Author: jminx94

It’s been quite an offseason as both divisions in this conference have found ways to re-tool and rebuild on the fly. With Alex Ovechkin announcing a possible retirement in 2021 and the Columbus Blue Jackets’ roster makeover, the 2019-2020 eastern conference could have some new faces who stand out during the playoffs. Although the Boston Bruins didn’t win in the cup finals this past spring, they should be good enough to get back into the playoffs, barring injuries. It’s time to predict the eight teams that have the best chances of making the playoffs in this conference.

Atlantic Division: Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs

Unless injuries take their toll and everything falls apart, the Lightning, Bruins and Leafs stand out as the heavy playoff favorites in this division. Detroit, Ottawa and Buffalo just don’t have enough firepower to make it, and could possibly be the worst teams in the league…again. Tampa Bay, Boston and Toronto all are blessed with depth and stars who know how to pass, score and win in the regular season. As for Montreal and Florida, it’s heads or tails; heads being solidly getting in or tails barely missing out. Florida added a top tier goalie in Sergei Bobrovsky along with new coach Joel Quenneville. These top two additions give Florida an edge to possibly snatch the sixth seed (at least).

Metropolitan Division: Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers

The first two teams listed have made the playoffs, consistently ranking as a top seed. Though there’s skepticism on how the Caps and Pens will fare in the playoffs this upcoming season, they seem poised to return strong and could take the top two spots in the Metropolitan. The rest of the division though is filled with questions. Could the Islanders and Hurricanes replicate the magic they had last season? Both rosters have a lot of questions which could take them a while to figure out. Are the New York Rangers ready to make the next step and return to the playoffs? The addition of hot handed scorer Artemi Panarin sure helps, but will Alexandar Georgiev prove he’s ready for the big stage? How will the Columbus Blue Jackets re-group since most of their roster was poached in free agency?

The two teams that seem to have answered most of their questions seem to be the latter picks, the Devils and the Flyers. The media has questioned and ridiculed the Flyers for…<fill in any reason here> It seems “nothing” they do can be right. Ironic, considering their new coach Alain Vigneault has been to a Stanley Cup Finals with a roster who’s best player was a goaltender. Carter Hart could continue to blossom into a top netminder if he takes the next step this season, and depth has to be something that continues at the same pace if not better. If this team can stay healthy, playoffs and even top three in the division is a possibility.

As for New Jersey, the addition of P.K. Subban this past offseason and drafting Jack Hughes at number one overall makes the Devils a serious playoff contender, even if they’re the seventh or eighth seed. Taylor Hall and company should be back to healthy again (a good amount of the roster was injured last year in a competitive division) and Cory Schneider should be able to get more playing time as the starter. There are a lot of tempting looks this team can give, and there’s more that can be answered here than with a team like the Islanders or the Rangers. While they probably won’t be the top team in the Metropolitan, there’s a good chance they could force the hands of the teams that are serious about going into the postseason.

The Devils traded for PK Subban to add depth and defense.

First overall pick Jack Hughes could immediately make an impact for the Devils this season, as he’s hailed as the next Conor McDavid.

The first four weeks of this season have been exciting to watch. From the Detroit Lions and Arizona Cardinals tying in Week One to Tampa Bay having a historic scoring Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams, the 2019 season has lived up to expectations a quarter of the way in. It’s been proven before that the first four weeks don’t always show the total picture of who will do what, but there are significant flashes of what can stay true while the season progresses. Here’s some things that could possibly hold true before Week Five.

• Those laughingstock teams that have had an awful decade or so will get the last laugh. The predictions of the Cleveland Browns being on top of the division, while contested, drove the conclusion that the team would be much better than in years past. While they’re 2-2, they’ve played some quality teams and could still show us they’re the real deal. In the meantime, teams that have been laughed off for being choke perfectionists seem to be gaining respect in the league. Both the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions have played hard and have one loss total after September (with the Lions adding a tie). The Raiders have the tiebreaker over the Chargers to stay in second place for now, and the San Francisco 49ers are at the top of the NFC West, with two 3-1 teams behind them. If all four teams can keep this up, they’ll be tough to face heading into December.
• There’s a fresh, clean slate for all the teams in the AFC South heading into October. Who would’ve thought after Andrew Luck retiring, the Texans cashing out, and then Nick Foles being knocked out for the season that none of it would matter since every team would be 2-2? The Texans are still the favorite to win the division, but the other three teams have shown they are capable of taking that away. Tennessee has two quality wins on the road in Cleveland and Atlanta, Jacksonville may have a keeper in Gardner Minshew II, and the Indianapolis Colts, (minus their performance at home against the Raiders) were the closest to a 3-1 record. Whoever wins this division could possibly be the luckiest, and will have to win at least 3 games against their other rivals.

