With the NHL season underway, everyone is making their bold predictions for the season. Here at the Loquitur, we made ours too. Unlike other websites, our predictions will be 100 percent correct— because that’s how these things usually go, right?
Anaheim Ducks: Patrick Eaves stat line comes back down to Earth
Last year, Eaves, who started the season out as a member of the Dallas Stars before being traded halfway through the season, scored a career-high 32 goals. Eaves has only one other 20 goal season on his resume, and that was his rookie season. The Ducks will attempt to cast him in one of their top two forward lines but it will fall flat on its face.
Arizona Coyotes- Adam Clendening has a breakout year
Don’t look now, but the Arizona Coyotes feature one of the deepest defensive groups in the entire league. Adam Clendening, a 24-year-old defender joining his sixth team in his four-year career, is going to a team that will run a puck possession-based system, a system in which he will thrive and earn his first career multi-year contract after the season.
Boston Bruins- Zdeno Chara will retire at the end of the season
The future Hall of Fame defenseman has played 20 seasons in the NHL and this year, his 12th with the Boston Bruins, will be his last.
Buffalo Sabres- Jack Eichel collects his first 80 point season of his career
Eichel missed 21 games last season and still managed to score 24 goals and 57 points with a horrible Buffalo Sabres team. This year, he is coming into camp healthy and has another year of experience to go along with a stronger team around him. The former second overall pick has not disappointed to start his career, but he will break out this year.
Calgary Flames- Mike Smith will have his best year since 2011-2012
Mike Smith has not had a good season in a very long time. Mike Smith has also not been on a team with a good group of defensemen in a very long time. Smith will be playing behind a very solid defensive core that added Travis Hamonic from the Islanders in the offseason and will bounce back in a big way this season.
Carolina Hurricanes- The Hurricanes will make the playoffs
Last year, the Hurricanes didn’t make the playoffs, but they were certainly a difficult team to play against. Head coach Bill Peters has an intriguing young defensive group to build his system around, and sneaky good sniper Jeff Skinner and friends will capitalize on this by making the playoffs for the first time since 2008-2009.
Chicago Blackhawks- The Blackhawks will miss the playoffs
The Blackhawks have been one of the model franchises in the league since the salary cap was implemented before the 2005-2006 season. The team brought back a lot of players from their former cup winning teams this offseason, such as Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad. Even with that said, the depth on this team won’t be enough to overcome the salary cap casualties they’ve faced, as well as the loss of future Hall of Famer Marian Hossa to his “progressive skin disorder.”
Colorado Avalanche- Matt Duchene will be traded to the New York Islanders
There have been rumors that the Islanders have been interested in the Avalanche’s star center for a while now. Duchene has made it clear that he doesn’t want to play in Colorado anymore, and the Avalanche will grant his wish by shipping him out of town and to the East Coast.
Columbus Blue Jackets- Sergei Bobrovsky‘s production drops off
There are three certainties in life; death, taxes and Bobrovsky putting up inconsistent numbers from season to season. The trend will continue this year for the two-time Vezina Trophy winner.
Dallas Stars- The Stars lead the league in goals
If you thought the Stars were lethal offensively in years past, you will be in awe of what’s about to come. With the addition of Martin Hanzal and Alexander Radulov to an already stacked forward corps, the Stars are going to be scary good.
Detroit Red Wings- Gustav Nyquist has a bounce-back season
A few years ago, there weren’t a lot of forwards that were more exciting to watch than Gustav Nyquist. In recent years, the Red Wings haven’t been too great and neither has Nyquist. Although that trend will most likely continue for Detroit this year, Nyquist will pull through and be the Red Wings most effective offensive player.
Edmonton Oilers- Connor McDavid is just warming up, will have an even better season than last
This will be McDavid’s third NHL season. He already has a scoring title and an MVP trophy to his name, but he will earn his second of each as the Oilers win the Pacific Division in 2017-2018.
Florida Panthers- They’ll finish last in the Atlantic Division
The Panthers have some promising names in their lineup like Aaron Ekblad, Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov. However, their front office, a group of minds that clearly don’t know what they are doing based on the moves they made this offseason, will get in their way.
Las Vegas Golden Knights- The Knights have three players that score 25+ goals
The Golden Knights likely won’t be great in their first season in the NHL, but they have a few players that will put up some solid numbers. Veterans James Neal and Jonathan Marchessault have shown offensive prowess in the past and will be counted on to do so again this season. 30-year-old rookie Vadim Shipachyov, an import from the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) will have a solid debut season as well.
Los Angeles Kings- Jonathan Quick gets hurt again, only plays 40 games
I would never wish an injury on any player, ever. Quick, who plays a very reckless style of goaltending similar to his childhood idol and hockey Hall of Famer Mike Richter, will see his body begin to break down, which will lead to even more durability issues, also just like Richter.
Minnesota Wild- Devan Dubynk struggles, has his worst season since his Oilers days
Devan Dubynk has gotten a lot of praise over the last few seasons even though he has been wildly inconsistent –I hope you like my pun there, I worked really hard on it.
For example, after the All-Star break last season, Dubynk had a 2.82 goals against average and a .904 save percentage, both of which are really, really bad numbers.
