NHL predictions 2023-24: Playoff teams, division winners and Stanley Cup
Get ready to get mad.
Nothing stirs up emotion in hockey fans like predictions, particularly when it comes to forecasting the standings, who makes the playoffs and who wins the Stanley Cup. Hope springs eternal before any games are played. No one wants their dreams crushed in October. Surely, in laying out our staff projections for 2023-24, we’ll ruffle some feathers.
At the same time, we should all know by now to expect the unexpected. Five teams who missed the playoffs in 2021-22 made the playoffs in 2022-23. The No. 8 seed in the East upset the winningest regular-season team of all-time and made it to the Stanley Cup Final. At least one of the big swings in the predictions below could thus prove to be right come the spring.
Here are Daily Faceoff’s team predictions for 2023-24, as voted on by Matt Larkin, Frank Seravalli, Steven Ellis, Brock Seguin, Nick Alberga and Jason Gregor. Playoff teams are marked with asterisks.
ATLANTIC DIVISION
| LARKIN | SERAVALLI | ELLIS | SEGUIN | ALBERGA | GREGOR |
| Toronto* | Toronto* | Toronto* | Toronto* | Boston* | Toronto* |
| Buffalo* | Boston* | Buffalo* | Florida* | Toronto* | Tampa Bay* |
| Tampa Bay* | Buffalo* | Tampa Bay* | Tampa Bay* | Buffalo* | Florida* |
| Florida* | Tampa Bay* | Florida* | Detroit* | Tampa Bay* | Buffalo* |
| Boston | Ottawa | Ottawa | Boston | Florida | Boston |
| Ottawa | Florida | Boston | Ottawa | Ottawa | Ottawa |
| Detroit | Detroit | Detroit | Buffalo | Montreal | Detroit |
| Montreal | Montreal | Montreal | Montreal | Detroit | Montreal |
Despite the Atlantic’s reputation as the most competitive in hockey, none of us predicted that five playoff seeds would come from there. Four of us have tabbed the Boston Bruins to go from 65 wins to out of the playoffs altogether, a reflection of their catastrophic offseason losses, which included Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Taylor Hall, Dmitry Orlov, Tyler Bertuzzi and more. So much for the Ottawa Senators hype train; none of us has them making the playoffs in 2023-24.
METROPOLITAN DIVISION
| LARKIN | SERAVALLI | ELLIS | SEGUIN | ALBERGA | GREGOR |
| New Jersey* | New Jersey* | New Jersey* | Carolina* | Carolina* | Carolina* |
| Carolina* | Carolina* | Carolina* | New Jersey * | New Jersey* | New Jersey* |
| NY Rangers* | NY Rangers* | NY Rangers* | NY Rangers* | NY Rangers* | NY Rangers* |
| Pittsburgh* | Pittsburgh* | Pittsburgh* | Pittsburgh* | NY Islanders* | Pittsburgh* |
| NY Islanders | NY Islanders | NY Islanders | Washington | Pittsburgh | Washington |
| Washington | Columbus | Washington | NY Islanders | Washington | NY Islanders |
| Columbus | Washington | Columbus | Philadelphia | Columbus | Columbus |
| Philadelphia | Philadelphia | Philadelphia | Columbus | Philadelphia | Philadelphia |
The New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes battled down to the wire for the Metro crown last season, and the split in voting indicates we expect another close fight. Most of us believe new president of hockey ops and GM Kyle Dubas will resurrect the Pittsburgh Penguins at least enough to make them a playoff team. A big vote of non-confidence to Lou Lamoriello: only one of us has his New York Islanders qualifying after a stagnant offseason.
CENTRAL DIVISION
| LARKIN | SERAVALLI | ELLIS | SEGUIN | ALBERGA | GREGOR |
| Dallas* | Colorado* | Dallas* | Colorado* | Colorado* | Colorado* |
| Colorado* | Dallas* | Colorado* | Dallas* | Dallas* | Dallas* |
| Minnesota* | Minnesota* | Minnesota* | Minnesota* | Minnesota* | Minnesota* |
| Winnipeg | St. Louis | Arizona | Winnipeg* | St. Louis | St. Louis |
| Arizona | Winnipeg | Winnipeg | Nashville | Winnipeg | Winnipeg |
| St. Louis | Nashville | St. Louis | Arizona | Arizona | Nashville |
| Nashville | Arizona | Chicago | St. Louis | Nashville | Arizona |
| Chicago | Chicago | Nashville | Chicago | Chicago | Chicago |
Gone are the days when the Central was viewed as a viper pit. It’s a top-heavy division now, featuring a pair of true Stanley Cup contenders in the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars, lording over some teams in transition. All but one of us projects just three playoff teams to come out of the Central in 2023-24. It seems we all expect some improvement from the Arizona Coyotes – just not enough to make the playoffs.
PACIFIC DIVISION
| LARKIN | SERAVALLI | ELLIS | SEGUIN | ALBERGA | GREGOR |
| Edmonton* | Edmonton* | Edmonton* | Edmonton* | Edmonton* | Edmonton* |
| Vegas* | Vegas* | Vegas* | Vegas* | Los Angeles* | Vegas* |
| Los Angeles* | Los Angeles* | Los Angeles* | Los Angeles* | Vegas* | Los Angeles* |
| Seattle* | Calgary* | Calgary* | Calgary * | Calgary* | Vancouver* |
| Vancouver* | Vancouver* | Vancouver* | Seattle | Vancouver* | Calgary* |
| Calgary | Seattle | Seattle | Vancouver | Seattle | Seattle |
| Anaheim | San Jose | Anaheim | Anaheim | Anaheim | Anaheim |
| San Jose | Anaheim | San Jose | San Jose | San Jose | San Jose |
The group unanimously likes the Edmonton Oilers to dethrone the Vegas Golden Knights atop the Pacific standings. Fascinatingly, almost no one buys the Seattle Kraken’s Cinderella season of a year ago, with just one voter tabbing them for a playoff spot. Every voter has one or both of the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames returning to the postseason.
STANLEY CUP PICKS
Matt Larkin: New Jersey over Dallas
Frank Seravalli: Dallas over Carolina
Steven Ellis: Dallas over New Jersey
Brock Seguin: Edmonton over Toronto
Nick Alberga: Colorado over New Jersey
Jason Gregor: Edmonton over Toronto
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