2019 NHL Pre Season Predictions

(ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON OCTOBER 2, 2019)

Finally, hockey has come back ladies and gentlemen! It’s been a hot minute but the best sport in the world is finally back upon us. Next week, 31 teams begin the arduous process of trying to win the Stanley Cup. Luckily for you guys, I was able to give my thoughts and predictions for each playoff team and placement for this upcoming season. Let the arguing begin!

KEY:

p – Best Record in the NHL

z – Best Record in Conference

y – Division Champion

x – Playoff Spot

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic:

p – Tampa Bay Lightning – Easily the most talented roster in the league. With Point back and Kucherov and Stamkos hopefully remaining healthy, the Bolts should have this division in the bag. If Vasilevskiy keeps up his form from last year, he’ll have a serious chance to win back to back Vezinas. Now with the additions of Kevin Shattenkirk and Pat Maroon, Tampa’s chance at a Stanley Cup only strengthens. Anything less than a cup hoisting in June is considered a disappointment in Tampa.

x – Toronto Maple Leafs – Good job Toronto! You got everyone resigned under the cap AND you fixed your defense! In what turned out to be a decent offseason for the Leafs, I believe the team has finally been able to make that jump into 2nd place in the Atlantic. Now with Barrie, that defense gets a nice shot in the arm. All that’s left is to name a captain, which all rumors point to John Tavares. Once Nylander bounces back and Mitch Marner continues to do the Mitch thing, Toronto should have no problem making it back to the playoffs.

x – Florida Panthers – I do feel bad for all 12 Florida Panthers fans that read this article. Every year I pick your team to make the playoffs, you miss. Every time I pick the Panthers to miss the playoffs, you make it. Sorry, guys. On the plus side, your offense is lethal this year. With Barkov, Dadonov, Trocheck, Huberdeau, and Hoffman, goals are soon going to be coming to the Sunshine State. You also have a goalie this year! Enter a 10 million dollar Sergei Bobrovsky, who has been one of the league’s elite goalies. All kidding aside, this is your time to shine Florida. Cap purgatory is coming soon.

Metro:

y – Washington Capitals – Fun Fact: This is the first time in over three years I’ve picked the Capitals to win the division. Washington gave me no reason to not pick them as division favorites. How could I pass on them yet again? With a generational goal scorer in Alex Ovechkin, a Vezina caliber goalie in Braden Holtby, an underrated two way center in Nicklas Backstrom, and an elite Top 2 defenseman in John Carlson, the Capitals are looking to fly under the radar en route to the Stanley Cup. Most importantly, they finally have that monkey off their back of being a playoff failure. Now, it is expectation that they progress and advance.

x – Pittsburgh Penguins – I’ve been seeing a lot of experts have Pittsburgh either regressing or out of the playoffs completely this year. Here’s the reality: the Penguins will  not miss the playoffs with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. This year’s supporting cast includes Alex Galchenyuk, Jake Guentzel, and Jared McCann. Add Kris Letang and Matt Murray, and your core of the 2017 Cup run is still there, minus Kessel and Bonino. Trust me guys, the Penguins will be back in the playoffs. I just cannot see them missing.

x – New York Rangers – This is probably viewed by many as a surprise pick, as the Rangers are young and inexperienced. However, the team may also view these next few years as Lundqvist’s last few years to win a Stanley Cup in New York. This may light a fire under the team, and propel some scoring from Zibanejad, Panarin, and Kakko to push these new look Rangers forward. A much upgraded defense with Trouba can’t hurt, and we may be hearing Baba O’Reilly back at the Garden sooner rather than later. Keep an eye on Rangerstown this season.

Wild Cards:

WC1 – Boston Bruins – The Eastern Conference Champions don’t seem like they are slowing down, despite the aging of the team. Minimal free agent signings and the returning of the core should not stop Boston from making the playoffs. Just because they are in the wild card does not mean they are not Cup contenders.

WC2 – Montreal Canadiens – Allez, allez allez, allez Montreal! This could be the breakout year that Montreal supporters have been waiting for. It looks like Bergevin won the Pacioretty and Galchenyuk trades (what a shock!) as Domi and Tatar have provided quality scoring that makes fans happy. If Carey Price is as elite as he once was and can still be, the Habs should be able to sneak back into the playoffs and Bergevin will be seen as a decent GM once again. Crazy what three years can do.

Cela pourrait être l’année décisive que les supporters de Montréal attendaient. Il semblerait que Bergevin ait remporté les transactions Pacioretty et Galchenyuk (quel choc!), comme Domi et Tatar ayant fourni un score de qualité qui rend les fans heureux. Si Carey Price est aussi élite qu’il l’a été et qu’il le peut encore, le Tricolore devrait être en mesure de revenir dans les séries éliminatoires et Bergevin sera à nouveau perçu comme un bon GM. Fou ce que trois ans peuvent faire.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central:

y – Colorado Avalanche – Mikko Rantanen is back, and therefore the Avalanche are put back up into first. I love everything about this Avs team. The front line is loaded with star power with Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and the aforementioned Rantanen. Kadri was exactly what this team needed down the middle, and with the rise of Cale Makar, there was no need for Barrie if they were not going to re sign him. Joe Sakic had himself one hell of an offseason, and the Avalanche may be getting back to their late 90s-early 2000s dominance sooner rather than later. Plus, Colorado needs a good team after the Rockies started to weaken and the Broncos, well, you know. Look out, NHL.

