CarterHud

The Predators made the playoffs last season thanks to elite goaltending. But this offseason, they made their team even more dependent Juuse Saros, by getting worse. Nashville shipped out multiple veterans while watching Pekka Rinne retire, although they did not get a ton of picks and prospects back, either. The strategy by General Manager David Poile does seem a bit odd. Will it work out? Probably not this year, at least.

Offseason additions: D Philippe Myers, F Cody Glass, G David Rittich.

Offseason subtractions: D Ryan Ellis, F Viktor Arvidsson, G Pekka Rinne, F Calle Jarnkrok, F Erik Haula, F Brad Richardson, D Erik Gudbranson.

Forwards

With only a year left before unrestricted free agency, is this year it for Filip Forsberg in Nashville? Despite playing in just 36 games, the right-winger led the team’s forwards with 32 points, 12 of which were goals. That ended his streak of six consecutive seasons with more than 20 goals. He should get back there again this year barring injury. The top-two centers for Nashville are both expensive and underwhelming. Ryan Johansen has never been a big goal scorer, but to see him score just seven times last year was extremely rough. He has the playmaking ability to make up for that, except he had just 15 assists in 48 games last year. That is far from enough. Matt Duchene has also crashed and burned since signing with the Predators. For a player of his caliber, an 8.2 shooting percentage should still equal more than six goals. Add that with seven assists, and his 34 game season was a complete and utter disaster. He is 30-years-old, which means that he should still have some competitive years left. Former top prospect Eeli Tolvanen finally got enough playing time to establish himself in the NHL after multiple years of hype. He signed a three-year deal as a restricted free agent after a nice season, scoring 11 goals with 11 assists in 40 games played. For his efforts he finished 14th in Calder voting. For the second year in a row, Mikael Granlund went to free agency with the expectation that he would walk. And for the second year in a row, he returned. It shouldn’t happen next year, as he got a four-year contract. Granlund is a solid second-line player, although his new $5 million AAV is heavy. He tied for the team lead with 13 goals last year, along with 27 points. In his first season after a trade from Minnesota, Luke Kunin played in only 38 games, but managed to score ten goals. He added two more in the postseason, including an overtime winner. The 23-year-old moved to the wing full-time after playing some center for the Wild. The Predators will attempt to build Cody Glass back from the ground up. The 2017 sixth overall pick comes to Nashville after failing to capture a center job in Vegas. He scored four goals with six assists in 27 games last season. In 14 AHL games, he did have the same amount of goals and assists. 2019 first-rounder Philip Tomasino will have the chance to join Glass on his right. In his first professional season, the 20-year-old scored 13 goals with 32 points in 29 games for the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. Undrafted Tanner Jeannot started the season in the ECHL, then proceeded to light up the AHL. In 13 games for the Wolves, he scored 10 goals with 11 assists. In 15 games for the big club, Jeannot scored five goals, earning himself a spot in five of the six playoff lineups. Veteran Nick Cousins is back for his second year with the team. In his first, he scored five goals with 18 points in 52 games. This was off the back of a 10 goal, 25 point year for Montreal and Vegas. Rocco Grimaldi scored exactly ten goals for the second season in a row, this time in 40 games. The major difference for Grimaldi was not his goals, rather his drop from 21 assists to just three. His 16.1 shooting percentage is very high, so don’t expect that much production again. Signed for five more seasons, Colton Sissons is a very expensive bottom-six player. He scored eight goals with 74 hits and an elite 54 percent face-off percentage last year. His $2.857 million AAV may jump out, but Sissons was worth the cost last season. A second-rounder back in 2015, Yakov Trenin played in a career-high 45 games last year. He scored five goals with six assists, but more importantly, had 94 hits, as the Russian imposed his physicality. Another option who had a ton of hits last year is right-winger Mathieu Olivier, the first player from Mississippi in the NHL. Don’t worry, as the man with the most French sounding name possible did grow up in Quebec. He had five points in 30 games last year.

