By Quynh Anh Nguyen
Oftentimes, the start of a new school year, as well as the excitement and drama that come with it, coincides with the start of everyone’s favourite sports: hockey, basketball, and football. Here in Canada, hockey is usually the one that temporarily provides us with an escape from the real world for 82 games a season, no matter what team you cheer for. This year, however, it’s especially important, after a season filled with COVID-19 concerns, as well as schedule delays and no way to go see your favourite team. The hope is that this season will provide a sense of normalcy, with fans being able to attend games again and a full 82 game schedule. Of course, every team still has their tribulations, just like last year and in any “normal” year. Let’s break them down, and see if your favourite team is playoff-bound or if they’re tanking this year.
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Atlantic Division
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Tampa Bay Lightning
As defending Cup Champions two years in a row, the Lightning are poised to once again win the Atlantic Division and go on a deep playoff run. They have added some depth pieces, such as Corey Perry, Zach Bogosian, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who will be great additions to the Lightning’s bottom six forwards and defense pairs. They’ve also added Brian Elliot in net to ease some of the pressure on Andrei Vasilevskiy. However, the Lightning did lose their entire third line to free agency and trades this off-season, so it will be interesting to see how they will fare without the trio that was essential in taking them to back-to-back cup runs. All in all, the Lightning have the best upside in terms of winning the division this year as their additions have improved team grit and depth, and aside from the loss of their third line, their team is practically unchanged from last season. Expect them to be a lock for the playoffs early on.
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Boston Bruins
Although the Bruins have had large subtractions in terms of secondary scoring such as David Krejci, Onjrei Kase, and Nick Ritchie, they are still poised to finish high in this tough division. They still have a few more years out of this core, and there’s no reason to count out the Perfection Line in Pastrnak, Marchand, and Bergeron. There will be questions in net due to the loss of Tuukka Rask to injury (and potentially to free agency once he recovers from injury just before the trade deadline), but it seems like they have that issue covered with the addition of Linus Ullmark. Ullmark was amazing on a Sabres team that finished in last place, and although he has had a rough preseason run, it is very possible he bounces back. Either way, unless the Bruins have an unusually bad season for them, they will be headed back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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Toronto Maple Leafs
On the heels of their embarrassing 4-3 series loss to the Montreal Canadiens last year (that they were leading 3-1 in), the Leafs are not in a great place. Their major losses include first line left winger Zach Hyman, former starting goaltender Frederik Andersen, and solid bottom six defenseman Zach Bogosian. It’s hard to believe that the Leafs will finish better than they did last season, especially in the tough division that they are in. However, the pressure of this “make it or break it” season will potentially bring out the best in their Big Four forwards (Tavares, Marner, Matthews, and Nylander), and they still have enough pieces to make a run for the playoffs. Michael Bunting, Kurtis Gabriel, Ondrej Kase, and Nick Ritchie are all depth additions that will add some much needed grit to this team up front, and the defensive core hasn’t changed much. It will be interesting to see if the Leafs can make the playoffs this year, and if they can finally slay the dragon and make the second round for the first time in 17 years.
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Florida Panthers
The Panthers are one of the teams that can be classified as an enigma in the league. Despite having success last season, they’re always one of the teams that end up right on the cusp. However, this year they seem ready to finally hop over that hump and make some noise in the division and potentially in the playoffs. They’ve added to their forward group with Sam Reinhart (who had a career season with the Sabres last season), as well as developed depth pieces, like Owen Tippett. The biggest question for the Panthers, though, will be who is in net. After losing Chris Dreiger in the Seattle expansion draft, they no longer have a bonafide starting goaltender. Sergei Bobrovsky hasn’t had a good season since he was signed onto his massive 8 year contract, and the only other option they have in the system that is ready is Spencer Knight (who is only 20 years old). No matter who ends up starting for them this year, they could potentially be on the outside of the playoff picture due to their poor contract management in that position. They still look like they will be taking that first wildcard spot, but don’t be surprised if they fail to make the playoffs again, solely because of their goaltending.
