Randall Flagg Posted September 23, 2017 Author Report Posted September 23, 2017 Ottawa Senators Record last season: 44-28-10, 98 Points, 2nd in Atlantic Playoffs: Lost to Pittsburgh, Game 7 ECF Coach: Guy Boucher GM: Pierre Dorion Captain: Erik Karlsson GF: 206 (22nd)GA: 2160 (10th)PP: 17.0% (23rd)PK: 79.7% (22nd) Top 5 G: 1.) Kyle Turris (27) 2.) Mike Hoffman (26) 3.) Mark Stone (22) 4.) Erik Karlsson (17) 5.) Zack Smith (16) Top 5A: 1.) Erik Karlsson (54) 2.) Mike Hoffman (35)3.) Mark Stone (32) 4.) Kyle Turris (28) 5.) Derick Brassard (25) Top 5 PTS: 1.) Erik Karlsson (71) 2.) Mike Hoffman (61) 3.) Kyle Turris (55) 4.) Mark Stone (54) 5.) Derick Brassard (39) Key Additions: Nate Thompson ©, Johnny Oduya (D)Key Losses: Marc Methot (D), Tommy Wingels (LW) Projected Lineup: Mike Hoffman - Kyle Turris - Zack Smith Bobby Ryan - JG Pageau - Mark Stone Ryan Dzingel - Logan Brown - Alexandre Burrows Max McCormick - Nate Thompson - Tom Pyatt Injured: Brassard, Colin White Thomas Chabot - Dion Phaneuf Fredrick Claesson - Cody Ceci Johnny Oduya - Chris Wideman Injured: Karlsson Craig Anderson Mike Condon Prospects: Thomas Chabot, D, one of the best prospects in the world right now, top pairing 1D potential. 1st round 2015 Colin White, C, very solid center prospect, also taken round 1 2015 Logan Brown, C, 1st round 2016 Shane Bowers, C, 1st round 2017 Nick Paul, LW, 4rth round 2013 My thoughts: Ottawa overperformed their mediocre metrics, which is always a cause for concern. They also have to start the season without EK likely, and without Brassard and White, who is very promising and was going to make the team. I don't expect them to replicate their success. The forward corps looks very weak, and outside of EK the defense is average or even below average. Long term with a developed Chabot next to EK that looks to be a much stronger group (Ceci is pretty good and they're high on Claesson). Need an elite forward or two to truly contend year in and year out, not sure where they're going to get them. Quote
dudacek Posted September 23, 2017 Report Posted September 23, 2017 Ottawa is another bubble team we can and need to pass. Quote
Randall Flagg Posted September 24, 2017 Author Report Posted September 24, 2017 Philadelphia Flyers Record last season: 39-33-10, 88 Points, 6th in the Metro Playoffs: None Coach: Dave Hakstol GM: Ron Hextall Captain: Claude Giroux GF: 212 (21st)GA: 231 (19th)PP: 19.5% (14th)PK: 79.8% (21st) Top 5 G: 1.) Wayne Simmonds (31) 2.) Brayden Schenn (25) 3.) Jakub Voracek (20) 4.) Claude Giroux (14) 5.) Sean Couturier (14) Top 5A: 1.) Claude Giroux (44) 2.) Jakub Voracek (41) 3.) Shayne Gostisbehere (32) 4.) Brayden Schenn (30) 5.) Ivan Provorov (24) Top 5 PTS: 1.) Jakub Voracek (61) 2.) Claude Giroux (58) 3.) Brayden Schenn (55) 4.) Wayne Simmonds (54) 5.) Shayne Gostisbehere (39) Key Additions: Nolan Patrick ©, Jori Lehtera ©, Brian Elliot (G)Key Losses: Brayden Schenn (LW), Steve Mason (G), Michael Del Zotto (D), Pierre-Edouard Bellemare ©, Nick Cousins © Projected Lineup: Oskar Lindblom - Claude Giroux - Travis Konecny Valtteri Filppula - Sean Couturier - Jakub Voracek Jordan Weal - Nolan Patrick - Wayne Simmonds Michael Raffl - Jori Lehtera - Dale Weise Ivan Provorov - Radko Gudas Robert Hagg - Shayne Gostisbehere Samuel Morin - Andrew MacDonald Brian Elliott Michal Neuvirth Prospects: Nolan Patrick, C, 2nd overall 2017 Travis Sanheim, D, 1st round 2014 Philippe Myers, D German Rubtsov, C, 1st round 2016 Felix Sandstrom, G, 3rd round 2015 My thoughts: I don't think Philly is going to make the playoffs this year, but they're setting themselves up quite well going forward. If Patrick can stay healthy, he can be a worthy Giroux replacement. Watch out for Lindblom, he's a dark horse Calder candidate this