32 Predictions: One for Each Team
Today is September 5th, which means that there are now only 29 days until the puck drops in Germany for the latest edition of the NHL Global Series— but who’s counting, right?
To alleviate some of the boredom that comes with the offseason, I figured I’d try and come up with a prediction for each NHL team. The hotter the take, the better. It’ll be fun to look back and laugh at myself come June. So, without further ado, let’s get into it.
Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim probably won’t be especially good this year. They’re one of the youngest teams in the league, and youth is often accompanied by growing pains. But with Cutter Gauthier joining a young group that includes Mason McTavish, Leo Carlsson, Trevor Zegras, Olen Zellwegar, and Pavel Mintyukov, there’s a lot to like about this team going forward.
Injuries shortened his rookie season, but Leo Carlsson showed fans exactly why Anaheim selected him second overall in the 2023 NHL draft. Last November, Carlsson became the youngest player to record a multi-goal game in Anaheim’s history with his hat trick against the Philadelphia Flyers.
This year, I predict that Carlsson will score 25 goals, and record two more hat tricks.
Boston Bruins
On paper, the Bruins’ roster doesn’t particularly impress me: a good-but-not-great top six, a below average bottom six, and a good-but-not-great defense. Oh, and star goalie Jeremy Swayman still hasn’t been signed to an extension, which is less than ideal, since Boston swapped former Vezina winner Linus Ullmark for Joonas Korpisalo.
In fact, if this were any other team, I’d predict them to miss the playoffs.
But we’re talking about the Boston Bruins here. They’re like cockroaches who never die. Lose Patrice Bergeron? No problem! They’ll still win 47 games and bounce Toronto in round one of the playoffs.
Nevertheless, goaltending is going to take a step back. Unless something insane happens, Swayman will sign a contract, and will play his first season as a true #1 starting goaltender. Compared to Ottawa, Boston is a great spot to be a goaltender, but Korpisalo isn’t Ullmark. Realistically, Swayman will start 10-15 more games than he did last year. He’ll still be very good, but he’s never started 50 games before, and he’ll probably have to start close to 60. I think we’ll see the workload get to him.
Boston will make the playoffs, and they’ll be good, but not great. That’s the best that I can come up with.
Buffalo Sabres
I want to believe in the Sabres. I really and truly do. Also, after missing the playoffs for 13 straight seasons, the people of Buffalo deserve a good hockey team. So, I might be a bit biased here.
But I think this is the year that they get over the hump. I know, I know. I said that last year, too. But let’s see if second time’s the charm.
They’ll probably need a better 4th line center than Sam Lafferty— only because he doesn’t primarily play center. But apart from that, you could do a lot worse than having Tage Thompson, Dylan Cousins, and Ryan McLeod down the middle. JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn are two very gifted wingers, and they’re both only 22. And let’s not forget about Zach Benson, who put up 11-19-30 in 71 games as an 18 year old.
Don’t ask me who’s falling out in order for Buffalo to make it. I couldn’t tell you. But I really think this is the year that Buffalo exorcises their demons.
Calgary Flames
It’s no secret that the Flames are going to be pretty bad this season. In the past year, they shipped off Noah Hanifin, Andrew Mangiapane, Jacob Markstrom, Chris Tanev, Nikita Zadorov, and Elias Lindholm. (“It’s a fire sale! Everything must go!”)
In fact, I think they’ll be so bad, that they’re a bottom three team and win their first ever draft lottery.
Bonus: I think Yegor Sharangovich will lead the team in scoring.
Carolina Hurricanes
Sebastian Aho has made a name for himself as a short-handed goalscoring threat. Last year, he only scored one, but that was enough to make him the franchise leader in short-handed goals with 17.
This year, I predict that Aho will lead the league with five short-handed goals.
Bonus: newly extended Seth Jarvis will live up to his 7.9 million dollar deal by recording his first point-per-game season.
Chicago Blackhawks
Chicago is still clearly rebuilding, but that didn’t stop General Manager Kyle Davdson from going out and signing Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi to flank Connor Bedard on the top line.
I like the Bertuzzi signing. He plays with a bit of an edge, which should deter most players from thinking about targeting Bedard. Last season he was perfectly fine in Toronto. But in Chicago, he’ll be on the top line, and almost certainly be featured on the first power play unit. I say Bertuzzi reaches a career high in both goals and points scored. Let’s say 35 goals, 70 points.
