Tarasenko is the only big UFA that is still unsigned. He's the only one that could help a team that I have missing the playoffs, make the playoffs. The only other UFAs that can impact this list is Bergeron and Krejci for Boston.
Onto predictions.
Atlantic Division:
Toronto Maple Leafs 113 points 1st in Atlantic (They are as much as many ppl hate to admit it, the best team in the Atlantic at least in the regular season)
Tampa Bay Lightning 106 points 2nd in Atlantic (Vasy should be rested. Hedman and Cernak should be healthy. Losing Killorn and Colton will hurt, but I think they should be better this season)
Ottawa Senators 96 points 3rd in the Atlantic (I hope Korpisalo doesn't end up like Talbot)
Buffalo Sabres 92 points 4th in the Atlantic (I feel like one bad stretch somewhere during the middle of the season is going to cause them to miss the playoffs)
Boston Bruins 86 points 5th in the Atlantic (The chances of Bergeron/Krejci coming back seems unlikely espescially Bergeron based on what happened after Game 7 against Florida. Honestly this was a tough pick.)
Detroit Red Wings 82 points 6th in the Atlantic (Why did they get Justin Holl? Goaltending is still a question mark. The Yzerplan seems to be taking quite a bit...)
Florida Panthers 7th in the Atlantic 78 points (OEL and Mikkola. No Ekblad and Montour. They will end up like the 2021-22 Montreal Canadiens but not as bad)
Montreal Canadiens 8th in the Atlantic 72 points (If healthy, this team could get 85 points but key players will continue to miss significant time. That's the story of Montreal for the past 2 seasons)
Metro Division:
Carolina Hurricanes 116 points 1st in the Metro President's Trophy Winner (They were great last season and only got better this season)
New Jersey Devils 108 points 2nd in the Metro (One of the best Top 9s in the league. Vanacek I do think could lose the starter's role to Schmid)
New York Rangers 104 points 3rd in the Metro (Tough playoffs. But hey, they still are a very good team)
New York Islanders 98 points 4th in Metro 1st Wild Card (Basically the same team as last year. They will at least make the playoffs)
Pittsburgh Penguins 5th in the Metro 97 points 2nd Wild Card (I thought they looked pretty bad for good portions of last season with the bad losses and the games that they got goalied, and they still barely missed the playoffs. One more playoff appearance for the core.)
Columbus Blue Jackets 80 points 6th in the Metro (I feel like they will be a team everyone will not pay much attention to)
Washington Capitals 78 points 7th in the Metro (Same story as last season. Injuries take out Oshie/Backstrom/at least one more key player (not Ovi) for a significant amount of time.)
Philadelphia Flyers 69 points (Rasmus Ristolainen singlehandedly will cost the Flyers at least 5 games)
Central Divison:
Colorado Avalanche 111 points 1st in the Central (No Landy is gonna hurt again. Gotta hope Bo Byram and Cale Makar stay healthy. Gotta hope Drouin/Johansen can bounce back.)
Dallas Stars 108 points 2nd in the Central (Just send Suter to China and that's it.)
Minnesota Wild 100 points 3rd in the Central (Even though they are again slightly weaker, they still should comfortably make the playoffs)
