2022-23 NHL Preview
2021-22 was a return to normalcy of sorts because, after two years of shortened seasons, we finally played 82 games of hockey in a regular season. Everyone played everyone and it was a great time. In the Eastern Conference all eight playoff teams finished with 100+ points, the first time eight teams in the same conference accomplished such a feat. The league saw its first 60-goal scorer in a decade while the league's best player put up 123 points. The league's newest franchise celebrated its inaugural season in Seattle and though it didn't end like Vegas' first season did, it's hard to ignore just how awesome it was to have hockey return to the Northeast US. The Lightning looked to return to the top of the mountain for the third season in a row, but a team in Colorado seemed to have different plans. Let's take a look back and the season that was and get my thoughts on how I think this season will play out. Also, a friendly reminder to not take any of what I say seriously because I'm really just guessing.
Season Reviews and Standings Previews
Atlantic Division
Boston Bruins
2021-22 Review- The Bruins found themselves in interesting territory last season. They were without Tuukka Rask to start the season. David Krejci opted to leave North America and returned home. They were no longer the favorites in the Atlantic Division, falling behind the likes of Tampa Bay and Toronto. While there was some pressure on them, they still put together a good season. The trio of Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Patrice Bergeron continued to lead the organization in points. Marchand topped them all with 80 points. Pastrnak scored 40 goals for the second time in his career. Bergeron finished with 65 points and won his fifth Selke. Taylor Hall finally put things together to score the most points since his MVP season in 2017-18. Charlie McAvoy continued to assert himself as one of the best defensemen in the league, finishing fourth in Norris voting. The goalie duo of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman were excellent, allowing the fourth-fewest goals in the league. We did get a fun story with Rask coming back for a few games mid-season, but it was short-lived as he'd retire after just four games. In a normal season, 107 points would likely get you home ice and would put you in a good position in the postseason. Instead, they finished in the top wild card spot and would face Metropolitan Division champion Carolina in the first round. This was a series that featured six one-sided games with the home team winning each of those games to ensure we'd see a seventh game in Carolina. Despite Marchand's 11 points being the high mark for the series, it was Carolina that would outwork the Bruins in the seventh game in Raleigh to send the Bruins on their summer break early.
Their Offseason- Speculation ran rampant about Bergeron retiring after they lost in Game 7 and it took a while for anything to be made clear, but he'll be back this season after securing a one-year deal to return to Boston. Also returning will be Krejci after he also signed a one-year contract. They were otherwise quiet on the free agent front, losing more guys than they signed. They did acquire Pavel Zacha from New Jersey for Erik Haula in a deal that I personally loved for Boston. They got the younger player with a lot more left to give their middle-six some decent depth. They appear to be very content with where things are right now, which could be a problem once the season starts.
Buffalo Sabres
2021-22 Review- The Sabres have been the butt end of a lot of jokes in recent years. They haven't made the playoffs since 2011 and they've finished sixth or worse in the division every season since the division realignment. Their play in 2020-21 was especially bad and it landed them Owen Power with the first pick in the draft. It sounds crazy to say but this Sabres team was actually a lot of fun to watch, especially down the stretch. They went into the season knowing they'd be without captain Jack Eichel, so they wasted little time trading him to Vegas for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, a 2022 1st, and a 2023 2nd. This would turn out to be a good deal for them, getting good players for someone that wasn't happy with his current situation and wasn't healthy. Tuch scored 38 points in 50 games, while Krebs added 22 in 48 games. Elsewhere on the team, Jeff Skinner returned to his scoring ways by putting up 33 goals. Rasmus Dahlin continued to be a franchise defenseman with 53 points. Victor Olofsson and Kyle Okposo both broke 20 goals. The real story was 6' 7" behemoth Tage Thompson. Entering the season with just 18 goals and 35 points in 145 career games, Thompson broke out with 38 goals and 68 points, both leading the Sabres. It felt like it was out of nowhere. The team entered March at 16-30-8 and while it was clear they weren't a postseason team, they didn't let it show. They closed out the season going 16-9-3 in the season's final two months. We got to see the debut of Power, who scored two goals in his eight-game stint. The problem, as was the case for most teams outside of the playoffs, was poor goaltending. Craig Anderson took the lion's share of the duties and he wasn't very good overall. Dustin Tokarski, his backup, wasn't any better. 29-year-old Michael Houser was a fun story, winning both of his starts and allowing just four goals, serving as the only bright spot. It was their inconsistency that extended their postseason drought for another season, though they did finish in fifth in the Atlantic, so at least there's that.
Their Offseason- After a rough season, they were rewarded with the ninth pick in the draft, and selected Matthew Savoie to add to an embarrassment of riches in their prospect pool. Buffalo didn't end up making any major moves to capitalize on their late-season momentum. Arguably their largest was signing former Coyote and Maple Leaf Ilya Lyubushkin for a two-year deal on defense. They also signed Eric Comrie to back up Anderson in the net. They also took on the contract of Ben Bishop, who walked away from the game due to a myriad of injuries and health problems, to put him on LTIR and capitalize on some extra cap space. Otherwise, it looks like they are going to stick with the same team as last year.
Detroit Red Wings
2021-22 Review- With a new man between the pipes and a ton of young talent making the jump, there was a lot to like about Detroit in the preseason. The trade for Alex Nedeljkovic left a lot of the hockey world, namely Canes fans, wondering what Carolina's front office was thinking. The netminder had a phenomenal season taking control of the net for the Hurricanes, finishing third in Calder voting, so a trade in this situation felt weird, even with a looming contract dispute. The Canes' loss was looking to be the Red Wings' gain. Unfortunately, Nedeljkovic couldn't replicate that magic, finishing with a losing record, a .901 save percentage, and a 3.31 GAA. The tandem of Nedeljkovic and Thomas Greiss allowed the second-most goals in the league, a problem that would eventually lead to the team's unfortunate season. It wasn't all bad for Detroit, however, because there were a lot of things to reflect on positively. It starts with two of the best rookies in the league. 19-year-old Lucas Raymond finished tied for second among rookies in goals (23) and third in both rookie and team scoring with 57 points, earning him a fourth-place finish in Calder voting. The league's top rookie was also a Detroit standout by the name of Moritz Seider. The 20-year-old defender finished just behind his teammate in scoring with 50 points and led all rookies with 43 assists. Detroit is in the midst of a young movement and it was evident all year. Eight of the team's top ten scorers were 26 or younger, including each of their top six. Leading the way was captain Dylan Larkin with 31 goals and 69 points and Tyler Bertuzzi, who cracked 30 goals for the first time in his young career. Even if the goaltending had been better, I doubt this team makes the playoffs given who finished in front of them. They allowed five or more goals 13 times in the final two months to ultimately take themselves out of it for good.
Their Offseason- The way their season ended must've left a sour taste in their mouths because they had one of the better offseasons in the league. I really liked how aggressive Steve Yzerman was with this team. He knows that they have good pieces but they were missing a few things. He made a huge splash by signing Andrew Copp, David Perron, and Dominik Kubalik to his forward group while adding Ben Chiarot, Olli Maatta, Mark Pysyk, and Robert Hagg to the defense. He even went a step further by trying to sure up his goaltending by trading the 73rd pick to St. Louis for Ville Husso. It's bold to trade for a goalie in consecutive seasons, but Yzerman rarely misses.
Florida Panthers
2021-22 Review- For all the talk about Toronto's postseason winless streak, no team in the league had a longer postseason drought than the Florida Panthers heading into this season. Not since the Eastern Conference Final in 1996 had Florida tasted victory in the postseason. Everything about this season seemed to be a perfect storm. The Panthers crushed their franchise records in wins and points, posting 122 to win the Presidents' Trophy for the first time ever with just their second 100+-point season. Despite a perfect 7-0-0 start, repercussions from the Chicago Blackhawks scandal led to the firing of Joel Quenneville and paved the way for Andrew Brunette to take over as the interim coach. The individual record books were also rewritten for the Panthers. The league's best offense (340 goals) boasted their first-ever 100-point scorer as Jonathan Huberdeau led the league with 85 assists and tied for second with 115 points. Aleksander Barkov led the team with 39 goals, tied for third-most in franchise history. Sam Reinhart and Anthony Duclair joined the two superstars with the first 30-goal seasons of their careers. Rookie Anton Lundell finished sixth in Calder voting with 44 points in his inaugural campaign. As big of a story as Huberdeau was, the real story for me was Sergei Bobrovsky. After two terrible seasons following his major contract, Bobrovsky returned to his Vezina-like form by tying for the league lead in wins with 39 and dropping just ten decisions in 54 games. His other numbers took a major jump as well and he finally looked like the $10 million goalie they paid for. They would face Washington in the first round and it was an unexpected hero that propelled the Panthers. Carter Verhaeghe scored six goals, including two overtime winners, and 12 points as he scored the game-winner in overtime in Game 6 to win the series and put an end to the drought. The story would change in the second round as Tampa Bay dismantled them in four games to put an end to a historic season.
Their Offseason- I don't think there are many teams that lost as much as the Panthers did this offseason. Several key players left through free agency, including trade deadline acquisitions Claude Giroux and Ben Chiarot, and Mason Marchment, who really broke out last season with 47 points in 54 games. They made a lot of small signings like Colin White, Rudolfs Balcers, Nick Cousins, and Marc Staal, but their big move shook the entire league. After Calgary's situation deteriorated quickly, the Panthers swooped in and the two teams swapped 100-point scorers. Florida acquired Matthew Tkachuk and a 2-25 fourth-round pick for Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, a prospect, and a 2025 first-round pick. They then signed Tkachuk to an eight-year, $76 million contract to keep him around for a very long time. It's weird that they didn't make Brunette their head coach and instead signed Paul Maurice, but I'm sure there are some other underlying reasons for it.
Montreal Canadiens
2021-22 Review- Under normal circumstances in 2020-21, the Canadiens wouldn't have made the playoffs. However, since it wasn't a normal season, Montreal was the ultimate underdog once the postseason rolled around and they made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before falling to Tampa Bay. After the whole "offer sheet" debacle with Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the offseason, the potentially career-ending injury to Shea Weber, and Carey Price announcing that he'd be stepping away from hockey for a while, Montreal was facing some serious issues. Let's just say they didn't respond to it very well. To make a complicated situation easy to understand, they simply weren't winning games. Jake Allen and Sam Montembault were not good at keeping the puck out of the net. They struggled to score themselves with potential breakout players like Cole Caufield coming out of the gate flat. By the time 2022 came around, Montreal had only won six games and it wouldn't be too much longer before the front office had enough and fired head coach Dominique Ducharme with the team sitting at an abysmal 8-30-7 and having not won back-to-back games to that point. In his place, Martin St. Louis was brought in to run things and while they wouldn't go on a magical run, they did play much better. It seemed to do wonders for Caufield, who scored 35 points in the 37 games after St. Louis was hired. They'd go 14-9-4 to finish the season to finish with 55 points, the fewest in the league. Caufield's strong finish landed him on top of the team in goals with 23 and second on the team behind Nick Suzuki in points, who had 21 goals and 61 points of his own. Price would come back at the end of the season and play a couple of games, which was a good sign for the future. They'd still finish as the league's worst defense and sixth-worst offense but at least they scored a 10-2 win at the end of the season over Florida.
Their Offseason- With the draft taking place in Montreal, it felt only fitting that the Canadiens would win the Draft Lottery to pick first in front of their fans. While it felt like Shane Wright was going to be the first pick, they surprised some people by taking Slovakian winger Juraj Slafkovsky instead. At 6' 4", this guy looks like an absolute beast. They didn't stop there though as they also acquired Sean Monahan, Kirby Dach, Evgeni Dadonov, and Mike Matheson in various trades that saw them trade Weber's contract, Alexander Romanov, Jeff Petry, Ryan Poehling, and other assets. They weren't as active on the open market with Madison Bowey and Mitchell Stephens looking to be their biggest signings.
