S34 Preseason Rankings: Atlantic Division

Welcome to MY opinion on team rankings heading into S34. The following teams will be graded on a 10 point format based on Management Group (0-3) Pre-Bidding Roster (0-2) and Bidding (0-5). I will do 1 division at a time, and these are 100% my thoughts, if you get butthurt for me putting you under the worst contract then just remember it only hurts if it’s true. Prove me wrong if I rated you badly, or just like my post and move along cause why would you care about my opinion anyway. Here goes nothing.

East Atlantic

Boston Bruins

Management Group: @PureRippin & @ka2good - Rippin continues his run as management for his 4th consecutive season and 1st without Tb Toxic. He brings in S32 cup champion Ka2, forming a strong duo on both ends of the ice. Both these players managed in S33 and successfully made the playoffs, only to get knocked out in R1. I expect this tandem to build a solid team and have strong individual stats this season. (2.5/3)

Returning Roster: Rippin brings 4 players with him to Boston via the team swap, 2 defencemen (@Neomop & @FiBERSTiCK [Resign]) and 2 forwards (@iAMoee [Trade] & @DeLong x 22). Mop & Fiber both played under Rip last season and had 16 and 17 wins respectively. A combined 4.25 for two 2nd pair guys is great to have pre-bidding and allows you to focus elsewhere. Moe gets traded (back to Boston technically) and we've seen in the past what he can contribute when put with the right players, and is still on a steal of a contract at 1.75, Delong comes in at 7 million and has won 17+ games each of the last 4 seasons he has played and would probably have gone for 7 million or more in bidding. (2/2)

Bidding: The Bruins organization won a total of 11 players in bidding and built a well-rounded team with a stacked D core. Not only did they have Ka2 for free and Neo/Fiber under contract but they won @Sokastr7 for a cheap 1.5 million and then spent another combined 8.5 on @Redmile89 & @Optehic, this should compete to be one of the best D cores in the league and with @drally20 in net I expect them to be top 5 for lowest goals against this season. Their forward core is good, not great and I think they could have done better on the wings, @KEAPPS & @Dr Tre 2001 will be key contributors down the middle of the ice for Boston this season. (4/5)

Best Contract: @Sokastr7 (RD) $1,500,000 - S33: 13-9-1 25P (Sok is on a great contract, and somehow went for less than his draft contract even tho he won 19 games and a cup in his rookie season. Not to mention he's back on a Ka2 run team again, who just so happens to be his cousin and will ensure he succeeds)

Worst Contract: @lBeLiEvEJESUSl (LW) $1,250,000 - S33: 14-5-1 23P (D) (Believe is the worst contract on this team cause he's a D man moving to forward for the first time and has a career record of 1-4-1 at it in ESHL. Like many others, this is the worst contract and a well-built team, so don't take it to the heart)

Rating: 8.5/10


Buffalo Sabres

Management Group: @At43 & @BlueLineKing7 - Tanaka returns to Buffalo for the 7th straight season, and grabs former Devils D Man BLK for S34. In his past 6 seasons, Tanaka made playoffs only twice, and in NHL19 as a whole, he himself only won 28 games over a 3 season span. BLK has been a common trade deadline acquisition for playoff teams the past 2 seasons, finishing a tad below .500 on his NHL 19 record. 2 guys who consistently hover around the .500 line screams no to me. (.5/3)

Returning Roster: The Sabres had multiple players returning from S33, including @hTz iNasty, @JACKIExCHAN & @honesrule who were apart of the miracle run to playoffs last season. They also bolstered up in the offseason bringing in @JiggleJuiice, @l Bossy l x 22 & @T Jenx. Nasty played insane for them last season going 8-2-2 with almost a 3ppg, Jackie is one of the best in the business and Bossy is a solid contract at 500k. The other 3 players come in around value. (1/2)

Bidding: Buffalo only had to win 9 players in bidding, and came out swinging hoping to replace what Dan left behind by scooping up @TheGreatMP7 for 8.25 after a 16 win 67 point season. They won @Bushook for another 2.5 million who last time out won 17 games in S32 and PSNer @HazeeHype for another 2.75 million who won 20 games the same season. @AEC Ghay Cav was won in bidding for a large 2 million, who comes back to the team after helping them to the playoffs last season. Their highest-paid D is @Azkika who went for 3.75 and hopes to find some stability after an S33 which seen him be traded 4 times. The thing that stands out on this team is the goaltending, they had Jackie pre-bidding and went out and got @l HEDWIG l who's good enough to start for a steal of 500k. I expect their Goalies to be put to the test this season. (3/5)

Best Contract: @l HEDWIG l (G) $500,000 - S33: N/A (Dumpit has the skill to start in the NHL and is on a 500k contract, 2 good G's gives Buffalo some stability from the back on any given night and it's always great to have your backup able to steal games, instead of costing them)

