Predicting 2022-23 award winners, Stanley Cup champion

Heading into the 2022-23 regular season, theScore's Kyle Cushman, Kayla Douglas, Mike Dickson, Josh Gold-Smith, John Matisz, Sean O'Leary, and Josh Wegman make their picks for the division champions, major award winners, and Stanley Cup Final.

Atlantic Division

The Atlantic shapes up to be arguably the toughest division in the NHL with perennial contenders at the top and an intriguing group of up-and-comers rising at the bottom. The Toronto Maple Leafs have had plenty of regular-season success but have yet to capture the Atlantic crown. Despite going to the Stanley Cup Final three years in a row, the Tampa Bay Lightning haven't won their division since 2018-19. Then there's the Florida Panthers, the reigning division champs who just experienced a significant amount of turnover. No matter who wins, the battle for the Atlantic will be plenty of fun.

Metropolitan Division

Two teams stand above the crowd in the Metropolitan. A summer of shrewd moves makes the Carolina Hurricanes the slight favorite to three-peat as Metropolitan champs. After ousting the Canes in the playoffs, the New York Rangers will push for their first division title since 2014-15. It would be no surprise to see the Metro's top seed decided on the final weekend of the season.

Central Division

It's a sweep for the Colorado Avalanche. The reigning Stanley Cup champions dominated the Western Conference in the postseason and shape up to be an elite team again in 2022-23. The lack of game-changing moves from the rest of the Central leaves Colorado as the clear team to beat.

Pacific Division

The Battle of Alberta for the Pacific Division? Yes, please. What looked like a catastrophic offseason for the Calgary Flames following Johnny Gaudreau's departure in free agency and Matthew Tkachuk's refusal to sign long term somehow ended with them still top candidates to win the division. The additions of Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, and Nazem Kadri keep the Flames in the hunt. Meanwhile, Jack Campbell is the new man in the crease for an Edmonton Oilers team that's a constant threat for the division as long as it has Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

'Rocket' Richard Trophy

Auston Matthews is the favorite to take the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy on the heels of the league's first 60-goal campaign in a decade. Another year atop the goal charts would make Matthews the ninth player in NHL history to lead the league in goals for three consecutive seasons and just the second to do so since the introduction of this award in 1998-99. Draisaitl, last campaign's runner-up, is among the biggest threats to end Matthews' reign as the top goal-scorer in the league.

Art Ross Trophy

McDavid may not have enjoyed the 21-point buffer over second place that he had in 2020-21, but the Oilers star still managed to capture his fourth career Art Ross Trophy with relative ease last season. Somehow, McDavid increased his rate of production in the playoffs, with 33 points in just 16 games. It's difficult to see a healthy McDavid losing the Art Ross coming off of his outrageous 2021-22 performance.

Calder Trophy

The race for the Calder Memorial Trophy will be among the most fun to watch this season, with no clear favorite and some fascinating underdog threats. Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power is looking to become the first top pick since Matthews to win the award. Forward Matty Beniers is primed for a Calder-worthy season after his impressive debut at the end of 2021-22 with the Seattle Kraken.

Anaheim Ducks prospect Mason McTavish enters the campaign with momentum after his stellar outing at the 2022 world juniors for Canada. And don't sleep on top KHL signing Andrei Kuzmenko, who is set to begin the season on a line with Elias Pettersson for the Vancouver Canucks.

Vezina Trophy

New York's heir apparent made the throne his own in 2021-22. Igor Shesterkin had one of the best goaltending seasons in recent memory, posting a .935 save percentage in 53 appearances to take home the Vezina Trophy and earn a Hart nomination. He can't get too comfortable at the top, though, with lots of contenders in the mix.

No goaltender started more than Juuse Saros' 67 games last season. Jacob Markstrom wasn't far behind with 63 starts and also led the league in shutouts with nine. And sleeper pick Thatcher Demko could vault into the conversation if Vancouver takes a step toward playoff contention.

Norris Trophy

It's Cale Makar's world and we're just living in it. At 23 years old, the Avalanche blue-liner brought home the James Norris Memorial Trophy and the Conn Smythe. Makar's 28 goals and 86 points in 77 games are totals we haven't seen out of a defenseman in years ...

Except for Roman Josi, who went toe-to-toe with Makar offensively in 2021-22. The Nashville Predators defenseman racked up 96 points last year, the most a blue-liner has scored since 1993. The Norris was a two-horse race last season and shapes up to be a head-to-head battle once again.

Hart Trophy

Makar's dominant 2021-22 season and Conn Smythe run in the playoffs convinced some of our voters that he can be the first defenseman to capture the Hart Memorial Trophy since Chris Pronger in 1999-2000. It will be a tall task to top the many forwards chasing the award, but another elite campaign from Makar and the Avs will put him in the hunt.

Almost unbelievably, his Colorado teammate Nathan MacKinnon's individual trophy cabinet only contains the Calder and a Lady Byng. MacKinnon needs a season where he stays healthy and plays the full schedule to be a legitimate Hart threat. A three-time finalist, it seems like a matter of time for Nate. Meanwhile, it's not an NHL season unless McDavid is in the mix for the Hart.

Stanley Cup Final

Our voters are big believers in the Avalanche and Hurricanes. Five have the two teams meeting in the Cup Final, with three picking Colorado to come out on top of that matchup. Overall, four voters tabbed the Avs to repeat as champs. Carolina made the conference finals in 2019 but has yet to revisit that same level of postseason success. Years of knocking on the door have our voters anticipating they'll break through. And after plenty of playoff heartbreak, could this finally be the year for the Maple Leafs?