With the NHL preseason officially upon us, it gives us a glimpse into what we will see from our favorite teams when the regular season commences. In today’s edition of The Puck Drop, I’ll go through my NHL preseason hot takes after watching some of the games.
The Devils are playoff contenders
As a Devils fan, I am not afraid to admit this take might be a little biased, but nonetheless, I feel it’s true. While the Devils lost their first two preseason games against the Islanders and Canadiens, Devils fans should not fret.
These past two seasons, the Devils have gone on hot streaks during the preseason and fans have gotten hyped about the regular season, only for the Devils to lose most games at the beginning of the year. This may sound odd, but I feel that that is a good sign.
After all, the Devils have a new coach behind the bench: Sheldon Keefe. Having formerly coached the Toronto Maple Leafs and players like Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, Keefe knows what it takes to build up young talent within a franchise.
Another important thing to note is, in these preseason games, the roster is a mixture of the players who need to fight for a spot, unlike players like Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes.
When the regular season is finally upon us and the team is fully together, with Keefe behind the bench, they will be a force to be reckoned with.
Macklin Celebrini will struggle to find his groove with the Sharks
In any sport, being a rookie is a tough adjustment for an athlete. Macklin Celebrini is a gifted center, who scored 64 points last year in his freshman season with Boston University.
He is a good offensive addition for San Jose, but the Sharks’ roster is too scattered, with various levels of playing experience and skill. I feel that Celebrini will need some time to get his reps in and adjust to the speed of the game.
Just like Connor Bedard, he will be one of the main focal points of the Sharks’ offense, but it won’t be a historic rookie year, like it was for Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews.
Columbus Blue Jackets will make the Stanley Cup Finals
After the tragic passing of Johnny and his brother Matthew Gaudreau, the Blue Jackets will be looking to have a stellar season in honor of the late star-center.
Throughout the past few years, the Blue Jackets have seen new additions to the team, with players like Ivan Provorov, Adam Fantilli and Gavin Brindley.
It’s been a few years since we’ve seen the Blue Jackets in playoff contention, so this is their year to shine.
The NHL regular season is set to kick off on Oct. 4. It will be interesting to see how things shake out. You never know what could happen.