Defensemen

Roman Josi was one of the few defenders in the NHL to lead their team in points in 2020-21. He just narrowly beat Forsberg, with 33 points, eight of which were goals. That ended seven-year streak of double-digit goals. An equally long triple-digit blocked shots streak was ended with 83. He should thank the shortened season for that. Nashville tried to bail themselves out of the impending doom that they think Ryan Ellis’ contract would be, and for that they get a severe downgrade from Ellis to Philippe Myers. A second-pairing player in Philadelphia, Myers could be asked to play with the captain on the top pairing. The six-foot-five, right-handed shot had 11 points with 40 blocks and 69 hits in 44 games last year. Mattias Ekholm dodged trade rumors all season as the Predators went from long shots to a playoff team. The great two-way skater scored 23 points with 46 blocked shots in 48 games. Like Josi, the shortened season ruined a triple-digit blocked shot streak, at six years for Ekholm. The Predators may have unlocked something in Alexandre Carrier, the 24-year-old right-hander who made the most of his 19 game trial last year. He had three points with 31 blocks and 22 hits. Not only was that enough to get him into all six playoff games, the Preds protected him from the Kraken over forward Calle Jarnkrok. When the Predators traded PK Subban to New Jersey before 2019-20, the hope was that Dante Fabbro would jump into the top-four. Fabbro has been decent, but Carrier may have leap-frogged him. In 40 games, the 23-year-old scored 12 points with 57 blocked shots. Big ol’ on-ice meanie Mark Borowiecki returns for his second season in Nashville. He played in just 22 games in the first one, with 38 penalty minutes and 54 hits. From the six prior seasons with Ottawa, Borowiecki’s hit totals ranged from 199 to 364. The right and left handed dynamic could get him a starting spot over Matt Benning. The former Oiler played in all but three games last season, with four points. He blocked 53 shots with 55 hits. An ex-teammate of Borowiecki’s in Ottawa was Ben Harpur, who got into 34 games for the Predators last year. He had seven assists, with 44 hits. He was much more disciplined than in his Senators days, with only 17 penalty minutes.

Goalies

The Predators owe a ton of debt to Juuse Saros for his efforts in 2020-21. His sixth place Vezina finish did not do him justice. Saros played in 36 games, with a .927 save percentage and a 2.28 GAA. He saved 20.9 goals above average. This was his first season with the chains fully free from Pekka Rinne. Now with Rinne retired (and likely soon to the rafters), Saros is ready to go nuts. “Big Save Dave” Rittich is the new backup. He had been capable for that position for multiple seasons for the Flames, although he did struggle for Calgary and Toronto last year. Rittich had a combined .901 save percentage with a 2.86 GAA.

Projected Lines

Filip Forsberg – Ryan Johansen – Eeli Tolvanen

Mikael Granlund – Matt Duchene – Luke Kunin

Tanner Jeannot – Cody Glass – Phillip Tomasino

Nick Cousins – Colton Sissons – Rocco Grimaldi

Extras: Yakov Trenin, Mathieu Olivier

Roman Josi – Philippe Myers

Mattias Ekholm – Alexandre Carrier

Mark Borowiecki – Dante Fabbro

Extras: Matt Benning, Ben Harpur

Juuse Saros

David Rittich

Prediction

A late season hot streak really saved the Predators from a complete and utter blow-up at either the trade deadline or this offseason. They did rebuild a bit this summer, but instead of really committing they made their lineup worse without the good returns. Nashville has the young players to make this season exciting, but they are not good. The question is, will Forsberg be traded?

Has a team that made it to the Stanley Cup Finals ever had worse playoff odds coming into the next season than the Canadiens. You can argue that easy scheduling helped them go nearly all the way last year, as well as unpredictably good goaltending. Carey Price is sure to regress and captain Shea Weber will be gone for the year. There are definitely concerns for them, unlike the team they last faced.

Offseason additions: F Christian Dvorak, F Mike Hoffman, D David Savard, F Matthieu Perrault, F Cedric Paquette, D Chris Wideman.

Offseason subtractions: F Phillip Danault, F Tomas Tatar, F Jesperi Kotkaniemi, F Corey Perry, F Eric Staal, D Erik Gustafsson, D Cale Fleury.