Ottawa Senators
2021-22 Review- For as much fun as they were to watch every night, the results weren't there for the Senators last season. With just 73 points, they finished with the seventh-fewest points in the league and seventh in the division ahead of just Montreal. The core of this team was very young and they all played very well considering the team's lack of success. Brady Tkachuk led the way with 67 points and was second only to Josh Norris in goals with 30, compared to Norris' team-leading 35. Norris would miss some decent time but no injury was more harmful to the team's success than Drake Batherson's. Batherson missed two months of the season and he was playing exceptionally well before going on the shelf, scoring 17 goals and 44 points in 46 games. Tim Stutzle made serious strides in his second season, scoring 22 goals and 58 points, second-most on the team. The real issue was the play from their goalies. Matt Murray missed most of the season due to injury and while he did have a nine-game stretch from mid-January to mid-February where he was 5-2-2 with a .949 save percentage, his overall numbers weren't good and he couldn't stay healthy long enough to turn things around. This led to Anton Forsberg getting most of the work. While his goals allowed numbers are a bit high, his record of 22-17-4 was respectable and his .917 save percentage wasn't too bad either. At the end of the day, they didn't score enough to get the job done. No one expected them to be contenders or even a playoff team given their general lack of experience but I'm sure the final results were a bit underwhelming for a team with this much potential.
Their Offseason- If I had to pick a winner for "Best Offseason", Ottawa would be right in the mix. They made some serious impact moves to improve in an already great and tough division. It starts with their Draft Day acquisition of Alex DeBrincat from the Blackhawks for the 7th overall pick in the draft and just a 2nd and a 3rd. For what the asking price seemed to be, this felt like a huge win for Ottawa and they added a 40-goal scorer in the process. They then off-loaded Matt Murray's contract to Toronto to make room to acquire Cam Talbot the following day to bring in their new starting goalie. Once the market opened, they signed Claude Giroux to a three-year deal for good money and extended Mathieu Joseph after he scored 12 points in 11 games with the team after he was acquired at the deadline from Tampa Bay. To think they made all these moves and didn't have to give up much to do it makes them look like geniuses.
Tampa Bay Lightning
2021-22 Review- The two-time defending champions came into the season without their third line, having lost them all in the offseason. They still had plenty of superstars, but a major piece of their identity was gone. This wouldn't deter them and they would remain a major problem in the Atlantic Division. The team got a full season with a healthy Steven Stamkos for the first time in a few years and he put up 108 points. Victor Hedman found a new level to his game, scoring 20 goals and 85 points to finish third in Norris voting for the fourth straight season. The injury bug was still front and center for the team with Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point missing decent chunks of the season, though they perform like stars when they were healthy. It was also a down season by Andrei Vasilevskiy's standards and he still finished fifth in Vezina voting. They finished third in the division once again, meaning they wouldn't have home-ice advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs, at least. It was the same situation they'd been in the year before and it resulted in just about the same story. They were taken to the brink by the Maple Leafs and were able to win Game 7 to advance, then dismantled the Panthers in four and the Rangers in six. It set up their chance for a three-peat, something that hadn't happened since the 1980s. It wouldn't come to be as the Avalanche dethroned the champions in six games, though it felt like they were really going to do it again. The team was without Point for most of the playoffs, but the quartet of Nucherov, Palat, Stamkos, and Hedman carried the team to the very end.
Their Offseason- The offseason for the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions was less about who they added and more about who they kept. The team had some big-time RFAs in need of contracts and they found a way to get the job done to keep them around for a long time. Nick Paul, who they acquired at the trade deadline, inked a seven-year deal while Point, Erik Cernak, and Mikhail Sergachev all re-signed for eight more years, all at team-friendly cap hits. They did also bring in Vladislav Namestnikov, Ian Cole, and Haydn Fleury through the open market and acquired Philippe Myers for Ryan McDonagh. The big loss for them will be Ondrej Palat, signing for five years with New Jersey in free agency, while Jan Rutta also left for Pittsburgh. The team won't look very different when they hit the ice and it should likely be that way for a long time.
Toronto Maple Leafs
2021-22 Review- I'm starting to think there is a force in the universe that is making it impossible for Toronto to exit the first round. For a franchise that has been around for over 100 seasons, 2021-22 was the best in franchise history from a team perspective. They won over 50 games for the first time, recorded a new best in points (11%), and finished with a points percentage of .701, their first season over .700. Auston Matthews scored 60 goals in 73 games and finished with 106 points en route to a runaway win for the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP. Mitch Marner responded to a poor showing in the postseason the year before with 97 points to set a new career high. William Nylander was another player with a career year, scoring 80 points for the first time. Morgan Reilly's play earned him a fat contract extension midseason. Jack Campbell, while slowing down due to injuries at the end of the season, had one of the best starts to a season we've seen for a goalie. Michael Bunting emerged as a Calder finalist at 26 years old, leading all rookies with 63 points while playing on the top line. For all their efforts, they were rewarded with a date with the two-time defending champions in the first round of the playoffs. Despite outscoring the Lightning, their stars playing like stars, 18 different players recorded points in the series, and holding a 3-2 series lead through five games, Toronto still couldn't get the job done. They lost Game 6 in overtime then faced a motivated Andrei Vasilevskiy that took them out in a controversial 2-1 loss in Game 7. The run of infamy in the postseason continues as they now have gone 18 years without a series win.
Their Offseason- Toronto will always be stuck due to their cap situation, so making major moves in free agency isn't going to be an option. The biggest change is going to be between the pipes. Gone are Campbell, signing with Edmonton once the market opened, and Petr Mrazek, traded to Chicago. In are Matt Murray, acquired through a trade with Ottawa for future considerations, and Ilya Samsonov, signed after Washington declined to give him a qualifying offer. It's a bold strategy to sign two struggling players to play a position that has been a problem for the Maple Leafs. The defense will remain largely intact, while Calle Jarnkrok and Nicolas Aube-Kubel have been added to a forward group that lost Ilya Mikhayev and Ondrej Kase. I really like these two additions up front. Jarnkrok will get a chance to play top minutes while Aube-Kubel will help sure up the fourth line.
Projected Standings
1. Tampa Bay*
2. Toronto*
3. Florida*
4. Ottawa*
5. Buffalo
6. Boston
7. Detroit
8. Montreal
Tampa Bay- The Lightning seem to have a formula and a stash of money that always seems to replenish every offseason. As long as they continue with these things, they're going to be serious contenders to make the Stanley Cup Final. A lot of teams in the Atlantic got better this season, but none of them have the playoff pedigree of Tampa Bay. They retain a large group of superstars that seem to score at will, always get the best from their bottom-six forwards and their bottom defensive pairings, and have the best goalie on the planet playing for them almost every night. It's crazy to think that they haven't won the division since getting upset in the first round in 2018-19 after winning the President's Trophy. It's even crazier to think they've made their last two runs despite only having home ice just twice in eight series and still winning seven of eight. They'll be back at the top of what might be the most stacked division in the league.
Toronto- This team will live and die by its goaltending. Murray's track record is well-documented. He won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins but has fallen off in the last few seasons. When he was traded to Ottawa, he was expected to be their solution for the future. Instead, Murray posted goals against averages above three goals in both seasons and dealt with some injury troubles. Samsonov hasn't been much more reliable in his short career in Washington. The offense is going to need to carry this team. Matthews and Marner are two of the most exciting players to watch in the league and are threats to crack 100 points. Let's not kid ourselves, this is a playoff team. They're going to fight for home ice and they should get it.
Florida- Last season is going to be hard to replicate, especially since they had 122 points. I don't think they'll quite get to that point, or even repeat as division champions, but they are for sure a playoff team. I think the big story is going to be whether Tkachuk can step in and replace Huberdeau's production. He was also over 100 points last season so as long as he's in the right situation, he should be just fine. I also will be keeping a close eye on Bobrovsky and whether or not he's able to repeat his performance. Spencer Knight is right behind him and is more than capable of getting the job done if something happens. Don't be surprised if the loss of Weegar is felt on defense too.
Ottawa- With all these big moves, the expectations for this team have increased a lot. I now see them as a team that should be pushing for a Wild Card spot at the very least. DeBrincat can put the puck in the back of the net, Giroux is a veteran leader who can score some too, and Talbot is a major improvement over Murray between the pipes. With Forsberg backing him up, this will be a formidable duo to face. When you add one of the best young cores in the league, I think the Senators could set the world on fire and shock a lot of people. I don't think they're quite ready to unseat the big dogs of the division. That'll come in due time. This is just the first step back in the right direction.
Buffalo- The weakness of this team is their goaltending and that's just about the only thing that will keep this team from reaching its potential. This is no disrespect toward Anderson, but it's time for a new goalie to step up in Buffalo. There is a lot to look forward to with this group. The continued growth of guys like Thompson, Cozens, Krebs, and Power. The star potential of Skinner, Dahlin, and Tuch. This is a team that could be fun again. I don't think they are good enough to break the postseason drought, but that doesn't mean they can't surprise us all. Another year or two and this could be a real wagon.
Boston- The big problem Boston is going to face will come in the first few months of the season. They'll be without Marchand, McAvoy, and Grzelcyk for a few months, putting them in a serious crunch from the jump. It'll be guys like Hall, Charlie Coyle, and Jake DeBrusk to carry the load up front while Hampus Lindholm, Brandon Carlo, and Mike Reilly will need to be strong to make up for the lost production in the back. Swayman took over the series against Carolina after they fell behind 2-0 and was very good in his five games, likely proving that he'll be the starter going forward. How this season will go will be very contingent on how the season starts so if they dig themselves a huge hole in the Atlantic, it's going to be a tough road to the postseason for Boston. Don't be surprised if they miss the playoffs. Then again, they could be fine and make this look really bad at the end of the season.
Detroit- This might be the most different-looking team once the season starts. With a new coach behind the bench, Derek Lalonde, and a lot of new players, I'm not really sure what to make of this team. I'm sure they'll go through their own growing pains in the early part of the season, but there was a lot of talent brought in that could help with that. I'll be interested to see who they go with between the pipes on opening night. I imagine it'll be Husso with his new contract. I'm not quite sure what to make of this team. Compared to the other teams in the division, I have no clue how they'll shape up.
Montreal- I think the biggest thing for Montreal next season will be about staying healthy. That's much easier said than done, but it's no secret that injuries derailed their season. I'm not saying they'd have been a playoff team, but they likely would've been much more competitive. I'll be curious to see if Slafkovsky makes the jump into the NHL immediately, or if the organization gives it some time. Having St. Louis take over behind the bench on a full-time basis is going to do a lot for the cohesiveness of this team. Price is going to be out for the season in all likelihood, so their worst aspect of the game will still remain this season. I still don't think they'll be a playoff team and it could be a struggle again next season.
Metropolitan Division
Carolina Hurricanes
2021-22 Review- The record books were re-written several times throughout the season for the Hurricanes. Riding a start that saw them as the final team without a loss of any kind at the beginning of the season, Carolina broke its franchise record in wins (54) and points (116), the third-most points in the league. This culminated in their second straight division crown, outlasting the Rangers in the final week of the season to take the crown. The team's big three continued to lead the way as Sebastian Aho led the team in the major offensive categories, Andrei Svechnikov cracked 30 goals for the first time in his career, and Teuvo Teravainen recorded the second-most points of his career (64) while finishing one assist behind Aho for the team lead (43). It was also a season for resurgences as Tony DeAngelo broke 50 points and Frederik Andersen finished fourth in Vezina voting as part of the Jennings winning tandem with Antti Raanta. While they saw success in the first 82 games, they found themselves in two dogfights in the postseason. They overcame the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round but fell short in another seven-game set with the New York Rangers. It was their inability to win on the road in the postseason, losing all six road games, and spotty penalty killing after killing over 88% in the regular season that led to their demise. It was a bitter end to an otherwise incredible season.
