Predictions for the NHL's East Division this Season:

The 2020-21 NHL season is upon us! This season we will have the unique opportunity to experience new rivalries, limited fan capacity, high-intensity matchups, and a whole different landscape of the league. With the unfortunate realities of the Coronavirus and the travel restrictions in North America throughout the past year, the NHL was forced to realign the makeup of the league so that they could feasibly and safely create a 2020-21 NHL Season. As a result, the divisions this year are unique for just this year. In this article, we will evaluate the teams in the newly formed East Division and focus on our predictions for the upcoming season.

As we attempt to predict the future playoff teams for this season, the top four teams in each division will be the teams who qualify for the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The East Division:

Teams: Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Washington Capitals.

Our Prediction: (First to last)

New York Islanders (1st), Philadelphia Flyers (2nd), Washington Capitals (3rd), Boston Bruins (4th), New York Rangers (5th), Pittsburgh Penguins (6th), Buffalo Sabers (7th), New Jersey Devils (8th).

New York Islanders:

Last year, the New York Islanders proved to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender after reaching the Conference Finals last fall. They defeated both the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals last playoffs. With Mat Barzal freshly signed off of a three year twenty one million dollar contract, we expect the Islanders to play a steady, defensive, and team-oriented game. With a top-five coach and great team depth we expect the Islanders to win this highly competitive and intense division. While some might argue that the Islanders have declined with the losses of players such as Devon Toews, Johnny Boychuk, Thomas Greiss, and Derick Brassard, the team will have many young players ready to contribute on the professional level including players like Noah Dobson and Oliver Wahlstrom who are both expected to make a big jump this year. With an established NHL goalie in Varlamov, an extremely promising prospect in Ilya Sorokin, and veteran Corey Schneider the Islanders look to consistently receive adequate goaltending on a nightly basis in such a condensed schedule. Consistent and underrated players like Jean Gabriel Pageau, Ryan Pollock, and Anthony Beauvillier all make us more confident that the Islanders, lead by Barry Trotz, will win this division.

Boston Bruins:

While some might argue that the Boston Bruins have drastically declined this offseason, we believe that they will still be able to clinch a playoff spot in this division. The Bruins have been the epitome of consistency and one of the most highly touted franchises for at least the past decade. Despite some concerns, we expect the same from this organization. Although they might have lost key leaders in Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug, their depth remains among the league’s best. Torey Krug was somewhat of a defensive liability last season and while he might be one of the best defensemen on the power play, the Bruins have enough star power to overcome his production. As long as Tuukka Rask remains focused and the team remains determined unlike in the bubble, we believe that with the addition of Craig Smith and the maturity of Charlie McAvoy and Brendan Carlo, the Bruins will come in fourth in the East Division. With coach Bruce Cassidy recently reiterating that last year’s Maurice Richard winner David Pastrnak will not be out for such an extended period of time, with players like Charlie Coyle and Jake Debrusk, the team will remain successful in his absence. We understand that some might question their defense, however, as long as their two goalies are healthy, they will have enough to succeed. As mentioned, our only concerns would be their lack of defensive depth with the team relying on players like Conner Clifton and Matt Grzelcyk to take on a top-four role. Additionally, despite Chara’s slight decline in play over the past few years, losing their captain with an aging core is somewhat concerning.

New York Rangers:

In this division, we believe that the wild card team will be the New York Rangers. We were slightly enticed to place them at a top-four spot in this division. However, because this division is the strongest in the league, we believe that the Rangers will fall just short of the playoffs this year. While the team’s franchise player for the past fifteen years in Henrik Lundqvist has now left the team, the New York Rangers have one of the brightest futures in the NHL. This year, their two young goaltenders Igor Shesterkin and Alexander Georgiev will provide very solid goaltending this year. We believe that Shesterkin has the potential to be a perennial all star in this league and look forward to seeing him coming into his own this season. The conscious number one overall pick Alexis Lafreniere will be joining the big apple alongside many various young promising prospects including Igor Shesterkin, Kaapo Kaako, Adam Fox, and Filip Chytil. The Rangers will need a bounce-back season from Jacob Trouba and will need last year’s Hart Trophy candidate Artemi Panarin, Kris Kreider, and all-star Mika ZIbanejab to maintain their production from last season. They will definitely be an entertaining team to watch this season and we expect them to take a big step in the next few years. Their days of rebuilding are nearing an end.

As previously mentioned, we expect this division to be the most competitive division in the league, along with the Canadian division. While both the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabers did improve this fall, we still expect them to finish at the bottom of this extremely tough division. For the Devils, Mackenzie Blackwood will allow them to stay afloat in many games, however, we believe both teams do not have enough to make the playoffs this season. We believe that the Washington Capitals will remain atop this division as they have retained the same core with the recent additions of Brenden Dillon (at the trade deadline last year) and Conor Sheary. Zdeno Chara will provide good leadership and we expect Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin to continue their success in this league. While Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will also most likely continue their success in the league, we aren't sold on the Penguins' goaltending or defensive depth at this point of the season. Lastly, despite struggling in the playoffs last fall, the Philadelphia Flyers will remain one of the biggest threats in this division. We look forward to seeing the improvement this year from players like Ivan Provorov and Carter Hart. While their core might be slightly declining as they age, with young players like Joel Farabee, and Travis Sanheim, the future is bright in Philadelphia. With the luxury of finally having an elite goaltender in Carter Hart, despite the crucial loss of Matt Niskanen this fall, the Flyers will remain atop this division and we would not be surprised if they came out on top in May.