The NHL season is just about here.

We’ve assembled a panel of Sportsnet NHL Insiders to take a shot at predicting the unpredictable.

From the Stanley Cup winner to how many Canadian teams will be playing for the Stanley Cup in April, how many points Connor McDavid will get and who will lead the Maple Leafs in scoring, the following are our Insiders’ predictions for the 2018-19 NHL season.

Sportsnet Fantasy Hockey Pool Play the Sportsnet Fantasy Hockey Pool for your chance to win the ultimate grand prize: an all-new 2019 RAM 1500!

TEAM QUESTIONS

Stanley Cup Winner

John Shannon: San Jose

Elliotte Friedman: Winnipeg

Jeff Marek: Winnipeg

Chris Johnston: Winnipeg

Mark Spector: Winnipeg

Iain MacIntyre: San Jose

Gord Stellick: San Jose

Eric Francis: Tampa Bay

Caroline Cameron: Winnipeg

Kristina Rutherford: Winnipeg

Luke Fox: Tampa Bay

Eric Engels: Tampa Bay

Rory Boylen: Winnipeg

Nick Kypreos: St. Louis

David Amber: Winnipeg

Damien Cox: Winnipeg

East Champion

John Shannon: Tampa Bay

Elliotte Friedman: Toronto

Jeff Marek: Tampa Bay

Chris Johnston: Tampa

Mark Spector: Tampa

Iain MacIntyre: Tampa Bay

Gord Stellick: Columbus

Eric Francis: Tampa Bay

Caroline Cameron: Tampa Bay

Kristina Rutherford: Tampa Bay

Luke Fox: Tampa Bay

Eric Engels: Tampa Bay

Rory Boylen: Pittsburgh

Nick Kypreos: Tampa Bay

David Amber: Tampa

Damien Cox: Toronto

West Champion

John Shannon: San Jose

Elliotte Friedman: Winnipeg

Jeff Marek: Winnipeg

Chris Johnston: Winnipeg

Mark Spector: Winnipeg

Iain MacIntyre: San Jose

Gord Stellick: San Jose

Eric Francis: San Jose

Caroline Cameron: Winnipeg

Kristina Rutherford: Winnipeg

Luke Fox: Winnipeg

Eric Engels: Nashville

Rory Boylen: Winnipeg

Nick Kypreos: St. Louis

David Amber: Winnipeg

Damien Cox: Winnipeg

Most likely to exceed expectations

John Shannon: St. Louis

Elliotte Friedman: Florida

Jeff Marek: Arizona

Chris Johnston: Edmonton

Mark Spector: Buffalo

Iain MacIntyre: Edmonton

Gord Stellick: Carolina

Eric Francis: Anaheim

Caroline Cameron: Arizona

Kristina Rutherford: Philadelphia

Luke Fox: Florida

Eric Engels: Montreal

Rory Boylen: Dallas

Nick Kypreos: Florida

David Amber: Dallas

Damien Cox: Colorado

Most likely to disappoint

John Shannon: Minnesota

Elliotte Friedman: Chicago

Jeff Marek: Los Angeles

Chris Johnston: Anaheim

Mark Spector: Toronto

Iain MacIntyre: Anaheim

Gord Stellick: Anaheim

Eric Francis: Edmonton

Caroline Cameron: Ottawa

Kristina Rutherford: Washington

Luke Fox: Anaheim

Eric Engels: Boston

Rory Boylen: St. Louis

Nick Kypreos: Vegas

David Amber: Minnesota

Damien Cox: San Jose

Canadian team with highest point total

John Shannon: Winnipeg

Elliotte Friedman: Winnipeg

Jeff Marek: Winnipeg

Chris Johnston: Toronto

Mark Spector: Winnipeg

Iain MacIntyre: Winnipeg

Gord Stellick: Toronto

Eric Francis: Winnipeg

Caroline Cameron: Winnipeg

Kristina Rutherford: Toronto

Luke Fox: Winnipeg

Eric Engels: Winnipeg

Rory Boylen: Winnipeg

Nick Kypreos: Toronto

David Amber: Winnipeg

Damien Cox: Toronto

No. of Canadian teams in playoffs

John Shannon: 5

Elliotte Friedman: 3

Jeff Marek: 4

Chris Johnston: 4

Mark Spector: 3

Iain MacIntyre: 3

Gord Stellick: 3

Eric Francis: 3

Caroline Cameron: 3

Kristina Rutherford: 3

Luke Fox: 3

Eric Engels: 4

Rory Boylen: 4

Nick Kypreos: 4

