The NHL season is only a month away which is probably the best news ever! As a Penguins' fan (have been since before Crosby), I am delighted as the team attempts to defend their Stanley Cup. I am, however, doubtful that this can happen, as we haven't had a Cup team repeat since the 1997/98 Detroit Red Wings. Even if this were a likely outcome to the season, I don't think I actually want it to happen. I am a fan of parody in sports and want to see teams like Florida and Buffalo continue on their development curve and climb towards success. I also would like to see the Canadian teams push towards the playoffs again and find success in the playoffs (it is a Canadian sport after all).
This will be the last season before the much-rumored expansion finally takes place, with Las Vegas getting a team for the 2017-18 season. We will certainly see many player moves throughout this season, and especially at the deadline, that are the result of the expansion draft.
There probably won't be many real bad teams in the NHL this season and there probably won't be much of a divide between teams that find themselves in the playoffs and those at the bottom of the conferences. That is really exciting because it's probably the only sport without any really bad teams. The NHL has also become a league driven by young, talented players, and veteran players that used to be signed to one and two-year deals are now struggling to get Professional Tryout Contracts. As these younger players become the cores of their teams, the NHL will continue to see a new leaf turned over in the league, and the teams that were once bad will become the class of the league.
My preview will consist of a preview for each team and I will go division-by-division, starting with the Atlantic and ending with the Pacific. I will also do a division preview for each one at the end of all of the division's team previews. In that post I will project the division's final standings, who will make the playoffs, and where the team's can improve during the upcoming offseason. Then, at the end of all of the divisional previews, I will write a general league preview, in which I will make playoff predictions and project who I think will win major awards for the season.
Enjoy reading!
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