From a Winnipeg Jets trade to more goaltending intrigue in Toronto, Adam Proteau has four big ideas of what could happen in the 2023-24 season.

The NHL’s 2023-24 season is almost upon us, and there’s no better time to make some bold predictions for hockey’s top league. The following four predictions are bold indeed, but they’re also not so unbelievable to imagine they’d never happen. Here we go:

1. Winnipeg Jets trade star center Mark Scheifele to the Seattle Kraken for center Alex Wennberg and a first-round pick. 

This deal, which we anticipate takes place well in advance of the trade deadline, would be Kraken GM Ron Francis upping the ante for his group. He’d be bringing in a terrific player in 30-year-old Scheifele, and he’d give up Wennberg as the big piece coming back. But for Winnipeg, it's more about clearing the cap slate once this season comes to a close. 

The Jets would bid farewell to a veteran who wasn’t likely going to be returning and get back a 28-year-old whose contract also comes off the books at season's end, as well as what would likely be a mid-first-round draft pick next summer.

As a result of this transaction, Winnipeg could be a major player in trade talks next summer, and Scheifele could give the Kraken a huge boost as a legitimate Pacific Division threat. This swap would give both the Jets and Kraken a push ahead, even if they're in different stages of their competitive cycle. Cheveldayoff has to deal Scheifele if he's not signed by or before the trade deadline, as letting him walk for nothing would be a colossal mistake.

Here, the Kraken get a top center, and Winnipeg gets a first-rounder to help its future endeavors. It’s a win-win for each side, and that’s the way NHL trades get made.

2. Maple Leafs rookie goalie Joseph Woll outplays Ilya Samsonov, but coach Sheldon Keefe does his best to make them a true 50/50-split tandem and rides the hot hand into the first round – which Toronto wins, knocking off Ottawa. 

We have a hunch about Woll doing very well this season. He was quite good at the NHL level in 2022-23, albeit in a small sample size, posting a 2.16 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in seven regular-season appearances. He also had a 2.43 GAA and .915 SP in four playoff appearances.

The Leafs signed veteran netminder Martin Jones as an insurance policy of sorts, but even if Jones outplays Woll and Samsonov in the pre-season, there’s no chance Buds GM Brad Treliving should choose Jones over Woll, who would have to clear waivers if Toronto chooses a Samsonov and Jones duo between the pipes. Instead, we’re going to see Jones waived – unless Toronto carries three goalies to start the year – and Woll will get every opportunity to push Samsonov for playing time.

Ultimately, the Leafs want no excuses from Samsonov to not be healthy by the time the post-season arrives, and a competitive surge from Woll could ease the strain on Samsonov in the long run. At age 25, Woll will have massive amounts of pressure on him to perform well, but we believe he’s going to do what’s asked of him and then some. That goaltending depth will help Toronto outlast the Senators in the opening round of the playoffs and set the Buds up for the long term in net.

3. Rookie centers Leo Carlsson and Adam Fantilli prove to be the real deal, pushing Chicago’s Connor Bedard hard in pursuit of the Calder Trophy. 

Most people predicted Bedard will win the Calder this year as the NHL’s top rookie. This writer is one of them. But we believe it's going to be a closer race than some might first suspect. 

This is not to belittle Bedard but rather to appreciate the impact Carlsson and Fantilli will have on their team this season. Each of the Ducks, Blue Jackets and Hawks will be in tough to make the post-season, but their fans should be happy they’ve got cornerstone players in Fantilli, Carlsson and Bedard who’ll be with them for the next decade-and-a-half or longer.

Arizona’s Logan Cooley may also surprise some people this season, but by and large, the 2023 draft's top three players are all going to be front and center (no pun intended) as a trio of special talents this coming year. Much will be asked of each of them by their teams, but they each have the skills to deliver.

4. The Philadelphia Flyers tank perfectly (and luckily) for the 2024 No. 1 draft pick and land generational talent Macklin Celebrini after winning the draft lottery. 

The Flyers are about to undergo some major pain this season, as they’ll almost assuredly finish the year at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division – and maybe even the Eastern Conference and NHL. But 82 games of agony will prove to be worth it for Philly fans after the Flyers beat the odds against them, landing the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft and securing the right to select Celebrini, a tremendous talent who will be a bedrock piece of the Flyers' rebuild.

Even with Celebrini in tow, the Flyers still have much more to do to be competitive. They’ll almost certainly need another two or three years of finishing low in the standings and high in the draft order to build a solid core of assets. But at least GM Daniel Briere looks like he's going to take that most proven route to building a bona fide Stanley Cup contender – tanking and drafting well – and continue peeling off veteran pieces in trades as they set a new course for the future.

All things considered, it's a good-news thing for the Flyers, who often had no comparable young talent like Celebrini to put up against an opponent's elite youngsters in quite some time. Now they're finally cooking, and better days are ahead – just not in the short term.