Boston Bruins: Predictions for the 2017-2018 NHL season

The NHL regular season starts tonight.  The Boston Bruins start their season tomorrow.  Where will each NHL end up at the regular season and how will the playoffs shake out?

Predicting how any professional sports season will go is a difficult task.  First, you have to make your predictions in a vacuum.  Anything can happen during a season (injuries, trades, etc.) that change the trajectory of a team’s season.  So any reasonable prediction can go down the tubes with one major injury to a star player, or can improve with a move to bring in solidifying pieces.  For proof of both, look at the 2016-2017 Tampa Bay Lightning and 2010-2011 Boston Bruins respectively.

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So, with that in mind, any prediction at this point is based upon the composition of the roster as it stands now, the bench boss in control at the moment, and the strength of the divisional opponents as the season starts.  So let’s take a stab at how I think the NHL season will go this year.

I’ll go division by division, projecting how I think the division standings will be at the end of the year.  I’ll make my picks for the two conference Wild Card spots.  Then, I’ll make my Eastern Conference and Western Conference champion selections, and ultimately, who I think will hoist the Stanley Cup next June.

Atlantic Division

1. Boston Bruins
2. Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Tampa Bay Lightning
4. Montreal Canadiens
5. Ottawa Senators
6. Florida Panthers
7. Detroit Red Wings
8. Buffalo Sabres

I did a divisional preview and Bruins season preview for Chowder and Champions last month.  I took some flack from readers for putting the Bruins on top.  I’m sure some of you reading this are thinking I’m crazy, some rosy-cheeked rah-rah fan.  But answer me this…why can’t they finish atop the division?

The Bruins finished 3rd in the division last season with a weaker roster than this year’s edition.  The team now has two potential Calder Trophy candidates in Charlie McAvoy and Anders Bjork, a perennial Selke Trophy favorite in Patrice Bergeron, and a Hart Trophy candidate in Brad Marchand.  Not to mention, a young Czech phenom who just signed a new 6 year deal in David Pastrnak and a former Vezina Trophy winner in Tuukka Rask.

The NHL has shifted into a younger, faster game, and the Bruins have finally crafted a roster that meets those needs.  Plus, name a team in the division that significantly improved?  The Maple Leafs are a young team who exceeded expectations last season.  But their main addition was an aging Patrick Marleau.  The Lightning get Steven Stamkos back, but they’re putting all of their eggs in a young goalie’s basket in Andrei Vasilevskiy.

I think Boston, Toronto, Tampa Bay make the playoffs, and Montreal takes a Wild Card spot.

Metropolitan Division

1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Washington Capitals
3. Columbus Blue Jackets
4. Carolina Hurricanes
5. New York Rangers
6. Philadelphia Flyers
7. New York Islanders
8. New Jersey Devils

Until some team shows me otherwise, the Pittsburgh Penguins are the King (or Emperor, if you’ll pardon my penguin humor) of the Metropolitan Division.  The Washington Capitals would actually probably be relieved to not finish 1st in the division or win the President’s Trophy.  That means when they make their annual unceremonious exit from the playoffs, it won’t sting as much.

The surprise team in the division will be the Carolina Hurricanes.  They have slowly but surely collected one of the best young defensemen corps in the entire NHL.  Plus, Sebastian Aho is a player to watch out for come April when the points are being totaled up.

I think the window on the New York Rangers as a championship contender has officially closed.  King Henrik Lundqvist’s game has deteriorated over the past few seasons.  His ability to steal games for his team just isn’t there anymore.  The addition of Kevin Shattenkirk doesn’t improve the team as much as you’d like to think.

Pittsburgh, Washington, Columbus, and Carolina will represent the Metro in the playoffs.

Central Division

1. Minnesota Wild
2. Nashville Predators
3. Dallas Stars
4. Winnipeg Jets
5. Chicago Blackhawks
6. St. Louis Blues
7. Colorado Avalanche

It appears that all Devan Dubnyk needed to succeed in the NHL was a change of scenery.  Many wrote him off as he was departing Edmonton.  However, he has backstopped the Minnesota Wild into hockey relevance.  Combine his game with a solid core of young players on the blue line, the Wild are a hard team to beat.

Winnipeg Jets over Chicago Blackhawks?  Yes, you read that right.  Chicago was exposed and embarrassed last season in the playoffs by Nashville.  Beyond Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith, their blueline is a mess.  And Winnipeg is a team on the rise.  Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele, and Blake Wheeler be part of one of most potent power play units in NHL at season’s end.

And watch out for Dallas.  Their issue for the past few years has been goaltending.  In comes proven commodity Ben Bishop to shore up the net.  Plus, never underestimate what Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin can do together offensively.

I think 5 teams make it from the tough Central, with Minnesota, Nashville, Dallas, Winnipeg, and Chicago (by the skin of their teeth) playing after the regular season expires.

Playoff Predictions

In the Eastern Conference, if the stars on the team can stay healthy, which has derailed them in years past, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be victorious.  Between the high powered offense and a Norris Candidate in Victor Hedman, this team will be hard to beat in a 7 game series.  The playoffs is where this teams experience will pay off.

From the Western Conference, unless something drastically changes, I think this is the Edmonton Oilers year.  McDavid in his 2nd year had 100 points, and the sky is the limit for he and Draisaitl.  Cam Talbot is better than people expect, I think partially because of East Coast bias and many people not getting to watch Edmonton games due to the time difference.

Next: Bruins opening roster for 2017-2018

With that said, after a hard-fought, likely 7 game Stanley Cup finals, I predict that the Edmonton Oilers will be your 2017-2018 Stanley Cup champions, and the Cup will return to Canada for the first time since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens.  I think this will be the first of many Cups for Connor McDavid, so long as Peter Chiarelli and the organization surround him with even a average supporting cast.  He is just that special.