It’s hard to believe that it’s been five days since Gritty, the wonderful new Philadelphia Flyers mascot, entered our lives and changed them forever. From its take-no-prisoners attitude to “breaking the Internet” to that wonderful orange mane to its (underrated) best feature, the googly eyes, the NHL mascot game has been changed forever.
After finishing up business in New York, Jakub Voracek‘s distant cousin headed back to Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia to help defend its boys against their Metropolitan Division rivals in the New York Rangers. That meant if any jabroni in the stands was bold enough to wear a Rangers jersey, well, they weren’t getting ignored.
The intial reveal had a mixed reaction when it debuted on Monday, but slowly feelings have been changing, and good on the Flyers for sticking to their franchise roots and leaning in on the bit and going all out to make sure everyone knows the name Gritty.
Heck, Gritty has already put a threat out against the Penguins and their mascot, IceBurgh, so that should spice things up for their February outdoor game. Maybe the auxiliary rink that’s typically used by youth players during outdoor games can feature a mascot vs. mascot rumble during intermission. It’s what the fans will want.
1. You’re Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen. How do you handle the Panarin/Bobrovsky situations?
SEAN: I go all-in until the trade deadline. The Metropolitan Division will be a battle, and if you’re going to lose these guys in free agency, might as well load up for a Cup run and try to make your way through three rounds of playoff hockey. Kekalainen has the fallback of using the Feb. 25 trade deadline to flip them both should the season not go as planned. It’s a difficult spot. These are two huge pieces of your team and pieces that can help you win. No GM wants to have a Tavares situation and watch two elite players walk for nothing next summer.
JAMES: While Panarin isn’t interested in an extension and Bobrovsky’s situation is cloudy, Kekalainen received serious peace of mind by receiving an extension of his own. With that in mind, he – or in this exercise, I – can feel far more comfortable if it becomes clear that the best option is the nuclear one: trading both.
Honestly, it doesn’t seem like Panarin’s allowed Columbus much latitude here, so the question essentially becomes closer to “When?” than “If?” Here’s where Kekalainen and I might differ, though: if the best trade package revolves around “futures” rather than “currents,” then so be it. This franchise is restless about winning a playoff series, but with Seth Jones at 23 and Zach Werenski at 21, it’s not as if the situation is now or never.
Resolving Panarin-Bob in the best way possible may just come down to timing.
The Bob situation is a tougher call because an extension might not be best for the team, rather than the goalie. Bobrovsky is already 30. It’s fascinating that Bob might want the same deal as Carey Price, as Price’s $10.5M per year looks especially scary considering that the deal just began while he’s … 31. Yes, the same age that Bob would be.
If $10.5M was the rare, would Bobrovsky at least dial his term demands to a less-imposing range of say, 5 seasons? If I’m Kekalainen, those are the answers I would need. If the answers aren’t positive, then trading both might really be the best – if most painful – thing to do.
The thing is, people will wonder how you could move a $7.425M goalie, yet things get easier during the trade deadline. Also, teams that want to win get more desperate. What if the Flames are on fire (sorry) but Mike Smith goes on IR? What if things are coming together for the Stars, but Ben Bishop is on the shelf or in a deep slump? Contenders could conceivably offer a huge price to rent Bob.
ADAM: You have to let the season play out. Yes, the possibility of losing one or both of them for nothing as free agent sucks. But you’re a playoff team, you’re probably going to be a playoff team with them. As long as you have a realistic chance to do that you have to take a run at it and see where you can go. If the team falls out of the playoff picture by the deadline, or is on the bubble, and you are sure you can’t get them signed, then by all means make them available and see what you can get. But until it reaches that point you make a run with this group.
JOEY: I think you have to do your best to convince both players that Columbus is where they need to be. That might be easier said than done, but you have to pull out all the stops for these two guys because they’re the two most important players in the organization. Panarin put up 82 points last season and he’s still going to be just 27 years old when free agency hits. That’s a talent worth trying to keep. As for Bobrovsky, he’s been one of the top goaltenders in the league for years now, but some teams aren’t willing to pay goalies top dollar. Still, Kekalainen has to do everything he can to make these players feel like they need to be Blue Jackets. This team still hasn’t won a playoff round, and they won’t be doing that anytime soon if they lose those two players.
