CarterHud

            As their core ages, and their depth gets even worse, the Chicago Blackhawks are no longer the team they used to be. They aren\’t even playoff contenders. Before we look into the team, let\’s look at some fast facts for the Blackhawks.

Head Coach: Joel Quenneville
General Manager: Stan Bowman
Arena: United Center
AHL Affiliate: Rockford Icehogs
2017-18 record: 33-39-10 (76 points)
2017-18 placement: 7th
Division: Central
2017-18 goals leader: Alex DeBrincat (28)
2017-18 assists leader: Patrick Kane (49)
2017-18 points leader: Patrick Kane (76)
2017-18 points leader (defenseman): Duncan Keith (32)
Captain: Jonathan Toews
Assistant Captains: Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook
2018 first round pick: Adam Boqvist, Nicolas Beaudin

Offseason additions: Cam Ward, Brandon Manning, Chris Kunitz, Marcus Kruger, Jordan Schroeder.

Offseason subtractions: Patrick Sharp, Cody Franson, Jeff Glass, Lance Bouma, Anthony Duclair, Tomas Jurco, Vinnie Hinostroza, Jordan Oesterle, Marian Hossa.

Forwards: Jonathan Toews is still a 50 point scorer, but is now better defensively than offensively. Patrick Kane is still a superstar, and Alex DeBrincat had a promising rookie year, along with Nick Schmaltz. Dylan Sikura and Victor Ejdsell are now those two, looking for good rookie seasons. Artem Ansimov, Chris Kunitz, Marcus Kruger and Jordan Schroeder are veterans that can chip in a little bit.

Forward lines:

Brandon Saad – Jonathan Toews – Alex DeBrincat
Nick Schmaltz – Artem Anisimov – Patrick Kane
Chris Kunitz – Marcus Kruger – Dylan Sikura
Jordan Schroeder – Victor Ejdsell – John Hayden

Defenseman: Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook are aging, and overpaid. Connor Murphy is also overpaid. Jan Rutta and Gustav Forsling are their best hopes for the season, and that isn\’t a good thing.

Defensive pairs:

Duncan Keith – Brent Seabrook
Brandon Manning – Connor Murphy
Gustav Forsling – Jan Rutta
Other: Erik Gustafsson

Goaltending: When healthy, Corey Crawford is a great goalie. Unfortunately, that seems to never be the case. Cam Ward was brought in, and he\’s not a bad backup. Neither is Anton Forsberg, the third goalie. If Crawford is healthy, this will be their strengh.

Goalie alignment:

Corey Crawford
Cam Ward
Anton Forsberg
Other: JF Berube

Predictions:

Top five scorers:

Patrick Kane
Jonathan Toews
Alex Debrincat
Brandon Saad
Nick Schmaltz

Playoffs: No
Divison spot: 7th

             The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired winger Max Pacioretty from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for winger Tomas Tatar, center Nick Suzuki and a 2019 second round pick.

            For the Golden Knights, I don\’t like this trade. They traded a first round pick in 2018 (Joe Veleno), a 2019 second and a 2020 third for Tomas Tatar at the trade deadline, and now flip him with Suzuki, a 2017 first rounder, and another 2019 2nd for Pacioretty, who only scored three more points than Tatar last year, despite injuries. It\’s a 20 goal scorer, a big prospect and a second for a 35 goal scorer. But, when healthy, Pacioretty is a star.

            Pacioretty, 29, scored 17 goals and 20 assists for 37 points in 64 games for the Habs in 2017-18. In his NHL career, all in Montreal, Pacioretty has scored 226 goals and 222 assists for 448 points in 626 games.

           For the Canadiens, they are rebuilding, and this helps. Suzuki can be a top-6 center in the future, and Tatar can be one now. The second can also come in handy, should they draft right.

           Tatar, 27, scored 20 goals and 14 assists for 34 points in 82 games for the Knights and Detroit Red Wings in 2017-18. In his career only for those two teams, Tatar has scored 119 goals and 109 assists for 228 points in 427 games.

           Suzuki, 19, scored 42 goals and 58 assists for 100 points in 64 games for the Owen Sound Attack of the OHL in 2017-18.

            I think the Habs win this trade. Pacioretty is good, but the return could be way better. I guess we need to wait and see what becomes of Suzuki and the 2nd, but for now, I think they\’ll be better.