• New England is the favorite to get to the Super Bowl…again, and it will stay that way until a team can fully knock them off their pedestal. Take the NFC out and there doesn’t seem to be a team that can dethrone the Patriots within their conference. The Bills, while coming close, probably won’t be a scare within the AFC East. The Ravens and Browns can’t figure things out just yet, and the best chance team Kansas City can’t stop them when it matters. Unless the Patriots get bit by the injury bug, it’s theirs to lose.
• Despite all the hype with passing the ball, running-backs have been the biggest key factor so far. Need more proof? Ezekiel Elliott averaged less than 2 yards per carry for Dallas in a two point loss to the Saints this past Sunday night. The Browns and the Jaguars rode to victory on massive games from Nick Chubb and Leonard Fournette. Kerryon Johnson has helped turn the Detroit Lions into a two-way threat while taking pressure off Matthew Stafford, and the rest of the NFC North has established theirs (insert Dalvin Cook here). Last but not least, Melvin Gordon has returned after the Chargers stumbled for three straight weeks. In fact, the worst teams right now have struggled to run the ball. While Washington has had some injuries with their RB core, Miami, the Jets, Denver and Arizona have had poor performances running the ball.

Before I reveal which team won the poll, I’d like to say thank you to everyone who participated in the poll conducted. Over 70 votes were cast, more than expected, and overall, it shows readers do love the content that’s published.

Time now for the choice for the best Stanley Cup Champion of the decade.

The winner is…

The 2010 Chicago Blackhawks!!

While the NFL champion didn’t come as a true surprise, the 2010 Blackhawks winning the poll was in some ways compared to how well the Penguins, Capitals, Kings and Blues performed. This didn’t stop hockey fans from the atlantic to the west coast from taking the team which had the longest championship drought turning into this decade. The number two seeded Blackhawks had a fantastic 2009-2010 season in which they put up 112 points and won the Central Division, which at that time meant their 14th division title, and the first since the 1992-93 season, when they were in the Norris Division. They powered through Nashville and Vancouver before sweeping number one seeded San Jose to advance and take on the underdog Philadelphia Flyers. The Blackhawks won in six games against the Flyers, (who had an impressive season themselves tallying 88 points) beat the Bruins down three games to none in the second round, and uprooted both the New Jersey Devils and Montreal Canadiens.

Q: What made this team so special?

A: There are a lot of things that makes this team iconic, and not just because it was the first of three championships, although that may be a contributing factor. Let’s begin with goaltender Antti Niemi who came on in the later half of the season and went 26-7, recording seven shutouts and finished with a .912 save percentage. In his second NHL season, the Blackhawks made sure that their top defensemen, lead by Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson could keep the puck away from extra attackers and make sure the red-hot net minder did his best. Antti Niemi was even considered for the Vezina Trophy at the end of the season.

The Blackhawks that season had one of the deepest rosters a hockey team could have had especially with the cap space. Players such as Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd and Tomas Kopecky made up an excellent supporting cast. Marian Hossa and Kopecky came in that year to bulk up the first two lines. It looked like what was built the previous three years came together, and no team in the league possibly could have taken them out in a playoff series.

As one of the voters commented under the poll, “Byfuglien, Ladd, Sharp, Hossa, Kane, Toews, Versteeg and Brouwer were either first line players or immediately became first line players the moment they got more playing time on other teams. Not to mention the third line of Ladd-Bolland-Versteeg, two of whom scored 50 points or more.” The Philadelphia Flyers found a way to beat great playoff teams and caught fire similar to how the 2007 New York Giants got hot during the post-season, but they couldn’t get past the enormous depth factor the Blackhawks possessed in a seven game series.

The author’s Stanley Cup pick: the 2015-2016 Pittsburgh Penguins

Ah yes, the team that’s always a threat even if they don’t go to deep in the playoffs or to the Championship. With all due respect to the Blackhawks, who had a peak for a few years, Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury and Evgeni Malkin have done it for most of this decade. Star Maple Leafs scorer Phil Kessel was brought in during the offseason, which gave the Pens the scoring advantage when it mattered most. Although the Pens only took second place in the Metropolitan with 104 points, there was no doubt during the season that they were the best team in their division, especially if it came from a best of seven matchup. What made the difference mid-season ironically was the head injury to Marc-Andre Fleury on April 2nd that brought in dazzling rookie Matt Murray, and made the defense even better, as he slammed the door on any scoring chances opponents might capitalize on.

Q: What made this team so special?

A: The roster is quite impressive especially with the additions of Kessel and Nick Bonino in the offseason, but what really stands out are the three teams they beat in the playoffs. Up first was the defensive stalwart that was the New York Rangers, headlined by elite goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Pittsburgh had struggled the past two years to beat the Rangers, and had even struggled against them in the regular season. The Pens dispatched the Rangers in five games, making life miserable for their defense. The President’s Trophy winning Washington Capitals were next for round two, and Pittsburgh again proved how much better they were against Alex Ovechkin’s squad, winning the series in six games. Last but not least, their conference finals matchup was against the previous Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning, led by Steven Stamkos and Ben Bishop. It took seven games, but the Pens edged out the Lightning to make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. Three opponents that could give anyone in the East fits, had been subdued by a deep and focused club led by the future back-to-back Conn Smythe winner.

