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Four wild NHL predictions for 2023

It’s time to ring in the new year and that always creates a perfect prediction window. Roundtable members: Make your craziest hockey predictions for calendar year 2023. The more interesting the prediction, the better.

MATT LARKIN: There is nothing here. Patrick Kane won the Stanley Cup. With the situation getting worse in Chicago, I predict he will waive his travel ban clause. Because he has that veto, he will have influence over his destination, which means he will go to a real candidate. With his pedigree as one of the greatest clutch players in NHL history, I believe he will bring his new team to the forefront, whether it’s the New York Rangers, the Boston Bruins, the Edmonton Oilers , Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs – you get the idea. Kane will be the missing piece and will win his fourth trophy in the spring of 2023.

NICK ALBERGA: Patrice Bergeron retires after the 2022-23 campaign. For some reason, this season of Boston has had that “Last Dance” feel from the start. Maybe it’s the conspiracy theorist in me, but every time I hear a Bruins player talk about Bergeron, it seems like they know this is it – hence the ridiculous start. And let’s be honest, the 37-year-old has nothing else to prove. He did it all. On top of that, he just impressed me as a guy who has no problem giving it up when it’s clear he still has a lot in the tank. To me, B feels like a destined team. At the very least, I hope to have a camera crew watching their every move.

STEVEN ELLIS: This… is finally the year the Toronto Maple Leafs broke the playoff kick curse. I’m not sure I said that before five based on their scoring ability. But the fact that Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov are both capable of winning matches – and they end up having some defensive depth – is a huge thing. I think they could still use someone with some scoring ability in the bottom six, but I really think this is finally the year Toronto has learned from its failures. in the past and may cause some noise. After the first round, though? I’m still not convinced.

MIKE MCKENNA: My prediction is that no NHL head coach will be fired before the 2022-23 NHL season ends. I mean, who’s really in trouble? Bruce Boudreau? Vancouver is playing hockey well enough and the team is clearly selling on the trade deadline. So I think Bruce will make it to the end. I don’t think Vancouver’s ownership wants to pay the three head coaches (Travis Green is still collecting checks), much less make a hasty decision mid-season. What about Dallas Eakins? Anaheim is horrible. But why did they fire Eakins mid-season? There really is no need to consider the team entering the Connor Bedard sweepstakes and Eakin’s contract expiring soon. Brad Larsen in Columbus? DJ Smith in Ottawa? Both teams have been devastated by injuries and from the start the expectations were not high. Basically, I don’t see any tire fires around the league right now. Obviously, that could change. But I don’t think the training fireworks really happened until off-season when Barry Trotz threw his hat back into the ring.




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