NHL season preview: 5 bold predictions for the 2019-20 season

The 2019-20 NHL season is finally upon us. Here are five bold predictions for how things will play out.

The 2018-19 campaign was one of the most unpredictable and thrilling in the history of the NHL. Obviously, nobody saw the St. Louis Blues winning the Stanley Cup after a miserable first half, but here they are getting ready to defend their title.

On top of that, it was hard to give the New York Islanders much of a chance after losing their franchise player in 2018 free agency. But mastermind head coach Barry Trotz guided them to the number two seed in the Metropolitan Division, which led to him winning the Jack Adams Trophy.

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Other surprises included the Carolina Hurricanes, who went from “Bunch of Jerks” to the Eastern Conference Final. And the Tampa Bay Lightning, who recorded 62 wins and 128 points, couldn’t even salvage a playoff win against the eighth-seeded Columbus Blue Jackets.

Well, we’re in for plenty of more surprises ahead of 2019-20. There are some playoff teams from last year that figure to regress quite a bit, while a handful of non-postseason teams look ready to finally break through this year.

So which teams will disappoint us? Which coaches will fail to make it through the entire year? Who will win the prestigious awards, and most importantly, who’s taking home the Stanley Cup? Here are five bold predictions for the 2019-20 NHL season.

5. Pittsburgh Penguins Playoff Streak Ends

The Pittsburgh Penguins currently have the longest NHL playoff streak, having made it every year since Evgeni Malkin‘s rookie 2006-07 season. That’s 13 consecutive years of making the playoffs, highlighted by Stanley Cup championships in 2009, 2016, and 2017.

But for the first time in the Sidney Crosby era, it strongly appears that Pittsburgh’s playoff window is closing rapidly. Sure, Sid The Kid is still a top-two player in the NHL, even at the age of 32. But Malkin (33) isn’t getting any younger, and you have to be worried about his recent injury history.

And sure, general manager Jim Rutherford had no choice but to deal away sniper Phil Kessel, but replacing a reliable 20-30 goal-scorer and 80-point player is easier said than done. Alex Galchenyuk, whom the Penguins acquired from the Arizona Coyotes in the Kessel trade, is going to have a tough time producing the same stats as “Phil the Thrill.”

But the vastly improved Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference as a whole will make it even harder for Pittsburgh to maintain its playoff streak. The Philadelphia Flyers will be better after hiring Alain Vigneault as head coach.

The New York Rangers landed the prized 2019 free agent in Artemi Panarin. Trade acquisition Jacob Trouba and rookie Kaapo Kakko will also make huge differences on Broadway. And finally, the New Jersey Devils drafted Jack Hughes first overall before landing All-Star blueliner P.K. Subban.

An aging core, the loss of Kessel, plus a rapidly improving division will lead to the end of Pittsburgh’s playoff streak.

4. Five Coaches Will Be Fired Mid-Season

There were a whopping seven coaches in the midst of the 2018-19 season: Joel Quenneville (Chicago Blackhawks), Dave Hakstol (Philadelphia Flyers), John Stevens (Los Angeles Kings), Todd McLellan (Edmonton Oilers), Randy Carlyle (Anaheim Ducks), Guy Boucher (Ottawa Senators), and Mike Yeo (St. Louis Blues).

It obviously worked out nicely for the Blues, who won the Stanley Cup under interim head coach Craig Berube. The other six teams that replaced their coaches mid-season all missed the postseason, however.

Well, there are a handful of NHL coaches who are on the hot seat entering this season. Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Paul Maurice (Winnipeg Jets) come to mind, given that their respective teams have underachieved in the postseason.

Bruce Boudreau of the Minnesota Wild is certainly on thin ice, with his team missing the postseason for the first time since 2012 last year. John Hynes (New Jersey Devils) might not last long if this revamped Devils team struggles out of the gate, even though he received an extension in January.

Jeff Blashill (Detroit Red Wings) and Rick Tocchet (Arizona Coyotes) better show that their respective teams are ready to turn a corner, otherwise they might not last the entire season. Detroit and Arizona have missed the postseason in three and seven consecutive years, respectively.

The guess here is that at least five head coaches will be fired at some point during the 2019-20 season, following last year’s trend of immense bench boss changes mid-season.

3. Both 2019 Stanley Cup Finalists Miss The Playoffs

The last time both Stanley Cup finalists missed the playoffs in the following year? You’d have go back to 2007, when the Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers failed to qualify following their epic seven-game series, won by the Canes.

Well, the defending champion St. Louis Blues and Boston Bruins both face strong uphill climbs as they try to get back to the Finals. The good news is that both teams are bringing back all their core players from 2018-19, but the Stanley Cup hangover is pretty difficult to ignore. It seems to hit Stanley Cup finalists far more often than not.

What are the odds that the Blues will be able to regain that incredible second half momentum after standing as the NHL’s worst team on Jan. 3? It doesn’t help that the Central Division is loaded with legitimate Stanley Cup contenders in the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets.

As for the Bruins, their Atlantic foes made necessary upgrades and figure to push hard for top-three spots in the division. This includes the Florida Panthers as well as the Montreal Canadiens.

Plus, what are the chances that 34-year-old Patrice Bergeron and 31-year-old Brad Marchand both repeat career years? Charlie Coyle is going to regress after a strong showing in the postseason. Goaltenders Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak will also take steps back after impossible-to-repeat 2019-20 season performances.

The Cup hangover, more difficult divisions as well as the lack of lady luck this time around will add up to both the Blues and Bruins missing the postseason in 2020.

1. Toronto Maple Leafs Win The Stanley Cup

Toronto Maple Leafs fans are sick of hearing about 1967 – the last year this team won the Stanley Cup. No, they haven’t won it all in the post-Original Six era. No, the drought isn’t going to drag on forever.

You can easily argue that the Maple Leafs are merely the third best team in the Atlantic Division. But I’m having a tough time trusting Tampa Bay after another disappointing performance in the playoffs. And as noted earlier, it’s hard to trust Boston given the age of their core players along with the looming battle against the Cup hangover.

I’m also not seeing how any ream in the Metropolitan Division can be better than the Maple Leafs. They have one of the league’s elite “big threes” in John Tavares, Auston Matthews, and Mitch Marner.

Of course, the Maple Leafs also boast tremendous depth at forward. Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson each scored 20 goals last year, while Zach Hyman chipped in with 21. William Nylander, a two-time 61-point man, will surely bounce back after a lengthy contract led to a disappointing year.

He’s been inconsistent in the playoffs, but goalie Frederik Andersen should perform nicely with Tyson Barrie joining a solid defensive unit that consists of Morgan Rielly (72 points last year) and veteran shutdown man Jake Muzzin.

With an elite offensive machine, a quality blue line and a top 10 goalie, the Maple Leafs will finally break through and end over a half-century of heartbreak. They’ll have learned from all those painful playoff losses.

Toronto will meet MacKinnon and the Avalanche in the Stanley Cup Final. Tavares will win the Conn Smythe as he leads the Maple Leafs to a thrilling six-game series victory.