellebuyck, and now they added a solid backup in David Rittich. Josh Morrissey going to be counted on to carry the load from the blue line, something he hasn't had much trouble doing in recent years. You got plenty to work with up front with Connor, Lowry, Scheifele and trying to get every ounce left out of Sam Ganger. With the Wild, they take a bit of a step back from last season after finishing 2nd in the division. It's still more than good enough for a playoff team this year with Kirill Kaprizov having yet another monster season. They have a very young core and still have Marc-Andre Fleury with something left to prove on a two year deal.

Now the teams that are gonna come up close in this division but miss out, starting with the Stars in Dallas. The core in Dallas is here and with Benn and Seguin still at the top of the offense, it may help keep Dallas close this season, But Dallas didn't really do much to improve while some of the other teams around them got better. And some of the Stars biggest stars aren't getting any younger. Now for the Predators, they locked in Filip Forsberg in for a long term deal, which is one of the smartest moves that the Nashville front office has made. There's positive stuff with Saros starting in net. Still have a solid blueline in Josi and they brought in Ryan McDonagh. They got a young core up front around Forsberg, with Nino, Granlund, and Jeannot. This team could be in the hunt for most of the year. Now is where we get the sharp drop off, because things aren't looking good for the Blackhawks right about now. Biggest loss in Chicago is Alex deBrincat now in Ottawa. They still have Kane and Towes, but both guys are getting a little bit older. There isn't much depth otherwise here and its going to be a long year in the windy city. The only team that could have a rougher season is the Coyotes, who are playing in a college arena for the season. There's no goaltending in the desert this season. Phil Kessel is gone. Clayton Keller, Nick Bjugstad and Nick Schmaltz are providing the offensive firepower for a bad team.

Pacific Division
1. Edmonton Oilers (115 Points)*
2. Calgary Flames (109 Points)*
3. Vegas Golden Knights (106 Points)*
4. Los Angeles Kings (101 Points)*
5 Vancouver Canucks (97 Points)
6. Seattle Kraken (90 Points)
7. San Jose Sharks (80 Points)
8. Anaheim Ducks (72 Points)

The facts are, the Oilers have the best player in the game right now in Connor McDavid, and another top five player in Leon Draisaitl. They have a balanced offense with Kane and Heyman and Nugent-Hopkins. Edmonton trying to sure up the problems in net by adding Jack Campbell to the mix. The Oilers are deep and balanced enough this should be their division to take. The battle of Alberta won't be over so quickly, as the Flames will be in the mix with the Oilers most of the year. The Flames took some steps backwards. Gaudreau was lost to free agency, Monahan traded to the Canadiens, Tkachuk traded to the Panthers. But they came back with Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar added via trade and Kadri brought in as a free agent. They still a deep team and built well to go on a solid playoff run. And with Markstrom holding down the fort in net, expect good things again this year in Calgary. Its been a good run at the start of the franchise for the Golden Knights. Goaltending could be a problem with Robin Lehnar out hurt to start the year and Aldin Hill starting. But Vegas has a good enough team to make up for some or most of it. They have Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore on the top of their blue line and should do just fine holding down the fort in front of Hill or whoever is in net. Yes Pacioretty is gone, but Phil Kessel is in to replace him, and he might not be as good at producing, he can still provide a bit of a jolt. The core is in tact and there's big things expected again in Vegas. Finally, there's the Kings, who are going to be the only California team to make the playoffs. Sure, they lost some depth players, but the core is still in tact and plenty of talent to go around.

