2023 Way Way Way Too Early Top 10

Nice. Good list.

(harder question....who is getting these picks?)

Michkov has to go number 2 even tho he has the KHL contract, he’s too good not to go 2

Wayyyy too early guess:
-Arizona
-Seattle: Floor probably raises a bit, but that d-core and the lack of depth on the roster is a big 'ol yikes.
-Buffalo: *Should* improve with their young guys coming in, but there's a lotta holes in that roster, and I don't know if they'll be ready to overpay for a couple of UFA's yet.
-Ottawa: Hard to imagine with all of the young talent that they won't be better, but Florida, Tampa, Boston and Toronto will beat the heck out of them for a bit.
-Chicago: It's gonna be bad.
-San Jose: They're doing pretty well right now, but their goal diff/aging D-core/questionable goaltending probably makes them a lotto team again, especially if Hertl is gone.
-Montreal: They had below average goaltending *before* Price was out. Being a year older isn't going to help.
-Anaheim (F**K!): If they can't wrap up Hampus, and lose those 3 (Rakell/Manson) for nothing while chasing down a wildcard spot, it's gonna be trouble. Lots of cap space, but not really a lot of UFA's that actually fit the bill.
-Philly: Could lose 5 of 8 d-men currently on their roster to free agency (Which probably isn't a bad thing...). Some good prospects, but it's a shame that they're not helping Carter Hart.
-Vancouver: Too much money tied up into a $hit D-core. With them, Anaheim and San Jose all coming from the Pacific, I'm guessing 1 will overachieve, and the other two will $hit the bed.

Wildcard lotto team: Dallas Stars. Good farm, aging lineup. Boom or bust in a tough division.

I am with you on a lot of these. I think Ottawa lifts up out of that bottom tier soon. Young team and about to add Jake Sanderson, who could be a top-pair guy in a year. Also, Ducks may lose a free agent or two, but they have pipeline to full holes (and maybe Comtois bounceback). I don't think they will fall. I am much more negative on Vancouver and Philly...I think both orgs seem lost and probably need to go through strip-in-down rebuild.

Here is a guess of lottery-eligible (non-playoff) teams

1. Arizona
2. Seattle
3. Vancouver
4. Philadelphia
5. Chicago
6. Dallas
7. San Jose
8. Buffalo
9. NY Islanders
10. Ottawa
11. Columbus
12. Montreal
13. Anaheim
14. New Jersey
15. Detroit
16. Winnipeg

I feel like Ottawa (and Buffalo for that matter) are teams that are going to struggle to attract the top end free agent talent that will be required to take a leap forward. Ottawa has a ton of trade chips though, which could absolutely help, but I'll always question Melnyk's willingness to spend. Both teams need to improve between the pipes, and while they both have a couple of intriguing youngsters, none of them seem ready to take that kind of workload yet. Weird prediction-Jack Campbell ends up in Buffalo.

Philly just seems like the type of organization that will continue to lather, rinse and repeat...similar to someone like Edmonton...get some good young guys developed, and fill the roster with overpriced vets.

Will be curious to see what happens in Van. Elite goaltending, and they *should* score more. Trading Miller and/or Boeser might be the right move to take a 1 season re-tool though.

Swap Fantilli and Michkov and we’re on the exact same page

Yes but it does influence your value in a draft. Even though Michkov is probably a generational talent like Bedard, Fantilli could very well be a franchise talent, that's just how good he is... plus he's a center, with size and a sky high skillset. Michkov also lacks the physical side, he never uses his shoulders...

If i were to choose between them, i would personally go for Fantilli as of now. Just lower risk all around and probably still go away with a player that could have been #1 in many drafts.

i won't !

Cheers

I can't see how Montreal would improve that much. They're also about to sell a few vets... Even if Price returns they'll be bottom 10.

Maybe...still think they have some good players though.

Deluded

Paying Kk 6.5M is deluded.

It’s called a one year offer sheet so we get him and MTL couldn’t afford him, we gonna pay him far less next year

I'd have Ritchie in the Top 10. But other than that my top 10 is very similar.

Matt Wood should get an HM at least.

He's 2nd is points in the BCHL (1st in Pts/GP) AT 16 YEARS OLD!

He'll rise in some rankings by 2023 for sure.

Solid list though.