Forwards

The loss of Phillip Danault is going to loom large on this Canadiens team that now is a whole lot weaker down the middle. The pressure will be put on Nick Suzuki to command the top line. In his second NHL season, he matched his 41 points from year one, but this time in less games. 15 of Suzuki’s points were goals. He has not missed a game since debuting in 2019-20. Suzuki also scored seven times in 22 playoff games. Most of those goals were on the ice with Cole Caufield, the 2019 first-rounder who took the league by storm in his pre-rookie season. He scored four times in 10 games before the playoffs, where he scored four more times, adding 12 points in 20 games. The top-six wing replacement for Tomas Tatar is Mike Hoffman. In his one season for St. Louis, Hoffman really struggled at five-on-five. He has a great shot, and in every season from 2014-15 to 2019-20 he scored at least 22 goals. Hoffman reached 17 last year, with 36 points. The hope is for Hoffman to be the elite power play scorer that he has always been. With both of his normal line mates departing in free agency, Brendan Gallagher will have to make a change in his tenth season with Montreal. While he only played in 35 games, Gallagher scored 14 goals. He was a big disappointment on offense in the playoffs, scoring just twice with four assists in 22 games. After the Jesperi Kotkaniemi offer sheet chaos, the Canadiens took the picks and flipped a similar package to Arizona for Christian Dvorak. He is a much better fit for the second line center role than Kotkaniemi would have been, so it works out for at least this season. Dvorak scored 17 goals with 31 points in 56 games. Beware of his 17.9 percent shooting rate, as that means he is primed for regression. In his first season under a deal very similar to Hoffman’s, Tyler Toffoli was great. He led the team with 28 goals and 44 points in 52 games. Sure, his shooting percentage was inflated, but that also happened the year before. He put 14 points on the scoresheet during the playoffs. The Habs missed Jonathan Drouin in the playoffs, for what we now know as mental health issues. Drouin played in 44 games last year, scoring only twice, but adding 21 assists. Of course, his 2.6 shooting percentage is not exactly sustainable. Josh Anderson’s two goals in game three of the third round was easily his career highlight. He scored 17 goals in his first season with Montreal. Anderson brought the toughness that the Canadiens wanted out of him when he was acquired, as he recorded 139 hits in 52 games. Matthieu Perreault has switched Canadian teams after spending the last seven seasons as a member of the Jets. He is a solid bottom-six player who has mainly played wing as of late. But with Montreal’s center depth lacking, he could move back to his old position. Jake Evans clearly has the trust of Head Coach Dominique Ducharme, as he consistently got opportunities in the playoffs. Evans is a defensive forward who had 13 points in 47 games last year. He also had 26 blocked shots and 79 hits. Artturi Lehkonen was the guy who scored the goal to send them to the finals, and for that, he gets to stay. Lehkonen scored a career low seven goals in 47 games last year. He shoots the puck a ton but is yet to match his rookie season total of 18 goals. Instead of letting him walk in free agency, the Habs gave Joel Armia a four-year deal with an AAV of $3.4 million. That was a ton for a fourth line winger. He has been good but that price is excessive. Armia scored seven goals with seven assists last year as well as 86 hits. He did add five goals in the postseason. Giving the team some center depth is Cedric Paquette, who was very good after an early season trade to Carolina. He scored seven points in 38 games with 109 hits despite playing just over nine minutes a game. Ryan Poehling was so disappointing in 27 NHL games in 2019-20 that he did not appear in the NHL at all last year. He did play well in the AHL, scoring 11 goals with 25 points in 28 games. He is another center option.

Defensemen

With Shea Weber out for the season, and potentially his career, the Canadiens will have to do some adjusting without their leader. Officially taking over on the top pair will be Jeff Petry, who is starting a new extension. Petry finished 13th in Norris voting as he scored double-digit goals for the fourth consecutive season. Petry lit the lamp 12 times along with 42 points in 55 games played. Joel Edmundson was a very solid addition on the backend. For the first time in his career, he failed to reach at least 100 hits. The good news is that he had 98 in 55 games, so he may or may not have reached it in a full season. He also blocked 75 shots to go along with that. The defensive physicality side of Weber is being recreated with David Savard, who just won the Cup against the Habs. He is all defense, no offense, and was a helpful piece for Tampa Bay in the playoffs. 2020-21 continued Savard’s streak of over 100 blocked shots and hits each, something dating back to 2014-15. One thing that is noticeable with the Montreal defense is that there will be lots of blocked shots and lots of hits. Another guy who does that is Ben Chiarot. He played in 41 games last year, scoring seven points while averaging just under 22 minutes on ice a night. Weber’s former partner will need his own adjusting period. Brett Kulak is easily the most underrated of the team’s blue-liners. He has never played excruciatingly tough minutes, but has solid qualities of a two-way forward. Canadiens fans were not too happy with Alexander Romanov playing in just four playoff games, and rightfully so. He played in all but two matches in the regular season, with 60 blocks and 138 hits. He has more offense potential than his six points show. Romanov is left-handed but may have to play on the right side so the Canadiens can start their best six. They could ignore that and go with Chris Wideman instead. The former Senator, most known for the team’s Uber incident, is back in the NHL. He played for the KHL’s Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo last year, and was very good. Wideman scored nine goals with 32 assists for 41 points in 59 games, earning himself KHL Defenseman of the Year.

