2021 NHL Season Prediction Thread

[-AJ-]

Time for the annual prediction thread! This is usually done by other users, but due to COVID, things were kind of left behind.
 

I've always loved these threads and enjoy making detailed predictions. This thread will lock just before the start of the season (early afternoon of Jan 13), so make sure to get your predictions in before then! You can edit your posts as much as you want up until that time.

 

Although this is in Canucks Talk, feel free to make NHL-wide predictions as well.

[-AJ-]

My stat predictions (some rounding throws the addition a bit off):

 

Name	Games	Goals	Assists	Points	Points/Game
E. Pettersson	55	20	40	59	1.074
J. Miller	55	19	31	51	0.925
B. Boeser	56	20	26	46	0.817
B. Horvat	56	23	22	45	0.804
Q. Hughes	51	5	35	40	0.781
A. Gaudette	56	14	17	31	0.554
A. Edler	53	6	23	29	0.545
N. Schmidt	52	5	21	26	0.500
J. Virtanen	52	13	12	25	0.482
T. Pearson	55	13	12	25	0.451
N. Hoglander	50	9	15	24	0.480
B. Sutter	56	7	11	18	0.321
O. Juolevi	52	3	13	16	0.303
T. Myers	48	5	10	15	0.319
A. Roussel	44	5	9	14	0.328
T. Motte	52	7	5	12	0.231
T. Hamonic	42	3	8	11	0.262
Z. MacEwen	22	4	3	7	0.318
L. Eriksson	20	2	4	6	0.300
J. Beagle	45	3	3	6	0.136
J. Benn	27	1	3	4	0.162
B. Rafferty	2	1	1	2	1.183
J. Hawryluk	4	0	1	1	0.341
J. Bailey	6	1	0	1	0.111

 

Team Record: 27-25-4: 58 points, 5th in North - Barely miss playoffs

 

Notes:

 

- Team has a strong offensive year, but struggles defensively, causing them to miss out off the playoffs by 1 point

- Miller regresses a little, as most expect

- Pettersson takes a step forward above a point-per-game finally

- Against all odds, Horvat continues to improve

- Hughes has an outstanding second year, finishing 7th in Norris voting

- Pearson regresses quite a bit with fewer empty net points

- Motte has a minor breakout season offensively

- Sutter has a comeback year, playing some minutes on a more offensively-minded line

- Juolevi has an alright, but unspectacular rookie season (much like Stecher/Hutton)

- Fans everywhere want Benning and Green both fired once the team misses the playoffs, but the Benning and the the Aquilinis hold their ground, giving them another chance (thankfully)

- Hotlby and Demko split the games about 60/40 in favour of Holtby

-  Hamonic fills Tanev's role nicely, including being injured for about 15 games

- Hoglander is the weak link on the 2nd line, but still fits in well enough. Gets some 3rd line time too with Gaudette and Virtanen getting a bit of top 6 time as well

 

- Edmonton struggles without Klefbom and barely edges out Vancouver for the last playoff spot. The team is carried by a suprisingly decent defensive core and incredible offense from McDavid, Draisaitl, and an underrated Nugent-Hopkins

- Winnipeg finishes 6th in a close race with the Senators, who improve notably

- McDavid wins the Art Ross with an incredible 90 points, playing in all 56 games

- Lafreniere wins the Calder with 50 points in 54 games

- Stutzle is a Calder finalist

 

North Division Standings Prediction:

1. Flames

2. Maple Leafs

3. Canadiens

4. Oilers

5. Canucks

6. Jets

7. Senators

 

Extremely close division, maximum of 8 points separate 1st and 7th.

[RWMc1]

Petey 34 goals 38 assists JT 32 goals 37 assists Brock 32 goals 32 assists

Pearson 17 goals 19 assists Bo 23 goals 27 assists Hoglander 18 goals 14 assists.

Virtanen 20 goals 21 assists

Hughes and Schmidt are hard to contain most nights and help elevate our game.

 

Hoglander starts hot but gets a cheapshot and has to play with a nagging injury.

Loui plays an unassuming 21 games

Baertschi gets games and plays well

Juolevi gets better and better.

Holtby regains form

Demko is still a very good goalie.

If Gaudette can gain some weight, now that he has identified the issue, he will be a more effective player for us from a physical board battle perspective.

Edler finishes strong. Re-sign in off-season as an option in case of injury

 

Toronto Vancouver Edmonton Montreal

Colorado Vegas St Louis Minnie

Tampa Dallas Nashville Carolina

Washington Philly Pitts Buffalo

 

 

Edited January 9, 2021 by RWMc1

[-Vintage Canuck-]

Predictions:

• Canucks will make the playoffs
• Elias Pettersson will lead the team in points
• J.T. Miller will lead the team in goals
• Quinn Hughes will lead the team in assists
• Alexander Edler will have the highest +/-
• Antoine Roussel will lead the team in penalty minutes
• Brock Boeser will lead the team in shots on goal

[apollo]

Hmmm this should be fun... I too will Reserve a spot

 

Prediction 1: Canucks enter playoffs as 6th seed and go all the way.