If, for whatever reason, Panarin and Bobrovsky aren’t willing to commit to being Blue Jackets after they’re eligible to sign extensions on January 1st, Kekalainen has no choice but to move them both. Even if the Jackets are in a playoff spot, they can’t afford to lose those guys for nothing in the summer.
SCOTT: If you trade them now, say buh-bye to the playoffs. Panarin is the only point-per-game player the Blue Jackets have. Hell, he was the highest scoring forward on the team by nearly 40 points and the highest scoring forward by 30. Panarin is the type of player you build around, so if money is the issue, PAY. THE. MAN.
Of course, it appears Panarin doesn’t want to be there, so whenever the best possible deal presents itself is when you need to pull that trigger. That’s the reality of the situation. You need — NEED — to get the best possible return given how talented he is and what you’re losing.
Still, you need to try your damnedest to convince Panarin to stay.
And that applies to Bob as well.
Bobrovsky, like Panarin, is one of the best at what they do. No Bob = no playoffs.
But if it comes to it, they have to go by the deadline. You can’t do what the Islanders did last summer and watch your best player(s) walk for free. The return at the deadline probably isn’t what it would be now, or a month or two into the season once the injury bug hits someone in the league. A tricky road to cross.
2. Will this be Pekka Rinne‘s final season with the Nashville Predators?
SEAN: Juuse Saros appears to be ready to take over the No. 1 role in Nashville, but Rinne is coming off a Vezina Trophy winning season and has been such a huge part of that franchise for the last decade. I can see Poile wanting to keep the tandem in place in the future as long as Saros take strides and Rinne doesn’t take a huge step back. A short-term deal — a bridge-type extension — could be ideal considering their salary cap situation, allowing for a transition phase.
JAMES: With the Ryan Ellis extension settled, the Predators don’t really have any enormous contracts to settle for 2019-20 (although Kevin Fiala is a gem). With that – and Juuse Saros’ ridiculously cheap contract – in mind, Nashville could enjoy the basically unprecedented luxury of a gradual transition from Rinne to Saros over a couple of seasons. Goalies are unpredictable, so why not try to convince Rinne to spend more time with the only team he’s known? The guy’s made a ton of cash, seems to love Nashville, and could conceivably move on, say, after 2019-20.
There’s logic to parting ways for both sides, but I’ll go out on a limb and say that this will be his second-to-last season.
Then again, I thought Ellis would leave for greener pastures, so take that prediction with a grain of salt.
ADAM: It certainly looks that way. His age, combined with the fact that his replacement is already in the building and will probably get more of a role this season makes it seem inevitable. He was a great goalie for a long time in Nashville but I think this season is it for him there. Eventually Saros has to play because he might be too good to keep on the bench.
JOEY: I know Rinne’s heading into the final year of his contract, I know Juuse Saros is going to push him for the number one job and I know Rinne struggled in the playoffs, but I don’t think the Predators will want to lose him. He’s been with them for his entire career and he’s been a valuable contributor throughout the years. On the flip side, he’s also going to have to accept a decrease in pay if he’s going to stick around beyond this year.
Rinne is scheduled to make $7 million this season. He won’t be getting that kind of money again going forward, but Saros’ new deal only pays him $1.5 million per year for the next three years, so the Preds could be able to “splurge” to bring back Rinne on a short-term deal. The 35-year-old shouldn’t be in a hurry to leave a Predators team that has a real chance at success over the next few seasons.
SCOTT: Ideally, no.
Ideally, the Predators find a way to sign him to a shorter deal that takes him to the end of his career and provides a smooth transition as Saros turns into a legitimate No. 1 goaltender. A one year deal, even, given the cap crunch for Nashville doesn’t come until after the 2019-20 season when Roman Josi is going to need big money.
Of course, that ball is in Rinne’s court. He’s the UFA at the end of this season and there are teams out there that would want the services of a guy one year removed from winning the Vezina. How many would line up is yet to be determined, and he’s not getting any younger, but GMs take risks and Rinne is still a good goalie, despite his blunder in the playoffs last year.
Any short-term contract likely means a pay cut for Rinne, who really doesn’t need to take a pay cut unless he wants to remain in Nashville.
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3. What level of regression — if any — will the Vegas Golden Knights experience this season?
SEAN: George McPhee did a good enough job refueling the tank this off-season that the monumental drop-off that many were expecting after last season shouldn’t go down. William Karlsson won’t be chasing a Rocket Richard again and Marc-Andre Fleury may play at a Conn Smythe calibre again, but the additions of Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny will help with scoring depth and they still have plenty of room under the cap ceiling to make a big splash to stay in the mix in what will be a brutal Western Conference playoff battle.
