Speculation: 2017-18 Season Predictions

Who will score the first goal for the 2017-18 Avalanche?


  • Total voters
    47
  • Poll closed .

tigervixxxen

Optimism=Delusional
Jul 7, 2013
53,056
6,154
Denver
burgundy-review.com
Anything related to the season goes here. Make a bold prediction, individual points, team points, around the league, whatever. Get it in writing now or forever hold your peace. Don't forget to answer the poll question too, winner gets a special shoutout in the next pregame thread.

Only 20 poll options now so the goalies and our winner last year had to go.
 

Pierce Hawthorne

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Apr 29, 2012
44,892
41,980
Caverns of Draconis
Gut feeling was Rantanen before preseason started, sticking with that feeling here.


As for individual predictions:

- Yak hits 20 Goals and 40+ points.
- Landeskog produces less goals and points then Yakupov, barely cracks 40.
- Barrie fails to crack 40+ points for the 2nd straight season.
- Rantanen hits 30 Goals and 65+ points
- Mackinnon also hits 65+ points but slightly less goals(25)
- Duchene doesn't last with the team through October
- Zadorov struggles through the first half of the year and ends up a healthy scratch sometime in December. But this lights a fire in him and he explodes over the 2nd half of the year as easily our best Defender producing 20 Points over the final 40 games.


- Avs finish 27th in the league(Ahead of Detroit, Vancouver, Vegas, and an unexpected 4th team) but thanks to the lottery end up picking 2nd overall and take Svechnikov.
 

dahrougem2

Registered User
Dec 9, 2011
36,392
36,578
Edmonton, Alberta
Avs predictions:

- Nathan MacKinnon cracks 65 points
- Mikko Rantanen cracks 30 goals
- Sven Andrighetto cracks 45 points
- Matt Duchene scores less than 45 points but does not get traded all season
- Semyon Varlamov gets hurt and Jonathan Bernier plays 40+ games
- Nail Yakupov scores 25+ goals

NHL predictions:

- Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup
- Chicago Blackhawks miss the playoffs entirely
- Clayton Keller wins the Calder Trophy
- Toronto Maple Leafs struggle for a Wild Card spot
- Montreal Canadiens miss the playoffs
- Jack Eichel finishes top-5 in league scoring
- Connor McDavid wins the Art Ross + Hart trophies
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson wins the Norris; Arizona Coyotes claim a Wild Card spot
 

agentblack

Registered User
Apr 11, 2011
13,224
756
New York City
Mack--60 pts
Rants--55-60 pts
Ghetto--35-40 pts
Yaks--35 pts
EJ--will play 50 games
Barrie--40 pts
JTC--45 pts
Z--10 pts
Varly and Bernier each play 30 games
Mironov will play more than Z
 
Last edited:

Foppberg

Registered User
Nov 20, 2016
24,089
26,539
Summerside, PEI
- MacKinnon gets 70+ points
- Rantanen gets 30 goals/60+ points
- Andrighetto get's 45+ points
- Matt Duchene doesn't get traded
- Varlamov returns to form
- Yakupov gets 20 goals
- One of Kerfoot or Jost hits 30 points
- Landeskog gets back to 50+ point form
- Avs finish 22nd overall
- Zadorov scores a goal

NHL predictions:

- Nashville wins the cup
- Blackhawks miss the playoffs
- Barzal wins the Calder
- Toronto Maple Leafs just miss the playoffs
-Drouin hits 65+ points
- Radulov hits 65+ points
- McAvoy is the runner up for the Calder
- Hischer hits 50 points
- Stamkos hits 40 goals
- Laine hits 50 goals
 
Last edited:

McMetal

Writer of Wrongs
Sep 29, 2015
14,052
11,946
- Varlamov stays healthy all year. But Bernier will need to play a more than is usual for a backup early in the year to keep his hip from tweaking.

- Avs are exciting but very disorganized and make lots of rookie mistakes that cost games.

- Avs finish 4th from the bottom, ahead of Vegas, Detroit, and Vancouver. But this is our year to win the #1 pick.