As for the teams that mis out from the Pacific, the Canucks make the strongest push at making the playoffs. And why not with the group they have in Vancouver. They have the best shot to scoop up the outside shot at the playoffs from this division. The offense is loaded, with Miller, Horvat, Besser and Garland. Hughes and Besser lead from the back end and if healthy Markstrom can have a very productive season for the Canucks. In their second year, big steps will be taken in the right direction for the Kraken. Starting in goal they added Martin Jones to back up or split time with Grubauer. They got decent defense lead by Larson and Dunn. Andre Burakovsky was added to bolster the offense, and drafting Shane Wright 4th overall are major additions to this club. Not a playoff team yet, but they will be getting better. Here's where we see the drop off in the division, starting with the Sharks. Here's how you know they moving on for a new era, they traded Brent Burns. Vlasic and Karlsson lead the back end but it got a little harder with Burns not in the picture. Got a solid young core with Hertl, Bonino and Lebanc but the other guys are getting older and aren't being replaced fast enough. Finally, there's the Ducks. Anaheim brought in Strome, Kulikov and Vatrano. Getzlaf no longer in the Pond. Still upside with Gibson and Fowler, but not much else.

Eastern Conference:
Atlantic Division:
1. Florida Panthers (111 Points)*
2. Toronto Maple Leafs (109 Points)*
3. Tampa Bay Lightning (107 Points)*
4. Boston Bruins (100 Points)*
5. Ottawa Senators (90 Points)
6. buffalo Sabres (84 Points)
7. Detroit Red Wings (80 Points)
8. Montreal Canadiens (70 Points)

It still feels a little weird to see the Panthers as the top team in this division, but its possible with this core group. Florida got rid of Huberdeau and Weager, but in that trade brought in Matthew Tkachuk. He's added to a young core with Barkov, Verhage, Bennett and Ekblad. They have Spencer Knight as a solid backup and splitting time with Babrovsky. This is a team that won the Presidents trophy a season ago, and most of that core group is still in tact but they taking a step back this season. Right behind them are a regular season powerhouse in the Maple Leafs. Jack Campbell is gone, Ilya Samsonov replaced him in net. They still have Rilety and Muzzin and Brodie on a solid back end. Scoring won't be a problem in Toronto, with Matthews, Tavares, Marner and now added Jarnkrok at the core of this team. Now the big question is, can this team get it done come playoff time? Then there's the three time defending conference champions the Lightning. Tampa lost McDonagh, Palat and Rutta. They brought in Namestnikov and Cole. Tampa core is still in tact. Stamkos, Kucherov, Killorn, Paul, Hedman, Sergachev, Vasilevskiy. This team is very good and are going to be for a long time. Now there's been a few changes made to the Bruins lineup. They got solid young goaltending in Swayman and Ullmark in net, which is good but may leave a little something to be desired come playoff time. Back end still solid with Carlo, Clifton and McAvoy leading the way. Pavel Zacha was brought in to add more depth up the middle. Hall and Bergeron are going to miss the start of the season due to injury, but when healthy and add them in with Marchand, the Bruins have the talent to make the playoffs.

For a team that's outside looking in, the Senators are on the rise and quickly. Cam Talbot was brought in but will miss start due to injury so Anton Forsberg will start at the beginning of the year. Ottawa bolstered their lineup bigtime around Stuzel and Thakuck. How? Brought in Alex deBrincat and Claude Giroux. bluelinie still needs little bit of work, but there's a good young core in Canada's Capital and its going to get better from here. Goaltending is going to be a of a problem for the Sabres this year, but then again it has been for a while now. Craig Anderson is decent, but won't be the long term answer in Western New York. The blue line looks god and has two stars to build around with Power and Dahlin. Thompson is the emerging star up front, with Cousins and Skinner and Olofsson to work with. They a solid team but haven't quite turned the corner yet. The Red Wings are getting better with that youth core they've built around. Two solid young goalies in Villie Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic. They have very high hopes for Montez Seider on the back end and plan to really be able to build around him. They have solid veteran leadership up front with Larkin and Copp up front and with youth like Suter to build around there is a little hope in the Motor City. Same isn't likely to be said for the Canadiens up in Montreal. Sean Monahan and Mike Matheson both brought in via trades to add depth to this team. Jake Allen is set to take over in net while Carey Price figures things out. Youth looks good in Montreal, but its going to take time to build it all together.

