Sometimes early-40s guys need mid-90s jams to get through a workout.
As such, Blues Traveler was blasting through my earbuds the other day and whether it was the wailing guitars inciting an overexertion that caused some basic body functions to fail or simply because I had a new hockey campaign on the brain, I swear the words, “The hook brings you back!” morphed into a more uplifting chorus of, “The hope brings you back.”
The former might be true of music, but the latter definitely applies to the start of a new NHL season.
Whether it’s a championship you’re eyeing, a playoff berth after years on the outside looking in or just some signs that your team is at least headed in the right direction, this is the time of year for optimism.
So, let’s start this season by unleashing our sunny side and find one point of optimism for all 32 NHL clubs.
1. Colorado Avalanche (1-0-0) From 1999 through 2015, no squad could pull off back-to-back Cups. Then, in 2017, the Penguins turned the trick and a short time later the Tampa Bay Lightning doubled up with titles in 2020 and ’21. Repeating is fully in play these days, especially for a team as good as Colorado.
2. Carolina Hurricanes (1-0-0) The Canes needed more crunch-time scoring in the playoffs last season. Max Pacioretty (when he returns in the new year) and 22-year-old Andrei Svechnikov (40 goals after 30 last season?) could well be the answers.
3. Tampa Bay Lighting (0-1-0) Whatever changes the salary cap forces upon this squad, it has a long tradition of unearthing new gems — to say nothing of a goalie who could probably take a B-level team pretty far on its own, let alone one still loaded with top-tier talent.
4. Calgary Flames (0-0-0) Stronger down the middle than they have been in years, a wonderful and balanced top-six D and a goalie who was runner-up for the Vezina last year. That’ll do.
5. Toronto Maple Leafs (0-1-0) Honestly, in terms of winning a playoff series, the law of averages has to kick in at some point, right? And if that’s a little too abstract, how about the concrete fact Auston Matthews is the best goal-scorer on the planet.
6. New York Rangers (1-0-0) For a decade starting in 2006, Rangers fans knew they almost always had a goalie advantage with Henrik Lundqvist on their side. Now, Igor Shesterkin is the security blanket Blueshirts backers can wrap themselves in. We’re coming up on two decades of enviable goaltending.
7. Edmonton Oilers (1-0-0) Edmonton made the final four with a goalie tandem that posted the 20th-ranked 5-on-5 save percentage last season. Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner can improve on that, while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl can just keep doing what they’re doing.
8. Florida Panthers (0-0-0) GM Bill Zito believed this team had to change its makeup, and though he paid a steep price to get Matthew Tkachuk, there’s no doubt the left winger brings an element few in the league offer.
9. St. Louis Blues (0-0-0) Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas have arrived, and 20-year-old Jake Neighbours might be the next late-first or second-round pick to pop for this club.
10. Minnesota Wild (0-0-0) Matthew Boldy showed he can score at the NHL level during his 47-game debut last season; Marco Rossi and Calen Addison could be this year’s freshman stars for Minny and oh, by the way, Kirill Kaprizov is still only 25.
11. Pittsburgh Penguins (0-0-0) Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will both be healthy and ready to go for Game 1. There’s a long way to go after that, but it’s undeniably a nice place to start.
12. Nashville Predators (2-0-0) Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen bounced back as players last season, then Filip Forsberg came back as a free agent. A team that hasn’t missed the playoffs since 2014 figures to be there again in 2023.
13. Los Angeles Kings (0-1-0) Last season’s unanticipated leap forward could be underpinned this year by several young players — Quinton Byfield, Arthur Kaliyev, Sean Durzi — taking a step, to say nothing of adding a point-per-game guy in Kevin Fiala.
14. Boston Bruins (1-0-0) Just knowing Patrice Bergeron is in the mix for at least one more season is a win for the B’s.
15. New York Islanders (0-0-0) It’s just so easy to toss out last season as an anomaly for this squad. New-coach energy, Matthew Barzal-signed vibes, good goaltending; the Isles will be firmly back in the mix.
