NHL Preview 2017-18

My apologies to the hockey community for not getting the NHL preview done sooner. I've had a busy schedule involving volunteer work, actual work, show content, and school. Life can be stressful.

Anyways, I'm going to prompt six questions about the upcoming NHL season that I'll hopefully answer correctly.

1. How Will The New Las Vegas Team Do? Let's get something straight: The Golden Knights won't make the playoffs right out the shoot. It's extremely rare for any expansion team to make the postseason. But the Golden Knights seem to have a plan in place with a hard-hitting, deflection-savvy defense. They'll just need more scorers on their lines in the future.
   
2. Where Could The Next NHL Team Land? The league won't settle at 31 teams. Gary Bettman won't allow that. But with the news that a $660 million renovation is in the works for Seattle's Key Arena, it seems likely that the Emerald City will get the next team. I know what you're thinking next: But, then they'll be NINE teams in the Pacific Division. Not so fast. The NHL will likely go to four divisions of four teams per conference. Other contenders for the 32nd team include Kansas City, Quebec City, and Houston.
   
3. Which Team Could Surprise Some People? The Dallas Stars made some moves this offseason. They added center Martin Hanzal (20 goals, 19 assists) to an already-loaded offense and goaltender Ben Bishop to address the goalie issue. It's not out of the realm of possibility that the Stars can make a run at the Stanley Cup, especially if Ken Hitchcock is behind the bench in Dallas. Also keep an eye on the Carolina Hurricanes and the Buffalo Sabres.
   
4. Which Team Could Suffer A Setback? It's entirely possible that the Anaheim Ducks could lose their grip on the Pacific Division. Edmonton and Calgary are on the rise and the Ducks aren't getting any younger. Anaheim still has key players like Cam Fowler (+7, 28 assists), Corey Perry (19 goals, 34 assists), Ryan Kesler (22 goals, 36 assists), Jakob Silfverberg (23  goals, 26 assists), Rickard Rakell (33 goals, +10) and Ryan Getzlaf (15 goals, 58 assists). But their window to win a Stanley Cup is now.
   
5. Can Nashville And Pittsburgh Make It Back To The Stanley Cup Final? It's possible, although both teams lost key players in their Stanley Cup runs last season (Nashville lost James Neal to the Vegas Golden Knights, Pittsburgh lost Chris Kunitz to Tampa Bay). There are also younger teams like Toronto, Edmonton, and Columbus that'll want to take a step further this year.
   
6. What's The Prediction For The Stanley Cup Final? Tampa Bay over Pittsburgh in the ECF in six. Edmonton over Nashville in seven. Edmonton over Tampa Bay in the Stanley Cup Final in six.