The Western Conference Champion San Jose Sharks finally peaked after choking a 3-0 series lead the year before to the Los Angeles Kings, pinning L.A.’s ears back handily in five games. The Sharks got into two physical series after against Nashville and St. Louis, both going to game sevens with San Jose prevailing. Pittsburgh had to face a team that was getting ugly to win series in seven games, and the Sharks made smart moves getting James Reimer and Roman Polak at the trade deadlines during the mid-season. While one might argue that Antti Niemi (mentioned above) was worthy of being Vezina Trophy finalist, rookie Matt Murray had to go through three complicated series, two of which he was under fire against some of the best offenses of the decade. Murray found ways to put out the Sharks’ fire time and again, and did his best work at San Jose’s SAP Centre, clinching the Cup on the road in game six.

The AFC has easily been the conference of Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots since Peyton Manning retired in 2016, but a few challengers stepped up last year and got some jabs in. The Kansas City Chiefs, even though they lost in overtime in the Conference Championship, seem to have re-vamped and refreshed their defense with sight on future domination. The Denver Broncos added a quarterback who knows how to beat New England in the playoffs, and it looks as if Baltimore, Cleveland and Pittsburgh could break through and set up some good match-ups. It’s time to analyze who is the real deal and who could surprise given what’s going on.

AFC East: New England Patriots

Is anyone surprised by this? The New York Jets have been a dumpster fire even before Todd Bowles’ tenure, and Adam Gase can’t fix it. The Dolphins are quickly becoming the Jets, but the Buffalo Bills look like they can improve this year especially if sophomore quarterback Josh Allen can stay healthy. Still, the top dog in this division is lead by the dynamic duo of Bill Belicheck and Tom Brady. They’ll probably be slow for the first four weeks, but they’ll be back to good as normal by the time we hit November.

AFC North & official dark-horse pick: Cincinnati Bengals

This should get the attention of a lot of football fans and pundits, especially since the other three teams were headlined at the beginning. This isn’t a hot pick with a lot of people, but it is one that should it happen, makes a lot of sense. While most “experts” have the Cleveland Browns winning the division, there has been a lot controversy with quarterback Baker Mayfield verbally going after many people (players and coaches especially) and how Odell Beckham will fare this season. The Browns have a first year head coach who’s  been an offensive coordinator at best in the NFL. Considering that these are the Browns, sports fans should be careful with the hype, because this could just be a .500 year from them.

As for the rest of the AFC North, Lamar Jackson, while showing he could light a fire under the Ravens’ offense last year and be dynamic for them, is too predictable now that the rest of the league has broken down his playing. Even the Ravens coaches have been trying their best not to make him too simplistic. Factor that in with Terrell Suggs and a few wide receivers gone and this isn’t what you consider to be a playoff team, but a team that may struggle all year to put points up. The Pittsburgh Steelers, while getting rid of two headaches in Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell, can focus on football. They’re the least chaotic of the three, though their wide receivers coach Darryl Drake passed away before week two of the preseason rolled around. The Steelers had issues that were deeper than Brown and Bell last year, with conflicts arising among quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the future of Mike Tomlin if the team keeps losing to bad teams.

That leaves Cincinnati, the only team not filled with drama as the remaining choice. Team owner Mike Brown and his brass finally had the courage to fire Marvin Lewis and turn a new page toward what could be success. New head coach Zac Taylor is everything Lewis is not in terms of football and philosophies. The Bengals made sure to go over who they wanted carefully, and with two good quarterbacks who need an extra push or two, the Bengals could have a better season offensively, and that includes the dynamic, two-way threat of Joe Mixon in the backfield. As for the defense, it’s still a solid unit, but what may help the Bengals most is a different philosophy, especially when playing a team like the Pittsburgh Steelers or performing better in tight games. With the least amount of baggage and not a lot of expectations, this team could surprise a lot of people.

AFC West: Los Angeles Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs

The loss of safety Derwin James and Melvin Gordon III’s holdout will be issues during the season, however this team has a top tier head coach in Anthony Lynn and quarterback Philip Rivers, bolstered with a cohesive unit on both sides of the ball. Unless more players are hit with serious injuries, the Chargers still have a shot to win the division, especially against a Kansas City Chiefs team that will have last year’s film looked at by every team and broken down. If Los Angeles can take care of business against the Chiefs and the Denver Broncos, this team could get a top two seeding placement.

Kansas City bulked up defensively and got a defensive coordinator they wanted to fix last year’s debacles. We’ll see how additions like Khalen Saunders (drafted) and Frank Clark (traded for) fit in with the front seven. 2018-2019 NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes could have a drop in production from last year, most notably when the Chiefs face the NFC North this season. Still, this is a team that could still make the playoffs, even if there are off-field issues. Unfortunately for a team like Denver, unless a team vying for a wild card seed has a downward spiral, the Broncos may miss the playoffs on the proof that their offense would be their weakest link. Denver could display this year that they’ll stay in the race until the last few weeks of the regular season.

AFC South: Jacksonville Jaguars, Indianapolis Colts

Questions arise when a team that was so dominant one year falls off completely a year after. Sometimes, it’s certain players and not coaches, sometimes it is the coaches, and sometimes it’s one specific injury. Left tackle Cam Robinson went down after week two and it showed how sensitive the Jacksonville offense was. Quarterback Blake Bortles played terribly and the offense became a wreck, winning only three games after. The defense rebelled and looked like it didn’t want to play. Robinson will be back, but the Jaguars added Nick Foles to the mix and dumped Bortles. While we can talk about Bortles until the season ends, the addition of Foles is an upgrade needed and wanted. He’s everything this team needs, and what upper brass and former head coach Tom Coughlin wants: a good player with great character. The Jaguars still have their core, and even bolstered that with their recent draft picks. With the best roster in this division, they have to be in first…right?

