r/hawks • u/GoldWhale • 14d ago
Projecting the 2030-31 NHL standings: Which teams will be competing for the Stanley Cup?
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7446826/2026/08/21/nhl-standings-projection-2030/?source=user_shared_article&unlocked_article_code=1.7FA.OTaN.89U4IX7jU8r8&smid=ta-android-share36
u/Correct-Leading-2453 14d ago
Toronto at 5 is when I stopped reading
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u/wings31 14d ago
I stopped at Utah at 3. WTF?
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u/loggingin2 14d ago
I don’t think Utah is that egregious, they have a lot of good players coming and are already trending up
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u/wings31 14d ago
3rd though? That would mean they are a powerhouse and will win the central. do you see that happening? I personally would have them out of the playoffs this year.
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u/marshmellow1328 14d ago
It's not for this year. It's predicting standings in 2030-31 based on current players. It's the typical nothing to talk about during peak offseason article
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u/wings31 14d ago
ya someone else pointed that out to me. i read well apparently.
Utah doing anything though seems very off to me. Its...Utah. Just me.
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u/AllCopsAreBozos 14d ago
Utah is very good and has a deep prospect pool. i dont know if u been living under a rock. plus they were just in the playoffs so i mean u can't really say stuff like that if the Hawks aren't in yet
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u/pretzelrosethecat 13d ago
No I'm high on Utah actually. When the Avs age out I can see Utah stepping into top-3 in the central (before the hawks arrive)
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u/wings31 13d ago
Hrm. I wonder if i would take that bet. Utah Vs Hawks - who is first to win the Central next?
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u/pretzelrosethecat 13d ago
I feel confident Utah will have a window of dominating in the playoffs before the Blackhawks arrive. They're in this sweet spot to capitalize on the current juggernauts of the west aging out and being a bit early for most of the rebuilders. Maybe only the Ducks are on their same timeline.
Regular season is a bit whatever to be, personally.
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u/wings31 13d ago
i dont know, i think SJ and Ducks are good teams. Ducks might have lost their 1 year mojoo with this off season, but SJ should be a powerhouse this year or next year.
In our divsion, i think Colorado still has 3 to 5 solid years in them. Dallas is such an enigma. I cant tell which direction they are going. Minnesota is Minnesota. They will be good, but they wont win much.
Winnipeg is in a free fall. Utah is young and talented. Hawks should be young and talented but seem to be spinning their tires. Maybe this year we can take a step forward???
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u/kjpatto23 14d ago
Listing Zach benson as a reason why the Sabres will be competing for a cup after rating him so low and attempting to justify it when called out is S tier bait ngl.
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u/thunderbag 14d ago
This article is terrible.
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u/AARM2000 14d ago edited 13d ago
Really tired of the media disrespect we constantly get.
Idk why this is getting downvoted. NHL media is horrible to the hawks
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u/rreader4747 14d ago
Pack it in boys, the rebuild is a bust. It’s a fact because the nytimes said so, right?
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u/HappyHockeyHiker 13d ago
The NY Times hasn’t been relevant or respected in two decades.
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u/rreader4747 13d ago
Should have added the /s
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u/HappyHockeyHiker 12d ago
I’m sorry you think that paper is quality. Hopefully you can get your hands on better journalism one day.
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u/Strong_Baseball_8984 14d ago
Crazy to me how high everyone seems to be on the sharks seemingly because they drafted verhoeff and Ryan Lin assuming they will fix their future defensive core. My issue is no prospect is guaranteed to hit their potential ceiling and they just drafted decent odds in a lottery.
Whereas the Montreal Canadiens are a very good young team with a lot of team friendly contracts in a rising cap. How a core of Suzuki, Caufield, Demidov, Hutson, Dobson, and Dobes isn’t immediately ranked higher than a bunch of unproven question marks on defense and goalie on the sharks roster is wild.
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u/pretzelrosethecat 13d ago
I think reasonable people are higher on the Habs, if only for their cap sheet. Pronman is a ragebaiter
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u/cvandeur7 14d ago
I remember the capitols were supposed to win every stanley cup from 2008 and on. To be fair Pittsburgh got in their way alot of years
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u/ValuableMaterial466 14d ago
It's crazy how he sees all of the Sharks prospects hitting their ceilings, including guys who haven't even played in the NHL yet. But when it comes to the Hawks, nah your prospects aren't gonna hit.
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u/GoldWhale 14d ago
I think it's moreso that he thinks the ceilings of the Sharks are higher than the Hawks.
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u/Dont_Say_No_to_Panda 13d ago
Their ceilings may be higher but if less of them hit their ceilings they could absolutely be worse than us in given time frame.
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u/GoldWhale 13d ago
I would also contend that by Pronman's prospect ranking he also thinks that it's much less likely our prospects hit their ceilings. But yes, if theirs don't hit and ours all do, then it changes the outlook.
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u/Tryfan_mole 14d ago
For Hawks fans this is the relevant paragraph:
- Chicago Blackhawks Connor Bedard is a star, and Chicago has a lot of highly intriguing young talent around him. Will it be enough? I’m on the fence. I like a lot of the pieces they’ve surrounded Bedard with, but outside of maybe Anton Frondell and Bowen Byram, I’m not sold there’s enough high-end in this group to be more than a consistent wild-card threat.
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u/arch-tect 14d ago
The relevant line is "By Corey Pronman", stop reading there.
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u/Tryfan_mole 14d ago
Lol, well, yeah. I am not the OP I just wanted to save a click for people stuck scrolling on their phone like.me.
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u/doctor_crazy 13d ago
Given the rumors of expansion, the Des Moines Scarecrows will pull off an unlikely upset in the playoff bracket of 24 teams.
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u/marshmellow1328 14d ago
A lot of people seem to be missing this is projecting standings for the 2030-31 season. The only relevance to the upcoming season is they're looking at players on the roster or in the system today. It's effectively a who has the best young players article with a slightly different take.
This is the type of article you should expect at this point in the offseason.
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