Yes, I know the odds of that aren't very high (Wahlstrom stepping right into the NHL) - that was a bold prediction but why not make it? and for the sake of argument - Ever hear of Mathew Barzal?

I will tell you what is accurate tho - the Hawks will have 100+ points next season and I look forward to all the Hawks haters cry about it because that's exactly what's going to happen..

You ever see Wahlstrom play with Jack Hughes? well Jack Hughes is basically a clone of Patrick Kane.... If Wahlstrom can put up points with Hughes then he can put up points with Kane and Schmaltz..

lol, and I could care less who you take seriously..

Matt Barzal was drafted two years before entering the NHL. Nobody has had that type of rookie season as a teenager since Ovechkin/Crosby in ‘04-‘05.

You have no idea how ridiculous you sound. It’s gotten to the point where the Hawks fans are getting so defensive because they have too many overpaid players to contend for a Cup. They need a top pairing defenseman and another top four, not sure where these guys are supposedly coming from. Also factor in the forwards that need to be added and there’s nowhere near enough money to actually fill these holes dude

Tampa and Boston are in a battle for first place, Leafs are settling for third place. Leafs "lend" Matthews to the Bruins, so the Bruins finish first. The Leafs play Tampa in the first round. Dubas figures better chance beating Tampa without Matthews, than play Bruins with Matthews.

Sabres will have the most players in the top 5 voting, but of course (in sabres fashion) will lose.

Canadians gonna do bad. Only prediction because I'm lazy.

Funny how I'm a Hawks fan and you're trying to tell me how much cap space the Hawks have , lol...... Depending on where the salary cap ends up, the Hawks will have between 16.5 and 18.5 million+...... And I have demonstrated this in numerous threads......

And that 16.5-18.5 isn't even taking into account roster moves and trades.... There are a few defenseman presently on the roster that wont be on the team next season, not to mention Anisimov will be traded and his cap hit is 5 so a potential trade there will fix one of the Hawks problems.

But honestly, I look forward to you and your ilk crying this season about how "lucky" the Hawks are... How the Hawks should be "punished" for that Hossa contract...

If the league grants full relief for this contract, something is wrong. It’s no different from the Franzen contract, Clarkson contract, Bolland contact or Horton contract. It’s a disgrace if the league allows it, period. There is no argument you can make that proves you to be correct when there are all these current examples of contracts that have 0 relief.

The team needs a top pairing defenseman, second pairing defenseman, top six winger, and a bottom six forward. Not to mention a stacked Central division featuring Nashville and Winnipeg with Colorado on the rise, as well as Dallas, St. Louis and Minnesota being perennial contenders. And if you trade Anisimov, you just need a replacement player for him, which costs money.

I’m done arguing with you about it, and when the Hawks are out of the playoffs again, we’ll see what excuse you pull for this bad season from them

Atlantic:
1. Toronto
2. Tampa Bay
3. Boston
4. Florida
5. Montreal
6. Buffalo
7. Detroit
8. Ottawa

Metro:
1. Pittsburgh
2. Philadelphia
3. Washington
4. New Jersey
5. Columbus
6. NYI
7. Carolina
8. NYR

Central:
1. Winnipeg
2. Nashville
3. Dallas
4. St. Louis
5. Minnesota
6. Colorado
7. Chicago

Pacific:
1. Anaheim
2. Arizona
3. Los Angeles
4. San Jose
5. Calgary
6. Vegas
7. Edmonton
8. Vancouver

Round One:
Toronto v. Florida (Toronto in 5)
Tampa v. Boston (Tampa in 6)
Pittsburgh v. New Jersey (Pittsburgh in 5)
Philadelphia v. Washington (Philadelphia in 6)
Winnipeg v. Calgary (Winnipeg in 4)
Nashville v. Dallas (Dallas in 6)
Anaheim v. San Jose (San Jose in 5)
Arizona v. Los Angeles (Arizona in 7)

Round Two:
Toronto v. Tampa (Toronto in 6)
Pittsburgh v. Philadelphia (Pittsburgh in 6)
Winnipeg v. Dallas (Winnipeg in 5)
San Jose v. Arizona (San Jose in 6)

