Laine on the first line

Dog..... Columbus at best is still wildcard with this roster

I think you separate him and johnny at 5v5, top powerplay unit tho

I mean I can easily see them passing wash and pitt, rangers as well if their goalie doesnt turn on god mode again

Rangers top CBJ in everything... Better top 6 scoring, better defense scoring and defense in general, better depth and better goaltending.

Is St. Louis collecting goaltenders now?

You really think you can even get close to the canes and rangers after an abysmal year? You're biased lol

I guess thats your opinion, I would disagree

Im a sabres fan, how can I be biased

I honestly wanst sure where to trade him lol

Pretty sure we keep Korpi and leave Tarasov some more time in Cleveland.

I think "top of the division" is extraordinarily unlikely. But we should at least be competitive.

While I wouldn't argue against any of those really, I don't think it's out of the question for CBJ to finish above the Rangers. New York had a ton go right for them last year. While I mean no disrespect to their impressive roster, Igor had one of the best goaltending seasons in recent history. As good as he is, it's extremely likely the numbers see a fairly big regression (while still being top 3-5 in the league). Same thing with Kreider. He nearly doubled his previous career high in goals. While some of that can be attributed to the overall team improvement, he had an astronomically high shooting % and a total of 30-35 is much more likely.

Some of this stuff can be countered by continued improvement by Laf, Kakko, Miller, ect, but I don't think it's unreasonable to see a drop in their point total, especially considering how much many other east teams have improved (Det, Ott, Cbj specifically)

Then on CBJ's side, the addition of Gaudreau, development/arrival of young talent, and just overall health (Laine, Jenner, Elvis all missed substantial time last year), they could see a big improvement. While the popular opinion is that they probably don't make playoffs yet this year, it's certainly not out of the question, though a division title is certainly a bit of a pipe dream.

I like the analysis. I agree, the Rangers season is going to rely heavily on if Laffy, Kakko, and Kravstov can take the next step. I believe Kreider will have another beast season (maybe not the same) The reason for his success was solely on how Gallant came in and changed how he played Kreider. With the addition of Trocheck, I think it's a much bigger improvement then other fans think (strome was a big product of Panarin). Add in the growth of Miller, Fox, Jones, and Lindgren on D? I think the Rangers finish at least top 2. This roster went through a lot last season and gained a whole lot of experience.

I see Columbus possibly making playoffs but I can't see a dominant year from them just yet. 2023-24 is a different story.