CarterHud

No GM had a worse offseason than Ken Holland of the Oilers. He traded legitimate assets for a deflated Duncan Keith at a full salary. He brought in a ton of risk with the signings of Zach Hyman and Cody Ceci. Then, he extended Darnell Nurse for $9 million a season! He’s at best a $6.5 million defender. The worst part? There is no doubt that Holland thinks he did a good job. Yikes.

Offseason additions: F Zach Hyman, D Duncan Keith, F Warren Foegele, F Derek Ryan, D Cody Ceci, F Brendan Perlini, F Colton Sceviour.

Offseason subtractions: D Adam Larsson, D Ethan Bear, F Dominik Kahun, F Alex Chiasson, F James Neal, F Jujhar Khaira, D Caleb Jones, F Tyler Ennis.

Forwards

No matter what the team around him looks like, Connor McDavid will be amazing. The team did not win a postseason game, which overshadowed just how incredible his regular season accomplishments were. Not only did he score 33 goals in 56 games. He partnered that with 72 assists for 105 points (!!). He almost scored two points per game! He had the league point lead by 21. The guy who was closest? His teammate, Leon Draisaitl. Away from McDavid, Draisaitl scored 31 goals, including leading the team with 15 on the man advantage. He took more face-offs than any Oiler, winning a pristine 55.7 percent of the time. He has proved that he is not just a McDavid product. Coming in on a seven-year deal is Zach Hyman, who will be a gritty left-wing for McDavid who can score goals and be physical. Sound familiar, Oilers fans? Yeah, that was said about Milan Lucic. Hyman is smaller and less physical and also not as slow as Lucic was. But there is a ton of risk involved for a guy with some injury problems. He scored 15 goals with 33 points in 43 games for Toronto last year. In his return to North American hockey, former fourth overall pick Jesse Puljujarvi had a career season. He scored 15 goals with 25 points, and reached 101 hits. While it may not be something that you would have wanted from him back when he was drafted in 2016, this is positive progress. The first big move that the Oilers made was extended Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for eight seasons. He is definitely not good enough for a contract that long, but it was necessary to keep his cap hit down. His 16 goals last year was his lowest since 2015-16, but it should be noted that Nugent-Hopkins scored to a 25-goal pace. The last big thing that Edmonton did was extend restricted free agent Kailer Yamamoto. He scored 11 goals with 26 points in 27 games in 2019-20, then did not reach either mark in 52 games. He scored eight goals with 21 points, marking a disappointing follow-up for the young forward. Gone is promising young defenseman Ethan Bear, and in his place comes Warren Foegele. The 25-year-old is a solid two-way, checking third liner. He scored 10 goals last year with an equal amount of assists. Trying to win the third-line center job is 2018 second-rounder Ryan McLeod. He played better than his one point in 10 NHL games suggests last year. He scored 14 goals with 14 assists in 28 AHL games, earning his promotion. The alternative at that role is Derek Ryan, who could easily drop to the line below. The Oilers saw Ryan on the other side of the Battle of Alberta for the past three seasons as a capable two-way center on the Flames. He was a good scorer for the first of the two seasons, but that changed last year. He had just 37 shots in 43 games, scoring twice with 13 points. His defensive skill does make that offensive production manageable. Veteran Zack Kassian is back for his seventh season in Edmonton. The gruff forward played in just 27 games last year, but that did not stop him from racking up 73 hits. The problem is that Kassian is not a great defender, and he had just five points with 18 shots on goal. The Oilers hoped that Kyle Turris could be their third center last year and he just could not be. Just like Kassian, he scored two goals with three assists in 27 games. He is the opposite of a physical player, although he does have a lot more skill. Turris can earn a right-wing spot. Speaking of right-wing, Josh Archibald has a better scoring touch than most of the other bottom-six options. He has scored 19 goals over his two seasons in Edmonton. Granted, his 15.1 percent shooting rate was a huge reason way. After scoring nine goals with 16 points in 21 games last year in Sweden, Brendan Perlini has made his way back to the NHL. He was last seen in 2019-20, with four points in 40 games. For depth purposes, Devin Shore was brought back. He scored five goals with nine points in 38 games last year, which is fine for a 13th forward. He also had 26 blocked shots and 73 hits.

