The deadline has come and gone and some teams made huge additions, some teams made minor moves and some teams decided to stand pat entirely. The trade activity has created what looks to be an ultra-competitive landscape below the one clear-cut favourite. The dust has settled and now we can evaluate where every team stands as each move and non-move has had an effect on the championship picture.



Per my model, there are seven teams with a Stanley Cup chance north of six percent – these are the teams that can be considered legitimate contenders and the teams that will be of major focus here as they combine for three-quarters of the championship probability pie. Aside from them, though, there are six others who can definitely make noise too, creating a playoff outlook that could shape up to be one of the fiercest in years.



At this juncture, there are 10 teams my model considers to have true 100-point talent. In last year’s playoffs, there were six. These teams...