Their Offseason- The trade market was very kind to the Hurricanes in more ways than one. Both of the team's major moves were through trades as they acquired Brent Burns from the Sharks, then Max Pacioretty and Dylan Coghlan from the Golden Knights. The Burns trade cost them a roster player, a prospect, and a draft pick, while Pacioretty and Coghlan cost them nothing with "future considerations" being sent the other way. The trade with Vegas left many scratching their heads as they all felt the Canes made out like bandits. Through free agency, the biggest addition was Ondrej Kase, who turned down the same money from Toronto to join Carolina. They did lose some big names from last year's team with Trocheck and Niederreiter opting to sign elsewhere while DeAngelo was traded to the Flyers. As good as the Pacioretty trade was, they'll be without the star winger for at least six months after he tore his Achilles and needed surgery, but he could be a huge contributor after the All-Star Break. Putting him on LTIR helped to get a deal with Martin Necas done and allowed them to sign Paul Stastny to a one-year deal to add some veteran depth.
Columbus Blue Jackets
2021-22 Review- Missing the playoffs and finishing sixth in the division would often feel like a bit of a downer. Given how competitive the rest of the division was, it was actually a surprise for Columbus, especially after a summer where they seemed to unload a lot of great players. They hovered right around .500, finishing with one more regulation loss than wins. It's not always the best when your leading scorer is a forward with just six goals, but Jakob Voracek, who they acquired during the offseason, contributed 56 assists to make up for his lack of pucks in the net. They were also looking forward to a full season with Patrik Laine and while an injury forced him to miss almost two months, he still scored 26 goals and 56 points in 56 games. Oliver Bjorkstrand led the team with 28 goals and was just behind Voracek with 57 points. For as good as their goalie duo seemed to be, neither played very well. Elvis Merzlikins played significantly more games and while his save percentage was better than .900, his goals against average was elevated. Joonas Korpisalo struggled mightily, finishing with a 4.15 GAA. Part of the reason for their struggles in the net might begin with the fact their defense allowed the second-most shots in the league. With the loss of Seth Jones on the back end, I didn't think this team would be worth much of anything and while I don't think they were necessarily good, they stayed around for a little bit, though never really making too much noise in their pursuit of the postseason.
Their Offseason- Columbus might be the easier answer to the question "Who won this offseason?". For starters, their return for Seth Jones meant they'd capitalize on Chicago's poor performance and it resulted in them receiving the 6th pick in the draft to go along with their own pick that was 12th overall. They opted for two defensemen, David Jiricek and Denton Mateychuk. They then shocked the world by signing the top free agent in the class, Johnny Gaudreau, seemingly out of nowhere. I was anticipating he'd go somewhere else within the division but when it came across that he was going to Columbus, I was shocked. The contract was for seven years for $9.75 million per season. They also signed Erik Gudbranson for four years to try and improve their defense. They did have to dump Bjorkstrand to make the money work by sending him to Seattle for two draft picks, a weak return for their leading goal scorer. No matter what else they did this offseason, none of it would put a damper on the huge signing they made.
New Jersey Devils
2021-22 Review- When they signed Dougie Hamilton last offseason, it felt like the Devils thought they were on the verge of cracking the postseason. In reality, they were still far away from that. Their 63 points were the second-fewest in the division and the fifth-fewest in the league. Some of their issues have to do with health. Jack Hughes was limited to 49 games, though he still tied for the team lead with 26 goals and third with 56 points. Hamilton, in his first season with the team, only played 62 games, scoring 30 points, The big issue was their goaltending. Seven different goalies made a start, yet they all finished with a GAA over 3.00 no matter how little they played. MacKenzie Blackwood, once thought to be the future in the net, struggled again this season to stay healthy and his numbers reflect that. He only played 25 games, missing about three months, and posted the worst stat line of his career. 21-year-old Nico Daws played just as many games as Blackwood and while he wasn't great, his numbers are still considerably better. It wasn't all bad news for the Devils. Jesper Bratt broke out with a team-leading 73 points and tied Hughes with 26 goals. Nico Hischier played more like a former #2 pick, posting a career-high 60 points. Yegor Sharangovich shined in his sophomore campaign with 24 goals and 46 points. The young core of the team carried it when healthy and while it didn't result in many points, it gave a glimpse towards the future. They have good pieces that need more time to come together and form a cohesive unit. Six of their top seven scorers were under 25. It was a trying season for the team in New Jersey, but at least they didn't finish last.
Their Offseason- Much like the last offseason, the Devils tried to be aggressive without doing anything too ridiculous. They had some important RFAs to work out deals with and that was their top priority. At the top of that list was Hughes, who was rewarded handsomely with an eight-year deal. They also worked out one-year deals for both Jesper Bratt and Miles Wood. They weren't able to get a deal done with Pavel Zacha, so they opted to trade him to Boston for Erik Haula to add some grit to the bottom six of the lineup. That was far from their biggest trade as they looked to improve at goalie and on defense as well. They started by trading for Vitek Vanecek from Washington, then acquired John Marino from Pittsburgh for Ty Smith and a draft pick. On the open market, they signed Brendan Smith for two years to help the defense, but their biggest addition was Ondrej Palat. The former Lightning winger is coming off another great run in Tampa Bay, so the Devils brought him in to add another strong player to an already good offense. I didn't think the contract was terrible, though five years might be interesting once they get to the third or fourth season. Not to mention they jumped to the second pick in the draft and selected Simon Nemec.
New York Islanders
2021-22 Review- Historic would be one way to describe a very weird season for the Islanders. Coming off two consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Islanders knew they were going to start the year on the road for a while. The reason for this was the finishing of their new barn on Long Island and that it wouldn't be ready by the start of the season. When the schedule was released, it showed the Islanders on the road for 13 straight to start the season, the second-longest in NHL history and just one game short of the record. It would take place over a month and their first home game wouldn't be until November 20. During this opening stretch, the team went 5-6-2 and lost their last four games before gracing the UBS Arena for the first time. It wasn't exactly the smoothest transition. Not only did they drop their first game at home but their winless streak would reach 11 games and they wouldn't win at home until about a month later on December 11. Under Barry Trotz, this team has prided itself on being a defensive-minded team and this season was no different. They had a top-ten defense in the league thanks in large part to their goalie tandem of Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov. Sorokin was especially good in his first season as the starter, finishing second in save percentage and fourth in GAA on his way to a sixth-place finish in Vezina voting. With as good as their defense was, their offense struggled to keep up. Brock Nelson would score 37 goals, Anders Lee would finish with 28, and despite only scoring 14 goals, Matthew Barzel tied Nelson for the team lead with 59 points. No one else on the team reached 20 goals and though the scoring was spread out, it was spread extremely thin. Their goalies were keeping them in games, but they couldn't score to capitalize on those efforts. This would result in the team missing the playoffs with 84 points and a fifth-place finish in the division. I'm not sure if starting the season on the road for so many games is truly a contributing factor as to why they failed to make the postseason, but an argument could be made.
Their Offseason- With the team missing the postseason, they were in a unique spot. Barry Trotz announced that he would not be returning to the team to deal with some personal matters and Lane Lambert was brought in to fill that gap. At the draft, they opted to trade away their first-round pick, 13th overall, to Montreal for Alexander Romanov and a pick, looking to improve their defense. It was initially reported that they were going to sign Nazem Kadri, but that fell through and he signed with Calgary. Outside of this, New York was almost dead silent. They signed a couple of depth guys to contracts and packed it up for the summer.
New York Rangers
2021-22 Review- It wasn't but a few years ago that the Rangers were drafting in the top two and undergoing an extensive rebuild to return to prominence. The signing of a superstar like Artemi Panarin and trades for Adam Fox and Jacob Trouba recently has helped to expedite the process. Last season, the Rangers were battling it out with the Hurricanes to the very end of the season and while they ultimately fell short in that pursuit, 110 points, their third-most in franchise history, aren't anything to be ashamed of. While career seasons were had by Panarin (96 points), Mika Zibanejad (81 points), and Adam Fox (74 points, 5th in Norris voting), it was the breakout season of Chris Kreider that was the real story. After never scoring more than 28 goals in a season, Kreider lit the league up with 52, third-most in the league. It was seemingly out of nowhere for the ten-year veteran. The other huge story was Igor Shesterkin. After taking the reigns from Henrik Lundqvist in 2020-21, Shesterkin was nearly unbeatable. He led the league in save percentage (.935) and goal against average (2.07) while winning 36 games as he ran away with the Vezina voting. The team's success in the regular season translated well in the postseason as they survived seven-game fights with the Penguins and Hurricanes to advance to the Eastern Conference Final where they would eventually fall to the Lightning in six. Their stars were just as good in the playoffs as Zibanejad went on a serious heater, scoring ten goals and leading the team with 24 points, Kreider added ten goals of his own, and Fox finished with 23 points of his own. While Shesterkin didn't put up the same numbers as he did during the regular season, he was still very good and was huge down the stretch in both series wins. The Rangers have jumped a little ahead of expected and now are back into the fold.
Their Offseason- The Rangers actually lost quite a bit from their team during free agency. A lot of their losses were guys they acquired at the trade deadline which provided a lot for them in the postseason. Andrew Copp scored a nice contract from Detroit while Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome both signed with Anaheim. To replace them, they went after former Hurricane Vincent Trocheck and offered him a huge seven-year deal to likely play on their second line. They also traded away backup goalie Alexander Georgiev and signed Jaroslav Halak to take his place. Outside of Trocheck and Halak, this team is largely intact and features most of the key contributors from last season's team. The team also named a new captain with Trouba being given the honors of leading the team.
Philadelphia Flyers
2021-22 Review- I'm not quite sure what to make of the Flyers' season because it was truly amazing how bad they were. After just under two months and an 8-10-4 start, Alain Vigneault was shown the door and Mike Yeo was named the interim coach. It became very clear that the coaching might not have been the problem. The team was even worse under the new regime. They won just 17 of 60 games under Yeo and it was largely because they were unable to score. With just 210 goals on the season, they were the second-lowest scoring team in the league and that doesn't bode well when you allow the sixth-most goals. It seemed like everything that could go wrong did. Injuries happened and while that did hurt the team, it wouldn't matter much because they couldn't do anything with the guys in the lineup. Travis Konecny led the offense with 52 points, while James van Riemsdyk (24) and Cam Atkinson (23) were the only players to finish with over 20 goals. It just didn't feel like anything clicked for them all season. Carter Hart was much better compared to 2020-21, but that doesn't mean that he was good. Martin Jones wasn't any better as his backup. While everything that happened on the ice was bad, a story that I found interesting revolved around Keith Yandle. In late January, Yandle passed Doug Jarvis by playing in his 965th consecutive game and becoming the league's new Ironman. Toward the end of the season and with the Flyers well outside of playoff contention, the organization opted to sit Yandle and put an end to his streak at 989. It was a weird look and though the future of the organization is important, it was seriously odd. At the end of it all, 61 points aren't good and while finishing with the fourth-worst record in the league isn't ideal, it does make for an interesting draft night.
Their Offseason- While they dropped one spot to fifth in the draft, they still got an excellent prospect by selecting Cutter Gauthier, one of my favorite names in the first round. That's about where the good things ended for the Flyers this offseason. Coming into free agency, Philadelphia was considered to be a front-runner for Johnny Gaudreau. They could've done everything in their power to make room for him, yet they opted not to. They had a surefire slam dunk top signing wanting to come to their team and they did nothing. They traded for Tony DeAngelo, giving up three picks to Carolina, and signed him for $5 million per year. They signed Nicolas Deslauriers for four years. They failed to re-sign Oskar Lindblom, one of the best stories in the league. It was a failure of epic proportions because they could've made a splash and actively decided to do nothing.
Pittsburgh Penguins
2021-22 Review- The Penguins might be the league's embodiment of "Old Reliable". For the last decade and a half, Pittsburgh's team has been right in the thick of things and has won three Stanley Cups in the process. They have a trio of guys that have been there through most of it. 2021-22 wasn't always pretty but it was still a good season for the Penguins. The story of the season for Pittsburgh was their health. A lot of important players were on the shelf for serious stretches, yet the team managed. Jake Guentzel has already proven he could score in bunches and he scored 40 goals for the second time in his career. His 84 points were tied with captain Sidney Crosby, who scored 31 goals of his own. Kris Letang, in his 16th season, reached a new career-high by putting up 68 points. Evgeni Malkin missed exactly half the season and he still scored 42 points. Tristan Jarry shook off his poor postseason performance from the year prior as he had a career year of his own. For their efforts, the Penguins finished third in the division with 103 points and were rewarded with a first-round meeting with the Rangers. They were hit with bad luck right out of the gate. They were already without Jarry to start the postseason, then backup Casey DeSmith went down with an injury in the second overtime period in Game 1 to force third-string goalie Louis Domingue into action. Domingue would be perfect in just under 17 minutes of play and they'd steal the win in 3OT to take the series lead. He'd lead the team through a tough six games before Jarry returned for Game 7 and while he played well, the Rangers would win the series in seven games. Guentzel was again the star, scoring eight goals in seven games, and tying Crosby with ten points in the series. It was a tough way to end the series because who knows what happens if Jarry is healthy the entire time?
