Bold Predictions for the 10 Most Improved NHL Teams and Players This Season
Predictions for the new NHL season could be made by simply stating that the Florida Panthers will be strong despite injuries or that the Dallas Stars will face a tough challenge to reach the Stanley Cup Final.
Instead of just using salt and pepper for our cooked-up thoughts, though, we're kicking it up a notch with some cayenne-like takes and getting bold and bullish about teams that will get better this year.
We've picked out 10 teams and/or players who will rise to the occasion to pull them into the fight. Whether that's getting to the Cup Final, the playoffs, or just out of the league basement, we're gassing them up because if we don't, no one else will.
Boston Bruins Rise and Return to Playoff Race
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The Boston Bruins took a real kicking while they were down last year.
They traded Linus Ullmark to the division-rival Ottawa Senators, and he helped them reach the playoffs; they sent captain Brad Marchand to Florida, where he won the Stanley Cup; and Boston crashed to the foot of the Atlantic Division and joined the Philadelphia Flyers in the cellar of the Eastern Conference.
Bet you thought they were done for the foreseeable future, didn't you? But, no. The Bruins find ways to lurch back into the picture.
Jeremy Swayman had a whole training camp this year, unlike last year when general manager Don Sweeney didn't sign him to a new deal until days before the season started.
They still have David Pastrnak, one of the elite scorers in the league. They'll have Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm back on defense, too, and they'll be reenergized under new head coach Marco Sturm.
Chris Kreider and Anaheim Ducks Return to Playoffs
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The Anaheim Ducks' growth last season, despite being led by a handful of veterans and many young players, was impressive.
That they finished the season with 80 points was rather unexpected, and that they were playing games that mattered late into the season was a positive for everyone.
They're a vastly different team in a lot of ways this season. Moving out Trevor Zegras and John Gibson, bringing in Chris Kreider and Mikael Granlund, and hiring Joel Quenneville to coach the team shows they are ready to grow collectively in a big way.
Their mix of veterans and highly skilled young players, now with a lot of NHL experience, puts them in a position to take another leap forward.
Unfortunately, they're in the Western Conference, and there's nothing easy about getting to the postseason from there.
A lot of their hopes rest on the back of young goalie Lukas Dostal, but after watching him take over the No. 1 job last season so successfully, it's hard not to be bullish about their chances of getting Anaheim back in the playoffs.
Rasmus Dahlin Carries Buffalo Sabres into Playoffs
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It's been 14 years since the Buffalo Sabres made the playoffs, and falling short of the postseason last year wasn't Rasmus Dahlin's fault.
The 25-year-old did everything possible to lift the team last season and earned the respect of PHWA voters in the process as he finished sixth in voting for the Norris Trophy.
For all the Sabres' shortcomings last year, Dahlin was brilliant and made the team better any time he was on the ice.
The start of this season couldn't feel more foreboding, though. With injuries to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson, and Michael Kesselring, among others, and the team collecting goalies like they're Pokémon, it doesn't inspire confidence that they'll break the 14-year playoff drought.
But the season is long, and after a year under Lindy Ruff's leadership, they're going to better resemble his brand of hockey this year, as they did late last season.
With Dahlin's brilliance on the blue line leading the way and young veterans like Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch providing support, it's time for the Sabres to get over the hump and into the playoffs.
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Nashville Predators Will Make Their Own Luck
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No one expected the Nashville Predators to be among the worst teams in the NHL last season. Their big-splash offseason signings of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei set a high bar, but the way they crumbled was staggering.
A less-than-great season from Juuse Saros and woeful shooting luck (Nashville had the lowest shot percentage in the league) conspired to push the Preds to the bottom.
However, the aforementioned players, along with Ryan O'Reilly and Roman Josi, make it impossible to believe they'll be that bad again.
The Predators have holes, but rookie Brady Martin could be the spark plug they have been looking for to give them a jump. He's 18 years old, and that's not a burden he should have to carry.
The Central Division is going to be difficult this season, and while there will have to be teams that end up at the bottom, the Predators have forever existed in the realm of scrappiness.
The cliché about "hard work beating talent when talent doesn't work hard" may as well have been their mantra for decades. And as entertaining as their players can be, it's the way they'll have to be again.
Flyers Playing Fast and Fun Is the Way for the Future
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If the Philadelphia Flyers are going to be a team that returns to annoying everyone around the NHL again, having Rick Tocchet in charge makes for a good start.
However, with the addition of Trevor Zegras to play with Matvei Michkov, the possibility of driving teams wild by pulling off incredible moves oozing with swagger becomes a reality.
The Flyers have plenty of guys who can grit and grind, and they also have huge question marks in goal, but they're not a team without hope and a future.
