NHL Notebook: 13 predictions for 2021-22 season

The Bruins may not open their 2021-22 season until next Saturday — but fear not, hockey fans. 

The 2021-22 NHL regular season will start long before the B’s finally take to the ice on Oct. 16 — with a new 82-game slate commencing on Tuesday with a pair of matchups on ESPN in Penguins/Lightning (7:30 p.m.) and Kraken/Golden Knights (10:00 p.m.)

As such, we figured now is a good time to toss out a few predictions about the upcoming 2021-22 season — beyond just the lens of Bruins hockey (that will come next week). 

So here are 13 predictions (some bold, some not so bold for the 2021-22 NHL season. 

1. Calder Trophy conversation dominated by goalies 

Big things are expected from young forwards like Montreal's Cole Caufield and Anaheim’s Trevor Zegras, but our bet is on one of the many talented rookie netminders taking home the Calder this season.

Be it Jeremy Swayman (whose impressive debut last spring sure doesn’t look like a fluke), Florida’s Spencer Knight (who should wrestle the starting gig away from Sergei Bobrovsky) or a number of young goalies who impressed last year but are still classified as rookies in Minnesota’s Kaapo Kahkonen and Detroit’s Alex Nedeljkovic, don’t be surprised if a promising netminder wins the Calder for the first time since Steve Mason in 2008-09. 

2. Jack Eichel doesn’t play in any regular-season games

Rejoice, hockey fans (and especially Bruins fans if you’re ready to hop off this roller-coaster ride / you want yours truly to stop writing about it).

At some point this season, the Jack Eichel saga in Buffalo will finally reach its end, with Kevyn Adams finally moving the franchise cornerstone for just a portion of what the projected asking price was when trade rumors first started gaining steam with the disgruntled pivot.

Granted, the primary reason why the eventual return on an Eichel trade is going to likely underwhelm is due to the health of the star forward — who STILL needs to undergo neck surgery to correct a herniated disk.

As such, even if a team does finally agree to move assets (plenty of which might have to be conditional, given the risk involved here) to bring in Eichel, it might be more of a forward-thinking move for a young team — who could bring in the 24-year-old forward and have him anchor the club in 2022-23 with a clean bill of health. 

With the artificial disc replacement surgery preferred by Eichel’s camp featuring a months-long recovery, Eichel very well may not be ready to go by February or March if he goes under the knife soon (and that’s no guarantee, especially if he’s not dealt in short order). If I’m the team that acquires him, I either let him rest and recover instead of rushing him back — or pull a ‘21 Lightning and stash that contract on LTIR until the playoffs come around.

Know any playoff contenders in need of help down the middle and not a whole lot of available cap space?

(I promise, I’ll stop writing about it).

3. The Seattle Kraken rank in lower third of scoring, but still punch tickets to playoffs

It’s always great to see a new NHL franchise sprout up, especially in a passionate sports market like Seattle. 

But I will say – brace yourself, Kraken fans. Because you might be seeing a whooooole lot of 2-1 games on the horizon. 

Yes, Seattle does have a pretty legit goalie rotation between Philipp Grubauer and Chris Driedger — and their D corps has plenty of shutdown potential and puck-moving proficiency with names like Mark Giordano, Jamie Oleksiak, Vince Dunn and Carson Soucy. But man, I don’t know where exactly Seattle is going to consistently get offense from — not with Yanni Gourde as your 1C.

Given the amount of cap space at his disposal, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ron Francis checks in with a few teams around the deadline for impact forwards with hefty deals — such as Evgeny Kuznetsov or Vladimir Tarasenko.

4. Tomas Hertl is the top prize on trade market 

Jack Eichel might draw more intrigue when it comes to his next destination, but if you’re looking for the most impactful skater that’s almost destined to be donning a new sweater at some point this season — it has to be Tomas Hertl.

If a declining Sharks team still saddled with burdensome contracts like Erik Karlsson ($11.5 million annual cap hit through 2027), Brent Burns ($8 million annual cap hit through 2025) and Marc-Edouard Vlasic ($7 million annual cap hit through 2026) wants to really start to rebuild, it’s going to have to part ways with a legit talent and movable asset in Hertl that’s been a two-way force for a couple of years now. 