Their Offseason- Many Penguins fans had this offseason circled because it would mark free agency eligibility for both Letang and Malkin, two of the most important players on the roster. There was speculation that one or both were going to be gone. At the end of the day, that wouldn't be the case. Both were signed to multi-year deals, Letang for six years and Malkin for four, and both for $6.1 million per year. They were also busy on the defensive front. They signed two-time Cup champion Jan Rutta, swapped John Marino for Ty Smith, and acquired Jeff Petry for Michael Matheson. They were otherwise quiet on the free agency front, opting to sign their own guys for longer than testing the waters.
Washington Capitals
2021-22 Review- Don't look now Wayne Gretzky because Alex Ovechkin is on your heels. The ageless wonder put together his eighth 50-goal season, finishing with exactly 50, third-most in the league for the season. He now has 780 for his career and has Gordie Howe in his sights. It might take a couple of years for him to do it as long as he remains healthy, but it's a real possibility. As for his teammates, it was another solid season for the Capitals, though likely not to their standards. They finished with 100 points, which was only good enough for fourth in an extremely competitive division, and got them the second Wild Card spot. Along with Ovechkin's 50 goals and 90 points, Evgeny Kuznetzov bounced back with 78 points and John Carlson provided strong support on the backend with 71 of his own. Injuries to their stars hampered a lot of their success. Ovechkin's sidekick Nicklas Backstrom started the season late, playing just 47 games, and TJ Oshie sustained two significant injuries throughout the season to limit him to 44. They also suffered from inconsistencies in the net between Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek. Neither took too much control of the situation and their numbers are very reflective of that. Nevertheless, they were able to clinch a playoff spot quite comfortably, but as we've learned since Washington finally won the Stanley Cup in 2018, the postseason hasn't been kind to the Capitals. They'd lost in the first round in each of the last three postseasons and a date with the Presidents' Trophy-winning Florida Panthers wasn't going to make that any easier. After taking a 2-1 lead in the series, the Capitals would lose three straight, including two games in overtime, to get the early boot in six games. Oshie scored six goals and while Ovechkin only scored once, his six points were tied for second on the team. They weren't favored to win the series but for as good as the series began, they truly went down with a whimper to continue their postseason struggles.
Their Offseason- Washington's main focus seemed to be addressing their issues in the net. They declined to offer a qualifying offer to Samsonov, allowing him to sign with Toronto, and they traded the signing right to Vanecek to New Jersey for draft picks. In their place, they signed the top goalie on the market, Darcy Kuemper, for five years and signed Charlie Lindgren for three years to serve as his backup. They also made decent moves in the forward group, signing Dylan Strome from Chicago and acquiring Connor Brown via trade from Ottawa. The only big move to their defense was the signing of Erik Gustafsson.
Projected Standings
1. New York (R)*
2. Carolina*
3. Pittsburgh*
4. New York (I)*
5. Washington
6. New Jersey
7. Columbus
8. Philadelphia
New York (R)- Now that they've achieved quite a bit in the postseason, expectations are going to be high for this team. They've seen what they can do and now they'll be asked to repeat and go beyond. This team with this core can win a Stanley Cup. They'll probably need to start small by aiming to win the division after coming so close last season, but they have what it takes. Added emphasis will be on guys like Trocheck and Zibanejad with their new contracts and Kreider after his 52-goal season. With their new captain, this is going to be a hard team to face. It'll be another tight race for the division with Carolina, but I think the Rangers will get the better of it this season.
Carolina- Without Pacioretty in the lineup, the offense is going to be an interesting story to watch at the beginning of the season. While the offense might be a question mark, the defense is absolutely better which is amazing since the Hurricanes were already a very good defensive team. Adding Burns to a group with Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce, and Brady Skjei gives Carolina a top-four that is among the best in the league. With a solid goalie tandem of Andersen and Raanta returning this season, this team could be a nightmare for many teams. Look for players like Necas, Seth Jarvis, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi to make major leaps forward to fill the voids of Pacioretty and the others they lost in free agency. They should be well-planted into the playoff picture in a tough division.
Pittsburgh- The contracts they gave to Malkin and Letang at their ages could be concerning to some. Both have proven that they can still go. I think getting Petry will be a huge addition to the defense as it will very different next season. I worry that the window is closing on the Penguins as the rest of the division evolves and improves. They are an old team and while that isn't always a bad thing, it doesn't bode well for the postseason. Since winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins have won one playoff series and have been ousted in the first round the last four years. All of their impact players are older so while I think they will likely make the playoffs, I worry about everything beyond there.
New York (I)- In a division with excellent goaltending, the Islanders are going to need to rely on it just as much this season. I'm under the impression that they're banking on their offensive, especially Barzal, to score more. That'll be a tall task for this team since the other teams are so strong defensively, just like them. I think this team is going to be improved and I think that it'll be reflected in their record. Do I think they'll make the playoffs? That I'm not sure of just yet. I'll give them a Wild Card chance right now, but it'll depend on who steps up and helps Sorokin carry the load.
Washington- We're going to be on Ovechkin Watch all season since he's just 22 goals away from passing Howe for sole possession of second all-time in goals. As long as he remains healthy, he should really blow past him to leave nothing between him and Gretzky at the top of the list. Washington is going to be very short-handed to start the season. Backstrom will be out for a long time, potentially all year, after hip surgery. Carl Hagelin is still working back from a serious eye injury that could keep him out for a while. Tom Wilson could be out until at least January after he had surgery to repair his ACL. These are big players that Washington will be without. If they aren't careful, they could quickly find themselves behind the pack in the Metro Division and could miss the playoffs.
New Jersey- I still think this team is a year or two away from seriously pushing for a playoff spot. They still have too many questions in the net to give it a run. I don't think the addition of Vanecek is the move that will push them over the top, though anything is better than what they had last season. The offense is going to be fun to watch at full strength. They have one of the best young cores in the league and that is only going to get better the more they play together. They'll likely find themselves toward the bottom of the division again this season, but they'll still be giving teams fits.
Columbus- Even with Gaudreau joining the team, I'm still not sold on them just yet. They did improve a little bit with the easy comparison being that the addition of Gaudreau outweighs the loss of Bjorkstrand, but they have questions in the net and I don't think that helps their situation. I think Merzlikins can absolutely break out and carry the team on their back, but I just don't think they have the same firepower to be a legitimate threat in the Metro. They are a key player or two away from competing for the postseason.
Philadelphia- I struggle to say that this team improved in the offseason, so it could be another year in the cellar for them. With John Tortorella now in control behind the bench, this is going to be extremely interesting. His personality tends to rub some people the wrong way and with a team that isn't ready to compete yet, he could be a little out of his depth here. We've seen teams make miraculous turnarounds, but this doesn't feel like one of those times. Everyone in the division got better in some way this offseason. Philadelphia is the rare exception and it could be evident once the puck drops in October, especially with Couturier on the shelf long-term and Ryan Ellis out for the season.
Central Division
Arizona Coyotes
2021-22 Review- We can't act surprised about the Coyotes being bad. We knew they were tanking without saying they were tanking. They'd traded their franchise defenseman, one of their best scorers, and their starting goalie last offseason and while there is still some decent talent, if they finished anywhere other than 8th in the division it would be a miracle. Spoiler alert, they finished last in the division. In fact, their 57 points were the second-fewest in the league only to Montreal. They lost their first 11 games and only won six games before the calendar changed to 2022. While wins were scarce, there was a fun stretch at the beginning of March where they played Colorado and several teams in the Atlantic. They won six of the seven games and scored 17 goals in two games with Nick Schmaltz recording a seven-point game against Ottawa on March 5th. Schmaltz had a career season with 59 points in 63 games. Clayton Keller remained the team's most reliable player, scoring 28 goals and 63 points to lead the team in both. Their biggest issues were their goalies. Arizona used six different goalies and they combined to allow the third-most goals in the league. That being said, they also faced more shots than any other team. Rookie Karel Vejmelka faced the brunt of the work, appearing in 52 games. His record was very bad at 13-32-3, but it was also clear that he had no help at all in front of him. He alone allowed the sixth-most goals to his opposition. It's crazy to me that this still isn't the worst season they've had since moving from Winnipeg. If not for one overtime loss, this would've tied their lowest point percentage in Arizona. Despite the lack of success, something tells me they will be just fine.
Their Offseason- The big talk of their offseason had less to do with who was on the ice and more about where they would be playing. With the city of Glendale saying they couldn't play there anymore and with a new arena in the works, the team came to an agreement with Arizona State to play in their 5,000-fan arena on campus. It got some serious jokes but at least they'll have somewhere to play. While they came into the lottery with the second-best odds at the top pick, they ended up dropping one spot to pick third overall. They also did some work to get two more picks in the first round, 11th and 29th overall. They selected Logan Cooley, Conor Geekie, and Maveric Lamoureux with their picks to complete one of the best first rounds of the night. Arizona also appears to be the dumping ground for bad contracts as they added Zack Kassian and Patrik Nemeth to help the Oilers and Rangers gain some cap space. Joshua Brown, Nick Bjugstad, and Troy Stetcher rounded out their bigger moves of the offseason. They know they are still a ways away from being competitive, so they aren't looking to rush into anything.
Chicago Blackhawks
2021-22 Review- For more reasons than one, last season was about as bad as it gets for the Blackhawks organization. They had well-documented issues off the ice, but the product on the ice was pretty bad too. They'd been active the offseason before, acquiring reigning Vezina winner Marc-Andre Fleury from Vegas and outstanding defenseman Seth Jones from Columbus and signing him to a long-term deal. While Jones would play well, scoring 51 points to finish third on the team, Fleury had a rough time in Chicago. He never quite found his stride and he was traded away at the deadline with a bunch of other players. Brandon Hagel was another guy that brought in a haul for the team, scoring them two first-round picks and two decent roster players. As for the guys that remained, it was a lot of the same from the usual suspects. Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat did most of the work for the team and were largely the reason the team didn't finish with the fewest points in the league. Kane led the team with 66 assists and 92 points, finishing towards the top of the league in both categories. DeBrincat tied his career-high with 41 goals, 15 more than Kane who had the second most. Outside of 22 goals from Jonathan Toews in a down season and 21 goals from Hagel before being traded, the rest of the team struggled to score. They also didn't do a great job of keeping their opponents off the scoreboard, allowing the seventh-most goals in the league. This all led to a 68-point season for the team and a seventh-place finish in the Central Division. They went into the offseason with the sixth-highest odds at the first pick and it would kick off an unreal offloading of some key players in the offseason.
Their Offseason- It seems like Chicago is starting from scratch with just a few core guys sticking around for the time being. They were especially active at and around the draft. They went into night one of the draft without a first-round pick thanks to the Jones deal but finished the night with three. They got started early in the day by trading DeBrincat to Ottawa and getting a return centered around the 7th overall pick, though they only got a 2nd and 3rd to go along with it. Once the draft began, they traded Kirby Dach to the Canadiens for the 13th and 66th picks and acquired Petr Mrazek from Toronto along with the 25th pick for the 38th pick. They made three picks in the top 25 and will hope it was all worth it. With this being a rebuild, they made several one or two-year deals with guys like Andreas Athanasiou and Max Domi to make sure they had some bodies to take the ice. They also found a new coach with Luke Richardson set to take over behind the bench.