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Montreal Canadiens
The offseason has not been kind to the Montreal Canadiens. Although their miraculous run to the Stanley Cup Final was the first from a Canadian team in almost a decade, it was brutally marred two weeks later at the start of free agency. Their losses include Phillip Danualt, Corey Perry, and Tomas Tatar all in the span of one week. It also didn’t help that midway through the offseason, the Carolina Hurricanes tendered a one-year, 6 million dollar offer sheet to Jesperi Kotkaniemi, essentially taking their projected second-line centre. While the Habs have added Mike Hoffman, Christian Dvorak, and Cedric Paquette to improve their offense and their depth, it is hard to see them winning enough games to make the playoffs, considering how they already had scoring issues before their offense was decimated. Not to mention, veterans Shea Weber and Carey Price have both stepped away from the team indefinitely, leaving their defense and goaltending up in the air. While they may end up pushing for a wildcard spot this year, look to see the Habs have more of a “developmental” year, in which young guys such as Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Jake Evans take steps to be better and drive a Habs core for years to come.
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Ottawa Senators
Although GM Pierre Dorion has announced their rebuild as officially “over”, there’s nearly no possible avenue for them to make the playoffs in this tough division. Their roster is practically identical to the one that finished last in the abysmal North Division last year. Their goaltending is still a question mark with Matt Murray in net, and their roster is mainly filled with young, inexperienced players such as Pinto, Bernard-Docker, Stützle, and many more. It will be hard for them to push anyone out of the top three to secure a playoff spot, even now with Brady Tkachuk signed and ready for another seven years with this team. It is likely that they will finish better than last year in the standings, but expect this year to be another year at the bottom of the league as their players learn and develop.
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Red Wings
Quietly over the past few years, the Red Wings have been developing an exciting, new group that is poised to make more noise this year than they have for the past while. Although they likely will finish at the bottom of the division this year, this may be one of the last times the team is there, as they are slowly rebuilding their core for the future. They’ve added a young goaltender in Alex Nedeljkovic to a roster that already includes forwards Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Jacob Vrana. As well, Moritz Seider looks to be making his debut on the Red Wings' blue line, helping increase the talent there. Overall, while they may not win a lot of games this year, they are taking a step and will finish better than last year.
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Buffalo Sabres
If the Buffalo Sabres don’t finish last place in the division and in the league, it’ll be a miracle. Aside from the loss of their captain (Jack Eichel) to a medical issue the organization won’t let him fix, they’ve also lost roster mainstays in Rasmus Ristolainen and Sam Reinhart. The team is young, but almost embarrassingly so, with a 22 year old Casey Mittelstadt projected to be their first line centre. More than half of their roster will be inexperienced rookies or second year players, with Jeff Skinner, Kyle Okposo, and Zemgus Girgensons being some of the only veterans on the team. It will be hard for them to win games as well, with their unproven goalie tandem of Craig Anderson and Dustin Tokarski. The Sabres aren’t going to get anywhere near the playoffs this year, nor are they going to in the coming years. It would be a shock to all to see them finish anywhere above last in the division and in the league respectively.
Metropolitan Division
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Washington Capitals
It’ll be interesting to see if the Capitals follow the same trajectory this year, as the past few. They win the division, nearly sleeping, but then get swiftly bumped in the first round by a team that theoretically, shouldn’t even be there. They still have their stars, although the team will start without Ovechkin and Backstrom, who are both out with injuries. Still, they have TJ Oshie (who can anchor their first line), Tom Wilson (who can crash and bang his way to 20 goals), and a upbringing of youth in Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre. John Carlson and Ilya Samsonov continue to anchor the defense and goaltending, which will require both of them to have big years to be successful. Overall, the Washington Capitals are poised to succeed once again to win the division, even if what they do in the playoffs remains to be seen.
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Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have lost and gained a lot throughout the season, including the support of their fans. Controversial moves such as signing Tony DeAngelo, along with the loss of fan favourite Dougie Hamilton has led to a fair bit of bad PR for the Canes team. However, looking solely at the hockey side of things, it’s fair to say that the team has made some solid additions. Jesperi Kotkaniemi coming in on a 6 million dollar offer sheet may not be ideal at the moment, but he can be a solid centre in the coming future and will slide easily onto the third line next to Jordan Staal. Josh Leivo and Derek Stephan are notable fourth line names that will help with depth scoring. Ethan Bear and DeAngelo are question marks for the time being, but they are possible replacements for the loss of Dougie Hamilton. However, similarly to the Panthers, their biggest issues lie in net. Both Frederik Anderson and Antti Raanta have never been solidly healthy goalies, and both have not played a full season without injury in nearly 2 years. It’s hard to predict what the two will bring when fully healthy. However, healthy or not, the Canes are strong enough up front and on the back end to patch their holes, and look playoff bound.
