A wild summer is behind us, the preseason is officially in the books and the puck is set to drop on the 2023-24 NHL campaign.
The new season starts with a tripleheader on Tuesday, highlighted by Chicago Blackhawks phenom Connor Bedard making his NHL debut against Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins.
Before the games begin for real, we asked our staff of experts for their predictions on some of the biggest storylines across the NHL. Our panel consists of Nick Ashbourne, Arun Srinivasan, Anthony Petrielli, James O’Brien, Jacob Stoller, Jori Negin-Shecter, Thomas Williams and Kyle Cantlon.
Here’s how they see the year unfolding:
Which team will cause the most off-ice drama?
Nick: Oilers
Arun: Blue Jackets
Anthony: Blue Jackets
James: Blue Jackets
Jacob: Canucks
Jori: Canucks
Thomas: Hurricanes
Kyle: Canucks
Who will be the “breakout” player of the year?
Nick: Owen Power
Arun: Noah Cates
Anthony: JJ Peterka
James: Owen Power
Jacob: Arthur Kaliyev
Jori: Arthur Kaliyev
Thomas: Gabriel Vilardi
Kyle: Quinton Byfield
Will Bedard score over or under 31.5 goals this season?
Nick: Over
Arun: Over
Anthony: Over
James: Over
Jacob: Under
Jori: Over
Thomas: Over
Kyle: Over
Who will be the best rookie not named Connor Bedard?
Nick: Logan Cooley
Arun: Matthew Knies
Anthony: Adam Fantilli
James: Logan Cooley
Jacob: Logan Cooley
Jori: Adam Fantilli
Thomas: Devon Levi
Kyle: Logan Cooley
What team does Patrick Kane sign with?
Nick: Sabres
Arun: Rangers
Anthony: Buffalo
James: Panthers
Jacob: Sabres
Jori: Sabres
Thomas: Sabres
Kyle: Devils
Which offseason signee will have the biggest impact with their new team?
Nick: Joonas Korpisalo (for better or worse)
Arun: Matt Duchene
Anthony: Tyler Bertuzzi
James: Matt Duchene
Jacob: Dmitry Orlov
Jori: Vladimir Tarasenko
Thomas: Matt Duchene
Kyle: Erik Karlsson
Who scores more goals this season, Matthews or McDavid?
Nick: McDavid
Arun: McDavid
Anthony: Matthews
James: McDavid
Jacob: Matthews
Jori: Matthews
Thomas: McDavid
Kyle: Matthews
Who will be the most surprising team this season?
Nick: Coyotes
Arun: Sabres
James: Red Wings
Jacob: Flames
Jori: Sabres
Thomas: Flyers
Who will be the most disappointing team this season?
Nick: Panthers
Arun: Penguins
James: Penguins
Jacob: Kings
Jori: Kraken
Thomas: Lightning
Who will be the most impactful player traded this season?
Nick: Travis Konecny
Arun: Logan Couture
Anthony: Elias Lindholm
James: Elias Lindholm
Jacob: Matt Dumba
Jori: Brock Boeser
Thomas: Travis Konecny
Kyle: Carter Hart
What’s your hottest take entering the season?
Nick: The Arizona Coyotes will win 40+ games for the first time since 2011-12
Arun: Gary Bettman will publicly berate and force Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo into selling his team after failing to secure a professional-caliber arena for the 2024-25 season
Anthony: Every team that made the playoffs in the East last season will make it again this season
James: The salary cap won’t go up as much as expected
Jacob: The Sabres will make the playoffs
Jori: The Flames finish the season with home ice in the Pacific
Thomas: The Bruins will finish last in the Atlantic
Kyle: The Coyotes will sneak into the playoffs
Who will be the first NHL coach fired this season?
Nick: Dean Evason
Arun: Craig Berube
Anthony: Craig Berube
James: Craig Berube
Jacob: Lane Lambert
Jori: D.J. Smith
Thomas: D.J. Smith
Kyle: Craig Berube
Who will win the Jack Adams?
Nick: Don Granato
Arun: Don Granato
Anthony: Andrew Brunette
James: Rod Brind’Amour
Jacob: Don Granato
Jori: Don Granato
Thomas: Rick Tocchet
Kyle: Lindy Ruff
Who will win the Calder Trophy?
Unanimous: Connor Bedard
Who will win the Vezina Trophy?
Nick: Jake Oettinger
Arun: Igor Shesterkin
Anthony: Ilya Sorokin
James: Igor Shesterkin
Jacob: Jake Oettinger
Jori: Igor Shesterkin
Thomas: Ilya Sorokin
Kyle: Igor Shesterkin
Who will lead the league in points?
Nick: Connor McDavid
Arun: Connor McDavid
Anthony: Connor McDavid
James: Connor McDavid
Jacob: Connor McDavid
Jori: Connor McDavid
Thomas: Connor McDavid
Kyle: Mitch Marner
Who will lead the league in goals?
Nick: Connor McDavid
Arun: Connor McDavid
Anthony: David Pastrnak
James: Connor McDavid
Jacob: Connor McDavid
Jori: Auston Matthews
Thomas: Leon Draisaitl
Kyle: Leon Draisaitl
Who will win the Hart Trophy as league MVP?
Nick: Connor McDavid
Arun: Connor McDavid
Anthony: Connor McDavid
James: Connor McDavid
Jacob: Connor McDavid
Jori: Connor McDavid
Thomas: Jack Hughes
Kyle: Jack Hughes
What team will finish in dead last?
Nick: Sharks
Arun: Sharks
Anthony: Sharks
James: Sharks
Jacob: Ducks
Jori: Sharks
Thomas: Sharks
Kyle: Sharks
What team will win the Presidents’ Trophy?
Nick: Devils
Arun: Oilers
Anthony: Hurricanes
James: Oilers
Jacob: Avalanche
Jori: Maple Leafs
Thomas: Devils
Kyle: Maple Leafs
Stanley Cup prediction
Nick: Rangers over Avalanche
Arun: Leafs over Oilers
Anthony: Avalanche over Hurricanes
James: Hurricanes over Avalanche
Jacob: Hurricanes over Avalanche
Jori: Hurricanes over Oilers
Thomas: Stars over Devils
Kyle: Oilers over Hurricanes