David Amber: 4

Damien Cox: 4

AWARD QUESTIONS

Hart Trophy

John Shannon: Connor McDavid

Elliotte Friedman: Connor McDavid/Mark Scheifele

Jeff Marek: Connor McDavid

Chris Johnston: Connor McDavid

Mark Spector: Connor McDavid

Iain MacIntyre: Connor McDavid

Gord Stellick: Connor McDavid

Eric Francis: Connor McDavid

Caroline Cameron: Connor McDavid

Kristina Rutherford: Blake Wheeler

Luke Fox: Sidney Crosby

Eric Engels: Connor McDavid

Rory Boylen: Connor McDavid

Nick Kypreos: Connor McDavid

David Amber: Connor McDavid

Damien Cox: John Tavares

Art Ross

John Shannon: Connor McDavid

Elliotte Friedman: Connor McDavid

Jeff Marek: Connor McDavid

Chris Johnston: Connor McDavid

Mark Spector: Connor McDavid

Iain MacIntyre: Connor McDavid

Gord Stellick: Connor McDavid

Eric Francis: Connor McDavid

Caroline Cameron: Connor McDavid

Kristina Rutherford: Connor McDavid

Luke Fox: Connor McDavid

Eric Engels: Connor McDavid

Rory Boylen: Connor McDavid

Nick Kypreos: Connor McDavid

David Amber: Connor McDavid

Damien Cox: Nathan MacKinnon

Calder Trophy

John Shannon: Elias Pettersson

Elliotte Friedman: Gritty

Jeff Marek: Rasmus Dahlin

Chris Johnston: Andrei Svechnikov

Mark Spector: Elias Pettersson

Iain MacIntyre: Elias Pettersson

Gord Stellick: Andrei Svechnikov

Eric Francis: Brady Tkachuk

Caroline Cameron: Elias Pettersson

Kristina Rutherford: Elias Pettersson

Luke Fox: Elias Pettersson

Eric Engels: Rasmus Dahlin

Rory Boylen: Elias Pettersson

Nick Kypreos: Elias Pettersson

David Amber: Brady Tkachuk

Damien Cox: Elias Pettersson

Norris Trophy

John Shannon: Drew Doughty

Elliotte Friedman: Marc-Edouard Vlasic

Jeff Marek: P.K. Subban

Chris Johnston: Erik Karlsson

Mark Spector: Erik Karlsson

Iain MacIntyre: Victor Hedman

Gord Stellick: Erik Karlsson

Eric Francis: Victor Hedman

Caroline Cameron: Erik Karlsson

Kristina Rutherford: Drew Doughty

Luke Fox: Erik Karlsson

Eric Engels: Victor Hedman

Rory Boylen: Seth Jones

Nick Kypreos: Alex Pietrangelo

David Amber: Victor Hedman

Damien Cox: Shayne Gostisbehere

Vezina Trophy

John Shannon: Andrei Vasilevskiy

Elliotte Friedman: Connor Hellebuyck

Jeff Marek: John Gibson

Chris Johnston: Connor Hellebuyck

Mark Spector: Andrei Vasilevskiy

Iain MacIntyre: Andrei Vasilevskiy

Gord Stellick: Sergei Bobrovsky

Eric Francis: Connor Hellebuyck

Caroline Cameron: Connor Hellebuyck

Kristina Rutherford: Connor Hellebuyck

Luke Fox: Braden Holtby

Eric Engels: Andrei Vasilevskiy

Rory Boylen: John Gibson

Nick Kypreos: Andrei Vasilevskiy

David Amber: Martin Jones

Damien Cox: Mike Smith

Jack Adams Award

John Shannon: Peter DeBoer

Elliotte Friedman: Peter DeBoer

Jeff Marek: Mike Babcock

Chris Johnston: Jim Montgomery

Mark Spector: Peter DeBoer

Iain MacIntyre: Mike Babcock

Gord Stellick: Rod Brind’Amour

Eric Francis: Bill Peters

Caroline Cameron: Bill Peters

Kristina Rutherford: Dave Hakstol

Luke Fox: Bill Peters

Eric Engels: Jon Cooper

Rory Boylen: Jim Montgomery

Nick Kypreos: Jon Cooper

David Amber: Paul Maurice

Damien Cox: Jared Bednar

Tape to Tape Senior Writer Ryan Dixon and NHL Editor Rory Boylen always give it 110%, but never rely on clichés when it comes to podcasting. Instead, they use a mix of facts, fun and a varied group of hockey voices to cover Canada’s most beloved game.

