Who doesn’t love some pre-season NHL predictions? Some are bold, some are chalk, but here are my predictions for the 2021-22 Division Standings, NHL Awards, and Stanley Cup Playoffs!
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Atlantic Division Predicted Standings
- Florida Panthers
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- Toronto Maple Leafs
- Boston Bruins*
- Ottawa Senators
- Montreal Canadiens
- Detroit Red Wings
- Buffalo Sabres
Metropolitan Division Predicted Standings
- Carolina Hurricanes
- New York Islanders
- New York Rangers
- Philadelphia Flyers*
- Washington Capitals
- New Jersey Devils
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Columbus Blue Jackets
Central Division Predicted Standings
- Colorado Avalanche
- Dallas Stars
- Winnipeg Jets
- Minnesota Wild*
- Chicago Blackhawks*
- St. Louis Blues
- Nashville Predators
- Arizona Coyotes
Pacific Division Predicted Standings
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Vancouver Canucks
- Edmonton Oilers
- Los Angeles Kings
- Seattle Kraken
- Calgary Flames
- Anaheim Ducks
- San Jose Sharks
Presidents Trophy
1st: Vegas Golden Knights
2nd: Colorado Avalanche
3rd: Carolina Hurricanes
- Golden Knights’ weak division allows them to rack up points on route to a President’s Trophy
Hart Memorial Trophy: Most Valuable Player
Finalist: Connor McDavid
Finalist: Nathan MacKinnon
Finalist: Auston Matthews
Winner: Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
- The clear most valuable player in the NHL wins another MVP award
Ted Lindsay Award: Most Outstanding Player
Finalist: Connor McDavid
Finalist: Nathan MacKinnon
Finalist: Leon Draisaitl
Winner: Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
- Nathan Mackinnon has a career-best season and is given the player’s MVP award
Norris Trophy: Best Defenseman in the NHL
Finalist: Dougie Hamilton
Finalist: Cale Makar
Finalist: Victor Hedman
Winner: Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning
- A close race between these three all season, Hedman’s commitment to his own zone is the tie breaker for the Norris win.
Vezina Trophy: Best Goalie in the NHL
Finalist: Andrei Vasilevskiy
Finalist: Connor Hellebuyck
Finalist: Thatcher Demko
Winner: Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
- Demko a surprise finalist, but Hellebuyck grabs another Vezina for his mantel.
Art Ross Trophy: Most Points in the NHL
1st: Connor McDavid, 139
2nd: Nathan Mackinnon, 118
3rd: Leon Draisaitl, 117
- McDavid wins the Art Ross by 20 points despite a great showing from MacKinnon
Rocket Richard Trophy: Most Goals in the NHL
1st: Auston Matthews, 60 Goals
2nd: Leon Draisaitl, 53 Goals
3rd: Nathan Mackinnon, 52 Goals
4th: Kirill Kaprizov/Kyle Connor 47 Goals
- 60 goals from the best goal scorer in the NHL clinches a Rocket Richard Trophy for the Toronto superstar
Selke Trophy: Best Defensive Forward in the NHL
Finalist: Patrice Bergeron
Finalist: Alexsander Barkov
Finalist: Sean Couturier
Winner: Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers
- Consistently underrated on both sides of the puck, Couturier wins a Selke over perennial contenders Barkov and Bergeron
Lady Byng Trophy: Sportsmanship Award
Finalist: Anze Kopitar
Finalist: Ryan O’Reilly
Finalist: Alexsander Barkov
Winner: Alexsander Barkov, Florida Panthers
- Barkov wins a second Lady Byng in a row with minimal penalty minutes and a 90 point season
William Jennings Trophy
Winner: Thatcher Demko & Jaroslav Halak
- Halak supports Demko to a league minimum in goals allowed for the Canucks (somewhat concerned about Tyler Myers for this take)
Mark Messier Leadership Award
Finalist: Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights
Finalist: Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets
Finalist: John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs
Winner: Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets
- Three great leaders, the winner is on team that outperforms expectations, and that’s Wheeler and the Jets
Jack Adams NHL Coach of the Year Award
Finalist: Dean Evason, Minnesota Wild
Finalist: Gerald Gallant, New York Rangers
Finalist: Peter DeBoer, Vegas Golden Knights
Winner: Gerard Gallant, New York Rangers
- Players-coach Gerard Gallant brings the Rangers to the playoffs and is rewarded with a Jack Adams
Jim Gregory NHL GM of the Year
Finalist: Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings
Finalist: Bill Guerin, Minnesota Wild
Finalist: Bill Zito, Florida Panthers
Winner: Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings
- Stevie Y and the Yzerplan is given a GM of the Year award as voted on by the 32 general manager as they’re all scared to trade with him
Prince of Wales Trophy – Eastern Conference Champion
Runner Up: Florida Panthers
Winner: Carolina Hurricanes
- Hurricanes win a Game 7 OT thriller over the Panthers to advance to the Stanley Cup final
Clarence Campbell Bowl – Western Conference Champion
Runner Up: Vegas Golden Knights
Winner: Colorado Avalanche
- Avalanche realize potential and topple Knights to reach the final
Stanley Cup Champion
Runner Up: Carolina Hurricanes
Champion: Colorado Avalanche
- Avalanche overpower the Hurricanes to clinch 3rd Stanley Cup in Franchise history, and first championship since 2001
Conn Smythe Trophy
Winner: Nathan Mackinnon, Colorado Avalanche
- Mackinnon racks up 30 playoff points to win the Conn Smythe over Kuemper and Aho
Hope you enjoyed this article; check out our 2021-22 fantasy hockey rankings!
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