Peering deep into the crystal ball and squinting hard as if studying a controversial elbow in super slow-mo, we see some things changing drastically and others staying status quo for the NHL as the league strides into 2012.
Although 2011 was widely regarded as a year marred by bad news and dismal headlines for the NHL, 2012 will usher in some positive storylines (the future looks bright for Leafs Nation and Bryzgalov interviewers). However, you can’t appreciate the sunshine without rain, and the league will face a major setback in the coming year.
Here are six events we anticipate reminiscing about come December 2012.
BRYZGALOV GOES EVEN MORE NUTS
Hockey needs more loose cannons, especially interview-wise.
Now that the Philadelphia Flyers’ Ilya Bryzgalov — family man, philosopher, Thermos user — has embraced the throwback role of the oddball goalie and has had his profile jacked up by a starring turn on HBO’s brilliant 24/7 series, expect more juicy quotables to tumble from this Russian’s unpredictable mouth.
While cynics are quick to write off Bryz’s not-so-media-trained scrum performances as potentially damaging to his team, we foresee the goaltender continuing to speak his mind off the ice and remaining disciplined enough on the ice to backstop Philly through two rounds of the postseason.
Bonus Flyers-related prediction: Claude Giroux completes his breakout season by winning the overall scoring race and Art Ross Trophy despite neither leading the NHL in goals (that’ll be Steven Stamkos) nor assists (Henrik Sedin).
TEEMU SELANNE RE-UPS FOR ONE MORE YEAR
…but not with the Anaheim Ducks.
Defying odds, expectations, age, and his current team’s record, the 41-year-old Selanne is on a point-per-game pace in his 20th NHL campaign. This is ridiculous. Though he insists that he hasn’t paid much thought to 2012-13 and that he will make his decision in the off-season (he’s currently working on a one-year $4 million contract), we see the Finnish Flash lacing up the skates for one more year.
He will be 42 when the puck drops on the 2012-13 season, and he’ll still be a key component of some team’s offence. But not for the Ducks, nor (sadly) the Jets. A western Cup contender will sign him up.
Bonus old-guy prediction: Jaromir Jagr, though rejuvenated by playing alongside Claude Giroux in Philly, will not return to the NHL come fall. His sore groin will get the best of him.
JONATHAN TOEWS BECOMES EVEN MORE UNDERAPPRECIATED
Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, Pavel Datsyuk, either Sedin – these are the guys that pop up when hockey fans and analysts talk about the best players in the game not named Sidney Crosby.
What does the youngest captain in NHL need to do to grab our attention?
Lead his team to a Stanley Cup and win the Conn Smythe in the process? Check. Win a gold medal on Team Canada? Check. (Plus he was named best forward of the Olympic tourney.) Score goals? He already has 22 coming into 2012. Stay out of the penalty box? He’s only been in there for 12 minutes. Win face-offs? He’s better than 60%.
Point blank: The mild-mannered Toews is consistently fantastic and repeatedly forgotten about. In 2012, he’ll lead the Chicago Blackhawks deep in the playoffs but his efforts will be overshadowed by someone else the media gloms onto.
Bonus overlooked prediction: Jimmy Howard, Marian Hossa, and Brian Campbell will also not get the press they deserve for their stellar play this year.
LEAFS NATION GETS ITS PLAYOFF SERIES, FINDS OUT THROUGH TWITTER
The sweet waters of playoff rain will finally, mercifully, wash away the six-year drought that has plagued Leafs Nation. Toronto sports bars will flourish, merchandise sales will skyrocket, and sick days in the GTA will be filed by people who aren’t sick in the least.
The Leafs’ qualifying for the postseason, however, won’t be a forgone conclusion. Rather, they will squeak into eighth place in the East based on a Buffalo loss or an obscure tie-breaker in the last weekend of the regular season. Instead of sealing their qualification on the ice, the good news will be tweeted out to the masses by Ron Wilson from his sofa.
And then retweeted by Brian Burke.
Bonus drought-ending prediction: The Florida Panthers will also avoid missing the playoff cut for the 11th straight year, leaving the Edmonton Oilers (five years and counting) as the team thirstiest for a second season.
SIDNEY CROSBY CALLS IT A CAREER
There are clouds in this forecast, too.
We hate to say it: 2012 might not mark the end of the world, but it could be close as far as Gary Bettman is concerned.
In a tearful, heart-wrenching press conference sometime in the fall of 2012, Sidney Crosby will announce that, in the interest of his health, he will be retiring from professional hockey.
We truly hope we are dead wrong in this prediction, for Sid’s sake foremost, but also for the sake of the league and any human who enjoys watching greatness on the ice.
The brevity of Crosby’s eight-game return this winter, and the seemingly run-of-the-mill bump that pushed him back off the ice for a month and counting, lead us to believe that a full-form return is not in the cards. Crosby has not skated in his last game – he will take to the ice again in 2012 – but lingering symptoms will force him to make the toughest decision of his life.
Bonus prediction: If Crosby is forced to leave the game early, the NHL will address its concussion problem with player equipment restrictions.
NHL GETS FIRST REPEAT CHAMPS IN 14 YEARS
Not since the Detroit Red Wings accomplished the feat in 1997 and 1998 has the league had a repeat champion, which was the norm in the mid-’70s (Philadelphia Flyers), late ’70s (Montreal Canadiens), 1980s (New York Islanders, Edmonton Oilers), and early ’90s (Pittsburgh Penguins).
All that will change in the spring of 2012 when the Boston Bruins reassert themselves as the NHL’s best, lifting Lord Stanley’s chalice to signify a mini dynasty when they outlast the Chicago Blackhawks in the final.
Bonus Cup prediction: Zdeno Chara will take the Cup to a Slovakian house party, where the trophy will be used to hold some sort of pork recipe and eventually end up at the bottom of someone’s pool.