Colorado Avalanche
2021-22 Review- Left with a bitter taste in their mouths once again, the Avalanche felt that it was "do or die" time for the franchise. Just like several other teams, the Avalanche put together the best regular season in franchise history. En route to the Central Division, Colorado secured 56 wins and 119 points, both setting new records, and they finished just three points behind Florida for the Presidents' Trophy. It was also a great year for several individuals on the team. Players like Mikko Rantanen, Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, and Cale Makar were all amongst a group of players that set new career-highs in points, while Makar barely edged Roman Josi to win his first Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman. Even though he wasn't healthy for a decent portion of the season, Nathan MacKinnon finished with 88 points in 65 games. Darcy Kuemper thrived with his new team, winning 37 of his 57 starts and Pavel Francouz played phenomenally as his backup, winning another 15 games in 21 appearances. They rolled into the postseason and outclassed every team in their way. They breezed through the Predators in four games to open the postseason, faced stiff competition in a six-game series win over the Blues, completed a second sweep in the Western Conference Final against the Oilers, then dethroned the champs in a tight six-game series to win their first Stanley Cup since 2001. They made this run look way easier than it should've been. Makar finished with 29 points, third-most in the postseason, to add a Conn Smythe Trophy to his collection, while Rantanen, MacKinnon, and Gabriel Landeskog all eclipsed 20+ points. Both goalies contributed to the effort with Kuemper winning ten games and Froncouz going a perfect 6-0 when called upon. They've reached the top of the mountain once again and can shake the stigma of not being able to get it done.
Their Offseason- Many feel it is important to keep a champion team together and that's largely what Colorado decided to do. They didn't do anything flashy amongst their skaters with the only major loss being Andre Burakovsky signing with Seattle. They were unable to keep Kuemper as their goalie as he opted to sign elsewhere in free agency, meaning they needed to make a move. Instead of signing a goalie, they opted to trade for one. Alexander Georgiev, formally of the New York Rangers, is likely to get a lion's share of the work in front of Francouz. This could be a risky move since Georgiev has been the backup for the Rangers and hasn't seen much action as a starter. Otherwise, this is going to be pretty much the same team that just won 16 postseason games to win the Stanley Cup.
Dallas Stars
2021-22 Review- It wasn't long ago that Dallas was fighting for a Stanley Cup. After missing the postseason in 2021, the Stars knew they were in for a fight in the Central Division. For all the talks of Boston's perfection line and the killer line in Calgary, I think the top line in Dallas might've been the most fun to watch. Centered by another of the league's ageless wonders, Joe Pavelski, and flanked by young guns Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz, this line was lethal. Pavelski scored a career-high in points at age 37, leading the team with 81. Robertson had an excellent second year, scoring 41 goals, the most on the team. Hintz had a breakout year, scoring 37 goals and 72 points, after never scoring more than 43 points in a season. They also got major improvements from Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, who were healthy and scoring more than they had been. The true standout was goalie Jake Oettinger. With Ben Bishop hurt all season and Braden Holtby in and out of the lineup, Oettinger was primed to take over and that's exactly what he did. He won 30 of his 48 games and put together outstanding numbers for a young goalie taking control for the first time. Holtby, when healthy, wasn't bad either, but it's a big "when". They got into a tough race for the wild card in the Western Conference, sneaking into the top spot and getting a date with Calgary in the first round. For two teams with strong offenses, it was the matchup between Oettinger and Jacob Markstrom that really stole the show. They essentially went save-for-save for seven games and despite 64 saves from the young goalie in the deciding game, the lack of offense hampered their chances of advancing to the second round as Johnny Gaudreau found a little daylight and scored the game-winner in overtime to send Dallas home for the summer.
Their Offseason- It was small changes throughout the team on the ice, but big changes were made behind the bench. After their first exit in the first round, Rick Bowness was not retained as the head coach, and Pete DeBoer was brought in after being fired by Vegas. While I think it was a mistake by Vegas to let him go in the first place, I'm curious what he'll do for a team that seems to have things figured out a little bit. Their biggest addition was Mason Marchment after a spectacular season in Sunrise. After a breakout season of his own, the addition of Marchment only makes the forward group stronger. They did lose quite a bit though. Their biggest loss was John Klingberg on defense. He'd been a major part of the blueline and after the team was not able to pull the trigger on a trade, they've now lost him for free and he's signed in Anaheim for a discounted price. It's a big blow to the team, but not one that will kill them.
Minnesota Wild
2021-22 Review- The Wild is another in a long line of franchises that eclipsed previous highs in points for a season. With 113 points last season, the 2021-22 team asserted itself as the best the franchise has seen. With the reigning Calder Trophy winner leading the charge, this team was a lot of fun to watch. Kirill Kaprizov entered his sophomore campaign with high expectations and he exceeded those and then some. The Russian sniper put up 47 goals and 108 points, both in the top five in the league. To compliment Kaprizov, the rest of the team's top five scorers all had seasons that shattered their previous career highs. Kevin Fiala finished with 85 points, 31 more points than his previous high. Mats Zuccarello put up 55 assists, second on the team, and 79 points. Ryan Hartman broke 30 goals for the first time and put up 65 points after his previous high was just 31. Defensive specialist Joel Eriksson Ek celebrated his new contract with 49 points and finished seventh in Selke voting. Goalie Cam Talbot was an All-Star, winning 32 games in 49 appearances. At the deadline, the team added to their goalie depth by trading for Marc-Andre Fleury, who won nine of his 11 games after joining the team. Given his numbers in the postseason, the team decided to go with Fleury in the first round against St. Louis and it didn't end with the desired results. Fleury largely struggled in the first five games and by the time they gave the net to Talbot in Game 6, it was too late. Talbot would allow four goals in a 5-1 loss to get an early vacation. Kaprizov scored seven of the team's 16 goals in the series as the rest of the team struggled to solve Jordan Binnington at the end of the series.
Their Offseason- After the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter the summer before, this team knew it was going to be strapped for cash for the next few seasons. This season alone, they'll have over $12.7 million in dead cap space because of these two players and it's only going up in the next two seasons. This limited a lot of what they could do in the offseason. They had a decision to make between the pipes and they decided that Fleury was their choice to start the season. They showed it by sending Cam Talbot to the Senators and getting their new backup Filip Gustavsson in return. They also traded the RFA rights of Kevin Fiala to Los Angeles for Brock Faber and the 19th pick since they weren't going to be able to afford his new contract. They made a minimal impact in free agency with Nic Petan serving as their biggest move, so it's going to be a lot of familiar faces on Opening Night. There was also a scary situation with Kaprizov this summer with some non-hockey-related issues. I'm happy to see that things appear to be resolved and he's back in the U.S.
Nashville Predators
2021-22 Review- Everything great that this team did is going to likely be overlooked because of the final three games of the regular season. Despite making the playoffs during the shortened 2020-21 campaign, it felt like most of that was courtesy of Juuse Saros. The forwards didn't show up and it was a bit lackluster. This season, some big players re-emerged and had great years. Matt Duchene and Filip Forsberg became the first two 40-goal scorers in franchise history, leading the team with 43 and 42 goals, respectively. They both also cracked 80 points for the first time in their careers. Ryan Johansen returned to a level of play he hadn't seen in a few years, notching 26 goals and 63 points. Roman Josi led all defensemen with 96 points, breaking the franchise record for points in a season, and secured the most first-place votes for the Norris Trophy, finishing just 25 votes behind Cale Makar for the award. Tanner Jeannot finished seventh in Calder voting with 24 goals and 41 points. All of this happened while Saros continued to be amazing between the pipes. He was the league's busiest goalie, playing in 67 of the team's 82 games and facing the second-most shots while finishing third in wins with 38 and top ten in both GAA and save percentage. The reason I bring up the last three games is that they altered their course heading into the postseason. While still in a tight wild card race on April 26, Saros got hurt in a 4-3 game against Calgary with just under seven minutes left. David Rittich came in to relieve him and allowed the tying goal with less than a second left, then Nashville lost in overtime, falling just short of picking up the second point. They followed it up with a 5-4 win over the eventual Stanley Cup champions two nights later to set up a season finale where they needed a win to finish with the first wild card and a date with Calgary in the first round. Their opponent for the finale was the lowly Arizona Coyotes. Things started great as they jumped out to a 4-0 lead just 6:57 into the game. From there, Arizona would score five unanswered to steal a win in a game that meant nothing to them and ensured Nashville would face Colorado in the first round without their starting goalie for the series. Connor Ingram did all he could to keep them in it, but Nashville would fall in four games to end a great season on a sour note.
Their Offseason- Things were relatively quiet in Nashville this offseason. They didn't make any huge moves, their largest being the signing of Nino Niederreiter for two years at just $4 million per season. They added Kevin Lankinen as their backup for the season after Rittich didn't serve well in the role. They also added another veteran defenseman with the trade for Ryan McDonagh from Tampa Bay for Philippe Myers and a minor leaguer. They will be rolling a very similar-looking team when they hit the ice in October, which might not be the worst after the seasons they had.
St. Louis Blues
2021-22 Review- For a team that is so used to making the postseason, it has become the expectation and anything short is a disappointment. This season, they certainly didn't disappoint. The talk last season and all offseason surrounded the future of Vladimir Tarasenko with the team. With the announcement that he'd be on the team and they weren't going to trade it, it was time to get down to business. He repaid them handsomely with his performance. In a season where he was largely healthy, Tarasenko scored 34 goals and set a new career-high with 82 points to lead the team. They also featured a trio of guys that had career seasons with 70+-point seasons. Robert Thomas was arguably the biggest surprise of the group. The 22-year-old had 77 points, leading the team with 57 assists. Pavel Buchnevich, who they'd acquired in the offseason, scored 30 goals for the first time in his career and was third on the team with 76 points. Jordan Kyrou was the Fastest Skater at the All-Star Game and put up 75 points. It seemed to be that you either scored a ton or hardly scored on the Blues. Nine players scored 20+ goals and outside of Justin Faulk's 16, everyone else scored single digits. They also had a decent goalie duo. Ville Husso asserted himself as the team's starter after Jordan Binnington struggled at times, finishing 25-7-6 in 40 games. They were engulfed all season in a battle for the second and third spots in the Central Division with the Minnesota Wild. They'd finish on the short side of that battle, but it allowed them to get a crack at the Wild in the first round. Husso started for the team but after they fell down 2-1 in the series, they turned to Binnington to turn their series around. They'd win three in a row to win the series in six games as Binnington allowed just five goals while Tarasenko, Ryan O'Reilly, and David Perron each scored five. They'd meet the Avalanche in the second round and despite a valiant effort, including an overtime win in Game 5 to extend the series, they'd fall in Game 6 to end the season.
Their Offseason- St. Louis made a curious move by trading Husso to Detroit for a third-round pick. I know that Binnington makes a lot of money and needs to be the starter, but Husso was an excellent guy to have. I understand that he was going to make more money than he did last season, so it was better to get more for him now, but I think he's better than the guy they signed to back up Binnington, Thomas Greiss. Nick Leddy was the team's biggest addition, signed for four years. Their only major addition up front was Noel Acciari. They'll be largely the same, which might not be the worst thing.
Winnipeg Jets
2021-22 Review- There'd been a lot of talk about the culture in the locker room in Winnipeg after the trade of Patrik Laine with special emphasis placed on captain Blake Wheeler and alternate Mark Scheifele. It'd been made a huge deal and it led to many thinking it was time for a change. The team was forced into a change in mid-December when Paul Maurice announced that he was resigning from the team. It wasn't because the team was performing terribly since they were 13-11-5, though while not ideal, it still wasn't awful. Maurice says he felt the team needed a new voice behind the bench. Dave Lowry took over from that point. The team wasn't able to improve much under Lowry, finishing 6th in the division with 89 points. A lot of that might fall on Connor Hellebuyck. The former Vezina winner saw his numbers dip quite a bit. After playing the most games in the last two seasons, he was just one game behind Juuse Saros for the title again this season. I'd argue that the big reason was that he'd been playing so much. It's not like his backup was terrible because Eric Comrie went 10-5-1 and had better overall numbers than Hellebuyck, albeit in a significantly smaller sample size. The team also faced its fair share of injuries among its star. Wheeler scored 60 points despite missing 17 games. Scheifele scored 70 points in 67 games. Nikolaj Ehlers scored 55 points in 62 games. All these guys produced when they played, but imagine what could've happened if they were completely healthy. Kyle Connor was healthy all season and he was dynamite. He finished tied for fifth in the league with 47 goals while also leading the team with 46 assists and 93 points. He couldn't get it all done by himself. It felt like a bit of a lost season for the Jets as they were unable to get over the hump to find the postseason.
