Could Cale Makar Become One of the Best NHL D-men Ever? Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk0ODQxMzA5NDk1MTA4Nzcw/usatsi_19453123.jpg] It’s that time of year again – time to start a new year, and have some fun with predictions for the next 12 months. These are honest-to-goodness educated guesses as to what we see taking place in 2023: 1. BLUES TRADE TARASENKO, EMBARK ON MAJOR REBUILD Some – this writer included – thought the Blues would be a force to reckon with in the Western Conference. Instead, they’ve lost more than they’ve won (17-16-3), and they’re closer in the Central Division standings to seventh place (six points ahead of Arizona) than they are to second-place Winnipeg (eight points ahead of St. Louis). Blues GM Doug Armstrong has some key decisions to be made about his veteran roster, including soon-to-be unrestricted free agent forwards Vladimir Tarasenko and Ryan O’Reilly. The prediction is Armstrong will trade them, in separate transactions, but he’ll get the process started by moving Tarasenko, who will deliver more on offense than O’Reilly. As per Cap Friendly [https://www.capfriendly.com/depth-charts/blues], St. Louis has only $13.60 million in salary cap space for 2023-24, and they’ve only got 12 players under contract next year. It will be next to impossible for Armstrong to bring back both O’Reilly and Tarasenko, and Armstrong has never been afraid to make blockbuster moves. Tarasenko will fetch the Blues a first-round draft pick and an elite prospect, which is why they must move him. For their chances at success in the future, they can’t center around a pair of 31-year-olds next summer. It’s time for big deals in Missouri. 2. CAROLINA HURRICANES BEAT COLORADO AVALANCHE IN STANLEY CUP FINAL We said it in our pre-season predictions [https://thehockeynews.com/news/proteaus-picks-for-the-2022-23-nhl-awards-and-playoffs] this year – the Carolina Hurricanes are our pick to win the Stanley Cup. And it’s as good a time as any to repeat that prediction, what with the Canes currently on a 10-game win streak and winners of 14 of their past 15 games. They also haven’t lost in regulation time since Nov. 23 and have gone 14-0-2 in that span. And just think – the Hurricanes still aren’t at full strength, and they’re going to get a huge boost when star forward Max Pacioretty returns to action for the first time this season. This team has speed, skill and depth to spare, and they’re also one of the league’s best-coached groups. The Avs are probably going to add talent on the trade market to give them monstrous talent on offense, and they well could outlast every other team in the West to get back to the Cup final for the second straight season. But Carolina has just as much firepower, a beast on defense in first-year Hurricane Brent Burns, and lots of options in net. They should be favored against every Eastern Conference team not named Boston, and they should have enough balance and determination to win the second Cup in team history. 3. ANAHEIM WINS CONNOR BEDARD SWEEPSTAKES AS CALIFORNIA HOCKEY GETS REALLY GOOD AGAIN After the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Chicago Blackhawks on New Year’s Eve, the Anaheim Ducks have the league’s second-worst record (10-23-4). Only talent-challenged Chicago (8-23-4, with two games in hand on the Ducks) are below them in the standings. And Ducks GM Pat Verbeek hasn’t even begun the fire sale for veteran talent [https://thehockeynews.com/news/top-five-tradeable-assets-on-the-anaheim-ducks] that many have seen coming since the summer. It’s hard to imagine Anaheim being worse, but that doesn’t mean they’re incapable of being the NHL’s worst team. We still think Chicago or Arizona (or both) will wind up with the worst records in the game, but we’ve got a hunch their dependence on the draft won’t result in them winning the draft lottery. Instead, with the third-best odds of picking generational talent Connor Bedard, the Ducks will beat the odds and land the first-overall pick. And that will mean many sleepless nights for East Coast hockey fans who want to see how quickly Bedard adapts to the planet’s best league and turns the Ducks into must-see TV. With an on-the-rise Los Angeles Kings team and a rebuilding San Jose Sharks organization, the good fortune of the Ducks will make California hockey a hotbed once again. 4. MAPLE LEAFS BEAT LIGHTNING IN FIRST ROUND OF 2023 PLAYOFFS, LOSE TO BOSTON IN SECOND ROUND Toronto has been under the gun to win its first playoff round since the 2004 post-season, and this is the year they’ll finally exorcise their playoff demons by beating the defending Eastern Conference-champion Tampa Bay Lightning in the opening round. All those feelings of relief and joy from Leafs fans will be short-lived, as the Atlantic Division regular-season champion, the Boston Bruins, will eliminate Toronto in Round 2. The bittersweetness of their post-season will lead to a contract extension for GM Kyle Dubas and calls for the Leafs to move away from their core four group of forwards and make notable alterations to their roster. Clearly, superstars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner aren’t going anywhere, and captain John Tavares has a full no-trade clause in his contract, making star winger (and UFA in 2024) William Nylander most likely to be moved. We’re not saying this would be the right move, but the pressure on Dubas will be enormous. If Toronto gets its hats handed to them by a familiar foe in Boston, some people will demand a different look for them. 5. PHILLY FINISHES SEVENTH IN METRO DIVISION, FIRES GM CHUCK FLETCHER, DARES TORTORELLA TO CONTINUE COACHING TEAM AS FULL REBUILD BEGINS Through 36 games, the Flyers are the NHL’s fifth-worst team (12-17-7). They’re another sad-sack team that likely will be worse after they trade away veterans such as winger James van Riemsdyk and defenseman Tony DeAngelo. Another cratered season will spell the end of the line for GM Chuck Fletcher, who has been on the job in Philadelphia for more than four years and who has brought diminishing returns from year to year. Philly’s new GM – his name rhymes with Daniel Briere, because we’re talking about Daniel Briere – will ask ownership for the patience to endure a full rebuild, and he’ll get it. Flyers fans will tolerate a few more seasons of misery if it means acquiring elite young talent to build a new core around. The alternative – trying to come up with patchwork solutions that impact only the short term – might be the preferred choice of coach John Tortorella, but that’s not what’s best for the organization. And if Tortorella doesn’t want to be behind Philadelphia’s bench for the remainder of his contract, he should be welcome to move on as well. No more half-measures for this franchise.