As for Indianapolis, while Andrew Luck may be out a good part of the year, their chances to make the playoffs are still bright. Though there are debates on how the Titans and Texans will be, consider this; for Tennessee, they just aren’t in the discussion with the other three teams (Jacksonville being the third), and there’s too much pressure on Marcus Mariota, especially to remain healthy. For Houston, it’s the defense. They hit the reset button on the secondary, Jadeveon Clowney is holding out, and J.J. Watt has had injury issues the past five years.

That said, I like the Colts’ chances. There’s a good comparison with them and the Los Angeles Rams: their general manager can draft, the coaches develop the players well, the coaches are popular throughout the league, the offensive lines are among the best,  but the Colts differ with their defense in that there will be progress built from last year. This team could be good enough to get the fifth or sixth seed.

Well that was a fun offseason. Two NFC West teams had the top two picks in the 2019 Draft and it looks like they could have a better year, but they will have to contend with the other two teams, both of whom made the playoffs last year. The rest of the NFC looks to be more vulnerable than the NFC West, but nothing is guaranteed. It’s time for the six picks for who will make the playoffs this season, why they’ll be the ones to not just get in, but why they’re better than the rest of their division. So here goes.

NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles

Let’s start with an easy one. The Washington Redskins are an absolute mess (with reports of almost 50 employees who’ve left since this was published) and the New York Giants are thin on both offense and defense, so that leaves the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles. Dallas however, has contract issues with key pieces on their offense, with Ezekiel Elliott, their franchise running-back looking more likely he’ll hold out for the season. Regardless if Elliott returns, defenses will know how to defend Amari Cooper more, even with Jason Witten coming out of retirement. As a matter of fact, Cooper is also in a standoff with both Elliott and quarterback Dak Prescott.

The Eagles may have more stability with Nick Foles gone and Carson Wentz coming back to prove he really can play a full season. The defense was pretty good last year, even after tiring on long drives by Drew Brees and the Saints’ offense. Wentz will need to spread the ball around more, but the Eagles look to be in the best shape in this division.

NFC South: Atlanta Falcons

Word is that Atlanta may have issues retaining key pass rusher Vic Beasley for the 2020 season, but that will be after this year. As for the 2019 season, the Falcons are ready to make their mark in the South and have a great year. Last year the Falcons had bad luck with injuries, especially on the defensive side of the ball as they went 7-9. Quarterback Matt Ryan was the main reason for those seven wins, but one has to wonder how better they would’ve been if the defense was say, even 75% healthy.

The Falcons are a logical pick to win the NFC South because the other three teams don’t look as if they’re either strong enough or have answers to key questions or issues. Tampa Bay has a new coach and this will be Jameis Winston’s most important year, especially with a defense that is poor in defending and tackling. Carolina quarterback Cam Newton’s upper body injury will be tested early especially when he’s hit or tries to throw, and the Panthers failed to get a win after being demolished by Pittsburgh with Newton starting in the middle of last season. As for New Orleans, they sputtered offensively even before the controversial no-call in the conference championship game against the Los Angeles Rams. Drew Brees looked like he hit 40, and there could be a drop-off in defensive play for the Saints after being close to perfect last season. The Falcons have a fresh defense, a top tier quarterback and a head coach who’s more than ready to provide answers to questions asked. Expect them to stand out this season.

NFC North: Green Bay Packers

There’s already anger and plenty of booing by Bears fans reading this expecting that their team should be first in a lot of predictions. Problem is, the Bears are vulnerable with defensive coordinator Vic Fangio leaving to become head coach in Denver, and there’s plenty of film on the Bears from last season for the league to break down and pick apart. The Bears had a shot last season and failed to win a playoff game. It’s understandable that almost all the key players had either not won or didn’t go to a playoff game before that, but it’s important to take away considering who’s in their division. While the Lions are already having issues in preseason, and Kirk Cousins is the classic choke that the Vikings are stuck paying, we should expect that the Green Bay Packers will use every bit of wiggle room that they can.

While both the Packers and Bears will be in the spotlight on September 5th, every  football fan who follows the game knows that it’s the second game, which will be in Lambeau Field, that could matter more. Green Bay hired an offensive head coach who is not like Mike McCarthy, meaning he will have a fresh scheme, play sheet, and better ideas on how to attack the Bears defense. The Packers defense will probably be refreshed since they’ve been more active with additions and made sure to tune up key positions. The Bears secondary looks less certain than even Green Bay’s weakest links. Also, the Packers don’t have to wonder if their kicker will hold them back, at least for now.

NFC West: Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers.