Sure, the Bruins seem like a natural fit if/when Doug Wilson starts taking phone calls, but the price to pry the pending UFA from California is going to be STEEP.

5. Rangers lead NHL in fighting majors

Tom Wilson has done a lot of damage to plenty of players over the years — but to dismantle an Original Six franchise? Sheeesh.  

After the Caps power forward rag-dolled the Blueshirts last season, the Rangers cleared house in their front office and turned over major swaths of their roster — adding brawn and snarl in the form of guys like Ryan Reaves, Jarred Tinordi, Barclay Goodrow, Patrik Nemeth and Sammy Blais.

They still have enough high-end talent with guys like Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, etc. to pile on points in the standings, but man — the Rangers are going to be a pain in the ass to play against this season. 

Way to go, Tom. 

6. Islanders return to Eastern Conference Finals … again

The Islanders don’t have the flashiest lineup. Analytics don’t always favor them. And yet, with Barry Trotz at the helm, this club keeps on orchestrating spirited Cup runs. 

The 2021-22 Islanders should be no different — especially with their sturdy defense and strong goaltending in place. Losing Jordan Eberle in the expansion draft does hurt, but a healthy Anders Lee and depth pickups like Zach Parise and Zdeno Chara round out an already very balanced lineup. 

This is the type of roster built for postseason action, and they’ll once again be knocking on the door of the Stanley Cup Final once again. 

7. Nick Ritchie scores 6 goals in first 2 weeks of the season

After not getting handed a qualifying offer by Boston, Ritchie made the most of an unexpected trip to free agency — inking a two-year deal with the Leafs and finding himself on a line next to Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Not too shabby.

I’m predicting a similar start to the one Ritchie had with Boston in 2021, where the forward lights the lamp early and often in an elevated role (four goals, nine points in first 10 games with Boston), but then tails off. 

Still, it’ll be fun to see the case being made for Ritchie’s Rocket Richard hopes a few weeks into the year.

8. Toronto loses in the first round again

I kid, I kid. The Leafs switch things up — and lose in the second round this year. Baby steps, I guess? 

9. Tampa Bay wins the Atlantic

A lot has been said about what the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions have lost this summer — and yes, it’s quite a lot. Gone is that potent third line of Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow. Tyler Johnson is now in Chicago, while David Savard is in Montreal.

But you know what Tampa Bay still has on its roster? An uber-skilled forward corps with names like Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos all in tow, a beefy blue line with the usual suspects like Victor Hedman, Ryan McDonagh, Erik Cernak and Mikhail Sergachev … oh, and Andrei Vasilevskiy in net. 

Yeah, Tampa is still going to be damn good in 2021-22 as they aim for a three-peat.

And given the Lightning’s absurd track record of developing from within, don’t be surprised at all when young forwards like Ross Colton and Mathieu Joseph slot right in and pick up some of the production lost on that third line. 

10. Connor McDavid cracks 130 points

No NHLer has reached at least 130 points in a season since Wayne Gretzky accomplished the feat with the Kings in 1993-94 — but after McDavid racked up 105 points in 56 games last season, are you really going to bet against him over a full 82-game slate?

The phenom — who still doesn’t turn 25 until January — just keeps getting better and better every year, which should terrify the rest of the league. And yet, while they should hold their own in a pretty weak Pacific Division, another disappointing playoff exit does seem to be on the horizon for the Oilers, especially given the state of that D corps. 

11. Patrice Bergeron finishes as a finalist for the Selke Trophy

Again, not going to set the world aflame with a take like this. But I’ll twist the knife: Bergeron once again finishes runner-up, this time to Mark Stone — who leads the Knights to a Stanley Cup title and becomes the first winger to win the Selke since Dallas’ Jeri Lehtinen in 2000-01. 

12. Both the Capitals and Penguins fail to make the playoffs

Father Time is indeed undefeated — and two foundational franchises that have regularly punched their tickets to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the past two decades finally show some signs of erosion in the Caps and Penguins. 

Be it age, injuries (Crosby; wrist surgery, Malkin; knee surgery, Backstrom; hip and Ovechkin; lower body) or some major question marks in net between guys like Tristan Jarry, Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek — this might be the end of the line for two of the most successful clubs in the league. 