Colorado Avalanche
With Valeri Nichushkin currently in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, Colorado desperately needs another top six winger if they want to make a deep playoff run. And I think they’ll get one.
I predict that Colorado will trade for Frank Vatrano.
It just feels like a move they’d do. And it feels like a move that can pull off, as Vatrano is in the last year of a deal where he only makes 3.65 million. He’s 30, he’s fast, he plays on the penalty kill, and he scored 37 goals last year on an Anaheim Ducks team that was 30th in goals for.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Out of respect for what the team is going through right now, I’m going to hold off on making any predictions. It doesn’t feel right to put the focus on what the team is going do over 82 games. What matters is that the individual humans on the team are able to properly grieve the tragic passing of their teammate Johnny Gaudreau.
Dallas Stars
I think it’s time. This is it. This is the year that Dallas wins their second Stanley Cup.
Sure, their defense is a bit lackluster. And in terms of backup goaltending, Casey DeSmith is a downgrade from Scott Wedgewood.
But that forward group? You’d be hard pressed to find a deeper one. That’s a team that can run four lines. Every player in the top nine has the potential to score 20 goals. The fourth line is a defensive one, but it’s not lacking offense. With Oettinger in net, that’s a team that can truly rely on every skater to provide some offense to compensate for any defensive woes.
As of now, I think they’re the team with the best odds to hoist the Stanley Cup.
Detroit Red Wings
‘Twas the night before Christmas (or, rather, 14 days until Training Camp), when all, through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even Steve Yzerman— who has yet to sign restricted free agents Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider to new contracts. Until those deals get done, it’s impossible to say how the team will perform. I would assume that they’ll be signed, but you know what they say about assuming.
So I’m going to avoid team success, and focus solely on one position: goaltending.
Detroit is an interesting case, as they have four goaltenders all vying for NHL jobs. Alex Lyon became their starter down the stretch, and I would imagine that he’ll begin the year in the starter’s net. This offseason, Yzerman signed veteran goaltender Cam Talbot; Edmonton bought out the final three years of Jack Campbell’s contract, and Detroit signed him as well. And there’s also Ville Husso to think about.
Here’s my prediction: Campbell will start the year in the AHL, but will be the first called up in the case of injury, trade, or fatigue. I think he’ll play at least 10 NHL games, and will start to regain his form.
Edmonton Oilers
I think people might be a bit too high on Edmonton.
I mean, okay. Sure. They’ve got the best player in the world, and he’s still in his prime. And they’ve got another top five player in Leon Draisaitl.
But look at that defense. The top pairing of Mattias Ekholm and Evan Bouchard is a good one. But their second and third pairings might be some of the worst in the league.
Edmonton lost Warren Foegele, Ryan McLeod, Dylan Holloway, Vincent Desharnais, Philip Broberg, Sam Carrick, and Cody Ceci. They brought in Jeff Skinner, Viktor Arvidsson, Vasily Podkolzin, and Ty Emberson.
The bottom six isn’t exactly overflowing with offensive firepower. This isn’t a new concept for Edmonton, but until it works, I’ll maintain the stance that you can’t win the Stanley Cup without semi-consistent bottom six scoring.
The top six doesn’t lack offense, but it does lack a clean bill of health. Jeff Skinner is an excellent goalscorer, but has a fairly long history of injuries. The same can be said for Arvidsson, who has never played a full 82 game season. Oh, and Evander Kane is likely to start the regular season on Long Term Injured Reserve due to a sports hernia.
Hey, maybe they’ll prove me wrong. But unless there are some major roster changes, I have a hunch that Edmonton’s playoff run ends in the Western Conference Final.
Florida Panthers
Last year’s Florida Panthers were a well-oiled machine. In the playoffs, they meticulously dissected and defeated every obstacle in their path. Their free agency losses were extensive: Brandon Montour, Vladimir Tarasenko, Ryan Lomberg, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Anthony Stolarz, Kevin Stenlund, and Steven Lorentz. Despite this, I still see them as the strongest team in the East.
They filled their bottom six holes with defensive forwards in AJ Greer, Jesper Boqvist, and Tomáš Nosek. Nate Schmidt and Adam Boqvist are perfectly capable bottom pairing defensemen, and Spencer Knight will likely make his return to the NHL as Florida’s backup goaltender.