Metropolitan Division
1. Carolina Hurricanes (108 Points)*
2. New York Rangers (107 Points)*
3. Pittsburgh Penguins (100 Points)*
4. Washington Capitals (98 Points)*
5. New York Islanders (96 Points)
6. New Jersey Devils (89 Points)
7. Columbus Blue Jackets (85 Points)
8. Philadelphia Flyers (76 Points)

There are a few pieces missing from last year squad with the Hurricanes, but they still have enough talent in their core to take a division title. Fredrick Andersen and Antti Raanta are a solid one two punch in net. They added depth with Brent Burns on the back end with Slavin and Skjeiu. Up front, Carolina has Aho and Svechnikov leading a solid and deep group. Even adding Max Pacioretti from Vegas was a huge move to bolster an already solid club. Right on their heels this year are going to be the Rangers. They have the top goalie from last season in Sersterkin and a new backup for him in Jaro Halak.  Biggest other addition was adding Vincent Torcheck up front to bolster a pretty good offense that still has Panarin and Zibanijad. Adam Fox anchors that blueline, with new captain Jacob Truba and Ryan Lindgrin. This team from Broadway is going to be very very good and is going to put the most pressure on Carolina for top spot in the division. Another team you can never count out are the Penguins. The core of Crosby, Malkin and Letang are back together again for one more season. The goaltending is solid with DeSmith and Jarry, but who knows if they can pull it off come springtime. They have youth to mix in with the veterans, guys like Rickell, Rust, Zucker and Guentzel. It will be enough to get in, but deep runs is a bit of a worry. When your the Capitals, as long as you still have Alex Ovechkin in the lineup, you always got a chance. In net its going to leave some worry, as I wonder how deep Darcy Kemper can really take this team. You still have Carlson and Orlov leading the blueline. Then they have Ovie up front with Kuznetzov, Mantha, Sheery, Strome and Johansson. They have talent but will it be enough to get there.

Now for the teams on the outside in, the Islanders get us going there. Goaltending looks really good with Sorokin and Varlamov. Back end with Pullock, Pelech and Dobson is going to be good. Adding Romanov at the draft could be a sleeper steal for the Isles if he can pan out. Matt Barzal is locked into a new long term deal, but can they actually get scoring depth around him. Lee and Nelson can. Beauviller is a streaky player and there's questions with Bellows and Wahlstrom and their consistent play. Then there's the Devils, who look like they could be taking steps in the right direction to be a team on the rise. They have Vaneck and Blackwood maning the pipes, and with both guys still young, it gives a lot of hope in net. Subban is gone due to retirement, leaving Hamilton, Smith and Severson as the stalworths on the back end. Up front, Hischier and Hughes are going to be the top dogs for this team for a long time. Add in Palat, Bratt, Sharangovich There's a lot to be hopeful for with this team. Making the biggest splash in the offseason this year was the Blue Jackets. Johnny Gaudreau comes in on a shiny new deal and is going to be worth it and then some. Add in patrik Laine and his potential, along with Jenner and

The time has finally arrived. The chase for hockey's Holy Grail is finally upon us. Thirty Two teams all playing for the right to be called the best team in the league and a champion. Eight Two regular season games, if you can survive that, you make the playoffs. From there it only gets tougher. The start of the 2022-23 National Hockey League season is at hand. With that we take a look now at how things are going to go down this year.

We got teams coming in with new bench bosses this year. St Louis got the interim tag removed in Montreal. Meanwhile Winnipeg (Rick Bowness), Vegas (Bruce Cassidy), San Jose (David Quinn), Philadelphia (John Tortorella), the Islanders (Lane Lambert), Florida (Paul Maurice), Detroit (Derek Lalonde), Dallas (Peter DeBoer), Chicago (Luke Richardson), and Boston (Jim Montgomery) are all starting the year off with new bench bosses.

So with all that coming down, here's how the 2022-23 season goes down, as we see it.