year. I really like Weal and Konecny. Their forward group actually looks really good even this year. The defensive group is incredibly young but perhaps the most promising young bunch in the league. I continue to think Provorov is going to be a Norris-level stud someday, and Hagg/Morin/Myers/Sanheim is incredible prospect depth. I hate Radko Gudas but he's decent at hockey when he's not trying to murder people. The Philly goaltending situation looks a lot like it does any other year, we'll see how much it hinders them. I could see these guys anywhere from 82 points to 95 and a wild card birth. Quote
Randall Flagg Posted September 26, 2017 Author Report Posted September 26, 2017 Sorry guys, I might have to do a bunch of these at once, no tiem Quote
Randall Flagg Posted September 28, 2017 Author Report Posted September 28, 2017 Pittsburgh Penguins Record last season: 50-21-11, 111 Pts, 2nd in Metro Playoffs: STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS Coach: Mike Sullivan GM: Jim Rutherford Captain: Sidney Crosby GF: 278 (1st)GA: 229 (17th)PP: 23.1% (3rd)PK: 79.8% (20th) Top 5 G: 1.) Sidney Crosby (44) 2.) Evgeni Malkin (33) 3.) Phil Kessel (23) 4.) Conor Sheary (23) 5.) Patric Hornqvist (21) Top 5A: 1.) Phil Kessel (47) 2.) Sidney Crosby (45) 3.) Evgeni Malkin (39) 4.) Justin Schultz (39) 5.) Conor Sheary (30) Top 5 PTS: 1.) Sidney Crosby (89) 2.) Evgeni Malkin (72) 3.) Phil Kessel (70) 4.) Conor Sheary (53) 5.) Justin Schultz (51) Key Additions: Greg McKegg ©, Ryan Reeves (RW), Matt Hunwick (D), Antti Niemi (G)Key Losses: Nick Bonino ©, Marc-Andre Fleury (G), Chris Kunitz (LW), Trevor Daley (D), Ron Hainsey (D), Mark Streit (D), Oskar Sundqvist © Projected Lineup: Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Conor Sheary Bryan Rust - Evgeni Malkin - Phil Kessel Carl Hagelin - Gregg McKegg - Scott Wilson Tom Kuhnhackl - Carter Rowney - Ryan Reaves Hornqvist is injured Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang Ian Cole - Justin Schultz Olli Maatta - Matt Hunwick Matt Murray Antti Niemi Prospects: Daniel Sprong, RW, 2nd round 2015. High skill, will be in their lineup a long time IMO Derrick Pouliot, D, falling apart Tristan Jarry, G, 2nd round 2013 Filip Gustavsson, G, 2nd round 2016 Zachary Lauzon, D, 2nd round 2017 My thoughts: The lineup is a lot thinner than last year up front, but Letang is back. I don't have much to say other than I think they have the best shot at the cup this year again out of any team. Crosby and Malkin are a historically great duo, the only question is how many more trophies, individual and team, they can rack up. I will catch up with 3 more teams today before I go to bed. Quote
dudacek Posted September 28, 2017 Report Posted September 28, 2017 Philly has pieces but I don't see them coming together in a playoff run. Will they ever get a goalie? Pittsburgh? Yeah, they're pretty good. Quote
Randall Flagg Posted September 29, 2017 Author Report Posted September 29, 2017 St. Louis Blues Record last season: 46-29-7, 99 Points, 3rd in Central Playoffs: Lost 4-2 in second round to Nashville Coach: Mike Yeo GM: Doug Armstrong Captain: Alex Pietrangelo GF: 233 (12th)GA: 216 (12th)PP: 21.3% (8th)PK: 84.8% (3rd) Top 5 G: 1.) Vladimir Tarasenko (39) 2.) Patrick Berglund (23) 3.) Jaden Schwartz (19) 4.) David Perron (18) 5.) Paul Stastny (18) Top 5A: 1.) Vladimir Tarasenko (36) 2.) Jaden Schwartz (36) 3.) Alex Steen (35) 4.) Alex Pietrangelo (34) 5.) Kevin Shattenkirk (31) Top 5 PTS: 1.) Vladimir Tarasenko (75) 2.) Jaden Schwartz (55) 3.) Alex Steen (51) 4.) Alex Pietrangelo (48) 5.) David Perron (46) Key Additions: Brayden Schenn ©, Beau Bennett (RW)Key Losses: David Perron (LW), Jori Lehtera ©, Ryan Reaves (RW), Nail Yakupov (RW) Projected Lineup: Vladimir Sobotka - Paul