So where is rodfarva to kick off the annual "predict the entire season/standings/awards" tradition? It's not the same without it.
Ask and ye shall receive:
Prediction time:
Western Conference:
1. Vancouver Canucks (Northwest Division winners) (I really don't know if they can trade Roberto Luongo; his contract is just such a burden and is fraught with so many player-friendly loopholes and conditionals and the Canucks are asking for a lot for him. Either way, Cory Schneider is clearly the better goaltender and will be their starter. I know that Ryan Kesler and David Booth are starting the season injured and may be out for some time, but Kesler had a disappointing season last year and David Booth's contributions were marginal in the season as well, and yet the Canucks still won the President's Trophy, so I see them winning it again)
2. Chicago Blackhawks (Central Division winners) (This team would be an absolute nightmare and a probable Stanley Cup favourite if it weren't for the fact that Corey Crawford is their starting goaltender)
3. Los Angeles Kings (Pacific Division winners) (I actually think that they have a very good chance to repeat; their championship roster is intact and they're set to have a full season under Darryl Sutter this time around. They also have an excellent bargaining chip in backup goaltender Jonathan Bernier, and I can see them moving him for some nice pieces at some point (a lot of teams would be interested and I would love it if the Oilers acquired him))
4. Detroit Red Wings (The retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom is going to hit this team hard. For the first time in a long time, their defence is pretty thin. However, they're still a high-quality team with the best coach in the game today)
5. St. Louis Blues (This team is for real; they have the best one-two goaltending punch in the NHL, and a deep deep team. This is a great dark horse team)
6. Phoenix Coyotes (Mike Smith is amazing)
7. Nashville Predators (I see this team regressing. Obviously, the loss of Ryan Suter will affect them. But Barry Trotz has consistently surprised me with this team and he could do so again)
8. Dallas Stars (Kari Lehtonen is a great goaltender. The additions of old-timers Ray Whitney and Jaromir Jagr will have a positive effect both on and off the ice)
9. Edmonton Oilers (We could make the playoffs. Justin Schultz has been absolutely tearing it up in Oklahoma City (AHL), Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins have been playing together in OKC as well, and Nail Yakupov has been playing well in the KHL. All of that means that a lot of our guys have been developing chemistry and are in game shape right now. The big question marks are on defence and in goal. The organization believes in Devan Dubnyk as our starting goaltender; I don't. The addition of hometown boy Mark Fistric was a great move and helps us in terms of our thin defence corps)
10. Anaheim Ducks (The Ducks have some good players, but they're thin)
11. Minnesota Wild (Adding Parise and Suter does make them better, that's obvious, but I think that a lot of people are "Wild"ly (see what I did there?) overrating them; Heatley is past his prime and nowhere near as effective as he once was, and I could say the same thing about Mikko Koivu and Niklas Backstrom)
12. San Jose Sharks (They have some good young players, but their best players are all aging and the window of opportunity for this team has passed)
13. Colorado Avalanche (This could turn out to be wrong because they do have some great young talent, but Semyon Varlamov should not be any team's starting goaltender)
14. Calgary Flames (They are not good. Poor Jarome Iginla; I hope he ends up somewhere worthwhile soon)
15. Columbus Blue Jackets (The runaway worst team in the NHL)
Eastern Conference:
1. New York Rangers (Atlantic Division winners) (This team is good. The addition of Rick Nash gives them a potential top line of Brad Richards, Marian Gaborik, and Nash. Wow! Their defence might be a little thin, but with Henrik Lundqvist in net, so what)
2. Ottawa Senators (Northeast Division winners) (Jason Spezza had a career year last year, Daniel Alfredsson is playing what is very likely to be his final season, which will give the whole team a little bit of extra motivation, they have number of good young up-and-comers, and their defence is stacked. Craig Anderson needs to settle down a bit and become a more heady goaltender, and I think he will)
3. Washington Capitals (Southeast Division winners) (They're not really that good. They just play in a terrible division. And they might not even win the division, actually, but we'll see)
4. Pittsburgh Penguins (They're a better team than the Senators and Capitals, but they play in such a tough division. Probably the Stanley Cup favourites right now, which is tough to argue against. However, I honestly think that losing Jordan Staal was a huge huge loss for this team; he did everything for them. If Crosby stays on the ice, he'll lead the league in scoring, no doubt)
5. Philadelphia Flyers (I expect a pretty good season from Ilya Bryzgalov. And their forwards are as deep as it gets)
6. Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask led the league in goals against average and save percentage not that long ago, so the fact that Tim Thomas is sitting out for the season shouldn't kill them)
7. Winnipeg Jets (This team is really good. There's a lot of talent from top to bottom. And Ondrej Pavelec might have a big year for them)
8. New Jersey Devils (This, to me, shows you just how great the Eastern Conference is these days. This team is stacked! And I'm predicting an eighth place finish? Yeah...)
9. Carolina Hurricans (They made some really nice off-season additions. Jordan Staal is a stud and could have his best offensive season to date. However, Cam Ward has not been getting it done ever since winning the Cup back in '06)
10. Florida Panthers (They were great last season. I think they come back down to earth a bit this season)
11. Buffalo Sabres (They finished off last season on fire, so maybe they'll have a good season)
12. Montreal Canadiens (I really wish they would sign P.K. Subban and get that over with. It's gonna hurt them this season. They need him)
13. Tampa Bay Lightning (Not much to say)
14. Toronto Maple Leafs (There is entirely too much attention surrounding this team every season. They aren't good. James Reimer is not good)
15. New York Islanders (Or Brooklyn Islanders or whatever they wanna be called. Who cares?)
Hart Memorial Trophy - Mike Smith (Phoenix)
Vezina Trophy - Henrik Lundqvist (New York Rangers)
James Norris Memorial Trophy - Shea Weber (Nashville)
Calder Memorial Trophy - Justin Schultz (Edmonton)
Frank J. Selke Trophy - Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit)
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy - Jordan Eberle (Edmonton)
Jack Adams Award - Paul MacLean (Ottawa)
Art Ross Trophy - Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh)
Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy - Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay)
Stanley Cup Finals - Los Angeles Kings over New York Rangers
Conn Smythe Trophy - Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles)
In an ideal world it'd be the Oilers over the Senators/Canadiens.