Goalies

Which Carey Price will we see this year, the below average, injury-riddled regular season guy, or the elite playoff hero who carried the team throughout the postseason? In 25 games, Price posted a measly .901 save percentage with a 2.64 GAA. He played almost that many games in the playoffs, with a .924 save percentage and a 2.28 GAA. And that is after he struggled against the Lightning. Price had a save percentage over .930 in his two postseasons prior, so playoff Price is officially a thing. He may not be cheap, but Jake Allen is a very capable backup with starting experience. His first year in Montreal was not great, but it was better than Price. Allen had a .907 percentage with a 2.68 GAA. This is a season after a .927 save percentage as Jordan Binnington’s backup in St. Louis.

Projected Lines

Mike Hoffman – Nick Suzuki – Cole Caufield

Tyler Toffoli – Christian Dvorak – Brendan Gallagher

Jonathan Drouin – Matthieu Perreault – Josh Anderson

Artturi Lehkonen – Jake Evans – Joel Armia

Extras: Cedric Paquette, Ryan Poehling

Joel Edmundson – Jeff Petry

Ben Chiarot – David Savard

Brett Kulak – Alexander Romanov

Extras: Chris Wideman

Carey Price

Jake Allen

Prediction

It is hard to bet against the year prior’s runner-up, but the Stars did just miss the playoffs last year while a star player missed about the whole season with injuries sustained in the long postseason run. So, it is very possible. Plus, the Canadiens are re-entering a really tough Eastern Conference. There are four teams in their own division who are better than them, let alone the stacked Metropolitan. They will finish fifth in the Atlantic, but miss the postseason.

The team drenched in mediocrity finally saw a way out last year… and they lost in the first round again. The Wild, perhaps by pure chance or by great roster construction, were a dominant regular season team in an admittedly weak West Division. Still, they managed to go toe-to-toe with the Golden Knights of all teams. The offseason was rather damp, as the team did take a hit defensively and bought out their two most well-known players. But they still have a bright future.

Offseason additions: D Alex Goligoski, D Dmitry Kulikov, D Jon Merrill, D Jordie Benn, F Frederick Gaudreau.

Offseason subtractions: D Ryan Suter, F Zach Parise, D Carson Soucy, F Nick Bonino, D Ian Cole, F Marcus Johansson, F Luke Johnson.

Forwards

The story of the Minnesota offseason were the contract negotiations between the team and star Kirill Kaprizov. He came from the KHL and absolutely dominated the league in his rookie season, taking home the Calder Trophy. The restricted free agent wanted a huge deal, and used his home country of Russia as leverage. And boy, did he get that huge deal. He’s a Wild for five more seasons now. Kaprizov led the team with 27 goals and 51 points. The team failed to get him a center to play with, so it looks like he will remain next to Victor Rask, who is closer to a fourth line center than a top one. Rask scored ten goals with 23 points last season, each his most since 2017-18. If there is one thing that he does well, it’s staying disciplined. Rask took just one minor penalty all season. Kevin Fiala made positive strides for the second season in a row. Despite playing in 50 games, he reached the 20 goal mark with 20 assists to go along with it. Veteran Mats Zuccarello’s second season with Minnesota was better than his first. He showed his playmaking ability, with 24 assists as well as 11 goals. The Wild locked up center Joel Eriksson Ek for eight years after he had a great two-way season. He had 105 hits and finished fourth in Selke voting. Eriksson Ek also scored a career high 19 goals and 30 points. After years of bad shooting luck, he had a great shooting percentage of 16%. Big winger Jordan Greenway may have scored just six times last year, but his career-best 26 assists rose his point total to a personal record. He just missed out on 100 hits for the second season in a row, but did tie for second on the team with 49 penalty minutes. The guy he tied with was Marcus Foligno, who has grown into an elite player defensively. He finished 11th in Selke voting, and behind just Mark Stone, Brad Marchand, and Mitch Marner among wingers. Foligno also scored 11 goals in 39 games, for a pace of 23 over 82 games. Minnesota could rely on Ryan Hartman to play center more after Nick Bonino departed in free agency. Hartman scored seven goals, and his 22 points was his most since 2017-18. The South Carolina native signed a three-year extension for a total of $5.1 million in the offseason. The 12th pick in 2019, Matt Boldy has a very good chance of capturing a top-nine role. He dominated at Boston College, scoring 11 goals with 31 points in 22 games. He then played 14 games in the AHL, scoring six goals with 12 assists. While injuries have plagued his career, Nick Bjugstad had a nice season playing small minutes for his hometown team. Once a 24 goal scorer with Florida, Bjugstad netted six last year with 17 points in 44 games. Still, a 32 point pace is not bad for a guy in his role. Undrafted 26-year-old Nico Sturm was a pleasant surprise in his rookie season, even while averaging under 11 minutes on ice a night. Sure, he had a 17.2 shooting percentage, but Sturm did score 11 times in 50 games, exceeding expectations. Frederick Gaudreau was a very good plug-and-play guy for the Penguins last year. He had 10 points in 19 games, then scored a goal with two assists in their six-game playoff series loss. He will certainly get a better opportunity with the Wild. Kyle Rau has played more games with the Wild than any of the other competitors for the 13th forward role. He played in 14 games last year, with two assists.

