The NHL season started on October 12th, so it’s time to pitch my thoughts on how things will turn out.
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Arizona Coyotes
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Montreal Canadiens
- Seattle Kraken
- New Jersey Devils
- Buffalo Sabres
- San Jose Sharks
- Anaheim Ducks
- Winnipeg Jets
- Detroit Red Wings
- New York Islanders
- Columbus Blue Jackets
- Vancouver Canucks
- Golden Knights
- Dallas Stars
- Ottawa Senators
- Nashville Predators
- Boston Bruins
- Washington Capitals
- Calgary Flames
- Minnesota Wild
- Los Angeles Kings
The team has a promising nursery of young stars, and who better to keep them on track than veterans Kevin Fiala and Drew Doughty? The Kings have gone from a surprise playoff team to a team to watch as these vets are staying healthy. Trust in the process.
- Florida Panthers
Wow, what a roller coaster of an off-season. Plenty of inevitable moves, like gaining Claude Giroux and Ben Chiarot. However, the blockbuster trade for Matthew Tkachuck should prove to be an effective stall against a complete rebuild.
- St. Louis Blues
There are three factors that make some important losses for the Blues seem a little smaller: Taking the champions, the Colorado Avalanche to game six, the team’s performance and Jordan Binnington’s comeback to star form during the playoffs. Besides Ville Husso and David Perron leaving, this team is ready to make an impact.
- Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh is keeping their Stanley Cup squad together for another year, and adding Jeff Petry on the wing only makes things better. While this defensive core stays strong, Sidney Crosby and the elite offense will provide the wins.
- Toronto Maple Leafs
The team is looking good this year, but making a big switch in the net could end up fantastic or disastrous. This team has no reason to worry about goal-scoring though, so hopefully, the Leafs don’t end up with another first-round exit.
- New York Rangers
Strong as ever, Igor Shersterkin and Artemi Panarin will lead this team to success. Vinnie Trocheck helps lighten the impact of losing Ryan Strome to the Ducks, but there’s still some work needed on their inexperienced back end.
- Edmonton Oilers
The problem between the goalposts seems to be better off than it was last year, bringing in Jack Campbell to start for Edmonton. Bringing back all the fan favourites has worked well and should pay off as the team looks stronger than ever.
- Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning’s three finals and two cups speak volumes, and they seem to be keen on keeping this championship-hungry team together by signing Anthony Cirelli, Mikhail Sergachev, Erik Cernak, and Nick Paul to long-term contracts. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.
- Carolina Hurricanes
This bunch of jerks was a contender last year and their status only got better this off-season. With the additions of Max Pacioretty and Brent Burns, a good team just got better.
- Colorado Avalanche
If losing Nazem Kadri and Darcy Kuemper visibly start to hurt the team, it could get dangerous for the Avalanche, but this is no ordinary team. They still have Cale Makar at the helm of the defence and Nathan MacKinnon leading their offence. With Alexander Georgiev still being a downgrade from Kuemper, the Avalanche is just fine between the posts.
