Another NHL season approaches! With games kicking off tonight, it’s time for my annual season predictions. From award winners, to predicting who will lift the Stanley Cup and few wacky picks, I’m laying down what I think will happen in the 2021-22 NHL season.
And remember, all of these predictions are flawless, unless they’re wrong in which case I was just joking.
Division Winners
Atlantic: Tampa Bay Lightning
Pacific: Vegas Golden Knights
Metropolitan: New York Islanders
Central: Winnipeg Jets
Awards
Hart: Connor McDavid
There’s no doubt in my mind that McDavid is the best hockey player in the world. His value is limitless and he’s the league’s Hart winner until further notice. If he gets anywhere near the 150 points he’s predicted to finish with, give him the trophy.
Norris: Cale Makar
Easily the most dynamic defender in the league. If he stays healthy, he’ll get a ton of powerplay time. Makar is must-watch hockey every night, so tune in and watch the show.
Vezina: Connor Hellebuyck
The Winnipeg Jets goalie now has actual defencemen in front of him this season. Sky’s the limit for the man who probably should already have a few of these trophies on his mantle.
Calder: Spencer Knight
Caufield has emerged as the near-consensus pick for the Calder this season, but I have a question for you. Do we trust Sergei Bobrovsky to hold the Florida Panthers starting job for long? Your answer should be a quick “No.” From there, here comes Spencer Knight. If Bobrovsky falters, Knight is in a prime position to play a significant role in backstopping a team with Stanley Cup aspirations. If he delivers, he’s my pick.
Lady Byng: Jared Spurgeon
Spurgeon didn’t commit a single stick infraction last season and only sat in the box for six minutes. That type of focus and commitment to clean hockey doesn’t usually wane, so he’s my pick for the league’s most gentlemanly player.
Art Ross: Connor McDavid
Duh.
Rocket Richard: David Pastrnak
Boston’s “Perfection Line” is a three-headed beast, but no one is more dangerous on that line than Pastrnak. He didn’t quite light up the net, but you can take a lot of things in the shortened 2021 season with a grain of salt. His last full season he had 48 points as a 23-year-old. Now at 25 and the clear centerpiece of the Bruins’ offence, he’ll crack 50 goals and snag the scoring crown.
Stanley Cup Winner
It’s easy to be tempted by the bright lights and high-end talent of teams like the Avalanche. Their disappointing playoff run last year doesn’t seem to have soured their odds, as they still sit as the oddmakers’ favourite going into the year.
It’s easy to understand why. Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar, Sam Girard…it’s a stacked team in a weak conference. They should compete with Vegas for the top spot in the West. All eyes are on Denver this season.
But all the way in Mordor— I mean Florida, there resides a quaint little team named the Tampa Bay Lightnight. A team that some seem to have already forgotten are back-to-back champions.
Not sure if it’s a bold pick to take the defending Stanley Cup champs, but it makes the most sense. Both teams are fairly equal. Offensive firepower? Check. Stout defending? Check. The biggest difference is in net. Darcy Kuemper is a good goalie who’s about to play on a great team. If he’s healthy he’s going to have great numbers. But the Lightning have Andrei Vasilevski. That’s the only thing separating these two teams in my opinion.
My prediction is that the Lightning will win the Cup and become the first team since the storied 80’s New York Islanders to threepeat.
Out of left field
Here’s just some quickfire-weird-wacky-probably-dumb predictions that I won’t elaborate on because they won’t hold up to scrutiny. But if I’m right on even one of these I’m a genius. Big Risk Big Reward!
- Both the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals miss the playoffs
- Jack Eichel will play at least one game with the Buffalo Sabres this season. He will also be traded at the deadline.
- The San Jose Sharks make the playoffs
- Sasha Barkov finishes the year with 100 points
- The Blue Jackets will finish in last place
- Brady Tkachuk scores 30 goals, including 5 OT winners
- Connor McDavid scores over 150 points
- The Calgary Flames trade both Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau at the deadline
- The Seattle Kraken finish second in the Pacific Division
- Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki combine for exactly 100 points
- Martin Jones ends up playing more games than Carter Hart
- The Penguins trade for Marc-Andre Fleury at the deadline
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And there you have it! The 2021-22 NHL season is set to be an exciting one, unless you’re a Sabres fan, in which case, I’m so sorry.
I’m going to be doing a weekly column on this blog, as well as doing more consistent work for JetsNation, so tune in there!
Follow me on Twitter @Matthew_Coyte
MATTHEW COYTE 
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