The parallels between Tocchet's situation in Vancouver and the team he has in Philly are evident. And if that kind of style of play takes hold with the Flyers, it's a good thing because they'll be capable of piling up goals.
By leaning into Michkov's skills and allowing him and Zegras to bond offensively, they'll gain the spark needed to mix it up in the Metropolitan.
Even though the division will be highly competitive, it lacks the bite and depth of the Atlantic, and that opens the door for opportunity.
Sticking to Business Will Get Vancouver Canucks Back to the Playoffs
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Of all the factors that contributed to the Vancouver Canucks missing the playoffs last season, the high level of drama surrounding the team throughout the season was a significant factor.
With issues between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller, Thatcher Demko's injury status, and the uncertainty of Rick Tocchet's return as coach, it was challenging to focus on the on-ice action.
Now that Adam Foote is in charge of the team and Miller has moved to the New York Rangers, the overtures about Quinn Hughes wanting to play with his brothers haven't caused any distractions going into the season.
With the focus being solely on what happens on the ice, that should translate into a much more consistent style of play and better success.
The Canucks have been immersed in drama for too long over the past few years, and no team can stay locked in when it's like that, much less the Canucks, who have a harsh spotlight shone on them in Vancouver.
Peace, quiet and good health can help get them back to the playoffs.
Montréal Canadiens Are About to Make Everyone Miserable
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Seeing the Montréal Canadiens return to the playoffs last season on the back of their young players was the kind of eye-opening experience many of us had anticipated.
We weren't expecting it to be last season, though, and now that a team led by Nick Suzuki with Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson, Juraj Slafkovský, and Ivan Demidov, among others, in support has arrived, the sky is the limit for this high-flying group.
The Canadiens play hockey in the image of head coach Martin St. Louis. They're fast, they attack the net relentlessly, and they don't take nonsense from anyone. Playing that style of hockey makes them a dangerous team.
Do they have flaws? Sure, but it didn't matter last year. Although the pressure to make the playoffs again will be present, the way they've invigorated the fanbase and the city ends up working twofold because it feeds back on them as well on the ice. It's a fascinating dynamic.
Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks Will Serve Notice They're Arriving Soon
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The fun we got to witness last season in San Jose as Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith arrived in the NHL and immediately found success was exciting.
Not only was it about watching two potential star players realize they can play well at the NHL level right away, but it was also a sign of what's to come for the Sharks.
With Celebrini and Smith a year older and William Eklund catching on with them as well, the San Jose rebuild began to bear the fruits of being one of the worst teams in the NHL for years.
Despite all the excitement those guys provided last year, the Sharks were still bad, but this season is when the conversation starts to change.
The Sharks will have rookie defenseman Sam Dickinson joining the group this year, and goalie Yaroslav Askarov should be a fixture as well.
Now that Celebrini and Smith have the first year under their belts, we're about to see things start to get real in San Jose.
Igor Shesterkin Won't Let the New York Rangers Go Quietly
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Seeing the New York Rangers miss the playoffs last season, a year after they won the Presidents' Trophy, was staggering.
Sure, these things happen in the NHL, but the Rangers were poised to be a Stanley Cup contender, and suddenly they made big trades and shuffled their roster around in not-insignificant ways.
For all the moves they made that rejigged team chemistry, part of what made the Rangers mortal was goalie Igor Shesterkin having an average season.
After winning the Vezina Trophy three years ago, his numbers have dipped each season since, and that would be reason to give pause, but predicting goaltending is like trying to play golf with a pool cue.
Shesterkin playing in a Mike Sullivan system will allow him to (eventually) have quieter nights and ideally make his job a lot easier than it's been in recent years.
A return to glory for Shesterkin means bad news for everyone in the Metropolitan and the rest of the league. It also means the Rangers' hopes of getting back to the playoffs improve immensely.
Let Utah Mammoth Glow-Up Begin
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Part of what made Utah Hockey Club's arrival in Salt Lake City so stirring is how well the team played in its first season in its new home.
They were in the heat of the playoff race until deep into the season, and it took the St. Louis Blues having a monster end to the season to eventually close them and the Calgary Flames out and dash their playoff hopes.
The Mammoth could have held strong with their group, but GM Bill Armstrong instead acquired J-J Peterka from the Buffalo Sabres to give them the goal scorer who can push them into the Western Conference playoffs.
After Peterka put up 68 points last season with the Sabres, the Mammoth paid him big-time to make him a long-term fixture on the wing to work with Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, and Clayton Keller.
With Mikhail Sergachev leading the way on defense and coach André Tourigny guiding them, this youthful group is ready to blossom in the Central Division and become a perennial playoff team, a step they can take this season.
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