Stastny - Vladimir Tarasenko Jayden Schwartz - Brayden Schenn - Samuel Blais Magnus Paajarvi - Ivan Barbashev - Klim Kostin Chris Thorburn - Kyle Brodziak - Dmitrij Jaskin Joel Edmundson - Alex Pietrangelo Carl Gunnarsson - Colton Parayko Vince Dunn - Robert Bortuzzo Jake Allen Carter Hutton Forwards Patrick Berglund, Alex Steen, and Robby Fabbri are all injured to start the year, as well as D Jay Bouwmeester. Fabbri is out all season. Prospects: Tage Thompson, C, 1st round 2016. Ivan Barbashev, C, 2nd round 2014. Jake Walman, D, 3rd round 2014. Robert Thomas, C, 1st round 2017 Klim Kostin, RW, 2nd round 2017 My thoughts: The Blues have been absolutely ravaged by injuries. The Fabbri one is killer, there's a chance it ends his promising career in St. Louis before it could really start. They're still lacking that stud center that would cement them as a cup favorite. Tarasenko is a monster on the ice and in the weight room, and has actually slimmed down this year in effort to get quicker, so we'll see what that does. Schenn had a very nice year last year and is a good addition. The defense is incredibly deep with the emergence of Parayko two year ago and Edmundson last year, and their fans are also high on their top 2 defensive prospects, so they're set on the back end for a long time. The forwards continue to get older and older so the time to win is now for a team that has spent the last 6 years pacing for over 107 points outside of the stretch of games that got Hitchcock fired last year, after which they resumed that pace. Not enough playoff success to show for it, in the eyes of their fanbase, only getting to the WCF one time and losing. I could see them making the cup finals with a big run after everyone gets healthy, or just missing the playoffs in a competitive Central, or anywhere in between. Quote
Randall Flagg Posted September 29, 2017 Author Report Posted September 29, 2017 San Jose Sharks Record last season: 46-29-7, 99 Points, 3rd in the Pacific Playoffs: Lost in first round, 4-2 to Edmonton Coach: Peter DeBoer GM: Doug Wilson Captain: Joe Pavelski GF: 219 (19th)GA: 200 (5th) PP: 16.7% (25th)PK: 80.7% (18th) Top 5 G: 1.) Joe Pavelski (29) 2.) Brent Burns (29) 3.) Patrick Marleau (27) 4.) Logan Couture (25) 5.) Chris Tierney (11) Top 5A: 1.) Brent Burns (47) 2.) Joe Thornton (43) 3.) Joe Pavelski (39) 4.) Logan Couture (27) 5.) Marc-Edouard Vlasic (22) Top 5 PTS: 1.) Brent Burns (76) 2.) Joe Pavelski (68) 3.) Logan Couture (52) 4.) Joe Thornton (50) 5.) Patrick Marleau (46) Key Additions: NoneKey Losses: Patrick Marleau (LW), Mirco Mueller (D), David Schlemko (D) Projected Lineup: Jannik Hansen - Joe Thornton - Joe Pavelski Mikkel Boedker - Logan Couture - Joonas Donskoi Melker Karlsson - Tomas Hertl - Timo Meier Kevin LeBanc - Chris Tierney - Joel Ward Paul Martin - Brent Burns Marc-Edouard Vlasic - Justin Braun Brendon Dillon - Dylan DeMelo Martin Jones Aaron Dell Prospects: Josh Norris, C, 1st round 2017 Danny O'Regan, C, 138th overall 2012? Jeremy Roy, D, 2nd round 2015 Noah Rod, RW, 2nd round 2014 Mario Ferraro, D, 2nd round 2017 My thoughts: Pretty gross looking prospect pool there, these guys better gear up to win now with Thornton already sliding and Burns/Vlasic/Pavelski getting up there. If Meier and Hertl can develop like hoped, they have another run in them. Otherwise, it's an old team that's going to eventually be very overpaid, LA style, without the cups to show for it. The top four defense should be excellent for at least another year or two. The forward group is turning. Good luck SJ. Quote