Here’s my official prediction: Florida will be the team to come out of the East, and lose in the Stanley Cup Final to Dallas in 7 games.
Los Angeles Kings
Who doesn’t love Los Angeles? It’s almost always sunny, the food scene is great, and they average less than 15 inches of rain per year. Most importantly, LA is a great place to be if you’re an NHL goaltender.
Darcy Kuemper has had a rough couple of years. Since signing with the Washington Capitals, he’s played 90 games with a .902 SV% and a 3.03 GAA. But to be fair to him, Washington isn’t an optimal place to be a goaltender. Honestly? Neither is Colorado. Oh, Colorado has great defensive players. But they don’t play a defensive system.
The last time Kuemper played in a defensive system? 19 games played, 9.32 SV%, 2.1 GAA. Where was that, you might ask? Well, that would be in LA!
Now, I don’t know that Kuemper can sustain those numbers as a starting goalie. But I’m going to predict that he has a big bounce back year, and records a .925 SV%.
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota has no shortage of young players with a high ceiling. Between Calder finalist Brock Faber, 2020-21 Calder winner Kirill Kaprizov, and 2024 first round draft pick Zeev Buium, this is a team with a bright future. But my hot take doesn’t revolve around any of them. My hot take for Minnesota is about Matt Boldy.
I’m really high on Boldy. He’s a solid skater. He’s strong on the puck, and he’s got great hands. And last season, he added to his toolbox by driving the net more often. He played 75 games, and scored 29 goals. In 2022-23, he played 81 games and scored 31. He’s 23. I think this year, he truly comes into his own.
If Matt Boldy plays all 82 games, I predict that he will score 40 goals.
Montreal Canadiens
Montreal made headlines a few weeks ago when they acquired winger Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Laine has missed a total of 117 games over the last three seasons due to injury and a stretch in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program, which allowed Montreal to trade for him when his value was at an all-time low.
I predict that Laine will show Montreal that they made the right decision in trading for him. This year, he’ll record his fourth 30-goal season, and miss less than seven games.
Nashville Predators
After last year’s gutsy playoff push, General Manager Barry Trotz opened the checkbook this summer. Nashville signed three of the top ten ranked free agents: forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, and defenseman Brady Skjei. They’re not a playoff lock— the West is a strong conference— but these moves certainly improve their chances.
Offensively, this looks to be a team that will have success by committee. I predict that Nashville will lead the league this year with eight 20-goal goalscorers.
Bonus: Last season, Nashville had the 16th ranked powerplay. This year, I’m going to say that they’ll have the 11th.
New Jersey Devils
I think the Devils will win the Metropolitan Division.
I also don’t think that this will be some great feat. Here’s why:
Carolina’s time with Jake Guentzel was short and sweet, as he signed in Tampa Bay after Tampa acquired his rights. In free agency, they lost defensemen Brett Pesce and Brady Skjei to New Jersey and Nashville, respectively. Teuvo Teravainen signed in Chicago, and Stefan Noesen went to New Jersey with Pesce. And Evgeny Kuznetsov signed a contract overseas for SKA Saint Petersburgh of the KHL, leaving Carolina with no true options for their 2nd line center. It wasn’t all bad for Carolina— they re-signed Martin Necas and brought in Sean Walker, Shayne Gostisbehere, Jack Roslovic, and Tyson Jost— but I think they’ll take a step back this year.
Columbus won’t be a playoff team. They’ve got some young talent— Adam Fantilli, Kirill Marchenko, and Yegor Chinakhov, to name a few. All signs point to them being a good team soon, but shy of a miracle, that won’t start this season.
The New York Islanders are always a bit of a head-scratcher. They play a defensive system, though they seem to forget this when trying to hold a lead. Apart from top goalie Ilya Sorokin, they don’t have much star power. They can make the playoffs, but I don’t see them winning the division.
Last season, the New York Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy and set a franchise record for most points in the standings with 114. During the offseason, they lost Jack Roslovic, Alex Wennberg, Erik Gustafsson, and Barclay Goodrow— all role players— and acquired Reilly Smith and Sam Carrick. However, last season’s success was largely dependent on their special teams. They’ll need to replicate and maintain that success if they want to repeat as division champs.
