NHL playoff predictions
Local hockey fans discuss their love of the game and who will win the Stanley Cup
Chloe Kean says playoff hockey has a totally different feeling than the regular season. “I feel as though playoffs are so exciting not just because of the competition and the teams but mainly because of the fans and atmosphere at the arenas,” said Kean. “If it wasn’t for the fans, playoff hockey would not be half as exciting as it is.”
A dyed-in-the-wool Toronto Maple Leafs fan thanks to her father and grandfather, Kean is a second-year nursing student at Memorial University of Newfoundland. She grew up watching “Hockey Night in Canada” and rarely missed a game. Her passion eventually inspired her to play hockey in junior high.
“One of the most memorable playoff games I watched over the years was last year when Toronto beat Tampa out of the first round of the playoffs,” Kean said. “John Tavares scored the gamewinning goal about five minutes into overtime. This win beat the Leafs’ curse. The atmosphere was wild and the excitement of the game was like no other.”
Although the Toronto Maple Leafs last won the Stanley Cup in 1967 and have the longest active championship drought in the National Hockey League, they maintain a solid and dedicated fan base and are currently one of the top three teams in the Atlantic Division just behind the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers.
The Bruins and Panthers already clinched their playoff spots and fans of both teams remember how the Panthers defeated the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs last year. The Bruins were the No. 1 team in the NHL and had a record-breaking season, so the surprise defeat proved the difficulty of predicting playoff wins.
“This year I’m looking forward to watching the Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers,” Kean said. “I feel as though these three teams have a lot of potential and they are all hungry to advance through these playoffs. These teams have a lot to bring to the table and I know their games will be exciting to watch.”
When pressed to predict who will win the Stanley Cup, Kean goes with the Panthers.
“They have such a well-built team with a good defensive line and a good penalty kill,” Kean said. “They have a tough team with big bodies, which I believe is needed in a team to carry them through the playoffs to win the Stanley Cup.”
Kean’s grandfather Glen Hoffe also grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada, but on a black and white TV set. Like Kean, the excitement of those games inspired Hoffe to play hockey and he eventually won a provincial championship with the Bell Island Pee Wee All Star Team in 1962.
“Watching the Saturday night games, I became a Toronto fan,” Hoffe said. “It was so amazing to see Dave Keon with his small size and fantastic speed and skill play against the other players. Toronto was so good in the ’60s, it set me up as their fan.”
Dave Keon was a star player for the Leafs during their 1967 defeat of the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals, the last Stanley Cup Finals in the Original Six Era, which, in addition to the
Leafs, consisted of the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks,
Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers.
Despite his lifelong love of the Leafs, Hoffe doesn’t think their championship drought will end any time soon.
“I predict the Colorado Avalanche will win the Cup,” Hoffe said. “They have the desire and are still playing at a playoff mode now. They have a real want to win attitude.”
Along with the Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets in the Metropolitan Division, the Avalanche already clinched
their playoff spot and are currently one of seven teams to have more than 100 points in regular season hockey.
That’s great news for Andrew Corbett, owner of Maverick Sports & Collectables on Water Street in St. John’s. Specializing in official sports apparel, sports cards, souvenirs and other sports merchandise, Corbett’s store will celebrate its 25th anniversary in fall 2024.
“My earliest memories are the NHL back in the early ’80s when Quebec and Montreal used to play each other and beat the crap out of each other in the playoffs,” Corbett said. “I became a Nordiques fan. I was a big Stastny fan, of the three Stastnys, and (Michel) Goulet, and then became a huge (Joe) Sakic fan after that. When they moved to Colorado, as much as it pained me to go for a U.S. team, I became a Colorado fan. I’m still a Colorado fan.”
Out of the 32 teams in the NHL, Corbett can think of local fans for at least 20 of those teams off the top of his head.
According to sales at his store, the majority of fans root for the Leafs and Canadiens. Corbett said their merchandize sells more than all other teams combined. Unfortunately for Canadiens fans, that Original Six team won’t be one of the 16 teams competing for the Stanley Cup this year.
When asked if playoff hockey is more exciting than regular season games, Corbett agrees and disagrees.
“Some of the regular-season games can get quite interesting and quite good, as well,” Corbett said. “The playoff hockey, certainly there’s more on the line and you would hope that your team or the teams are out putting everything they got into the game to try and win. If you’re a Toronto fan, you may disagree with that sometimes.”
Corbett acknowledges it’s always tough to predict what team will win the Stanley Cup and said it comes down to who plays who in the four playoff rounds — the first round, the second round, the conference finals and the Stanley Cup Finals.
“I certainly think Colorado has a good team and certainly have a chance at it again,” Corbett said. “Florida’s got a crazy team this year.”
When it comes to specialty playoff merchandise at Maverick Sports & Collectables, Corbett usually waits until eight teams remain to place his order and said sales are always hit or miss.
“You do what’s basically called an if-win order,” Corbett said. “If Montreal wins, I want this, this, this. If Toronto wins, I want this, this, this. All the way down the line. When Vegas won, I think we had 12 hats and 12 shirts come in and then a few odds and ends. So it was probably 5,000 dollars worth of stuff at most. If Toronto had won, we had $30,000 worth of stuff ordered.”
Even after 25 years in business and many more years as a hockey fan, Corbett is not one to bet on who will win the Stanley Cup this year or any other year.
“I find hockey playoffs are one of the hardest to predict,” Corbett said. “If someone said to me, ‘here’s 5,000 dollars, who are you putting it on?’ Like, there’s nobody for sure. I can say Colorado for me and Florida and Edmonton and that, but there’s none of them I can say more than 50 per cent I’m sure they’re going to win.”
All we know for sure is the Vegas Golden Knights are the defending Stanley Cup champions when the puck drops at centre ice to kick off the playoffs later this month.
“If you want the Stanley Cup and your name on it, you have to be ready for each game,” Hoffe said. “The playoffs are grinding and you are playing one team over a short period. It becomes more intense and can drive a fan crazy.”