Who will come out of the East?

[lmanchur.]

Who do you think will come out as the Eastern Conference Champion in the playoffs to play the best in the West?

Vote, and then discuss your opinions in this thread!

[budman2]

got to go with ottawa, there just to deep and fast.the devels are not out by any means , i just feel ottawa has more to prove. the caps?are you serious?my dark horse......ta , da. why toronto of course. they just need a little tweaking before the trade deadline is all.maby a peca, or tuchuck ,if thats how to spell it. anyway what we need is a stick of dynamite to light some fuses that on the 3rd and 4th line have not been producing.go leafs go!

[lmanchur.]

Originally posted by budman2
toronto...need a little tweaking before the trade deadline is all.maby a peca, or tuchuck ,if thats how to spell it. anyway what we need is a stick of dynamite to light some fuses that on the 3rd and 4th line have not been producing.go leafs go!

I don't think they'll pull off any big moves -- I don't think they can afford them (in terms of both money and team chemistry)... well, maybe if they can get Peca it'd be OK, but Tkachuk (<- that's how it's spelt -- not "Tuchuk" :) )... I don't think Tkachuk would fit into the team, and they really probably couldn't afford is bloated salary for doing too little.

I was the one that voted for the Caps. I'd love to see Ottawa beat New Jersey for the Eastern title, but I'm going with the team who isn't really in spotlight -- in Canada, Ottawa steals the show, and in the USA and in the NHL in general, because of last year's title, it's New Jersey that everyone is focusing on.... No one is focusing on Washington particularly.... However, when it comes down to it to make my final, "real" playoff predictions, Washington may or may not be in there.... I haven't really decided yet

[Wedge231]

I'll go with NJ. I live near them and I see them sometimes on local sports channels. They are a very talented team with gread goaltending and great defense.

[Peck]

I also voted for washinton! Wat a coincedence and i didn't know u voted!! Well i like them cause they have the full package...........they
OFF. - Sergie Gonchar, and Calle Johansson
STAY-AT-HOME -Ken Klee, Brenden Witt and Joe Reekie all huge hitters
PLAYMAKER -Adam Oates
SNIPER -Peter Bondra
GRINDER OR POWER FORWARD -Steve Kownowacuk
YOUNGESTERS-Kris Beech, Jeff Halpern, and Glen Metropolit
GOALIE-Olaf Kolzig


thats my one cent worth........

[lmanchur.]

Originally posted by Peck
Well i like them cause they have the full package...........they
OFF. - Sergie Gonchar, and Calle Johansson
STAY-AT-HOME -Ken Klee, Brenden Witt and Joe Reekie all huge hitters
PLAYMAKER -Adam Oates
SNIPER -Peter Bondra
GRINDER OR POWER FORWARD -Steve Kownowacuk
YOUNGESTERS-Kris Beech, Jeff Halpern, and Glen Metropolit
GOALIE-Olaf Kolzig

True... the thing, is though, that everyone at the top of the NHL standings have ALL of those types of players you mentioned :)

[budman2]

o.k , someone out there voted and bolted, i love the leafs too but i don,t think they are strong enough to beat the top teams in the confrence right now,not in a seven game searies anyway. so , my question to the person who voted toronto is , why? if its just pure fan support, i can relate. i hate to vote against them in my hockey pools but sometimes i know there going to lose, injuries, slumps , ( vicious trade rumours) you know.

[lmanchur.]

Well, budman, I don't know who voted, but all the media outlets are saying, "this team (Toronto) is built for the playoffs and a 7-game series."

I'm not sure what the reasoning is behind this is, but that's what everyone keeps saying. Probably, the reason is that they FINALLY have grit in Corson, Roberts, and Manson to protect guys like Sundin, Berezin, etc. Joseph will peak in the playoffs, for sure.

At the start of the year, BTW, I did predict the Leafs to come out of the East to play the Avs in the finals. However, I don't think it will be the Leafs anymore... either one of the top three -- Sens, Devs, or Caps.