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New York Islanders
Despite being perennial playoff performers, the Islanders often don’t finish first in the division during the regular season. Although they have weapons such as Barzal and Beauvillier up front, they struggle to score and to win games at some points. What they don’t have in scoring though they make up in systems, because this is a team that can grind you down and win those 1-0 “boring” games you would see in the playoffs. They have very few key subtractions this year, with Jordan Eberle being the main one up front and Nick Leddy on the back end. What they lost on defense, though, they managed to make up, signing Zdeno Chara once more for what is likely to be his final Cup run. The Islanders will have no issues with being good once more, and there’s no doubt they’ll be able to fill the Jordan Eberle hole. Expect them to finish high in the standings and make noise in the playoffs.
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Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins of this year aren’t much different than the Pittsburgh Penguins of recent years. This team will go as far as Sidney Crosby and the core will take them. However, with Crosby, Malkin, and Guentzel out to start the season, things aren’t looking good for the Penguins. Their major addition this year is Danton Heinen, who will contribute to depth scoring, but it’s very difficult to score on a roster that mostly consists of Kris Letang, Jeff Carter, and the majority of the Penguins AHL team. Not to mention that there are still questions about how their goaltending will look with Tristan Jarry as the starter again this season. The likely trajectory for this team is to be bad for a few weeks to begin the season, with hopefully Crosby coming in to buoy them to a wildcard spot. However, it may not be crazy to say they won’t do so, and that this may be the final season of greatness in the Sidney Crosby era, with Malkin and Letang’s contracts up at the end of the year.
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New York Rangers
It’s tough to predict what the New York Rangers will be as a team this upcoming season, because it certainly won’t look like the last. After the owner of the organization fired their general manager and their president of hockey operations last spring, Chris Drury finds himself at the head of a ship that may sink or swim. The Rangers have completely revamped themselves, focusing more on grit over skills, as they shipped out Pavel Buchnevich. They’ve added Barclay Goodrow and Ryan Reaves, along with Patrick Nemeth and Sammy Blais, all players who are known for a more old school, rough and tumble style of play. Despite this though, they will look to make the playoffs this year, with Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox and Mika Zibanejad leading the charge. They will need big years from their young first round talents though, as Kakko and Lafreniere have been stagnant the past two seasons and have not lived up to expectations. The Rangers will be a team that pushes for a playoff spot, but it is yet to be seen if their young players and their newly acquired grit will help them do that.
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Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers offseason was quite...confusing. For every right move they made, they seemed to make a wrong one. While they managed to ship out Shayne Gostisbehere, they somehow managed to trade a first round pick and a promising prospect in Robert Hagg for Rasmus Ristolainen. While they’ve added good pieces such as Cam Atkinson, Ryan Ellis, and Keith Yandle, they’ve also lost Jakub Voracek, Phillipe Myers, and Nolan Patrick. And even after all that, their biggest concern, which is in net in the form of Carter Hart, has no evident backup support with Martin Jones. The team still has their centrepieces in Claude Giroux, Sean, Couturier, and Travis Konecny, but there have been so many moves that team chemistry must be off, at least for the first little while. They are a team that has the talent to make the playoffs, but if it’s enough remains to be seen.
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Columbus Blue Jackets
Although the Blue Jackets in recent years have become a near perennial playoff contender, last season made it evident that this team was one that was ready to rebuild. They finished near the bottom of the league last year and drafted within the top 5 picks, not to mention losing Coach John Tortorella at the end of it all. That comes with the losses of Cam Atkinson and Michael Del Zotto up front and Seth Jones on the back end, all of whom were crucial in making the Columbus Blue Jackets exciting in the past few years. Despite this though, there’s a lot of hope in the Columbus organization. They’ve added exciting, young defensemen in Adam Boqvist and Jake Bean, and forwards such as Patrik Laine and Cole Sillinger can only take steps to be better this season. For the Blue Jackets, this season will be one of development, with hopefully their young players will learn from veterans like Jakob Voracek and Boone Jenner. While they may not be pushing for a playoff spot this year, they hopefully will make it back into the picture within the next few years.