- MacKinnon just barely exceeds his rookie points totals. Rantanen scores 25 goals, but misses 30. They will play on a line together all year.

- A team will falter, get desperate, and pay up for Duchene before the new year. That team will not be Columbus.

- Yakupov proves to be frustrating and uneven. Once the Bednar Blender takes him off that line, he'll bounce around the lineup before finishing as a healthy scratch. In free agency, a new team will take a swing at rehabbing him.

- Nemeth will be waived again before the end of the season, because Bigras will force him out of the lineup.

- Zadorov scores his first goal as an Av before December.
 

S E P H

Cloud IX
Mar 5, 2010
30,716
16,242
Toruń, PL
NHL predictions:

- Edmonton Oilers win the Stanley Cup
- Chicago Blackhawks miss the playoffs entirely

- Clayton Keller wins the Calder Trophy
- Toronto Maple Leafs struggle for a Wild Card spot
- Montreal Canadiens miss the playoffs
- Jack Eichel finishes top-5 in league scoring
- Connor McDavid wins the Art Ross + Hart trophies
- Oliver Ekman-Larsson wins the Norris; Arizona Coyotes claim a Wild Card spot
I can't see either of these happening personally IMHO...

Oilers have good players in all the right positions, but I argue their secondary scoring will take a step back and their depth line up isn't good enough to beat some of the better teams (we saw it last year against the Ducks). Until they improve their depth, can't see them since injuries are also part of the game and I hate to admit it, but even Penguins were able to pass the adversity last year. When McDavid went down on that fluke injury, they finished 3rd and pick Poolparty. That and I believe Talbot is a gloried Dubnyk; in that he's an NHL calibre goaler, but not really as good as his stats say he is. If Oilers go far, I believe it's due to their really weak division. As for Blackhawks, I doubt they'll be Cup contenders once again with amount they've had to retool their depth which is the same issues I said with Oilers, but their core players are good enough to get to the playoffs. They won't go far, but if everyone is able to stay healthy, they should be an easy lock.

Maple Leafs are going in the right direction, but their playoff success last year is due to how brutal Washington is in the postseason than how dangerous Toronto can become. Growing pains this year and a lack of defencive prospects is worrisome in the long run. They will be competitive in every game considering their coach and their offensive weapons, but can easily be overtaken. I can't see Canadiens miss the playoffs, Price and Weber are too dominant to make that happen, but you're not the only one to think this. Some analysts had a segment on NHL Network last night about which team you're jumping off the bandwagon, two had Habs and the other one was Kings. Don't get me wrong, they're not going far, but I haven't seen other teams improve to potentially knock them out of a potential spot except Hurricanes. Disregarding all the teams who made the postseason last year from the East...

- NYI are an easy miss for me.
- Red Wings won't make it.
- Sabres should be better, but not deep enough for postseason.
- Devils will have an up and down season; will show signs of improvement, but too much defensive deficiencies to make playoffs.
- Flyers are always a legitimate threat, but they can easily bump out the Maple Leafs, Senators, or Bruins instead of the Habs.
- Panthers should be a competitive team, but too much change and huge question-marks in goal.
 

Cousin Eddie

You Serious Clark?
Nov 3, 2006
40,142
37,285
- The Mack/Ghetto/Rantanen line starts hot just like they ended last season. Sven is near PPG throughout October. They hit a cold streak in November, Bednar breaks them up, Andrighetto ends up scoring less points during the rest of the season than he did in total during October.
- Wilson scores more even strength points than Landeskog.
- EJ plays 75+ games
- Mackinnon has a great year. He doesn't have a ridiculous 85 point season like some people predict, but he scores in the 65-69 range
- Varly ends up having to have season ending surgery despite being a top 5 goalie during the first month or two.
- Compher is our leading rookie point getter.
 

dahrougem2

Registered User
Dec 9, 2011
36,392
36,578
Edmonton, Alberta
I can't see either of these happening personally IMHO...

