Predictions for the 2011-2012 Season
With Hockey Season Set to start in a couple of hours, I thought I might as well give my predictions for this season.
Individual Awards
Hart Trophy: Jonathan Toews- with Sidney Crosby out, he's the media's golden boy. The Hawks have built a team that's just as good as their championship team, and Toews will be the biggest reason why they'll be back at the top of the league this season.
Runners up: Alexander Ovechkin, Anze Kopitar
Ted Lindsay Award: Alexander Ovechkin- Ovechkin has won the Lindsay before, and he'll rebound for sure this year. He's earned everyone's respect and rightfully so.
Runners up: Jonathan Toews, Pavel Datsyuk
Norris Trophy: Shea Weber- While he didn't have the greatest of offseasons, he's still arguably the best defenseman in the league. Lidstrom and Chara are over 30 and while they're going strong, I highly doubt they're in line for a career year at their ages.
Runners up: Zdeno Chara, Duncan Keith
Calder Trophy: Adam Larsson- While he is a defenseman, he's considered the best defensive prospect in the league by many. He'll benefit points wise from being the best offensive defenseman on the Devils and should do enough defensively for the team.
Runners up: Gabriel Landeskog, Brayden Schenn
Vezina Trophy: Carey Price- While he could potentially regress, I'm guessing he has a career year as he's in a contract year and could net a massive contract. He's got incentive, and he knows he's gotta be the man in Montreal.
Runners up: Pekka Rinne, Ryan Miller
Lady Byng: Pavel Datsyuk- Who else?
Runners up: Meh
Selke Trophy: Frans Nielsen- Advanced Stats are becoming more important when it comes to defense. Now there's going to be less talk about how Ryan Kesler and Jonathan Toews are good offensive forwards who can play defense, but more talk about the guys who can play defense based on their use in defensive scenarioes.
Runners up: Patrik Elias, Mike Richards
Jack Adams: Barry Trotz- he always finds a way to get the most out of a team with no offensive forwards. He's due, and his time is now
Runners up: Claude Julien, Mike Yeo
Team Awards
President's Trophy: Washington Capitals- They've improved their goaltending, they've got a healthy Mike Green and Ovechkin and Backstrom should be able to bounce back. Their defense might be inexperienced, but they look very good right now.
Picking First Overall: Winnipeg Jets- they've got average goaltending, one good, proven defenseman (Enstrom) and no gamebreaking offensive forward. The Senators at least have Jason Spezza- provided he stays healthy while the Oilers have stockpiled enough high-end offensive prospects which could help deal with the mediocre goaltending.
Eastern Conference Champions: Washington Capitals- they have the benefit of home ice, and previous playoff performance may not be a factor, seeing as the Bruins won the cup a year after they were humiliated by the Flyers.
Western Conference Champions: Los Angeles Kings- I'm not a huge Kings fan, but if they can find a way to get into the top 4 in the west, the team could go far.
Stanley Cup Champions: Washington Capitals in 6.
Biggest Surprises: New Jersey Devils (East) and Minnesota Wild (West)- for the Devils, it's all about beating up on Narrative. They're not as bad as everyone says they are, and if Brodeur's healthy they can be in the playoff picture. For the Wild, they did everything right in the off-season. Mike Yeo's a good coach and they addressed their need of a goal scorer with the acquisitons of Setoguchi and Heatley.
Biggest Disappointments: Buffalo (East) and Dallas (West)- I really have an odd feeling about them. They've got the talent, but chemistry might be an issue here. Plus, they are known for their wild inconsistency- one player could be having an MVP season but the rest of the team look like they're playing under John MacLean. For the Stars, they're just going to suck. People might believe they're not going to be basement dwellers, but to me they look like a lock for the Lottery.
Misc Awards
Breakout player: Marcus Johansson- he'll get an expanded role with the Capitals this season, and he could bank off it big time. He struggled with consistency in his rookie season, but he has shown he can be a good NHLer.
First coach fired: Paul Maurice- If he's not keeping the Canes competitive by December, he's gone.
Longest Suspension: 20 games. Probably to Matt Cooke.
Number of NHL games Sean Avery plays: 0. lol Avery.
Number of goals Jack Skille scores: 7 (I'm being optimistic).
Number of times Scott Hartnell falls down: 305
Number of Soft goals Nikolai Khabibulin lets in: 60
Will John MacLean coach in the NHL this year?: No.
The first Five picks of the 2012 NHL draft: Nail Yakupov, Ryan Murray, Filip Forsberg, Alex Galchenyuk, Nick Ebert.
Mandatory Daria Reference: Someone nails their own teammate, like Tiffany and Stacy do in the theme song.