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New Jersey Devils
Even though they are projected by most to lose the division, don’t count out the New Jersey Devils. This is a team that will be intriguing for years to come, mainly due to their young stars and their new additions on the back end. Hughes, Hischier, and Smith can only continue to make strides forward this year, and this may be the season we finally see Jack Hughes break out in the way he was meant to when he was drafted first overall in 2019. Hischier will have a full season as captain under his belt by the end of this one, which will be helpful as he and the other young prospects up front will continue to develop. On the back end, Ty Smith will have the opportunity to learn from one of the best in Dougie Hamilton and work with another young star in Ryan Graves. Even in goal, Mackenzie Blackwood will be guided by veteran Jonathan Bernier. Overall, this year for the Devils may not be one of many wins or a playoff spot, but rest assured it will be one of learning. And who knows? They might push for a higher finish than expected.
Central Division
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Colorado Avalanche
If the Colorado Avalanche don’t win this division, it will be a massive disappointment. After their swift second round elimination last year at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights, they’re expected to not only make the playoffs and win the division, but to win it all. \And honestly, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t. Their forwards are practically unchanged, with Alex Newhook stepping nicely into the holes left by Brandon Saad and Joonas Donskoi, and their defense is rock solid with Bowen Byram hoping to step up and take the place of Ryan Graves. Their biggest change was in goaltending, where Darcy Kuemper now comes in to replace Phillip Grubauer, who left in free agency to the Seattle Kraken. Regardless of their changes, the Colorado Avalanche are as stacked as ever. Expect them to walk to this division win.
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Winnipeg Jets
The Jets’ biggest problem over the past few seasons has been their defense. After making it to the Western conference finals in 2018, they lost their entire right side defense to free agency in 2019. However, this year seems like the one where the Jets are going for it once again. They’ve made some key additions to the blue line with Nate Schmidt and Brendan Dillion, as well as developing drafted defense prospects Logan Stanley and Ville Heinola. Their offense is still as great as ever, with only a few fourth line players leaving in free agency, and Connor Hellebuyck is still a Vezina Trophy contender this year. Their main concern is likely their backup goalie position though, as Laurent Broissoit leaving makes Eric Comrie the next one up. It remains to be seen if this deters the team though, as they have a good combination of offense and defense that will surely see them go for the playoffs, and potentially, even the Cup.
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Minnesota Wild
After having a down year in 2019-2020, the Minnesota Wild came back in 2020-21 rearing to go. Kirill Kaprizov was like a lightning rod to this team, and they made it back to the playoffs, putting up quite a fight with the Vegas Golden Knights. Their big story of the summer though, was the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Sutter, which altered the team forever. Not only did they lose important leadership, but it makes the season one of the most important for the franchise, as it will be the last year of cap flexibility before the Parise and Sutter buyouts give the Minnesota Wild with 12 million dollars in dead cap. They have the young pieces to be good, with very few changes from last years’ squad, but in the end, it’s all up to Kirill Kaprizov to his new contract. They look poised to make the playoffs though, and potentially, even make some noise there.
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Dallas Stars
If there was ever an enigma in this division, it’d be the Dallas Stars. After reaching the Stanley Cup Final in the bubble, they were stagnated last season by a COVID-19 outbreak and multiple injuries to their most important players such as Tyler Seguin and Ben Bishop. They finished outside of the playoff picture, being one of the first Stanley Cup finalists in recent years to not make the playoffs the following year. However, this season looks to be one where they bounce back into the playoff picture. They’ve added some nice pieces in Braden Holtby and Ryan Suter that will provide a veteran presence, and the return of Tyler Seguin and Roope Hintz will hopefully add some scoring up front. Their losses aren’t significant either, mainly depth guys, but like some other teams in this division, their biggest question will be in net. It’ll be an all out battle between Anton Khudobin, Braden Holtby, and Jake Oettinger for the starter spot, and there’s no clear answer who will end up in control of it. Whoever does end up there though, will probably be buoying the Stars through a playoff run, because that’s where they’ll likely end up.