Worst Contract: @Azkika (LD) $3,750,000 - S33: 11-9-3 15P (Az used to be a good top 4 guy, and still potentially has the skill to do it. But he was only 500k more last season and was traded 4 different times. I don't think it's an awful contract, just not a good one)

Rating: 4.5/10


Detroit Red Wings

Management Group: @CaLL Me Jakoo & @Odieeeeee - Jak & Odie come back as a duo for a 4th season and their first together off of Anaheim. This is one of the best-skilled management duos in the league, as both players are among the best in the league at their position. Guaranteed playoff team every season, and much like LA probable cup contender. (3/3)

Returning Roster: The Wings had 4 players remaining under contract going into S34. @BTW8892 returns for 500k after a 14 win 50 point season, and i'd assume he'd be more than 500k in bidding. @lVlr T 16 comes back at 1.5 after an around .500 season. @Professor_Merana is back again as well after a 19 win season for only 3 million this is a great contract and will fit back into the first or 2nd line D pair like last season. The real steal on this team is, of course, @NotKosmicEA, how many people can have a legit skilled enough guy at 750k who can play on your game 7 line. This has been and continues to be one of the best contracts in the league. (2/2)

Bidding: Detroit won a total of 11 players via bidding, and built a great 2 line team, and solid 3 line team. Not often do you win a guy at 6 million and have it be considered a potential steal, but the Wings did just that with @NeNe who gives them 2 of the best RDs in the LGHL. They also won 2 big forwards in @EthanF74 and Jak linemate @Girgss for a combined 12.5 million, this team is down the right side. @I shaun l for another 2 million allows them some chemistry on their 2nd line between him and Ethan. This team is also solid in net with @o S m i i t t y and @Tex243, but they certainly paid for them putting 3.25 into the position. This team may be strong on the right side but looks a little weak on the left side. @l King Kaner l, @landerx92, and @AJ Hendricks look like early-season trade candidates to me, but their contracts are cheap so expectations should be low. (4/5)

Best Contract: @Tex243 (G) $1,000,000 - S33: N/A (Tex is good enough to be a starting goalie in this league and to get him for 1 million is a great deal. It also helps they grabbed Smitty for 2.25 and if he faults down the stretch their backup is good enough to start)

Worst Contract: @AJ Hendricks (LD) $1,000,000 - S33: N/A (No clue who this guy is or why he went for a million, exactly .500 in his past 2 seasons in the AHL and a -19 rating. Looks like a 500k guy at best, this isn't S24)

Rating: (9/10)


Florida Panthers

Management Group: @Dangs92 & @Kev l97l - Dangs takes over for Poopie Snoopie after back to back seasons on the Ducks. Dangs has been on a great contract for the past 3 seasons and played well above his salary. He'll now look to remove the "carried" tag from his name and hopes the team is as good as the weather. He brings in @Kev l97l as his GM who is 55-57 all-time, his stats in ESHL are much better which probably means he'll have a good season if put with the right people, but as a free contract you usually get to choose those people. (2/3)

Returning Roster: @l1l Bones l3l comes to Florida via trade and hopes to continue his run from last season which saw him win above 70% of his games. Bones is easily worth the 6.75, he's a big game goal scorer, and always shows up when it matters. @Duchesne x10 comes in at 500k and I'm not sure why his contract wasn't dropped. (1/2)

Bidding: The Panthers won 13 guys in bidding, and although some was good, I'm not sure if they trolled with some of the bids, or actually thought they were doing well. They literally opened up bidding bringing back @POOPIE SNOOPY but as a goalie.. then followed it up with @SpectreGaming x & @Pattelite which spells disaster if paired together on L3. They overpaid for @Karma I2I & @Makar x 16 to pair with Kev and spent another 6 million on @White_Knucklerz and 9 on @Jemima and although they may be worth it, majority of this team is cheap 3rd liners or AHL guys. Patt - Spectre - Poopie.. you really can't make this shit up bro. (1.5/5)

Best Contract: @Ducksfanwaterloo (LW) $750,000 - S33: N/A (Ducks is a solid PSNer who made the move to Xbox is S32 and put up a 16 win season. He's a solid contributor who knows how to score goals)

Worst Contract: Too many to choose from. I can't make up my mind.

