2022-23 NHL Predictions

Seeing as how I was so "great" with my predictions last year - I actually had the Islanders over the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup finals and neither team qualified for the postseason - I thought I'd give it another whirl. As always, take them with a rather large grain of salt.

Eastern Conference:

Atlantic Division:

Florida Panthers: They gave up their leading scorer and second best defenseman to land Matthew Tkachuk. That should tell you how desperate they were to get rid of the stench of last year's sweep at the hands of the Lightning. Time will tell if it was worth it.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Both Ryan McDonagh and Ondrej Palat were cap casualties and will be sorely missed. But there's still more than enough talent on this roster, and so long as they have Andrei Vasilevskiy in net, they have to be taken seriously as a Cup contender.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Everyone has jumped on their bandwagon this season, which is odd given that they didn't address their lack of depth during the offseason and they're relying on a goaltender whose best years are half a decade behind him. Auston Matthews will once again keep them relevant. 

Metropolitan Division:

New York Rangers: Vincent Trocheck is a step above Ryan Strome; the "kids" seem poised to have a break out year; and last season's Vezina trophy winner Igor Shesterkin is the best in the league. Chris Drury has done a masterful job as GM.

Carolina Hurricanes: Yes, Brent Burns is better than Tony DeAngelo, and they got Max Pacioretty from the Golden Knights ostensibly for free, but losing Trocheck to the Rangers and Nino Niederreiter to the Predators will cost them.

Pittsburgh Penguins: They kept "the band" together. So what? The last time this "band" won a playoff series was 2018. The core of this team is old and getting older. Ron Hextall keeps punting the ball hoping for a muff. It won't work.

Wild Cards: 

Boson Bruins: God only knows how Don Sweeney managed to entice Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to return on such team-friendly contracts - $2.5m and $1m respectively. Good for him. Sans them, this team would have a hard time staying above .500. But even with both on the roster, it's hard imagining them going far in the playoffs.

Columbus Blue Jackets: They made the biggest splash during the offseason, signing Johnny Gaudreau and then re-signed Patrik Laine. They'll score a ton of goals but struggle on D. 

Western Conference:

Central Division: 

Colorado Avalanche: They steamrolled their way to a Stanley Cup championship last season, going 16-4 in the tournament. And while losing Nazem Kadri to the Flames will test the depth of this team, the core is about as elite as it gets.

Nashville Predarors: McDonagh and Niederreiter were solid additions during the offseason and will make this team a formidable opponent during both the regular and postseason. Their goaltending is elite and their defense is among the best in the league.

St. Louis Blues: Balanced scoring throughout the lineup makes them a genuine threat, and Jordan Binnington is still one of the better goalies in the league.

Pacific Division:

Calgary Flames: Talk about turning lemons into lemonade. Their two best players departed over the summer: one via free agency, the other via a trade, and they managed to actually get better. Jonathan Huberdeau is one of the best forwards in the league and Kadri was the second best center on last year's Colorado Cup team. Despite last season's poor showing against the Oilers in the second round, Jacob Markstrom is an outstanding goaltender.

Edmonton Oilers: I'm going out on a limb here by picking them again for second place. They have the scoring up front with Connor McDavid; the issue is the defense. Jack Campbell may not be an elite goalie, but he's head over heels better than Mike Smith.

L.A. Kings: They lucked out when the Wild had to shed Kevin Fiala's contract in an obvious salary dump. Now they will at least be able to put some pucks in the net. Jonathan Quick should still have enough left in the tank to give them first-rate goaltending.

Wild Cards:

Minnesota Wild: Fiala was a salary cap casualty. And that's unfortunate for a team that challenged for second place in the division last season. They re-signed Marc-Andre Fleury so that will help.

Vancouver Canucks: Now that they've extended J.T. Miller and they have their coach in place, I expect they will do what they should've done last year: make the playoffs.

Close but no cigar:

Eastern Conference:

New York Islanders: For the second straight offseason, Lou Lamoriello failed to add an elite scorer to this otherwise pedestrian forward group. Pity Mathew Barzall, who deserves better than what he's been given.

Washington Capitals: They needed to get younger and didn't. The good news is that at least their fans will be able to see Alex Ovechkin break Wayne Gretzky's goal record.

New Jersey Devils: They needed a sniper on the wing; they got Ondrej Palat. They needed a solid goaltender; they got Vitek Vanecek. They'll score a lot of goals; they'll give up more.

Western Conference:

Vegas Golden Knights: Their successful pursuit of Jack Eichel has cost them Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and Max Pacioretty. It will now cost them a second-consecutive postseason berth.

Dallas Stars: They extended the Flames a full seven games in the opening round of the playoffs last season. This year they won't get that chance.

Playoffs:

Eastern Conference Finals: Rangers over the Lightning 4-2

Western Conference Finals: Avalanche over the Flames 4-3

Stanley Cup Finals: Avalanche over the Rangers 4-2

Year End Awards:

Presidents' Trophy: Colorado Avalanche

Art Ross Trophy: Connor McDavid, Oilers

Hart Trophy: Jonathan Huberdeau, Flames

Norris Trophy: Roman Josi, Predators

Vezina Trophy: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Lightning

Jack Adams Award: Gerard Gallant, Rangers

Conn Smythe Trophy: Cale Makar, Avalanche