Prediction 2: ... to be continued....

[Cat Man]

Reserved 2. 

[10pavelbure96]

Reserved

 

Nate Schmidt proves to be one of the best off season acquisitions in the league.

 

Canucks make playoffs.

[King Heffy]

Canucks finish 2nd in the division behind Montreal, barely edging out Ottawa.  Barrie and Rielly duke it out all year for the green jacket, with Barrie finishing in the lead at -37, causing McDiver to demand a trade to an actual NHL team.  Both Toronto and Edmonton finish far outside playoff contention.  Anaheim rebounds and squeaks into the playoffs.

 

Hoglander makes the team and scores 10 goals on the second line, forcing LE to go to Utica.  Rumours float around regarding Sutter being moved, but he sticks around due to injuries and redeems himself.  Jake establishes himself as a 2nd liner,but still struggles with consistency.

[Crabcakes]

29 minutes ago, 10pavelbure96 said:

Reserved

 

Nate Schmidt proves to be one of the best off season acquisitions in the league.

 

Canucks make playoffs.

Yep, right up there with JT Miller.  God bless Jim Benning, God bless him every one.....

[ruilin96]

Canadian Division:
1). Toronto Maple Leafs
2). Calgary Flames
3). Montreal Canadiens
4). Edmonton Oilers
----------------------------------------------
5). Vancouver Canucks
6). Winnipeg Jets
7). Ottawa Senators

Playoffs:
#1 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. #4 Edmonton Oilers (Leafs in 6)
#2 Calgary Flames vs.#3 Montreal Canadiens (Canadiens in 7)
Round 2:
#1 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. #3 Montreal Canadiens (Canadiens 7)
 

West Division Predictions (aka the joke Division where a garbage team will make the playoffs):
1). Colorado Avalanche
2). Vegas Golden Knights
3). St. Louis Blues
4). LA Kings
------------------------------------------
5). Minnestoa Wild
6). Anaheim Ducks
7). San Jose Sharks
8). Arizona Coyotes

Playoffs:
#1 Colorado Avalanche vs. #4. LA Kings (Avalanche in 5)
#2 Vegas Golden Knights vs. #3 St. Louis Blues (Golden Knights in 5)
Round 2:
#1 Colorado Avalanche vs. #2 Vegas Golden Knights (Avalanche in 7)

Central Division Prediction:
1). Carolina Hurricanes
2). Tampa Bay Lightning
3). Columbus Blue Jackets
4). Nashville Predators
----------------------------------------------------
5). Florida Panthers
6). Dallas Stars
7). Detroit Red Wings
8). Chicago Blackhawks

Playoffs:
#1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. #4 Nashville Predators (Hurricanes in 6)
#2 Tampa Bay Lightning vs. #3 Columbus Blue Jackets (Blue Jackets in 7)
Round 2:
#1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. #3 Columbus Blue Jackets (Hurricanes in 6)

East Division Predictions (Aka. Group of Death where 2 good teams will miss the playoffs):
1). Philadelphia Flyers
2). Washington Capitals
3). New York Islanders
4). New York Rangers
---------------------------------------------------
5). Pittsburgh Penguins
6). Boston Bruins
7). Buffalo Sabres
8). New Jersey Devils
Playoffs:
#1 Philadelphia Flyers vs. #4 New York Rangers (Rangers in 7)
#2 Washington Capitals vs. #3 New York Islanders (Islanders in 6)
Round 2:
#3 New York Islanders vs. #4 New York Rangers (Islanders in 5)

 

Conference Finals:
Colorado Avalanche vs. Montreal Canadiens (Avalanche in 5)
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders (Hurricanes in 6)

 

Stanley Cup Finals:
Colorado Avalanche vs. Carolina Hurricanes (Avalanche in 6)

 

 

NHL Awards Predictions:

Hart Memorial Trophy: Connor McDavid

Ted Lindsay: Nathan MacKinnon

Selke: Ryan O'Rielly

Norris: Viktor Hedman

Vezina: Carey Price

Calder: Alexis Lafreniere

Jack Adams: Claude Julien

GM of the Year: Marc Bergevin

 

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by ruilin96

[EP Phone Home]

Canucks will finish 4th in the North (Scotia) Division and plays the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round and keeps the first round curse intact and the fanbase in TO loses its mind. Canucks play the Flames in the 2nd round and win in game 7 OT. Only to go to the Conference Finals and lose to the eventual cup champions in the Colorado Avalanche.

 

Top 5 players on team this season:

Petey gets 60 points in 55 games.

Boeser 50pts

Hughes 42pts
Miller 40pts

Bo Scorvat 35pts

 

Demko with 18 wins and wins starting job midway in the season when Holtby gets injured but Demko holds down the Fort.

 

Hogs has a good start but fizzles down the stretch. Has 10 goals and 18 points in 40 games with the team.

 

 

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by EP Phone Home

[morgo]

The Canucks win the Stanley Cup in "teh corporate Orca."  Tiger Hearted gets put on suicide watch.