Randall Flagg Posted September 29, 2017 Author Report Posted September 29, 2017 (edited) Tampa Bay Lightning Record last season: 42-30-10, 94 Points, 5th in Atlantic Playoffs: None Coach: Jon Cooper GM: Steve Yzerman Captain: Steven Stamkos GF: 230 (14th)GA: 224 (16th)PP: 22.8% (6th)PK: 81.4% (13th) Top 5 G: 1.) Nikita Kucherov (40) 2.) Jonathan Drouin (21) 3.) Tyler Johnson (19) 4.) Alex Killorn (19) 5.) Brayden Point (18) Top 5A: 1.) Victor Hedman (56) 2.) Nikita Kucherov (45) 3.) Ondrej Palat (35) 4.) Jonathan Drouin (32) 5.) Valtteri Filppula (27) Top 5 PTS: 1.) Nikita Kucherov (85) 2.) Victor Hedman (72) 3.) Jonathan Drouin (53) 4.) Ondrej Palat (52) 5.) Tyler Johnson (45) Key Additions: Chris Kunitz (LW), Dan Girardi (D), Mikhail SergachevKey Losses: Jonathan Drouin (RW), Jason Garrison (D) Projected Lineup: Brayden Point - Steven Stamkos - Nikita Kucherov Ondrej Palat - Tyler Johnson - Yanni Gourde Alex Killorn - Vladislav Namestnikov - Ryan Callahan Chris Kunitz - Cedric Paquette - Cory Conacher Victor Hedman - Jake Dotchin Mikhail Sergachev - Anton Stralman Brayden Coburn - Dan Girardi Andrei Vasilevskiy Peter Budaj Prospects: Mikhail Sergachev, D, one pick after A. Nylander Cal Foote, D, 1st round 2017 Libor Hajek, D, 2nd round 2016 Anthony Cirelli, C, 3rd round 2015 Slater Koekkoek, D, 1st round 2012 My thoughts: First of all, Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman are absolute studs. Kucherov had EIGHTY FIVE POINTS last year, and damn near willed the crippled Lightning into the playoffs himself. IMO Hedman is the clear second-best defenseman in the league. I don't know how Burns won the Norris over him (or EK). He was 3 points behind Burns but paced for equal points and is 3x the defensive player. If Stamkos can finally stay healthy (and the dude looked like a top 5 C in the game when he was healthy last year) this team is strong enough to be a cup contender just on those three. I'm pretty confident in Vasilevskiy, but if he goes down then Peter Budaj has shown the ability to be solid for long stretches. Stralman is still a top 20 D in the league. Brayden Point looks like he's going to be a star. Tampa's after-first-round drafting is continuing to churn out studs. Namestnikov is really coming into his own and Jake Dotchin is impressive. I like Koekkoek too, and Sergachev is special. The only thing between this team and multiple cups over the next 6-7 years is health IMO. These guys and Toronto are the clear class of this division and the games against each other should be amazing to watch. Edited September 29, 2017 by Randall Flagg Quote
LGR4GM Posted September 29, 2017 Report Posted September 29, 2017 Rakish, what do you think of Tampa's drafting? Quote
Randall Flagg Posted September 29, 2017 Author Report Posted September 29, 2017 Rakish, what do you think of Tampa's drafting? I was wondering this too. Just from memory, Tyler Johnson - Nikita Kucherov - Ondrej Palat all came from fairly late rounds, as did Brayden Point, and Dotchin on D. Quote
Randall Flagg Posted September 29, 2017 Author Report Posted September 29, 2017 Toronto Maple Leafs Record last season: 40-27-15, 95 Points, 4th in Atlantic Playoffs: Lost in the first round to Washington in 6 games Coach: Mike Babcock GM: Lou Lamoriello Captain: Vacant GF: 250 (5th) GA: 234 (22nd)PP: 23.8% (2nd)PK: 82.5% (10th) Top 5 G: 1.) Auston Matthews (40) 2.) Nazem Kadri (32) 3.) JVR (29) 4.) William Nylander (22) 5.) Connor Brown (20) Top 5A: 1.) Mitch Marner (42) 2.) William Nylander (39) 3.) Tyler Bozak (37) 4.) Jake Gardiner (34) 5.) JVR (33) Top 5 PTS: 1.) Auston Matthews (69) 2.) JVR (62) 3.) Mitch Marner (61) 4.) William Nylander (61) 5.) Nazem Kadri (61) Key Additions: Patrick Marleau (LW), Dominic Moore ©, Ron Hainsey (D)Key Losses: Brian Boyle ©, Matt Hunwick (D), Brendan Leipsic (LW) Projected Lineup: Zach Hyman - Auston Matthews - William Nylander JVR - Tyler Bozak - Mitch Marner Patrick Marleau - Nazem Kadri - Leo Komarov Matt