Nashville Predators 96 points 4th in the Central 2nd Wild Card (Jusse Saros carries Nashville into the playoffs)
St Louis Blues 86 points 5th in the Central (I think they have another medicore and inconsistent season)
Winnipeg Jets 80 points 6th in the Central (I think Rick Bowness will be gone after this upcoming season)
Arizona Coyotes 74 points 7th in the Central (Similar season to last season)
Chicago Blackhakws 66 points 8th in the Central (I don't know if Bedard will live up to the hype)
Pacific Divison:
Vegas Golden Knights 109 points 1st in the Pacific (Maybe a slight Cup Hangover to start the season, but they'll get rolling quickly)
Edmonton Oilers 108 points 2nd in the Pacific (Vegas is just slightly better)
Calgary Flames 102 points 3rd in the Pacific (Somehow they make the playoffs every other year it feels like)
Seattle Kraken 100 points 4th in the Pacific 1st Wild Card (This team has too much depth scoring to miss the playoffs)
Los Angeles Kings 95 points 5th in the Pacific (I think they barely miss. I don't trust Talbot as a starter)
Vancouver Canucks 84 points 6th in the Pacific (Prove me wrong)
Anaheim Ducks 58 points 7th in the Pacific (Another terrible season)
San Jose Sharks 54 points 8th in the Pacific (Another terrible season)
Playoffs
Round 1
Eastern Conference
TOR (A1) vs NYI (WC1) Leafs in 6 (Unless the Isles can actually score goals, I see the Leafs winning)
TBL (A2) vs OTT (A3) Lightning in 7 (The Sens put up a valiant effort, but come up short)
CAR (M1) vs PIT (WC2) Canes in 5 (I do think at least 4 of the 5 games would be close games)
NJD (M2) vs NYR (M3) Devils in 5 (The Rangers are gonna flame out of the first round once again)
Western Conference
COL (C1) vs NSH (WC2) COL in 6 (Sarros keeps the Preds in the series)
DAL (C2) vs MIN (C3) DAL in 6 (Same story as last year)
VGK (P1) vs SEA (WC1) VGK in 7 (Seattle loses a heartbreaking Game 7)
EDM (P2) vs CGY (P3) EDM in 7 (Battle of Alberta Game 7 will be a classic)
Round 2
Eastern Conference
TOR (A1) vs TBL (A2) TBL in 7 (Leafs are now cursed to lose in the Second Round?)
CAR (M1) vs NJD (M2) NJD in 7 (I think the Devils do it. I think the Devils find a way to take out the Canes in 7)
Western Conference
COL (C1) vs DAL (C2) DAL in 7 (Colorado loses to Peter DeBoer once again. Bottom 6 scoring for Avs dries up)
VGK (P1) vs EDM (P2) VGK in 7 (One Vincent Desharnais mistake in Game 7 costs the Oilers the series)
Conference Finals
Eastern Conference
TBL (A2) vs NJD (M2) NJD in 7 (Ondrej Palat OT GWG in Game 7 in Jersey)
Western Conference
VGK (P1) vs DAL (C2) VGK in 6 (I don't see Vegas taking 3-0 series lead once again, but I still see Vegas winning in 6)
Cup Finals
NJD (M2) vs VGK (P1) VGK in 5 (Even though I think the series will be 5 games, I think the Devils will keep it close unlike the Panthers)
My Top 10 projected point producers:
1. Connor McDavid 82GP-62G-94A-156P
2. Leon Draisaitl 80GP-52G-78A-130P
3. Nathan MacKinnon 76GP-50G-67A-117P
4. Mikko Rantanen 82GP-58G-55A-113P
5. Jason Robertson 80GP-47G-54A-111P
6. Jack Hughes 82GP-46G-61A-107P
7. Elias Petterson 80GP-41G-63A-104P
8. Mitch Marner 80GP-36G-67A-103P
9. Auston Matthews 78GP-60G-40A-100P
10. Nikita Kucherov 68GP-28G-70A-98P