By far and away the best division in the NFC, every team here reached the Super Bowl within a ten year mark after the Los Angeles Rams won the conference last year. However, those Rams lost a good amount of their defense and offensive line this offseason while Seattle, San Francisco and Arizona all gained key pieces on both sides of the ball. Seattle by far and away is the best team to not just take the Rams head-on (they lost both games to L.A. by a combined seven points), but they have the advantage on their division rivals San Francisco (losing their first game to them last year after sweeping them four years straight in overtime and committing over 20 penalties) and Arizona (who have a rookie head coach and quarterback who has never played in the pacific northwest). Seattle’s defensive front will be their weakest link, especially in the first half of the year, but fortunately for them that should be the easiest part of their schedule. Most people know though Seattle likes to heat up in the second half of the year, especially with the offense on a roll and the defense gelling together. Not to mention, Seattle has one of the best home advantages in the 21st century.

The Los Angeles Rams should not be taken lightly even with Jared Goff struggling in the Super Bowl last year and Todd Gurley not fully healthy yet. Sean McVay is one of the top head coaches in the league, and the architect of the team, general manager Les Snead knows how to replace those lost spots. Every team they play this year though, especially their division, will be giving them their best every week, and while the Rams will probably make the playoffs, they will take more dents and not be like they were last year. That’s what happens to teams who lose the Super Bowl (unless you’re New England).

Finally, the San Francisco 49ers do deserve respect, especially if Nick Bosa and Jimmy Garappolo stay healthy year-round. Kyle Shanahan’s squad has shown they can hang against quality opponents (except for a few teams) and hang close most of those games. Injuries have been a big issue though during those two years, and it’s now or never for general manager John Lynch on down. Fortunately for San Francisco, there aren’t a lot of teams left in the NFC that make me wonder if they’ll get to the playoffs barring a certain number of issues arise elsewhere. A team that competes and plays hard in every game while keeping the score close usually finds a way to sneak into the playoffs, even if they struggle against two of their three division rivals.

News came out the middle of last week that Jared Bednar was re-signed by the Colorado Avalanche to a two year extension, as he’s led the club to two straight playoff appearances. Both of those playoff appearances for the Avs involved playing consistently around the end of the season and locking up the last playoff spot in the Western conference.

You read that right, the Colorado Avalanche have been the eighth seed two years in a row and have played as well if not better than most people expected; taking the Nashville Predators to a surprising six games in the first round in 2018, smashing the Calgary Flames in five games in round one earlier, and then lost a nail-biter to the San Jose Sharks in round two in a seven game series.

Before the two years of being in the playoffs, the Avalanche had two subpar seasons and one dreadful one. As with many teams who have multiple years of missing the playoffs, there were a good number of reasons why they couldn’t get back to being the best in their division during the 2013-2014 season. Goaltending had become an issue, star player Nathan McKinnon wasn’t the same player as when he first came into the league, and most notably, the team lacked good defensemen. Including this year’s draft, the Colorado Avalanche have drafted a total of 37 defensemen (they took zero in 2012 and then five in 2013). Compare that with 30 centers, 13 left and right wings (each), one forward and 14 goalies, per hockeyreference.com.

Ever since that dreadful 2016-2017 season, the Avs have turned things around, starting off with the hiring of Jared Bednar. A lot has come together since, with Nathan McKinnon fully back to his 2013 debut form being a big one. McKinnon proved he’s one of the best players in the league and single-handedly turned the tide in the first-round series against the Calgary Flames in the Saddledome by netting an OT winner in game two.

The acquisition of German Stanley Cup Champion goaltender (although backup to Braden Holtby) Philipp Grubauer has been a breath of fresh air and a much needed body in net, which led to Colorado being fine with Semyon Varlamov’s departure to the New York Islanders. As noted by Joe Micheletti stated during game five of the Avalanche/Sharks series, “Grubauer’s best attribute is how he plays honestly and doesn’t seem to ‘cheat’ when he’s in net,” and “at times for Colorado playing defense, Grubauer took control and directed the defense on what to do, as if he could see every little thing that was going on.”

Roster depth has built up especially for the wings over the years, as team captain Gabriel Landeskog and J.T. Compher have anchored the first line. Colin Wilson, Matt Nieto and Mikko Rantanen are worthy backups behind both of them. As for center,  Tyson Jost is a complimentary backup to MacKinnon, though free agency did help Colorado build what could be a scary secondary line behind a fantastic group on the first. The Avalanche gained three quality players in Nazem Kadri (via trade), Joonas Donskoi and Andre Burakovsky (free agency), something that will give teams in the western conference headaches.

There will be a lot of questions over the third and fourth lines when next season begins and progresses, especially when it comes to certain opponents and important games late in the year, so it’s probable Bednar and his staff are planning with the rest of the team. Philipp Grubauer could also fall back to earth or not play at a Vezina-like level he had late last season, though if the depth of this roster can get it going, he shouldn’t have to. The Avalanche drafted the top defensemen Bowen Byram in the 2019 draft, but they did trade their best defensemen away to Toronto in the complicated Nazem Kadri trade, so again there must be cohesion and solid play from the defensemen, highlighted by the re-signed Nikita Zadorov.