Oilers have good players in all the right positions, but I argue their secondary scoring will take a step back and their depth line up isn't good enough to beat some of the better teams (we saw it last year against the Ducks). Until they improve their depth, can't see them since injuries are also part of the game and I hate to admit it, but even Penguins were able to pass the adversity last year. When McDavid went down on that fluke injury, they finished 3rd and pick Poolparty. That and I believe Talbot is a gloried Dubnyk; in that he's an NHL calibre goaler, but not really as good as his stats say he is. If Oilers go far, I believe it's due to their really weak division. As for Blackhawks, I doubt they'll be Cup contenders once again with amount they've had to retool their depth which is the same issues I said with Oilers, but their core players are good enough to get to the playoffs. They won't go far, but if everyone is able to stay healthy, they should be an easy lock.
We're definitely going to have differing opinions on the Oilers, but I watch enough of them to believe that they're a very good team. Now, I tried to keep it bold by picking them as Cup Champions but by no means do I personally have them as the favourites to win the Cup.

As for Chicago... I don't know. It's just a gut feeling I have. They lost Panarin, Hossa, Kruger, Hjalmarsson, Campbell, van Riemsdyk, and Darling and replaced them with Saad, Sharp, DeBrincat, Murphy, Rutta, Franson, and Anton Forsberg.

Their depth IMO took a huge, huge hit. I also think Saad will be a downgrade from Panarin and that in turn will affect Kane's numbers since Kane's best two seasons came playing alongside Panarin. Forsberg won't be as good in relief as Darling, and they're going to have to rely EVEN MORE on Seabrook when he's clearly on the downswing.

All that, plus I just think Nashville, Dallas, and Minnesota will be better teams than the Hawks in the Central and they'll be fighting for a wild card spot.
 

Metallo

NWOBHM forever \m/
Feb 14, 2010
18,243
14,863
Québec, QC
I'm too lazy to present detailed predictions on individuals but I feel the Avs are going to be bottom-5 in the 65-75 pts range. Overall better hockey, more effort, more entertainment, but still lots of mistakes due to lack of experience and also struggles due to lack of depth.

And I don't care enough (at all) to make prediction for other teams. I just hope the Habs struggle.
 

agentblack

Registered User
Apr 11, 2011
13,224
756
New York City
Habs are easy.
Start off mad hot, they even started to uptick in play towards the end of the preseason, but inevitably struggle in the "dog days" of the regular season
 

Cousin Eddie

You Serious Clark?
Nov 3, 2006
40,142
37,285
Habs are easy.
Start off mad hot, they even started to uptick in play towards the end of the preseason, but inevitably struggle in the "dog days" of the regular season
Habs fans are in for a surprise with Drouin's Band-Aid like tendencies too. He's not the type of guy who has a history of any major issues. But he's always been known to miss 2-3 games here or there for personal reasons or an undisclosed injury.
 

forsbergavs32

Global Moderator
Jan 21, 2011
27,045
23,898
Fresno,CA
Mack: 55-60 points
Rants: 55-60 points
Yak: 20 goals, 50 points, gets extended
Duchene: Starts hot and is traded by Nov.
Jost: 35 points
Compher: 40 points
Andrighetto: Gets moved off of top line and ends with 30 points
Kerfoot: Continues good chemistry with Yak, 40 points
Lando: struggles offensively again, 25 points by February, surprise trade happens.
Varly: Returns to form, plays 55-60 games
Zads: Starts slow but gets going by Nov and gets 20 points.

Avs finish higher than expected, 20th-25th, wins a lottery spot.
 