Martin - Dominic Moore - Connor Brown Ron Hainsey - Morgan Rielly Jake Gardiner - Nikita Zaitsev Martin Marincin - Connor Carrick Frederik Andersen Curtis McElhinney Prospects: Kasperi Kapanen, RW, probably the best skater in the organization believe it or not. Timothy Liljegren, D, 2017 first rounder Carl Grundstrom, RW, 2nd round 2016, of course a home run pick Jeremy Bracco, RW, 3rd round 2016 Joseph Woll, G, 3rd round 2016 My thoughts: You all know how I feel about the Leafs. They're going to score a ton of goals and have the most fun to watch offense in the league IMO. Only team with 5 60 point players last season. Matthews may get Hart votes and score over a point per game. But he may not. the Leafs, and it's going to suck watching them get home ice. Quote
rakish Posted September 29, 2017 Report Posted September 29, 2017 #14, I like Foote, but not as much as I like Lilgegren #48, compare Volkov's scoring to Shvyryov's (who Colorado picked much later) scoring #76 Lipanov is young enough that it's not a bad pick, but there are a lot of guys I really like still on the board #169 Overage high school player, no thank you. #180 I have Guttman as the 69th best forward, so at pick 180, not terrible, but not on my board either. #200 Young enough that it's not a definite no So 2017, I see one NHL hockey player, which is what poor drafting teams do. Lately, not so good, their pipeline isn't that strong. Before that, fantastic, they were really good a few years back. What's interesting to me is that I think the same guy (Al Murray) has been running the program for a while, so why he stopped taking players I like, I don't know On Flagg's first post. Johnson wasn't drafted, if I remember right, college grad, NHL had a size bias issue, that seems to be disappearing rapidly, maybe mostly due to Tampa's success. I have Kutcherov as the 12th best forward in his year, so he's a great 3rd round pick, but it was a draft before I started doing this, so take that with a grain of salt, since it's looking through past drafts when I already know the right answer. Palat didn't score in his draft year, but this is why they need to pay more attention to overagers, because by the time he was drafted, he was 44th in his draft class, which isn't bad for the 7th round. Point is on my Mom's basement team for 2014, so me and Tampa totally agree here. Dotchin I wouldn't have drafted, hung around 40th best defenseman for his draft class before last year, when he got to 10th Quote
Randall Flagg Posted September 30, 2017 Author Report Posted September 30, 2017 Vancouver Canucks Record last season: 30-43-9, 69 Points, 7th in the Pacific Playoffs: None Coach: Travis Green GM: Jim Benning Captain: Henrik Sedin GF: 178 (29th)GA: 241 (24th)PP: 14.1% (29th)PK: 76.7% (28th) Top 5 G: 1.) Bo Horvat (20) 2.) Markus Granlund (19) 3.) Sven Baertschi (18) 4.) Brandon Sutter (17) 5.) Sedins (15 each) Top 5A: 1.) Henrik Sedin (35) 2.) Bo Horvat (32) 3.) Daniel Sedin (29) 4.) Troy Stetcher (21) 5.) Sven Baertschi (17) Top 5 PTS: 1.) Bo Horvat (52) 2.) Henrik Sedin (50) 3.) Daniel Sedin (44) 4.) sven Baertschi (35) 5.) Brandon Sutter (34) Key Additions: Sam Gagner ©, Alexander Burmistrov ©, Michael Del Zotto (D), Patrick Wiercioch (D), Thomas Vanek (RW), Ander Nilsson (G)Key Losses: Ryan Miller (G), Luca Sbisa (D), Drew Shore ©, Philip Larsen (D) Projected Lineup: Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Sam Gagner Sven Baertschi - Bo Horvat - Thomas Vanek Loui Eriksson - Markus Granlund - Brock Boeser Alexander Burmistrov - Brandon Sutter - Jake Virtanen Ben Hutton - Chris Tanev Alex Edler - Troy Stetcher Michael Del Zotto - Erik Gudbranson Jacob Markstrom Anders Nilsson Prospects: Olli Juolevi, D, 5th overall 2016 Elias Pettersson, C, 5th overall 2017 Brock Boeser, RW, 1st round pick 2015 Thatcher Demko, G, 2nd round 2014 Jake Virtanen, RW, 6th overall 2014 My thoughts: The Canucks still aren't in a great place as an organization, but all of a sudden they have a young core of Horvat, Boeser, Pettersson, Juolevi, Stetcher, and Demko. These players have a bright future and if Vancouver can add a piece or two on top of all of that with some lottery luck, they will be ready to grow and build for deep runs again. That is what this season is about for them. Quote
