The 2021-’22 NHL Season is about to begin on the 12th October 2021 operating by way of April 2022. A full 82-game common season is deliberate throughout the 4 frequently aligned divisions with the relief of journey guidelines between Canada and the US important to the NHL’s plans.
The Tampa Bay Lightning grew to become back-to-back NHL Champions having gained the 2019-’20 and 2020-’21 Stanley Cups, taking their whole to a few after successful it in 2003-’04 beforehand. The Lightning will open their title defence on the 12th October once they host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Based on some NHL betting lines, the Lightning are favourites with Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights additionally within the combine.
Tampa Bay Lightning had gone all in on the 2020-’21 season when buying and selling excessive worth draft picks to usher in David Savard and Brian Lashoff which enabled them to go on and retain the Stanley Cup. This left them with just one decide within the first 4 rounds of the 2021 draft and with out the possibility to usher in any of the best rated gamers to enhance on their roster. They’ve taken on a mission in Roman Schmidt of their first decide, a 6-foot-6-inch defenceman with stable fundamentals and Dylan Duke with their second, a small however gifted ahead who dropped to the fourth spherical when anticipated to go within the second.
The Colorado Avalanche head into the season hoping for extra consistency to essentially problem for the Stanley Cup this day trip. With out a title since 2000-’01, Colorado has checked out bettering their ahead line and with Gabriel Landeskog, Brandon Saad, Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin they’ve seemed to take the stress off of Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon scored 65 factors in 48 video games final season, however after him was a extreme drop within the scoring, and this improved ahead line will look to assist turn the Avalanche into a title winning team.
After reaching the playoffs of their enlargement season, the Vegas Golden Knights wish to go all the way in which this day trip. Into their fifth season as an NHL franchise they’ve achieved unimaginable success of their brief historical past by reaching the playoffs in all 4 of their seasons thus far.
Among the many key gamers for the Golden Knights embody captain Mark Stone, final season 24-goal scorer Max Pacioretty and far coveted defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Pietrangelo is a star blueliner and comes at a time the place Shea Theodore is rising as a top-10 defenseman. The 2 of them would be the catalysts behind one of the more exciting defences in the league.
New franchise, the Seattle Kraken, take the league as much as 32 groups, being the most recent enlargement website within the NHL. They’ve set their first full roster following the Enlargement Draft in July 2021 and it was clear that flexibility with the wage cap was one among Seattle’s greatest priorities. Of the 30 gamers chosen, Seattle solely dedicated $54 million of the allotted $81.5, not together with a number of restricted free brokers who will push the quantity closer to $60 million should they stay. The Kraken’s enlargement draft noticed them herald younger expertise in addition to quite a lot of good characters together with Calgary Flames 37-year-old captain Mark Giordiano to supply rapid management to the brand new squad. The newest enlargement group will tackle 2017’s enlargement group when Seattle begins their inaugural season in Las Vegas towards the Vegas Golden Knights.
Of the Canadian groups, Montreal Canadiens went all the way in which to the Stanley Cup Last, losing in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. This was their first journey to the Stanley Cup remaining in nearly three many years, one thing a group who’ve 24 Stanley Cup titles are determined to proceed, particularly since their final win got here again in 1992-’93. They entered the playoffs with the worst report of any playoff group so ambitions must be real looking and additions from the draft and free company have to hit the bottom operating.
Toronto Maple Leafs had the very best report of all Canadian groups going into the playoffs final day trip, successful 35 of 56 matches and solely shedding 14. They suffered a troublesome defeat to Montreal and will likely be seeking to attain the playoffs as soon as once more this season. GM Kyle Dubas seems to be like he’ll persist with nearly all of the roster and chatting with the media he stated “I imagine on this group, and that i imagine that they will get it finished. I imagine that they will win.” Rather a lot will as soon as once more relaxation on Auston Matthews shoulders, 2016 draft first total decide who scored 41 objectives in 2020-’21, greater than double every other participant on the Maple Leafs roster.
With the season going again to a standard schedule and matches not being so crammed in as they have been in 2020-’21, it will permit extra stability for every franchise of their season planning. Turnover of video games will likely be much less fast and people franchises which have set themselves up the very best will possible be enjoying playoff hockey this season. Tampa Bay Lightning will likely be a troublesome facet to beat as soon as once more, however Colorado and Vegas are rightly thought-about a very good wager for the Stanley Cup right now. If Tampa wins the Stanley Cup once more subsequent season, it can change into the primary group to three-peat because the New York Islanders gained 4 in a row from 1980-’83.
