MHH Roundtable: 2024-25 Bold Predictions

3 months ago  /  Mile High Hockey  /  Read Time: 6 minutes 35 seconds

Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images


Find out how right -- or wrong -- we will be! Before the 2024-25 Colorado Avalanche training camp and season begins, we are putting our favorite segment from our Mile High Hockey Lab podcast on paper — Bold Predictions!
What are you predicting for any Avalanche player in particular?
Evan: It feels crazy to predict this, but with the animal he was on the ice last season, it’s hard to top what Nathan MacKinnon did. That’s why I say he is going to get at least 100 assists in another 140-point campaign.
Adrian: Mikko Rantanen will return to the ranks of 50-goal and 100-point scorer. Just to stick it to the naysayers, he will also have his best year defensively and emerge as one of the Avalanche's most physical and aggressive forwards.
Jess: This might not be necessarily a bold prediction because he came close to it last year, but I predict that Cale Makar becomes a 100-point player for the first time in his career this upcoming season. Also, knowing just how well Sam Girard played after coming back from taking care of his mental health during the 2023-24 season, I predict that he’ll continue that level of play and sets a new career best in points this season.
Ezra: I’m gonna stand by my man and say Casey Mittelstadt puts up 70 points in a career year. A full offseason and season in the Avs system and locker room unlocks his potential all while helping him continue to grow the defensive side of his game.
Jackie: Making his price tag even higher I’ll say Jonathan Drouin end up third in points from Avalanche forwards this season. And perhaps the boldest claim of all, Valeri Nichushkin plays in every playoff game the Avalanche participate in.
Eddie: I think now that the Avs have their second line in a more comfortable place that third line is going to be able to get more favourable matchups. That’s going to give a player like Ross Colton a much better opportunity to produce. I think in a solidified role that’s more appropriate to his talent level he’ll be able to cross the 20 goal and 50 point plateaus.
Any bold thoughts (hopes?) for Colorado’s season as a whole?
Evan: With Colorado as cap-crunched as ever and surrounded with questions, it’s safe to say the team will not be “full strength” until the postseason. Therefore, my bold prediction for the team this season is Valeri Nichushkin and Gabriel Landeskog will not be together on the ice at the same time for one game until the playoffs, whether it’s due to cap reasons or injury/suspension.
Adrian: I’m going the exact opposite route of Evan here, and I will say that we will see the return of both Valeri Nichushkin and Gabe Landeskog this season. Moreover, when the trade deadline rolls around, the Avalanche won’t have any top-six needs and will stand pat as adding Val and a healthy Gabe will rejuvenate forward depth.
Jess: To go the route of divisional standings instead of the actual roster, I think Colorado finishes at the top of the Central Division this season. The only two teams they’ll really be competing with will be Dallas and Winnipeg again, and not to undermine either of those teams, but while Colorado certainly has their faults, both of those teams more than arguably have their own, too. If Colorado can compete and stay relatively even with those two teams throughout the course of the season, I think they genuinely have a shot to come out on top.
Ezra: I’m gonna go really bold and say the Avalanche front office surprises us with an addition on the wing to replace Val Nichushkin, who never plays another game in an Avalanche sweater.
Jackie: It would be bold at this point to say the Avalanche will find a way to not have to waive any of their four new bottom pairing defenseman. I’ll go even bolder to say if they do it will be Oliver Kylington the odd man out as he’s the most expensive, played the least amount of hockey over the last several years and has been waived before.
Eddie: There’s some high end teams in the Western Conference this year. A lot of people are picking Edmonton and Dallas to top their respective divisions, and the conference. I think that title will belong to the Avalanche this year. They will have a full season of Casey Mittelstadt, a potential Gabe Landeskog return, and a likely improved season from Alexander Georgiev. All things that can get them back to that number one overall seed.