Four of the remaining six teams in the central division added pieces to take a good shot at either making the playoffs or getting to the Stanley Cup Finals, with the St. Louis Blues (one of the two that didn’t) will have the same focused roster as they had when they won the Cup in June. Whoever wins the central could possibly be the favorite to go to/back to the Championship, and for the Colorado Avalanche to do that, they’ll have to rely on their stars, grow and develop the lines and role-players behind them, and get a monumental push from Coach Bednar, with some things falling in their favor. The Avs have proven they can handle not just an underdog role, but to build off of it and become a threat for upcoming seasons. Expect this team to make a resonating impact this year.

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – FEBRUARY 02: Head coach Pete Carroll of the Seattle Seahawks celebrates their 43 to 8 win over the Denver Broncos during Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium on February 2, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Before the name of the champion is revealed, I will break lines with objectivity and say thank you to everyone who voted on the poll conducted with the question asked who the best Super Bowl winner this decade was. Over 130 people submitted votes in, both in and out of the United States. Every team received at least five votes, and every Super Bowl winning team deserved to take home their titles, thus making this very hard to pick who’s the best.

Written below are two picks: the team with the most votes, and my pick. While the first one will have an in-depth description, my choice will be broken down as to why that team was the best in different categories.

The NFL Super Bowl Champion of the Decade according to the public is….The 2013-2014 Seattle Seahawks

While I do have a good number of peers who are Seahawks fans, it was stunning to see how many people, from casual viewers to those who watch every game (taking the 12th Man fans out of it) vote for this team as the best. Simply put, the performance the Seahawks put on Denver throughout the four quarters of action have stuck in peoples’ minds over the five years since the game was played. With the best defense in the 2013-14 season, Seattle wound up being the #1 seed in the entire National Football Conference, besting it’s division rivals (the Arizona Cardinals were a surprising 10-6 while the San Francisco 49ers claimed the fifth seed in the NFC), the New Orleans Saints twice at home, and obliterating their former division rival Denver Broncos in the Championship game.

The year for Seattle was expectedly in their favor. Ranked at times from best overall by NFL.com, to second to third overall by Vegas before the 2013 season began. They played their best football in their most important games, especially defensively, making life miserable for offensive coaches, quarterbacks and offensive lines. A dual offensive threat in Marshawn Lynch and Russell Wilson made opposing defenses stressed and mentally drained, especially the more a game progressed (most notably overtime games against Houston and Tampa Bay). All three losses were by seven points or less, with all being determined in the fourth quarter, meaning Seattle, in every game that year, had a lead at some point.

The play now known as The Tip in the Conference Championship game against the San Francisco 49ers, ultimately giving Seattle the 2-1 series win during the season, tipped the division rivalry in Seattle’s favor, and would make them the NFC team to beat for over two years. In the Super Bowl, Denver looked helpless, especially after breaking record books and playing as the best offense of all time much of the season. As legendary Chicago Bears linebacker Doug Buffone said the morning after the game, “That defense was absolutely gorgeous.”

The Seahawks would score 12 seconds into both halves and Denver would score on just one drive. No other team in the NFL this decade (since the Saints played their regular season in 2009) was so utterly dominant from beginning to end in flaring fashion.

The Author’s pick for Super Bowl Champion of the Decade: The 2013-2014 Seattle Seahawks

There are a lot of reasons why I picked the Seahawks, but bias was not one of them. The categories I used to determine this would be regular season grade, dominance in the game itself, low number or severity of injuries, and other factors that could throw an asterisk in. The Saints weren’t dominant the whole game against the Colts, as well as two of the Patriots’ wins (Seattle and Atlanta, though both were exciting). Green Bay, New York and Denver struggled during the regular season, though Green Bay and New York caught fire while Denver had to switch the offense up. The Eagles suffered a loss to their star quarterback Carson Wentz and relied on Nick Foles the rest of the way. That’s not to say Foles was still the chink in the armor, but recall the team looked vulnerable with Wentz gone especially at the time. Last but not least, the Ravens could possibly have had this spot, but the stadium lights shut off at the beginning of the third quarter, and the 49ers got back in the game and almost won, and this recent Patriots team won against a Rams team people cried shouldn’t be there, and over which Roger Goodell should’ve exercised his power to make the final minute/plus be replayed. This leaves Seattle as the only team that accomplished all four of these feats.

Seattle did a lot of unique things that few teams this decade got to do or had resources for. They include;

• great depth at defensive line: Coaches Pete Carroll and Dan Quinn wanted the defensive line to switch and substitute frequently, letting the older players like Chris Clemons get rested and refreshed for later on in games. Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril weren’t even slated as starters. That should stand out to those who’ve watched them play. This idea not only worked, it gave the Seahawks the upper hand especially in close games (notably ones which went to overtime).