[Chickenspear]

1.) Pettersson and Hughes are both above a ppg.

2.) After a career year, Miller avoids the slump, and has a season on par with the last.

3.) Hoglander makes the opening night roster, tries the Michigan first opportunity he gets.

4.) Virtanen continues improving in his development. Matches his output from last year in less games.

5.) Edmonton sh*ts the bed again.

6.) After being waived, Loui refuses to report to Utica and his contract is terminated. (please)

7.) We finally overcome the ridiculous record against the Jets, and take the season series.

8.) Toronto gets bounced in the first round again (by us).

9.) We advance to the Cup Finals.

10.) Podkolzin flies in early once his KHL season is done, quarantines, signs April 30th,  makes an immediate impact in the last few games of the regular season, and earns Green's trust to play him in the playoffs.

11.) Improvements on the D-Corps help Demko and Holtby shut the door, and we lead the league with fewest goals against.

12.) Seattle takes Holtby in the Expansion Draft.

13.) Edler takes a 2 year deal, @ $2m per year

14.) Pettersson and Hughes sign 3 year bridge deals @ $7m, and $6.5m, respectively.

15.) Bo wins the Selke.

 

Edited January 12, 2021 by Chickenspear

[Kelly Green]

This season is going to be broken up into a couple dozen 2-4 game series against the six other Canadian teams, so essentially a series of playoff series. For this reason I think Vancouver and Montreal will finish at the top of the division and the over-rated teams who never get it done in the spring will finish behind . ( Toronto Calgary Edmonton) Winnipeg and Ottawa are teams I'm not sure what to expect from yet.

 

Bo Horvat continues to improve 

JT Miller plays exactly as he did last year, but won't lead the team in scoring

Petey breaks out , big time

Quinn Hughes is in the Norris conversation from week 1 on

Jake Virtanen turns 25 and shows why you wait til 25 to make a decision on power forwards

Schmidt makes the entire defence better the same way Miller did for the top6 last year 

Juolevi looks like a 30yr old veteran before the end of the season

Boeser fully recovers from that horrible injury and surprises everyone

 

With Miller and Benn missing the start of the season the teams depth gets gets game time right away. Every team will have to deal with this as well as the usual injury issues this season. The Canucks depth is going to be a strength with Sutter, Baertchi, and even Loui playing important roles.

 

Canucks make it to the second round and possibly beyond if they can get Tryamkin and Podz over from Russia or find some Physical players elsewhere. Pittsburgh over St Louis for the cup!

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by Kelly Green
Virtannan :-/

[Pears]

- Pettersson challenges for the Art Ross, scoring at over a ppg clip

- Virtanen *finally* becomes that top six forward he always had the potential to be

- Miller takes a mild step back, but remains a vital part to this team

- Demko takes the starting job and runs with it

- Holtby has an improved year under Ian Clarke, but not quite vintage Braden Holtby

- Canucks do better than expected, finish 2nd in the Canadian division and make a run to the WCF before losing a tough 7 game series to the eventual champion Colorado Avalanche

[Ballisticsports.]

19 hours ago, -AJ- said:

 

Team Record: 27-25-4: 58 points, 5th in North - Barely miss playoffs

 

Notes:

 

- Team has a strong offensive year, but struggles defensively, causing them to miss out off the playoffs by 1 point

- Miller regresses a little, as most expect

- Pettersson takes a step forward above a point-per-game finally

- Against all odds, Horvat continues to improve

- Hughes has an outstanding second year, finishing 7th in Norris voting

- Pearson regresses quite a bit with fewer empty net points

- Motte has a minor breakout season offensively

- Sutter has a comeback year, playing some minutes on a more offensively-minded line

- Juolevi has an alright, but unspectacular rookie season (much like Stecher/Hutton)

- Fans everywhere want Benning and Green both fired once the team misses the playoffs, but the Benning and the the Aquilinis hold their ground, giving them another chance (thankfully)

- Hotlby and Demko split the games about 60/40 in favour of Holtby

 

 

I hope for more , but can see your underlined predictions 

[-AJ-]

1 hour ago, ba;;isticsports said:

I hope for more , but can see your underlined predictions 

Yeah, to be honest, I think I'm predicting too much offense from the players (it's pretty far above last year's rate), but I didn't feel like going through and reducing them by a bunch, haha. I expect the team to regress a little this year and take another big step next year.

[spur1]

Reserved 

[ImConfused]

Canucks win Cup

 

Petey leads league in scoring

 

Demko with 3 shutouts in the regular season and 3 in the playoffs

 

Schmidt and Holtby prove to be absolute hosses

 

Big trade at the TDL

 

Brock does not get traded

 

Calgary still sucks

[Rindiculous]

Miller will lead the team in scoring again, however Petey not far behind as both will finish top 10 in the league in scoring and the league will finally wake up to see that Miller is actually a top 25 player in this league.

 

Canucks will be the Canadian team to get out of the division beating the Laffs in the first round and the Calgary Canucks in the second.  They will face Colorado either in the conference final or SCF cementing what this league can expect as powerhouses for the next 10+ years.