JAMES: Quite a bit, yet I believe that they’ll be in the hunt for a playoff spot. Losing Nate Schmidt for 20 games is a big blow, as the inevitable toll of injuries hasn’t even kicked off. That defense could be in trouble, for real this time. While the top line is very good, I expect them to at least cool down from last season’s “molten lava” state. The drop could be really steep for Marc-Andre Fleury, not to mention “Huh?” successes like Deryk Engelland. On the bright side, it was brilliant to bring in Max Pacioretty and Paul Stastny. They might just make the difference between getting in the playoffs and barely missing out.
ADAM: There almost has to be some. William Karlsson might be a good player, but he’s not 43 goals good. Marc-Andre Fleury is a really good starting goalie whose career has done a 180 from where it was five or six years ago, but I think it’s unrealistic to expect that same level of play over another full season, especially at his age. I don’t know that Erik Haula is a 30-goal scorer every year. So there is definitely some potential for regression there. That said, don’t you kind of make up for that by adding players like Paul Stastny and Max Pacioretty? And even if the aforementioned trio does regress, they are not going to suddenly become bad. They just might go from great to really good.
JOEY: The Golden Knights lost David Perron and James Neal in free agency, but they replaced them with forwards like Paul Stastny and Max Pacioretty, which makes them even better (on paper at least) heading into this season. And, don’t forget, they had to overcome the loss of Marc-Andre Fleury early on in the season. If Fleury plays between 50-60 games, that definitely makes them better, too.
Vegas may not get repeat performances from every player that had a career year in 2017-18, but as a team, I think they’ll be more than just competitive. Don’t be surprised if the Golden Knights and Sharks are battling for the Pacific Division crown throughout the year. They know they have a first line that works in William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith, and now they also have Stastny and Pacioretty playing a second-line role. This team will be just fine.
SCOTT: I guess this depends on whether you think all the career years that were had in Vegas last season were just a fluke.
I don’t. Vegas good great deals in the scrap bin that was the expansion draft and they immediately found some uncanny chemistry. George McPhee didn’t stand still over the summer, either. The addition of Paul Stastny was bigger, and then getting Max Pacioretty was bigger. Those guys can make up for any regression we might see from the likes of William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith.
Remember, this was a team that dealt with crippling goaltender injuries and still managed to win the Pacific Division. I’ll stop betting against this team until they give me a reason to.
4. What team that is flying way under the radar and could surprise people this season and why?
SEAN: They came within a point of the playoff last season, and with a year under their belts with head coach Bob Boughner, the Florida Panthers appear ready to take that next step. There are a lot of other teams in the East to get excited about, which could allow the Panthers to fly under the radar this season. Between Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Huberdeau and Evgenii Dadonov up front, and Aaron Ekblad and Keith Yandle in the back, there’s a very strong core there. Add in the potential of youngsters Owen Tippett and Henrik Borgstrom and Sunrise, Florida could provide us with a big surprise this season.
JAMES: The Florida Panthers have been the subject of ridicule for some time, but they looked like a dangerous team late last season. Barkov and Trocheck give them a one-two punch at center that can hang with just about any other duo. As brittle as Reimer and Luongo are, both goalies are capable. There are some great supporting cast members, and we could see the ascent of intriguing young players such as Henrik Borgstrom. These Cats can play.
ADAM: Not saying they will do it, but it would not shock me if Arizona really came out of nowhere this season. Their entire season was made last season when they got off to that terrible start. It is not a coincidence that Antti Raanta played in almost none of those games. When he was in the lineup they were not only competitive, they were pretty good. Now they have Alex Galchenyuk coming in, I still have high hopes for Dylan Strome to be an impact player, and they have a top-tier defenseman. The Arizona Coyotes are my sleeper team.
JOEY: The Arizona Coyotes. Yes, I realize that they’ve been one of the worst teams in the league over the last few seasons, but they ended last season on a high note. They also had a positive offseason, as they were able to get Oliver Ekman-Larson re-signed and they added a talented center in Alex Galchenyuk, who could be a big-time difference maker once he gets healthy. Even though the ‘Yotes are still a little young, they could be able to compete for a playoff spot in 2018-19. The fact that Antti Raanta looked a lot more comfortable in a number one role toward the end of last season is an encouraging sign.
