Bold predictions for the 2016-17 NHL season
Pens' Murray has edge over Leafs' Matthews for Calder Trophy
With the curtain-raiser for the 2016-17 NHL season just days away, it's the time of year when hockey fans like to analyze and predict what we'll see on the ice this year.
Among the big questions: Who will win the Calder Trophy? Which is the best of the Canadian-based teams? Which coach will have the biggest impact in his first season with his new team? Which unrestricted free agent will thrive the most in his new setting?
Let's mull over these topics and make a few bold predictions.
Matt Murray will win rookie of the year
Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews will be the top rookie forward this season, but Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray will win the Calder Trophy.
Murray, with only 13 games of NHL regular-season experience, helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup last spring. He'll miss the first few weeks of the regular season with a broken right hand and likely will share the starting job with Marc-Andre Fleury when he returns.
But this 22-year-old kid from Thunder Bay, Ont., is special and has an uncanny ability to bounce back. He'll be the first goalie to take rookie-of-the-year honours since Steve Mason won 33 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2008-09.
Montreal will be Canada's best team
Last season, each of the seven Canadian clubs missed the playoffs. The Flames, Oilers, Canadiens, Senators, Canucks, Maple Leafs and Jets all appear to be teams on the rise, but which is the best of the Canadian contingent?
Carey Price and Montreal have a slight edge over Connor McDavid and Edmonton. As he exhibited in the World Cup of Hockey last month, Price has his health back after he missed the final five months of last season with a knee injury.
He is the main reason the Canadiens are Canada's top team. But Alex Galchenyuk will have a more prominent role, Alex Radulov will aid the team's offensive cause and Shea Weber will make the Habs better in the short term.
Guy Boucher will win coach of the year
Last year, the San Jose Sharks advanced all the way to the Stanley Cup final with a new coach (Peter DeBoer) and the Penguins won the championship with a mid-season replacement (Mike Sullivan).
Five teams turned to new coaches over the summer — Anaheim (Randy Carlyle), Calgary (Glen Gulutzan), Colorado (Jared Bednar), Minnesota (Bruce Boudreau) and Ottawa (Guy Boucher). Which of this group will make the biggest difference?
The easy choice would be Boudreau or Carlyle. They are inheriting playoff-bound teams. But Boucher is your man. He returns to the NHL after three seasons at the helm of Bern in the Swiss league, and don't forget the immediate impact he made with the Tampa Bay Lightning six years ago when he led Tampa all the way to the East final.
David Backes will be the best free-agent signing
There is no doubt high-profile unrestricted free agents Brian Campbell, Milan Lucic and Kyle Okposo will help their new teams in the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton and Buffalo Sabres, respectively. But the UFA who will have the biggest impact at his new address will be David Backes.
The 32-year-old centre moved to the Boston Bruins from the St. Louis Blues. He gives the Bruins a strong collection of middlemen along with David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron.
Backes brings a grit factor and will fit in nicely with the team's leadership group. He's a well-rounded player who can perform on the power play and kill penalties.
Detroit will finally miss the playoffs
The Red Wings extended their remarkable run of consecutive post-season appearances to 25 when they squeaked into the playoffs in the final days of last season. This run likely will end this season.
Boston and Montreal missed the playoffs a year ago and have improved enough for a post-season return. Buffalo, Ottawa and the Carolina Hurricanes may not be ready for prime time yet, but are teams on the rise in the East.
Pavel Datsyuk is gone. Aging Red Wings Niklas Kronwall, 35, and Henrik Zetterberg, who will turn 36 on Sunday, are battling knee injuries. There is plenty of young talent in the organization, beginning with 24-year-old goalie Petr Mrazek and a nifty newcomer in centre Frans Nielsen. But this is a team in transition and the competition around the Red Wings is too good this season.