Has Stanley Cup favorite emerged for 2019-20?

last season and Ray Shero has always been a loyal general manager. But he has to answer to ownership and the Devils are trying to compete now. The acquisition of P.K Subban told us that.

❚ Hall could be a key factor in deciding who win the Stanley Cup

Fact: If the Devils know they can’t resign Hall, they have to trade him. Imagine if Hall ended up in Colorado. Could Shero work another deal with his mentor David Poile in Nashville? Hall, if traded, will be a big help for a contender.

❚ Without Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky, the Columbus Blue Jackets are dead to us

Fiction: The Blue Jackets are younger, but enough talent remains to qualify for the playoffs in this division. Joonas Korpisalo looks like he will able to shoulder the load in net. Coach John Tortorella gets a lot out of this team.

❚ The Washington Capitals are the best team no one is talking about

Fact: So much attention is being paid to the early surprises, the Avalanche and the 5-1-2 Bruins, that we are forgetting about the 6-2-2 Capitals. If they get tighter defensive play out of Dmitry Orlov and Nick Jensen, they are as good as any team in the Eastern Conference.

❚ With 18 points in 10 games, John Carlson has a shot at being a 100-point defenseman

Fiction: Carlson, 29, is playing his way into Norris contention, but it is highly unlikely he flirts with a 100-point season. No defenseman has registered 100 points since the New York Rangers’ Brian Leetch posted 102 in 1991-92. When Leetch did that, NHL games were averaging about seven goals per game. Today, NHL games average about six goals per game. Carlson had a career-best 70 points last season.

❚ We should believe the Arizona Coyotes have turned the corner

Fact: You won’t be disappointed this time. The Coyotes have given up only 13 goals in their first seven games and younger players such as Nick Schmaltz, Conor Garland and Clayton Keller producing. The goaltending is solid. This looks like a playoff team.

❚ The St. Louis Blues have a Stanley Cup hangover

Fiction: They have points in seven out of nine games, and beat the Avalanche on Monday. But they are another team that needs to tighten up defensively.