Campbell Conference Preview
Campbell Conference Preview
Nostradumbass is here boys with my inaugural RSHL insight. Looking into the crystal ball this is how I see the Campbell Conference playing out in season 18. I created the entire RSHL roster set in EA SPORTS NHL21 to guide me, and without further ado here we go!
Results summary, sorted by Average conference rank:
The Playoff Locks
- Vancouver Canucks
GM Leni only has one thing on his mind and that is getting his fourth ring to near the completion of his RSHL Infinity Gauntlet. This Canucks roster is one of the most formidable RSHL rosters ever assembled. There is star power everywhere and a roster full of Hart, Richard, Calder, and Vezina candidates. In the simulation the Canucks finished in the Stanley Cup final four (4) out the five seasons winning twice.
Prediction: President’s Trophy, Gretzky Division Championship, Stanley Cup Championship, Ring Number 4, and another Executive Trophy for the trophy case.
- Columbus BlueJackets
GM Gacek is coming off his first RSHL Stanley Cup but will be in a huge battle to bring home consecutive Cups, a feat only achieved by Leni’ Canucks. Columbus benefits from playing in the Norris division and getting 32 games a year against Chicago, Nashville, St. Louis, and Minnesota. The Columbus defense just won’t cut it against the Campbell offensive power houses of Vancouver, Colorado, San Jose, and Edmonton. In the simulation the BlueJackets finished in the Stanley Cup final one (1) time out of the five seasons winning once.
Prediction: Norris Division Championship.
- Colorado Avalanche
GM Tsang has had the misfortune of playing in the Gretzky Division with Leni and Sebastiano and to this point has not been able to bring home any rings struggling head to head against the Canucks and Oilers. The Avalanche’ only hope at a Cup this year is Vezina candidate Connor Hellebuyck being able to stop the Ovechkin, Eichel, Stamkos Canucks and the McDavid, Panarin, Kucherov Oilers. In the simulation the Avalanche made the Campbell Conference finals two (2) times losing to the Canucks both times.
Prediction: Second place Gretzky Division, at best the #4 seed and a likely matchup with Edmonton in the first round.
- San Jose Sharks
GM Vito is attempting to end his championship drought at 8 and we will see if the Tim Horton’ combo Crosby and McKinnon are up to the challenge. The Stars, Kings, and Jets should offer more completion though that the bottom teams of the other divisions so Vito will have to make sure to take full advantage of all 16 points available against the Ducks. In the simulation the Sharks made the second round two (2) times and lost in the first round three (3) times.
Prediction: Dionne Division Championship in a fight with Dallas, fighting with Columbus for #2 and #3 seed.
The Virtual Playoff Locks
- Dallas Stars
GM Singh is a zero time RSHL champion who many think finally has a chance to take down Vito this season and claim the Dionne Division. As Mika Zibanajad goes so do the Stars with Singh crossing his fingers that Brayden Schenn and Mikko Rantanen can form a line to match up against Crosby, McKinnon and Guentzel. In the simulation the Stars made the playoffs three (3) times, narrowly missing twice. The Stars were eliminated one (1) time in the second round and in the first round two (2) times.
Prediction: Second place in the Dionne and a likely a six seed and a tough matchup against San Jose or Columbus in the first round.
- Edmonton Oilers
Gm Sebastiano is attempting to end his championship drought as well and his drought sits at 9. The Oilers boast one of the best top 6 forward set and one of the best top 4 defense in the entire RSHL but unfortunately he has to play the Canucks 8 times and the Avalanche eight more times. The lone issue on the Oilers roster remains a complete lack of depth and if the injury bug comes biting there will have to be some rash decisions made. The simulation saw the Oilers make the playoffs four (4) times. The Oilers made it as far as the second round one (1) time losing to the Canucks, and lost the other three (3) times in the first round to the Canucks and the Avalanche.
Prediction: Third place Gretzky Division and a fight with the Avalanche for home ice advantage in the first round matchup.
- Los Angeles Kings
GM Mattiello had bragging rights around the Christmas dinner table, but unfortunately Gacek took that from him and now Mattiello is in a struggle against Dallas and San Jose to keep his neck above the playoff line. The Kings boast the strongest right hand blue line in the league with Hamilton, Parayko, Johnson, and Dumba all firing bombs from the right side. The forward group is nearly all north of 30 and we will see if they have one more playoff run left in them. The Kings made the playoffs four (4) times in the simulation. The Kings made it as far as the second round (1) time losing to the Canucks. The other three (3) trips to the playoffs ended with first round losses to the BlueJackets, and Avalanche.
Prediction: Third place in the Dionne and a likely #7 playoff seed with a tough matchup against San Jose or Columbus.
The Iffy’s
- St. Louis Blues
With one playoff spot up for grabs, two time champion Heatherington attempts to add his third ring. The Blues have the top prospect list in the entire RSHL but for the present they hope to benefit from playing Minnesota, Nashville, and Chicago a combined 24 times. Deciding to keep or trade Fredrik Anderson may be the difference between playoffs and no playoffs for the Blues. In the simulation the Blues made it to the playoffs three (3) times losing in the first round all three (3) times to the Canucks, Flames, and Stars.
Prediction: A possible number 8 seed with Anderson, out of the playoffs without him.
- Calgary Flames
GM Hisaoka was one of the busier GMs in free agency bringing in defenseman Jakob Chychrun and Zdeno Chara in to anchor their left side defense. The same blue line also boasts two Calder Trophy candidates in Cale Makar and Adam Fox. The Flames are currently over the salary cap (illegally stashing Zach Bogosian on the farm roster) and will be forced to make a cap space move before the season. The Flames made the playoffs three (3) times in the simulation making it a far as the second round one (1) time losing to the Avalanche. The other two (2) entries ended in first round exits at the hands of Vancouver.
