NHL Minute: 1/19/13

The 2013 NHL season begins today, so I'm kicking off a new segment called NHL Minute with a special season predictions bonus section.

Today's NHL schedule

• Penguins at Flyers - Newly-appointed Flyers captain Claude Giroux hosts Crosby, Malkin and the 7-1 Stanley Cup favorite Penguins on NBC.
  
• Senators at Jets - Two playoff hopefuls square off in Winnipeg. This is likely the final season for 40-year old Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson, who decided to give it another go after the Senators made a surprise playoff appearance last year. On Winnipeg, look out for Dustin Byfuglien, the 6-5 American who can play forward and defense.
  
• Blackhawks at Kings - The defending Stanley Cup champion Kings host a fast Blackhawks team with high expectations. LA will be unveiling their championship banner without star center Anze Kopitar and defenseman Willie Mitchell, who are both dealing with knee injuries. 
  
• Rangers at Bruins - Offseason acquisition Rick Nash makes his Rangers debut against a solid Boston team poised for their second Cup title in three years. Expect one of these two teams to represent the Eastern Conference this summer.
  
• Maple Leafs at Canadiens - Another year of hockey north of the border.
  
• Devils at Islanders - Following an unexpected trip to the Stanley Cup, the Devils lost their captain, Zach Parise, to Minnesota via free agency. It took all of Parise, Ilya Kovalchuk, and future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur to reach the finals, and I don't see a compelling reason that New Jersey will be to replicate their success, especially without Parise. The Islanders, meanwhile, are trying to make the postseason cut for the first time since 2007.
  
• Capitals at Lightning - Southeast Division rivals square off in what should be an offense-heavy matchup. Washington's Alex Ovechkin and Tampa Bay's Steven Stamkos are two of the league's best at finding the back of the net and are annual scoring race competitors, so expect big highlights out of those two.
  
• Hurricanes at Panthers - Carolina's last game was April 7, a 4-1 loss to the Panthers. The Hurricanes finished 12th in the East in 2012, but the summer acquisitions of Jordan Staal, Alexander Semin and Joe Corvo, among others, have the Canes thinking about playoff contention. The Canes are without center Tuomo Ruutu until April, as he recovers from hip surgery. The Panthers, meanwhile, made the playoffs last year for the first time since 2000 and are looking to build on their success. They still lack scoring depth, so best-case scenario look for the same results as last year.
• Red Wings at Blues - The Blues are ESPN's favorite to win the Cup. They're returning their top six scorers, are young, play together, have a good coach and two great goalies. They're for real. The Wings, now without long-time defensive mainstay Nick Lidstrom, are going to be a bit more mediocre. The Wings also lost Brad Stuart via agency to the Sharks.
• Blue Jackets at Predators - The Blue Jackets have nobody on their roster and the Predators have to act like losing stud blueliner Ryan Suter to Minnesota was no big deal. Nashville was a sleeper Stanley Cup pick last year, but they have to have someone replace Suter and have someone step up on offense if they want to avoid turning into the Calgary Flames.
• Coyotes at Stars - The Coyotes won the Pacific Division last year and made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals behind stellar goaltending and timely offense. The Stars were bounced from the playoffs during the final week of the season, so they went out and signed super-veterans Jaromir Jagr from the Flyers and Ray Whitney from, coincidentally, the Coyotes.
• Avalanche at Minnesota - Colorado has a decent squad with some young talent, with 20-year-old captain and last year's Calder Trophy winner Gabriel Landeskog at the core of it. They also have power forward Jamie McGinn, who is a lock for  a 20-goal season. However, some of the guys that have been around for a while, like 27-year-old Paul Stastny, are losing their potential label and need to take their production to the next level if they want to be serious contenders. For Minnesota, you have to like that they went out and signed the aforementioned Parise and Suter. Unfortunately, they signed each of them to 13-year, $98 million deals. That's serious investment in two players, but this is a team that had the NHL's best record through about 30 games last season. If they stay healthy and receive contributions from their 2011 offseason acquisitions, Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi, they can make the playoffs.
• Ducks at Canucks - Two teams, each with a player that has been in trade rumors for months. The difference is that Ducks are looking forward to what they get for center Bobby Ryan, and the Canucks are just hoping someone will shell out for former Vezina-winning goalie Roberto Luongo.

Season Predictions
2013 Stanley Cup Champion: San Jose Sharks
Eastern Conference Champion: Boston Bruins
Presidents' Trophy: New York Rangers
Hart Memorial Trophy: Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
Art Ross Trophy: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Vezina Trophy: Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
Norris Trophy: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa Senators
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Nathan Horton, Boston Bruins
Jack Adams Award: Todd McLellan, San Jose Sharks