S36 Preseason Eastern Conference Power Rankings Luigi and I will be posting an Eastern and Western Conference Preseason Power Rankings. My preseason rankings are based on current rosters and managers priors seasons success Metropolitan Division 1) New Jersey Devils - @TheHeroicDuck is back for S36, and he's bringing back a loaded roster. This team has really good depth and is stacked with top-end talent. They should be one of the favorites to win the President's Trophy. My only concern with this team would be the lingering effects of the Phantoms fallout. They also boast a nasty game 7 line @Twistafied @McFleuryyy @Groulxz @TheHeroicDuck @Sleemn and @Rainz5580 and have the reigning Selke winner @RGDeded 2) Philadelphia Flyers - I don't care what anyone says, but you can't deny the fact that @Melvin x 94 and @JJr build regular season powerhouse teams. Everything fell into place for these guys right away. They bring in @xW 4 R D as GM, @JJr is on a great contract, they steal @Whiiiitee in a trade, @Forbz Eh falls into their laps at 2, and they crushed bidding. I wouldn't be surprised at all if these guys win the division and President's Trophy. It would be @Melvin x 94 's 4th President's Trophy. Playoffs are another story; I will save that for another time. In the meantime, Philly is no joke. They had a great offseason. 3) Carolina Hurricanes - @JClaus33 is back for another run, and he's looking to make it three consecutive finals appearances. This current S36 team has me a little worried about the regular season. On paper, they seem to be top-heavy, but those top players are as good as you can get. @Moran l19l is jumping to the Xbox side and will be a pretty big x-factor for Carolina this season. The regular season doesn't mean much to these guys; as long as they get into playoffs, they are a threat to win the cup. East Atlantic 1) Tampa Bay Lightning - @Arctic Blur and @Hxndry take over Tampa, and they have built a really strong team heading into S36. The forward core is stacked with a lot of top-end talent and depth. The Defense might not have any ESHL elites, but they have a lot of capable guys on really good contracts. These guys should win the division. 2) Toronto Maple Leafs - @PureRippin is back and bringing along his partner in crime @SoY LoS 19. This team looks like it will be 3 lines deep with plenty of firepower to compete with Tampa all season. The defense, like Tampa, doesn't boast any ESHL elites, but again it's capable of shouldering the load. 3) Florida Panthers - @iTz x Luigi x is one of the best managers in LG and is finally a Panther after 7 seasons. They did well in bidding and brought back a lot of familiar faces from Seattle and prior teams. @Heroiism98 at 8m is a large price to pay, but he's one of the best forwards in the game. Right now he looks like the only game 7 forward on the roster. Overall, they have three solid lines that will give them a chance to win every night. That usually leads to a very good regular season. They have 4.5m in cap they will need to use wisely in order to compete with other playoff teams in the east. #coreymac4rocket Wild Cards 7) Ottawa Senators - They followed the Chicago Blackhawks model with 2 free contracts on D, @x TERRY x 77 and @Paradis-7117, who are two really good defensemen. No surprise here that the roster is made up of mostly Qc guys. Unfortunately, they had a player removed with a capital ban right after bidding, and that knocked them down my rankings a bit. They have 7m in cap. If they can turn that into a solid player or two, these guys will push to be in the top 3 of the division. 8) Pittsburgh Penguins - Say what you want about @KovaIchuk x 17 and @Beaudy x 91 ,but they are a lock for 20+ wins. I don't care who they play or if they scrub hunt, but they will earn enough points for their team to be in a playoff spot. If the 2nd and 3rd line can win a combined 22-23 games, they will be a lock for playoffs. Bubble Teams 9) Detroit Redwings - @ICExCREAMxTRUCK and @NotKosmicEA did well for a team with limited assets coming into the off-season. They struck gold by winning the draft lottery and drafting @HNZ Prince 1st overall. They picked up a few really good contracts in bidding including @OFs for 4.5m and @MIKE x SCOTT for 500k. They have a few lines built off chemistry that will be competitive. Overall, ICT built a good team that will be in a playoff spot if Pittsburgh or Ottawa slip. 10) Montreal Canadiens - @l3l Ray l8l also came into S36 with limited assets, but was able to put together a pretty solid team through bidding. @Ethan x 97 and @Xx LoL xX 9 will be a solid 1st line followed by @Zarvek and @IVIAMADOU anchoring the 2nd line. @ChelSnipes is an absolute freak in net and will give these guys a chance to win every game he plays. Ray is 2-3 moves away from turning this team from a bubble team into a playoff team. Outside Looking in 11) Washington Capitals - Money Bags @Il VENOMx and sellsword @Burnsy x 95 had an up-and-down preseason. They have a decent D core mixed with a random group of forwards. In my experience, throwing a random group of 5 guys out for 3 games a week never works. They have enough talent to be competitive but not enough to get them into a playoff spot. 12) Buffalo Sabres - I don't know much about the Sabres other than @cj142 is a good guy and @Regs84 is the best NHL player on the planet. I was told by a few guys if we played this season on NHL 14 these guys would win the cup. They have been around for a while, so I expect them to be competitive. 13) New York Islanders - @Dame l13l and @Matt4for4 did a decent job building this team. The @Ix C M xI and @l Hobbs l line will shoulder most of the load for this team. The only way this team will stay competitive throughout the season is if @Dame l13l and @Matt4for4 can pull their own weight as free contracts. 14)Boston Bruins - @TouchMee1069 @Kxv 97 They did a respectable job putting this team together despite having zero assets coming into the season. The top 2 forward lines have enough firepower to keep them in most games. A big issue here is Der panda will miss a big chunk of games due to his availability. The Defense is one of the weaker D cores in LG this season, and I do not know much about the goaltending. Right now they have 10m in cap which is never a good thing. 15) Columbus Blue Jackets - They have a handful of good NHLers; @Koho is on a really good contract. The defense looks underwhelming, and the goaltending looks average. The Jackets should be competitive for most of the season, but these guys don't have enough top-end talent or depth to make a run at a playoff spot. 16)New York Rangers - @Wes3163 is coming off a 7-19-1 season, and @K1eetus hasn't been the same since west coasting has died. @KingClutch x 77 is on a really good contract and will probably be moved sooner than later. This team has a weak D core and doesn't have any Stallions in the stable (@D4D USA quote).