MISCELLANEOUS QUESTIONS

Coach on hottest seat

John Shannon: Guy Boucher

Elliotte Friedman: Randy Carlyle

Jeff Marek: Todd McLellan

Mark Spector: Guy Boucher

Iain MacIntyre: Bruce Boudreau

Gord Stellick: Bruce Boudreau

Eric Francis: Todd McLellan

Caroline Cameron: Todd McLellan

Kristina Rutherford: Todd McLellan

Luke Fox: Randy Carlyle

Eric Engels: Todd McLellan

Rory Boylen: Todd McLellan

Nick Kypreos: Joel Quenneville

Damien Cox: Peter DeBoer

GM on hottest seat

John Shannon: Marc Bergevin

Elliotte Friedman: Peter Chiarelli

Jeff Marek: Stan Bowman

Mark Spector: Peter Chiarelli

Iain MacIntyre: Pierre Dorion

Gord Stellick: Marc Bergevin

Eric Francis: Peter Chiarelli

Caroline Cameron: Marc Bergevin

Kristina Rutherford: Marc Bergevin

Luke Fox: Peter Chiarelli

Eric Engels: Peter Chiarelli

Rory Boylen: Peter Chiarelli

Nick Kypreos: Peter Chiarelli

Damien Cox: Marc Bergevin

Vegas Golden Knights will get to…

John Shannon: Round 2

Elliotte Friedman: They’re better than you think

Chris Johnston: Round 2

Jeff Marek: Round 2

Mark Spector: Round 2

Gord Stellick: Round 1

Eric Francis: Conference final

Caroline Cameron: Round 2

Kristina Rutherford: Round 1

Luke Fox: Round 1

Eric Engels: Conference final

Rory Boylen: Conference final

Nick Kypreos: Miss playoffs

David Amber: Round 1

Damien Cox: Round 2

After the deadline Artemi Panarin/Sergei Bobrovsky will be playing for…

John Shannon: Columbus

Elliotte Friedman: Columbus. Go for it Jarmo!

Jeff Marek: Columbus

Chris Johnston: Columbus

Mark Spector: Boston/Philadelphia

Iain MacIntyre: Islanders/Philadelphia

Gord Stellick: Tampa Bay/Columbus

Eric Francis: Columbus

Caroline Cameron: Columbus

Kristina Rutherford: San Jose/Calgary

Luke Fox: Columbus

Eric Engels: Chicago

Rory Boylen: Anaheim/Columbus

Nick Kypreos: Columbus

David Amber: Colorado/Columbus

Damien Cox: Chicago and Florida

Connor McDavid will finish with __ points (assuming 75 games):

John Shannon: 125

Elliotte Friedman: 125

Jeff Marek: 120

Chris Johnston: 121

Mark Spector: 125

Iain MacIntyre: 113

Gord Stellick: 110

Eric Francis: 110

Caroline Cameron: 115

Kristina Rutherford: 111

Luke Fox: 112

Eric Engels: 110

Rory Boylen: 128

Nick Kypreos: 125

David Amber: 125

Damien Cox: 104

The Maple Leafs’ top point-getter will be…

John Shannon: Mitch Marner

Elliotte Friedman: John Tavares

Jeff Marek: Auston Matthews

Chris Johnston: Mitch Marner

Mark Spector: Mitch Marner

Iain MacIntyre: Auston Matthews

Eric Francis: Mitch Marner

Caroline Cameron: Mitch Marner

Kristina Rutherford: Auston Matthews/Mitch Marner

Luke Fox: John Tavares

Eric Engels: Auston Matthews

Rory Boylen: Auston Matthews

Nick Kypreos: Mitch Marner

David Amber: Mitch Marner

Damien Cox: John Tavares

Best guess for Seattle’s GM/head coach

John Shannon: Won’t be hired this season

Elliotte Friedman: Kelly McCrimmon/Jim Playfair

Jeff Marek: Ken Holland/Joel Quenneville

Chris Johnston: Ken Holland/Dave Tippett

Mark Spector: Ron Francis/Randy Carlyle

Iain MacIntyre: Kelly McCrimmon/Alain Vigneault

Eric Francis: Steve Yzerman/Todd McLellan

Caroline Cameron: Steve Yzerman/Dave Tippett

Kristina Rutherford: Mike Futa/Dave Tippett

Luke Fox: Ken Holland/Dave Tippett

Eric Engels: Dean Lombardi/Dave Tippett

Rory Boylen: Ron Francis/Dave Tippett

Nick Kypreos: Ken Holland/Dave Tippett

David Amber: Dave Tippett/Kevin Dineen

Damien Cox: Sean Burke/Dave Tippett

*This article will self destruct after Oct. 3.