Unique to the 2021 season, the National Hockey League has entirely realigned its divisions to condense travel and lessen the risk of contracting and spreading the Coronavirus.
The Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals will make up the East Division.
Each team will play one another eight times, accumulating their 56-game schedule. This is sure to provide playoff intensity all season long, especially considering the constant back-to-back scenarios.
With that in mind, it's time to break down the teams and predict the final standings. Remember, only the top four teams in the East Division will qualify for the playoffs.
Let's begin with the basement dwellers and work our way to the cream of the crop.
8. New Jersey Devils
Finishing just under .500 in 2019-2020, this season will prove to be even tougher for the Devils as their schedule includes a division full of playoff caliber opponents.
Former first overall selections Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier will aim to continue their development as star centers.
Wingers Kyle Palmieri and Nikita Gusev will be productive, but are better suited as middle six forwards than top liners.
Shaky goaltending and a blue line anchored by the offensive minded P.K. Subban and Will Butcher won't add up to strong defense.
Ultimately, the Devils lack depth at every position and don't have the size or toughness to match most other teams in the East Division.
They'll steal a few games over the eight times they play each team, but will most likely be the punching bag of the division. If Jack Hughes can start to emerge as the Patrick Kane/Johnny Gaudreau hybrid he's billed to be, then that will at least be a step forward for the franchise.
7. Buffalo Sabres
This is where the division becomes really interesting.
In my opinion, there are five teams in the East Division that would ordinarily qualify for playoffs. Since only the top four will get in, that means at least one bona fide playoff caliber will be snubbed.
While Buffalo, (as well as the next team on this list), isn't considered one of those five bona fide playoff caliber teams, they are on the cusp and certainly capable of being a dark horse in an already condensed season.
Up front, Jack Eichel, Victor Olofsson, Jeff Skinner and Sam Reinhart will be joined by new additions Taylor Hall, Eric Staal and World Junior standout Dylan Cozens.
On the back end, former first overall pick Rasmus Dahlin, Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe and Brandon Montour round out their top four defensemen. Also a part of the young D corps is old friend Colin Miller.
The Sabres are young, fast and can score. Their troubles are in goal. Linus Ullmark and Carter Hutton aren't really a dynamic duo between the pipes.
Strength of schedule is what will ultimately keep Buffalo on the outside looking in. Playing the Flyers, Bruins, Penguins, Islanders and Capitals eight times each will be the main reason the Sabres miss out on playoffs. At least they'll look fresh in their new uniforms.
6. New York Rangers
I like the Rangers, a lot. They are my dark horse in the this division. Over the next couple of seasons, the Blue Shirts will start to emerge as one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. For now, though, there are still a few experienced teams ahead of them that are in position to contend.
Led offensively by forwards Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich, the Rangers are also about to showcase a pair of franchise players.
Second overall pick in 2019, Kaapo Kakko, and first overall pick in 2020, Alexis Lafreniere, are sure to demonstrate why the future of the New York Rangers is so bright.
Where the Rangers will struggle is keeping the puck out of their net. Despite a promising young goaltender in Igor Shesterkin, their blue line lacks size and experience. Defensemen Tony DeAngelo, Jacob Trouba, Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren (former Bruins prospect) round out the team's top four on the blue line. While there is youth and skill in that group, the lack of size, aside from Trouba, will prove to be detrimental against heavier opponents.
The future is bright in NYC, and the Rangers will be the hottest show in town soon enough.
5. Pittsburgh Penguins
Leaving Pittsburgh as the odd man out is not an easy decision. To predict that a team still led by Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang will not be a top four team in an eight-team division is either bold or stupid.
Outside of their big guns, the Penguins actually have a solid surrounding cast of forwards -- Jake Guentzel, Kasperi Kapanen, Jason Zucker, Bryan Rust and Colton Sceviour to name a few. Scoring won't be Pittsburgh's issue. Defending will.
Kris Letang is a strong top defenseman, but after him, their blue line depth falls off. Yes, Brian Dumoulin is reliable, and John Marino is a promising piece, but there are too many uncertainties beyond them. Tristan Jarry will have to be excellent in goal for the Penguins if they want to punch their ticket to the postseason.
4. New York Islanders
For the last few years, the New York Islanders have been everyone's favorite pick to just miss the playoffs. They've always been competitive enough to hang with the big boys, but never sexy enough to be considered one of them.