Defensemen

The biggest challenge for this defense will be recuperating from their offseason losses. Stable veteran Ryan Suter was bought out, Seattle snagged physical guy Carson Soucy, and Ian Cole walked. The loss of Suter should feel more monumental, but Jared Spurgeon had already taken the reigns of the team. The captain had a bit of a disappointing offensive season, scoring seven goals with 25 points. Still, he is an elite two-way defender who also finished second in Lady Byng voting last year, something tough to do as a defenseman. Defensive defenseman Jonas Brodin is starting his long-term contract after another good year. He scored 23 points while averaging his most minutes on ice per game since 2014-15. Brodin blocked 99 shots last year, and is 11 away from 1000 in his career. One of the main reasons to buy out Suter was to protect offensive defenseman Matt Dumba from the Kraken. Dumba is a good player and is a former King Clancy winner, although he does have some defensive issues. In 51 games last year, he scored 21 points while coming very, very close to the career milestones of 500 blocks and 600 hits. The veteran replacement on the left side is 36-year-old Alex Goligoski, who signed a one year deal. He has been a consistent 30+ point scorer in his career, and was on pace to do it again, with 22 in 56 games. Since 2013-14, Goligoski has reached triple-digit blocks in each and every season. The Wild gave Dmitry Kulikov a two-year deal after he had a surprisingly good season between New Jersey and Edmonton. His four points in 48 games does not fully do him justice. The Wild know that, as they gave him over $2 million a season. The final spot is between incoming veterans Jordie Benn and Jon Merrill. Benn could have the advantage thanks to more experience on the right side. Benn spent last year between the Canucks and Jets, which is tough given that defense is closer to optional for those teams. He scored 10 points in 39 games, with 51 blocked shots. Merrill is a strong defender, and showed that with Detroit. He blocked 58 shots in 36 games. He played in 13 games for the Canadiens in their run to the finals.

Goalies

Minnesota was fortunate enough to keep both of their capable goalies away from Seattle. The elder Cam Talbot will be the starter after he donned the crease to a .923 save percentage in their seven playoff games. Talbot was good in the regular season too, with a 2.63 GAA and a .915 save percentage. Backing him up is Kaapo Kahkonen, the 25-year-old who had his ups-and-downs. The final results were not great, as he posted a .902 save percentage in 24 games.

Projected Lines

Kirill Kaprizov – Victor Rask – Mats Zuccarello

Jordan Greenway – Joel Eriksson Ek – Kevin Fiala

Matt Boldy – Ryan Hartman – Marcus Foligno

Nico Sturm – Nick Bjugstad – Frederick Gaudreau

Extras: Kyle Rau

Jonas Brodin – Jared Spurgeon

Alex Goligoski – Matt Dumba

Dmitry Kulikov – Jordie Benn

Extras: Jon Merrill

Cam Talbot

Kaapo Kahkonen

Prediction

The return to the Central Division is going to be a lot tougher than the West was last year. The awful division benefitted them, but they were still a very, very good team a season ago. They may not capture a divisional spot, but they should for sure get a wild card slot and make it back to the postseason.

Of all the bad teams in the league, the Kings may have the brightest future. Picking in the top-five for multiple seasons helped that for sure. A sign of moving out of a rebuild is when a team aggressively adds in an offseason when the young talent is moving in. That is something the Kings did, and they also kept just about their entire team. They may not be a playoff team yet, but Los Angeles can at least be exciting.

Offseason additions: F Phillip Danault, F Viktor Arvidsson, D Alex Edler.

Offseason subtractions: D Kurtis MacDermid.

