The National Hockey League is about to fully get underway on Tuesday night. 2024-25 can only hope to be as great as 2023-24 because of all the great parity, storylines, and talent that was on display on a nightly basis.
The personnel needed to repeat that great year are there in the league and should be celebrated. This is how I foresee the season going in terms of playoff teams, award winners, and Stanley Cup champions vs the runner-up:
Playoff Teams
East
New Jersey Devils
New York Rangers
Carolina Hurricanes
Washington Capitals
Boston Bruins
Toronto Maple Leafs
Florida Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning
West
Dallas Stars
Colorado Avalanche
Winnipeg Jets
Nashville Predators
Utah Hockey Club
Edmonton Oilers
Vancouver Canucks
Vegas Golden Knights
Yes, the New Jersey Devils make it back into the playoffs and the Utah Hockey Club makes it in their first season. The rest of the teams are ones that everybody expects to make it for the most part.
In the East, the Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Philadelphia Flyers will make it interesting but these eight will win in the end. In the West, the Minnesota Wild, Los Angeles Kings, and Seattle Kraken will be those teams fighting to get in but fall short.
Trophies
Hart Trophy - Connor McDavid (EDM)
Vezina Trophy - Igor Shesterkin (NYR)
Norris Trophy - Cale Makar (COL)
Calder Trophy - Matvei Michkov (PHI)
Selke Trophy - Nico Hischier (NJD)
Jack Adams - Sheldon Keefe (NJD)
Art Ross - Connor McDavid (EDM)
Rocket Richard - Auston Matthews (TOR)
Some of these award winners are somewhat predictable but it's been a couple of years since the obvious ones have earned that hardware. This year, McDavid, Makar, and Shesterkin get back on track.
Philadelphia Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov may find himself in Hart Trophy talk which would make him the Calder Trophy winner.
As for the Selke Trophy, Nico Hischier has been pushing for it over the last handful of years but this is his time to get it done.
Stanley Cup Final Prediction
The Edmonton Oilers are going to get back to the Stanley Cup Final. This time they are going to win an all-Canadian matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games. That would make for one of the most interesting Finals in the history of the league.