Their Offseason- Winnipeg had one of the best first rounds of the night, in my opinion. They owned two picks, picking up the 30th pick from New York at the deadline for Andrew Copp. At 14th overall, they picked Rutger Mcgroarty and then selected Brad Lambert at 30th after he fell to the bottom of the round. I really liked the Lambert pick and hope he works out for the Jets. Outside of the draft, it was really quiet in Winnipeg. They signed Rick Bowness to man the benches, signed Kyle Capobianco on defense, and signed David Rittich to back up Hellebuyck. Otherwise, they were not involved in things.
Projected Standings
1. Colorado*
2. St. Louis*
3. Dallas*
4. Nashville*
5. Minnesota
6. Winnipeg
7. Arizona
8. Chicago
Colorado- Winning one is hard. Winning a second is harder despite what Tampa Bay has taught us. The target is on their back and they are now the team everyone is aiming to beat. Defending champions have a checkered history recently. The Central Divison is very top-heavy, so it'll likely be the usual cast of characters fighting for the top three spots. Colorado remains the class of the division and should likely repeat as division champions. It's the postseason that I start to worry about. They have a goalie tandem that has been backups their entire careers. They are going to score plenty of goals and their defense is one of the strongest in the league. This is a very good team that has what it takes to repeat.
St. Louis- They've only missed the playoffs nine times in 54 years. Unless the wheels fall off Binnington this season and Greiss is forced into extended action, I see no reason why they would miss it this season. It might be a tough ask of Thomas, Kyrou, and Buchnevich to replicate their success this season, though I don't think they'll fall off that much. Some offensive help from the defense would be nice. They have some excellent options on defense and they help out a reasonable amount. I think they could give Colorado a fit when it comes to the division crown.
Dallas- With Oettinger looking to be the guy for good, this is his team. On paper, I love this top six for the Stars. When compared to the rest of the division, they might be up there with Colorado or St. Louis' top six. Their defense isn't terrible either, even without Klingberg. I think this is a team that, if healthy, will cause some serious waves in the division and could make a decent run. A lot of this will be contingent on Oettinger being as good as he was in the postseason. Look out for the Stars when the end of the season rolls around.
Nashville- I think as long as Saros stays healthy, this team has the potential to make a decent run. I don't think much changes if he were to have played against Colorado in the first round outside of maybe stealing a game or two. I really like the addition of Niederreiter to this team. They already have some decent goal-scorers, so adding another to the mix will complement them well. I don't expect Josi to play at the same level as he did last season, but I don't see any reason why he can't come close to the same numbers he had. The race for the postseason is going to be tough outside of Colorado in the Central Division, but Nashville should have a dog in that fight.
Minnesota- I don't think last year was necessarily a fluke because they played very well, but I question whether they'll be able to perform at the same level with the serious restraints of their salary situation. Kaprizov is going to be the center of everything for the team, so the hope is the pressure won't fall squarely on his shoulders. Fleury is also a bit of a question mark because of his poor season overall and lackluster postseason performance. I could see them on the edge of possibly missing the postseason.
Winnipeg- This is a team that severely underperformed last season despite all the dynamite they have on offense. I think that being healthy would've helped the situation a lot, but that also means guys need to step up when someone is out of the lineup. That didn't seem to happen that much. I think Hellebuyck is going to take what happened last season personally and will use that to fuel an incredible comeback. I have no clue whether they'll have enough to jump a few teams to make the playoffs or not. I would like to think the Hellebucyk can carry them to the postseason, but I need to see more help in front of him. With the current locker room situation, that might be a huge ask.
Arizona- Like I said, they're going to finish near the bottom of the division again. This time they might have some competition with the Blackhawks also likely to be abysmal with them. My only vested interest in them will be which rookies make their debuts. This team has plenty of great, young talent and good veterans to help them along. They just aren't a good team. I'm not sure if Vejmelka is going to get more help than he did last season, but I'd anticipate he takes a small step forward. By the end of the season, we're going to be looking at a potential home for Connor Bedard. 60 points might be too much to get him, so aim for closer to 55 or so.
Chicago- This is going to be a long season for the city of Chicago. With several players gone, it's only a matter of time before Kane and Toews no longer want to be a part of this circus. It feels like they are going to be squarely in the race for Connor Bedard at next year's draft. They've traded away a large scorer and the guy that Kane relied upon on his flank. Get ready for a season full of questions about where they will both end up at the trade deadline before they hit free agency next summer. Sorry, Chicago.
Pacific Division
Anaheim Ducks
2021-22 Review- After a very disappointing showing in 2020-21, expectations weren't high for the Ducks. They had a couple of young players to be excited about, but conversations were more around who would still be on the team once the trade deadline rolled around. While the core of this group was up there in age, the young guys were who everyone was looking at to carry the load. I'd say they got what they wanted. The leaders of that young core were Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras. Terry hadn't been known to light up the net in his abbreviated seasons with the team, but something seemed to connect for him this season as he scored 37 goals and 67 points. Zegras quickly became a human highlight reel, pulling off a pair of lacrosse goals and a lacrosse assist during the season. His numbers overall weren't too bad either, scoring 23 goals and 61 points. Even guys like top defensive Jamie Drysdale and Isac Lundestrom made solid contributions to the team in their first full seasons. The veterans made their presence felt as well, with Adam Henrique notching 19 goals, Cam Fowler finishing with 42 points, and John Gibson posting a respectable save percentage. At the end of the day, it boils down to not scoring enough goals and the defense not preventing enough goals. They were bottom ten in scoring while being top ten in goals allowed, which is not an ideal combination when it comes to winning games. It all led to 76 points and a seventh-place finish in the Pacific Division. It also marked the final season for long-time captain Ryan Getzlaf, who announced he's be stepping away from playing. He finished the season with just 3 goals and 37 points to go out without many fireworks, but the final reception for him at their last home game was phenomenal. It was a bad way to go out for the team, but at least he went out on his own terms.
Their Offseason- I was a little surprised at how aggressive the Ducks were in free agency. Hoping to capitalize on some of the Rangers' success, Anaheim signed both Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano to multi-year deals to help upgrade their forward group. Even bigger was their addition on the defense. After Dallas flubbed their situation with John Klingberg, he found his way to Anaheim on a one-year deal. At the absolute worst, they can trade him at the deadline to recoup assets, unlike what Dallas did. They also made some smaller moves to try and improve, but none will be bigger than those three. They were quiet on the trade front also, opting to hold onto Gibson to begin the season.
Calgary Flames
2021-22 Review- After a poor showing in the all-Canadian North Division during the shortened season, the Flames had a lot of work to do heading into 2021-22. They hadn't gotten significantly better in the summer before the season started with only Blake Coleman feeling like a big addition. Everyone that underperformed the year before seemed to come to life. The Flames were led by the best forward line in the entire league, consisting of Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm, and Matthew Tkachuk. All three players scored 40 or more goals as Tkachuk and Lindholm tied for ninth in the league with 42 and Gaudreau added an even 40. Gaudreau finished tied for second in the league with 115 points, while Tkachuk was right behind him with 104. The other big story was the rebound of Jacob Markstrom. The Flames' goalie completely turned things around, winning 37 games, shutting out a league-best nine opponents, and finishing top five in several other categories to finish second in Vezina voting. Their defense was top-five in the league as well. For as great as they were on paper, they still had some problems when it came to depth scoring. If you were to add the goal totals from the top line and the 35 from Andrew Mangiapane, they alone combined for 54.6% of the team's offensive production. This became a problem once the postseason started. The Flames would finish with 111 points and would win the Pacific Division to face the Dallas Stars in the first round. This was about as tight as a series could get on paper. Markstrom and Jake Oettinger went toe-to-toe for seven games and despite an all-world performance from the Stars' goalie in the seventh game, it was Gaudreau in overtime that clinched the series for them. It led to a clash with Edmonton in the second round and despite nine goals in Game 1, they would fall in five games in what turned out to be a one-sided series. The top line continued to lead the charge with Gaudreau topping the team with 14 points. Markstrom was outdueled by Smith and he performed more like he did the year before. It was a sad ending to what looked to be a promising run.
Their Offseason- I'm not sure we've seen too many playoff teams fall apart so quickly. They were going into free agency with Gaudreau looking to be the biggest prize on the market. As the hours ticked down before the market opened, Gaudreau made it clear that he wasn't going to re-sign with the team, which was going to be a major loss. Then, Tkachuk voiced his displeasure with the situation and asked to be moved somewhere else. The team obliged and traded him to Florida for Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, a prospect, and a first. They then signed Huberdeau to an eight-year extension that won't kick off until 2023-24. Then just as everyone thought they were done, they traded Sean Monahan to Montreal to clear cap space to sign Nazem Kadri for seven years. It
Edmonton Oilers
2021-22 Review- For a franchise that has rostered two of the best players in the league for several seasons, the lack of postseason success is a major point of contention. Connor McDavid is expected to score 100+ points a season and be in the picture to win the Hart Trophy, winning the award twice. Leon Draisaitl is a threat to score 50 goals and 100 points and has a Hart to his name as well. Despite this, they'd only won one series in the postseason with them on the roster. They are always in focus and they often lack a support system to get them anywhere once the postseason rolls around. McDavid and Draisaitl were their usual selves with the captain accumulating a league-leading 123 points to finish second in Hart voting, while Draisaitl put up 55 goals and 110 points. They were far and away the most impactful players with the third-highest point total on the team belonging to Zach Hyman's 54 points. The season wasn't without its turmoil as Dave Tippett was shown the door after a 23-18-3 start as Jay Woodcroft was brought in to run things behind the bench. Starting goalie Mikko Koskinen underperformed and lost his spot to 39-year-old Mike Smith. Once Woodcroft took over, things took a major turn in the right direction. The Oilers went 26-9-3 after the change to break 100 points for the first time since 2016-17 and finish second in their division. They were given a scare in the first round by the plucky Los Angeles Kings, winning in seven games to win a series for just the second time since 2006. It set up a Battle for Alberta with Calgary in the second round and it turned out to be one of the most exciting five-game series we've seen in a while. Game 1 itself was worth the price of admission, Edmonton dropping the game 9-6, but they rattled off four straight wins, including an overtime winner from McDavid in Game 5 to advance to the conference finals where they were smashed by the Avalanche in four games. McDavid continued to lead the way with 33 points and Draisaitl was right behind him with 32, but Evander Kane was the real story, tying for the lead in the postseason with 13 goals finishing as the only player with two hat tricks. Smith fought valiantly between the pipes, but it wasn't enough. All things considered, this was a good first step in what could be a major leap for the franchise.
Their Offseason- The Oilers made some big splashes in free agency. They added Brett Kulak on a four-year deal to their defensive core to play alongside the likes of Darnell Nurse, Tyson Barrie, Cody Ceci, and Evan Bouchard. Mattias Janmark was brought in to replace Zack Kassian, who they traded as a cap dump to the Coyotes. Arguably the biggest move they made was in the net. With Koskinen signing overseas and concerns over Smith's age, the Oilers are turning to Jack Campbell as the answer. He was a little inconsistent at the end of the season and in Toronto's first-round loss, but he's an upgrade from what they had.