x – Nashville Predators – The only difference between the Predators and Avalanche that wanted me to give the edge to Colorado is that the Avs improved more with needs in the offseason than the Preds did. However, Nashville is still a Stanley Cup contender, and playoffs should be expected. But let’s be real, the Predators do not care about the 82 game season. They are focused on that Cup. Despite trading away Subban, they countered it by signing Matt Duchene and focusing more on their offensive attack. Also, speaking of Matt Duchene, I saw that video of him announcing he signed in Nashville with that country song, and the Stars are going to have trouble three peating as “NHL Viral Video of the Year” award winners.

x – Dallas Stars – Speaking of the Stars, they had one interesting offseason to say the least, huh? Despite signing the 2011 All Star Team of free agency, that All Star team is still their namesake eight years later. Joe Pavelski had his best season at age 34, and Corey Perry is looking to prove his doubters wrong with a bounce back campaign. Add to that Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov, and GQ cover boy Tyler Seguin, and Dallas’ offense is back to the top of the league. Ben Bishop is Vezina material when he’s healthy, and it looks like the Stars have finally solved their goaltending woes. Add to that their on the rise defense led by Miro Heiskanen, and Big D should be back in the Big Dance sooner rather than later. Also, Jim Montgomery is a sleeper pick for the Jack Adams award for the second year in a row. Yee-Haw!

Pacific:

z – Vegas Golden Knights – Here’s the interesting thing about the Knights: they cleared cap room and somehow did not get that much worse. There was no team hotter during the last few months of the year than Vegas. Now they get a full year of Mark Stone. Sure, they had to trade out Colin Miller and Erik Haula to make room for such a player, but he has paid off in spades. Plus, they got luck on their side. For some reason, the Knights always do well when all the cards are stacked against them. I look beyond that though. I see a Stanley Cup Champion very soon in Sin City. That party should be fun.

x – Calgary Flames – Here are a few things that people said to me last year during Calgary’s run to the top of the Western Conference

“Calgary’s a fraud. Weak schedule”

“Oh my god, why do you like Calgary? You know you’re getting disappointed!”

“The Flames will struggle come playoff time”

Okay, maybe that last one was true. But the offense is back in Calgary now that Matt Tkachuk has officially re signed and Johnny Hockey is still playing on one of the best contracts in the league. Only adding to that magic is Mark Giordano. The 35 year old is coming off the Norris Trophy as he continues to establish himself as one of the best defensemen in the league. The only question mark is in net. Can Rittich and Talbot be the duo needed to get this team back to the top? Let’s hope so. Last playoff series left a sour taste in all of the mouths of the Red Mile.

x – Arizona Coyotes – Holy Gila River Batman! For the first time in 2012, it looks like the Coyotes are a legitimate playoff contender, and I am all for it! The offense, headed by newcomer Phil Kessel, is suddenly looking legitimate. Add to that a young core that’s barely old enough to drink legally in Christian Fischer, Lawson Crouse, Barrett Hayton, and Clayton Keller. On defense, you know what you’re getting in Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but the wildcard Jacob Chychrun is still looking to prove he belongs in the desert. If Raanta and Kuemper perform like they did last year, this team should, SHOULD, sniff playoffs. If they make it, that arena better be packed. Phil Kessel will make sure it is by probably giving out free hot dogs, so there is no need to worry.

Wild Cards:

WC1 – San Jose Sharks – Great, here we go again with the Sharks. Let me find my stuff from last year, delete all references to Joe Pavelski, and paste it right into here. The offense is there. The defense is solid. Martin Jones is serviceable. There’s no need to go into any more detail about the team, or the season preview, and plus this article is long enough as it is. The Sharks season is a failure if a Stanley Cup is not brought to San Jose. Plain and simple. Problem is, the Western Conference is much harder than it was last year, and their path will not be easy. The fans have waited for too long. Bring this home, San Jose. The league is cheering for you.

WC2 – St. Louis Blues – BUT YOU REALLY DON’T REMEMBER, WAS IT SOMETHING THAT THEY SAID? ALL THE VOICES IN YOUR HEAD? CALLING….

Whoops sorry, Forgot the Blues announced they are not bringing that song back for wins.

The Blues on paper are as dominant as they were last year. I mean, they were the Stanley Cup Champions, for crying out loud. All that is missing is Patrick Maroon, who made the weird choice to sign with Tampa. Only thing I’m not liking about their repeat odds is how much better the rest of the division got. However, the Faulk trade I like for the Blues a lot (Fun Fact #2, this spot was originally going to go to the Blackhawks). The Stanley Cup hangover will also be real, and it may hit St. Louis like a ton of bricks, especially with that schedule. You had your moment in the sun, St. Louis. Now prove that you belong with the big boys.

And at last my predictions are done. For making it to the end of this article, you should get a little something. So, here’s my very early Stanley Cup prediction

Vegas over Toronto in 6

Sorry, Golden Knights fans. That means you’re probably not winning it all this year. However, the 30 other teams that I did not curse will vie for the Cup. June should be real fun for Old Takes Exposed who may very well be looking back on this. As they say in hockey, let’s do that hockey.