Sports perspectives: NHL season previews: Prediction edition

So now that the team preview portion of this NHL Season Preview is finished, now it is time to look at what will happen during the 2016-2017 season.

Metropolitan Divison

1. Washington Capitals- Loaded once again for a President’s Trophy bid. With the help of Alex Ovechkin and friends, the Capitals will win the Metropolitan Division.
2. Pittsburgh Penguins- With the uncertainty of Sidney Crosby’s concussion history, coupled by all the other often injured stars on that team (Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang in particular), they won’t be able to catch the Capitals in the standings, but they will be equally dangerous come playoff time.
3. New York Rangers- Their offense is locked and loaded and will carry them to the playoffs. Lundqvist will struggle with the lack of defensive help in front of him, but the offense will mask those issues a bit.

Atlantic Division

1. Tampa Bay Lightning- The Lightning are stacked at every position, so they, unlike many other teams, can withstand a few major injuries that would normally cripple a team–see Steven Stamkos injury in the 15-16 playoffs.
2. Montreal Canadiens- There is one catch to this prediction: Carey Price needs to be healthy. If he is, then the Habs only need to worry about scoring two or three goals a game because their goalie can be a bigger wall in net than the one that Donald Trump wants to build on the border.
3. Florida Panthers- The Panthers will finish in the three seed, but barely. The injuries to Huberdeau and Bjugstad will hurt the Panthers in the beginning of the season, and they will have to fight hard to battle back as they get healthy. Jagr will continue to be Jagr, so there’s that.

Eastern Conference Wild Cards

1. New Jersey Devils- The Devils have improved their offense dramatically this offseason. Cory Schneider is one of the best goalies in the entire league. These Devils are going to remind a lot of people of the late 2000’s-early 2010’s New York Rangers, by the way, they will rely on their stud goalie to keep them in games. Do not sleep on the Devils.
2. Boston Bruins- The Bruins will win a tight battle for the last wild card spot. Some of the Bruins younger players like David Pastrnak and Ryan Spooner will step up this year and provide the secondary scoring necessary for the Bruins to be the team you don’t wanna face in the first round.

Central Divison

1. Nashville Predators- The Predators are just deep all around the board, very much like the Lightning. P.K. Subban is going to have his screw you tour in the most Tom Brady-esque way this season. The Subban-Josi pairing will dominate the league.
2. Dallas Stars- When you have Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin on your team with a decent supporting cast, you are going to make the playoffs.
3. St. Louis Blues- Ken Hitchcock is not going down without a fight this year in what will be his final season as a head coach. The Blues made some savvy moves this offseason in what could be the final chance for the team to win the Cup with this core group.

Pacific Division

1. San Jose Sharks- This is the weakest division in hockey without question. The only team that can compete with the Sharks depth at the skaters positions is the Kings. The Sharks will have their starting goalie, though, and that will make the difference.
2. Calgary Flames- The Johnny Hockey show is about to go off this year. Between Guadreau, Monahan and their incredible defensive group, the Flames are going to surprise some people this season.
3. Los Angeles Kings- The Kings are so deep at the skater positions that they might be able to get away with Jeff Zatkoff being the starting goalie for a few months.

Western Conference Wild Card

1. Chicago Blackhawks- Even though they do not look too deep on paper, they will find a way to make the playoffs like they always do.
2. Edmonton Oilers- For the first time in 11 years, the Oilers will make the playoffs with their young core and the few experienced veterans around them. Cam Talbot is going to breakout this year for the Oilers now that their defense is starting to look like it’s NHL caliber.

Stanley Cup Final

Nashville Predators vs. Tampa Bay Lightning- These are the two deepest most complete teams in the league. It only makes sense for one of them to get over the hump.

2016-2017 Stanley Cup Champion

Tampa Bay Lightning- John Cooper is arguably the best coach in the NHL. He is smart and gets the most out of all of his player. The Lightning are the real deal.

Season Awards

Hart Trophy (League MVP)- Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers- McDavid, if he can stay healthy, is going to take the league by storm this year. If he has 40+ goals, I would not be too surprised.

Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman)- P.K. Subban, Nashville Predators- Like I said earlier, he is going to have his redemption tour this year and all of his opponents are going to be his victims. This is Subban’s breakout year.

Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie)- Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils- Cory Schneider is going to do his best Henrik Lundqvist impression this year by carrying the Devils to the playoffs for the first time since 2011-2012.

Jack Adams Award (Best Coach)- John Hynes, New Jersey Devils- He will help break the Devils’ playoff drought. Smart guy who players respect.

Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year)- Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs- Matthews was the first player in the 100-year history of the National Hockey League to score 4 goals in his NHL debut. Yeah, he’s gonna be good.