            After a mediocre season, the Carolina Hurricanes lucked out and won the 2nd overall spot in the NHL draft, and they picked Andrei Svechnikov. But, they traded away Jeff Skinner and Noah Hanifin, adding Dougie Hamilton. They still have work to do. Let\’s look at some fast facts for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Head Coach: Rod Brind\’Amour
General Manager: Don Waddell
Arena: PNC Arena
AHL Affiliate: Charlotte Checkers
2017-18 record: 36-35-11 (83 points)
2017-18 placement: 6th
Division: Metropolitan
2017-18 goals leader: Sebastian Aho (29)
2017-18 assists leader: Teuvo Teravainen (41)
2017-18 points leader: Sebastian Aho (65)
2017-18 points leader (defenseman): Noah Hanifin (32)
Captain: Jordan Staal, Justin Faulk (team will cut it down to one captain, and the one stripped will probably be an assistant captain)
Assistant Captains: None
2018 first round pick: Andrei Svechnikov

Offseason additions: Dougie Hamilton, Michael Ferland, Calvin de Haan, Petr Mrazek, Jordan Martinook.

Offseason subtractions: Jeff Skinner, Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Cam Ward, Derek Ryan, Lee Stempniak, Marcus Kruger, Joakim Nordstrom, Klas Dahlbeck.

Forwards: The duo of Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen can only get better. Valentin Zykov will be a rookie, but their linemate. Andrei Svechnikov and Martin Necas will probably be linemates at some point, but maybe not the beginning. Necas might push Victor Rask to the 4th line, but he is above average for a 4th line center. Justin Williams is a vet that can put up 50 points again.

Forward lines:

Valentin Zykov – Sebastian Aho – Teuvo Teravainen
Michael Ferland – Jordan Staal – Andrei Svechnikov
Warren Foegele – Martin Necas – Justin Williams
Phillip Di Giuseppe – Victor Rask – Brock McGinn
Other: Jordan Martinook

Defenseman: Hamilton is an upgrade over Hanifin. Justin Faulk is still a top-2 defenseman. Jaccob Slavin is one of the most underrated d-man in the league, and so is the oft-injured Calvin de Haan. Brett Pesce and Trevor van Riemsdyk make up the bottom pair, but Haydn Fleury is coming.

Defensive pairs:

Jaccob Slavin – Justin Faulk
Calvin de Haan – Dougie Hamilton
Trevor van Riemsdyk – Brett Pesce
Other: Haydn Fleury

Goalies: Scott Darling is the worst starting goalie in the league. He will split time with Petr Mrazek, but this is their biggest issue by far.

Goalie alignment:

Scott Darling
Petr Mrazek

Predictions:

Top five scorers:

Teuvo Teravainen
Sebastian Aho
Dougie Hamilton
Valentin Zykov
Justin Williams

Playoffs: No
Division spot: 7th

      

     
            After goalie Mike Smith got hurt, the Calgary Flames completely fell, and ended up missing the playoffs again. They fired Glen Gulutzan, and brought in Bill Peters. But, they then traded star defenseman Dougie Hamilton and Michael Ferland after his breakout season, plus one of their top prospects, Adam Fox, to Peters\’ old team, the Carolina Hurricanes, for young defenseman Noah Hanifin and disappointing forward Elias Lindholm in this summer\’s biggest trade. Before we look at their team, here\’s some fast facts for the Calgary Flames.

Head Coach: Bill Peters
General Manager: Brad Treliving
Arena: Scotiabank Saddledome
AHL Affiliate: Stockton Heat
2017-18 record: 37-35-10 (84 points)
2017-18 placement: 5th
Division: Pacific
2017-18 goals leader: Sean Monahan (31)
2017-18 assists leader: Johnny Gaudreau (60)
2017-18 points leader: Johnny Gaudreau (84)
2017-18 points leader (defenseman): Dougie Hamilton (44)
Captain: Mark Giordano
Assistant Captains: None
2018 first round pick: None, picked Martin Pospisil 105th overall

Offseason additions: James Neal. Noah Hanifin, Elias Lindholm, Austin Czarnik, Derek Ryan.

Offseason subtractions: Dougie Hamilton, Michael Ferland, Troy Brouwer, Matt Stajan, Kris Versteeg, Nick Shore, Matt Barkowski, Tanner Glass.

Forwards: The dynamic duo of Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan is back, and they have James Neal on the first line along with them. Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik make up a scrappy, two way second line. Sam Bennett is officially a bust, but Mark Jankowski scored 17 goals in his rookie year, and can easily get 20 as a second line center.

