NHL 20 Season Simulation: Stanley Cup Champions & Award Winners Predicted By EA’s Hockey Game
The NHL’s new season is just about to begin, but before the first puck drops for the games, EA has run their NHL 20 season simulation. With that, the video game is giving out predictions for which team will hoist the Stanley cup trophy as well as which players will perform best on the ice this season. The results may surprise some fans, or give some food for thought heading into the new season.
NHL 20 season simulation predicts Stanley Cup, Presidents Trophy winners
This year’s NHL 20 Stanley Cup winners are the Boston Bruins. The prediction arrives after Boston played in this past season’s Stanley Cup Finals but fell to the St. Louis Blues. However, EA’s game has predicted Bruins star Brad Marchand will lead the way, taking the Conn Smythe trophy as Boston gets another trophy.
According to EA’s bracket, the Bruins will win the finals against the Las Vegas Golden Knights, who will return for their second time in the past three years. Boston will also defeat the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Washington Capitals to get there.
In terms of the best overall team in the NHL 20 simulation, that will go to the Tampa Bay Lightning with a total of 109 points. The Toronto Maple Leafs (103 pts) and Vegas Golden Knights (102 pts) will be second, and third, respectively. Here’s a look at the full simulation for how all of the teams are predicted to fare this season.
Tampa Bay claimed that distinction for the previous season in the actual NHL standings with 128 points, so it’s not far fetched that they’ll be amongst the top teams again for 2019-20. That said, there appears to be some close competition if the EA simulation results prove accurate. For those who aren’t Bruins fans, there’s also good news that EA Stanley Cup simulations haven’t really worked out for the past five years or so.
EA’s other predicted trophy winners include Ovechkin, Hughes
It’s no surprise that NHL 20 cover star Auston Matthews lands amongst their predicted top 10 goal scorers. However, one player will rank ahead of him according to EA’s simulation and that’s Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin. Other top scorers will include Oilers’ phenom Connor McDavid and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov.
In terms of the season’s award winners, EA has predicted Nathan McKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche will capture the Art Ross and Hart Trophy in the coming season based on his 119 points. That has him just ahead of Connor McDavid’s 115 and Jack Eichel’s 105 points. Cover star Auston Matthews tallied 96 points in EA’s NHL 20 season simulation.
The top rookie is predicted to be Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils with 87 points, earning him the Calder Trophy. San Jose’s Erik Karlsson will be back on the ice and claim the Norris Trophy for the third time in his career, per EA’s simulation.
In addition to the simulated season, EA released the game’s first major update since the game’s release date. See what all changed in the official patch notes via EA’s website.
The NHL season officially begins on Wednesday, October 3. However, gamers are already playing the games on EA’s newest title. See our latest NHL 20 news here for all the updates for the hockey video game.