![]() Every year, I like to think of a take that’s bold enough to be spicy but mild enough to still happen, and this is it for me. I think this is truly the first time “Name+BunchOfNumbers” is logging on to agree with me, and I want to shout out BBrown09301985 for that. Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesīBrown09301985: Moritz Seider will be a finalist for the Norris If I’m a Kraken fan, I’d rather he use his lower-than-expected draft ranking as motivation to get better as a player who can become a long-term representative of the Kraken, as opposed to using that energy to get to the playoffs immediately and then burn out. And as powerful as that feeling is, it’s very short-lived. I don’t know Wright personally, but I do know what it feels like to operate out of spite. I don’t think they will, but the first two first-round picks in franchise history are extremely talented and stranger things have happened.īut what if it’s better that Wright, Beniers and goaltender Philipp Grubauer all have three stunning seasons that elevate the Seattle Kraken to relevancy but still allow them to make a few more trades? What if we let Wright and Beniers have fun and get comfortable before we put pressure on them, readying them to be the pillars of a perennial playoff organization? Sure, the Kraken could exceed expectations and make the playoffs. OK, Robdog22, I have a proposition for you. Robdog22: Shane Wright and Matty Beniers take the Kraken to the playoffs Jeff Halstead/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images ![]() ![]() And as much as I joke around about Leafs fans, I will be right there with you singing on the streets if and when Toronto advances to Round 2 this season. These Leafs are also a great team that has been through enough adversity. People love to minimize Murray’s accomplishments for whatever reason, but he was an instrumental part of winning two Cups while playing with a great team in Pittsburgh. He then stopped 65 out of 67 shots in the preseason. As I said in my pre-preseason predictions, Matt Murray is a stable goalie who will have a great year with a great team. I do think this is the year they advance to the second round, though, and if it happens it’ll be incredible. It’s also in part due to the Leafs being cursed, which I’m sort of starting to believe despite any logical fallacy. The Toronto Maple Leafs are good-great, even! And yet here we are, considering a prediction that they’ll win a playoff round “bold.” This is in part due to how competitive the Eastern Conference is, as referenced above. Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images I’ve loved Tage Thompson and some of the younger guys right off the bat, and I think we’re writing off Rasmus Dahlin way too soon-he isn’t even 23! Dahlin is going to have a breakout year, and the Sabres are going to set themselves up for consistent success, which is way better than making the playoffs just to say you made the playoffs. It’s not out of the question to say the Sabres are going to return to the playoffs this year. The Sabres faithful will not take the easy way out. ![]() The Sabres have your grandfather jumping headfirst onto a table and lighting something on fire at 7 in the morning. But that’s the last thing my dear Buffalonians would ever want, isn't it? The Los Angeles Kings have Pete Davidson showing up to a game two hours late. The fringe teams of the Eastern Conference are far more compelling than the fringe teams of the Western Conference, though, and I’d fully agree with Shawn’s prediction if Buffalo were on the West Coast. Besides, the East is stacked with playoff teams that largely improved in the offseason, and there are plenty of fringe teams like the Ottawa Senators, the Sabres and dare I say the Detroit Red Wings. Unfortunately for the lovely people of Buffalo, struggling for a long time doesn’t automatically boost playoff probability, and you can point to any of the 7,000 sports betting apps as proof. It goes something like, “The team in the midst of the longest playoff drought in NHL history (11 seasons) is due to make the playoffs, right? At some point, they’ve gotta get back in there.” There’s a recurrent logical fallacy surrounding the Buffalo Sabres that I’ve fallen victim to a few times over the past few years but have finally learned to avoid. Shawndaugherty: The Buffalo Sabres finally return to the playoffs Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
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