Follow @SMaloughney The puck dropped for 8 NHL teams last night. Edmonton fans have to wait until Saturday night for their first hockey fix. In the meantime now that the dust has settled and the roster has been set I'm going to make some predictions for the year. After the season has ended I will come back to this blog and see how close I was.
1) Drake Caggiula will playing AHL games before December Caggiula clearly was listening to the folks who said pre-season games don't matter. Unfortunately for him his lackluster play resulted in him getting passed by almost every other forward in the lineup and currently sits as an extra forward. Caggiula's game doesn't really fit on a 4th line (nor really in the NHL for that matter) and after sitting a series of games he will be sent down.
2) Evan Bouchard Sticks With The Team Everything about how the Oilers have spoke about Bouchard suggests they will give him every opportunity to stick with the team. The right side is abysmal after Adam Larsson giving both Bear and Bouchard ample chances to stay with the big club. I'll go a step further and say after going 3-3-6 in the first 9 games Bouchard will stay with the team.
3) The Oilers Make The Playoffs (And Are The Only Alberta Team To Do So) My thoughts were already made clear about this in Todd Cordell's last Hotstove which can be seen here. A much better Cam Talbot and improved special teams alongside Connor McDavid will be enough to get the Oilers back to the post season. I'm predicting a 98 point finish for the team and 3rd in the Pacific. Meanwhile south in Calgary the decline of Mike Smith will be a story to follow all season.
4) Jesse Puljujarvi Scores 25 Goals One reason Edmonton will be back in the mix will be Puljujarvi's breakout season. We have seen a confident Puljujarvi for the first time since he came overseas. Starting the year on a line with Strome may make a 25 goal season seem unlikely but after a few games of the 2nd line not clicking, Puljujarvi will move up and stay there for the rest of the year.
5) Connor McDavid Scores 120 Points - Wins Hart and Art Ross Hesitated on adding this one as a Bold Prediction. McDavid is the best player in the league. He hasn't even reached his final form yet. 120 points is not out of the question and with the Oilers making the playoffs it will be impossible for writers to not vote him the Hart.
6) Cam Talbot Is A Vezina Finalist The two most important players for the Oilers this season will be McDavid followed by Talbot. With the defense still questionable Talbot will be counted on to steal games for the Oil like he did two seasons ago. Many hockey pundits will credit him for the Oilers reemergence and he will get a third place ballot.
7) The Oilers Trade For A Top 4 Defenceman before December - Likely Justin Faulk Right now Benning is slotted on the second pairing with Nurse. Benning is a decent player but he is much better suited for a third pairing role as he still makes a number of very noticeable errors. Chiarelli thankfully did not make any rash moves over the summer but at the first sign of trouble this season I think he will react. Benning and a pick to the Canes for Faulk.
8) Lucic Bounces Back To The Tune of 50 Points Every time Lucic has had a poor season he has returned to form to following year. After scoring 20 points in 09/10 he scored 62 in 10/11, after 27 points in 12/13 he scored 59 in 13/14. Last season ended terribly for the big man and at 30 years old he isn't done yet. Lucic and Draisaitl will click.
9) The Oilers Acquire Anders Lee at the Deadline The Islanders are not going to be very good this season and will be sellers at the deadline. The Oilers pick up Lee giving them the option of running McDavid, Draisaitl, Nuge down the middle with Lee jumping onto the top line with Connor. At 3.75 million Lee would a perfect rental.
10) Darnell Nurse Finishes Season With 35 Points Nurse is primed to breakout in a big way. His point production has increased steadily since entering the league and this season he will be a lock in the top 4. This season we will see Nurse put all the pieces together and become one of the better puck moving defencemen in the league. I now have Nurse going 9-26-35 on the year.
Make your own bold predictions in the comment section and let me know what you think.