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St. Louis Blues
The St. Louis Blues haven’t done anything during the last offseason that indicates that they will finish any higher in the standings than last year. They barely made the playoffs as it was, in the abysmal West Division, and their only two additions have been Pavel Buchnevich and Brandon Saad, who aren’t necessarily top scorers. They’ve continued to take steps back from their Cup-winning season, losing Alex Pietrangelo and having tense relations with Vladimir Tarasenko. Not to mention, Jordan Binnington has never been the same since then, resulting in their regression. They still have pieces such as Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou, as well as Jake Neighbours coming up, but it’s doubtful the Blues will be good enough to do any damage at all if they do end up making the playoffs. It’s probably a tough pill to swallow, but it may be time for the organization to move on from Tarasenko and the older core, and focus a little bit more on the youth.
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Chicago Blackhawks
Ignoring the Hawks’ larger organizational issues, they seem like they’ve revamped their team entirely. However, anyone who has followed them for a longer period of time than just last summer knows that this team is far from ready to do anything. They’ve added huge pieces such as Seth Jones, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Tyler Johnson, and lost very little if one just looks at point totals. However, Adam Boqvist and Duncan Keith pretty much ran the Chicago defense last year, and the loss of both to trade is a tough pill to swallow. There are many that believe that it is unlikely that Seth Jones and Jake McCabe manage to replace that, especially with Jones’ aversion to playing actual defense. Losing Pius Suter and David Kampf also hurts, especially on the penalty kill, which the Blackhawks desperately need to be good to even have an opportunity to taste the playoffs. Overall, the team’s offseason moves have been overrated, and aside from the return of a healthy Jonathan Toews, there’s nothing new about this team’s offense or defense that is convincing enough to lock in a return to the playoffs.
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Nashville Predators
And...they’re finally rebuilding. The Nashville Predators this year have finally given into what was years’ in the making, and focusing on the development of their future. They’ve shipped out some of their old veterans, such as Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Ellis, as well as brought back more young talent like Cody Glass and Philippe Myers. This year will be one of development, where the Predators will hopefully use the presence of Matt Duchene and Ryan Johanssen to teach the young forwards in Cody Glass and Philip Tomasino something new. If anything, this year the Predators will be fun, and they’ll be in a good spot to get a high pick in this year’s draft.
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Arizona Coyotes
You know, it’ll be fun to see who ends up winning the Shane Wright sweepstakes between the Arizona Coyotes and the Buffalo Sabres. Somehow, the Arizona Coyotes have managed to take a bad team that was supposed to pick 11th overall last year (they ended up picking 9th after a trade with the Canucks), and turned them into a team with Jay Beagle as their first line centre. The Coyotes are so bad, it’s laughable, but hopefully, the rebuild this time actually works. They have an insane 8 draft picks in the top two rounds next year, who will likely be filling their lineup in future years. This year, however, it’s #painforshane, with faith that the pain won’t last so long.
Pacific Division
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Vegas Golden Knights
It will be embarrassing for the Vegas Golden Knights if they don’t end up winning this division. There is no other clear candidate for the top spot, other than the Oilers, and they are far, far, away from being anywhere near as talented as the Golden Knights (aside from McDavid and Draisaitl). The Golden Knights haven’t made too many changes, other than acquiring centre Nolan Patrick, but it shouldn’t sway them. Even trading away Vezina Trophy winner Marc-Andre Fleury shouldn’t phase them with Robin Lehner in net, and a solid backup in Laurent Brossoit shouldn’t deter them. They’re talented enough up front and on the back end that they should steam roll everyone in this division in their sleep. Expect them to win the division and to make a deep playoff run.
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Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers should be the second best team in this division, even if they’re on a lower level than the Golden Knights. They’ve finally added some depth on the wings, signing on Warren Foegele and Zach Hyman to play with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Up front, they haven’t lost very much, but the two main concerns for Oilers’ fans should be their defense and goaltending. They’ve lost defensive mainstays in Ethan Bear and Adam Larsson, and the patchwork they have with Duncan Keith and Cody Ceci is not looking good. With the tandem of 40 year old Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen behind them, it looks spectacularly bad, because despite how much this team might score away their problems, it’s not going to change the fact that they can’t stop anything. The time is now for the Oilers to make a Cup run, but it’s hard to see them going for it in the playoffs. They might end up making it there, but it’s doubtful they’ll make any noise at all.
