Toronto Maple Leafs
I think the Toronto Maple Leafs will win the Atlantic, along with the President’s Trophy (which they should really rename) and the Stanley Cup.
I believe that I am being objective when I say that, and when I say I think Matthews can score 60, William Nylander can win the scoring title, and that they are the best team assembled in the salary cap era.
They’ve got everything:
Two legit #1 centres, three #1 defenseman, a star D on the rise (Dermott), and a top-five player in the league at every position, save left wing.
They’re stacked, and they’ve not even come close to their potential.
Last year they didn’t dress a fully healthy optimal lineup for a single game. They almost did once, and Kadri got hurt in the first period. They shot a pathetic 12% on the power-play despite being the best in the NHL in all the stats that tend to determine success on the power-play.
Additionally, they were only 6-5 in one-goal games. Oh, and one of their best players, Nylander, was sabotaged by shooting percentages so badly that people actually started to think he was a bad player.
The Leafs are going to crush teams with their borderline unfair lineup. It’s going to be really fun and I can’t wait.