Who could have guessed that Marty St. Louis would be the top-line center?

It’s a fool’s errand to try to predict the opening night lineup before training camp. Even once camp begins, there are far too many variables to nail it.
But though we can’t help anticipating and debating who will make the team during the summer months, the opening night lineup means very little in the grand scheme of things.

No one could have predicted that Martin St. Louis would end up being New York’s first-line center, or that 19-year-old Anthony Duclair would beat out a slew of veterans and near-NHL ready prospects for a top-nine spot to start the season. But St. Louis’ position change is only temporary, as Duclair’s stay in New York could be.

The first month of the 2014-2015 season will be about treading water in Derek Stepan’s absence, first and foremost, and determining if prospects like Duclair and Kevin Hayes deserve to stick.

There are sure to be more unforeseen circumstances that shake things up throughout the year. More key players will be injured, others will fall into slumps, and a few players that aren’t even on the radar right now will play key roles before all is said and done.

Who could have predicted Mats Zuccarello’s return in March 2013 after he began the year in the KHL? Or going back further, who could have possibly anticipated Sean Avery’s return to the Big Apple after the “sloppy seconds” incident in Dallas?

On the flip side, who could have guessed that Martin Biron would retire after just two games last season, and that Cam Talbot would outplay Henrik Lundqvist (statistically speaking, at least)?

The 2013 opening night roster featured the likes of Ryan Callahan, Michael Del Zotto, Taylor Pyatt and Jesper Fast. Callahan, Del Zotto and Pyatt were shipped out unceremoniously after just a few months, while Fast spent the majority of the season in Hartford after suffering a sprained ankle. Meanwhile, Chris Kreider was a major bust at camp – for all of three weeks before he was recalled and became a tremendous top-six forward for the duration of the season.

The only sure thing about the roster as it stands is that there are no sure things. A prospect or two from Hartford that didn’t make the team out of camp is sure to make an impact at some point this year, and a couple guys in the lineup tomorrow night won’t even be a part of the organization by April. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

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