I’m bored (if you could tell from my continued work on my Mediocrity Project) so here’s a quick rundown of how I think each division will shake out by the end of the 2023-24 season.
Atlantic Division
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Florida Panthers
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- Detroit Red Wings
- Boston Bruins
- Buffalo Sabres
- Ottawa Senators
- Montreal Canadiens
There’s no time like the present for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Bruins, now confirmed to be without the services of the retiring Patrice Bergeron, will probably not go gentle into that good night and maybe squeak in a second Wild Card spot, but their descent will pave the way for Toronto to finally take first place in the division. Florida will be in the hunt for a return trip to the Stanley Cup Finals after a Cinderella run this past postseason, and they certainly could wrest the division lead away from the Leafs. Tampa Bay, not quite as far along age-wise as Boston, is still eroding and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them fall to fourth in the division, behind a Detroit team which is finally making a serious push back to relevance. Buffalo likely remains out of the playoff picture as they need their prospects to mature and produce. Ottawa is even less likely to progress given that their best prospects have largely matured already. Montreal is still stuck in rebuild mode for at least another few years.
Metropolitan Division
- Carolina Hurricanes
- New Jersey Devils
- New York Rangers
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- New York Islanders
- Washington Capitals
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Philadelphia Flyers
You could swap Carolina and New Jersey and I wouldn’t argue; either way, they have the stranglehold on the top two for now. The Rangers seem to have plateaued, which might have something to do with the fact that their 1-2 punch (that is, overall selections) of Alexis Lafreniere and Kappo Kaako are not nearly as productive as they need to be. I’m sticking Pittsburgh in fourth for now regardless of whether they acquire Erik Karlsson, but maybe they could squeak past the Rangers? The Islanders are an enigma up to the point where you can be sure they’re not going away any time soon. Washington’s headed for a rebuild, Columbus is young and stocking up for the future, Philadelphia is young but is still years from their rebuild being finished.
Central Division
- Dallas Stars
- Minnesota Wild
- Colorado Avalanche
- St. Louis Blues
- Nashville Predators
- Winnipeg Jets
- Arizona Coyotes
- Chicago Blackhawks
The Stars seem to have reinforced themselves enough to push into first in the division. Minnesota’s an older team, but their prospect pool is one of the League’s best and if they’re not going to make an impact this year it will be very soon. Colorado continues its decline after winning the Cup two seasons ago, but luckily for them the rest of the division is not very strong nor close to turning things around soon. St. Louis is not in a great position right now, which is fine since there’s still some glow from their Cup four years ago, but they are not long for a rebuild. Same story with Nashville, who may eclipse St. Louis and make the playoffs if they can stay healthy. Winnipeg is stuck in a tough spot and in dire need of a reset. Arizona and Chicago are rebuilding.
Pacific Division
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Edmonton Oilers
- Los Angeles Kings
- Calgary Flames
- Seattle Kraken
- Vancouver Canucks
- San Jose Sharks
- Anaheim Ducks
Edmonton added Connor Brown in the offseason, but until the Oilers can get more from their depth forwards, they will have a hard time eclipsing the defending champion Golden Knights. Los Angeles is going to need their young guys to produce sufficiently to replace all of their departures, but adding Pierre-Luc Dubois will be a big help. Calgary is stuck and may be much more disappointing than I think. Conversely, Seattle may surprise and flip with Calgary if their young guys improve more than expected. Vancouver can hope to catch both of the teams ahead of them, but only if everything falls their way. San Jose is headed to rebuild town, while Anaheim’s still has a couple years to go.
