re: Who's your Stanley Cup champion?

I get where the Oiler hype is coming from: McDavid is a badass, but... they have a similar problem as Dallas in that their defense isn't terribly good. And the stars at least addressed the situation by signing a great goalie and, well, getting healthy. I still think the Ducks are the best team in the West, but I love what the Preds have done. That was no fluke, and they'll be arguably better this year.

As for the East, all of the contenders moved backwards, none moreso than the Caps. Then again the Caps had a lot to give. But all of the top teams got weaker and all of the borderline contenders got better, so its a pretty tightly packed conference again. I'll just say the Leafs because I like their combo of speed and talent. But here's a cool chart on the offseason moves of each team:



I'll pick Leafs over Predators. But don't sleep on the Stars, who got a ton better plus will not likely lose so many man-games to injury again.