2015-16 picks: Capitals will be big winners

How will the 2015-16 season unfold? That's the question we asked several NHL.com staffers and the answers were surprising, to say the least.

If our collection of prognosticators are right, fans of the Washington Capitals will be very happy. The Capitals appeared as Stanley Cup champions on three of nine ballots, while Tampa Bay and Anaheim also received multiple votes. Washington star Alex Ovechkin was a near-unanimous choice to win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy for the fourth straight season, while Braden Holtby received some serious consideration to claim his first Vezina Trophy.

In the heavily discussed battle for the Calder Memorial Trophy, it was Edmonton forward Connor McDavid, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, who earned the early nod, named as the winner on seven ballots. Buffalo forward Jack Eichel, The No. 2 pick in the 2015 Draft, was selected on the other two ballots.

For a snapshot on how the NHL.com prognosticators see the season playing out, check out the predictions below:

	Kreiser	Compton	Satriano	Morreale	Kimelman	Rosen	Roarke	Basu	Cubeta
Atlantic
Metro
Central
Pacific
East
West
Cup
Calder	McDavid, EDM	McDavid, EDM	McDavid, EDM	Eichel, BUF	McDavid, EDM	McDavid, EDM	Eichel, BUF	McDavid, EDM	McDavid, EDM
Norris	Hedman, TBL	Hedman, TBL	Karlsson, OTT	Hedman, TBL	Letang, PIT	Hedman, TBL	Ek-Lars., ARI	Doughty, LAK	Subban, MTL
Vezina	Holtby, WSH	Price, MTL	Lundqvist, NYR	Holtby, WSH	Rinne, NSH	Holtby, WSH	Price, MTL	Price, MTL	Lundqvist, NYR
Adams	Cooper, TBL	Yeo, MIN	McLellan, EDM	Bylsma, BUF	Cooper, TBL	McLellan, EDM	Trotz, WSH	Yeo, MIN	Richards, CBJ
Hart	Tavares, NYI	Tavares, NYI	Stamkos, TBL	Tavares, NYI	Toews, CHI	Benn, DAL	Crosby, PIT	Ovechkin, WSH	Getzlaf, ANA
Rocket	Ovechkin, WSH	Ovechkin, WSH	Ovechkin, WSH	Ovechkin, WSH	Ovechkin, WSH	Ovechkin, WSH	Kessel, PIT	Ovechkin, WSH	Stamkos, TBL