Hockey is back.

The three greatest words for all you die hard hockey fans as the start of a new season brings on great excitement. You can forget about last season if your team played poorly and look forward to a fresh start.

Most importantly, a new season brings hope that your favourite team will win the Stanley Cup.

In recent years and especially last season, the NHL playoffs have been thrilling to watch due to the amount of parity that exists in the league.

There are 6-8 teams that are true contenders and have the ability to win it all. Yet, any team that makes the playoffs can make a deep run because the separation of talent between seeds 1 through 8 is not as significant as it used to be.

The unpredictability of who is going to win is going to make this season that much more intriguing, which is what the NHL dreamed of when they enforced a salary cap 10 years ago in an attempt to make the league more balanced and competitive.

Here are my predictions for how the season is going to play out, hopefully my picks will be somewhat close to the actual final standings…

West

1. Anaheim
2. Nashville
3. Chicago
4. St. Louis
5. Minnesota
6. Calgary
7. Winnipeg
8. Los Angeles
9. Vancouver
10. Edmonton
11. Colorado
12. Dallas
13. San Jose
14. Arizona

East

1. Montreal
2. Tampa Bay
3. New York Rangers
4. Washington
5. Pittsburgh
6. New York Islanders
7. Ottawa
8. Detroit
9. Columbus
10. Boston
11. Florida
12. Philadelphia
13. Toronto
14. Buffalo
15. Carolina
16. New Jersey

Western Conference Finals

Anaheim over Nashville in 7

Anaheim is so deep and talented that they should be able to put it all together this year and get back to the finals for the first time since winning it all back in 2007. The only concern they have is goaltending, but their potent offense and solid blue line should be able to help ease a lot of that pressure.

Eastern Conference Finals

Montreal over Tampa Bay in 6

I must admit this pick is made with my heart instead of my head because I want to see a Canadian team win it all, but I think Montreal is more than capable of getting to the finals as they have one of the top goalies in the NHL and a roster with enough talent and depth. I believe Carey Price will be a man on a mission looking to avenge last season’s loss to the Lightning.

Stanley Cup Finals

Montreal over Anaheim in 7

I am hoping Montreal will bring the Cup back to Canada for the first time since 1993 when they won it that year. I am predicting Carey Price to be outstanding and be named the Conn Smythe trophy winner.

Get ready for a great season hockey fans!