Western Conference:
Central Division:
1. Colorado Avalanche (115 points)*
2. St Louis Blues (110 Points)*
3. Winnipeg Jets (105 Points)*
4. Minnesota Wild (100 Points)*
5. Dallas Stars (96 Points)
6. Nashville Predators (91 Points)
7. Chicago Blackhawks (79 Points)
8. Arizona Coyotes (70 Points)

It should come as no surprise that the Avalanche win this division, they are the defending champs and didn't lose too many pieces from the end of last season. They changed it up between the pipes adding Alexandar Georgiev as their number one in net. Core of the D with Makar and Toews leading the charge the Avs look pretty good. Up front is still mostly in tact, with Kadri gone and MacKionnion and Landeskog possibly missing time at start of the year, they still deep and in good shape. Then there's the Blues, who are going to have a big bounce back season this year. They have a solid core, lead by Ryan O'Reilly, Pavel Buchnevich, Robert Thomas, and Jordan Binnington. They lost David Perron in the offseason, but added Nick Leddy to the mix. Should be a good year in St Louis. As for the Jets, making the playoffs is a good possibility for this club. They got their man in net in Connor Hellebuyck, and now they added a solid backup in David Rittich. Josh Morrissey going to be counted on to carry the load from the blue line, something he hasn't had much trouble doing in recent years. You got plenty to work with up front with Connor, Lowry, Scheifele and trying to get every ounce left out of Sam Ganger. With the Wild, they take a bit of a step back from last season after finishing 2nd in the division. It's still more than good enough for a playoff team this year with Kirill Kaprizov having yet another monster season. They have a very young core and still have Marc-Andre Fleury with something left to prove on a two year deal.

Now the teams that are gonna come up close in this division but miss out, starting with the Stars in Dallas. The core in Dallas is here and with Benn and Seguin still at the top of the offense, it may help keep Dallas close this season, But Dallas didn't really do much to improve while some of the other teams around them got better. And some of the Stars biggest stars aren't getting any younger. Now for the Predators, they locked in Filip Forsberg in for a long term deal, which is one of the smartest moves that the Nashville front office has made. There's positive stuff with Saros starting in net. Still have a solid blueline in Josi and they brought in Ryan McDonagh. They got a young core up front around Forsberg, with Nino, Granlund, and Jeannot. This team could be in the hunt for most of the year. Now is where we get the sharp drop off, because things aren't looking good for the Blackhawks right about now. Biggest loss in Chicago is Alex deBrincat now in Ottawa. They still have Kane and Towes, but both guys are getting a little bit older. There isn't much depth otherwise here and its going to be a long year in the windy city. The only team that could have a rougher season is the Coyotes, who are playing in a college arena for the season. There's no goaltending in the desert this season. Phil Kessel is gone. Clayton Keller, Nick Bjugstad and Nick Schmaltz are providing the offensive firepower for a bad team.

Pacific Division
1. Edmonton Oilers (115 Points)*
2. Calgary Flames (109 Points)*
3. Vegas Golden Knights (106 Points)*
4. Los Angeles Kings (101 Points)*
5 Vancouver Canucks (97 Points)
6. Seattle Kraken (90 Points)
7. San Jose Sharks (80 Points)
8. Anaheim Ducks (72 Points)

The facts are, the Oilers have the best player in the game right now in Connor McDavid, and another top five player in Leon Draisaitl. They have a balanced offense with Kane and Heyman and Nugent-Hopkins. Edmonton trying to sure up the problems in net by adding Jack Campbell to the mix. The Oilers are deep and balanced enough this should be their division to take. The battle of Alberta won't be over so quickly, as the Flames will be in the mix with the Oilers most of the year. The Flames took some steps backwards. Gaudreau was lost to free agency, Monahan traded to the Canadiens, Tkachuk traded to the Panthers. But they came back with Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar added via trade and Kadri brought in as a free agent. They still a deep team and built well to go on a solid playoff run. And with Markstrom holding down the fort in net, expect good things again this year in Calgary. Its been a good run at the start of the franchise for the Golden Knights. Goaltending could be a problem with Robin Lehnar out hurt to start the year and Aldin Hill starting. But Vegas has a good enough team to make up for some or most of it. They have Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore on the top of their blue line and should do just fine holding down the fort in front of Hill or whoever is in net. Yes Pacioretty is gone, but Phil Kessel is in to replace him, and he might not be as good at producing, he can still provide a bit of a jolt. The core is in tact and there's big things expected again in Vegas. Finally, there's the Kings, who are going to be the only California team to make the playoffs. Sure, they lost some depth players, but the core is still in tact and plenty of talent to go around.

