NHL Preview

Projected Standings

Western Conference	Eastern Conference
Central Division	Atlantic Division
1.)    Nashville Predators	1.)    Tampa Bay Lightning
2.)    St. Louis Blues	2.)    Florida Panthers
3.)    Dallas Stars	3.)    Montreal Canadiens
Pacific Division	Metro Division
1.)    LA Kings	1.)    Washington Capitals
2.)    San Jose Sharks	2.)    Pittsburgh Penguins
3.)    Anaheim Ducks	3.)    New York Islanders
Wild Card	Wild Card
1.)    Chicago Blackhawks	1.)    Philadelphia Flyers
2.)    Calgary Flames	2.)    Boston Bruins
3.)    Minnesota Wild	3.)    New York Rangers
4.)    Edmonton Oilers	4.)    New Jersey Devils
5.)    Colorado Avalanche	5.)    Buffalo Sabres
6.)    Winnipeg Jets	6.)    Detroit Redwings
7.)    Arizona Coyotes	7.)    Carolina Hurricanes
8.)    Vancouver Canucks	8.)    Toronto Maple Leafs
	9.)    Ottawa Senators
	10.) Columbus Blue Jackets

Western Conference Playoff Bracket

• C1 - Nashville vs WC2 - Calgary

• C2 - St. Louis vs C3 - Dallas

• P1 - LA Kings vs WC2 - Chicago

• P2 - San Jose vs P3 - Anaheim

Western Conference Semifinals

• C1 - Nashville vs C2 - St. Louis
• P1 - LA Kings vs P2 - San Jose

Western Conference Finals

• C1 - Nashville vs P2 - San Jose

Eastern Conference Playoff Bracket

• A1 - Tampa Bay vs WC2 - Boston
• A2 - Florida vs A3 - Montreal

• M1 - Washington vs WC1 - Philadelphia
• M2 - Pittsburgh vs M3 - New York Islanders

Eastern Conference Semifinals

• A1 - Tampa Bay vs A2 - Florida
• M1 - Washington vs M2 - Pittsburgh

Eastern Conference Finals

• A1 - Tampa Bay vs M2 - Pittsburgh

Stanley Cup Finals

• Tampa Bay vs Nashville

I think that Tampa will win the Stanley Cup this year.  They narrowly missed out on going back to the Finals last year, and that was with Steven Stamkos missing all but one game in the playoffs.  They'll have him back healthy this season, their young players will have had another season to develop, and hopefully the problems with Jonathan Drouin are behind for both parties.  This means, however, that they probably won't be trading Ben Bishop away by the trade deadline.  They'll need him to succeed in the playoffs.

Season Awards Predictions

Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP)

The Candidates

• Connor McDavid, EDM
• Steven Stamkos, TB
• Carey Price, MTL
• Vladimir Tarasenko, STL
• John Tavares, NYI
• Erik Karlsson, OTT
• Sidney Crosby, PIT

Winner

• Sidney Crosby, PIT

Vezina Trophy (Best Goaltender)

The Candidates

• Carey Price, MTL
• Braden Holtby, WSH
• Tuukka Rask, BOS
• Brian Elliott, CGY
• Devan Dubnyk, MIN

Winner

• Carey Price, MTL

Calder Memorial Trophy (Top Rookie)

The Candidates

• Auston Matthews, TOR
• Jesse Puljajarvi, EDM
• Matt Murray, PIT
• Patrik Laine, WIN
• Dylan Strome, ARI
• Jimmy Vesey, NYR

Winner

• Auston Matthews, TOR

Norris Trophy (Best Defenseman)

The Candidates

• Drew Doughty, LAK
• P.K. Subban, NSH
• Brent Burns, SJ
• Erik Karlsson, OTT
• Aaron Ekblad, FLA
• Kris Letang, PIT
• Alex Pietrangelo, STL
• Victor Hedman, TB

Winner

• Victor Hedman, TB

Jack Adams Trophy (Best Coach)

The Candidates

• Jon Cooper, TB
• Barry Trotz, WSH
• Peter Laviolette, NSH
• Ken Hitchcock, STL
• Darryl Sutter, LAK
• John Hynes, NJ

Winner

• Jon Cooper, TB

Frank J. Selke Trophy (Best Two-Way Forward)

The Candidates

• Anze Kopitar, LAK
• Jonathan Toews, CHI
• Patrice Bergeron, BOS
• Niklas Backstrom, WSH

Winner

• Patrice Bergeron, BOS

President's Trophy (Team that finishes with best record)

• Tampa Bay

Art Ross Trophy (Most Points)

• Sidney Crosby, PIT

Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy (Most Goals)

• Vladimir Tarasenko, STL

Race for the Number One Draft Pick - Top Three are Determined via Lottery Draw

1. Vancouver Canucks
2. Columbus Blue Jackets
3. Ottawa Senators
4. Arizona Coyotes
5. Winnipeg Jets

Bold Predictions for this Season

1. Vancouver will be the first team to fire their head coach
2. John Tortorella won't be far behind
3. Connor McDavid finishes second in the scoring race
4. A new Russian will win the Rocket Richard Trophy - Vlad Tarasenko
5. Marc-Andre Fleury gets dealt before the trade deadline
6. Ben Bishop stays put in Tampa Bay, helping them win their franchise's second Stanley Cup
7. Carey Price proves he is the best goalie in the league once again
8. NHL announces relocation bid to Quebec City
9. NHL will go to Pyeongchang in 2018 for the Winter Olympics
10. Detroit finally misses the playoffs

Players Most Likely to be Moved by the Trade Deadline

• Jarome Iginla, COL
• Cody Franson, BUF
• Thomas Vanek, DET
• Jimmy Howard, DET
• Jhonas Enroth, TOR
• Henrik Lundqvist, NYR
• Fedor Tyutin, COL
• Drew Stafford, WIN
• Ondrej Pavalec, WIN
• Ryan Miller, VAN

I am extremely excited for the upcoming NHL season and all that awaits with it.  I can't wait to see what happens with (hopefully) a full season from Connor McDavid.  I think that this will be the turning point in terms of the teams in and out of the playoffs.  LA, Chicago, Boston, and Anaheim could be on the cusp of taking steps back and in their places are teams like Buffalo, Toronto, Winnipeg, Arizona, and Edmonton.  I think that there are a lot of good teams in the NHL anymore and there will be numerous good teams that miss the playoffs.  I don't think that the gap between the division winner and basement will be that big this year for a number of the divisions.