If you believe the Leafs will make the playoffs then what team(s) will not?
Here is the 2010 Eastern Conference Regular Season Standings.
EASTERN DIV GP W L OT PTS
1 Z-WASHINGTON SE 82 48 23 11 107 IMPROVED
2 Y-PHILADELPHIA ATL 82 47 23 12 106 DECLINED
3 Y-BOSTON NE 82 46 25 11 103 SAME
4 X-PITTSBURGH ATL 82 49 25 8 106 IMPROVED++
5 X-TAMPA BAY SE 82 46 25 11 103 SAME
6 X-MONTRÉAL NE 82 44 30 8 96 SAME
7 X-BUFFALO NE 82 43 29 10 96 IMPROVED++
8 X-NY RANGERS ATL 82 44 33 5 93 IMPROVED+
9 CAROLINA SE 82 40 31 11 91 SAME
10 TORONTO NE 82 37 34 11 85 IMPROVED+
11 NEW JERSEY ATL 82 38 39 5 81 IMPROVED++
12 ATLANTA SE 82 34 36 12 80 SAME
13 OTTAWA NE 82 32 40 10 74 SAME
14 NY ISLANDERS ATL 82 30 39 13 73 SAME
15 FLORIDA SE 82 30 40 12 72 SAME
- Washington has added goaltending depth that could see them go far next year. Playoff bound? YES
- Philadelphia got younger and added goaltending. This may be a year where the teams needs to fail in order to succeed. Chances are they will drop in the standings but should still make the playoffs. Playoff bound? YES
- Boston. Stanley Cup Champs. Will they have the desire to repeat or suffer the curse of the Stanley Cup and miss the playoffs? Boston is a young team and have managed to keep most of their players. I see no reason why they should not make the playoffs. Playoffs? YES
- Pittsburgh. With a healthy Crosby, Malkin and Stall the sky is the limit. Without Crosby and Malkin the team still made the playoffs. Playoffs? YES
- Tampa Bay. A surprise team for sure. Stamkos will be back. Losing Gagne and Bergenheim will hurt but were not considered core pieces. Tampa plays with good team defense and can win games on special teams. If Roloson can equal his performance from last season, Tampa Bay will do extremely well. The team is getting older and lacks depth but special teams is the saving grace. Playoffs? Maybe
- Montreal. Losing Wisniewski was offset by getting Markov back. Adding Cole will make up for the loss of Pouliot and Halpern. Losing Hamrlik will allow someone to compete for a spot from within. If Gomez could play to expectations and Eller improves from last season, the Canadiens will improve in the standings. If Price follows up his great season with a poor one, Montreal could be out of the playoffs. This is a contract year for Price. Playoffs? Maybe
- Buffalo. Adding Leino, Ehrhoff, Regehr to any team will make them better. Buffalo was already a young and exciting team. Connolly was lost to FA, but the Sabres can replace his production by committee. Boyes is low on the team depth chart because the team is stacked with talent. If Miller plays average, the Sabres will still make the playoffs. Playoffs? YES
- NY Rangers. Brad Richards will no doubt help this team overall. Parting ways with McCabe, Drury also makes the team better. Losing Gilroy will hurt. Callahan and Dubinsky will get resigned. Keeping Frolov and Prospal would add depth. Lundqvist will continue his spectacular play and keep the Rangers in the hunt. Playoffs? Maybe.
- Carolina. The team got older quickly with the additions of Kaberle and Ponikarovsky. Losing Cole was offset a little by adding Anthony Stewart. Tim Brent adds quality depth. Why are so many ex-Leafs on Carolina? Carolina will have a very hard time to compete for a playoff spot. Playoffs? NO
-New Jersey. Could this be the last season for Martin Brodeur? If not, this is a contract year and if he plans on playing next year he will need to have another outstanding year. Parise will get signed and only solidify the core group of players. This team was light out deadly when all was thought lost they made an unbelievable run for a playoff spot. The team will definitely make a strong case for playoffs. Playoffs? YES
- Toronto. Addressed the need for a center by adding two. Connolly and Lombardi (healthy) add much need depth to the center position. Liles and Frason add more offensive depth to the blueline. Resigning MacArthur guarantees the Leafs have good second line attack. Riemer is believed to be the real deal, and will provide dependable goaltending. Gustavsson could be the dark-horse and outplay Riemer for the starting position. With the improved play from the end of the season and the key additions to the rosters, the Leafs should be more competitive.
Playoffs? Are the Leafs are better than Rangers, Tampa Bay and Montreal? New Jersey will make the playoffs, they are a much better team than the standings show. If Brad Richards is everything he was advertised to be, then the Rangers will surge in the standings and leapfrog over Montreal but not ahead of Tampa Bay, Buffalo or Philadelphia. My belief is that the final playoff spot will be a battle between Montreal, Rangers and Toronto. Do you believe Toronto is a better team than Montreal and the Rangers? With the additions Toronto has made, they put themselves in a position to be better than both. The Rangers and Carolina had rookies who had outstanding seasons but most likely will not be able to repeat in the sophomore season. The Rangers added Richards but lost Drury. Brad Richards will not be the savior people are expecting and will suffer under the intense media scrutiny when his production does not exceed or meet expectations. Montreal did nothing to improve and they were not a bad team to begin with.
2010 Eastern Conference Standings - Final
EASTERN DIV
1 WASHINGTON SE
2 PITTSBURGH ATL
3 BOSTON NE
4 PHILADELPHIA ATL
5 BUFFALO NE
6 TAMPA BAY SE
7 NEW JERSEY ATL
8 TORONTO NE
9 MONTRÉAL NE
10 NY RANGERS ATL
11 WINNIPEG SE
12 CAROLINA SE
13 FLORIDA SE
14 NY ISLANDERS ATL
15 OTTAWA NE
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