We are ready to go with the 2013-2014 season in the NHL and everyone is at 0-0-0. The first question of the season is who do you have winning the Stanley Cup? Will Corey Crawford and the Hawks repeat? Could Sidney Crosby and the Penguins get back to the top of the mountain? Will the Bruins get to the finals for the fourth time in five seasons? Can Anze Kopitar and the Kings get back to the promised land?
Or is it time for a new contender to emerge?
Here’s a set of recent odds for each team according to the oddsmakers at Bovada in Las Vegas.
Chicago 6-1
Pittsburgh 15-2
Boston, LA, St. Louis 12-1
Detroit, Vancouver 16-1
San Jose, Toronto 18-1
Edmonton, NY Rangers, Ottawa 20-1
Minnesota, Philadelphia 22-1
Anaheim, Washington 25-1
Montreal 28-1
NY Islanders, Tampa Bay 33-1
Carolina, Columbus, Dallas 40-1
Colorado,Nashville, New Jersey 50-1
Phoenix, Winnipeg 66-1
Buffalo, Calgary 100-1
Florida 150-1
Here’s my thought. Chicago is the favorite and I can see why that is. They won it last season and were able to keep their team together for another run. But they won’t repeat.
My pick is the Los Angeles Kings to win the Cup. The last time we played a full 82-game season they took the whole thing. They were one of those teams that was able to turn it on at the right time and rode a big wave of momentum all the way through the playoffs. They dispatched early-round foes quickly in the playoffs. I like the make-up of their team from top to bottom and the goaltending has been solid.
I won’t be surprised to see Detroit come out of the Eastern Conference. Since they moved, it cuts down on their travel which will hep keep them fresh at the end of the season. They also fall into a division with Tampa Bay and Florida and that should make it easier for them to get wins.
Leave your pick in the comments below. We’ll also post a daily question for the first week to get everyone warmed up early in the season. Tomorrow, we’ll take our first guess at the fantasy Art Ross. Who will be the top scorer in fantasy this coming season?
I have to agree with you. As good as Chicago is I don’t see them repeating, its just too tough to do. LA has the talent, they’ve done it recently, and they almost did it last year. The next closest team I see as St Louis but, I don’t think they’re ready to win it all yet, maybe next year. So LA it is for me too.
I like the Kings for those reasons. The full length season makes it different than last time. They should be able to get a playoff spot and try for home ice which was great for them the last couple seasons.
I actually like San Jose this year. I think they have a good mix of old and young, offense and defense, and enough talent to get it done. Especially if Torres and Havlat are able to contribute whenever they get back. I also think they don’t have as much pressure on them, which is normally their bugaboo.
Torres is a guy who will either help you a bunch or do something dumb like he did in Phoenix. Niemi also gives the team a lot of stability between the pipes so coaches can focus on the other units.
you’re list only has 29 teams on it. who’s missing?
I recounted and got all 30.
anybody that wants in on a late start 14 team H2H each category with extra cats added (blocks/hits/faceoffs/short handed and power play pts). URL http://hockey.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/missed5days. Email Jason at [email protected]. thanks. free league.
@goodfold2: draft for this league is this SAT at 9:00 Pm eastern. 25 man rosters.
would you drop either pavelski or blake wheeler for grabovski? im in a 13 team points league where there is no bench. since each transaction costs me money i need to be real careful about my adds and drops. thanks.
I would hold steady especially since it costs $$$ to make a move. (I’m not a big fan of those leagues FWIW.) I think Wheeler had a good season last season in Winnipeg and Paveslki should be productive this season. I don’t see it being worth it to make a move after we’ve seen 3 of 1,230 games in the NHL season. Hold steady and remember to balance the financial situation across the next six months.
@Andrew Nordmeier: for sure and I don’t like leagues like that either but only league got going right now for money, did want to ask as well about Seth jones and Sami vatanen, I have hedman and Faulk on the back end of my d and these guys r sitting on fa, in a league that only counts assists and goals. Do you think those 2 could have more value? Thanks
Jones looks to have stuck with the big team in Nashville. Knowing that, I would consider adding him on your roster. He also has a pair of former Norris Trophy finalists in Shea Weber and Ryan Suter to help mentor him. It looks like a nice situation for that rookie who turns 19 on opening night. Even moreso in dynasty formats.