Forwards

While he may be entering his age 34 season, Anze Kopitar is still a productive top line center. He played in all 56 games last year, scoring 17 goals with 33 assists for 50 points. The two-time Selke winner finished 12th in voting this year as well as eighth for the Lady Byng award, signifying that he is still a good two-way player. Instead of trading him, the Kings extended Alex Iafallo at the trade deadline. He scored 13 goals with 30 points, missing just one game last year. His 49.24 xGF% may not seem like much, but it was second on the team. The only player with a higher mark, and the only guy over 50, was Dustin Brown. He scored 17 goals, tying Kopitar for the team lead. The Kings’ all-time games played leader can move into the top-five in goals if he scores more than 11. Coming in from Montreal is defensive center Phillip Danault. He was a dominant shutdown player in the playoffs, although his offense dropped off last year. Danault scored just five goals with 24 points in the regular season, then had just four points in the run to the finals. Still, he is that defensively that the dip in offense can be tolerated. Speaking of a dip in offense, that has happened to Viktor Arvidsson over the past two seasons. He was healthy for the most part last year, but still scored just 10 goals with 25 points in 50 games. That is a huge difference from the 34 goals he scored in 58 games back in 2018-19. The good news is that he should receive a boost from his 6.6 percent shooting rate from 2020-21. Adrian Kempe’s 14 goals in 56 games last year were his most since his first full season of 2017-18. He has been consistent scoring-wise over the past four seasons, with a range in goals from just 11-16, and a point range of 28-37. Unfortunately, the 16 and 37 both came in the first of those four years, which is not a great look. Returning is speedy winger Andreas Athanasiou, who struggles defensively but has not scored enough to overcome that the past two seasons. He was a decent third line add last year, potting ten goals along with 23 points. After taking him second overall in 2020, the Kings received mixed results from Quinton Byfield in his first professional season. He played in just six NHL games, with one assist. The more concerning part is that he did not really dominate the AHL, scoring eight goals with 20 points in 32 games. Of course, Byfield is just 19, so there is still a ton of hope. He could rise to become the team’s third line center this season. The 11th overall pick in 2017, Gabe Vilardi spent the whole season with the big club after splitting 2019-20 in the AHL. The results were not bad at all, as Vilardi scored 10 goals with 13 assists for 23 points in 54 games. If you add his seven points in ten games from the season prior, Vilardi has an 82 game pace of 17 goals and 38 points in his career. Also scoring ten goals with 13 assists was small winger Trevor Moore, a product of nearby Thousand Oaks. In his first full season after a trade from Toronto, Moore played in every single game for Los Angeles. Center Blake Lizotte returns for what should be his third full season in the NHL. The light forward has been a serviceable bottom-six center for the Kings over the past two seasons, with a combined 33 points in 106 games. The Kings got decent results from Jaret Anderson-Dolan in his first NHL season, as he scored seven goals in 34 games. The last wing spot on the fourth line is a real throw-up, with Anderson-Dolan a threat to take either that spot, or Lizotte’s at center. Physical winger Carl Grundstrom is also an option. He threw 104 hits with 11 points in 47 games last year. After a trade from the Rangers, Brendan Lemieux scored twice with an equal amount of assists. He blocked 12 shots with 44 hits in 18 games. Two more options are Lias Andersson and Austin Wagner. Andersson, drafted seventh overall in 2017, scored three goals with three assists in 23 games. Wagner had 97 hits with eight points in 44 contests.

Defensemen

After a couple of rough seasons following his huge contract extension, Drew Doughty had a nice bounce-back season, although he is still not on the level that he was during his prime. Doughty’s 34 points, 26 of them assists, were second on the team following Kopitar. For the first time in his career, he failed to reach 100 blocked shots AND 100 hits. He had 83 and 91, respectively. To be fair, a full season and he hits triple-digits for both categories. Behind Doughty, the Kings have seen the emergence of two young right-handed shot defensemen, both of whom are signed on a cheap deal for three more seasons. Sean Walker has a ton of offensive upside, and his 18 points in 47 games was the best scoring pace of his career. He could definitely benefit from a veteran partner to back him up defensively. That is where Alex Edler comes in. The 35-year-old Edler had eight assists with 118 blocked shots in his 15th and for now, final season with the Vancouver Canucks. He will fit in very well amongst the young Los Angeles defensive core. Matt Roy, the second right-hander after Walker, has a more refined two-way game. He blocked 67 shots with ten points in 44 games last year. Roy has slid in well to a third-pairing role. Mikey Anderson showed a ton of offensive talent at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, although that has not transitioned into the NHL all that much. Anderson played in 54 games last year, with 11 points. Veteran Olli Maatta enters his 9th season in the league. He played in 41 games last year, posting four assists with 53 blocked shots. He is capable defensively, but could plausibly be scratched if the King commit to the youth movement. The reason behind that is Tobias Bjornfot, a 2019 first-round pick. The talented Swedish defenseman played in 33 NHL games last year, scoring a goal with five assists. Offensive defenseman Kale Clague also has a shot. He had six assists in 18 NHL games, plus 12 points in 23 AHL appearances.