Round Three:
Pittsburgh v. Toronto (Toronto in 5)
Winnipeg v. San Jose (San Jose in 7)

Final:
Toronto v. San Jose (Toronto in 5)

Based off of most FA Signings. Will be making one after Preseason:

Atlantic:
Toronto
Tampa
Florida
Boston*
Buffalo
Montreal
Detroit
Ottawa

Metro:
Washington
Pittsburgh
Philadelphia
Columbus**
Carolina
New Jersey
NYR
NYI

Central:
Winnipeg
St Louis
Nashville
Minnesota
Colorado
Dallas
Chicago

Pacific:
San Jose
Los Angelas
Vegas
Edmonton*
Anaheim**
Arizona
Calgary
Vancouver

Round 1:
Toronto over Columbus in 7
Tampa over Florida in 6
Washington over Boston in 5
Philadelphia over Pittsburgh in 7
Winnipeg over Anaheim in 6
St Louis over Nashville in 6
San Jose over Edmonton in 7
Los Angelas over Vegas in 6

2nd Round:
Toronto over Tampa in 7
Washington over Philadelphia in 5
Winnipeg over St louis in 4
Los Angelas over San Jose in 6

Conference Finals:
Washington over Toronto in 6
Winnipeg over LA in 6

Stanley Cup Finals:
Winnipeg over Washington in 7

Art Ross: Mcdavid ( Tavares, Kucherov)
Hart: Mcdavid ( Wheeler, Malkin )
Norris: Hedman ( Carlson, Pietrangelo)
Calder: Dahlin ( Pettersson, Tolvanen)
Vezina: Andersen ( Hellenbuyck, Jones)
Lady Byng: O'Reilly ( Barkov, Matthews)
Selke: Barkov ( Bergeron, Kopitar)
Richard: Ovechkin ( Kucherov, Laine)
Ted Lindsay: Mcdavid ( Tavares, Kucherov)
Conn Smythe: Hellenbuyck ( Scheifele, Wheeler )

So the Leafs finally do it ... wow. I'd have to say they have a very good chance though. Not saying this is unrealistic, just saying it would be huge if they finally won it. We'll see. So the Golden Knights miss the playoffs the year after making it to the Stanley cup final? I disagree with that. Sure, they lost Neal and Perron, but they signed Stastny. Overall, they lost more than they got there, but they're still a very good team. I agree the Coyotes will make the playoffs. We're probably the only ones lol. The Blues have gotten way better, i feel like they're probably a playoff team. But it's hard to actually pick 8 in each conference, especially the west. I want to put Anaheim, Edmonton, San Jose, Arizona, Calgary, St. Louis, Colorado, Nashville, Winnipeg, and Dallas all in the playoffs, but i have to pick which 2 of those teams miss the playoffs. I'd love to see Penguins vs. Flyers again, i'd love to see Catpials Penguins even more though. Not making my predictions yet though. I'll get whatever series' i get.

The cup returns to Canada. I guess the Leafs with Matthews, Tavares, Marner, Nylander, Rielly, Andersen, etc aren't able to get past the 2018 Cup winning Washington Capitals. But the Caps lose to the Jets then. It would be exciting to see the final go to game 7. The Stanley cup final almost never goes to game 7 so that would be awesome if it did, because that's very rare. I guess it goes to 7 for the first time in 8 years. I don't want to see both my teams 7th and 8th in the division again, but i'd have to say it's quite likely. It'll be tricky for me to pick who's worse. I'd probably say the Rangers are worse but it could be either. They will both be pretty bad is my guess. But a fan should never act like their teams have no chance. Go Rangers and Islanders!!!! That would be a fun first round to watch will all those game 7s. Usually you don't get 3 game 7s in the first round, so that would be awesome. John Carlson's up for the Norris? That i'd say is unlikely but it's not impossible. The Bruins fall to the wild card. That's interesting. They may fall off a bit after this year.

