The 2019-20 season starts tonight with a handful of games, including Ottawa vs. Toronto and Vancouver vs. Edmonton on national (cable) TELEVISION here in Canada. Here are some things we're questioning the league's most interesting groups:

Can Tampa Bay get better from one of the greatest upsets ever? The Lightning were practically everyone's pick to win the Cup after assembling one of the best routine seasons of all time. But they got swept in the very first round by Columbus, which outplayed them from start to end up. Tampa is still the best group in the league, however its air of invincibility is gone.

Was St. Louis a one-hit marvel? Everybody appears to believe so, due to the fact that it's tough to bear in mind a defending champ being this disrespected. Oddsmakers are stating half a dozen groups have a better opportunity to win the Cup-- including Colorado, which is the trendiest team this year.

Will the Avalanche make the leap? There's great reason to be delighted about this team. Regardless of being underdogs in the playoffs, the young Avs ran Calgary off the ice in the preliminary, then offered a veteran San Jose group all it could handle in a seven-game series. Colorado has one of the very best one-two forward punches in hockey with MVP candidate Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, and they added Nazem Kadri as a strong second-line centre. Defenceman Cale Makar is a competitor for novice of the year after making his NHL launching in the playoffs.

Will the Leafs crash and burn once again? Love 'em or hate 'em, there's never a dull minute with this team. Toronto is a Cup contender, a great deal of fun to watch, and swimming in drama. Coach Mike Babcock was already on the hot seat after a 3rd straight first-round defeat, and things didn't precisely cool off over the summer. Mitch Marner's free firm dragged out up until the team overpaid him, and we found out last week that Auston Matthews was charged with disorderly conduct for a presumably intoxicated event down in Arizona back in the spring. This is still a championship-calibre roster. But if the Leafs stop working to surpass the very first round again, heads are gon na roll.

Did Winnipeg miss its window? The Jets looked like a leading Cup contender in 2017-18 and once again in 2015-- till they cratered in the 2nd half of the season and lost in the preliminary of the playoffs to St. Louis. There was talk of an unhappy dressing room, and Patrik Laine didn't precisely assist matters a couple of weeks ago when he stated he is worthy of better linemates. The forwards should be excellent if everybody can get along. It's the blue-line that's worrying. Star defenceman Dustin Byfuglien took a leave of absence and no one understands when he'll be back. Depth was lost when bad-tempered Jacob Trouba was traded and Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot left in free agency. This appears like a make-or-break season for the Jets, and it's hard to think about a group with a wider series of results.

Can the Hurricanes keep the fun going? Their post-game "Storm Surge" events were a hit with a great deal of fans (particularly younger ones), and they backed them up with some fantastic play. With young centre Sebastian Aho leading the method, Carolina defied expectations by making it to the last 4 before getting swept by Boston. The Hurricanes do not look like a fluke, however this was their very first playoff look in a decade. Groups that make a big jump like that typically take a step back the list below year.

Can Connor McDavid save the Oilers from themselves? The NHL's finest gamer is trapped on one of its worst teams. McDavid won the scoring title in 2017-18 and completed second to Tampa's Nikita Kucherov in 2015, but Edmonton missed out on the playoffs by a mile both times. To include injury to insult, McDavid harmed his knee pretty seriously in the season finale. He appears to be fine now, however the Oilers are not. There's inadequate skill around McDavid. And rather of trying something brand-new, the group dipped into the recycling bin for its 2 most significant relocations: Ken Holland was hired as the brand-new GM and Dave Tippett as the new head coach. Could be another long year.