20 questions heading into the 2018-19 NHL season

Now that the Capitals have ended their championship drought and, for the first time ever, enter a season as defending Stanley Cup champions we have to ask the obvious question: Will they repeat? The odds are overwhelmingly stacked against them, just because hockey history has shown just how difficult it is to win in back-to-back years. It has happened just three times since 1990 (the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991 and 1992, and then again in 2016 and 2017; the Detroit Red Wings in 1997 and 1998). The Capitals, though, are largely bringing back the same team that won it all a year ago with the lone exceptions being the backup goalie and a fourth-line center. This team is still loaded with talent and no longer has the pressure of being expected to lose in the playoffs. 

The Vegas Golden Knights were THE story in the NHL during the 2017-18 season, going on an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final in their debut season. Now we get to see what is in store from them in Year 2. Will William Karlsson be able to duplicate his 43-goal season? Will Marc-Andre Fleury be able to carry the team in net again? Will the new additions of Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny be enough to get them back to the playoffs and prepared for another run at a championship? They are a fascinating team — and what should be a darn exciting one. 

Perhaps more specifically, is John Tavares the missing piece? The Maple Leafs and their fans are starving for a championship and looking to end the Stanley Cup drought that dates back to 1967. They added the top free agent of the summer — hometown man Tavares — to an offense that is already loaded with an embarrassment of riches at forward. Championship expectations are going to be through the roof. Before they can do that, though, they have to get out of the first round, something that has not happened in Toronto since 2004. 

Joe Thornton's career is getting close to wrapping up, and after signing a one-year deal with the San Jose Sharks, he is back for another run at the championship that has eluded him his entire career. The Sharks have gone all-in trying to get him there, having signed Evander Kane to a long-term contract and trading for Erik Karlsson to form what might be one of the NHL's best defensive units with him, Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic. This was a 100-point team that made it to the second round a year ago (losing to the eventual Western Conference Champions in six games). They look to be even better this season. 

The Chicago Blackhawks missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2007-08 season, and it was largely due to the fact their goaltending wasn't good enough in the absence of starter Corey Crawford. With the new season set to begin, Crawford still isn't back to 100 percent as he continues to recover from a concussion. He has become one of the Blackhawks' most important players, and if he is not healthy and playing on top of his game, it is possible the Blackhawks could start a new playoff streak — one that involves missing the playoffs. 

There were no in-season coaching changes during the 2017-18 season, something that is almost unheard of in the NHL. That probably will not happen again. Todd McLellan has to be on the hot seat if the Oilers struggle out of the gate. Could Chicago part ways with Joel Quenneville if things seem destined for another non-playoff season? And you have to assume that Guy Boucher is on thin ice in Ottawa, as the Senators kick off a massive rebuilding phase. 

This was one of the big storylines in the NHL during the 2017-18 season because nobody could ever really figure out what, exactly, goalie interference was. With the league attempting to streamline the decision-making by putting it in the hands of the situation room, it might help to create some sort of consistent standard, instead of leaving it up to the on-ice officials who all might see things differently. 

Our Magic 8-ball says...unlikely. McDavid has won the past two NHL scoring titles, and given the way his career is going and the fact he is now entering what should be his peak years in the league, it seems like this award is going to belong to him as long as he avoids injury. 

It has been more than five years since we have seen Ilya Kovalchuk in the NHL, and while he should not be expected to be the 50-goal, 90-point player he was before leaving for Russia, he should still be a really good offensive player, even at age 35. The Los Angeles Kings are hoping he can still be a difference-maker, given the financial commitment (three years, $18.75 million) they gave him, as well as the fact that they need someone to strengthen an offense that has been one of the worst in the league for years now. 

After years of losing and always having the lottery balls work against them, the Buffalo Sabres finally landed the top pick in the draft and used it to select what they hope will be a transformative player for their blue line in Rasmus Dahlin. He is one of the most anticipated and hyped defenseman to enter the NHL in years, and the Sabres need him to be a star — preferably sooner, rather than later. 

The Columbus Blue Jackets should be a playoff team, and they have the potential to be a pretty good one. That is the good news. The bad news is their two best and their most important players — forward Artemi Panarin and starting goalie Sergei Bobrovsky — are both eligible for unrestricted free agency after this season, and it remains to be seen if either one wants to re-sign with the Blue Jackets. That makes them potential trade candidates, especially if the Blue Jackets find themselves on the playoff bubble or on the outside of the playoff picture by the trade deadline. You want to try and win while you have them, but you also do not want to let them exit in free agency for no return. Really tough call for Blue Jackets management. 