Philadelphia had a pretty boring offseason in terms of roster turnover. They bought out Cam Atkinson, and signed Matvei Mitchkov to his entry-level contract. Oh, and they didn’t re-sign Marc Staal. That’s it. I don’t know how quickly Michkov will improve their team, but I wouldn’t put any money on them winning the division.
Pittsburgh was busy this offseason. They shipped out Reilly Smith and PO Joseph via trade, didn’t re-sign Jansen Harkins, and Jeff Carter retired. They brought in— buckle up, it’s a lot— Rutger McGroarty, Blake Lizotte, Cody Glass, Kevin Hayes, Matt Grzelcyk, Anthony Beauvillier, and the other Sebastian Aho. The Penguins have missed the playoffs for two consecutive years, and I’d say it’s about 70-30 that they miss again. Either way, they won’t be winning the division.
Washington is doing all they can to help Alex Ovechkin break the goal record, and they’ve been very busy this offseason. They added Pierre-Luc Dubois, Logan Thompson, Andrew Mangiapane, Jakob Chychrun, Matt Roy, Taylor Raddysh, and Brandon Duhaime. Depending on the strength of the Atlantic Division, they’ve got a good shot at making the playoffs, but I don’t view them as a contender for the division title.
So, here’s my prediction: I think this year will be a good one for the Hudson River rivalry. I think New Jersey narrowly beats out the New York Rangers for the division title. And let’s dig this hole even deeper, shall we? I’m going to say that New Jersey meets the Rangers in round two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and emerges victorious.
New York Islanders
On paper, the Islanders aren’t a particularly intimidating group. Their top six is below average. Their bottom six is below average. Their defense is below average. The projected special teams units? Also below average. Is anyone else sensing a pattern here? Because I am.
Goaltending is what separates the Islanders from the rest of the pack.
Last season was one to forget for Ilya Sorokin. He put up the worst numbers of his career, with a .909 SV%, a 3.01 GAA, and a 25-19-12 record. This year, I think Sorokin will return to form and be a Vezina finalist for the second time. I’ll go one step further by saying that I think he wins his first.
Bonus: Noah Dobson will cement himself as a top 10-12 defenseman in the league. If Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes didn’t exist, I’d pick him as a dark horse for the Norris. I’m very high on him.
New York Rangers
So much went right last year for the Presidents’ Trophy winning New York Rangers.
The Panarin-Trocheck-Lafrenière line was firing on all cylinders, with all three forwards having career years. Artemi Panarin joined the century club for the first time with 120 points, Vincent Trocheck recorded 77 points through 82 games, and Alexis Lafrenière is finally starting to look like the player that the Rangers drafted first overall back in 2020.
Then there’s the special teams success. Both units were the third best in the league; the power play had a 26.4% success rate, and the penalty kill was successful 84.5% of the time. And who can forget the resurgence of Jonathan Quick? When star goaltender Igor Shesterkin struggled early in the year, Quick kept the Rangers in games.
I don’t think it’s possible for them to maintain that level of success. They’ll still make the playoffs, and I see them winning a round. But I just don’t think this team is a true contender.
However, I do think Lafrenière continues to improve. I think he’ll be a 35 goal scorer this year, and end the season with 72 points.
Ottawa Senators
Sorry, Senators fans. I’m not really drinking the Kool-Aid. I think Ottawa misses the playoffs again for the 8th straight year. Hear me out:
They’ve improved at the goaltending position. But, you have to factor in that from a system perspective, Boston is a great place to be a goaltender, and Ottawa is not. They don’t play a defensive system, and the defense looks pretty rough. Ullmark’s stats will almost certainly suffer. The top six is solid; the third line is, as well. The fourth line is not great.
Even with Boston and Tampa Bay in decline, the Atlantic is still a pretty tough division. I like Ottawa, and I’ll be pulling for them to get over the hump. But I just don’t see it happening.
Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia was a bit of a roller coaster last season. In January, they were second in the Metro. On April 14th, they were in the second wildcard spot. Ultimately, they missed the playoffs by four points after a game where Head Coach John Tortorella pulled the goaltender with three minutes to go in a tied game.
Maybe last season was a fluke. Maybe it wasn’t. Either way, the addition of top Russian prospect Matvei Michkov won’t hurt. Last year, Philadelphia posted a record of 38-33-11 (87 points). This year, I predict that they’ll take a step back— but only a slight one.
