NHL questions that will be answered
WHICH TEAMS WILL RISE? WHICH WILL FALL? AND WHO WILL MAKE NAMES FOR THEMSELVES?
Can Connor McDavid or Carey Price pull their teams into the playoffs? Will Vegas be as good as last year and will Chicago be as bad?
Is anyone going to challenge Erik Karlsson for the Norris Trophy?
With the season about to begin, here’s a baker’s dozen worth of questions:
WILL THE OILERS BE AS GOOD AS McDAVID?
We all expect McDavid will score at least 100 points and be the best player in the league. But the real question is whether he will be a solo artist again this season. Obviously, Edmonton needs more out of Milan Lucic (10 goals) and Ryan Strome (13 goals), but the big X-factor is Cam Talbot.
After positing a .919 save percentage in 2016-17, the Oilers goalie had a .908 save percentage and presided over what was the fifthworst goals-against average in the league. McDavid can put the puck in the net. But he needs Talbot to keep the puck out.
HAS CROSBY GIVEN UP HIS CROWN TO McDAVID?
The last time we questioned Sidney Crosby’s status as league MVP, he won backto-back Stanley Cups and Conn Smythe trophies. And yet, with McDavid solidified as the league’s top scorer, has Crosby won his last Art Ross Trophy? Don’t count on it.
While it’s been five years since Crosby cracked the 90-point mark and led the league in scoring, he did score 89 points in each of the past two seasons, finishing second to McDavid in 201617 and third in 2015-16 and 2014-15. That said, it might take an injury to McDavid for Crosby to win another title.
WILL ANY TEAM BE WORSE THAN OTTAWA?
What a time to be a fan of the Senators. If it wasn’t bad enough that the team traded away Karlsson and Mike Hoffman — and tried to get rid of fan-favourite Zack Smith — the Senators are beginning what looks to be a long and painful rebuild without the luxury of having a first-round pick.
Then again, the Senators might not even be among the five worst teams. Vancouver is entering Year 1 without the Sedins, while Detroit is going to have a difficult time winning games without Henrik Zetterberg. Carolina’s heavily involved owner is making all the wrong decisions, and both New York teams seem to be doing everything in their power to secure the best chances of landing the No. 1 overall pick.
WILL ANYONE CHALLENGE KARLSSON FOR THE NORRIS TROPHY?
A healthy Karlsson had his worst season in seven years, but you can chalk it up to the team around him. Now that he’s in San Jose and insulated by Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic on the back end, we should see a different type of defenceman than we saw in Ottawa.
Don’t be surprised if Karlsson puts up Paul Coffey-type numbers and competes for the Art Ross Trophy. And unlike his time with the Senators, you can expect him to do it with a positive plus-minus rating as well.
WILL PRICE CARRY THE HABS TO THE PLAYOFFS?
Max Pacioretty is gone, newly named captain Shea Weber is out for half the season, and the team is still searching for a No. 1 centre. But there’s still a chance Montreal can contend — if Carey Price regains his form.
Few goalies were worse than Price last season. Part of it was injuries. But even when healthy, Price didn’t look like himself. Not that the team in front of him made it easy. This year won’t be any easier.
But with an eight-year, US$84-million contract kicking in this season, Price knows he has to be a lot better.
Who knows, if he can get back to his Vezina and Hart Trophy-winning ways, Montreal might just surprise some people.
WILL CHANGE HELP THE FLAMES?
When you don’t make the playoffs, you can expect changes are going to be made. But Calgary did more than shuffle the deck chairs around. Gone are coach Glen Gulutzan, top-scoring defenceman Dougie Hamilton, 20-goal scorer Micheal Ferland and a handful of other players.
In their place is head coach Bill Peters, defenceman Noah Hanifin and forwards James Neal, Elias Lindholm and Derek Ryan. With Calgary having finished 27 th in scoring last season, Neal — and the 25 goals he scored last season — will be counted on the most.
WILL BOESER AND PETTERSSON LEAD THE REBUILD?
The Sedins are gone, but in Brock Boeser and Elias Pettersson the Canucks have two players who could form a similar duo for many years to come. Well, that’s the hope.
This season is a lost one for the Canucks, who aren’t expected to do anything other than finish near the bottom of the standings and end up with another high pick. But for Boeser and Pettersson, it’s a glimpse into the future. If Boser ends up with 40 goals — last season he was on pace for 38 before getting injured — and Pettersson wins the Calder Trophy, the rebuild might not take as long as some might think.
WILL TORONTO’S DEFENCE HOLD UP?
Who needs defence when you’ve got a team that can score a dozen goals per game? After all, allowing the fourth-most shots in the league certainly didn’t hurt the Maple Leafs last season, when they scored the third most goals. With John Tavares joining Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and (hopefully) contract holdout William Nylander up front, Toronto should have even more firepower at its disposal.
At the same time, the most important player on the team will be Frederik Andersen, who faced a leaguehigh 2,029 shots last season — 136 more than the nexthighest goalie — while also recording a .918 save percentage.
WILL VEGAS HIT THE JACKPOT AGAIN, OR GO BUST?
Do you expect William Karlsson to hit the 40-goal mark again or for Jonathan Marchessault to score 75 points? What are the odds Marc-Andre Fleury posts another .927 save percentage?
Even with the acquisitions of Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny, there’s a real possibility Vegas could miss the playoffs, especially with defenceman Nate Schmidt absent for the first 20 games due to a suspension.
WILL THE STANLEY CUP HANGOVER AFFECT WASHINGTON?
Watching Alex Ovechkin and the rest of the Capitals drunkenly jump into ponds and perform keg stands with the Stanley Cup was initially hilarious. But when the videos kept surfacing throughout the summer, it went from amusing to alarming.
Winning a championship is hard. Winning back-toback is next level. And now Washington will have to do it without head coach Barry Trotz and with a team that might not be as motivated as it was a year ago. Given the choice, it’s a safer bet the Capitals miss the playoffs than reach the final.
WHO WILL BE THIS YEAR’S GOLDEN KNIGHTS?
It wasn’t just Vegas that overachieved last season. Colorado went from finishing last overall to qualifying for the playoffs, while New Jersey made a similar jump after drafting the No. 1 pick.
Look for Buffalo to be this year’s dark horse pick. Not only do they have a potential Calder Trophy candidate in Rasmus Dahlin, but they also added Jeff Skinner, Conor Sheary, Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka up front, and should get better goaltending from Carter Hutton, who owned the league’s best save percentage. And don’t discount Arizona, which went 17-9-3 in the final two months of the season.
WHO WILL BE THIS YEAR’S OILERS?
While Vegas shocked the hockey world, the Oilers did the same for all the wrong reasons. A team many picked to be in the Stanley Cup final missed the playoffs, with Chicago, St. Louis and Dallas following suit.
Beyond injuries, a major determining factor for success or failure is goaltending, which makes the Flyers’ decision to start the season with Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth a curious one. Maybe they’re hoping two heads are better than one or that after signing James van Riemsdyk, they can score their way out of trouble. If not, it won’t be long before fans are calling on management to bring up 20-year-old Carter Hart from the minors.
HAVE WE SEEN THE LAST OF THE BLACKHAWKS?
After winning three Cups in eight years, it appears the window has closed on the Blackhawks. Sure, Patrick Kane is still a top scorer. But with goalie Corey Crawford potentially starting the season on the disabled list and Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook all trending down, it’s hard to imagine Chicago beating out Nashville, Winnipeg, Dallas or St. Louis for a playoff spot in the Central Division.
The same goes for the Ducks and Kings, who look too old and too slow to win a playoff spot in the Pacific Division.