Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey and Kevin Cheveldayoff have each found their names in The Hockey News' staff preseason poll.
Thirty-four members of The Hockey News' staff cast their votes in a pre-season poll in relation to predictions for the 2023-24 NHL season.
With questions ranging from trophy predictions to team/player breakouts, to proportionate cap spendings, every team found its way into the answers.
For the sake of Winnipeg Jets fans, the was a bit of positivity, but also some negativity in the poll.
Both Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuyck saw their names come up in positive and negative fashions, while Mark Scheifele and Kevin Cheveldayoff solely operated within the red.
- Hellebuyck placed fourth in Vezina Trophy voting, while also coming in first as the star player most likely to be traded.
- Scheifele came in second (to Hellebuyck) as the star player most likely to be traded.
- Morrissey earned a vote as the expected Norris Trophy winner, while also being voted upon twice as a player in line for a setback.
- Cheveldayoff tied Ottawa's Pierre Dorion for first-place as the GM on the hot seat.
The full THN staff poll can be found below:
PART 1: THE TROPHIES
Hart:
- Edmonton’s Connor McDavid received 26 of 34 votes (79%)
- Leon Draisaitl and Nathan MacKinnon tied for 2nd with two votes each.
Art Ross:
- McDavid received 33 of 34 votes (97%);
- 10 picked McDavid to surpass his 153-point total
- Draisaitl is the only other player who received a vote.
Rocket Richard:
- McDavid, who won the award last year, received 13 of 34 votes (38%),
- 2022 winner Auston Matthews was 2nd with 11 votes
- Mikko Rantanen was 3rd with four votes
- Draisaitl was 4th with two votes
- Ovechkin, Robertson, Pastrnak and MacKinnon all received one vote.
Norris:
- Colorado’s Cale Makar, who won in 2022, received 18 of 34 votes
- Adam Fox, Rasmus Dahlin and Miro Heiskanen tied for 2nd with four votes
- Roman Josi, Erik Karlsson, Dougie Hamilton and Josh Morrissey all received one vote.
Vezina:
- Dallas’ Jake Oettinger received nine of 34 votes
- Ilya Sorokin was 2nd with eight votes
- Juuse Saros and Igor Shesterkin tied for 3rd with seven votes
- Connor Hellebuyck was 4th with two votes
- Sergei Bobrovsky was 5th with one vote.
Calder:
- No. 1 overall pick Connor Bedard received 25 of 34 votes (74%)
- Adam Fantili was 2nd with four votes; he also received 23 of 34 votes (68%) as the rookie people are most excited to see other than Bedard.
- Logan Cooley was 3rd with two votes
- Luke Hughes and Devon Levi received one vote each.
Selke:
- With Patrice Bergeron now retired, New Jersey’s Nico Hischier received 14 of 34 votes (41%)
- Toronto’s Mitch Marner was 2nd with six votes
- Florida’s Aleksander Barkov was 3rd with five votes
- Conn Smyth winner Mark Stone was 4th with three votes
- 7 others received one vote;
Jack Adams:
- Sabres coach Don Granato received eight of 34 votes; the Sabres also received 20 of 34 votes as the team most likely to breakout this season
- Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour was 2nd with six votes; The Hurricanes also received 10 of 34 votes to finish first in the regular season standings
- New Jersey’s Lundy Ruff and Dallas’ Peter DeBoer tied for 3rd with four votes;
Presidents’ Trophy:
- Hurricanes received 10 of 34 votes
- Devils and Avalanche tied for 2nd with seven votes
- Leafs were 3rd with five votes
- Stars and Golden Knights were 4th with two votes
- Rangers were 5th with one vote.
Stanley Cup:
- Hurricanes and Oilers each received nine votes to win the Cup
- Stars and Avalanche received six votes each to win
- 12 people picked Carolina to lose in the final; they ended up receiving 21 of 34 votes (62%) to reach the final
Conn Smythe:
- Edmonton’s McDavid and Carolina’s Aho tied with six votes each
- Draisaitl received 3 votes
- Svechnikov received 2 votes
PART 2: EXPECTATIONS
Coach fired first:
- St. Louis’ Craig Berube received nine votes as the dubious honour of being the first coach fired
- DJ Smith was 2nd with six votes
- Mike Sullivan was 3rd with four votes
- Mike Babcock, who ended up being fired before the season even began, tied Dean Evason with three votes each
- Lane Lambert received two votes
- Six others received one vote each
GM on the hot seat:
- There is definitely more pressure as the GM of a Canadian team, as Ottawa’s Pierre Dorion and Winnipeg’s Kevin Cheveldayoff tied with eight votes
- Edmonton’s Ken Holland (5) finished 3rd in voting
- NYI Lou Lamoriello (2) and Kyle Dubas (2) tied for 4th
- Six others received one vote each.