The Winnipeg Jets have blossomed into one of the NHL's best teams and a true offensive powerhouse. At the center of that is third-year superstar Patrik Laine, already one of the league's top goal scorers with 80 goals in his first 155 games. He is off to one of the best goal-scoring starts to a career in NHL history, and the next big accomplishment for him is to reach the 50-goal plateau. He came just six short this past season. If anybody is going to take away the goal-scoring crown from Alex Ovechkin, Laine might be the player to do it. 

The rebuild is a complete teardown, and with several players up for unrestricted free agency after this season, you can be sure more significant trades are on the way. This is already one of the worst teams in the league on paper, and it is almost a given that Matt Duchene and Mark Stone will be traded by the deadline. The problem for the Senators is their first-round draft pick belongs to the Colorado Avalanche, thanks to the trade that sent Duchene to Ottawa a year ago. 

This is a familiar story. The Philadelphia Flyers have a couple of All-Stars at the top of their lineup in Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek, as well as a great collection of young talent all over the roster. Their only big question mark is in goal. Carter Hart is the future, but he is probably not ready to be a full-time starter in the NHL. That means it again will be up to Brian Elliott, Michal Neuvirth and some sort of goalie by committee to make it all work. Based on the Flyers' organizational history at the position, the odds say they will not make it work, especially given the way the goalies played a year ago. But Elliott is always capable of that random great year where he plays like a true top-tier goalie. Maybe this will be one of those years. 

This is one of those years where there is a prospect at the top of the draft that fans of every bad team in the league will want. That prospect this season is Jack Hughes. The early contenders for the best shot at the lottery are Colorado (thanks to owning the Senators' first-round pick), Arizona, Vancouver and Detroit. Some sleeper teams are Montreal, Chicago (if Corey Crawford is not healthy or not able to play at a high level) as well as both the New York Rangers and Islanders. 

Over the past five years, the Montreal Canadiens have, for all intents and purposes, been the Montreal Carey Prices. As he has gone, so too have they. When he is at his best, he is as impactful as any other player in the league and has carried some mediocre Canadiens teams to levels they had no business reaching. When he hasn't been at his best or has been injured, the Canadiens have been awful. Given the makeup of this roster, especially after the trades of Alex Galchenyuk and Max Pacioretty this summer, they are going to need Price to be superman this year to have a chance at the playoffs. 

Henrik Lundqvist has been with the New York Rangers for the better part of his career. He turns 37 later this season and has clearly showed signs of slowing down. The Rangers are going through a rebuilding phase and probably are not going to be contenders anytime soon, so anything that happens for them is going to be dependent on their veteran goalie. Another question worth pondering: Would he ever OK a trade out of New York for a chance to win the Stanley Cup?

The Tampa Bay Lightning have been one of the NHL's best teams over the past four years, reaching the Eastern Conference Final in three of those years and the Stanley Cup Final once. In two of those trips to the Eastern Conference Final, they lost in seven games after holding a 3-2 series lead. The year they went to the Stanley Cup Final, they had a 2-1 series lead over the Chicago Blackhawks before losing three consecutive games. It would be nearly impossible to get this close to the Stanley Cup without actually winning it. The roster is stacked and the front office seems determined to go all in on a championship. Now they just have to figure out a way to take the next step, which is usually just one more game. 

When Eric Staal signed with the Minnesota Wild, expectations had to be pretty low. His production had declined, and he was coming off a disappointing stint with the New York Rangers as a rental player. Then as soon as he arrived in Minnesota, he seemed to find the fountain of youth and immediately became an impact player again. After recording 65 points in his first year with the Wild, he came back even better in 2017-18 by scoring 42 goals (the second highest total of his career) and finishing with 76 points in 82 games. 

Every year there is at least one team — sometimes more! — that comes out of nowhere to make the playoffs or go on a lengthy postseason run. One year ago, we had a ton of them with New Jersey, Colorado, Winnipeg, and Vegas all taking unexpected steps forward, with the latter two teams reaching the Western Conference Final. Some candidates this year are the Florida Panthers after their strong finish and acquisition of Mike Hoffman, the Carolina Hurricanes following their addition of Dougie Hamilton to an already good defense and the St. Louis Blues after spending big money on offense over the summer.