LGR4GM Posted October 1, 2017 Report Posted October 1, 2017 Oh look Brock Boeser. Yes I need to let this go. That said Vancouver really needs to continue their rebuild. Solid base forming. Quote
Randall Flagg Posted October 2, 2017 Author Report Posted October 2, 2017 Vegas Golden Knights Record last season: None Playoffs: None Coach: Gerard Gallant GM: George McPhee Captain: None Projected Lineup: Jonathan Marchessault - Vadim Shipachyov - Reilly Smith David Perron - Erik Haula - Alex Tuch Oscar Lindberg - Cody Eakin - Teemu Pulkkinen William Carrier - William Karlsson - Pierre-Edouard Bellemare Jason Garrison - Colin Miller Brayden McNabb - Nate Schmidt Luca Sbisa - Deryk Engelland Marc-Andre Fleury Calvin Pickard Prospects: Cody Glass, C, 6th overall 2017. Nick Suzuki, C, 13th overall 2017. Alex Tuch, RW Erik brannstrom, D, 15th overall 2017 Nicolas Hague, 2nd round 2017. My thoughts: They'll be bad, but probably not Avalanche-bad. Could be though. Actually, let me retract all of that. I basically alternate between seeing them as a 70 point team and a team that will struggle to reach 20 wins. Should be interesting to watch, and I like their big 3 prospects that they took in the first round last year. That one was easy!! Quote
Randall Flagg Posted October 3, 2017 Author Report Posted October 3, 2017 Washington Capitals Record last season: 55-19-8, 118 Points, 1st in the Metro Playoffs: Lost 4-3 to Pittsburgh in round 2 Coach: Barry Trotz GM: Brian MacLellan Captain: Alex Ovechkin GF: 261 (3rd)GA: 177 (1st)PP: 23.1% (4th)PK: 83.8% (7th) Top 5 G: 1.) Alex Ovechkin (33) 2.) TJ Oshie (33) 3.) Marcus Johansson (24) 4.) Justin Williams (24) 5.) Nicklas Backstrom (23) Top 5A: 1.) Nicklas Backstrom (63) 2.) Evgeny Kuznetsov (40) 3.) Alex Ovechkin (36) 4.) Marcus Johansson (34) 5.) Matt Niskanen (34) Top 5 PTS: 1.) Nicklas Backstrom (86) 2.) Alex Ovechkin (69) 3.) Evgeny Kuznetsov (59) 4.) Marcus Johansson (58) 5.) TJ Oshie (56) Key Additions: Tyler Gravoac (LW), Devante Smith-Pelly (RW)Key Losses: Karl Alzner (D), Kevin Shattenkirk (D), Justin Williams (RW), Marcus Johansson (LW), Nate Schmidt (D) Projected Lineup: Andre Burakovsky - Nick Backstrom - TJ Oshie Alex Ovechkin - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Jakub Vrana Brett Connolly - Lars Eller - Tom Wilson Nathan Walker - Jay Beagle - Tyler Gravoac Dmitry Orlov - Matt Niskanen Christian Djoos - John Carlson Brooks Orpik - Madison Bowey Braden Holtby Philipp Grubauer Prospects: Ilya Samsonov, G, the fated player we were to take had we not traded for Lehner supposedly Jakub Vrana, LW , 1st rounder 2014 Jonas Siegenthaler, D, 2nd round 2015 Madison Bowey, D, 2nd round 2013 My thoughts: The Caps lost a lot of good pieces this summer and didn't come close to filling the void from outside the organization, so they need guys like Djoos, Bowey, Vrana to step up in a big way. Even with those holes, thought, they have one of the best 1-2 C punches in the league and Alex Ovechkin playing wing next to them, so they will be dangerous. A team that was surprisingly good defensively should still be top ten in both categories next season and should be in the playoffs, but I'm not expecting a President's Trophy from them this year, which might actually help them escape Pittsburgh before the 3rd round. Quote