I’m predicting Philadelphia to finish the season with 85 points. Will that be enough to send them to the playoffs? Honestly, with the way the Metro looks on paper, it very well might be.
Bonus: Tortorella will, once again, be the subject of a viral clip. He’s had some memorable moments during his time with Philadelphia: refusing to leave the bench after being ejected from a game, comparing one of his players to a toilet seat (“he’s up and down”), saying that his team is winning game because they’ve “got balls.” Love him or hate him, Torts is a character, and that’s not changing anytime soon.
Pittsburgh Penguins
There’s no shortage of low-risk, low-reward predictions that come to mind when I see Pittsburgh’s projected lines. If they gets the 2020-21 version of Anthony Beauvillier, he could be a pleasant surprise. If he stays healthy, I think Cody Glass could be a 30-35 point third liner. And with his strong transition game, I could see Blake Lizotte scoring a career high 15 goals. But none of those are really hot takes.
After a season to forget, I think Ryan Graves bounces back. It’s no secret that Graves struggled last year. I don’t think that’s entirely his fault. He was pretty awful, yes, but there’s a trend of defenders struggling during their first season with Pittsburgh. Most notably, Sergei Gonchar.
Now, I’m not suggesting that Graves will suddenly turn into a Hockey Hall of Fame calibre player. But I think both he and Erik Karlsson both produce better on-ice results during the 2024-25 season.
Bonus: The aforementioned Rutger McGroarty will record a point in his first NHL game.
San Jose Sharks
With overall selection Macklin Celebrini and newly acquired top goaltending prospect Yaroslav Askarov joining a strong prospect pool, San Jose has one of the brightest futures in the league. They won’t be good this year. But— now this isn’t a high bar— they won’t be as bad as they were last year, either.
I predict that they’ll have a six win, 15 point increase from last year’s 19-54-9 (47 points) record.
Bonus: Fabian Zetterlund will score 30 goals, and William Eklund will record 60 points.
Seattle Kraken
Last year, goaltender Joey Daccord played 50 NHL games for the first time is his career. His previous high? Eight games played back in 2020-21 with the Ottawa Senators. And boy, did he ever exceed expectations. His record wasn’t great (19-18-11), but his numbers were incredible. He has a .916 SV%, a 2.46 GAA, and three shutouts, including the first shutout in Winter Classic history.
Nothing went right last season for Seattle. They only had two 20-goal goalscorers— Oliver Bjorkstrand and Jared McCann— after having six in 2022-23. But Daccord was a bright spot.
I predict that Daccord will continue to post good statistics, and record four shutouts.
St. Louis Blues
For some reason, we live in a time where NHL teams rarely offer sheet restricted free agents. Last month, St. Louis provided hockey fans everywhere— except the ones in Edmonton— with some much-needed excitement when they gave offer sheets to two RFAs. Edmonton declined both offer sheets, and lost two former first-round picks in Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg.
Broberg drew into the lineup during last year’s playoffs, and was very good in a small sample size. Will his performance be sustainable? Who knows. But St. Louis had nothing to lose, other than a few draft picks.
I’m particularly interested in seeing how Holloway is used this year. He’s 22, fast, and has shown flashes of the skill player he could become. In Edmonton, he never got consistent top six ice time, but this could potentially change in St. Louis. He’s also never really been given the opportunity to form chemistry with his line mates; despite playing 432 minutes over 38 games last season, he wasn’t given any consistency in his line mates, with his most common line (Holloway-McLeod-Brown) not even accounting for 74 minutes of ice time total. He found a bit more consistency in the postseason playing with Leon Draisaitl, but for the most part, his ice time suffered when Kris Knoblauch put the lines in a blender.
St. Louis doesn’t look to be a very good team this year. Playing Holloway in the top six seems like a low-risk, high-reward type of situation. I predict that he’ll see consistent top six minutes, develop chemistry with his line mates, and have a 35-point breakout season.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa made headlines this offseason for all the wrong reasons: they let long-time captain Steven Stamkos walk in free agency. They essentially replaced him with Jake Guentzel, signing the winger to a seven-year, 63 million dollar contract after acquiring his rights from Carolina.
I think that’ll pay off. I’ve watched Guentzel for years. When he’s healthy, he’s a top goalscorer in the league.
The most he’s ever scored is 40. But if he plays 82 games with Nikita Kucherov, slotted into that potent powerplay? It wouldn’t shock me if he potted 50.