Goalies

As Jonathan Quick moves into a backup role, the Kings have found his successor. Cal Petersen was great as the team’s starter behind a weak defense. He posted a .911 save percentage, with a 3.9 GSAA. These are good numbers to build on. The Kings agreed, as they extended Petersen a year before he would have become an unrestricted free agent. Quick himself has faded from the elite netminder that he was in his prime. In 22 starts last year, he posted a weak .898 save percentage.

Projected Lines

Alex Iafallo – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown

Adrian Kempe – Phillip Danault – Viktor Arvidsson

Andreas Athanasiou – Quinton Byfield – Gabe Vilardi

Jaret Anderson-Dolan – Blake Lizotte – Trevor Moore

Extras: Brendan Lemieux, Carl Grundstrom, Lias Andersson, Austin Wagner

Mikey Anderson – Drew Doughty

Alex Edler – Sean Walker

Tobias Bjornfot – Matt Roy

Extras: Olli Maatta, Kale Clague

Cal Petersen

Jonathan Quick

Prediction

Los Angeles is building to something better than most people realize. They have the talent on their current roster, and in their system with guys who have not yet reached the NHL. They could be very exciting very soon. But this year is too soon. They could surprise in a weak Pacific Division, but the Kings will fall short.

A team on the bubble of contention when the season started, the Panthers exploded, finishing ahead of the Lightning of all teams in their division. Of course, they did not finish ahead of Tampa Bay in the playoffs, instead losing in six games while their rivals won a second consecutive Stanley Cup. Still, there are a ton of things to take from the 2020-21 season. The most important seems to be that Bill Zito is the guy at General Manager.

Offseason additions: F Sam Reinhart, F Joe Thornton, F Zac Dalpe.

Offseason subtractions: F Alex Wennberg, D Keith Yandle, D Anton Stralman, G Chris Dreidger, F Nikita Gusev.

Forwards

Florida should and will do anything and everything in their power to keep Aleksander Barkov in Florida. Barkov’s bargain of a $5.9 million AAV ends after this season, making him a UFA. After many years of receiving votes, Barkov won his first Selke award in 2021-22. He scored 26 goals with 58 points in 50 games, averaging over a point-per-game for the second time in his career. The Panthers have split up Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau, who has two seasons left at the same steal of a cap hit as Barkov. Huberdeau was also great last year, scoring 20 goals with 61 points. He has scored at a point-per-game rate in each of the past three seasons. Coming in from the tire fire that is the Sabres is Sam Reinhart. With Jack Eichel out, Reinhart took control of the team, scoring 25 goals with 40 points in 54 games. He scored ten goals on the power play, and will benefit Florida in that area. Carter Verhaeghe went from extra forward in Tampa Bay to elite first liner for the Panthers. He was extended this offseason for three more seasons following 2021-22. The Panthers took what looked like a pretty easy bet on Anthony Duclair, and they won on it. Duclair scored 10 goals in 22 assists in 43 games. He also had a dip in his shooting percentage. That is very good production for a middle-six winger. Florida took a big bet on Sam Bennett, both when they acquired him from Calgary at the trade deadline, and when they extended him as a restricted free agent. There was at least basis for the second instance, as the former fourth overall pick exploded after the trade. He scored six goals with 15 points in 10 games, then added five more points in five playoff games. Of course, Bennett is not a point-per-game or better player. For the sixth season in a row, Bennett also reached triple-digit hits, so there is grit to his game. For the third consecutive season, Frank Vatrano scored at a rate perfect for the third line. He may have only recorded eight assists, but Vatrano played in every game and scored 18 goals. Because of the shortened season, his pace was 26 goals over 82 games. Veteran Patric Hornqvist proved to be a great power play specialist once again, as eight of his 14 goals came on the man advantage. At even strength, he is a good middle-six winger, but will fall into the bottom-six this year. There is a ton of hype about the debut of Anton Lundell, the 12th overall pick in the 2020 draft. Lundell had an amazing first season after being drafted, scoring 16 goals with 25 points in 26 games in Finland playing professionally. He does not turn 20 until October, and could easily become the team’s third line center. Owen Tippett, a 2017 top pick of the Panthers, is yet to really make his mark on the league. 2020-21 was his rookie season, as he scored seven goals with 18 points in 45 games. He was heavily touted for his shot as a prospect but that has not exactly been prevalent yet. After riding an 18.5 percent shooting rate to a career-high 20 goal season, Noel Acciari understandably regressed last year. He scored just four goals, with 11 points in 41 games. His game has always been defensive, so his production drop-off is nothing more than a tad unfortunate. In two seasons for the club, Acciari has blocked 166 shots. 42-year-old Joe Thornton signed with the Panthers this offseason, which was a surprise to many. Thornton played the wing last year whiling chasing the Stanley Cup with Toronto, and will likely do the same with Florida. Thornton oddly played top line minutes for the Maple Leafs, but still had just 20 points in 44 games. That’s still not bad for a guy who will at best be a fourth liner. After former Leaf, Mason Marchment, got into 33 games for the Panthers last year. His 10 points were solid, but by no means has the 26-year-old guaranteed himself a spot. Eetu Luostarinen, a product of the Vincent Trocheck trade, played in 44 games himself, with eight points. Juho Lammikko played in the same amount of games, but with less points. Ryan Lomberg was mostly on the team for his physical presence; he had 67 penalty minutes and 90 hits in 34 games last year. Marchment, Luostarinen, Lammikko, and Lomberg are all fighting for the one-or-two extra spots.

