from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,

...here are some 2023-24 NHL predictions, most of which you as readers will be able to throw in my face in several months.

Give me a Toronto-Edmonton Stanley Cup Final with the Oilers winning Game 7 on the road. It’s actually the same Cup final prediction I had last April before the playoffs.

I like the Stars and Hurricanes to complete the Final Four picture, and either one of those teams could easily end up in the Final....

Going to his hometown Sabres makes a lot of sense, but my prediction is that Patrick Kane ends up with the Panthers.

One would think Florida would be more worried about its blue line, my sense is that the Panthers feel they can hang in until Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour return. Panthers general manager Bill Zito had Kane at a world hockey championship, where Zito made him captain.

Can you imagine Kane playing on a line with Aleksander Barkov? I certainly can....

more ($) on each of the above plus other predictions...