• Quality Opponents and a Deep Conference; as the National Football Conference was clearly the superior conference at the time. The NFC had created four of the past six super bowl winners. Seattle faced all but one of those winners at least once during the year. Then there was what a lot of people deemed the best division in the game, the NFC West, as the Arizona Cardinals just missed the playoffs and the NFC Championship winner and runner-up the two years prior was the San Francisco 49ers. The only out of conference challenge before the super bowl was the Indianapolis Colts.
• Youth, which gave Seattle the cap room to sign guys like Cliff Avril and Percy Harvin. It’s also how they kept their core together even after. A team of hungry, young players wound up being a nightmare for the league. It was also the first team since the 1990 Buffalo Bills to have not one player go to a Super Bowl any years prior.
• The better the opponent, the better they played. New Orleans felt that after Seattle was off its bye week, San Francisco felt that Week 2 and Denver got all of it in the title game. The bigger the test, the better the team played as a unit. While the divisional and conference playoff games were grinders, Seattle saved up what they had for the super bowl and didn’t leave a choice about who was the best team.
• The Offensive backfield, preferably Michael Robinson and Marshawn Lynch. With an All-Pro fullback and a running back exceedingly hard to take down, it was excruciatingly difficult to stop Seattle’s run game. While Wilson was the dangerous one throwing accurate passes, Lynch was the opposite and relished bowling over half the opponent’s defense. With Robinson, it became an advantage the Seahawks hadn’t had in almost a decade. It made opponents forget that Wilson was accurate when he slung the ball downfield. It’s why Denver was caught off-guard when he started throwing the ball to begin Super Bowl play instead of handing the ball off to Lynch.

Seattle had a lot of other factors that helped, including playing home games in one of if not the loudest stadium in the NFL, great drafting and development and having an energetic and exciting head coach who knew how to keep players competing whether in practice or in games. The little things didn’t go unnoticed, and it’s why this team is historically special.

Game 5 of the NBA Finals was a gut-punch to the Warriors with Kevin Durant rupturing his Achilles, even with the sensational win to force a Game 6. Knowing Durant would be out for a year hurts the NBA almost as much as the Warriors and possibly a New York or Eastern Conference franchise. However, not only losing Game 6 by four points AND losing Klay Thompson to a torn ACL in his left leg during the game basically cut a set of legs out from under the team, their depth and firepower on the court; literally and figuratively.

The Golden State Warriors are in an awful situation entering the offseason. Many people thought the Warriors would win the title, lose Kevin Durant to free agency, but keep Klay and add a few more players on to short contracts, possibly staying as a waning contender in the Pacific Division and Western Conference crowns. A lot of people didn’t see as frightening a situation such as this though. These are the situations the Bay area franchise will now have to deal with:

• the one that everyone knows to be fact at this point: moving from Oakland and Oracle Arena to San Francisco and a brand new stadium. Oakland fans are hurt by this, and the new home will be something the Warriors have to get used to fast.
• Kevin Durant at the moment will have to decide if he can work with the Warriors on a sign-and-trade agreement, which would allow the Warriors to sign him for 5 years and $57 million more for a max deal. The Warriors would allow Durant to rest as they make sure everything’s paid for and he gets to choose where he’d want to be traded to in return for that team’s assets and picks. While it is a win-win, the Warriors won’t have him for this upcoming season, and will be without another star player.
• Klay Thompson’s free agency offseason is going to be a mess. While there probably won’t be a sign-and-trade, the Warriors need their other star guard to get back onto the court, which won’t happen until the end of next year’s regular season (at the soonest, IF they make it that far into the race for the playoffs). Another issue which at may have been considered to some a solution would’ve been if Klay sat out for the year while the Warriors rebuild their depth, that way there’s a team when he comes back. Yet if the Warriors go forward with this sign-and-trade idea with Durant, then that is unlikely. Thompson will stay with the Warriors but it could be a what-if effect with the timing of the injuries to him and KD.

• Lack of depth; the biggest issue and the one that could hurt this team the most is the depth the Warriors once had has evaporated in a five year span. With the possibilities of Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala retiring, Andrew Bogut, Jonas Jerebko, Quinn Cook, Jordan Bell and DeMarcus Cousins probably leaving due to them hitting free agency and Kevon Looney probably out for a year as well with multiple injuries suffered in the playoffs (he’s also an unrestricted free agent) the Warriors will have to rebuild from every possible position. The draft has passed and the added players for Golden State will help a little, but there will probably be two or maximum three starters returning and almost no possible backup unless there are players signed on smaller contracts. This will be a rough free-agent period for the Warriors as they’ll probably miss out on valuable players of every position.
• Stephen Curry’s health, which may not sound like it could be a factor at first, but could be looming by mid-season. If Curry and Draymond Green are the only returning starters next season (and this is with rookies and almost an entirely new squad which may be subpar), there will be more pressure on Steph to score and be the offense more than he’s had to since the turn of last decade. He still is prone to injuring his legs, especially the ankles. Should the Warriors be out of contention by next year’s All-Star weekend break, it’d be best to deactivate Curry and Green for the remainder of the seasons, because the risks for both being injured with the workload put on them is greater than before.
• Other issues that some people haven’t thought of before: both Matt Barnes’ and David West’s contracts remain on the books because they haven’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2018-19, per Hoopsrumors.com. This means they can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal. Shaun Livingston’s salary of over $5 million as of right now (since it’s before June 30th before this was published) is non-guaranteed. However, it takes effect on the 30th fully guaranteed.

It’s entirely possible that Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and the remaining free agents and star players find some ground to work with and compromise in order to gain a fresh face or two and more depth. Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston could postpone retirement another season because of how overwhelming these issues are to the franchise. Taking all of these what-if’s into account, the Golden State Warriors don’t have enough firepower as they did even before they won a championship and they most certainly have a lot of obstacles, new and old to face.