Atlantic
1. Boston
2. Tampa Bay
3. Toronto
4. Florida **
5. Buffalo
6. Detroit
7. Montreal
8. Ottawa

Metro
1. Washington
2. Pittsburgh
3. Philadelphia
4. Columbus*
5. New Jersey
6. Carolina
7. NYR
8. NYI

Central
1. Winnipeg (presidents)
2. Nashville
3. St. Louis
4. Colorado**
5. Dallas
6. Minnesota
7. Chicago

Pacific
1. San Jose
2. Vegas
3. LA
4. Arizona*
5. Anaheim
6. Calgary
7. Edmonton
8. Vancouver

Round One

Boston vs Florida (Boston in 5)
Tampa Bay vs Toronto (Tampa in 7)
Washington vs Columbus (Columbus in 7)
Pittsburgh vs Philadelphia ( Philadelphia in 7)

Winnipeg vs Colorado (Winnipeg in 6)
Nashville vs St. Louis (St. Louis in 7)
SJ vs Arizona ( SJ in 5)
Vegas vs LA ( Vegas in 7)

Round Two
Boston vs Tampa ( Boston in 7)
Philadelphia vs Columbus ( Columbus in 6)

Winnipeg vs St. Louis ( Winnipeg in 6)
SJ vs Vegas ( SJ in 7)

Round Three
Boston vs Columbus (Boston in 5)

Winnipeg vs SJ ( Winnipeg in 6)

Stanley Cup Final

Winnipeg vs Boston ( Winnipeg in 6)

Winnipeg breaks the streak and brings the cup back to Canada and they win their first Stanley cup!!

Vegas had an incredible season, BUT I doubt they'll have what it takes next season. I don't see Karlsson having another spectacular season, and with their injury issues between the pipes, I don't see them making the playoffs.

That's a lot of game 7s. Not unrealistic, just saying that's a lot. We could see 7 of them. That makes sense. 7 game 7s lol.

Yeah, the Jets could win it all. I guess there are quite a few people who agree with me about the Yotes. The Ducks missing the playoffs. That could happen. That might surprise me a bit if they did though. I'll make full predictions eventually.

Fair enough. I disagree but fair enough.

Quote me on this...The Ducks will not make the playoffs until they change their style of play. Everyone in the Pacific got better and they did absolutely nothing to get better except depth signings. Perry isn't who he used to be. Kesler isn't the same player either. It is time to rebuild the forward group and move on.

I'm gonna be making full predictions again a bit later in the offseason. The west is really hard to predict. Idk who's gonna fall out.

Here's my early 2018-19 predictions (Regular Season Only)

*=1st wildcard
**=2nd wildcard

Atlantic Division

1. Tampa Bay (Presidents trophy winners)
2. Toronto
3. Florida
4. Boston*
5. Montreal (The Atlantic makes up 4 of the 7 worst teams in the league)
6. Buffalo
7. Ottawa
8. Detroit (Last in the NHL)

Metropolitan Division

1. Pittsburgh
2. Washington
3. Philadelphia
4. Columbus**
5. New Jersey
6. Carolina
7. New York Islanders
8. New York Rangers

Central Division

1. Winnipeg (Conference clincher)
2. Nashville
3. St. Louis
4. Colorado*
5. Minnesota**
6. Dallas
7. Chicago

Pacific Division

1. San Jose (Weak division)
2. Vegas
3. Calgary
4. Arizona
5. Los Angeles
6. Edmonton
7. Anaheim
8. Vancouver (Last in the conference)

If this happens, Winnipeg and Minnesota would really become rivals. 2 straight years against each other in the playoffs, and near each other on the map.

Yeah, it mostly a coincidence.

It would still be fun to watch.

My Stanley Cup Final Prediction:

Ottawa vs. Vancouver

Ottawa in 4. The Senators will go 82-0 in the regular season and 16-0 in the playoffs, beating the Habs, Red Wings, and Rangers before meeting with the Canucks in the final.

Now that free agency is (mostly) done, and there have been some trades and all that, i'm updating my predictions. I will do this one and one more (which will be right before the start of the season, so probably i'll do one on October 2nd, because the season starts on October 3rd). I will make regular season AND playoff predictions right now.

I'm not sure if all these point totals are actually possible. I'm just guessing random numbers.