As for the teams that mis out from the Pacific, the Canucks make the strongest push at making the playoffs. And why not with the group they have in Vancouver. They have the best shot to scoop up the outside shot at the playoffs from this division. The offense is loaded, with Miller, Horvat, Besser and Garland. Hughes and Besser lead from the back end and if healthy Markstrom can have a very productive season for the Canucks. In their second year, big steps will be taken in the right direction for the Kraken. Starting in goal they added Martin Jones to back up or split time with Grubauer. They got decent defense lead by Larson and Dunn. Andre Burakovsky was added to bolster the offense, and drafting Shane Wright 4th overall are major additions to this club. Not a playoff team yet, but they will be getting better. Here's where we see the drop off in the division, starting with the Sharks. Here's how you know they moving on for a new era, they traded Brent Burns. Vlasic and Karlsson lead the back end but it got a little harder with Burns not in the picture. Got a solid young core with Hertl, Bonino and Lebanc but the other guys are getting older and aren't being replaced fast enough. Finally, there's the Ducks. Anaheim brought in Strome, Kulikov and Vatrano. Getzlaf no longer in the Pond. Still upside with Gibson and Fowler, but not much else.

Eastern Conference:
Atlantic Division:
1. Florida Panthers (111 Points)*
2. Toronto Maple Leafs (109 Points)*
3. Tampa Bay Lightning (107 Points)*
4. Boston Bruins (100 Points)*
5. Ottawa Senators (90 Points)
6. buffalo Sabres (84 Points)
7. Detroit Red Wings (80 Points)
8. Montreal Canadiens (70 Points)

It still feels a little weird to see the Panthers as the top team in this division, but its possible with this core group. Florida got rid of Huberdeau and Weager, but in that trade brought in Matthew Tkachuk. He's added to a young core with Barkov, Verhage, Bennett and Ekblad. They have Spencer Knight as a solid backup and splitting time with Babrovsky. This is a team that won the Presidents trophy a season ago, and most of that core group is still in tact but they taking a step back this season. Right behind them are a regular season powerhouse in the Maple Leafs. Jack Campbell is gone, Ilya Samsonov replaced him in net. They still have Rilety and Muzzin and Brodie on a solid back end. Scoring won't be a problem in Toronto, with Matthews, Tavares, Marner and now added Jarnkrok at the core of this team. Now the big question is, can this team get it done come playoff time? Then there's the three time defending conference champions the Lightning. Tampa lost McDonagh, Palat and Rutta. They brought in Namestnikov and Cole. Tampa core is still in tact. Stamkos, Kucherov, Killorn, Paul, Hedman, Sergachev, Vasilevskiy. This team is very good and are going to be for a long time. Now there's been a few changes made to the Bruins lineup. They got solid young goaltending in Swayman and Ullmark in net, which is good but may leave a little something to be desired come playoff time. Back end still solid with Carlo, Clifton and McAvoy leading the way. Pavel Zacha was brought in to add more depth up the middle. Hall and Bergeron are going to miss the start of the season due to injury, but when healthy and add them in with Marchand, the Bruins have the talent to make the playoffs.

For a team that's outside looking in, the Senators are on the rise and quickly. Cam Talbot was brought in but will miss start due to injury so Anton Forsberg will start at the beginning of the year. Ottawa bolstered their lineup bigtime around Stuzel and Thakuck. How? Brought in Alex deBrincat and Claude Giroux. bluelinie still needs little bit of work, but there's a good young core in Canada's Capital and its going to get better from here. Goaltending is going to be a of a problem for the Sabres this year, but then again it has been for a while now. Craig Anderson is decent, but won't be the long term answer in Western New York. The blue line looks god and has two stars to build around with Power and Dahlin. Thompson is the emerging star up front, with Cousins and Skinner and Olofsson to work with. They a solid team but haven't quite turned the corner yet. The Red Wings are getting better with that youth core they've built around. Two solid young goalies in Villie Husso and Alex Nedeljkovic. They have very high hopes for Montez Seider on the back end and plan to really be able to build around him. They have solid veteran leadership up front with Larkin and Copp up front and with youth like Suter to build around there is a little hope in the Motor City. Same isn't likely to be said for the Canadiens up in Montreal. Sean Monahan and Mike Matheson both brought in via trades to add depth to this team. Jake Allen is set to take over in net while Carey Price figures things out. Youth looks good in Montreal, but its going to take time to build it all together.

