The 2019-2020 season has lots of interesting storylines going for it, and for us hardcore hockey fans, we can’t wait to see what happens over the next 8+ months. Below are some intriguing things to watch for as we head into the upcoming campaign.
1. Can the St.Louis Blues repeat as champions?
It was an unlikely run the St.Louis Blues made last season to go on to become NHL champions and win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup. The team on paper didn’t look like a championship-caliber club but it got incredible goaltending from rookie sensation, Jordan Binnington, and had solid depth throughout its forward lines and defensive pairings. They proved that you don’t need a superstar player in order to win hockey’s top prize. The question now is can they do it all over again? Odds are against them of course, but oddsmakers, on average, have them as the 6th or 7th best team to win the Stanley Cup in 2020. Their team hasn’t changed too much at all, so they have the talent, but other teams are now gunning for them and it will be much more difficult this time around to sneak up on anyone. I’ll predict they lose out in round one of the playoffs, but anything can happen.
2. Will a player reach 130 points?
3. Who will take rookie of the year honors?
The player talent out of the NHL draft has never been as good and deep as it is now. It seems like most teams want their first-round picks to get right into the NHL instantly, or a year or two after they are drafted. This year has a few talented rookies who are set to make their mark out of the amateur ranks – Cale Makar made a huge impression in last season’s playoffs when he had a goal and five assists in 10 games, and with Tyson Barrie being traded away to Toronto, he might land on the team’s top powerplay unit with the likes of MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Landeskog. Kaapo Kakko was the 2nd overall pick in this year’s NHL Draft and could see playing time with
4. Who will be the MVP?
Nikita Kucherov was the undeniable MVP from last season as he put up a whopping 128 points to lead the league in scoring, and he led Tampa Bay to an easy Presidents’ Trophy for having the most team points, also with 128. This season we should expect much of the same from Kucherov and McDavid, so those two are obvious candidates, but players including MacKinnon, Gaudreau, and even Barkov might be in the mix. If the Oilers can find a way into the post-season, then McDavid will be likely the top threat to win the Hart Memorial Trophy.
5. What are some key player stat milestones to pay attention to?
Ovechkin is just 42 goals away from hitting 700 in his incredible career, and assuming he stays healthy he should reach this milestone. Crosby needs 89 points to hit 1,300 in his career, Joe Thornton only needs 22 points to reach 1,500 points, Chara is only 15 games off from playing in 1,500 in his career, and will become just the 21st player ever to do so. Lundqvist only needs one more win to hit 450, Patrick Kane needs 62 points to reach 1,000 and Eric Staal needs just 26 points to reach that same milestone, Stamkos only needs 7 goals to reach 400 and Malkin needs just 9 to do the same thing.
6. Will goal-scoring increase again?
Team goal-scoring has gone up in each of the last three seasons with the average team scoring 3.01 goals per game last season, 2.97 goals per game in the 2017-2018 season, and 2.77 goals per game in the 2016-2017 campaign. Will we see an increase from the 3.01 last season? I think we will see another slight increase which is bad news for the 62+ goalies but great for the fans who want to see players regularly light the lamp.
7. What will Seattle name their franchise?
Seattle enters the NHL in 2021-2022 and has registered a few different options for the franchise’s name. They include the Seattle Cougars, Seattle Eagles, Seattle Emeralds, Seattle Evergreens, Seattle Firebirds, Seattle Kraken, Seattle Rainiers, Seattle Renegades, Seattle Sea Lions, Seattle Seals, Seattle Sockeyes, Seattle Totems, and Seattle Whales. My favorite name is the Seattle Sockeyes, but I do like the Whales as well – my only concern with that one is there used to be the Hartford Whalers, which is sort of similar.
8. Will there be another cinderella story?
The St.Louis Blues were the last place team in hockey on January 3rd, 2019, but managed to get their mojo going to not only make the playoffs but win Lord Stanley’s Cup thanks to an unprecedented run. I highly doubt we will see
9. Will a Canadian team finally end the country’s Stanley Cup drought?
It has been 26 long years since a Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup, the last team to do it was the Montreal Canadiens back in 1993. Can a Canadian team finally snap that ugly stretch to bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada? The Toronto Maple Leafs, Winnipeg Jets, and Calgary Flames seem to be the most likely to accomplish the feat, but the odds are still against a Canadian franchise to do it. There have been Canadian teams in the finals over the last decade or two, but none have reign supreme. Blame it on the media pressure getting to the players, poor team construction, bad luck, or something else, but the drought remains. I’ll predict that a Canadian team wins the Cup at least once in the next 5-10 years, but I think that the wait will last at least another year or two.
10. Which veteran players will retire?
There are still a couple of decent notable veteran players looking for a contract – Dion Phaneuf and Patrick Marleau remain on the outside looking in. I believe that a team will eventually pick up Dion Phaneuf, but I think Marleau will be forced to retire – not even the Sharks see a fit to bring him back and that could have been his last hope. Dustin Byfuglien has also been rumored to be potentially retiring but that has yet to be seen as he’s still under contract with the Winnipeg Jets.
There’s no lack of stories to follow as we gear up for another NHL season. We won’t get many of the answers we are looking for anytime soon, but that’s just fine for many NHL fans. Enjoy the upcoming season, hockey has never been in a better place than it is right now, and the future is certainly bright for the sport and the many leagues around the world.
