20 questions: PHT predictions for the 2013 NHL season

We’ve already made our Stanley Cup picks. Now here are 20 more predictions from the PHT staff. You never know — a few of them may be correct.

1. Which team will win the Presidents’ Trophy (first overall in the regular season)?

Jason Brough: Boston Bruins. A bunch of B’s were playing in Europe, making a fast start likely.

Mike Halford: New York Rangers. Who should’ve won it last year, but lost three of four to finish the season.

Ryan Dadoun: Boston Bruins. A strong team in a weak division.

Joe Yerdon: Boston Bruins. Good team, bad division.

James O’Brien: Vancouver Canucks. They’ll feast on the Northwest yet again.

2. Which team will finish last overall?

JB: New York Islanders. Glaring weaknesses in all areas.

MH: Columbus Blue Jackets. The Central Division is loaded; they’re going to get slaughtered.

RD: Columbus Blue Jackets. I hate being predictable, but I can’t think of anyone even remotely close to CBJ.

JY: New York Islanders. The rest of their division is a meat grinder and they’re ridiculously young.

JOB: Columbus Blue Jackets. On paper, it doesn’t get much worse.

3. Which team will be the most pleasantly surprising?

JB: Columbus Blue Jackets. Not saying they’ll make the playoffs, but they’ll be better than most of my colleagues think.

MH: Montreal Canadiens. Had quite a few guys playing in Europe, and Andrei Markov is healthy now.

RD: Nashville Predators. Their young defensemen will step up without Ryan Suter.

JY: Buffalo Sabres. Ryan Miller is fresh and Mikhail Grigorenko could be a stud.

JOB: San Jose Sharks. Lowered expectations, but still dangerous.

4. Which team will be the most disappointing?

JB: Detroit Red Wings. Like their general manager, I wouldn’t be shocked if they missed the playoffs.

MH: Florida Panthers. Primed for a letdown after winning the first Southeast Division banner in franchise history.

RD: New Jersey Devils. They lost Parise and I’m not confident in their aging goaltenders, especially after a long break.

JY: Minnesota Wild. Not because they’ll be bad; the bar is just set too high right now.

JOB: Edmonton Oilers. Lots of hype, but can’t keep the puck out of their net.

5. Which player will be the most pleasantly surprising?

JB: Dany Heatley. Has been skating with Mikko Koivu and Zach Parise, two pretty good line-mates.

MH: Semyon Varlamov. Finished last season strong and posted great numbers in the KHL.

RD: James Reimer. If given a chance, he’ll bounce back nicely.

JY: Matt Duchene. He’ll come flying out of Joe Sacco’s doghouse (to be replaced by Ryan O’Reilly.)

JOB: Cam Ward. Thanks to Kirk Muller’s system and improved goal support.

6. Which player will be the most disappointing?

JB: Jaromir Jagr. Still don’t know why he picked Dallas. Except I guess for the $4.5 million they gave him.

MH: Pekka Rinne. Lost his second-best defenseman (Ryan Suter) and trusty backup (Anders Lindback).

RD: Ilya Bryzgalov. But I’m sure he’ll continue to give the Daily Show/Colbert Report a run for their money.

JY: Ryan Suter. Expectations are too high given his supporting cast.

JOB: Braden Holtby. Danger of small sample sizes.

7. Who will finish with more points – Sidney Crosby or Claude Giroux?

JB: Crosby

MH: Giroux

RD: Crosby

JY: Crosby

JOB: Crosby

8. Will Ilya Bryzgalov be Philadelphia’s starting goalie for the first game of the playoffs?

JB: Yes, and it won’t even be a debate.

MH: Yes, but I could see Michael Leighton getting some action.

RD: Yes, but not because he’ll be great.

JY: Excepting injury, yes, he’ll be the man.

JOB: Yes, but a putrid defense won’t help him silence critics.

9. Who will win the Hart Trophy (most valuable)?

JB: Sidney Crosby

MH: Claude Giroux

RD: Sidney Crosby

JY: Claude Giroux

JOB: Evgeni Malkin

10. Who will win the Art Ross (most points)?

JB: Sidney Crosby

MH: Claude Giroux

RD: Sidney Crosby

JY: Sidney Crosby

JOB: Evgeni Malkin

11. Who will win the Rocket Richard (most goals)?

JB: Steven Stamkos

MH: Steven Stamkos

RD: Rick Nash

JY: Steven Stamkos

JOB: Steven Stamkos

12. Who will win the Vezina (best goalie)?

JB: Jonathan Quick

MH: Tuukka Rask

RD: Henrik Lundqvist

JY: Henrik Lundqvist

JOB: Henrik Lundqvist

13. Who will win the Norris (best defenseman)?

JB: Zdeno Chara

MH: Alex Pietrangelo

RD: Alex Pietrangelo

JY: Shea Weber

JOB: Drew Doughty

14. Who will win the Calder (top rookie)?

JB: Justin Schultz (Edmonton)

MH: Jonathan Huberdeau (Florida)

RD: Nail Yakupov (Edmonton)

JY: Cory Conacher (Tampa Bay)

JOB: Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis)

15. Who will win the Jack Adams (top coach)?

JB: Adam Oates (Washington)

MH: Kirk Muller (Carolina)

RD: Barry Trotz (Nashville)

JY: John Tortorella (New York Rangers)

JOB: Barry Trotz (Nashville)

16. Who will be the first coach fired?

JB: Todd McLellan (San Jose)

MH: Joel Quenneville (Chicago)

RD: Mike Yeo (Minnesota)

JY: Joe Sacco (Colorado)

JOB: Jack Capuano (New York Islanders)

17. Of last year’s 16 playoff teams, which one is most likely to miss the postseason?

JB: Florida Panthers. Weren’t very good to begin with, plus lost defenseman Jason Garrison.

MH: Florida Panthers. Injuries and departures will get them off to a slow start, and they won’t recover.

RD: New Jersey Devils. Tough division, no Parise, old goalies.

JY: New Jersey Devils. Brodeur will do his best, but yikes to scoring depth.

JOB: Ottawa Senators. Will regress after overachieving last season.

18. Of last year’s 14 non-playoff teams, which one is most likely to make the postseason?

JB: Buffalo Sabres. Panicked with high expectations last season. No shortage of talent. Tougher now too.

MH: Montreal Canadiens. Michel Therrien has a history of turning bad teams into playoff teams.

RD: Colorado Avalanche. Semyon Varlamov looked good in the KHL, and Matt Duchene should bounce back.

JY: Carolina Hurricanes. East is open enough to make it happen.

JOB: Tampa Bay Lightning. They might even win the Southeast.

19. Will the Minnesota Wild make the playoffs?

JB: Yes. Better roster, worsening competition in West.

MH: Yes. I even think they’ll win the Northwest Division.

RD: No, they’ll fall just short. Next season though…

JY: They’ll just miss out. Next year though? It’s on.

JOB: No, the West is too deep and they’re still too shallow.

20. Will the Toronto Maple Leafs make the playoffs?

JB: No. They’re not very good, and the East has too many strong teams.

MH: No. They’ll finish dead last in the Northeast.

RD:  Yes, thanks to stronger goaltending from Reimer.

JY: No, but hey, maybe they can make a run at the top pick in the draft.

JOB: No. Not a good team.