With a new NHL season coming up there are a lot of questions to be asked, and soon to be answered. Who will be the standout forward this season? Who will form the top defensive pair this year?

Player Predictions:

Alexander Ovechkin led the NHL last season in number of goals scored, netting 51 for the Caps. Unfortunately for Ovi, his plus minus was poor, at a -35.

Corey Perry on the other hand, had 82 points in 81 games. The right wing put 43 home for Anaheim and had 39 assists. If that doesn’t impress you enough, his plus minus was +32, almost double that of Ovechkin. However Ovechkin outperformed Perry on the powerplay, scoring 24 goals as opposed to Perry’s 8.

Of course Sidney Crosby can’t be forgotten, who last season had a whopping 104 points in 80 games, off 36 goals and 68 assists.Tyler Seguin made a nice addition to the Dallas Stars last season,with another new player bringing his talents to the Stars this season: Jason Spezza. Spezza will add the presence of a veteran on the ice for the Stars.

Duncan Keith of the Chicago Blackhawks will be a player to look for this season. In 2013-2014 had 61 points and a plus minus of +22.

Along side Keith is Brent Seabrook. Seabrook had 43 points and a plus minus of +23. These two form a solid defensive line and will provide some serious defense for the Blackhawks.

The New York Islanders made some power moves before the start of the season on Wednesday. The team acquired Nick Leddy from the Blackhawks and Johnny Boychuk from the Boston Bruins. The addition of these two players adds experience to the Islanders’ defense both in the regular season and in the postseason. This was an interesting move for a team who regularly misses the playoffs.

Play off predictions:

The kings are looking good and once again seem like they will return to the playoffs. The Rangers are looking shaky and if they make the playoffs it looks like they will get knocked out early, along with the Devils, who don’t seem to have the current potential to win the cup. Teams who may make a big playoff push could be the Kings, the Ducks, the Blackhawks, the Penguins, the Predators, and the Blues.

Goalie:

Josh Harding who led the league in save percentage (.933) and had the lowest goals- against average (1.65) has been diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. MS is a chronic, typically progressive disease involving damage to the sheaths of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, whose symptoms may include numbness, impairment of speech and of muscular coordination, blurred vision, and severe fatigue.

In short, despite the fact that Harding has only played 29 games, he still did very well and his absence will clearly impact his team. His situation is progressively growing  worse and sometimes keeps him off of the ice. That being said, it looks like the superstar goalie to watch this year will be Brian Elliot. Elliot is on the Blues and has one of the best save percentages in the game (.922) and the second lowest goals-against average (1.96).

However right on his heels could be Tuukka Rask of the Bruins, who had an even better save percentage (.930), though a worse goals-against percentage than Harding (2.04).  It’ll be quite interesting to see the fight between these two goalies and find out who the number one standout goalie will be in the 2014-2015 NHL season.

We can only hope to see an exciting season with an interesting fight for the cup!