Each year, I make a number of bold predictions about the upcoming NHL season. I usually get a few right and the rest wildly wrong — and this year was no exception.
Before continuing, I’ll give the usual disclaimer: These are meant to be bold and fun. Go easy on me for the flops.
Here’s a self-audit of my 2024-25 predictions.
The hits
Alex Ovechkin breaks Wayne Gretzky’s record this year
Projecting a 39-year-old to score 42 goals in a season is bold, even if it’s someone as legendary as Alex Ovechkin. Not only did he break the record — he did it in an injury season where he only played 65 games.
Ovechkin ended the season with 44 goals and 73 points. He really should be given an exemption from the rule that prevents players from being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame until they’ve been retired for three years. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux (and a handful of others) got exceptions, and this generation’s version of those, Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, should too.
Lane Hutson wins the Calder Trophy
I did have a small amount of influence on this one, as I got to vote on the NHL awards this year. I voted for Hutson, but I assure you it had nothing to do with a silly prediction article.
He deserved it.
Hutson tied Phil Housley for fourth-most points by a rookie defenseman, ever. Not only was he the clear rookie of the year — you could argue he’s the rookie of the decade.
It was definitely a four-horse race, though. Macklin Celebrini and Matvei Michkov also had impressive offensive seasons and Dustin Wolf elevated the Calgary Flames from a probable lottery team to a team that missed the playoffs on a tiebreaker. In other years, any of them could have won the trophy, but Hutson’s performance this year was too good not to give it to him.
The misses
Connor Ingram finishes top 5 in Vezina voting
This was perhaps the hardest year of Connor Ingram’s life off the ice, so anything on the ice should be seen through that lens. I’ll leave it at that, along with a note that I hope he’s able to find peace.
Utah makes the playoffs, Winnipeg does not
You know that “holy airball” trend going around social media? That’s what this was.
The Utah Hockey Club did not make the playoffs, and the Winnipeg Jets won the Presidents’ Trophy as the best team in the league in the regular season. Connor Hellebuyck had an excellent season, as did Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey and a number of others up and down the lineup.
Clayton Keller hits 100 points
I’m not sure what was in the water in NHL locker rooms in 2022-23 and 2023-24, but those seasons saw 11 and nine 100-point scorers, respectively (and a few more that would have hit it with a little more puck luck). This year, there were just six.
Clayton Keller did have the best offensive season of his career, racking up 90 points in his first season with the “C” since he was about 10 years old. The coaching staff couldn’t have asked much more of him, but I do wonder if his point total would have been inflated to 100 in a more offensively open season.
Stanley Cup Final: Dallas Stars over Toronto Maple Leafs
This one didn’t happen, but it wasn’t too far off. The Dallas Stars lost in the third round of the playoffs, and the Toronto Maple Leafs were the only team to take the eventual Stanley Cup winners to seven games, even though it was only the second round.
What do you think?
Join the conversation in the comment section! Did you make any NHL predictions this year? Did you laugh when you saw any of mine? Do you have any guesses for next year?