The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Eastern Conference: Playoff Locks and Contenders
Locks:
The Leafs have made the Playoffs in every year of Auston Matthews career. This is a fantastic accomplishment that will only be retroactively recognized when the team wins the Stanley Cup.
The Leafs are right smack dab in the middle of the longest unbroken string of contender status in the history of the NHL's most ancient and revered franchise. Again, you wouldn't know it, and again, it will only be recognized retroactively after victory, but I assure you, that victory will come.
Eventually.
The Toronto Maple Leafs and the Stanley Cup Winning Florida Panthres are 100% locks to make the playoffs.
You can add the New Jersey Devils to this group, as they are an awesome team on the rise who were short-circuited last year due to goaltending and injuries.
They will a contender this season and that's just a fact.
The New York Rangers have a sick roster and a top goalie. The Carolina Hurricanes aren't going anywhere either. Both teams are guaranteed to make the playoffs.
That is five teams that are pretty much guaranteed to make it, meaning the other 11 teams are fighting for 3 spots.