Looking around the NHL, are there any players who inspire a prediction?
Evan: As a resident of Western New York now, the closest NHL team to me is the Buffalo Sabres. They’ve always had a soft spot in my heart - even more so now with Bowen Byram on the team. Now a member of the Sabres organization for his first full season, he should blossom on the top pairing in Buffalo. I say he records a solid 40-point season.
Adrian: I predict that the Toronto Maple Leafs will make a trade that shakes things up, but it won’t involve Mitch Marner. My guess is they do something with newly demoted John Tavares.
Jess: Not to go with the Sabres as well, but they also have a soft spot in my heart, my dad grew up in Western New York and watched them when he was growing up, and I like them a lot, too. I think of the group of teams that have been in, for lack of a better term, purgatory for the last couple of seasons, those being Ottawa, Detroit, Buffalo, and so on, I think Buffalo is the one to actually make a jump next and get into a Wild Card spot this season, or at least genuinely be in the mix for it come the last couple of weeks of the regular season, like what Detroit did last season.
Ezra: I’ll stay out East - I think Jacob Markstrom outplays Linus Ullmark by a mile and helps New Jersey secure a playoff spot pretty easily, while Ottawa barely stays relevant. That new-look Devils defense is just so much better than Ottawa’s, which actively got worse this offseason with the loss of Jacob Chychrun and (to a lesser extent) Erik Brannstrom.
Jackie: I’m stealing the idea from Adrian below, the newest Philadelphia Flyer phenom Matevi Michkov wins the Calder trophy. I’ll double down and say a Russian takes the Calder, Vezina and Hart trophy in 2025.
Eddie: Adam Fantilli was one of my favourite prospects from the 2023 draft class. He’s a player with some serious talent but his rookie year came to an unfortunate end due to a nasty cut on his ankle. He was on pace for 45 points before the injury. For Fantilli I believe the breakout is when not if and with a full season and another year of development I think he can push 30 goals this year.
How about any team forecasts across the NHL?
Evan: I’ve said it the last two seasons and have gone two-for-two. Why not make it three-for-three? The Pittsburgh Penguins, despite all their moves from Kyle Dubas and company in the offseason, will miss the postseason. All in a ploy to bring Sidney Crosby to Colorado, of course!
Adrian: I think the award for Rookie of the Year won’t go to a player in the first three picks of this year’s entry draft. Something tells me this year's draft class won’t settle as most have predicted.
Jess: While I like a majority of the moves that the Edmonton Oilers have made this offseason, like signing Jeff Skinner, I think they might struggle a bit with their cap situation this upcoming season, and that struggle might be coming sooner rather than later. St. Louis already gave offer sheets to Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, and if Edmonton wants to match those offers and keep one or both players, they are probabaly going to have to think about the long term effects with the likes of Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Evan Bouchard all needing new contracts in the next couple of summers. So while this prediction might end up being a domino effect instead of just in a vaccum, I think they’re going to start struggling with their cap situation this season with those offer sheets specifically.
Ezra: Oh oops I kind of did a team forecast in the last section, so I’ll look West and say the LA Kings finish ahead of the Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific then lose to them in the playoffs for the third straight year. Vancouver is the other Pacific playoff team again, and no one else really challenges that top three.
Jackie: The new? rejuvenated? franchise in Utah will make the playoffs. There was always talent there plus now they have direction and a sense of security. Conversely, is it the end of an era and Tampa Bay misses the playoffs, which kinda has to happen for the youth movement in the Atlantic with all of Buffalo, Ottawa, Montreal and Detroit vying to take the next step.
Eddie: There’s been some serious hype about the Nashville Predators this offseason. They made some big free agency moves for guys like Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault after a surprising playoff push from the Predators last season. I think the hype is warranted but I can easily see that team massively disappointing. Stamkos and Marchessault have only ever succeeded in one place in their respective careers. Add that to the fact that they’re two older players on an already older team. Can definitely see them falling out of the playoff spot they fought for last year. ...

Read Full Article.