Metropolitan Division
1. Carolina Hurricanes (108 Points)*
2. New York Rangers (107 Points)*
3. Pittsburgh Penguins (100 Points)*
4. Washington Capitals (98 Points)*
5. New York Islanders (96 Points)
6. New Jersey Devils (89 Points)
7. Columbus Blue Jackets (85 Points)
8. Philadelphia Flyers (76 Points)

There are a few pieces missing from last year squad with the Hurricanes, but they still have enough talent in their core to take a division title. Fredrick Andersen and Antti Raanta are a solid one two punch in net. They added depth with Brent Burns on the back end with Slavin and Skjeiu. Up front, Carolina has Aho and Svechnikov leading a solid and deep group. Even adding Max Pacioretti from Vegas was a huge move to bolster an already solid club. Right on their heels this year are going to be the Rangers. They have the top goalie from last season in Sersterkin and a new backup for him in Jaro Halak.  Biggest other addition was adding Vincent Torcheck up front to bolster a pretty good offense that still has Panarin and Zibanijad. Adam Fox anchors that blueline, with new captain Jacob Truba and Ryan Lindgrin. This team from Broadway is going to be very very good and is going to put the most pressure on Carolina for top spot in the division. Another team you can never count out are the Penguins. The core of Crosby, Malkin and Letang are back together again for one more season. The goaltending is solid with DeSmith and Jarry, but who knows if they can pull it off come springtime. They have youth to mix in with the veterans, guys like Rickell, Rust, Zucker and Guentzel. It will be enough to get in, but deep runs is a bit of a worry. When your the Capitals, as long as you still have Alex Ovechkin in the lineup, you always got a chance. In net its going to leave some worry, as I wonder how deep Darcy Kemper can really take this team. You still have Carlson and Orlov leading the blueline. Then they have Ovie up front with Kuznetzov, Mantha, Sheery, Strome and Johansson. They have talent but will it be enough to get there.

Now for the teams on the outside in, the Islanders get us going there. Goaltending looks really good with Sorokin and Varlamov. Back end with Pullock, Pelech and Dobson is going to be good. Adding Romanov at the draft could be a sleeper steal for the Isles if he can pan out. Matt Barzal is locked into a new long term deal, but can they actually get scoring depth around him. Lee and Nelson can. Beauviller is a streaky player and there's questions with Bellows and Wahlstrom and their consistent play. Then there's the Devils, who look like they could be taking steps in the right direction to be a team on the rise. They have Vaneck and Blackwood maning the pipes, and with both guys still young, it gives a lot of hope in net. Subban is gone due to retirement, leaving Hamilton, Smith and Severson as the stalworths on the back end. Up front, Hischier and Hughes are going to be the top dogs for this team for a long time. Add in Palat, Bratt, Sharangovich There's a lot to be hopeful for with this team. Making the biggest splash in the offseason this year was the Blue Jackets. Johnny Gaudreau comes in on a shiny new deal and is going to be worth it and then some. Add in patrik Laine and his potential, along with Jenner and Roslovic and you got something brewing up front in Columbus. Goaltending even looks solid with Merzlikins. Its the blue line and lack of depth that worry. Werenski is fine but after that it's not much to go on. Bringing up the rear are going to be the Flyers. Carter Hart is a solid goalie and will be good for a while in the Philly nets. Tony DeAngelo brought in to help out the back end with Ivan Proverov. Up front, JVR, Hayes, Konecny and Atkinson are going to be carrying the load of a weak team.