16. Dallas Stars (0-0-0) Jake Oettinger took a huge step in the playoffs, where he nearly singlehandedly won Dallas a playoff series. If his play stays there and the Stars score even a little more than they did last season, Dallas suddenly becomes a really interesting team under new coach Pete DeBoer.
17. Washington Capitals (0-1-0) Since they won the 2018 Cup, Washington’s goalies have posted the 17th-best 5-on-5 save percentage (.917) in the league. Newcomer Darcy Kuemper’s even-strength save percentage during those four seasons is .926, which trails only Andrei Vasilevskiy and Juuse Saros at .927. Just sayin’.
18. Winnipeg Jets (0-0-0) Cole Perfetti, Calder Trophy finalist. Has a nice ring, no?
19. Vegas Golden Knights (1-0-0) A healthy and motivated captain in Mark Stone. A healthy and motivated offensive superstar in Jack Eichel. Actually, everybody in the desert should be motivated after last season’s playoff-missing debacle.
20. Vancouver Canucks (0-1-0) Elias Pettersson had 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points in his final 25 games last season. Quinn Hughes had 68 points as a third-year defenceman. For everything that’s gone on with this team in the past couple years, there’s major foundational talent there.
21. New Jersey Devils (0-0-0) Not only are Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier a great 1-2 of fairly recent first-overall picks, they’re also extremely complementary in that Hughes is an offensive supernova and Hischier has all 200 feet of the ice covered.
22. Ottawa Senators (0-0-0) The top-six group we keep raving about might be a top-seven given how good Shane Pinto looked in the preseason. Ottawa’s 25-and-under core is locked in and looks fantastic.
23. Buffalo Sabres (0-0-0) Owen Power is, at worst, a co-Calder favourite this season. He’s six-foot-six, fellow first-overall D-man Rasmus Dahlin is six-foot-three and 38-goal guy Tage Thompson is six-foot-seven. Led by those guys, we should all spot Buffalo’s improvement coming.
24. Columbus Blue Jackets (0-0-0) Columbus has never had a 90-point guy. Is Johnny Gaudreau the first?
25. Detroit Red Wings (0-0-0) The veteran reinforcements — Andrew Copp, David Perron, Ben Chiarot — will raise the floor. Mortiz Seider and Lucas Raymond will keep pushing the ceiling.
26. Anaheim Ducks (1-0-0) Mason McTavish is a rookie in name only. He’s one of those guys who will look like a 10-year vet by Week 3.
27. Philadelphia Flyers (0-0-0) The answer from here to the bottom of the rankings could basically be the same for each team and it involves six months of pain for one of the five-star prospects at the top of the 2023 draft board, starting with Connor Bedard. Fun fact: the Flyers have drafted first-overall only once in franchise history and it was nearly 50 years ago when they took Mel Bridgman, in 1975. Maybe they’re due?
28. San Jose Sharks (0-2-0) You wonder how many of the players who will ultimately lead the next rise of the Sharks aren’t even on the team yet. One who could very much be there for the long haul, though, is 24-year-old defenceman Mario Ferraro.
29. Seattle Kraken (0-0-1) While only one of them may be at the top of the lineup this season, there’s no doubt Kraken fans hope they’re watching their 1-2 for the next decade down the middle in Calder hopeful Matty Beniers and 2022 fourth-overall pick Shane Wright.
30. Montreal Canadiens (1-0-0) Whether it’s rookies Juraj Slafkovsky and Kaiden Guhle, sophomore Cole Caufield — not a bad two-goal debut on Wednesday — or even first-year captain Nick Suzuki, Habs fans still have a lot to learn about the wave of young guys tabbed with leading the rebuild.
31. Arizona Coyotes (0-0-0) Lost in all the Jakob Chychrun trade and tank talk is the fact Clayton Keller took a big step forward last season before a brutal season-ending leg injury. The 24-year-old might well be part of the long-term solution in Arizona.
32. Chicago Blackhawks (0-1-0) Soak in every last game with Patrick Kane on the team, and hope he goes off and the team collects a boatload of assets in a trade.
