2011-12 Sterling Predictions revisited

Here at Silver Seven, we are men (and woman) of honor. Lies do not become us. So, unlike other institutions that make predictions and then conveniently forget about them when the time comes to answer for what we've said, we do not ignore the past. No, we like to look back and laugh at ourselves. And so, without further ado, here's what our intrepid staff had to say about last season:

1. Who will lead the Ottawa Senators in goals scored this season? If you pick Jason Spezza, then who do you think will finish second? (Full answers)

Varada: Milan Michalek. Varada was correct - 1 point.

Mark: Bobby Butler. Ohhhh boy.

Adnan: Spezza, Michalek finishes second. Adnan got it backwards by just one goal! Too many drop passes, Adnan.

Dave: Alfie. Dave was stuck in 2005 for this one.

Bobby: Michalek. Probably cheating off of Varada's paper - 1 point.

Darren: Spezza, Alfie finishes second. Darren was stuck in 2007.

Ryan: Butler. Mark and Ryan are Butler love buddies! Wait...

Peter: Alfie. Silver Seven - When in doubt, just say Alfie.

2. How many games will Craig Anderson play this season, and how many of those games will he win? (Full answers)

Adnan: 65 played, 30 wins. Actual: 63/33. SO CLOSE!

Darren: 65 played, 26 wins. Pessimist.

Mark: 66 played (just to one-up Darren), 29 wins. I don't know what to say about this. I overbid.

Peter: 67 played, 32 wins. I wonder where he got that one-up idea?!

Bobby: 60 played, 31 wins. Bobby was dialed in last year. You should listen to him more this year.

Varada: 72 played, 36 wins. Varada actually meant to type 82. I'm convinced of it. What a crazy number.

Dave: 68 played, 33 wins. Boom.

Ryan: 68 played, 32 wins. Should have just copied Dave the whole way, Ryan.

Adnan, Peter, Bobby, and Dave all had a combined differential of 5, but Dave was the only one with an exact answer, so he gets the point.

3. Which player will be the biggest surprise on the Senators roster--good or bad? (Full answers)

Peter: Butler. "In a bad way." Well, you gotta give him a point for that, right?

Dave: Sergei Gonchar. "I expect that [he] will actually be much better in his own end." Yeah, okay, Dave.

Ryan: Nick Foligno. "He's still really young and nowhere near his prime." Foligno surprised us by getting traded, but that wasn't what Mr. Classic predicted.

Adnan: Gonchar. "I feel Kuba won't get credit even if he improves." So, Adnan's choice was "The guy who isn't Kuba." He also predicted Gonchar would finish with more than 40 points, but he only got 37. So close to a half point!

Bobby: Nikita Filatov. "I think he's going to have a pretty good season." In the junior KHL, maybe!

Mark: Craig Anderson. "We simply don't have enough data to make a fair prediction. Because of that, no matter what we expect from him this year, Anderson will surprise us." This non-answer deserves a negative point.

Varada: Mika Zibanejad. "He surprises everyone by winning the Calder." Just a bit outside.

Darren: David Rundblad. "I think he'll be a very solid player for the Senators." And by Senators, he meant Coyotes.

4. Which Ottawa Senators player(s) will suit up in the 2012 NHL All-Star Game? (Full answers)

Darren: Erik Karlsson and Alfie. That's two of a possible five, so... half point, because Colin Greening made it as rookie and that doesn't really count.

Dave: Karlsson/Alfie.

Mark. Karlsson/Alfie.

Ryan: Karlsson/Spezza.

Adnan: Karlsson/Alfie.

Varada: Karlsson/Alfie.

Bobby: Karlsson/Alfie.

Peter: Karlsson/Alfie/Spezza. Boldly bucking the trend of the rest of us sheep, Peter picks up a full point to our half points.

5. Who will score more points: Peter Regin, Stephane Da Costa, or Mika Zibanejad? (Full answers) [Note: Da Costa won this with 5. Regin had 4, Zibanejad 1. Kyle Turris outscored all three players combined.]

Darren: Peter Regin. Regin's shoulder had something to say about that, Darren.

Dave: Regin, with hedging for Mikachu. Very poor sportsmanship with this answer.

Adnan: Zibanejad. Nope!

Varada: It's Mika's job to lose. And he did!

Mark: Da Costa. People. PEOPLE. I got one right!

Ryan: Zibanejad. Wrong again, Classic!

Bobby: Regin. "Because I want him to." There's no hockey fairy to fulfill your wishes, Bobby.

Peter: Zibanejad. Notice how this year Peter is pumping the brakes on Ceci's future? Hmmm.

6. Where will the Ottawa Senators finish in the standings? (Full answers)

Ryan: 25th overall, 13th East. Swing and a miss.

Peter: 26th overall, 14th East. This was Peter's definition of "not as bad as people think."

Mark: 23rd overall, 11th East. No courage at all in this pick.

Adnan: 8th in the East. NAILED IT.

Dave: 22nd overall, 10th East. Dave's 6th consecutive boring pick.

Varada: 29th overall. He's a glass-half-full kind of guy, I guess.

Darren: 27th overall, 14th East. Quote of the panel right here: "I look forward to showing Adnan and Dave their predictions at the end of the season and laughing at them."

Bobby: Ottawa is going to finish twelfth. And I am going to win the lottery.

Final totals:

Adnan - 1.5 out of 6
Bobby - 1.5 out of 6
Dave - 1.5 out of 6
Darren - .5 out of 6
Mark - .5 out of 6
Peter - 2 out of 6
Ryan - .5 out of 6
Varada - 1.5 out of 6
That makes last year's champion none other than our imperious leader, Peter Raaymakers. Most of the rest of the staff was able to at least manage a respectable number while Darren, Mark, and Ryan have some serious life re-evaluating to do.

Of course, you know if we're looking back at last year, that can only mean we're looking forward to this year very soon. Check back on Monday to see just what kind of hijinks the prediction panel got into this time around!