Last edited:

chet1926

Registered User
Jan 9, 2008
12,275
5,587
Denver
-MacK 70pts this is his "breakout" season, stops hitting the post so damn much
-Rantanen 30G 60pts establishes himself as one of the bright young stars in the NHL
-Ghetto has a decent year, not sure how much he scores, but doesn't spend it with MacK and Rantanen all season
-Yakupov 20G, he knows this is his last chance and will deliver, will get a 4 year deal after the year with the Avs.
-Jost 45pts, will get off the 4th line once Duchene is gone, I expect decent PP time for him as well
-Kerfoot starts hot and everyone gets overly excited about him, comes crashing back down, but still is a decent middle 6 winger
-Landeskog has another bad season, sorry Landy lovers I feel like he is on the decline, decent chance he gets traded after the season
-Compher has a up and down year but provides a quality middle 6 role
-Wilson becomes the new whipping boy, because Bednar overplays him and he doesn't produce
-Nieto is just your typical 4th liner
-Soderberg is bought out after getting frustrated with the constant nacho duty
-Colborne sent to AHL
-Comeau continues to suck hard
-Duchene will be moved within a month, some team with high expectations, that wants him, starts slow and will get desperate and pay up. My guess is either Ottawa or Columbus with the dark horse being Carolina. I'm predicting the trade to most likely be Ottawa.

-EJ has a nice bounce back season
-Barrie has 40pts, does Barrie type things
-Zadorov has a poor season, gets further into the Bednar doghouse and makes the ROR trade look worse by the day, I hope I'm wrong but I have a bad feeling about this
-Nemeth proves to be a nice compliment to Barrie has a quietly nice season
-Barberio has an OK nothing bad or good type season
-Bigras has a really good year, I've been hard on him and didn't have much faith, but I think he turns the corner to become a top 4 dman by seasons end.
-Lindholm eventually comes back and is solid
-Mironov gets limited playing time, asks to be released and it's granted, goes back to Russia never comes back to NHL

-Varly has a solid year, re-establishes himself as a top 10 goalie
-Bernier is a decent backup
 

landy92mack29

Registered User
May 5, 2014
27,585
3,158
saskatchewan
Avs finish 4th last and pick 5th after the lottery. Take Ty Smith
Mackinnon leads the team with 66 pts
No rookie cracks 30 pts
Yakupov is a consistent healthy scratch by tdl and is off to the khl next year
Varlamov has a bounce back year and stays fairly healthy
Duchene doesnt get traded and has another injury further hurting his trade value


Oilers vs Pens cup final with Pens repeating
The lottery goes 1-Vancouver(Dahlin) 2-Detroit(Svechnikov) 3-Winnipeg(Tkachuk)
Patrick wins the calder
 

dahrougem2

Registered User
Dec 9, 2011
36,392
36,578
Edmonton, Alberta
I'd like to expand upon mine to do league awards:

Hart: Connor McDavid
Art Ross: Connor McDavid
Rocket Richard: Patrik Laine
Selke: Brad Marchand (I think it's time the voters went back to acknowledging this as a forward award, not just centers).
Norris: Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Calder: Clayton Keller
Vezina: Devan Dubnyk (unfortunately)
Lady Bing: Ryan O'Reilly
Jack Adams: Phil Housley
 

Ararana

Registered User
Sep 22, 2013
17,611
27,457
Two Rivers
Avs look closer to the playoff bubble 14-15 team, miss the playoffs by less then a dozen points and draft 14th. Only prediction I'm making.
 

agentblack

Registered User
Apr 11, 2011
13,224
756
New York City
Karlsson comes back from injury and goes full on Mario on the league, leading everyone in scoring (cause Mcjesus gets hurt) and cleans house at the awards
 

The Abusement Park

HFBoards Sponsor
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Jan 18, 2016
33,917
25,016
- Zadorov struggles through the first half of the year and ends up a healthy scratch sometime in December. But this lights a fire in him and he explodes over the 2nd half of the year as easily our best Defender producing 20 Points over the final 40 games.

Good prediction here.
 

ASmileyFace

Landeskog Replacement
Feb 13, 2014
12,045
5,573
9,318'
Avs make the playoffs.
Ayyyyy the only person (besides @Sea Eagles) who predicted the truth.

-Duchene will be moved within a month, some team with high expectations, that wants him, starts slow and will get desperate and pay up. My guess is either Ottawa or Columbus with the dark horse being Carolina. I'm predicting the trade to most likely be Ottawa.
Solid prediction skills right there.
 
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