Rating: 4.5/10


Montreal Canadians

Management Group: @Stifmeister x 7 & @Gabseh - Stif takes over the Canadians from Karmuh who moves to Washington, but Gabseh stays. Questionable considering the chemistry between Karmuh/Gabseh and how long they've been playing together. But Stif is one of the best goalscorers in LG history and no matter what team he's on and who he plays with he's a gamechanger. As to my knowledge both, these guys are usually GMs of teams, and we'll now see how they fair together as a duo. (2.5/3)

Returning Roster: Le Canadiens retain 5 players for S33, 2 forwards in @rG Breezyy & @Arseno I94I
come back on team-friendly contracts. It'll be interesting to see Breezy without Lorenzo for the first time in a while, but with or without him, Breezy at 3M is a steal. Arseno had a 13 win 40 point outing last season and plays to his contract. @Gladulov @Dualtz @Mxtayer all return to the D core and none won less than 15 games last season. For a combined 9 million these guys will surely be 3/4 of the top 4 and ensure a good D core come season time. (1.5/2)

Bidding: Montreal won 10 players in bidding and did decently. @Tb ToXiC surprisingly went for 6 million coming off a 10 win 30 point season, Montreal is betting big on him refinding his S31 form. Their other big acquisition was @Dups77 (This time on D) who'll surely line up behind Stif on most nights of the season. They won a few other depth bids like @trevwings, @Breaky, @Duky & @Modemizer and outside of goaltending only have 1 500k player on the roster. This team's goaltending tandem is a toss-up on any given night with former D man @I HDC I and backup @I PowerPak I. (3/5)

Best Contract: @Breaky (RW) $1,750,000 - S33: 16-8-3 57P (Breaky won 16 games twice in the NHL 19 life cycle, he's a solid 2-way player that can move up and down the lineup and contribute on any line he is on)

Worst Contract: @Duky (C) $1,000,000 - S33: 12-12-2 31P (Average 3rd liner, hovers around the .500 30 point mark. Could have got someone for 500k cheaper, not the end of the world)

Rating: 7/10


Ottawa Senators

Management Group: @General Jobo & @Cheekz Magundee - Jobo and Semp take over Ottawa (formerly known as Boston) for S34. Jobo is a first time owner in LGHL, and the last time Semp managed he quit the league after a poor start (idk the reason). These guys have played together multiple times in the past and won a Calder Cup together in S32. Semp is someone who has won in every league he has ever played in, he even has a S31 Stanley Cup to his credit. This duo could potentially surprise this season. (1.5/3)

Returning Roster: @Meestah Don & @x PAPI GONZALEZ both got traded to Ottawa in the offseason. Meestah comes in at 1.5 million and probably would have gone between 1-1.5 in bidding so the contract comes in close to his value. Papi is someone who has played on the Buffalo team with Jobo in the past and was one of the best players on the team every season. He played under Tanaka 3 times and made the playoffs twice, all 3 seasons he had 55+ points and secured their team a lot of points. His contract comes in at 4 million, and he'd probably have gone for 4+ in bidding, this is a good contract. (1/2)

Bidding: Ottawa won 13 players in bidding and it's quite a few AHLers moving up. They began bidding with the west coast AHL gods @KSPx11 & @Averageboy who haven't really transitioned well into the NHL so far, but for 500k 10+ wins is certainly doable. They grabbed another duo in @Landamov & @Mxckie for 1.5 combined and spent huge on @x4thLine & @Scumbag Jared (12.25). @Fatal I72I comes in heavy at 5 million and they didn't really do much after that with this D. This team is built around 3 different duos and will rely heavily on chemistry. Every one of these lines can win them games. (3.5/5)

Best Contract: @Mxckie (C) $500,000 - S33: N/A (Mackie may not have the best NHL stats, but he has been one of the top AHLers over the past who knows how many seasons. Not to mention he's put with longtime linemate Landamov, he's in a position to succeed)

Worst Contract: @Doanxr (RD) $2,250,000 - S33: 11-9-0 7P (.500 player, 3rd line at best. 1.75 overpaid, just my opinion tho)

Rating: 6/10


Tampa Bay Lightning

Management Group: @Lingross & @Auggy98 - Linger and Auggy take over the Lightning from Dev this season and hope to replicate some of the same success. Linger is coming off his worst statistical season ever, but his bio says all you need to know "2x Eddie Shore Winner, S28 Calder Cup Champion, S29 & S31 Stanley Cup Champion." The guys just a winner. So is Auggy, whether at C or D he's a great player, who himself won Lord Stanley on that same S29 team with Linger and would have gone for free contract type of money in bidding. Like a few other teams, this is 2 guys who can play anywhere in the top 4, the difference is they offer an elite party presence. (2.5/3)

Returning Roster: N/A (No S33 players under contract)

Bidding: Tampa won a full roster in bidding of 15 players. With 2 free contracts on D, you'd expect Tampa to spend heavy on forwards, but they did the opposite. They spent a combined 13.75 million on @Dumba x 55 & @xW 4 R D, this team definitely has one of the better top 4's in the league post bidding. @MattakaTiny2 comes in to tend the pipes after 2 spectacular AHL seasons. The lightning did bring in some other S29 cup winners in @IlFox & @Lyons x 63 and hope the chemistry is still there for a cup run of their own. @Firmino_x_9 (Stastny) comes in at 2.75 just like Lyons and probably rounds out that line to go with Linger and Auggy. This forward core lacks depth and will rely heavily on their D to win games. (3/5)

