The New Year has begun and the NHL season has entered its second half, but much of the campaign is clear as mud.
We know the Colorado Avalanche look to be a force, although they could use an impactful forward up the middle and injuries to Gabe Landeskog and Devon Toews will test them.
We know that the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners, the Winnipeg Jets, are in serious trouble and are ready to follow the path of the New York Rangers last season by going from regular season champions to a non-playoff team.
The most important thing is that we know how little we know.
It’s true that things can change seemingly in an instant, but who before the season predicted that the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins would be ahead of the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers, and the New Jersey Devils at this point?
Also, who had the Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs ahead of only the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference?
In the Western Conference, the Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild (that trade for Quinn Hughes has proven to be a sensational move) are pulling away from the rest, but the rest have created an absolute quagmire.
Adding to the chaos is the fact that every other team in the conference has such obvious flaws that they can go from a six-game winning streak to a six-game losing streak.
As a fan, the second half will be absolutely crazy to determine which clubs will advance to the playoffs, especially in the east, with only 10 points separating the 16 clubs.
With that in mind, here are five predictions for the second half.
The Edmonton Oilers will find the last gear and win the Pacific Division. If they make the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight season, that’s another story.
Speaking of the Stanley Cup, the Panthers have held their own without their two superstar forwards so far. Aleksander Barkov’s return is uncertain, but it appears Matthew Tkachuk is poised to join the lineup in the next two weeks. Injuries could be their downfall, along with a heavy second-half schedule on the road, but not counting on the Cats is risky.
The Los Angeles Kings will be the most aggressive club before the transfer deadline. The Kings have a lot of cap room, a lot of draft capital, and some very promising prospects. Don’t be surprised if they take a big gamble and sign defenseman Rasmus Andersson from the Calgary Flames.
The two clubs competing for division titles that we are not convinced about are the Montreal Canadiens and the Vegas Golden Knights. Las Vegas continues to reap success thanks to losing points, with 12, the most in the league, while the Canadiens rely on their power play and the magic of overtime to overcome the poor performance of their goaltenders.
There are many decisions to question about the different Olympic rosters. Preferring Adam Fox and Jason Robertson in favor of Seth Jones and Vincent Trocheck is nonsense on the part of the US expert team. Also,
For Canada, having Anthony Cirelli in place of Mark Scheifele, Wyatt Johnston and Connor Bedard is reminiscent of Rob Zamuner, named to the 1998 team.
Even Sweden had a couple of doubts with Pontus Holmberg named instead of William Eklund among the forwards and defender Philip Broberg chosen instead of Hampus Lindholm or Simon Edvinsson.
It’s worth noting that the condensed schedule down to the games in Milan sets the stage for several changes due to injuries.
