ESPN makes its player point predictions and it's completely ridiculous.

This is the time of year when predictions are being made for the upcoming NHL season, which officially kicks off in just over a month.

Sports sites and fans alike take great pleasure in predicting player production using the data we know and the statistics gathered over the last few years… And some of these predictions are startling.

It’s no different in 2023.

Today, it was ESPN’s turn to play the prediction game… And let’s just say, it’s all a bit of a shock.

44 points for Brad Marchand…

59 points for Jonathan Huberdeau…

90 points (!) for Connor Bedard…

25 points for Wyatt Johnston, who scored 24 goals in his first NHL season…

40 points for Shane Wright, even though we don’t know if he’ll start the season in Seattle, and 55 points for Juraj Slafkovsky…

Anyway. Unless there’s something I’m missing, I see these as completely ridiculous predictions.

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Check out the comments on the Instagram post above. The observation is the same everywhere… And the observation is that these numbers are quite absurd. Especially in the cases of Marchand, Wright, Slaf and Johnston.

I’ve never really liked this game… Because there are so many things that go into a full season.

Injuries, club performance, player motivation…

Oh well.

For the Habs, Rafaël Harvey-Pinard has 37 points (21 goals), Alex Newhook 28 points (13 goals), Kirby Dach 40 points (14 goals) and Mike Matheson 39 points (9 goals).

Caufield’s production stands at 70 points (42 goals), while Suzuki’s is on a par with last year, with 66 points (25 goals).

One thing’s for sure. If these predictions are anything to go by (which they shouldn’t be)… It’s going to be a long year in Montreal.

Breaking news

– Alongside Dylan Larkin, I see him scoring (at least) 35 goals.

Alex Debrincat’s scoring pace per season:

41g – 2019
21g – 2020
50g – 2021
41g – 2022
27g – 2023

Which version of Debrincat is Detroit getting? pic.twitter.com/h1sfNCOHNs

– Big Head Hockey (@BigHeadHcky) August 29, 2023

– No surprise there.

Connor Bedard, speaking from the BioSteel NHL Camp, says Nick Foligno texts or calls him every few weeks to see how he’s doing.

“I’ve heard from every single person that has mentioned him, that he’s one of the best people you’ll ever meet.”

– Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) August 29, 2023

– He’ll get a lot of money.

Much like Auston Matthews before him, a healthy Mitch Marner will dominate off-ice debate next summer and hold the hammer when it comes time to talk money for real. @lukefoxjukebox takes an early look at what Marner’s next contract could look like. https://t.co/DzGOsJFwQB

– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 29, 2023

– Not the first time we’ve heard this.

Will the NHL work closely with North America’s sole remaining women’s field hockey league?

That’s the expectation, deputy commissioner Bill Daly tells @RussoHockey.

But will individual teams be able to work with the women’s teams in their areas?

Q&A: https://t.co/JL0eb35fXX pic.twitter.com/b2ip7jhx40

– The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) August 29, 2023

– Come on, let’s go!