CAROLYN MULLARKEY
Special to The Leader
Tonight marks the beginning of regular season hockey in the NHL.
This season will be the 103rd year of the NHL and is time to look at all 31 teams and see how this season might go.
Breaking it down by division…
WESTERN CONFERENCE
Central Division
Starting with the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, The Blues are of course going to be watched closely.
Jordan Binnington was such a consistent player and its being questioned if that will be true again this year.
Predictions right now are saying the regular season might be just average, but come playoffs they’ll bring back that same drive to potentially win again. Craig Berube is also now the permanent coach after being interim for Mike Yeo, but still led them to the championship.
The Jets were thought to go a lot farther with their big moves last year but it did not pan out. Will 2019 be the season to see their anticipated growth?
Bill Guerin is under a lot of pressure to fix the issues at Minnesota.
Paul Fenton failed to figure it out, but Guerin hopefully can as the new GM.
Dallas picked up winger, Corey Perry, as well as Joe Pavelski.
The Stars now have some pretty solid individual players, but a question mark on how they’ll perform as a team remains.
The Predators offense is much better this year than last.
Matt Duchene has high expectations to exceed for Nashville in that area.
Chicago could be in the playoffs depending on how their season goes and can’t be ruled out yet.
Still, the fastest growing team is Colorado.
The Avalanche have been team building, and this could potentially be their year.
New defensemen, Cale Makar, is already looked at as a top contender for rookie of the year.
Pacific Division
Beginning with arguably the best offseason move by any team is the hiring of new GM Ken Holland to the Oilers. His impact will be seen instantly once games get into full swing.
While the Golden Knights have a strong offense, the defense could use a little bit of tightening up.
Will the Coyotes make it to the playoffs once again?
Right now signs are looking toward yes with the consistency of their roster and an overall solid offseason.
Moving to Southern California, the Kings and Ducks aren’t projected to do as well as the rest of the division.
They have some serious considerations to make roster moves if they want to do well and potentially make the playoffs.
The last of the California teams, the Sharks, have enough talented players to win the division, but their toughest match will most likely be the Flames who are still running on being the only team of the entire Western Conference to reach 50 in the W column.
The Canucks haven’t made too many changes, but even if they don’t make the playoffs, their regular season will be a good one to watch with potential Rookie of The Year candidate, Quinn Hughs.
He is 19 years-old and was drafted seventh overall in the league.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Atlantic Division
There is no arguing that, despite being swept in the first round last year, Tampa has the most talented team and are for sure one to watch this season.
A lot of projections are finding them to be Stanley Cup champions come April.
Boston and Toronto are not too far behind talent-wise.
Cody Ceci and Tyson Barrie were two great additions for the Maple Leafs and are projected to be a better team than last year. Although the Bruins did not make much roster or house changes in the off-season, Bruce Cassidy has proven himself to be a top-tier coach.
Red Wings now have former Red Wings player and VP Steve Yzerman as their GM, a lot of up-and-coming players who just might put up a fight this season, but not likely to go that far.
Their time is coming in the near future.
Going more local, the Sabres had quite the season last year, but the big question is what trade moves will be made to make them more of a contender in the top tiers.
Along with the Canadiens, the Sabres should not be entirely overlooked.
Joel Quenneville will have his first full season coaching the Panthers after Bob Boughner was fired toward the end of the season. The Panthers acquiring Sergei Bobrovsky will also be giving them a huge boost.
Naturally, if the Senators finished anywhere higher than 31, it would be the biggest accomplishment and shock of the season.
Metropolitan Division
The Metropolitan Division is a tough one to predict.
These teams are always hit or miss during the regular season and playoffs are even more up in the air.
Starting with looking at the Blue Jackets, they suffered major losses of their best players so their season could go either way. The Flyers look playoff-bound right now with some serious up and coming young talent.
Next, looking at the Devils, they had their best offseason in recent years, so this could be a fun season to watch for them.
The Capitals are statistically the best having won the championship just two seasons ago. They remain a top-tier team. While they remain the strongest, the Islanders are the division wild card.
The Rangers are still in the midst of team rebuilding, but may prove they are better than most think at this moment.
The Hurricanes continue to have a strong defense and have only improved their offensive roster since last year.
It is completely up in the air with the Penguins on how well they will play this year, but Sidney Crosby will lead them strong.
The kickoff of regular season with the schedule is as follows:
7 p.m. – Senators at Maple Leafs
8 p.m. – Capitals at Blues
10 p.m. – Canucks at Oilers
10:30 p.m. – Sharks at Golden Knights