Best Contract: @Lyons x 63 (RW) $2,750,000 - S33: N/A (3 seasons in the NHL, 2 Stanley cups. Also Linger's best friend, this line is built around chemistry and Lyons is the key piece)

Worst Contract: @l Ringy l97l (C) $3,750,000 - S33: 4-11-3 36P (almost a million per win last season lol)

Rating: 5.5/8


Toronto Maple Leafs

Management Group: @DDW4 & @Arctic Blur - Devin and Blur take over the best IRL team in the world from me. As previously mentioned they managed Tampa last season and were sadly eliminated in the Stanley Cup Finals to Edmonton. Blur is one of the better two way C's in the game, and Devin finally makes the switch back to D where he used to be, and probably still is one of the best LD's in the game. Two great players, and a great management duo, I have worked with Devin in the past and know how easy he is to get along with. Guaranteed playoff team, probable cup contender. (3/3)

Returning Roster: The Leafs had 6 players from S33 rosters going into bidding, including @Cc o s i n e 18 via trade, @Wesley Snip3zzz via resign and 4 others from the S33 Leafs roster (@T R I C K x9 @BlamelessmeanQc @Colonel20 @Hart x l79l) Cosine moved from team to team last season and still managed to pop 31 goals in a game where scoring was harder, scoring comes much easier this year and this guy can drive the net. Wes is a dominant 2 way player on a steal of a contract at 1.75, he's been top in takeaways and hits for forwards the past 3 seasons and has two 20 win seasons under his belt, moving to C this season he could be in the running for the Selke. Trick and Colonel were key contributors to the Leafs last season and play to the value of their contracts, while Blame is a steal at 500k and a solid 2-way defenceman that can play in the bottom 4. Not often do you have a Vezina nominee/Calder nominee for 750k like the Leafs do in Hart but this is another great contract, among the best in the league. (2/2)

Bidding: Toronto only won 9 bids this season, and came out gunning with a winning bid of 10 million on @SoY LoS 19 and another 8.25 on @Shockz. These guys play together each and every season, and with Blur centering them I expect nothing less than 20 wins from what appears to be a stacked top line. While @Joorrdan comes in at a solid 1 million, and @Chr1s for 2.5 the rest of the team is pretty cheap and somewhat questionable. The 3rd line is a mix and match of 500k guys who have moved up and down from the NHL/AHL. @ll Orr ll could turn out to be a steal tho if put into the right situation. The other question mark from me is @shutthegate for 1.5 million when you have a Vezina nominee for 750k, why spend 1.5 on another goalie? The money could have been used to help the 3rd line. (4/5)

Best Contract: @Shockz (LW) $8,250,000 - S33: 19-6-3 31P (D) (8.25 seems like a lot for a "best contract" but Shockz is a game-changer and will unite with Blur and Los on the top line, that on paper is probably the best first-line forward group in the league)

Worst Contract: @shutthegate (G) $1,500,000 - S33: N/A (Shut is a good goalie, but he had a mediocre S32 his last time out, and his ESHL numbers are bad so far in NHL 20. Shut may be worth 1.5 million on some team, but to a team with a 750k Vezina nominee on it, I just don't like the contract)

Rating: 9/10


Final Rankings:
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(Note: Best/Worst contracts are made up of players won in bidding only)

 

no love for powerpak ouch

 

depth player here

 

Gilbzey u are sleeping on my talent like 75% of this league i'm a game changer in chel 20 i can take over a game by my self easy.

 

Still manage to have 2 ppg with poopie’s team Good to know that I’m the worst contract I’ll prove u wrong good writeup too

 

I am flattered.

 

Nice write up Gilbz

 

Wangz

 

Let’s go baby, low expectations means I can’t let anyone down

 

“ Best Contract: @Lyons x 63 (RW) $2,750,000 - S33: N/A (3 seasons in the NHL, 2 Stanley cups. Also Linger's best friend, this line is built around chemistry and Lyons is the key piece)”

Lingers best friend?? LOL

 

Yeah sorry Landy, you’ve been replaced

 

Good looks g, I hope you do prove me wrong!

 

Love u Patt! Don’t report your gm this szn tho. Total vibe killer

 

i said i was sorry about that and i got it reversed.

 

Best line in hockey @IlFox @Lyons x 63

 

Thank you for the kind words

 

Oh no am I getting traded jakoo???

 

Appreciate the shout good write up man

 

Great write up gilbz