Vatanen has to make the club and stay with it for him to have the value you want to see. Anaheim is without Sheldon Souray until around 1st of the year with a torn ligament in his right wrist.
I would go with Jones over Vatanen right now. Hedman likely won’t get you more than 20 points this season. Faulk might get you a few more than Hedman. So I would drop Hedman and get Jones. It’s the safest play out of the options given and I could see Jones getting some time on the power play.
@Andrew Nordmeier:
I don’t think that ryan Suter is going to be doing too much mentoring from minnesota
That’s true. It’s been one of those days when the brain is in neutral and the hands are in drive.
I had Grabovski (WAS – C) on my watch list and if I had 1 more bench spot, woulda drafted him. After his game last night it looks like he has some nice chemistry on that impressive pp line. Should I drop one of my players to scoop him up before someone else does? Here’s my roster:
C: Stamkos
C: Kadri
LW: Couture (C/LW)
LW: Ladd
RW: Perry
RW: Hossa
D: Subban
D: Weber
D: Voynov
D: McDonagh
UTL: van Riemsdyk (LW)
G: Mike Smith, Luongo, Lehtnon
Bn: Hartnel (LW), Koivu (C), Perron (LW), Alfredsson (RW)
I’d consider dropping Alfredsson in this case. I’d rather have the younger guy on the roster than the 40-year old Swede. Perron would also merit drop consideration too if you want to keep the veteran instead.
Greetings!
I like the Leafs to win it all of course!
Anyway, impressive NHL debut by Jacob Trouba last night for the Jets… I’m intreagued. I own Dougie Hamilton… what do you think about dropping Dougie for Trouba?
Trouba was a pleasant surprise last night. Not because of the points but because of the ice time. He led the Jets with 25:02 last night which was more than Byfuglien (24:09) and Enstrom (23:27). My gut feeling says this guy could become even more valuable if Buff or Enstrom get hurt. I like that he also got 2:59 on the PP last night so he could go out with either of those other two D-men. I’d buy him and drop Dougie for it.
Like Frolik over Johansson this year? Also Trouba over Leddy and or Garrison?
I like Frolik over Johansson. Last night showed what the Jets are capable of and Frolik looks to be a solid part of it. Johansson (and I’m assuming it’s the Columbus winger here) has some issues with being committed to the game. He wound up getting benched in the second round of the playoffs last season at Springfield. He had a solid first few games and then went off the charts on the wrong end. Hopefully he can keep it all together at the NHL level but I won’t be surprised if he gets sent down to the AHL for a while sometime this season. Source
But I’d take Scarlett Johanson over Frolik any day of the week.
Trouba (mentioned below) looks like he’s worked his way into the lineup and picked up a good chunk of time on the PP last night (2:59). Garrison is in a better situation in Vancouver with the talent around him. He also has been practicing with the top power play unit so that should give him more value. Leddy is going to have to find a way to instill confidence in Quenneville. The Big Q lost confidence in Leddy as the playoffs wore on. I think Leddy should start out strong but has the burden of having to prove it every night.
In short, Garrison>Trouba>Leddy.
Ottawa will sneak up and take home the Cup this year. “Sneak” only because no one likes to talk about em much – not that the experts dont see they have a real good chance.
I think the Sens will be a team that can go a couple rounds deep in the playoffs. But can they get over the hump and make it into the Finals?
I want to believe that once the Rangers figure out Alain Vignault’s system, it could be all systems go. They have the pieces in place to do it. I’m just a little nervous that the King is so used to Tort’s collapsing D in front that he starts letting some easy ones by him.
Fantasy-wise, i’m in a dynasty keeper league and i nabbed Nichushkin and Tarasenko with late round picks. What do you anticipate from each? I know Tarasenko is on the better team and had a little success last year, but Nichushkin seems like the real deal.
That becomes a concern with the way the D-men were used in Vancouver. We’ll have to see how it all plays out once we get a few games under each team’s belt. Speculating now about what a team will do all season is like trying to guess what will happen with an NFL team after the first quarter of the first game.
I like the idea of Nichushkin. He’s had a couple flashes of brilliance in the preseason and looks like he will be in the NHL for quite a while. I don’t anticipate him being sent down to get more seasoning. Having a grizzled veteran like Ray Whitney on a line with him will help him out quite a bit. I’d try Nichushkin for now but it’s narrow over Tarasenko.