Forward lines:

Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – James Neal
Matthew Tkachuk – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik
Sam Bennett – Mark Jankowski – Elias Lindholm
Austin Czarnik – Derek Ryan – Curtis Lazar
Other: Garnet Hathaway

Defenseman: Dougie Hamilton is gone, and stepping in is the not as good but younger Noah Hanifin. They went from a top-2 defenseman to a top-4 guy. Captain Mark Giordano and TJ Brodie are good top-4 guys as well. At 21, Rasmus Andersson will get a starting shot.

Defensive pairings:

Mark Giordano – Travis Hamonic
TJ Brodie – Michael Stone
Noah Hanifin – Rasmus Andersson
Other: Brett Kulak

Goalies: At age 37, Mike Smith is still a good goalie. Behind him is youngsters David Rittich and Jon Gillies. If Smith goes down, so does the team.

Goalie alignment:

Mike Smith
David Rittich
Other: Jon Gillies

Predictions:

Top five scorers:

Johnny Gaudreau
Sean Monahan
James Neal
Matthew Tkachuk
Mikael Backlund

Playoffs: No
Division spot: 5th

          Finishing in last place in today\’s NHL could sometimes fail, and you could get the 4th overall pick with the lottery system. But, the Buffalo Sabres lucked out, and got the first overall pick, adding top NHL prospect Rasmus Dahlin. But, the team still has a lot of work cut out for them. Before we go into detail, let\’s look at some fast facts for the Buffalo Sabres.

Head Coach: Phil Housley
General Manager: Jason Botterill
Arena: KeyBank Center
AHL Affiliate: Rochester Americans
2017-18 record: 25-45-12 (62 points)
2017-18 placement: 8th
Division: Atlantic
2017-18 goals leader: Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart (25)
2017-18 assists leader: Jack Eichel (39)
2017-18 points leader: Jack Eichel (64)
2017-18 points leader (defenseman): Rasmus Ristolainen (41)
Captain: None
Assistant Captains: Kyle Okposo, Zach Bogosian
2018 first round pick: Rasmus Dahlin

Offseason additions: Jeff Skinner, Conor Sheary, Carter Hutton, Vladimir Sobotka, Patrik Berglund, Scott Wedgewood, Matt Hunwick, Tage Thompson.

Offseason subtractions: Ryan O\’Reilly, Robin Lehner, Benoit Pouliot, Chad Johnson, Victor Antipin, Jordan Nolan, Seth Griffith, Josh Gorges, Justin Falk.

Forwards: The team that scored the least amount of goals in the league in 2018 has lost second line center Ryan O\’Reilly, but added firepower on the left side with Jeff Skinner and Conor Sheary. There are Believing in rookie Casey Middelstadt to be their second line center. When winger Kyle Okposo is healthy, he\’s a great top 6 winger. The problem is, he hasn\’t been that since joining the Sabres. Patrik Berglund and Vladimir Sobotka are two veterans from the O\’Reilly trade that are expected to be key third liners. The big part of the trade, Tage Thompson, will fight for a 4th line spot.

Forward lines:

Jeff Skinner – Jack Eichel – Sam Reinhart
Conor Sheary – Casey Middlestadt – Kyle Okposo
Vladimir Sobotka – Patrik Berglund – Jason Pominville
Evan Rodrigues – Zemgus Girgensons – Tage Thompson
Other: Scott Wilson, Johan Larsson

Defenseman: The first overall pick, Rasmus Dahlin will be a force both offensively and defensively. Pair him with the other Rasmus, Rasmus Ristolainen, and you got a really good and young top pairing. If Zach Bogosian and Jake McCabe stay healthy, then there\’s two more quality defenseman.

Defensive pairings:

Rasmus Dahlin – Rasmus Ristolainen
Marco Scandella – Zach Bogosian
Jake McCabe – Nathan Beaulieu
Other: Casey Nelson, Matt Hunwick

Goalies: Robin Lehner is gone, Carter Hutton is in, and is a big upgrade, if he can put up a season similar to 2017-18 in his first full time starting gig. They are trusting Linus Ullmark to be a full time backup, and I think he can do it.

Goalie allignment:

Carter Hutton
Linus Ullmark
Other: Scott Wedgewood

Predictions:

Top five scorers:

Jack Eichel
Jeff Skinner
Sam Reinhart
Casey Middlestadt
Kyle Okposo

Playoffs: no
division placement: 6th