And so here we are, the same as every season, with my list of predictions for the new hockey season. Some of these predictions are more likely to come true than others. Some are pretty far fetched. But in some reality, somewhere, all 20 of these guesses could end up being correct.
Let me know how far off from your reality I am and pitch in any predictions of your own.
Weekly Power Rankings cause fist fights between fans AND the experts that vote on them… especially in the West with Anaheim, LA, St. Louis and Chicago.
The San Jose Sharks don’t make it out of round 1 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and everyone gets fired and half the team gets traded.
There will be 50-75 (294-419) fewer fights in the 2014-15 season than there were in 2013-14 (469).
The Islanders and Rangers both qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs… and my fingers are crossed that they meet in the 1st round!
Winnipeg struggles all season long and makes a slew trades including Evander Kane and Dustin Byfuglien.
Toronto misses the Playoffs and fires Randy Carlyle.
This will not be Jaromir Jagr’s last NHL season.
Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos will go to the last week of the season fighting for the Rocket Richard Trophy.
The bottom 5 teams in the NHL: Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton, Buffalo, Florida.
Josh Gorges and Brian Gionta will combine for 21 goals and 55 points in their 1st season in Buffalo.
Manny Malhotra will finish in the top 3 in faceoff win percentage and become a Montreal fan fav with a big playoff goal.
Don Cherry will be reprimanded by Rogers after his controversial comments land on the front page of major news outlets.
Detroit misses the Playoffs for the 1st time in 75 years and Mike Babcock becomes the biggest free agent head coach in a generation.
Phil Kessel scores 43 goals for the Toronto Maple Leafs – 15 more than anyone else on the team.
Ryan Miller has an okay, but not great, season as the Canucks fight for 8th place in the West all season.
The Dallas Stars will be the dark horse team in the West and will challenge for 2nd in the Central.
Carey Price wins 41 games and posts a sub 3.00 GAA AND stays healthy for a Habs Playoff run.
Pernell Karl “P. K.” Subban steps up and earns his massive new contract money – and becomes Canadiens captain in 2015-16.
The Chicago Blackhawks and LA Kings meet in the Western Conference Finals.
The
@LAKings remain the #1 NHL team on Twitter – but look for
@BlueJacketsNHL to make a push with the support of their fans.
I don’t know how right or wrong I’m going to end up being on any of these 20 predictions… but hey, that’s what the internet is for.
Have a good season!
Be awesome!
The NHL season starts tomorrow night with a marque match-up between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Montreal Canadiens…
