Buffalo's Jack Eichel went down awkwardly on his leg in practice Wednesday morning and it looked as if it could be very serious, but according to TSN's Bob Mckenzie, the initial diagnosis after the incident was a high ankle sprain and the Sabres have confirmed that this afternoon.
A high ankle sprain could keep the 19-year-old center as long as six-to-eight weeks, but is likely welcome news to the Sabres, who may have worried that they lost their franchise player for the season.
The Avalanche are going to be all about their start, and this team could really surprise if they get off to a fast start. I fully expect a big time bounce back season from Nathan MacKinnon who looked like he may have found another level in the World Cup of Hockey. This is a team that may suffer from being caught in between two worlds…One that Patrick Roy was pushing for and one that he left because he wasn’t getting enough of the former…
#6 Minnesota.
Anyone who follows my predictions from year to year know I have been saying “This is the year the Wild take over” for the last two seasons…Going into this season I am less sure of this. They need their young players with talent, and they don’t lack young players with talent, to begin to share the load with the likes of Parise, Koivu, and Suter… Goaltending is ALWAYS the key to the Wild and will determine if they battle for a playoff spot or not.
#5. Dallas.
Hard to put the Stars here, possibly out of the playoffs, but they have lost something to prove and you know they want to start the playoffs right now. The question is will they be able to get healthy and get their focus for the early part of the year? I don’t know why, but I sense they could get out of the gate slowly for some reason…Benn and Seguin are as good as any top duo in the league and Nill is my favorite GM in hockey…so why are they 5th? I just like the next 4 teams a little better. Truth be told, teams 2 to 5 could finish in just about any order and each, even all, could make the post season.
#4. Nashville….
I need to see this team play for a while, because the Weber for Subban swap in the short term could have mixed effects. Yes, Subban and Ryan Johansson both are more suited for Laviolette’s system, but having watch teams coached by Peter Laviolette for a long time, and very closely, I tend to think he is more affective when he has a few players who DON’T actually fit the mold. Shea Weber was a quarterback on this defense, and knew how to help Pekke Rinne out in all situations. Rinne is a very unconventional goalie. It will be fascinating to watch how this develops. The Preds will make the playoffs and in the West all you need to do is make the post season. With Rinne the Preds could barely make the playoffs and still find themselves in the Stanley Cup Final...
#3. Winnipeg.
My feelings this year on these predictions could be best described as “Revenge of the Canadian Teams” because after a year away from the post season I feel very strongly that we could see as many as 6 Canadian teams in the post season. I really like the Jets and what GM Chevy has done over many years putting together very solid prospects and I think this team plays an entirely different style than anyone else in the Central. The Jets are going to be among the fastest teams and they will get better after the Trouba situation gets worked out. In Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine you have the making of the next power duo in the NHL to challenge Kane/Toews, Crosby/Malkin, and Benn/Seguin. They may be more ahead of schedule than anyone knows…
#2. St Louis.
Hitchcock will not go down easy. The Blues were very dangerous last year, but what made them all the more impressive was how they showed in the playoffs they don’t have to depend solely on Tarasenko and Schwartz…but when all cylinders fire look out. The Blues lost a lot of players, but they very strategically lost those players…and they lost the kind of players successful teams tend to over pay to keep a team together…The Yakupov pick-up could very well be the steal of the year…
#1. Chicago.
The Hawks are back after disappointment. They won’t get caught again. In fact I look to them to make a statement in this regular season. You know all the reasons already, but this team has no real weaknesses….and now they have a chip on their shoulder.
Only one day left to get your team into the HockeyBuzz Fantasy Game!
Join the Discussion:
»