Which NHL teams can go worst to first?  | NHL Season Preview - video Dailymotion

Peter Klein

Every year in the NHL some teams come out of nowhere to rocket up the standings. Peter Klein gives you the five teams he thinks will make that jump this year.   Apple Pod: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/couch-potato-diary/id1564122189 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3QgazeHcSKSteZbBIubcuM Twitter: twitter.com/primetimeklein IG: instagram.com/primetimeklein Facebook: www.facebook.com/Couchpotatodiary Twitch: twitch.tv/primetimepk Email: couchpotatodiary@yahoo.com We Had No Idea: every Wednesday morning,  instagram.com/wehadnoideapodcast

Transcript

00:00All right, the NHL season is very rapidly approaching.

00:11Preseason games are already underway and so we are getting into the crunch time of it.

00:15And so today, I want to look at the teams that we think can make that jump from worst

00:20to first.

00:21Now, this is different from the, I do this in the NFL, and it's different because there

00:27are eight divisions that we can run through.

00:30And so, you know, you have the choice of one through eight.

00:32But with this, there's four.

00:34And I like to do lists of five.

00:36And so just the math doesn't work.

00:37And so, I have altered it slightly to make it teams that can go from the worst two to

00:43first in their division in the NHL this year.

00:46And so we start at number five.

00:48Oh hey, Soham04, how's it going?

00:52Thanks for popping in today, really appreciate it.

00:54And thanks for the follow.

00:55I really do appreciate that.

00:56Thank you very much.

00:57We're talking some NHL right now.

00:59Teams that have a chance to go from worst two in their division to first in the NHL.

01:04And I'm going to start with the Anaheim Ducks.

01:07They come in at number five.

01:08And they're at five because they are in a difficult division.

01:11It would be slightly miraculous if they were able to pull this off with Vegas in the division,

01:16with Edmonton and Vancouver and the Kings and all of those teams.

01:21Very talented division, be the Pacific.

01:24But I do think when you look at Anaheim, there is a real opportunity here for some

01:29of these kids to finally progress and really work into that role.

01:32We saw on the Flames video game stream what John Gibson is capable of doing.

01:36But they have so many really exciting young pieces.

01:39It just feels like now's the time.

01:41It kind of felt like last year might have been, but injuries really did slow this group

01:44up.

01:45But you now have some very good, very exciting young pieces that can take this jump.

01:51And so if there is a team like that, that is kind of the recipe, right?

01:54Like you have some injury problems.

01:57You have, and honestly, I think some of the young players have kind of outplayed their

02:00stats anyway.

02:02But you have some young pieces that are ready to take that big step all at the same time.

02:07And so that is why I think Anaheim can be one of those teams.

02:10And so putting them in worst to first does maybe feel a little bit exaggerated.

02:15But I do want to put them on this list as a team that I think can make a big jump this

02:19year.

02:20I have Chicago.

02:21Yes, the Central Division.

02:23Stacked, right?

02:24You have Dallas.

02:25You have Colorado.

02:26I still think Winnipeg is going to be good.

02:28Nashville kind of loaded up this year.

02:30But the Chicago Blackhawks now get a full year of Conor Bedard, we assume.

02:33They have gone out and added some better veteran pieces around.

02:36You are going to get, presumably, a full year of health from Taylor Hall to go along with

02:40the Bertuzzi that you add.

02:42And you now have like an actual kind of NHL roster here around a talent that feels special

02:48already.

02:49And so I do think that if a team is going to make a jump, Conor Bedard being on that

02:55team seems like a pretty good shot to me.

02:57So I think Chicago is in a world.

02:59Also, you have Chicago who, like they have some pieces they can move if they want to

03:04make a push and really go for it.

03:06So I think that they could be, given the fact that their star is making like, what, $925,000?

03:11I think that you can now make a push with that team and move them into a spot where

03:16it becomes a real contender in the NHL.

03:20And so I think Chicago makes this list for those reasons.

03:24At three, it's Utah.

03:26We talked about them the other day as a team that was out of the playoffs that could make

03:29it in this year.

03:30They acquire Sergeyev, who I think is fantastic on that blue line.

03:34They were aggressive in trades and free agency.

03:38And honestly, they were a team that we all thought was going to take a step last year,

03:42but then you have all the madness of everything that went on around Arizona where, no, no,

03:46no, we're not moving.

03:47No, we're not leaving.

03:48No, we just, Utah's got great skiing.

03:50Why?

03:51Of course we were visiting there.

03:52You know, they also have this rink, and they do have this owner, and we're basically playing

03:59in like a small town arena here.

04:01So you know what?

04:02Like, maybe, just maybe.

04:03And you have all those things kind of going on in these guys' heads about, okay, am I

04:06going to have to move from Arizona to Utah?

04:08Where am I going to go?

04:09Why am I dressing in the science lab?

04:12Like, what are we doing here?

04:14Why am I?

04:15Why?

04:16Why?

04:17And so things just spiraled.

04:18But I do think now, having that stability, having a very excited fan base behind you,

04:22not no shade on Arizona, but having a very excited actual NHL building behind you, having

04:27maybe even a home ice advantage, gasp, would be a very exciting thing.

04:33I just think that this is a Utah team that, again, has an opportunity, they have a lot

04:41of talent, that just had a lot going on around them.

04:44And so I think if they took the step that we thought they were going to take last year,

04:48this would seem very reasonable, that they could go out and make some noise in this division.

04:51And so that's why I have them at 3.

04:53At 2, it's Montreal.

04:55You guys have kind of figured out by now, if you've been watching every day, I am quite

04:58high on the Canadiens this year.

05:01I think that this is a team that has superstar potential in a guy like Caulfield.

05:07I think adding Patrick Lainé, again, if he can stay right, that is a scoring punch that

05:14this team needed desperately.

05:16I think that you have a great forward group, I think you have some pieces on the blue line

05:20that if it hits, can be quite good.

05:22The goaltending situation does kind of need to get figured out, but it does seem like

05:25they have a couple guys who could also take a step.

05:28So this is another one where it feels like everything has been building, and now Montreal

05:32has a chance to really push forward.

05:34And we have seen sometimes some young teams take a couple steps.

05:38And so I think Montreal has that opportunity there.

05:40But at number 1, this one seems like cheating.

05:42It's the New Jersey Devils.

05:43They got ravaged by injuries on the blue line last year, ravaged by inconsistent goaltending

05:49play last season, but there's so much talent on this roster.

05:53And then going out and adding Shea, and adding Jacob Markstrom, make this a legitimate championship

05:57threat in the Eastern Conference.

05:59And so that makes them the best option to go from worst two to first in the NHL this

06:05season.

Which NHL teams can go worst to first? | NHL Season Preview

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