Defensemen

The gut punch to the Panthers last year was really the loss of Aaron Ekblad for the season with a gruesome fractured leg. In the 35 games prior, Ekblad was playing amazing hockey, with 11 goals and 11 assists. He was succeeding on both ends of the ice, despite not being an overly physical guy. His partner, MacKenzie Weegar, is starting to break free of his underrated title, but still goes ignored. Weegar is mainly an elite defensive defenseman, but he also chipped in offensively last season, with 36 points. For the first time in his career, he received Norris votes, finishing in eighth place for the illustrious award. While he only got into 30 games last year, Markus Nutivaara was a decent bottom-four defender. He had ten assists with 35 hits despite averaging under 16 minutes a game. Like Bennett, Brandon Montour was extended after performing surprisingly well in a short stint. The right-handed shot had four points in 12 games, although he did have none in the playoffs versus Tampa Bay. Montour really struggled in Buffalo so this is a risky bet for the Panthers. A fringe defender for years in Chicago, Gustav Forsling emerged to become a legitimate option for the Panthers. He blocked 42 shots with 17 points while averaging nearly 20 minutes a night over 43 games. He is also just 25, so there is reason to think that Forsling could grow into a serious NHL player. Physical specimen Radko Gudas returns for his second year as a Panther. In his first, he had 11 points in 54 games. But the important part was really his 250 hits, which led defensemen. He also blocked 72 shots, and is 87 away from 1000 blocks in his career. A first round pick by Montreal back in 2015, Noah Juulsen played in four games for the Panthers last year. He spent most of the year with the team, only playing in five AHL games. Undrafted Matt Kierstad is an option after playing in seven games post-graduation from North Dakota, where he had 22 points in 29 games. As is veteran Kevin Connauton, who got into seven games as well last season.

Goalies

With Chris Dreidger out of the mix, the Panthers are back to a standard two goalie mix. They have to do something with Sergei Bobrovsky. Getting paid $10 million a season, Bobrovsky had a second consecutive bad year. He had a weak .906 save percentage with a 2.91 GAA. Inconsistency was often his thing in Columbus, so there is hope that he can be good. But time is running out for that. Especially with Spencer Knight coming fast. Knight, the league’s top goaltending prospect, got into four games last year, winning all of them with a .919 save percentage. He was great in his two playoff games, saving 56 of 60 shots faced for a .933 percentage.

Projected Lines

Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart

Jonathan Huberdeau – Sam Bennett – Anthony Duclair

Frank Vatrano – Anton Lundell – Patric Hornqvist

Joe Thornton – Noel Acciari – Owen Tippett

Extras: Ryan Lomberg, Mason Marchment

MacKenzie Weegar – Aaron Ekblad

Markus Nutivaara – Brandon Montour

Gustav Forsling – Radko Gudas

Extras: Noah Juulsen, Kevin Connauton

Sergei Bobrosvky

Spencer Knight

Prediction

Not only do the Panthers have stars like Barkov, Huberdeau, and Weegar. Where they really excel is their depth. Perhaps no other team is as deep as Florida. That comes in the clutch over a long season. Plus, they do have that front-heavy talent to be a good team. The Panthers will make the playoffs. They may not be better than the Lightning, but should capture a divisional spot.