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Calgary Flames
After an unusually bad year last season, the Calgary Flames are poised for a high finish in the division. Despite the huge loss of their captain Mark Giordano, they should be good enough on defense to fill that hole, whether it be with Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev, or somebody else. They’ve added some grit in Coleman and Zadorov, and are now fully committed to the playoff style of game of Darryl Sutter. Jacob Markstrom will need to have a bounceback year this year, but other than that, the Flames are prepared to go all out. After all, this may be the last year of the Johnny Gaudreau era, and with all the trade rumours floating around, the last year of Matthew Tkachuk too. Keep an eye on the Flames, because they’ll be an interesting story this year if they end up making it back to the playoffs.
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Seattle Kraken
To be honest, the final wildcard spot in the West is wide open. There’s no reason why the Kraken wouldn’t be in the hunt along with the Canucks and the teams in the Central. While the Kraken may not have the flashiest roster on paper, they do have a roster that will try hard every single day. Backstopped by Phillip Grubauer and Chris Dreidger, the Kraken have some stars like Jordan Eberle, Brandon Tanev, and Joonas Donskoi at forward, while Jamie Oleksiak and Mark Giordano keep the back end on lock. If they can string together enough wins together at the beginning of the season, there’s a good chance that they figure out a way to push for that last playoff spot. Even if they don’t, no worries! The team has plenty of time to develop and become good in the coming years.
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Vancouver Canucks
Again, the Canucks are a team that might just push for that final wildcard spot. They’ve finally locked up Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, and added to the fountain of youth they have on the team. Pettersson joins Boeser and Horvat in a top six that looks to be lethal, while Hughes rejoins a core that desperately needs him. They’ve also brought in Yaroslav Halak in order to mentor another young guy in Thatcher Demko. However, the Canucks’ biggest concern isn’t on the ice; it’s in the salary cap. They’re going to be hard pressed for the rest of the year, with little flexibility, due to the bad contracts they've signed. Tyler Myers, Tucker Poolman, and even Tanner Pearson to some degree all contribute to the demise of the Canucks’ salary structure. Even getting Pettersson and Hughes on contracts this year was difficult, so it will be hard to trade around the issues they have going on there. Who knows though? The team is still young and exciting, and may be able to put up a fight. This is again, one of the last chances for a Canadian team’s general manager, as this year is likely the last for Jim Benning if he doesn’t build a team that can go on a deep Cup run. We’ll see what happens with the Canucks, but the current prediction is that they won’t make the playoffs, even if they may push.
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LA Kings
It may be too quick to say, but this may be one of the last years we see the LA Kings in the basement of the league. They’ve had some good draft picks and are developing them well in their system, with studs like Quinton Byfield and Alex Turcotte coming up. This year for the Kings will likely be one of learning, once again having Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty mentoring the young forwards and defensemen. The Kings have added much needed depth in Philip Danualt and Viktor Arvidsson, and their other returning lineup players will help pull them up a few spots in the standings. Their outlook is good for years to come, even if it’s not necessarily this year.
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San Jose Sharks
The juggernaut that once was now find themselves smack dab at the bottom of the worst division in the league. While they’ve seemingly improved their goaltending with Adin Hill and James Reimer, their skaters are seemingly unchanged. They still have their key players such as Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, and Logan Couture, but the cloud of Evander Kaner hangs heavy over the heads of every player. He was the best player on the team last year, no question, but he’s problematic to the team now, due to his own personal issues and all the NHL investigations being thrown his way. Not even a resurgent Erik Karlsson or Brent Burns can fix that, and this looks to be another year for the Sharks failing to make the playoffs. Hopefully William Eklund can bring some happiness to the team, otherwise, this year’s a bust.
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Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks...are just Bad with a capital B. There’s no particular reason as to why, considering they have no major additions or subtractions (aside from Ryan Miller’s retirement). They still have their players like John Gibson, Josh Manson, and Richard Rakell, but they just seem to lack the offense that they need to actually win games. Their saving graces this year will come mainly in young names such as Jamie Drysdale, Trevor Zegras, and Mason McTavish, who will give some hope and life to their fanbase. They’re another team that is in the running for Shane Wright, but aside from that, it’s just another year to let their prospects develop and learn from veteran talents such as the likes of Ryan Getzlaf and Cam Fowler. They won’t even be touching the playoff picture (despite what they want to tell you in their advertising), but it’ll be an exciting year for them nonetheless.
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That’s all for this breakdown of the 32 NHL teams and their preseason previews. Hopefully your NHL team provides you with a little fun and distraction from the stress of school this year!