NHL 2017-18: No Olympics, No Problem. Right?

English: Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, United States during a sold-out National Hockey League ice hockey game between the Columbus Blue Jackets (home team) and the Boston Bruins (visiting team), in 2006. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The National Hockey League made its presence felt in China, with a couple of preseason games between the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings.  But that's as far in the Far East as they're going to go for now.  The league is not sending its players to the Winter Olympics, which is scheduled for South Korea in February, citing the long travel and having to shut down the regular season for three weeks.  Some players wanted to go anyway, but they've been discouraged by the league for risking their careers over this.

As it turns out, the NHL might be doing the smart thing with tensions between the United States and North Korea reaching the boiling point.  War might break out on the Korean Peninsula by the time the Opening Ceremonies are supposed to take place, and nobody wants to put athletes at risk.  At least France isn't.

Meanwhile, back in North America, there are these questions: 

• Can the Pittsburgh Penguins win their third consecutive Stanley Cup?
• Are the Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets more than one-season wonders?
• How far will Conor McDavid and Auston Murphy take their teams?
• Will the Vegas Golden Knights be a good bet for the NHL?
• What's going to become of the Arizona Coyotes, Florida Panthers, New York Islanders and Calgary Flames?  Seattle, Kansas City and Quebec City are waiting.

********************************************************************************
The Minnesota Wild are coming off their most successful regular season ever, yet they exited the playoffs after one round.  To help remedy that this season, they added Matt Cullen and Tyler Ennis.  Then they said goodbye to Marco Scandella (traded to Buffalo), Eric Haula (drafted by Vegas), Jason Pominville and Darcy Kuemper.

Coach Bruce Boudreau, in his second season, has to get more out of veterans Mikko Koivu, Mikael Granlund, Charlie Coyle, Devan Dubnyk and Zach Parise if the Wild hope to successfully navigate the tough Central Division.  Yes, they're a playoff team.  The catch is that once they get there, they have to start playing like they belong there.
*********************************************************************************
Our picks as to who will be eligible to lay claim to the Stanley Cup come April are as follows:

Eastern Conference  Toronto Maple Leafs, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals, Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers and New York Islanders.

Western Conference  Minnesota Wild, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, San Jose Sharks, Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers.