NHL Playoffs: Predicting All 16 Stanley Cup Playoff Seeds

It's only mid-December in the NHL season, and already we've seen teams dubbed as "contenders" quickly fall out of their playoff positioning and out of league relevance.

Often, fans of rising will too quickly predict their future questionable success, and unfortunately, a lot of the time they're surprised with a quick fall of their team.

With that said, here are the teams that are for real, that you will still see around in the playoffs in Mid-April.

Eastern Conference: Missed the Cut

Unfortunately for the Devils, they miss the cut and the playoffs.

While they currently sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, they play in a very good Atlantic division.

The Devils' 18th-ranked offense and 17th-ranked defense won't be enough to carry them through multiple divisional games against the Rangers, Flyers and Penguins for the rest of the season.

Also, as the year goes on, Marty Brodeur's old age will begin to show.

8. Toronto Maple Leafs

Yes, it will have been the first time in a very long time that the Maple Leafs have made the playoffs. You could also question how long they'll stay as the eighth seed.

They'll have a steep uphill battle no matter who they draw, and while they are good enough to make it to the playoffs, it's questionable whether or not they will be able to advance past the first round.

7. Buffalo Sabres

Yes, the Sabres still make it into the playoffs, coming in as the seventh seed overall.

While their sub-par play is a little less than we expected, Ville Leino's lack of presence is everything that should've been expected, which makes his contract that much more bewildering.

If the Sabres are lucky, perhaps Leino will show up in the playoffs like he did for Philadelphia.

6. Washington Capitals

Yes, despite that small detail that the Caps are currently ranked 11th in the East, they'll come around.

Whether Ovechkin leads the charge or not, this team is simply too good to miss the playoffs.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh is one of the best teams in the league, but without Sidney Crosby, they're unlikely to win the Atlantic division, and even less likely to win the Stanley Cup.

While they still play relatively well, Crosby and Letang's absence hurt the team. Pittsburgh is just hoping that Malkin doesn't have recurring problems with his knees.

4. Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers were arguably the favorite to win the Atlantic division, but with superstar forward Claude Giroux being out indefinitely with a concussion, and future Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Pronger having his season shut down, their chances at taking the Atlantic are in doubt.

They're a good team, no doubt, and the sooner they get Giroux back, the better.

3. Florida Panthers

Most people expected the Florida Panthers to be a better team than the were last year, but not many people expected them to do this well.

Their team stats, such as offense and defense, aren't stellar compared to the rest of the league, but they're good enough to win a weak Southeast division.

With Washington being unable to get it together, the division is Florida's to lose.

2. New York Rangers

The New York Rangers are one of the best defensive teams in the league, allowing only 2.1 goals per game and killing off 86.4 percent of their penalties.

Much of this might be because of their goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, but their offense isn't too bad either, ranked 10th in the league.

The Rangers have a good team, but bad injuries to division rivals like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia give them the boost to win the Atlantic division.

1. Boston Bruins

The defending Stanley Cup Champs will add to their resume by winning the Eastern Conference and possibly the President's trophy this season.

There's no reason not to believe that with an offense ranked second and a defense ranked first, the Bruins have every chance to repeat their Cup victory this year.

Arguably their toughest (and most entertaining) game this year was the Thanksgiving showdown against the Detroit Red Wings, and with the way both teams are playing, that could turn out to be one hell of a Stanley Cup Final.

Western Conference: Missed the Cut

This is sure to catch the eye of some pissed off Dallas Stars fans, but yes, they will fall out of the playoffs by the end of the season.

Although the Stars currently lead their division, there's only a five-point spread between the Stars and the fourth-place Los Angeles Kings.

And with an 18th-ranked offense and a defense ranked 15th overall, I just don't see how the Stars stay in the playoffs.

8. Nashville Predators

Yep. The Predators make it in at eighth. They're not as good as they were last season, but they're undoubtedly a playoff team.

The problem is, they don't match up well against any of the three division winners...

7. Los Angeles Kings

What? The Kings? Yes...

The Kings were one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup at the start of the year, and they've been an awful disappointment all year.

Their offense isn't just awful, it's the worst in the league. Worse than Columbus. Worse than the Islanders. Worse than anybody.

That's exactly why they will rise up in the league. With stars like Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown and Mike Richards on their offense, there's no way they stay the worst in the league, and with a seventh-place defense, they could be a tough low seed to draw.

6. Minnesota Wild

Minnesota and Dallas fans will actually be able to agree on something for once: They'll both probably hate this list.

But this is a bit of a reality check for the Wild, who currently lead their division. First off, Vancouver's Stanley Cup hangover is gone and they're on the horizon, and secondly, scoring 2.4 goals per game isn't going to take you to the top.

Now, it could easily be pointed out that the Kings are worse offensively, but the Wild's offensive ranking is a little more believable than LA's, which is why they'll drop and the Kings will rise.

5. St. Louis Blues

Since hiring Ken Hitchcock, the Blues have been one of the best teams in the NHL, which leads me to question how Hitch was unemployed for so long.

The Blues were 6-7-0 before Hitchcock came, and they're 13-2-4 since that time.

The Blues are another team with a not-so-great offense, but with the second-ranked defense in the league, they're in decent shape.

4. Chicago Blackhawks

The Blackhawks are a very good offensive team with some very big problems defensively.

Whether it be bad defense or bad goaltending, the Hawks are allowing on average 2.97 goals per game, which is just .2 less than what they score.

While Ray Emery is starting to kick in, you really have to question if he's the type of goaltender who can lead the Hawks on a charge for the Stanley Cup.

3. San Jose Sharks

It may come as a surprise to many, but the Sharks aren't off to as good of a start as a lot of people thought they would be.

Of course, you really have to question the predictions of a better team when they made a minor upgrade over Ian White by adding Brent Burns, and also acquired Martin Havlat, but got both at the price of Devin Setoguchi and Dany Heatley.

To sum that up in fewer words, the Sharks took a small step forward defensively and a big step back offensively.

And who knows how much they lost by trading their top prospect, Charlie Coyle, from a relatively empty prospect pool.

That said, the Sharks are still good enough to take over the Pacific division, but one has to question if they're as good of a team as they have been in recent years.

2. Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings, disregarding whatever the current standings may say, are the best team in the Western Conference right now.

With Jimmy Howard in a Vezina candidate year, the Red Wings have a defense ranked fifth overall in the NHL, allowing just 2.2 goals per game.

Their offense is even better, scoring 3.3 goals a game, ranking them third in the NHL.

As I said on the Bruins slide, the same goes for the Wings. The Thanksgiving Showdown was arguably Detroit's toughest game of the year, and they came out with a shootout win.

Shootouts don't happen in the playoffs though, so a possible final with the Bruins would make for a very difficult series to predict.

1. Vancouver Canucks

Roberto Luongo may be one of the streakiest goalies in the league.

Two weeks ago, his name was being mumbled by people in the league of players who needed to be traded. Now, in his last six games, he's only allowed nine goals (plus another counted via shootout).

The Canucks suffered heavily early in the season from a Stanley Cup Finals hangover, as did their opponent and Cup winner, the Boston Bruins. Both teams are over those hangovers, though, and they're back to being two of the most feared teams in the league.

Vancouver and Detroit are arguably the two best teams in the West, and Vancouver will win the West due to a less competitive division.

The teams will play each other Wednesday night. With the way they're both playing, it should be one hell of a game.

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Jordan Matthews is a writer for the NHL and for the Detroit Red Wings. You can read some of his recent articles here:

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