Here’s my official prediction: Guentzel will end the 2024-25 season in the top three for most goals scored.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Ah yes, the Leafs. Toronto made headlines this summer when they transferred captaincy from John Tavares to goal-scoring phenom Auston Matthews. At age 26, Matthews has already won three Rocket Richard Trophies. Last year, he became the fifth player in NHL history to open the season with back-to-back hat tricks.
Matthews needs just 32 goals to become the 14th US-born player to reach 400 goals. I predict that he’ll hit that mark in game 40 at home against the Boston Bruins.
Utah Hockey Club
Utah made a splash on the second day of the NHL draft when they acquired two defensemen: Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning, and John Marino from the New Jersey Devils. They have the 4th youngest team with an average age of 26.5. In fact, they only have three players on the wrong side of 30— Nick Bjugstad (32), Alexander Kerfoot (30), and Ian Cole (35).
They’ve got young stars prime to break out. Logan Cooley turned 20 in May, and is coming off a 20-24-44 campaign in his rookie season. Josh Doan had 9 points in the 11 games he played at the NHL level. Dylan Guenther played 45 games, and recorded 18 goals and 17 assists. And in his first full NHL season, Mattias Maccelli put up 17-40-57 through 82 games.
Sure, maybe they’re lacking in “veteran leadership.” But I don’t think they’ll let that stop them. I think they’ll make the playoffs, and I’ll even go as far as to predict that they’ll win a round.
Bonus: Clayton Keller will score 35 goals, and be at least a point-per-game player. This feels obvious, but I’m saying it anyway.
Vancouver Canucks
Last season, Vancouver was the league’s most improved team. In 2022-23, they finished the year with a record of 38-37-7 (83 points). Last year, they won the Pacific Division with a record of 50-23-9 (109 points). That’s a 12 win, 26 point improvement.
They probably won’t reach those heights these season, but I don’t think they’ll be much worse. They lost Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Ian Cole, and Casey DeSmith to free agency. They traded Vasily Podkolzin to Edmonton. They signed Jake DeBrusk, Daniel Sprong, Vincent Desharnais, Danton Heinen, Derek Forbort, and Keifer Sherwood. Losing Zadorov might sting, but an increase in bottom six scoring will likely make up for it.
Vancouver’s playoff run largely featured an injured Elias Pettersson who couldn’t provide much offensively, but still contributed by committing to defensive positioning. With the bottom six providing more offense, I think we’ll see Pettersson finish top three in Selke voting this year.
Vegas Golden Knights
Vegas acquired forward Alexander Holtz from the New Jersey Devils this summer. Last year, Holtz played 82 games for New Jersey, and recorded 16-12-28 with an average of 11:38 TOI. Vegas lost Jonathan Marchessault, Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier, Michael Amadio, and Alec Martinez in free agency; with a depleted forward group, Holtz will likely get top six playing time.
I predict that he will make the most of it and score 30 goals.
Am I crazy? Quite possibly. But he’s got a great shot, and there’s a real possibility that he’ll be playing with Jack Eichel.
Washington Capitals
As mentioned above (see: New Jersey Devils prediction), Washington was very busy this offseason. In my eyes, the most interesting addition will be Pierre-Luc Dubois. After struggling in LA last year, Dubois was traded to Washington.
Dubois spent most of last season centering LA’s third line, but now projects to draw into Washington’s top six. He only scored 16 goals through a full 82 game season, but it’s important to note that he recorded a career low shooting percentage of 11.0%. I think he’ll return to form as a 60-65 point player, and score 25 goals.
Winnipeg Jets
It might take me a minute to get to the point. Bear with me here.
This offseason, Winnipeg lost top six forwards Tyler Toffoli and Sean Monahan— as well as defenseman Brendan Dillon and backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit— to free agency. I predict that those vacancies will allow Nikolaj Ehlers— one of the most underrated forwards in the league, in my opinion— to consistently see top six ice time instead of being bounced around from line to line like a hot potato.
Now Ehlers has had his fair share of injury issues in the past. So this prediction is— as are most of my predictions— contingent on him staying healthy.
I predict Ehlers to have his first 30-goal campaign.
Bonus: Kyle Connor will win his second Lady Byng, and Gabe Vilardi will be top three on the team in scoring.
