With the New Year come new expectations, self improvement, and goals we wish to achieve. Some NHL teams and players are hoping things to continue to go well, while other are hoping for improvements to their game. It’s time to make some bold predictions for the rest of the NHL season and for the year. Some of these predictions may sound crazy, and I can’t guarantee any of them will come true. But it’s the New Year, so lets think outside the box and hope for something special this year.

Bold Prediction #1—Toronto Maple Leafs DON’T Make the Playoffs This Year.

The Leafs currently hold one of the two wild card spots in the Eastern Conference with 45 points, but I don’t expect them to make the playoffs. Toronto is notoriously known for epic collapses in March, and this year will be no different. They lead the East with 129 goals scored, but defensively they are not very good, allowing 114 goals (second to last behind Buffalo at 128). The old saying is “Defense wins championships,” and the Leafs aren’t champions. I expect Boston or Florida (yes, Florida) to make the playoffs ahead of Toronto, pushing their Stanley Cup drought to 47 seasons. Until the Leafs learn to play good defense every night, they will continue to be just average and miss the post-season more often than not.

Bold Prediction #2—Carey Price Wins the Vezina and Hart Trophy This Season.

Carey Price is the best goalie in the NHL right now. He is as elite as it gets when it comes to goalies, even if he hasn’t won a Stanley Cup. The Habs goalie ranks second in wins 20 (Pekka Rinne is first with 24) and is in the top ten in almost every goaltending category. Rinne will definitely challenge Price for the Vezina, but in the end, I believe it will go to the 27-year-old. When Price wins the Vezina, he will also take home the Hart Memorial Trophy as most valuable player to his team. The last goalie to win the Hart Trophy was Jose Theodore in 2002, so it would be only fitting that the 5^th overall pick in 2005 repeat the feat for the Canadiens. It definitely won’t be easy for Price, and his performance down the stretch will need to be even better, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the year he takes home some serious hardware.

Bold Prediction #3—Tyler Seguin Will be Drafted First Overall in Most Fantasy Hockey Draft’s Next Season.

Tyler Seguin is slowly becoming one of hockey’s elite fantasy options. So far through 36 games, the Brampton, Ontario native has 44 points (25G, 19A), four game-winning goals, six power play goals and 147 shots on goal. He’s currently on pace for 99 points, but I believe the best has yet to come for Tyler this season.  The 22-year-old will win the Rocket Richard Trophy (most goals in a season), and if the trend continues, beat out Sidney Crosby for the Art Ross Trophy. If he wins both of those awards, it would definitely make Seguin a candidate to go first overall in most fantasy drafts next season. The Dallas Stars may not be a playoff team, but the second overall pick in 2010 is ready to be a fantasy juggernaut and be mentioned with players like Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and John Tavares. The scary part is Seguin is only 22-years-old, and the potential for him to get even better is there. We may be looking at a new face of the NHL in the making.

Bold Prediction #4—The Los Angeles Kings will Repeat as Stanley Cup Champions.

Most people must be shaking their heads right now, but it’s a legitimate possibility. The Kings currently sit second in the Pacific Division with 46 points (eight points behind Anaheim), but are only one point ahead of Vancouver, San Jose and Calgary. The Kings are not a team that scores a lot of goals (16^th in NHL), but they are one of the better defensive teams in the NHL (6^th in GA/GP) and that’s what matters. Every year it’s a struggle for L.A to make it to April, but when they get there, their game just goes to another level, a level no one can compete with. The Kings are built for the post-season, and this year is no different. I expect the Kings to be the first team since the Detroit Red Wings (1997-1998) to repeat as cup champions and start the conversation of whether or not they are a dynasty.

Bold Prediction #5—Connor McDavid will go First Overall to the Carolina Hurricanes.

The battle for last place in the NHL is a race between two teams, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Edmonton Oilers. This year, the first overall pick will go to the Carolina Hurricanes. The reasoning is simple; Carolina is a really bad team that should be starting a rebuild process in the near future, and Edmonton is a team that has been rebuilding for quite some time and is expected to start winning. The Hurricanes aren’t expected to win very many games from now till the end of the season, and their 29^th ranked fan base in attendance probably doesn’t expect them to either.

Edmonton on the other hand, is selling out their home games, and fans want to see wins, even if the team isn’t very good. With the enormous amount of pressure on the Oilers organization to win games now, I expect them at the end of the season to put together some wins, pushing them out of last place. As for Carolina, ownership will see the need to start over and build from the bottom up again to bring the team back to the Stanley Cup. The Hurricanes could use a talented, exciting young player to watch, and that guy is Connor McDavid. Barring any team winning the lottery, Carolina will draft first overall and the rebuild will start as of next year.