13. Vegas wins the Cup

The Avalanche and Lightning might be the favorites to hoist the Cup right now, but we’ll go with a Vegas club with heaps of talent up front and along the blue line. If you think they’re loaded now, wait until they activate Jack Eichel off of LTIR and have him suit up for playoff action. 

Scary stuff. 

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Bruins Prospect Report

 It sure seems like John Beecher just can’t catch a break. Expectations were high for the B’s 2019 first-round pick entering his junior season on a STACKED Michigan squad, but the pivot is unfortunately going to have to play catch-up with the rest of the Wolverines.

Speaking earlier this month, Michigan head coach Mel Pearson noted that Beecher is expected to miss at least four weeks of action due to an upper-body injury. It’s rotten luck for the 20-year-old forward — who was mired in a lost season in 2020-21 due to a bout with COVID and a shoulder injury that ended his sophomore season back in February.

The resulting labral repair sidelined him for months — with the power forward not cleared for contact during Boston’s Development Camp back in early August. Beecher was expected to be given the green light in time for the start of Michigan’s season, but Pearson added that this current upper-body ailment is unrelated to the one that hampered him last year.

Here’s hoping that Beecher returns in November without any restrictions. Not only should Beecher thrive on a Michigan team with this much firepower, but the center is in desperate need of consistent reps at this stage of his development (47 total games w/ Michigan).  

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Goalie Philip Svedebäck was a bit of an unknown product when the B’s scooped him up in the fourth round of the 2021 NHL Draft, but B’s fans will be seeing a whole lot of him over the next couple of years in the Hockey East circuit.

The 19-year-old netminder, who is currently playing for the Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) after years playing in his native Sweden, announced his commitment to Providence College earlier this week.

The 6-foot-4 goalie — who was not ranked by NHL Central Scouting this year —  has impressed so far since making the move over to North America, posting a record of 1-0-1 with a 1.99 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage in two starts with the Saints. 

“Philip was garnering a lot of attention before he arrived in Dubuque,” Dubuque head coach Greg Brown said. “His strong play in both the preseason and early regular season validated that attention. We are very happy for him that he has decided to continue his schooling and hockey career at Providence College.”

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Boston’s most intriguing blue-line prospect in Mason Lohrei had a strong start to his collegiate career — lighting the lamp and adding two assists in Ohio State’s split with Bentley this weekend. 

Yours truly was on the scene in Waltham on Friday — and the playmaking D-man was as advertised in the offensive zone, showing plenty of patience and poise with the puck. Some of the expected warts for a freshman in need of some added heft were there, especially in puck battles along the boards, but the positives far outweigh the negatives for a prospect still adjusting to a sizable jump in competition between the USHL and the NCAA. 

We’ll have more with Lohrei later this week. 

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To the surprise of … well, no one .. Fabian Lysell had a pretty solid start in the WHL ranks. 

The B’s uber-skilled prospect scored on his first shift with the Vancouver Giants last week, recording a primary helper on a give-and-go in the slot. 

Unfortunately, the winger couldn't put together an encore performance on Friday in the Giants’ home opener, as Lysell was ruled out with an upper-body injury. 

Odds and Ends:

In another far-from-shocking development, David Pastrnak was named to the Czech Republic Olympic team on Thursday. A no-brainer, to say the least. "Very happy to get the message yesterday," said Pastrnak. "It was a childhood dream to play at the Olympics for my country. It was very touching and I am honored. I am always going to love to represent my country and I feel very humbled."

Wishing the best for Carey Price — who is taking a leave of absence from the Canadiens to voluntarily enter the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program. Angela Price, the goaltender's wife, posted a message on Instagram after the announcement. "Part of the privilege of being in the position our family is in, is that we also get a public platform to show how there is and can be a path to light for anyone who is struggling. No matter what is on the line, we hope we can communicate the importance of putting your mental health first not just by saying it, but by showing up and doing the work to get better," she wrote. "Carey's showing up for himself and our family and making the absolute best decision possible for us. I will continue to show up for him and our kids and seek out the support I may need on any given day."

 Well, so much for those scenarios in which the Bruins find their center of the future by spending big on Aleksander Barkov. The star pivot is staying in Florida after signing an eight-year, $80 million contract.