Ah hockey feels, autumn is here and NHL exhibition is in full force. The 2022–23 NHL season is quickly approaching and will be the 106th season of operation of the National Hockey League. The regular season is scheduled to begin on October 7, 2022, when the San Jose Sharks and the Nashville Predators play the first of two games in Prague, Czech Republic. The majority of the league commences on October 12th, 2022.

Hockey pundits all over the place are making their predictions, and poolsters are looking to see which players might be a solid dark-horse pick. There is great excitement in markets such as Carolina, Florida, Colorado, Ottawa and in Edmonton. There is some uncertainty in other markets such as Toronto, Buffalo and Philadelphia. The Seattle Kraken are set to start their second NHL season hoping to grow from their first. The Colorado Avalanche begin the long journey of defending their Stanley Cup championship.

Here at the Hockey Fanatic, we also like to share our thoughts on the upcoming season and some predictions for how the season might unfold. There are always a lot of questions as the season begins:

• How many goals will Ovie score this year to come closer to the great Wayne Gretzky’s total?
• Will Connor McDavid reach 130 points and reclaim the Hart trophy
• How long does John Tortorella last in Philly?
• Will the Canadiens or Blackhawks tank to try and secure the first overall draft pick and a chance to select Connor Bedard?
• Will Patrick Kane and Johnathan Toews be traded out of Chicago?
• Is this the year that the Toronto Maple Leafs win a playoff series?
• Who will become the started in the net for the Vegas Golden Knights?
• Is this the year that Buffalo becomes closer to making the playoffs?
• Is Carolina as good as everyone thinks they are?
• Will the Flames dominate the Pacific or does Edmonton challenge for top spot? (BTW I’d say the A.I. that hashed out the NHL schedule this season failed as the Flames and Oilers only play three times… like c’mon)

Ah we digress. So lets take a look at how the divisions will stack up in the NHL this season.

NHL Predictions: Regular Season Division Standings

The Pacific Division is no longer the weakest division in the NHL, the Alberta teams will be strong, Vegas looks to rebound and the Kings and Canucks should see marked improvements this season.

Central Division

Team	GP	Wins	Losses	OTL	Points
Colorado	82	58	18	6	122
St. Louis	82	47	25	10	104
Minnesota	82	46	27	9	101
Nashville	82	44	32	6	94
Dallas	82	42	30	10	94
Winnipeg	82	38	33	11	87
Chicago	82	25	46	11	61
Arizona	82	26	48	8	60

Pacific Division

This season the Flames and Oilers should battle it out for which team will win the Pacific.

Team	GP	Wins	Losses	OTL	Points
Calgary	82	52	22	8	112
Edmonton	82	50	25	7	107
Vegas	82	45	28	9	99
Los Angeles	82	42	29	11	95
Vancouver	82	41	31	10	92
Anaheim	82	34	35	13	81
San Jose	82	32	40	10	74
Seattle	82	30	45	7	67

Atlantic Division

In the Atlantic, you have to look to Florida, Toronto and Tampa Bay as being the three teams that will challenge for the division title.

Team	GP	Wins	Losses	OTL	Points
Florida	82	56	19	7	119
Toronto	82	51	22	9	111
Tampa Bay	82	50	26	6	106
Boston	82	47	28	7	101
Ottawa	82	39	33	10	88
Detroit	82	35	38	9	79
Buffalo	82	34	39	9	77
Montreal	82	25	48	9	59

Metropolitan Division

Finally in the Metro division, the Carolina Hurricanes should put up some impressive numbers this season.

Team	GP	Wins	Losses	OTL	Points
Carolina	82	55	17	10	120
NY Islanders	82	48	23	11	107
NY Rangers	82	48	25	9	105
Washington	82	45	27	10	100
Pittsburgh	82	44	29	9	97
Columbus	82	39	35	8	86
New Jersey	82	31	41	10	72
Philadelphia	82	28	44	10	66