dudacek Posted October 3, 2017 Report Posted October 3, 2017 Tampa and the Blues are above average playoff teams but they don't smell like cup winners. Leafs are talented, but will learn what adversity looks like this year. Vancouver will be better than an expansion team, Vegas is an expansion team. Caps are still a good team, but their window has closed. Quote
Randall Flagg Posted October 3, 2017 Author Report Posted October 3, 2017 Winnipeg Jets Record last season: 40-35-7, 87 Points, 5th in the Central Playoffs: None Coach: Paul Maurice GM: Kevin Cheveldayoff Captain: Blake Wheeler GF: 246 (7th)GA: 255 (27th)PP: 18.2% (18th)PK: 77.5% (26th) Top 5 G: 1.) Patrik Laine (36) 2.) Mark Scheifele (32) 3.) Blake Wheeler (26) 4.) Nikolaj Ehlers (25) 5.) Bryan Little (21) Top 5A: 1.) Mark Scheifele (50) 2.) Blake Wheeler (48) 3.) Nikolaj Ehlers (39) 4.) Dustin Byfuglien (39) 5.) Mathieu Perreault (32) Top 5 PTS: 1.) Mark Scheifele (82) 2.) Blake Wheeler (74) 3.) Nikolaj Ehlers (64) 4.) Patrik Laine (64) 5.) Dustin Byfuglien (52) Key Additions: Dmitry Kulikov (D), Steve Mason (G)Key Losses: Ondrej Pavelec (G), Paul Postma (D), Chris Thorburn (D) Projected Lineup: Patrik Laine - Mark Scheifele - Blake Wheeler Mathieu Perreault - Bryan Little - Nikolaj Ehlers Kyle Connor - Adam Lowry - Joel Armia Shawn Matthias - Andrew Copp - Marko Dano Josh Morrissey - Jacob Trouba Tobias Enstrom - Dustin Byfuglien Dmitry Kulikov - Tyler Myers Steve Mason Connor Hellebuyck Prospects: Kyle Connor, LW, 1st round 2015 Jack Roslovic, C, 1st round 2015 (our pick) Logan Stanley, D, 1st round 2016 Kristian Vesalainen, 1st round 2017 Eric Comrie, G, 2nd round 2013 My thoughts: Winnipeg has the talent to be a dangerous playoff team, but their goaltending has let them down. Also, picture this place if we had kept Bylsma this year and then again next year with the same results. That's how the Jets forums are with Paul Maurice. Not sure of the details as to why, but that's what's going on over there. If you haven't done it yet, go see some goals Laine scored last year and then this preseason. Kid has arguably the best shot ever at age 18. I mentioned in another thread, he scores loads of goals from areas of the ice that have an average shooting percentage of less than 5%. Most accurate shooter I've ever seen, with unbelievable strength and release on the wrister. Blake Wheeler is a no BS top line 70+ point RW, and Scheifele had 82 points last year! Ehlers was also a beast, scoring over 60 points. He may be the second best skater in the NHL. The defense group listed above, on paper, is very good. Let's see if it translates. These guys need to be in a playoff spot or their coach is done. It'll be fun to watch Laine's push for 50, and if he's healthy I don't see anyone winning the Rocket over him. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well Sabrespace, we made it through another offseason. NHL games begin tomorrow, and this is the last NHL team we needed to catch up on, so I declare this board ready for hockey baby!!!! Thanks to dudacek and others for posting their thoughts as well so this wasn't a complete echo chamber. Quote
WildCard Posted October 3, 2017 Report Posted October 3, 2017 (edited) Why the Senators suck and got amazingly lucky last year That is a really, really, really, really good video Edited October 3, 2017 by WildCard Quote
dudacek Posted October 3, 2017 Report Posted October 3, 2017 The Jets are spending $10 million this year to have Myers and Kulikov be their third pair? That is all. Thanks Flagg. Nice job. Quote
qwksndmonster Posted October 3, 2017 Report Posted October 3, 2017 Thank you so much for doing this, Flagg! Quote
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