Today’s NHL is all about being young and fast, and the Coyotes are certainly both of those things. They may still be a year away from earning a postseason berth, but they could still shock a lot of people as soon as 2018-19.
SCOTT: The Buffalo Sabres. Rub your eyes. Splash some water on your face. Pinch yourself. But the fact of the matter is the Sabres went out and made some moves this summer in an effort to get better. And they weren’t empty moves. Skinner. Berglund. Hutton. Sheary. Oh, and some kid named Dahlin. Sure, Dahlin was the product of a disastrous season, but he’s an immediate upgrade to their defence. Casey Mittlestadt should play an important role as well. I said it before, but I believe Buffalo have gone from the joke of the NHL to a team that could work its way into the *gasps* playoff discussion this year.
The free agent of signing of John Tavares in Toronto and the San Jose Sharks’ acquisition of Erik Karlsson helped give two of the NHL’s top Stanley Cup contenders an embarrassment of riches at two of the most important positions.
By signing Tavares, the Maple Leafs added a top player to a depth chart that already had Auston Matthews and Nazem Kadri down the middle, while the Sharks are going to be running a defensive unit out on the ice every night that will have three Norris Trophy contenders on it.
It puts both teams in the discussion for having the best depth at each position, and makes us asks a few questions, specifically: Which positional group around the league is the NHL’s best? How does Toronto’s center depth compare to recent Stanley Cup winners in Pittsburgh and Washington? Has San Jose’s depth on defense surpassed Nashville’s?
We take a look at all of those depth charts and many more and leave it up to you to vote.
Penguins centers
Let us start with the obvious here: Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are two of the best players of their era, and they alone make this group one of the best in the NHL.
Over the past five seasons Crosby and Malkin are second and third in the league in points per game (1.14 and 1.13 respectively), trailing only Connor McDavid.
Over their careers they have combined to win four scoring titles, three MVP awards, and three Conn Smythe Trophies. They are both Hall of Famers, they are both generational talents, and at any given time each one of them can make a convincing case for being the best player in the world.
But it’s not just about them when it comes to the Penguins’ center depth.
They also have Derick Brassard as their third-line center, and even though his first impression with the Penguins post-trade deadline wasn’t quite what the team expected, he is still an outstanding option as a third-line center. Keep in mind that over the same five-year stretch mentioned above, he is 57th in points per game out of the 238 centers that appeared in at least 100 games, meaning that he is probably at least a second-line center on a lot of clubs. Add in Riley Sheahan and Matt Cullen as fourth line options and there are only one or two other teams in the league that have a depth chart down the middle that can even come close to matching up with the Penguins.
First, from an offensive standpoint Karlsson and Burns are in a class all of their own.
Over the past five years they are first and second among the league’s defenders in total points, and by a pretty significant margin. Karlsson’s 355 are first in the league, and are 29 ahead of Burns’ 326 in second-place. The next closest defender to Burns (Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman) is 51 points behind him, which is the same as the gap between Hedman and the No. 16 ranked defender on the list (Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson).
When it comes to the Norris Trophy, all three are regular vote-getters, with Karlsson and Burns being constants in the top-10.
Where each player has finished in the voting over just the past five years…
Karlsson: 7th, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 12th Burns: No votes, 21st, 3rd, 1st, 8th Vlasic: 12th, No votes, 20th, 21st, 11th
Just one season all three of them were in the top-12 of the voting, while Karlsson and Burns have combined to win it three times in their career and been finalists a total of five times.
The Sharks’ defense may not be quite as deep as, say, a team like Nashville, in the 4-7 spots, but there is nobody in the league that has a top-three on defense quite like this.
Predators defense
This is a remarkable unit because the top-four is not only full of outstanding players, but they are also all signed to long-term contracts that do not break the team’s salary cap structure.
P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Mattias Ekholm, and Ryan Ellis are all signed for at least the next two years, while Subban, Ekholm and Ellis are all signed for at least the next four years. The total salary cap commitment for those four players in each of the next two years: $19.2 million in 2018-19, and $22.95 million in 2019-20. That is incredible value for four players of that caliber, especially when Subban is the oldest player in the group at age 29.
Nashville’s management has done such a great job building this defense that it is still this deep even after trading two players like Seth Jones (for Ryan Johansen) and Shea Weber (for Subban) over the past three years. If most teams traded two players at the same position of that caliber it would totally crush them. The Predators, somehow, managed to come out of the trades even better as a team and still have one of the best blue lines in the league.
