2013 Season Predictions

The time has come, ladies and gents. Hockey is upon us, and all across the United States and Canada, folks just like you and me are conjuring up their best projections for how they believe the season will play out. I'm particularly fond of predictions for three reasons:

1. I'm good at them.
2. After reading the "experts" make their awful predictions every year on NHL.com, it's impossible to not find myself compiling an over-extensive list of predictions that are actually realistic and don't pander to the majority.
3. There's always the incredibly miniscule possibility that I'll get every standing, score and stat correct one season, and in the process, not only become famous, but gain a following of worshipers who will look to me for hope and guidance, essentially making me a god. Aside from UNBELIEVABLY accurate predictions, I have a lot of other god-like qualities, such as the ability to count really high with my eyes closed, and the ability to continuously crack my jaw. But only on one side of my mouth.

My predictions for this shortened season are not as extensive as usual, because I had actually done my full predictions in August, just as the threat of a lockout was becoming serious. The hours I spent on my 1,000+ predictions and then the initiation of the lockout, negating my hard work, kind of turned me off from the whole thing. I adjusted many of my predictions, but most of them were just deleted. Now, without further ado, I present my official predictions for the 2013 National Hockey League season:

WARNING! SPOILER ALERT!

Standings:

1. Boston.............68       1. Los Angeles....65
2. New York........64       2. Vancouver......62
3. Washington.....59       3. Chicago...........61
4. Pittsburgh........62       4. St. Louis.........61
5. Buffalo.............56       5. Colorado.........58
6. Philadelphia....56        6. Dallas.............57
7. New Jersey.....55        7. Minnesota......54
8. Carolina..........54        8. Edmonton......53
9. Tampa Bay.....52        9. San Jose.........53
10. Ottawa..........50       10. Detroit...........51
11. Toronto.........48       11. Anaheim.......50
12. Long Island..48        12. Calgary.........47
13. Winnipeg......45        13. Nashville......44
14. Montreal.......41        14. Columbus.....42
15. Florida..........39        15. Phoenix........36

Point Leaders:

1. Claude Giroux.......62
2. Evgeni Malkin.......58
3. John Tavares..........55
4. Sidney Crosby......54
5. Steven Stamkos......52

GAA Leaders:

1. Jonathan Quick........1.94
2. Henrik Lundquist.....2.07
3. Tuukka Rask............2.10
4. Jaroslav Halak..........2.12
5. Semyon Varlomov...2.28

Wins:

1. Tuukka Rask...........27
2. Jonathan Quick.......25
3. Cory Crawford........25
4. Henrik Lundqvist....24
5. Kari Lehtonen.........23

Shutouts:

1. Henrik Lundqvist.....5
2. Jonathan Quick........5
3. Tuukka Rask............4
4. Jaroslav Halak..........4
5. Semyon Varlomov...4

Hart Trophy:

Claude Giroux
John Tavares
Steven Stamkos

Vezina Trophy:

Jonathan Quick
Tuukka Rask
Henrik Lundqvist

Calder Memorial Trophy:

Nail Yakapov
Chris Kreider
Justin Schultz

James Norris Trophy:

Zdeno Chara
Drew Daughty
Ryan McDonagh

Jack Adams Award:

John Tortorella
Darryl Sutter
Claude Julien

Lady Byng Memorial Trophy:

Jason Pominville
Matt Moulson
Jordan Eberle

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy:

Sidney Crosby
Josh Harding
Chris Pronger

GM of the Year:

Chuck Fletcher
Glen Sather
Jim Rutherford

NHL 14 Cover Athlete:
Henrik Lundqvist

Stanley Cup Match-Up:

St. Louis vs. New York

So that's pretty much how it's going to play out. Agree? Disagree? Want to know what led me to these particular picks? Leave a comment below!