NHL 2021-’22 Season Preview
The 2021-’22 NHL Season is set to start on the 12th October 2021 running through April 2022. A full 82-game regular season is planned across the four regularly aligned divisions with the relaxation of travel rules between Canada and the US essential to the NHL’s plans.
The Tampa Bay Lightning became back-to-back NHL Champions having won the 2019-’20 and 2020-’21 Stanley Cups, taking their total to three after winning it in 2003-’04 previously. The Lightning will open their title defence on the 12th October when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins. According to some NHL betting lines, the Lightning are favourites with Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights also in the mix.
Tampa Bay Lightning had gone all in on the 2020-’21 season when trading high value draft picks to bring in David Savard and Brian Lashoff which enabled them to go on and retain the Stanley Cup. This left them with only one pick in the first four rounds of the 2021 draft and without the chance to bring in any of the highest rated players to improve on their roster. They have taken on a project in Roman Schmidt in their first pick, a 6-foot-6-inch defenceman with solid fundamentals and Dylan Duke with their second, a small but talented forward who dropped to the fourth round when expected to go in the second.
The Colorado Avalanche head into the season hoping for more consistency to really challenge for the Stanley Cup this time out. Without a title since 2000-’01, Colorado has looked at improving their forward line and with Gabriel Landeskog, Brandon Saad, Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin they have looked to take the pressure off of Nathan MacKinnon. MacKinnon scored 65 points in 48 games last season, but after him was a severe drop in the scoring, and this improved forward line will look to help turn the Avalanche into a title winning team.
After reaching the playoffs in their expansion season, the Vegas Golden Knights are looking to go all the way this time out. Into their fifth season as an NHL franchise they have achieved incredible success in their short history by reaching the playoffs in all four of their seasons to date.
Among the key players for the Golden Knights include captain Mark Stone, last season 24-goal scorer Max Pacioretty and much coveted defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. Pietrangelo is a star blueliner and comes at a time where Shea Theodore is emerging as a top-10 defenseman. The two of them will be the catalysts behind one of the more exciting defences in the league.
New franchise, the Seattle Kraken, take the league up to 32 teams, being the newest expansion site in the NHL. They have set their first full roster following the Expansion Draft in July 2021 and it was clear that flexibility with the salary cap was one of Seattle’s biggest priorities. Of the 30 players selected, Seattle only committed $54 million of the allocated $81.5, not including a few restricted free agents who will push the number closer to $60 million should they stay. The Kraken’s expansion draft saw them bring in young talent as well as a number of good characters including Calgary Flames 37-year-old captain Mark Giordiano to provide immediate leadership to the new squad. The latest expansion team will take on 2017’s expansion team when Seattle starts their inaugural season in Las Vegas against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Of the Canadian teams, Montreal Canadiens went all the way to the Stanley Cup Final, losing in five games to the Tampa Bay Lightning. This was their first trip to the Stanley Cup final in almost three decades, something a team who have 24 Stanley Cup titles are desperate to continue, especially since their last win came back in 1992-’93. They entered the playoffs with the worst record of any playoff team so ambitions need to be realistic and additions from the draft and free agency need to hit the ground running.
Toronto Maple Leafs had the best record of all Canadian teams going into the playoffs last time out, winning 35 of 56 matches and only losing 14. They suffered a tough defeat to Montreal and will be looking to reach the playoffs once again this season. GM Kyle Dubas looks like he will stick with the majority of the roster and speaking to the media he said “I believe in this group, and i believe that they are going to get it done. I believe that they are going to win.” A lot will once again rest on Auston Matthews shoulders, 2016 draft first overall pick who scored 41 goals in 2020-’21, more than double any other player on the Maple Leafs roster.
With the season going back to a normal schedule and matches not being so crammed in as they were in 2020-’21, this will allow more stability for each franchise in their season planning. Turnover of games will be less rapid and those franchises that have set themselves up the best will likely be playing playoff hockey this season. Tampa Bay Lightning will be a tough side to beat once again, but Colorado and Vegas are rightly considered a good wager for the Stanley Cup at this time. If Tampa wins the Stanley Cup again next season, it will become the first team to three-peat since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980-’83.