👍

I think this is the year the Hurricanes have their deep cup run... they have all of the pieces... an elite defense, a good goalie tandem, and more depth scoring than last year (And hopefully better injury luck)

Lighting really didn’t look good at all last year, and got worse this off-season playoff team yes, but not a 100 point team.

Senators will finish 6th in the atlantic again

Bad injury luck?

6 skaters played all 82 regular season games

5 more missed 5 or fewer games

15 skaters played over 70 games

Even svechnikov and teravainen played 64 and 68 games.

Pretty much everyone played every playoff game except teravainen and svechnikov

Yes pacioretty got hurt.

Remarkably improbably healthy team

It isn't the number of games lost it's who lost the games. Svech and Pacioretty were two of the main scoring cogs that we needed and they weren't there... Jordan Martinook and Mackenzie MacEachern were forced to play top-six minutes in the playoffs which doesn't bode well for success... the Hurricanes need another scoring piece to make them cup favorites but they have more than enough pieces to make the final (if the our core players stay healthy)

My predictions post free agency:

1. Carolina Hurricanes - 120 (P)
2. Edmonton Oilers - 115 (Z)
3. Toronto Maple Leafs - 112 (Y)
4. Detroit Red Wings - 111 (X)
5. New York Rangers - 110 (X)
6. Colorado Avalanche - 109 (Y)
7. Pittsburgh Penguins - 108 (X)
8. Dallas Stars - 107 (X)
9. New Jersey Devils - 106 (X)
10. Boston Bruins - 103 (X)
11. Vegas Golden Knights - 100 (X)
12. New York Islanders - 100 (X)
13. Minnesota Wild - 98 (X)
14. Nashville Predators - 96 (X)
15. Los Angeles Kings- 96 (X)
16. Tampa Bay Lightning - 95
17. Buffalo Sabres - 94
18. Calgary Flames - 92 (X)
19. Seattle Kraken - 90
20. Vancouver Canucks - 89
21. Florida Panthers - 88
22. Columbus Blue Jackets - 87
23. Arizona Coyotes - 85
24. Ottawa Senators - 84
25. Washington Capitals- 83
26. Chicago Blackhawks - 82
27. San Jose Sharks - 82
28. Anaheim Ducks - 80
29. Montreal Canadiens - 79
30. St. Louis Blues - 77
31. Winnipeg Jets - 69
32. Philadelphia Flyers - 45

Playoff predictions:

Toronto 3-4 New Jersey
Detroit 4-2 Boston
Carolina 4-1 NY Islanders
NY Rangers 2-4 Pittsburgh
Colorado 4-3 Nashville
Dallas 4-1 Minnesota
Edmonton 4-1 Calgary
Vegas 4-3 Los Angeles

Detroit 1-4 New Jersey
Carolina 4-2 Pittsburgh
Colorado 4-0 Dallas
Edmonton 4-3 Vegas

Carolina 4-1 New Jersey
Edmonton 4-3 Colorado

Carolina vs. Edmonton
Game 1: EDM 2-1 CAR
Game 2: EDM 3-4 CAR
Game 3: CAR 3-0 EDM
Game 4: CAR 5-6 EDM
Game 5: EDM 5-3 CAR
Game 6: CAR 1-3 EDM

Stanley Cup Champions: Edmonton Oilers
Conn Smythe: Connor McDavid

Tampa missing the playoffs? Interesting. My projection with Tampa getting 106 points with Kucherov missing 14 games (I think Stamkos, Point, Hedman, Sergachev all stay healthy) looks bad and considering the fact that they lost both Colton and Killorn. I think Vasy who admitted himself that he wasn't 100% last season will potentially be a threat for the Vezina. Detroit making the playoffs solidly. That's a bold pick imo.

Yep especially after they just picked up debrincat

Even with Debrincat, I don't trust their defence and goaltending. They might leapfrog Boston in my predictions now. But they have Justin Holl and Ben Chariot. (Ghost is also not super goold defensively). I don't trust a Husso/Reimer duo.

Also there’s just no way the senators are making the playoffs hell there’s no way they get 5th or above

Now I know you made this before the DeBrincat trade but I think when you replace him with Kubalik, that’s not a good look

nothing really should be concrete until september but an extremely early prediction:

Atlantic:
Toronto
Florida
Boston*
Tampa*
Buffalo
Ottawa
Detroit
Montreal

Metro:
Carolina
New Jersey
NY Rangers
Pittsburgh
Washington
NY Islanders
Columbus
Philadelphia

Central:
Dallas
Colorado
Minnesota
St Louis*
Nashville
Winnipeg
Chicago
Arizona

Pacific:
Edmonton
Vegas
Los Angeles
Seattle*
Calgary
Vancouver
Anaheim
San Jose

Good point but who knows there’s always one surprise team

Atlantic:

#1: Toronto Maple Leafs 108 PTS
#2: Florida Panthers 101 PTS
#3: Tampa Bay Lightning 97 PTS
#4: Boston Bruins 95 PTS
#5: Buffalo Sabres: 92 PTS
#6: Detroit Red Wings 91 PTS
#7: Ottawa Senators 86 PTS
#8: Montreal Canadiens 73 PTS

