Well, it's the quiet (ish) time of the NHL calendar again. The time between free agent frenzy and training camp. So, in my boredom I came up with 31 predictions for the 2008-2009 NHL season. There are 31 predictions—one prediction per team and one general prediction. I hope you enjoy.
Anaheim—Brian Burke will still flap his gums and be upset about something.
Atlanta—Don Waddell will be the first GM fired.
Boston—The Bruins will surprise no one this year, but they will still make the playoffs.
Buffalo—They will make every effort to re-sign Ryan Miller to a long-term contract—and will be successful.
Calgary—As much as it pains me to say this, Todd Bertuzzi will have a comeback year.
Carolina—Sergei Samsonov will continue to play as well as he did after his trade to the Hurricanes.
Chicago—Either Patrick Kane or Jonathan Toews will have a sophomore slump. I am thinking it is Kane.
Colorado—The Avalanche will regret letting Jose Theodore go and will not make the playoffs.
Columbus—Rich Nash will be sick of being the lone star there and will demand a trade or walk away via free agency.
Dallas—The Stars will regret letting both Antti Miettinen and Niklas Hagman go.
Detroit—The Red Wings will not repeat as Stanley Cup champions, but they will take the eventual champions to seven games in the Western Conference championship.
Edmonton—The Oilers will challenge Nashville for the final playoff spot...and will make it because of the young guns and their recent trade pick ups.
Florida—The Panthers will regret signing Olesz to that contract.
Los Angeles—The Kings will have the fewest goals for AND most goals against in the Western Conference.
Minnesota—The Wild will finally remove the defensive chains from Marian Gaborik. Look out, NHL (if he stays healthy).
Montreal—Les Canadiens will lose in the Stanley Cup Final on their 100th anniversary. Look out, City of Montreal...and the police cars.
Nashville—The Predators will have more action off the ice than on it.
New Jersey—The Devils will learn from their mistakes and rest Martin Brodeur by playing him in one less game than last year.
New York Islanders—They will be in the running for Tavares or Hedman.
New York Rangers—They will miss Sean Avery more than Jaromir Jagr.
Ottawa—The Senators will make the playoffs, but falter due to a lack of secondary scoring.
Philadelphia—The Flyers will enjoy a healthy Simon Gagne.
Phoenix—Kyle Turris will be in the running for the Calder Trophy.
Pittsburgh—Marc-Andre Fleury will continue to prove he was worthy of being drafted first overall in 2003.
St. Louis—Steve Mason will out-duel Manny Legace and will be the new No. 1 goalie in a Blues uniform.
San Jose—This (honest) will be the year that the Stanley Cup will be swimming with the Sharks.
Tampa Bay—The Lightning will handily win the Southeast division and their first round series, but that is as far as they go.
Toronto—The Maple Leafs will be coached out of chance for Tavares or Hedman. Of course it'll be the coaching—look at their team!
Vancouver—Alain Vigneault will be the first coach fired.
Washington—Mike Green will prove to be a one-year wonder.
BONUS (tie breaking) PREDICTION—Mats Sundin will pull a Teemu Selanne or Scott Niedermaryer and not sign until part way through the 2008-2009 season.
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2 months ago
Nice Article! Disagree with Oilers though. They will do alot better I think. 4th place. They have had some key players added. I think they will have good chemistry. Toronto will lose. Im sure of that!
2 months ago
The Sharks will go to game 7 of the Western Finals, but lose to the eventual champion - RED WINGS. That's when Ron Wilson will finally get fired.
2 months ago
Ummm .... isn't Ron Wilson the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs? He can't get fired from the Sharks again. If he did, I think he would hold the distinction of being the only coach fired from a team he wasn't actually employed by.
2 months ago
Great article! I agree with just about everything you said. I just don't think the Sharks will win it all though. They'll lose against the Red Wings in the Conference finals. I also think that the Oilers might do better, with the development of the young guys and that Petr Budaj will do a fine job being the No. 1 netminder for the Avalanche. And just a little remark, who's Steve Mason? Did you mean CHRIS Mason?
2 months ago
Yes ... sorry ... Chris Mason. Steve Mason is the former London Knight who is a Columbus Blue Jacket prospect.
2 months ago
agreed! especially with Chicago. People here are going nuts talking about how amazing these guys are, and how great they have upgraded. Chicago history tells us that when they sign a hot goalie he slumps here. they made overrated and over priced signings and Kane or toews will end up traded or sign somplace else in a few years.
Detroit will repeat
2 months ago
Yeah, Ottawa definitely needs to improve their secondary scoring if they want a chance at the Stanley Cup Finals again. I agree with most of the rest of the article but Red Wings will win the cup again, I mean look at them, the only difference this year is that they lost the Dominator (didn't play for long in the playoffs) and added Hossa (not Marcel, THE Marian Hossa). Terrible pickup by the Rangers with Redden, they'll regret that one!
2 months ago
tavares to the island i say!!!
about 1 month ago
how Can the Wings take go to game 7 of the finals and lose., and at the same time the Habs go to the finals and lose in the finals at the same time?
about 1 month ago
Tristan: I said that the Detroit Red Wings will lose in 7 games in the Western Conference Championship - NOT the Stanley Cup Finals! FYI
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