Montreal Canadiens- Jonathan Drouin scores 30+, Montreal misses playoffs anyway
Here are two bold predictions for your viewing pleasure –thank you notes can be left in the comment section below. The shackles have removed from Jonathan Drouin, who was traded to Montreal from Tampa Bay in the offseason. Although the added responsibility will be great for his game, the Canadiens lost too much firepower in free agency to get back to the postseason this year.
Nashville Predators- Scott Hartnell will have a bounce-back season and scores 50 points
Last season, Hartnell had his worst offensive year since his third year in the league way back in 2002-2003 with these same Nashville Predators. After being bought out of his contract by the Blue Jackets, Hartnell decided to return home to where his career started on a team friendly deal. He will be a key part of the Predators’ depth.
New Jersey Devils- Nico Hischier scores just shy of 20 goals in his rookie season
Over the past two seasons, we have seen the first overall picks in their respective drafts light up the league. This season, Nico Hischier, the first overall pick of the Devils will put up very modest numbers in comparison.
New York Islanders- They acquire Matt Duchene in a trade from the Avalanche
The Islanders need to find a way to convince captain John Tavares to stay with the franchise past this season when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. To show they are serious about winning, the team will throw the kitchen sink at Avalanche GM Joe Sakic in order for him to deal his disgruntled center to Brooklyn.
New York Rangers- Ryan McDonagh will be a Norris Trophy candidate
After having one of the worst defensemen in the league glued to his right for the past few seasons, the team brought in two-way blueline threat Kevin Shattenkirk to serve as his new partner. As a result, McDonagh will obliterate previous career highs and force his way into the Norris Trophy discussion.
Ottawa Senators- Jean-Gabriel Pageau finally has a good regular season
Some players just elevate their game in the clutch. That is exactly what Pageau has done throughout his career. One thing he hasn’t done though has put together a consistent 82 game season. Pageau will break his career high of 19 goals this season and finally perform the way the franchise knows he can.
Philadelphia Flyers- Nolan Patrick won’t play more than 50 games
Throughout his amateur career, Patrick has failed to stay healthy for an extended period of time. He’s even had one surgery since the draft happened back in June. Patrick will make an impact for the Flyers when he is healthy, but that’s where his struggles will lay this year.
Pittsburgh Penguins- Jake Guentzel scores 30+ goals in his second NHL season
Everybody knows that the Pittsburgh Penguins are in dire need of another star forward, so here comes Guentzel. he scored 16 goals in his first 40 NHL games before notching 13 goals in 25 playoff games for the two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions. Guentzel will play on a line with Sydney Crosby and put up some more ridiculous numbers.
San Jose Sharks- Joe Thornton continues to slow down, retires at the end of the season
The only thing bigger than Jumbo Joe himself is the $8 million the Sharks will pay him to play the 2017-2018 season. After having a very lackluster 16-17 season, Thornton, who is coming off ACL and MCL surgery, will have a hard time on the ice for the Sharks and be a shell of himself, which will lead the prideful veteran to retirement in the offseason.
St. Louis Blues- Jake Allen finally figures it out, is a Vezina Trophy candidate
I might be taking a huge leap of faith here, but oh well…
Jake Allen had a legendary showing in the Western Conference Quarterfinals this past season as he singlehandedly stole a first-round series victory away from the Minnesota Wild with his stellar play. Allen is known for inconsistency throughout his first four NHL seasons. This season will be the one where the 27-year-old from New Brunswick, Canada figures it out.
Tampa Bay Lightning- Steven Stamkos finally stays healthy
Injuries are rarely something you can predict, which has been the case with Stamkos at various times throughout his career. Hopefully, this is sending him and the Lightning some positive vibes this year because with additions of Dan Girardi and Chris Kunitz to their roster, they are going to need a lot of good vibes to outweigh the horrible ones that the veterans’ declined play will bring to the lineup.
Toronto Maple Leafs- Tyler Bozak will be traded
The Maple Leafs have so many forwards on their roster right now, many of which that play the center position. Bozak is the team’s longest-tenured player and will likely be the odd man out on a salary cap-strapped team sooner rather than later.
Vancouver Canucks- They will finish as the worst team in the NHL in 2017-2018
It is a shame that potential future Hall of Famers like Daniel and Henrik Sedin will be forced to play for a team that has a really bleak immediate future. Their roster is a mish-mosh of players that don’t really fit together and have no clear direction. It will be a long season for Canucks fans to endure.
Washington Capitals- Won’t have home ice advantage in the playoffs’ first round
As long as the Capitals have a team featuring Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson and Brayden Holtby, they will make the playoffs. With that said, they lost a tremendous amount of depth in the offseason and that will greatly affect their playoff seeding to the point where they will be the three seed in the Metropolitan Division this season.
Winnipeg Jets- Connor Hellebuyck will finish the season as the starting goaltender
The Jets lost longtime goaltender Ondrej Pavelec to the Rangers in free agency and replaced him with former Flyers goalie Steve Mason. Mason was inconsistent in Philly and will be even more inconsistent in Manitoba to the point where the Jets will lean on their 24-year-old goalie, who will have a much better 17-18 season then he did in 16-17.