The puck is set to drop Thursday night on another season. What teams will surprise? Who will disappoint? What free agent will be a steal? What free agent will be a bust? The 30 bold predictions have you covered.

1. All four Canadian teams in the Eastern Conference (Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg and Ottawa) will miss the postseason for the first time since the conferences were first aligned in 1993.

2. Amid plenty of doubts, Marty Havlat will fill Dany Heatley's hole in San Jose just fine, posting a career-high 44 goals as the Sharks continue to be the class of the Pacific.

3. The Red Wings will fail to win the Central for just the second time since 2000.

4. Tomas Vokoun, George McPhee's steal of the summer at $1.5 million, will be a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as he leads the Capitals to their third straight first-place finish in the East.

5. Rookie coach Kevin Dineen helps push the Panthers back into the playoffs for the first time since 2000 courtesy of an about-face led by Dale Tallon.

6. With all eyes set on Sidney Crosby's fragile health, a hungry Evgeni Malkin will win the Hart Trophy.

7. The rebuilding Edmonton Oilers will send Ryan Nugent-Hopkins back to junior hockey after a nine-game audition with the big club.

8. After back-to-back playoff appearances, it will be a lonely winter in the desert for the Phoenix Coyotes, who will finish in the bottom three in the West.

9. The suddenly scrappy Blackhawks, adding instead of subtracting last summer, climb in the standings after an eighth-place finish in 2010-11.

10. Buffalo, a trendy pick in the East after new owner Terry Pegula opened up the checkbook for the traditionally small market team in the summer, finishes six points behind Boston in the Northeast.

11. Despite raucous support, Claude Noel will have his hands full with a Jets team that did next to nothing this offseason.

12. Ducks fans exhaled when 80-point man Teemu Selanne decided to return for a 19th season. Coming off surgery on his left knee, Selanne won't break 65 points in his NHL swan song – even with the talent around him in Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan.

13. James Reimer is the main thing holding the Maple Leafs back from their first playoff appearance in seven years.

14. The Eastern Conference finalist Lightning take a step back and finish sixth in the East after a disappointing offseason.

15. Jamie Benn tops the 56 points he posted last year, even without Brad Richards, as the new-look Stars look to play spoiler in the West.

16. Even with bright spots Matt Duchene and Swedish stud Gabriel Landeskog, the only bright spot this season in Denver will be when the Avalanche finally raise Peter Forsberg's No. 21 to the rafters on Oct. 8.

17. Rick Nash and Jeff Carter will be one of the most exciting duos in hockey, collecting more than 75 goals between the two.

18. Eighteen-year-old Adam Larsson will get significant time on the power play in New Jersey and win the Calder Trophy, edging out the Islanders' Nino Niederreiter.

19. Weak up front and defensively, Carey Price can only do so much for the Canadiens. Montreal is without hockey in the spring for the first time since 2007.

20. Despite skating against Detroit, Nashville and Chicago six times apiece, the Blues will surprise to claw their way into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the West on the back of Jaroslav Halak.

21. Nashville's Shea Weber captures a well-deserved Norris Trophy.

22. The under-the-radar Wild will get off to a strong start under Mike Yeo (right) but fade in the New Year.

23. With a possible NBA lockout, hockey will be back on top in Los Angeles this winter, as the Kings sell out all 41 home dates as fans watch the deep Kings finish fourth in the West. A rejuvenated Mike Richards, playing without pressure, hits the 70-point plateau again.

24. It will be a long, cold winter in Ottawa, as the Senators are the odds-on favorite to have the most ping-pong balls in the lottery next spring.

25. Jaromir Jagr, 39, will be the NHL's comeback player of the year and net 68 points for the high-flying Flyers after a three-year exile in Russia.

26. The defense-heavy Nashville Predators, built for the playoffs, will again win a playoff round but fall before taking the big step to the West Finals.

27. Last season's rookie of the year, Carolina's Jeff Skinner, fails to hit the 30-goal mark again and the Hurricanes fall just a point shy of a playoff berth.

28. Martin Brodeur's year-long farewell tour won't include a playoff push like last year.

29. Brad Richards stars on Broadway, reunited with John Tortorella, as Rangers fans slowly stop calling for Glen Sather's head.

30. The Canucks become just the third team since 1983 to get back to the Stanley Cup Final after falling short the previous year. This time, there are no riots.

On Twitter: @DNFlyers

Photos by Getty Images

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