As far as wingers go, this group should be the envy of the entire league.
Wheeler has been one of the league’s most underrated and most productive players for several years now, while Laine has already emerged as one of the top-three goal-scorers after just two seasons in the league.
Not enough to impress? Well let’s throw in the fact that Ehlers has already recorded a pair of 60-point seasons before his age 22 season, something that only 19 forwards have done in the salary cap era. That list if a who’s who of superstars across the league.
Then there is Connor who only scored 30 goals as a rookie this past season and finished fourth in the Calder Trophy voting.
Usually Stanley Cup contenders are built on their strength down the middle. The Jets have taken a slightly different approach and have their big-ticket players on the outside.
Maple Leafs centers
What makes the Maple Leafs so intriguing in a discussion like this is that pretty much all of their top forwards are natural centers: Auston Matthews, John Tavares, William Nylander, Nazem Kadri … even the ageless Patrick Marleau. So they have a ton of versatility and options here, especially in the event of an injury.
But looking at things from a practical matter the players that are going to get the most time at center are going to be the Matthews, Tavares, Kadri trio.
In Matthews and Tavares they have two of the elite offensive players in the league, while Kadri has turned into a terror of a shutdown center that can also score 30 goals, which is just an outrageous combination. Their top two centers aren’t quite as good as Pittsburgh’s, but as a total group they are as good as anybody else in the league.
Ducks goalies
In this three seasons as the Ducks’ starting goalie John Gibson has never had a save percentage lower than .920 and has been in the top-10 in each of the past two seasons. When he is healthy, he is one of the league’s elite goalies and he is still only 25 years old.
Backing him up is long-time NHL veteran Ryan Miller who excelled in relief of Gibson last season with a .928 mark in 28 appearances. Together, Gibson and Miller combined for one of the top save percentage marks in the league. Miller is no longer a top-tier starter, but if needed to be he would still be an average to above average goalie on a regular basis. As a backup option he is one of the best in the league and helps form one of the strongest goaltending duos in hockey.
Predators goalies
This is a great duo because it gives the Predators a strong present and future.
Pekka Rinne has been the starter in Nashville for the better part of the past decade. He’s had some peaks and valleys along the way, but the 2017-18 season was the best season of his career and finally brought him his first Vezina Trophy after having a couple of near-misses earlier in his career (he was a finalist three different times, including a runner-up on two occasions).
His time in Nashville is pretty getting close to coming to an end, however. Not only is he entering his age 36 season, but he is also an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Are the Predators going to be loyal to their long-time starter and bring him back for at least one more year? If they do not (and maybe even if they do) his eventual replacement is already backing him up in 23-year-old Juuse Saros.
All Saros has done in his limited action as an NHL goalie is stop the puck and put up big numbers, with a .923 save percentage in his first 48 appearances.
He is also signed for next-to-nothing over the next three seasons, counting just $1.5 million against the salary cap each season.
Capitals centers
Now we get to the defending Stanley Cup champions. While Alex Ovechkin is the heart and soul of the team, the engine that drives it is down the middle where the trio of Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Lars Eller resides. All three played massive roles in the Capitals’ Stanley Cup run a season ago and were not only among the team’s top point producers in the playoffs, they also scored some of the biggest goals (or played a key role in the biggest goals) along the way.
Backstrom and Kuznetsov are both elite playmakers and among the most productive players in the world, while Backstrom has also become an outstanding defensive player to bring a great two-way game to the rink every night.
Eller isn’t going to score at the same level as a Brassard (Pittsburgh) or Kadri (Toronto), but he proved his worth in the playoffs this past year when he became an unexpected star for the Capitals by providing essential secondary scoring and depth.
Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.