Well, after defeating both the Flyers and Capitals in the playoffs last year before falling to the Lightning in the Conference Final, the Islanders have earned the benefit of the doubt from me this year.
I still wonder if they have enough scoring depth, but, the truth is, it just doesn't matter if they score all that much because they play so well defensively.
This is what I like to refer to as the "Barry Trotz Effect". The effective defensive system implemented by their head coach is the main reason I chose the Islanders over Pittsburgh for the fourth and final playoff spot in the East Division.
While Mat Barzal may be the only emerging superstar on the Isles roster, they have the depth and work ethic to compete with the very best on a nightly basis.
Barzal will be aided by forwards Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Jordan Eberle, Anthony Beauvillier and Josh Bailey to produce much of the scoring.
Playing in front of goaltender Semyon Varlamov will be a strong and well sized D corps led by Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, Nick Leddy and Scott Mayfield.
Defense wins championships, and while I don't view the Islanders as championship caliber, their commitment to team defense will earn them a playoff position.
3. Washington Capitals
The Capitals may not be as young as they once were, but they still possess as much high-end skill as anyone and new coach Peter Laviolette will be sure to get the most out of them.
Still led by Alex Ovechkin, Washington has the size and skill to reach the top of the NHL mountain.
Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Tom Wilson, Jakub Vrana, T.J. Oshie and Conor Sheary headline the Capitals' four-line offensive attack.
Norris Trophy nominee John Carlson leads a strong and skilled defense grouping that includes Dmitry Orlov, Justin Schultz, Brenden Dillon, and of course, Zdeno Chara.
Ilya Samsonov will officially replace Braden Holtby in net for the Caps, and is expected to be a fixture between the pipes for years to come.
Overall, Washington has too much size, skill and experience to falter outside of the playoff picture in 2021.
2. Boston Bruins
Though I still believe there's a strong possibility of them finishing with the highest seed, there are a few reasons why I have the Bruins finishing in second.
The main reason is the growing pains that they will have to endure defensively.
I believe they will end up a strong defensive unit, but it may take some time for Jeremy Lauzon, Jakub Zboril and Urho Vaakanainen to get their confidence going.
The good news, however, is that the Bruins have other young defenseman with years of experience.
Charlie McAvoy is just now starting to reach the early prime of his career and will be recognized as one of the league's premier defensemen for years to come.
Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk are also ready to take the next step in their careers, solidifying themselves as top four defensemen.
The Bruins defense is young and talented, but filling the skates of Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug won't be an opening night fix.
Fortunately for them, the Bruins still have one of, if not the best goaltending tandems in the NHL. Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak will help during some of the team's inevitable defensive breakdowns early on.
Offensively, the Bruins have as much top end talent and depth as anyone in the NHL. However, starting the year without David Pastrnak is definitely another reason I don't have them winning the division.
Ordinarily, starting the year without your top scorer and winning the division can still be done, as long as there is scoring depth.
This year, however, is more of a sprint to the finish. For that reason, I have the B's getting off to a slow start despite their four line attack could prove too much to overcome as it relates to possibly winning the division.
*Side prediction: Charlie Coyle and Craig Smith will be among the most productive third line duos in the league.*
1. Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers possess a great balance of offense, defense, depth, grit and goaltending.
The Flyers have some swagger heading into this year and they tend to match up well with the teams around them.
Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek are currently penciled in on the Flyers' second and third forward lines. That speaks to their offensive depth.
Sean Couturier leads the team as first line center, accompanied by skilled, agitating Travis Konecny and left winger Oskar Lindblom.
Kevin Hayes, James van Riemsdyk and Joel Farabee highlight further scoring options for Philly.
Not to mention, the Flyers will benefit from the return of former second overall pick Nolan Patrick. Patrick, 22, has been out of action for over an entire season due to a migraine disorder. At his ceiling, he can be a top line power forward, capable of putting up serious points.
Defensively, the Flyers will be led by the highly skilled and highly underrated Ivan Provorov. Rounding out the top two pairs alongside Provorov are the strong and talented Philippe Myers, Travis Sanheim and Justin Braun.
Any deficiencies on the Flyers' back end are sure to be covered up by the play of emerging superstar goaltender Carter Hart.
The Broad Street Bullies have it all, including Stanley Cup aspirations.