Prediction: A #8 seed and an impossible matchup with Vancouver.
- Winnipeg Jets
Rookie GM McAndrews begins his first season steering the Jets attempting to put a scare into the Sharks, Stars, and Kings. Like the other Dionne entries McAndrews needs all 16 points against Anaheim if he hopes to stake claim to the final seed in the Campbell. The Jets as well have a very strong right hand defense boasting Shea Weber, Jacob Trouba, Nikita Zaitsev, and Adam Larsson. The Jets made the playoffs two (2) times, winning the division one (1) time. The Jets best finish was a Campbell Conference finals loss against Vancouver.
Prediction: Fourth place in the Dionne. Out of the playoffs.
The Lose for Lafreniere’s
- Chicago Blackhawks
GM Semyck had a draft strategy to improve the roster immediately and added Calder candidates Dominik Kubalik, and John Marino as well as starting goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, and Joel Kiviranta. Unfortunately for Chicago if they do indeed “Lose for Lafreniere” the Leni empire will gain the top prospect since McDavid as Vancouver currently owns their selection. Chicago did manage to crack the playoffs one (1) time in the simulation losing to the Sharks in round one.
Prediction: Out of the playoffs. Not last place. A disappointed Leni.
- Nashville Predators
No team made more free agency additions as GM Lebow but it was mostly forced so that Nashville could ice a complete team. Nate Thompson, Troy Brouwer, Trevor Lewis, David Backes, Braydon Coburn, Trevor Daley, Char Ruhwedel, Mark Barberio, Kevin Connauton, and Henrik Lundqvist all joined Nashville and complete the all 30+ (minus Kotkaniemi) roster. Nashville made the playoffs zero (0) times in the simulations are with their current roster do not seem poised to make an immediate threat to do so.
Prediction: Out of playoffs. Not last place. At least they currently own their number 1 pick.
- Minnesota Wild
Rookie GM Gibbons has recently took over the Wild and has taken the league by storm. Gibbons had a monstrous first draft with three (3) first round picks as well as many others later give Wild fans something to look forward to. In the immediate the team belongs to Pierre-Luc Dubois who should get huge minutes in all three facets of the game. The Wild made the playoffs zero (0) times in the simulations finishing as high as 11th.
Prediction: Out of the playoffs. Not last place. Currently own their own first and a whole stable of other picks.
- Seattle Kraken
GM Boustred packed up and left their one Philadelphia fan disappointed on their journey from the east coast to the west coast. The Kraken logo was also all over the season 18 draft board as they secured their hopeful new first line center, Trevor Zegras, maybe as soon as next season. The Kraken boast one of the worst goaltending threesomes in the history of the RSHL with Anthony Stolarz trying to keep the crease from David Ayres and Scott Foster. The Kraken made the playoffs zero (0) times in the simulation and finished as high as 13th.
Prediction: Out of playoffs. Fighting with the Ducks, Capitals, and Rangers for a chance at Lafreniere. Currently own their own first and a number of other picks.
- Anaheim Ducks
GM Rochberg knows how it feels to make the first trip to the podium after deciding the take Jack Hughes first overall just weeks ago. If Hughes has any chance at the Calder it will have to be because of running mate Andrei Svhechnikov who is the teams biggest star. The Ducks did dip into free agency adding veterans Milan Lucic, and Riley Nash to fill roster spots while they wait for the young stars to fill the void. The Ducks are poised for a chance at Lafreniere with their highest place in the simulation being 14th and finishing last the other 4 times.
Prediction: With the first pick in the season 19 RSHL draft, the Anaheim Ducks select.
10/23/2020
Your Call
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Excellent article Nostra Dummy. Luckily this isn’t EA Sports 21. Give me Dallas to stun the conference.
Excellent read. Dallas were my dark horse last season. This time they rock the west!
Hrudey
Why is Dallas getting so much love?
Borderline elite team with an elite GM.
Ummmm, David Ayres and Scott Foster have never lost an NHL game. Is there any other elite goaltending tandem in RSHL that can say that?
Zibanajad > Crosby? I don't think so.Sharks are on the attack and the Stars are dead meat.Burkie
How do you try and win over a new fan base by moving into Seattle and trying to lose 82 out of 82 games?Burkie
Nashville might be ranked ahead of Minnesota, Seattle and Anaheim for now but not for long.The Nashville $#!t stains are headed to the Campbell basement for the next 10 yearsBurkie
clearly the stars are the endorsers of this article
Byfield will go number 1
Who is this Byfield character? Where is Shane Wright?
Solid read... thank you - Avs
Oilers worse then the Avs??? Dallas better in the conference??? My God I really must not know what I'm doing, or an analyst has a bone to pick. - Oilers
Ilmao ^^
Read it again. The analyst picked Dallas to finish behind Edmonton.
Then they were numbered incorrectly
Ignore the numbers. READ THE PREDICTION.Burkie
I guess maybe reading charts isn't a Burkie strength, Ivy league my ass. Dallas averaged rank was 5.8 and Edmonton was 6. Could be my Community College education but 5.8 comes before 6 doesn't it.
Yes very salty......Oilers. EA Sports sucks!!!
Im guessing you think the 6 rating is too high?
Oilers will finish top 5 in the league
What you gonna do when McDavid Panarin Marner Kucherov Petterson Jones Werenski runs wild on you brother
Say a prayer, drink milk and take some vitamins!
Pity the fool who plays in the same division as Vancouver.
Looks like free points so far, even for Seattle
Oh my
Great write up.....think you nailed my Jets perfectly.
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