• Auston Matthews tells GQ Magazine that his fashion idols are Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook and actor Leonardo Di Caprio. The full Q&A is pretty interesting. (GQ)
• Who are the most prominent NHL players that are in new places to start the 2018-19 season? NHL.com has to covered. (NHL.com)
• Is Bo Horvat ready to be the next captain of the Vancouver Canucks? (Canucks Army)
• The Arizona Coyotes have a lot of young talent, but injuries to their centers might put them behind the eight ball heading into the regular season. (AZ Central)
• Brandon Davidson, who was attending Blackhawks training camp on a PTO, signed a one-year deal with the club on Thursday. (Chicago Sun-Times)
• It might be awkward, but the Sens and Zack Smith have to move on from the “waivers incident” that occurred at the beginning of the week. (Ottawa Citizen)
• Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou was a hold out case during training camp last year, but he’s using this year’s preseason to set the tone for his upcoming season. (Detroit News)
• Mitch Marner looks like he’s about to have a huge 2018-19 season, which is both good news and bad news for the Toronto Maple Leafs. (The Hockey News)
• Danick Martel is hoping to stick with the Bolts after he was claimed off waivers from the Flyers last week. (Tampa Bay Times)
• After reports surfaced about Devante Smith-Pelly‘s absence from training camp, the Caps forward denied that it had anything to do with being out of shape. (NBC Sports Washington)
A team from the West has not won the Stanley Cup the previous three seasons, the conference’s longest drought in the 13-year salary cap era.
Before the Washington Capitals won it last year after Pittsburgh claimed consecutive championships, the West was usually the best, winning seven of 10 titles. Four teams seem to have the best shot to prevent it from being a four-year run without a Stanley Cup. And perhaps a few more have an outside chance.
”The West is like loaded right now,” Nashville Predators general manager David Poile said. ”It feels like anybody could not only make the playoffs, there’s going to be some unbelievable top teams that don’t make the playoffs.”
Winnipeg is stacked with talent from up front to the back and in net. And, the Jets are no longer off the radar after advancing to the conference finals for the first time. Nashville , which was eliminated by Winnipeg in the second round, won the Presidents’ Trophy with an NHL-high 117 points last season and has kept its strong and balanced team together.
The Vegas Golden Knights tried to improve their chances of returning to the Stanley Cup Final in their second season by signing free agent center Paul Stastny and acquiring forward Max Pacioretty. The San Jose Sharks made the boldest move, trading for two-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson just before the puck dropped for training camp.
Poile said the talent-filled conference should be fun for players and fans, but not so much for coaches and the front office.
”It’s probably going to be nerve-wracking for us,” Poile said. ”If you’re going to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best, and I think the West certainly has more than its share of top teams.”
WINNIPEG
The Jets, who trailed only Nashville in points last season, have an elite team after years of patiently drafting and developing players. Winnipeg has so much young talent, including 20-year-old wing Patrik Laine, the time to win is now because it is going to be challenging next season to keep the team together and under the cap.
”Bring it on,” Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said. ”There’s excitement. That’s what this all about.”
NASHVILLE
The Predators have one of the world’s best goaltender, reigning Vezina Trophy winner Pekka Rinne. He may have the surrounding cast of hungry, experienced talented players to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in its 20 years after leading the league in points.
”Obviously things didn’t end up the way we wanted, but winning the regular season doesn’t give you much,” Rinne said.
VEGAS
The Golden Knights signed three-time Stanley Cup champion Marc-Andre Fleury to a three-year, $21 million extension over the summer. They can lean on his experience of helping Pittsburgh go from losing the Stanley Cup in 2008 to winning it the next year. Adding the leadership of Pacioretty and Stastny after losing James Neal was a smart move.
SAN JOSE
The Sharks’ shot to win it all for the first time in their 27-season history increased the moment they acquired Karlsson, one of the elite players in the NHL.
”That trade makes this team look a little bit more dangerous,” captain Joe Pavelski said, entering his 13th year with the franchise. ”And, a little bit more real.”
LOS ANGELES
The Kings, who hoisted the Cup in 2012 and 2014, tried to pry open their window to win by bolstering their offense by signing Ilya Kovalchuk. The 35-year-old winger is back in the NHL for the first time since 2013. Los Angeles should be able to compete every night with two-way forward Anze Kopitar, the reigning Selke Trophy winner, and standout goalie Jonathan Quick.
ST. LOUIS
The Blues missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 2011, but they made a series of moves to give some help to forwards Brayden Schenn and Vladimir Tarasenko along with defenseman Alex Pietrangelo. St. Louis acquired center Ryan O'Reilly in a big deal with Buffalo, signed center Tyler Bozak and winger David Perron, who is back with the Blues for his third stint.
EDMONTON
Connor McDavid should give the Oilers an opportunity to win any game. The 21-year-old center, though, can’t do it alone as last year proved when the team missed the playoffs despite his career-high 108 points. Edmonton needs winger Milan Lucic and goalie Cam Talbot both to bounce back from lackluster seasons.
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AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno and AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker contributed to this report.