Did anyone expect the 102nd Stanley Cup Final to be between what was then the last place team in the National Hockey League in early January and a second fiddle team in the Atlantic Division all season? Probably not, but it makes for a great story. The St. Louis Blues won their three previous series in a minimum of six games at least and went toe-to-toe with their rivals the Dallas Stars in probably the most physical and exhausting play before winning in double overtime. The Boston Bruins slugged it out with their Original Six rival Toronto Maple Leafs before cruising past the Columbus Blue Jackets and sweeping the Carolina Hurricanes. With the adversity, constant questioning and celebrations between both these two winning their conferences, what should we expect in the Championship Series?

#3 Boston Bruins v. #4 St. Louis Blues

These teams played only twice during the regular season; one game was a blowout and the other ended in a shootout. Suffice to say, anything could happen. This much is certain: the series will come down to which goaltender blinks first. Jordan Binnington doesn’t look like a rookie at all as he’s helped the Blues rack up wins on the road under his constant focus and poise. Jaden Schwartz has stayed consistent in every round and could win the Conn Smythe (awarded to the most valuable player in the Finals and playoffs) Trophy if the Blues win the Cup.

The Bruins have a veteran net-minder in Tuukka Rask, who has given Boston a number three ranking in GA (goals against), made sure Boston had a cushion in two elimination games against Toronto and slammed the door shut on any chance Columbus and Carolina had on advancing to the Finals. While many have criticized Rask for past playoff performances, he’s made sure the Bruins get to the Finals twice during his tenure. While Zdeno Chara has been injured, the depth the Bruins have has again shown up and their top players in Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak have gotten better as their postseason stretches on.

What to watch for: Outside of which goaltender will win the stare-down, this matchup will resemble what most saw in the Dallas-St. Louis series: physicality, great coverage against offensive threats and for both teams to show off how deep their rosters are. While Dallas was a fantastic defensive team, Boston seemed more evenly balanced on both sides but made sure they could hit their opponents hard enough to knock them out of rhythm, something that frustrated the Maple Leafs and snuffed out Columbus. This could be hard to implement as St. Louis did the same thing to San Jose last round and pushed back hard against both Winnipeg and Dallas. One thing Dallas captain Jamie Benn did which helped Dallas take a game in St. Louis was to give his team an even four-on-four by snuffing out star player Vladimir Tarasenko. Dallas overwhelmed St. Louis and they scored three goals in the first period. Expect Boston to use a tactic like this if they get behind early.

Prediction: This may be the hardest prediction since the second round. Look for both teams to split the first four games, as that should give some clarity on how both will play each other. Both these teams want it badly, but St. Louis has the more meaningful chance since they haven’t been to the Cup Finals in decades and they’ve lost the times they went before. These Blues look more focused than previous years and they look to have shaken off those awful memories earlier in the decade. Blues win the 102nd Stanley Cup Finals 4-2 with Jaden Schwartz winning the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Conference Finals Prediction Record: 1-1

The second round of the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoffs were pretty polar. The Bucks dismantled the Celtics in five games (three of their five wins were decisive), whereas the Raptors had a dazzling last-second win over the 76ers in a full seven games. Although the Raptors had to beat the Sixers by winning that critical seventh game, they showed in most of the series why they were the second seed in the East. In the case of Milwaukee, they didn’t look too vulnerable against Boston as many predicted. The Bucks dropped a home game but laid waste to the Celtics in three of the next four. Will the Bucks trip up against Toronto and let the Raptors go to their first Championship ever or will they continue their steamroll to the Finals? Time to break down what could be a conference championship for the ages.

#1 Milwaukee Bucks v. #2 Toronto Raptors

The Bucks have a lot in their arsenal ranging from colossus Giannis Antetokounmpo and helpers Eric Bledsoe and Brook Lopez to bench depth in Ersan Ilyasova, Nikola Mirotic, Pau Gasol and Sterling Brown. The Bucks can do a lot of damage in a lot of ways: three-point shooting, power offense and heavy defense to name a few. Something that may help the Bucks could be the amount of rest they’ve had (they were the first team to advance to the next round in either Conference) in case this goes a full seven games.

The Raptors have a true star in Kawhi Leonard, as he gave the Raptors a shot of a lifetime to put the Sixers away in Toronto. He’s had plenty of help however with big men Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka, as well as Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam and Danny Green (all except Ibaka are starters). Backups Jodie Meeks and Patrick McCaw can help open up the offense and help defensively if needed. Since Toronto went a full seven games against Philadelphia, they haven’t had as much rest and unfortunately for them, will not have home court advantage as the Bucks were the top seed in the East. Something they can feel good about is handling adversity (specifically last round against the 76ers), something Milwaukee has yet to face.

The biggest difference between these two teams is experience, especially for the star players on both teams. Giannis has yet to play this deep in the playoffs, whereas Kawhi was 2014 Finals MVP when he was with the Spurs. The Raptors have been to the Eastern Conference Finals before and are eager to break past this round and get to their first championship appearance. Even if the Bucks win this round, they’re going to take heavy fire from a veteran team that won’t back down.

Prediction: Raptors win series 4-3

Eastern Conference Second Round Predictions: 2-0