Los Angeles Kings
2021-22 Review- The Kings were one of the better success stories of 2021-22. They had a rough season the year prior, finishing 6th in the division, but you wouldn't be able to tell based on their offseason. They were aggressive in signing shutdown center Phillip Danault and trading for Viktor Arvidsson. The end result was a good one for the Kings. It was actually the veterans that made some major impact. It was all led by longtime King Anze Kopitar, Missing only one game all season, Kopitar led the team with 48 assists and 67 points and continued to be a problem at 34 years old. Despite missing a majority of the season and the postseason, Drew Doughty was at nearly a point-per-game, scoring 31 points in 39 games. Jonathan Quick won 23 games while posting his best numbers in four years. The newbies were good too. Danault finished with a career-high 27 goals and Arvidsson topped 20 goals as well. Still, it was the young guys that showed out too. Adrian Kempe scored 35 goals and shattered his career highs. Cal Peterson was a solid backup to Quick, winning 20 games of his own. It all led to 99 points and the postseason for a team that many had on the fringe. By securing the third spot in the Pacific Division, Los Angeles was matched up with McDavid, Draisaitl, and the Edmonton Oilers. They set the tone in the series with a win in Game 1 but dropped Games 2 and 3 by a combined 14-2. When it looked like the series was over, the Kings won the next two to put Edmonton on the brink of elimination. They failed to finish the series at home in Game 4 with the Oilers breaking a 2-2 tie late in the third period, setting up Game 7 in Edmonton. The series-deciding game was a nail-biter. The game was scoreless for most of the first two periods with Quick going save-for-save with Mike Smith. Ultimately, a late goal in the second period and a dagger late in the third from McDavid put an end to the Kings' season. The firepower from the Oilers was just too much for the Kings to handle.
Their Offseason- The Kings didn't do anything too flashy in the offseason. Their biggest move was trading for Kevin Fiala from Minnesota for Brock Faber and the 19th pick in the draft, giving up their pick for a great contributor. The big change was the retirement of longtime captain Dustin Brown. As the captain of both Stanley Cup teams, Brown has become a legend of the franchise and his presence in the locker room is going to be missed greatly. With a quiet offseason means the expectations should be higher on the team because it's a team that we have seen work on the ice together.
San Jose Sharks
2021-22 Review- I'll be completely honest, I thought the Sharks' record was far worse than it actually was. That might be more indicative of how bad the division was as a whole since they finished sixth with just 77 points. While a 32-37-13 record isn't exactly noteworthy, it's still not that lopsided. Their 13 overtime and shootout losses were second only to Anaheim, so maybe a few decisions go their way and they even things out a little. Another thing I expected to see when looking at their season was poor goalie performances. Honestly, despite their .900 save percentage being 11th-worst in the league, James Reimer, Adin Hill, and even Kaapo Kahkonen weren't terrible. All three had sub-3.00 GAAs and save percentages over .905. I think they were likely let down by the defense in front of them and the lack of scoring. They scored 211 goals as a team, the third-fewest in the league, and outside of Timo Meier, Tomas Hertl, and Logan Couture scoring 35, 30, and 23 goals respectively, no one was scoring much. Brent Burns tried his hardest, adding 54 points from the defense, but it was largely disappointing everywhere else. Erik Karlsson continued to underperform despite a huge contract. Nick Bonino was underwhelming in his first season with the team. It was just disappointment after disappointment for the Sharks for 82 games. I don't think many people were expecting them to tear things up, but I'm sure they were also upset with how things ended too. I think that being bad is one thing, but being irrelevant is a whole other thing. The Sharks weren't terrible on paper, but they were irrelevant, which I think is arguably worse.
Their Offseason- San Jose was busy. They were busy, but they weren't signing high-profile guys. They know they are in a rebuild and aren't quite ready yet, so they are just signing guys to make sure they have a full team. They started at the draft by trading the 11th pick to Arizona for the 27th, 34th, and 45th picks. They also acquired Luke Kunin from Nashville on Day 2. Once free agency opened, they traded Burns to Carolina for Steven Lorentz, Eetu Makiniemi, and a pick. With Vegas needing a goalie and San Jose having an abundance of NHL-level goalies, they traded Hill to the Golden Knights. On the open market, they signed Nico Sturm, Matt Benning, and Oskar Lindblom to add some depth. It felt more like they were adding fourth-line players to round out some of their middle-six. They'll also have a new boss behind the bench with David Quinn taking over.
Seattle Kraken
2021-22 Review- I don't think it's fair to assert that Vegas' inaugural season left high expectations for Seattle. Vegas was projected at the bottom of the division in their first season and shattered preseason predictions by advancing to the Stanley Cup Final. No one expected that from Seattle, especially after their Expansion Draft. Some of their picks were major head-scratchers given some of the big names on the board. They had good players but passed on some great ones. They tried to make a splash in free agency leading up to the season but at the end of the day, this was about what we expected. Seattle wasn't competitive in their first year for most of the season. They never came together and gelled in the same way Vegas did. Some of that might be contributed to their poor goaltending. After finishing third in Vezina voting in 2020-21, Philipp Grubauer was the starting netminder for the newest franchise and it was a trainwreck of a season for him. His 18-31-5 record reflected accurately upon his sub-.900 save percentage and over-3.10 goals-against average. Chris Driedger, his backup, was statistically better in a smaller sample size, but he was also sub-.900 and barely under 3.00. It didn't help that they couldn't score much either. Jared McCann led the squad with 27 goals and 50 points to set himself as the franchise leader in both categories. Yanni Gourde and Jordan Eberle were the only other players to crack 20 goals, scoring 21 each. A lot of players suited up for the team throughout the season, 38 in total, and the lineup seemed to change on a nightly basis. They traded a lot of their original picks at the trade deadline, including captain Mark Giordano. All of this resulted in a finish at the bottom of the Pacific Division with 60 points, the third-fewest in the league. It was always pretty but that's what we expected from the infant franchise.
Their Offseason- A bad finish in the standings meant a better chance at the first pick, which seemed to be their goal all season. With the third-best odds at the top spot, they actually fell a spot in the draft lottery, finishing with the fourth overall pick. I'd say it all ended well for them however as they ended up selecting Shane Wright with the fourth pick after he fell into their laps. Once considered a lock to be the first pick, three teams passed on him much to my surprise and it was to their benefit. Elsewhere, the Kraken looked to improve their offense and I think they did so by signing Andre Burakovsky from the Stanley Cup champions and acquiring Oliver Bjorkstrand from the Blue Jackets. They also signed Justin Schultz to improve their defense. Seattle could sneakily have one of the best wing groups on both sides of a decent center core.
Vancouver Canucks
2021-22 Review- It's incredible what happens when you change coaches. Vancouver had two different seasons, pre-Boudreau and post-Boudreau. Under Travis Green, the Canucks started 8-15-2 and several of its top stars struggled to get their games going. Elias Pettersson was one of the quieter players to start the season, scoring just four goals and 12 points in 25 games. With Green out and Bruce Boudreau taking over as the new coach, a flip seemed to switch for the team. They went 32-15-10 under the new regime and if the season had started when Boudreau came on, the Canucks would've been a playoff team. They had a better record than both Edmonton and Nashville, finishing with the third-best record in the Pacific Divison from December 5th onward. Pettersson's season turned around as well, scoring 28 goals and 56 points in the final 55 games. One guy that was good all season was JT Miller. He finished the season in a tie for the team lead in goals (32) with Petterson and led with 67 assists and 99 points, ninth-most in the league. All three numbers were career highs for him. Bo Horvat finished the season with 31 goals and Quinn Hughes had 60 assists to go along with eight goals. Thatcher Demko was a little all over the place. He won 33 games, ninth in the league, in 63 games, third-most in the league, but his other numbers were pretty middle of the road. Vancouver was a class case of a team that turned it around with a new coach but fell too far behind with their play at the beginning of the season. Had Boudreau been the coach from the very beginning, I think there's a chance they overtake Nashville for a Wild Card spot, but that's just me speculating. The team faced inconsistencies all season and they were able to overcome a slow start out of the gate.
Their Offseason- The Canucks didn't do anything too cute in the offseason. Arguably the biggest decision they made was re-signing Miller to a seven-year deal to keep him in Vancouver despite ongoing trade rumors. They did make a few signings during free agency, their most notable being Ilya Mikhayev and Curtis Lazar. Both were given multi-year deals at respectable money for their services. They were quiet on most other fronts. They didn't make nearly the same noise they did the last offseason by trading for Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Conor Garland. They must be comfortable with their team.
Vegas Golden Knights
2021-22 Review- In their first four seasons, the Vegas franchise went to a Stanley Cup Final, two more Western Conference Finals, and played an exciting first-round series that they lost in seven games. They've had an unbelievable beginning to their time in the NHL. They entered unchartered territory in 2021-22. The injuries were a huge problem and many of their stars were extremely limited in how much they played. In keeping with tradition in Vegas, the team went after the most coveted player on the block and acquired Jack Eichel from Buffalo in early November despite being injured and there being no real clear indication of when he'd return. While the fans waited, the rest of the team struggled to stay healthy. Mark Stone only played 37 games. Mac Pacioretty played 39. Alec Martinez played 26. Reilly Smith played 56. They were towards the top of the league in man-games lost. Even the guys that could stay healthy didn't put up huge numbers. Jonathan Marchessault led the team with 30 goals and 66 points and Chandler Stephenson was right behind with 64. Robin Lehner wasn't great either as their starter and Laurent Brossoit wasn't much better. Logan Thompson was the only goalie that saw time that left a good impact. Eichel eventually made his debut on February 16 and would play 34 games, scoring 14 goals and 25 points. This season seemed to highlight the major problems with the front office. At the deadline, they tried to trade Evgeni Dadonov, yet they failed to realize he had a no-trade clause, which made things awkward when he had to suit up for the team afterward. Despite their best efforts at the end of the season, Vegas would miss the postseason for the first time by just three points.
Their Offseason- While Ottawa might be on the good side of the offseason, Vegas is surely on the bad side. They've backed themselves into a situation where they can't make any major signings since they acquire all the big names through trades. To help cushion the blow a little, they were finally able to trade Dadonov to Montreal for Shea Weber's contract to put on LTIR since he's likely never playing again. They gave extensions to Reilly Smith and Nicolas Roy. But their piece de resistance was trading Max Pacioretty and Dylan Coghlan to Carolina for "future consideration", meaning they likely traded one of their stars and a young defenseman for cap space and that's it. They did sign Phil Kessel to try and make something positive out of it, but I think this summer was an ultimate failure for the team.
Projected Standings
1. Los Angeles*
2. Calgary*
3. Edmonton*
4. Vancouver*
5. Vegas
6. Seattle
7. Anaheim
8. San Jose
Los Angeles- With as wide-open as I think this division is, why not get a little crazy and say the Kings are going to win it this season. The Kings, when healthy, should be a true force in the Pacific. They got better on paper by bringing in Fiala and have the young players that are ready to make a difference full-time, like former 2nd pick Quinton Byfield. It's time for him to make that jump to a full-time guy at center and after fighting injuries in his first two seasons as a pro, this could be a make-or-break season for him. The Kings will be a team whose season rides on the strength of its goaltending. If Quick and Peterson are steady, the entire team will be built for success. I don't think scoring is going to be a problem for them and the playoffs should be a formality. Give me back the Kings that won two cups in three seasons.
Calgary- The Huberdeau-Tkachuk trade makes things very interesting for the Flames because they gave up the younger guy to get two veterans, but the signing of Kadri helps to cushion that. I think Huberdeau and Weegar are great, but the loss of Gaudreau on top of Tkachuk made them worse. What was once the best line in the league is now 2/3 gone. The comparison all season will be Tkachuk/Gaudreau vs. Kadri/Huberdeau. I think that as long as Markstrom plays like he did last season, this team should be fine. They are already one of the best defensive teams in the league and they seemingly got better. The Kadri move helped to save an offseason that made me think they got a little worse, but now they should comfortably be in the playoffs.
Edmonton- A lot of teams in the Pacific got better in the offseason, especially teams that missed the playoffs last year. Edmonton will always be a team to push for the postseason as long as McDavid and Draisaitl are around and the successful addition of Kane during the latter half of the season adds to the excitement for this team. They need to find a way to support their two stars because 56 points between Draisaitl and the next highest point total is not something that is sustainable. As long as Campbell can live up to his big contract and the stars play like it, the Oilers should be pushing for a decent run in the postseason.