Player due for a breakout:
- Montreal’s Cole Caufield, whose season turned around after Marty St. Louis took over, received 4 votes
- NYR Alex Lafreniere and LA’s Quinton Byfield tied for second with three votes each
- Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson (2), Colorado’s Jonathan Drouin (2) and Carolina’s Seth Jarvis (2) rounded out the top-5;
- 8 others received one vote each.
Team due for a breakout:
- Buffalo Sabres received 20 of 34 votes (59%);
- Senators (7)
- Coyotes (2) and Red Wings (2)
- Three others received one vote each.
Player due for a setback:
- Despite being traded to Pittsburgh — and after finishing with 101 points and winning Norris Trophy— Erik Karlsson received eight votes as the player likely to suffer a setback;
- Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark (3) was second
- Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk (2), Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey (2) and Bruins winger David Pastrnak (2), who will be without Patrice Bergeron rounded out the top-5
- 7 others received one vote each.
Team due for a setback:
- The losses of Bergeron, Krejci and Taylor Hall were a big reason why the Boston Bruins received 17 of 34 votes (50%)
- The Wild (3) were 2nd
- The Lightning (2), and Panthers (2) tied for 3rd
- 10 others received one vote each.
Worst in the league:
- The Sharks received 18 of 34 votes to finish last;
- The Ducks (6) and Flyers (6) tied for 2nd
- 4 others received one vote each.
Best in Canada:
- The Oilers received 22 of 34 votes as the Canadian team to go the furthest
- The Leafs were the only other team picked, receiving 12 votes.
PART 3: MISCELLANEOUS
Change in Scenery:
- Colorado’s Ryan Johansen and Montreal’s Alex Newhook received four votes each as the players who would benefit the most from a change in scenery
- Detroit’s Alex DeBrincat (3) was 3rd
- Colorado’s Jonathan Drouin (2); Toronto’s John Klingberg (2), Connor Brown (2) rounded out the top-5
Buyer’s Remorse:
- Penguins (Karlsson) received 10 votes
- Senators (5) finished 2nd
- Red Wings (4) finished 3rd
- The Ducks (3) and Kings (3) rounded out the top-5.
Most likely traded:
- Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck received 12 of 34 votes (35%), followed by Jets teammate Mark Scheifele (5)
- Toronto’s William Nylander (5)
- Calgary’s Elias Lindholm (3)
- 9 others received 1-2 votes each.
Other than Bedard, which rookie are you most excited to see:
- Columbus’ Adam Fantili received 23 of 34 votes (68%),
- Logan Cooley (7)
- 4 others received one vote each.
Who will challenge McDavid for scoring title:
- Draisaitl received 12 of 34 votes,
- MacKinnon (10)
- Matthews (7).
Off-season move will be most impactful:
- Karlsson’s trade to Pittsburgh received 6 votes
- Leafs hiring GM Brad Treliving (4) and Penguins hiring GM Kyle Dubas (4).
Overpaid:
- Seth Jones, $9.5-million, received six votes
- Tyler Seguin, $9.85-million, received four votes
- M-A Vlasic, $7-million, received four votes
- Erik Karlsson, $11.5-million, received two votes
Underpaid:
- Jack Hughes ($8-million) tied Leon Draisaitl ($8.5-million) with three votes each
Bad season indicator of reality:
- The Capitals, who missed the playoffs for the first time in nine years, received seven votes
- The Flames, who fired their coach after missing last year, received three votes
Good season was an aberration:
- The Kraken, who upset the defending champion Avalanche in the first round, received five votes
- The Panthers, who went to the Cup final, were second with 4 votes
- Nugent-Hopkins, who scored a career-best 104 points, was the only player with 3 votes.
Player who will show signs of ageing:
- Patrick Kane, who turns 35 in November, received four votes
- Sidney Crosby (36) and Jamie Benn (34) tied for second with 3 votes each
- Karlsson (33); Fleury (38); Ovechkin (38) received 2 votes each
Backup ready for a starring role:
- Carolina’s Pyotr Kochetkov (6) and Boston’s Jeremy Swayman (6) tied for first
- Columbus’ Danili Tarasov received 3 votes
What city will get the next NHL team:
- Houston (13)
- Salt Lake City (10)
- Atlanta (8)
- Quebec City (2)
