I decided to have some fun and come up with a burning question for each team going to the season. It's like a bit of a season preview, but not as good, and with questions instead of answers. I'll post one division at a time as I get through them. This can keep you busy while we all wait on Kurtis for the off season to move along.
Anaheim - Can they do some damage in the playoffs? The Ducks are relevant now, very relevant, and their roster suggests they could take another step forward.
Calgary - Can Chad chirp his way to a 1st place finish? The Flames' GM got chirpy at the All Star game last year. He went on to do a lot of winning, but fell short of getting a first place finish in the playoffs and in the GM of the year voting.
Vancouver - Can Demko recapture his rookie form? He looked like a franchise goalie back then, but his save percentage has gone down every season since and he even lost the starting job last year.
Vegas - Adding Ovechkin in FA last off season brought Vegas much closer to the playoffs. Will internal improvement from rookies like Jason Robertson be enough to earn a playoff spot?
Los Angeles: Will Subban bring them to the playoffs? Arguably the biggest fish in the FA pond chose LA as his landing spot. The young team improved last season already. They have plenty of Dale Weise type depth players this time around, but a better starter might help.
Seattle is a good team, without a doubt, and with MacKinnon, Rantanen and Meier they could be contending for a long time... But for some reason Malkin and Byfuglien keep coming out in trade rumors. Do they get a chance to win it all in Seattle with the young guns or do they get traded?
San Jose - After a few years of contention, San Jose rebuilt on the fly when Ovie left in free agency. How soon can Ehlers, Reinhart, Marner and co crack open another contention window for the Sharks?
Edmonton - Can the goaltending hold up? The Oilers took a big step forward, but can they do even better this year with Driedger and Berube in net? You'd think not, but goaltending is voodoo, so you never know for sure. Oilers management believes in them.