Vancouver- With Boudreau as the coach for a full season, it'll be a question of whether they can keep their momentum from last season and get started on time. It sunk their ship last season and put a damper on everything that would come after the coaching change. With a new contract, the hope is that Miller will be able to replicate his near-100-point season. They have a ton of good players that are capable of scoring in bunches. I'm more interested in how their goalies will play. Demko is good, but don't be surprised if Spencer Martin makes a statement after playing well in limited action last season. This could be a sneaky team for the postseason.
Vegas- It's hard to predict injuries in the preseason, so it's understandable why they underperformed last season. Before the season even starts, they know that Nolan Patrick is likely out for the season and Lehner has already been announced to be done for the year. So that means Thompson is getting the starting nod in all likelihood. They are also bound to get all their previously injured stars at nearly full strength by the time the season starts. On paper, this is still a solid team. They'll get a full season with Eichel if all goes well, so it could be time for the former Sabre to get some action in the postseason. The Pacific is usually seen as a weaker division, but that might not be the case this season. I think Vegas could return to the playoffs in what will be a huge fight for 82 games, but that will be dependent on their goaltending.
Seattle- I truly believe last season was just a bad season for Grubauer and he's destined to bounce back in a big way for the Kraken. Improved play between the pipes and their offense coming to light will signal a vast improvement. I don't think it'll be enough for them to make the playoffs just yet, but they'll be a fun team to watch. I'm especially excited to see Matty Beniers get a full season under his belt after scoring nine points in tens games at the end of the season. Plus, if Wright makes the jump right away, they could put this league on blast. Give this team a year or two and they'll be contending for a playoff spot and could look to make a run. That's a little bit down the line, but the future is pretty bright.
Anaheim- It's hard to ignore the improvements the Ducks made in the offseason. The signing of Klingberg is a bit of an anomaly, but signing Strome and Vatrano for several years seems to indicate that they aren't going to be making a hard push for the postseason, though there isn't any reason to believe they're going to tank either. I'll be interested to see if Mason McTavish is able to translate his strong performance in the World Juniors to the NHL in a larger role this season. If things aren't going well, expect Klingberg, Gibson, and Shattenkirk to be the first names floated out there. I don't think it's quite their time.
San Jose- Obviously, there's no way the Sharks truly think they are going to magically be in the playoff picture. I think they had a good offseason, unloading some money and adding some decent depth, but they aren't going to keep up with the stronger teams in the Pacific Division. I think they run the risk of being at the very bottom of the division unless they get some comeback years from some that underperformed last season. Their goaltending is going to be under a microscope with Reimer and Kahkonen forming the tandem for the season. I think we'll learn early on whether this will be a long season in San Jose.
Postseason Predictions
Eastern Conference
First Round
A1 Tampa Bay v. WC2 New York (I) (Tampa Bay in 5)
We've seen Tampa Bay crumble in the first round before, just ask Colombus in 2019. However, Tampa Bay is too much for the Islanders in this rematch of the Eastern Conference Final in 2019 and 2020.
A2 Toronto v. A3 Florida (Toronto in 7)
There's no way they don't win a series again, right? This team is too good offensively to not be able to get through the first round for another year because we need Matthews and Marner in the second round.
M1 New York (R) v. WC1 Ottawa (New York in 6)
Ottawa is my sleeper pick to jump into the postseason, but this Rangers team is looking really good. Add the reigning Vezina champion with some postseason experience and it'll be a lot to overcome.
M2 Carolina v. M3 Pittsburgh (Carolina in 6)
I've talked extensively about how frustrated this Carolina team is going to be all season. With the sting of a second-round loss, they'll be on a war path and Pittsburgh is going to be the first casualty.
Second Round
A1 Tampa Bay v. A2 Toronto (Toronto in 7)
Let's get really crazy now and have Toronto win two series in one postseason. They were one goal and a questionable penalty away from beating the Lightning in the first round last season, so they can do it.
M1 New York (R) v. M2 Carolina (Carolina in 6)
Winning this series, let alone in six games, will mean that the Canes have to win on the road, something they didn't do last season in the second round. Revenge will be theirs as they return the favor.
Eastern Conference Final
A2 Toronto v. M2 Carolina (Carolina in 7)
This could come down to which team has the home-ice advantage for the seventh game, but I'm leaning toward Carolina. This is where the postseason edge of the Hurricanes could come into play against a Toronto team with very little postseason success outside of Matt Murray and a few others. These two have played in some truly wild games in the last few years, plus there is some history with the 2002 Eastern Conference Final, won by Carolina in six games. Toronto would've had a great run to this point, but I'm sticking with the Hurricanes.
Western Conference
C1 Colorado v. WC2 Nashville (Colorado in 5)
I don't think the second time around will be as one-sided since Juuse Saros could steal them a win. That being said, it's Colorado and they are a wagon, so give them the easy win in the first round.
C2 St. Louis v. C3 Dallas (Dallas in 7)
Another team that was one goal away from a series win in 2021, this is Dallas' chance to make up for past mistakes. Jake Oettinger will continue his ways in the postseason and get Dallas the win.
P1 Los Angeles v. WC1 Vancouver (Los Angeles in 6)
The Kings came up just short in the first round last season, largely because of the firepower of Edmonton's stars. I don't think the Canucks have nearly the same offense strength, a plus for the Kings.
P2 Calgary v. P3 Edmonton (Edmonton in 7)
Last season's Battle of Alberta in the postseason left a lot to be desired with Edmonton steamrolling Calgary in five. The second time around, I expect a more even series with the edge to Edmonton.
Second Round
C1 Colorado v. C3 Dallas (Colorado in 7)
One of my big concerns for Colorado is whether their goaltending can hold up compared to last season. I think this series will test that, but their offense should be able to outscore Dallas to win a tight series.
P1 Los Angeles v. P3 Edmonton (Edmonton in 7)
These two played a tight, and somewhat surprising, seven-game first-round series that was a goaltending struggle in the deciding game. This will be another tight one that again leans to Edmonton.
Western Conference Final
C1 Colorado v. P3 Edmonton (Colorado in 6)
The Avalanche made the Oilers look really bad in their four-game sweep during the Western Conference Final. When it happened, I chalked it up to the Oilers not really knowing what to do now that they'd won in the second round. It just felt like Mike Smith had lost the spark that carried him through the first two rounds and he was brought back to Earth. I think that the Oilers will learn from this, but only two win two games before the Avalanche win the conference for the second year in a row to become four games closer to repeating as the champs.
Stanley Cup Final
Carolina Hurricanes v. Colorado Avalanche
I feel like I've been predicting this matchup for the last five years, but I really want this to happen. While I am a Hurricanes fan, I have to keep them winning the Eastern Conference consistent with my prediction that I made for their team preview that I wrote. I still don't think there is a team in the Western Conference that can dethrone the Avalanche just yet. I don't think there's a team that is as complete as the Avalanche. My only question for the Avalanche is whether Pavel Francouz and Alexander Georgiev are able to carry this team. The Hurricanes have their own set of concerns focusing on goaltending, but they have more to do with staying healthy. Both of these teams can score and both of them have solid defenses. Goaltending will be the key and I think right now on paper, the Hurricanes have the edge. If they make it to this point, we could see the Stanley Cup back on Tobacco Road for the second time. Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup in 7 Games (Conn Smythe- Sebastian Aho)
Awards Predictions
Jack Adams- DJ Smith (OTT) over Craig Berube (STL) & Peter DeBoer (DAL)
I always say that selecting the best coach of the season is always very subjective. I always choose to think of it as a way to honor the head coaches of teams that either overperform, show the most improvement, or have great first seasons with their teams. I think I've selected a coach from each of those groups. I've settled on DJ Smith because I expect good things from the Senators this season after years of mediocrity. After losing to Pittsburgh in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final in 2017, the Senators haven't finished above sixth place in the division. They finished seventh last season in the Atlantic, but I have them jumping into the playoffs this season after a huge offseason.
Selke- Joel Eriksson Ek (MIN) over Aleksander Barkov (FLA) & Ryan O'Reilly (STL)
The Selke is tough to predict as well since it always seems to be the same guys every year. It might as well be named after Patrice Bergeron because he's always going to be in the race. To change it up this season, I've decided to predict Joel Eriksson Ek as the winner after finishing fourth and seventh in the last two seasons. He had a career season in his sixth season, so this could be the chance for him to put it all together. Barkov and O'Reilly are both former winners that could be in contention again, but I'd prefer a first-time winner.
Rocket Richard- Auston Matthews (TOR) over Leon Draisaitl (EDM) & Kyle Conner (WPG)
Auston Matthews is looking to make it three in a row and I think he's in a good position to get it done. After becoming just the third player to record 60 goals since the award was first introduced in 1998-99, there might not be a purer goal scorer in the league right now. His shot is lethal from everywhere and it feels like he scores two goals a night when he's on the ice. This award seems to be best suited for players that play with an incredible passer and for Matthews that is Mitch Marner. I'm not saying he's going to score 60 again, but I also wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't. Look out for Kyle Connor in this race. He's been Top 10 in goals the last three seasons in Winnipeg, including 47 goals last season.
Art Ross- Leon Draisaitl (EDM) over Connor McDavid (EDM) & Nikita Kucherov (TBL)
This is another award that might eventually be renamed for an active player and he'll be right back into the thick of it this season, but I've chosen his teammate to win the award this season. Draisaitl and McDavid are likely to be at the top of this list this season and likely will be as long as they play together. Whenever one scores a goal, the other is likely getting an assist on the play. McDavid has won this four times, but Draisaitl is a former winner as well, taking home the award in 2019-20 with 110 points. He tied that total last season, finishing fourth in the league. It'd be foolish of me to not pick an Oiler for this award.
Calder- Mason McTavish (ANA) over Matty Beniers (SEA) & Owen Power (BUF)
This has the potential to be one of the most exciting rookie classes of all time. These are just three in a large selection that could make a huge impact this season. Mason McTavish got into nine games with the Ducks last season, scoring a goal and assist in his debut and finishing with three points during this run. McTavish had a phenomenal showing at the World Junior Championship, leading the tournament with eight goals and 17 points. He'll likely be a regular this season to build on this. Both Beniers and Power got into games at the end of the season and showed their massive potential while putting up points. It's anyone's race and I look forward to seeing this race play out all season.
Norris- Cale Makar (COL) over Adam Fox (NYR) & Miro Heiskanen (DAL)
While leading all defensemen in goals and finishing second in points, Cale Makar had a phenomenal 2021-22 season. To go along with his Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup ring, Makar won his first Norris by just 25 votes over Roman Josi. The ceiling is already high for him after such a great season, but I think he could be even better. He'll have some stiff competition to get the job done again. There are plenty of top-tier defensemen that will prove themselves deserving of winning this award. I've added Miro Heiskanen as my sleeper pick for the Norris this season. With the exit of John Klingberg to Anaheim, Heiskanen is going to have to lead the defense in Dallas, meaning he'll get more chances to prove he's one of the best.
Vezina- Andrei Vasilevskiy (TBL) over Jonathan Quick (LAK) & Igor Shesterkin (NYR)
It is crazy to me that the best goalie in the world has only won this award once. I think I've predicted he'd win this each of the last three years and he hasn't been able to do it after winning it in 2018-19. I think it's a case of others having incredible seasons while Vasilevskiy remains the most consistent goalie in the league. Last season was the first time he finished outside of the Top 3 in five years, so he's destined to return to form. Jonathan Quick is a name that stands out here, but I think he'll be a major reason for Los Angeles' success this season and could find himself in the mix.
Hart- Leon Draisaitl (EDM) over Auston Matthews (TOR) & Cale Makar (COL)
It might be lazy to put the Hart on the player I think will have the most points, yet that's exactly what I'm doing but not for a lazy reason. I think Draisaitl is going to put together the best season of his career, scoring over 120 points in ways that McDavid usually does. I can easily see him scoring over 50 goals and putting up over 70 assists. When he won the Hart in 2019-20, he scored 43 goals and put up 67 assists, but that was before the season stopped because of COVID. He was well on his way to putting up even more points before the pause. He's going to go off this season and barely edge out the reigning Hart winner to pick up the award for the second time in his career.
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