10 biggest X-factors for the 2019-20 NHL season

If the past few NHL seasons have shown us anything, it is that we really do not know how things are going to play out on the ice once the puck drops and the games begin.

We know the usual contenders are going to be in the mix and the established superstars are going to collect their points and dominate, but there are always a handful of X-factors that will completely change what happens during the season.

Here we look at 10 of those for the 2019-20 season, from individual players, positions of weakness, offseason additions and even a couple of leaguewide rule changes.

1. Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida 

Of all the big offseason additions around the NHL this summer, this might be the one that can produce the most immediate results. The Panthers were a much better team than their final record indicated last season, and they also have a good core of young talent in place. Aleksander Barkov is one of the NHL's best players, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck and Evgenii Dadonov are all top-line players, and Aaron Ekblad and Keith Yandle are a strong top two on defense. The one thing they lacked that held them back all year was capable goaltending. Bobrovsky is one of the league's best and could be worth a massive swing in the standings if he gives Florida the same level of play he gave the Columbus Blue Jackets. The past two years have seen young teams take big steps forward with the Jets (2018) and Hurricanes (2019) finally emerging and reaching their potential. This could be Florida's year for such a jump.

2. Dustin Byfuglien's future in Winnipeg

After losing three players off their blue line over the summer, the Jets are set to open the 2019-20 season without their best defender, as Byfuglien takes some time away from the team to contemplate his future. Even if he does return at some point, any absence from him is going to be a huge blow to an already thin and undermanned blue line. If he decides to walk away for good, the Jets defense may not be good enough to even get this team back in the playoffs.

3. Nazem Kadri's impact in Colorado. 

This might be one of the more overlooked additions of the summer. The Avalanche have one of the NHL's best top lines but were seriously lacking quality depth behind it. They addressed it in part by trading for Andre Burakovsky and signing Joonas Donskoi. The big move, however, was finally trading Tyson Barrie to Toronto in exchange for Kadri, a fierce two-way player who can shut down top scorers and also score 30 goals himself. Adding that to a team with a dominant top line is a massive score. The big question for Kadri: Can he control his emotions in the playoffs. Two years in a row he has been suspended in the postseason, negatively impacting his team. He can only help a team if he is on the ice.

4. The Barry Trotz impact in New York

Trotz was named NHL's Coach of the Year for helping turn the Islanders from a laughing stock into a playoff team that actually made some noise in the postseason. If he does it again with Semyon Varlamov replacing Robin Lehner in net it should go a long way toward removing any doubt as to whether it was his system or the goaltending that sparked the Islanders' turnaround.

5. Goaltending questions in San Jose and Columbus 

We have hit on this position a lot for these two teams leading up to the season, but it is impossible not to. The Sharks have everything in place to win a Stanley Cup except what might be the most impactful position on the ice. After getting a league-worst performance a year ago from Martin Jones and Aaron Dell, the Sharks are sticking with the same duo and hoping for a bounce-back. The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, watched a two-time Vezina winner (Bobrovsky) walk away and are hoping that either Joonas Korpisalo (a career backup) or Elvis Merzlikins (zero games in North America) can replace him. Columbus is looking to make the playoffs for a fourth year in a row and still has enough talent to make it happen if one of the goalies can secure the position.

6. Jordan Binnington's encore

Even when they had the worst record in the Western Conference, the Blues were always a team that was built to win — one that could be a contender if it could ever fix its subpar goaltending. The midseason call-up of Binnington not only fixed it, but it also sent the Blues on an incredible second-half run that produced the franchise's first-ever championship. Now he has to show he can play that way over a full season.

7. What does Corey Perry have left? 

Another top-heavy Western Conference contender that needed a depth upgrade was Dallas. The Stars addressed that by signing Joe Pavelski away from the San Jose Sharks and picking up Perry following his buyout from the Anaheim Ducks. You should be confident in Pavelski being a significant upgrade, but Perry is the wild card. His career has rapidly declined in recent years, and he is coming off his worst season in the NHL. If he can rebound even a little, that would be a huge lift to a team that needs more secondary scoring options.

8. The top rookies 

This year's rookie class is going to be a monster, and it is headlined by the top two picks in the 2019 draft class (Jack Hughes, New Jersey, and Kaapo Kakko, NY Rangers) adding to the already fierce rivalry between the Devils and Rangers. Meanwhile in Colorado, Cale Makar will be asked to play a huge role for an emerging Stanley Cup contender, Quinn Hughes looks to join Vancouver's young core, Sam Steel gets a chance to shine in Anaheim, Nick Suzuki can make last year's Max Pacioretty trade look even stronger for Montreal and Alexandre Texier gets a chance to make an impact for a Columbus team that looks to overcome some huge offseason departures.

9. New coaches

There are seven new coaches around the league this season: Dave Tippett (Edmonton), D.J. Smith (Ottawa), Todd McLellan (Los Angeles), Dallas Eakins (Anaheim), Ralph Krueger (Buffalo), Alain Vigneault (Philadelphia) and Joel Quenneville (Florida). Will any of them be able to make an impact and turn things around? Each of those teams is hoping that its hire can do what Trotz did a year ago in New York. Quenneville (good team, great goalie addition) seems like he might be the one in the best position to make it happen.

10. Expanded instant replay review

Following a series of officiating mishaps a year ago and some significant ones in the playoffs (including one that helped swing a Game 7 in the Vegas-San Jose series), the NHL has increased its use of instant replay to include game misconducts and plays resulting in goals that should have been whistled (hand passes, high sticks, pucks hitting protective netting in offensive zone). What sort of impact will this have? Will it go as smoothly as the NHL hopes it will? Or will there still be more controversy that follows the increased use of replay? This will make its biggest impact in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but it will still be a story worth watching during the regular season.