Atlantic Division:
1 - Tampa Bay Lightning (120 points)
2 - Toronto Maple Leafs (116 points)
3 - Boston Bruins (106 points)
4 - Florida Panthers (94 points)
5 - Buffalo Sabres (83 points)
6 - Ottawa Senators (73 points)
7 - Montreal Canadiens (70 points)
8 - Detroit Red Wings (54 points)

Metropolitan Division:
1 - Washington Capitals (117 points)
2 - Pittsburgh Penguins (102 points)
3 - Philadelphia Flyers (99 points)
4 - Columbus Blue Jackets (98 points)
5 - New Jersey Devils (87 points)
6 - Carolina Hurricanes (83 points)
7 - New York Rangers (70 points)
8 - New York Islanders (68 points)

Central Division:
1 - Nashville Predators (114 points)
2 - Winnipeg Jets (110 points)
3 - St. Louis Blues (101 points)
4 - Colorado Avalanche (97 points)
5 - Dallas Stars (87 points)
6 - Minnesota Wild (86 points)
7 - Chicago Blackhawks (66 points)

Pacific Division:
1 - San Jose Sharks (102 points)
2 - Edmonton Oilers (99 points)
3 - Vegas Golden Knights (97 points)
4 - Arizona Coyotes (92 points)
5 - Anaheim Ducks (91 points)
6 - Calgary Flames (90 points)
7 - Los Angeles Kings (79 points)
8 - Vancouver Canucks (67 points)

Playoffs:

vs.
Tampa Bay in 5

vs.
Toronto in 6

vs.
Washington in 4

vs.
Pittsburgh in 6

vs.
Nashville in 4

vs.
Winnipeg in 6

vs.
Colorado in 5

vs.
Edmonton in 6

Round 2:

vs.
Toronto in 6

vs.
Washington in 5

vs.
Winnipeg in 7

vs.
Colorado in 6

Round 3:

vs.
Washington in 7

vs.
Winnipeg in 6

vs.
Winnipeg in 6

Conn Smythe: Connor Hellebuyck

I Have edited my predictions, just moving Ottawa up a few spots (changing the point totals for them, Montreal, and Detroit). I just put them last and soon changed my mind. But i'm not making any more edits.

Post Free Agency Edition

Atlantic
1. Tampa
2. Toronto
3. Boston
4. Florida**
5. Buffalo
6. Detroit
7. Montreal
8. Ottawa

Metropolitan
1. Columbus
2. Washington
3. Pittsburgh
4. Philadelphia*
5. Carolina
6. New Jersey
7. New York Rangers
8. New York Islanders

Central
1. St. Louis
2. Winnipeg
3. Nashville
4. Colorado
5. Minnesota
6. Dallas
7. Chicago

Pacific
1. San Jose
2. Vegas
3. Calgary
4. Los Angeles*
5. Arizona**
6. Anaheim
7. Edmonton
8. Vancouver


Rocket Richard — Vladimir Tarasenko (50)
Art Ross — Connor McDavid (111)
Hart — Vladimir Tarasenko (Scheifele, Panarin)
Norris — Drew Doughty (Hedman, Burns)
Vezina — Sergei Bobrovsky (Hellebuyck, Gibson)
Calder — Casey Mittelstadt (Pettersson, Dahlin)
Selke — Aleksander Barkov (Bergeron, Kopitar)

Tampa vs Florida — Lightning in 6
Toronto vs Boston — Leafs in 5
Columbus vs Philadelphia — Jackets in 7
Washington vs Pittsburgh — Caps in 6

St. Louis vs Arizona — Blues in 5
Winnipeg vs Nashville - Jets in 6
San Jose vs Los Angeles — Sharks in 7
Vegas vs Calgary — Golden Knights in 6


Tampa vs Toronto — Lightning in 7
Columbus vs Washington — Jackets in 6

St. Louis vs Winnipeg - Jets in 7
San Jose vs Vegas — Golden Knights in 6


Tampa vs Columbus — Lightning in 5
Winnipeg vs Vegas — Jets in 5


Tampa vs Winnipeg — Jets in 6
Conn Smythe: Mark Scheifele


Colorado wins the lottery with Ottawa’s pick, because how else is this supposed to end.