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Columbus For The Cup! - Dec. 14, 2020 – Vol. 73, Issue 13 - Matt Larkin

It's an especially fertile time for bold predictions. Thanks to COVID-19, NHL rosters have been blended like smoothies. Between the regular season ending early, the 24-team bubble tournament producing some shocking upsets and the flat salary cap forcing many teams to make unexpected roster cuts, the 2020-21 season sets up to be extremely unpredictable. It’s thus an ideal time to take a shot with some wild prognostications. Annual disclaimer: a bold prediction is unlikely to come true, hence it being bold. If I get even one of these right, it’s a win.

The Toronto Maple Leafs miss the playoffs. The Leafs wanted to become harder to play against in the post-season. Toughening up their depth with additions such as Wayne Simmonds and Zach Bogosian and signing a two-way blueliner in T.J. Brodie accomplished that. But does it matter if Toronto can’t…get to the post-season? Skill had to be sacrificed for those moves, with Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson shipped out. If the forward group proves too top-heavy and Frederik Andersen can’t find his way in goal, the playoffs aren’t a lock. Toronto was three points away from being out of the top eight when play paused in March.

The Montreal Canadiens make the playoffs. They overpaid for Josh Anderson, no doubt, but he makes them better regardless. With Tyler Toffoli also joining the fray, the Habs are now much stronger on the wings. Factoring in a rising youth crop that includes the arrival of top prospect D-man Alexander Romanov, plus that guy named Carey Price in net, the Habs look like a more balanced team for 2020-21. They could finish as high as third in their division.

The league’s top rookie is a New York goalie. Alexis Lafreniere will get his points on a rising New York Rangers squad. Kirill Kaprizov, NHL-ready for several years now, will quickly become a star in Minnesota. But don’t sleep on the Russian rookie netminders. Igor Shesterkin remains Calder Trophy-eligible after a superb 12-game debut with the Rangers last season, and he’s ready for No. 1 duty after Henrik Lundqvist’s buyout. Ilya Sorokin, another ballyhooed KHL import, will join the New York Islanders and get a chance to wrest the job from Semyon Varlamov. Playing in front of Barry Trotz’s group, Sorokin should post sparkling numbers right away.

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Columbus Blue Jackets, Stanley Cup finalists. All the Blue Jackets need to do is get in. They’re built for the playoffs. They have a horse of a center in Pierre-Luc Dubois, two elite blueliners in Seth Jones and Zach Werenski, great goaltending and a physical, lunchpail approach under coach John Tortorella. With Max Domi arriving in a trade and Liam Foudy ready for a full-time NHL gig, Columbus’ overall skill will start catching up with the grit in 2020-21. Don’t be surprised if they make a surprise crusade through the East next post-season. They lost to the eventual champs in 2020, after all.

The Golden Knights are worse with Alex Pietrangelo. ‘Petro’ will be fine. He’ll be great, actually. The problem is Vegas had to gut its roster to make room for his $8.8-million cap hit. If an already great defensive team adds Pietrangelo but loses Nate Schmidt, Paul Stastny, Nick Cousins, Deryk Engelland and more…are we sure the team got better? Breaking even or regressing slightly might be more realistic.

The 2020-21 season ends with bubble or bust. Players hated the bubble. But the bubble was also a resounding success. Not a single COVID-19 case after 33,394 tests. The non-bubble major sports, Major League Baseball and the NFL, dealt with outbreak after outbreak. Baseball stayed afloat because of its ability to stage doubleheaders. Football survived because teams play once a week and have bye weeks. Both sports are also primarily played outdoors. But hockey has a much busier schedule than the NFL, involves far more physical contact than baseball and requires that games be played indoors aside from Stadium Series events. It will be far more difficult for the NHL season to get through a full schedule and post-season with road trips and avoid outbreaks, even if the league temporarily realigns the divisions to allow for less travel.

It’s already a given the NHL will have to divide divisions geographically and, come playoff time, the league may require bubbles to finish the season. Knowing how difficult it was to endure in 2019-20, will players consider rejecting the bubble next time? Maybe they walk away from the season altogether if facing the prospect of a bubble again.

Loading The Cannon: Dysin Mayo Yesterday, the Columbus Blue Jackets signed 28-year-old defenseman Dysin Mayo to a one-year, two-way contract. But who is Dysin Mayo? Let's take a look. 

Blue Jackets Sign Former Golden Knights Defensemen The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed former Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Dysin Mayo to a one-year, two-way contract. 

Blue Jackets' 2025-26 NHL Schedule Released Today is the release day for the full NHL schedule for the 2025-26 season.

Blue Jackets Announce 2025-26 Home Opener The Columbus Blue Jackets have officially announced their 2025-26 home opener.

Former Blue Jackets Defensemen Signs In Czechia Former Columbus Blue Jackets defensemen Samuel Kňažko has signed a multi-year deal with HC Vítkovice of the Czech Extraliga.