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<p>It’s time to ring in the New Year, and that always makes for a perfect prediction window.&nbsp;Roundtable members: <strong>Offer your wildest hockey prediction for the calendar year 2023</strong>. The spicier the take, the better.</p>



<p><strong>MATT LARKIN:</strong> Here goes nothin’:&nbsp;<strong>Patrick Kane wins the Stanley Cup.&nbsp;</strong>With the situation getting uglier by the day in Chicago, I predict he waives his no-movement clause. Because he has that veto power, he’ll have an influence on his destination, which means he’ll go to a real contender. Given his pedigree as one of the greatest clutch players in NHL history, I believe he’ll put his new team over the top, whether it’s the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs – you get the idea. Kane will be the missing piece and will end up earning his fourth Cup ring in spring 2023.</p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="152"></div>



<p><strong>NICK ALBERGA: Patrice Bergeron retires following the 2022-23 campaign.&nbsp;</strong>For some reason, this season for Boston has had that ‘Last Dance’ feel from the onset. It’s probably the conspiracy theorist in me, but every time I hear a Bruins player talk about Bergeron, it’s like they know this is it – hence the ridiculous start. And let’s be honest, the&nbsp;37-year-old&nbsp;has nothing else to prove. He’s done it all. On top of that, he just strikes me as a guy who has no problem calling it quits when he clearly still has plenty left in the tank. For me, the B’s feel like a team of destiny. At the very least, I hope there’s a camera crew following their every move.&nbsp;</p>



<p><strong>STEVEN ELLIS: </strong>This… is finally the year <strong>the Toronto Maple Leafs break the playoff curse</strong>. I’m not sure I would have said that before the year based on their goaltending. But the fact Matt Murray and Ilya Samsonov are both capable of winning games – and they finally have some defensive depth – is a huge thing. I think they could still use someone capable of putting some pucks in the net in the bottom six, but I do think this is finally the year that Toronto has learned from its past failures and can make some noise. After the first round, though? I’m not convinced yet.&nbsp;</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="226"></div>



<p><strong>MIKE MCKENNA: </strong>My prediction is that <strong>not one NHL head coach gets fired before the end of the 2022-23 NHL regular season.</strong> I mean, who’s actually in trouble? Bruce Boudreau? Vancouver is playing&nbsp;decent enough hockey and the team will clearly be selling at the trade deadline. So I think Bruce makes it to the end. I don’t think Vancouver’s ownership wants to be paying three head coaches (Travis Green is still collecting a check), much less make a hurried decision mid-season. How about Dallas Eakins? Anaheim is terrible. But why would they fire Eakins mid-season? There’s really no need considering the team is in the Connor&nbsp;Bedard sweepstakes and Eakin’s contract is expiring. Brad Larsen in Columbus? D.J. Smith in Ottawa? Both teams have been ravaged by injury and expectations weren’t high to begin with. Basically I don’t see any tire fires around the league right now. Obviously that can change. But I don’t think the real coaching fireworks happen until the offseason when Barry Trotz tosses his hat back in the ring.</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="172"></div>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-recent-daily-faceoff-roundtables">Recent Daily Faceoff Roundtables</h2>



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