Metropolitan:

#1: Carolina Hurricanes 115 PTS
#2: New Jersey Devils 113 PTS
#3: New York Rangers 106 PTS
#4: Pittsburgh Penguins 95 PTS
#5: New York Islanders 91 PTS
#6: Washington Capitals 79 PTS
#7: Columbus Blue Jackets 68 PTS
#8: Philadelphia Flyers 57 PTS

Central:

#1: Colorado Avalanche 107 PTS
#2: Dallas Stars 106 PTS
#3: Minnesota Wild 102 PTS
#4: Nashville Predators 94 PTS
#5: St.Louis Blues 87 PTS
#6: Winnipeg Jets 80 PTS
#7: Arizona Coyotes 75 PTS
#8: Chicago Blackhawks 66 PTS

Pacific:

#1: Vegas Golden Knights 114 PTS
#2: Edmonton Oilers 110 PTS
#3: Los Angeles Kings 101 PTS
#4: Seattle Kraken 100 PTS
#5: Vancouver Canucks 89 PTS
#6: Calgary Flames 84 PTS
#7: Anaheim Ducks 69 PTS
#8: San Jose Sharks 58 PTS

Playoffs:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

TOR (A1) VS BOS (WC1) Leafs in 5 games
FLO (A2) VS TBL (A3) Lightning in 7 games
CAR (M1) VS PIT (WC2) Hurricanes in 5 games
NJD (M2) VS NYR (M3) Devils in 7 games

WESTERN CONFERENCE

COL (C1) VS SEA (WC1) Avalanche in 7 games
DAL (C2) VS MIN (C3) Stars in 5 games
VGK (P1) VS NSH (WC2) Knights in 5 games
EDM (P2) VS LAK (P3) Oilers in 7 games

EASTERN CONFERENCE

TOR (A1) VS TBL (A3) Leafs in 7 games
CAR (M1) VS NJD (M2) Devils in 7 games

WESTERN CONFERENCE

COL (C1) VS DAL (C2) Stars in 7 games
VGK (P1) VS EDM (P2) Knights in 6 games

EASTERN CONFERENCE

TOR (A1) VS NJD (M2) Devils in 7 games

WESTERN CONFERENCE

DAL (C2) VS VGK (P1) Knights in 7 games

CUP FINAL

NJD (M2) VS VGK (P1) Devils in 7 games

Ottawa is the one surprise team on my predictions.

But now without debrincat will they make it??

The funny thing is, if Boston had won the cup this year and their roster looked exactly the same as it does now, most people would probably be saying, "They're easily a playoff team, no question about it, even without Bergeron and Krejci." Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my guess.

Their strength last season was keeping pucks out of the net; if you look at their goals against, they lead the league in the least amount of goals scored on them and the next closest team was 36 behind. The difference between them in 1st and 2nd is the same as the difference between 2nd and 11th.

Next season will defend on how well their blueline and goaltending hold up. Losing both their top centres will hurt but I don't really see them not being in the 95-100 point range.

They weren't even good with him, I can’t imagine them being anywhere near better without him

I think Korpisalo won't end up like Talbot and actually be a solid starter (Forsberg is a solid backup/1B). Ottawa missed Josh Norris for basically the entire season. I think Josh Norris can score more than Debrincat's 27 goals from last season. Stutzle will only get better and Pinto could take another step forward. Their blueline actually is decent. Chabot hopefully won't get overplayed. Jake Sanderson I think could be the #1 D by the end of this season. Chychrun, Zub, Hamonic, and Brannstrom round out a decent Top 6. Bottom 6 scoring is a concern. Kastelic and Kelly combined for less than 20 points last season. Joseph doesn't bring much offensively. Hey it's a surprise pick. I could be completely wrong and I won't be surprised.

Me personally think they are going to miss out of the playoffs by just a few points but then in the 24-25 season make it

Forget depth scoring, the Kraken could easily miss the playoffs due to the fact that they don't have the high end talent that other perennial playoff contenders boast