Defensemen

The pressure is on for Darnell Nurse, even before his big contract kicks-off. He has been a very good, but not great offensive defenseman in his time with the Oilers, and that has been aided by time with McDavid and Draisaitl. Nurse rode a 10.4 shooting percentage, something unheard of for a defenseman, to a 16 goal season, along with 20 assists in 56 games. Nurse does not lack grit; he has reached at least 100 blocked shots and hits in each of the past four seasons. There are some defensive issues with Nurse, but it does not compare to Tyson Barrie. Barrie became the first player ever to lead defensemen in points and not receive a single Norris vote. He made a living on the power play, the source of 23 of his 48 points. Still, his defense is a big question mark. He is not just a bad defender, he has become a defensive liability. If the analytics community did not like Nurse and Barrie enough, then wait to see what they would say about the Oilers’ second-pairing. Duncan Keith is a Blackhawk legend and could very well be a Hall-of-Famer one day. But his play has deteriorated very rapidly over the past two seasons to a scary point. Keith had just 15 points and for the first time since 2013-14, failed to reach the 100 blocked shots mark. Cody Ceci was often criticized in Ottawa and Toronto. He now has made his way back to Canada after building up his stock with Pittsburgh last year. Ceci had 17 points with 70 blocked shots and 74 hits in a small, third-pairing role. Still, he was an average defender at best, which worked for his role with the Penguins. But the Oilers will need better than that. After scoring 17 points in 23 games in Sweden, Evan Bouchard came back to North America when the season started. He spent the entire season with the NHL club, but the bad news is that he got into just 14 games, with three points. The tenth overall pick in 2018, there is hope Bouchard can be a top-four defenseman by the end of the year. While he may not always be the most popular player, Kris Russell has been a good defensive third-pairing player. The blocked shot king had 75 in 35 games last year, along with nine assists. Barring a major injury early on in the season, he will reach 2000 blocks in his career next season. Formerly a top-four defenseman, Oscar Klefbom may not play again, or at least this season, as he battles back from major shoulder surgery. Coming back as a depth option is Slater Koekkoek. He was a bit disappointing last year, with just one point in 18 games. However, he did have 31 blocked shots. A fourth-round pick all the way back in 2014, William Lagesson got into 19 games last season. He had two assists with 15 hits, putting himself in the mix for 2021-22.

Goalies

This is really where the question marks are for this team. Mike Smith was undoubtedly great last season. He posted a .923 save percentage with a 2.31 GAA. But he is simply not that kind of goalie. The only season where he had numbers as good or better than last season was back in 2011-12. He was an unrestricted free agent, and the Oilers brought him back for two seasons. The concerning factor is that he is 39-years-old, turning 40 in March. The best backup the Oilers have to offer is Mikko Koskinen, who was awful last year. Koskinen had a 3.17 GAA with a .899 save percentage in 26 games. He did post a .917 the season before, so there is hope. The Oilers brought in Alex Stalock to be a veteran third option. He had a .910 save percentage in 38 games for the Wild in 2019-20.

Projected Lines

Zach Hyman – Connor McDavid – Jesse Puljujarvi

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Leon Draisaitl – Kailer Yamamoto

Warren Foegele – Ryan McLeod – Kyle Turris

Josh Archibald – Derek Ryan – Zack Kassian

Extras: Devin Shore, Brendan Perlini

Darnell Nurse – Tyson Barrie

Duncan Keith – Cody Ceci

Kris Russell – Evan Bouchard

Extras: William Lagesson, Slater Koekkoek

Mike Smith

Mikko Koskinen

Extras: Alex Stalock

Prediction

The Oilers play in a very weak Pacific Division. Every spot except for Vegas’ is seemingly up for grabs. Defense and goaltending is going to be a major question mark for Edmonton all season. But that offense is scary. The depth may not be there, but McDavid and Draisaitl are the one duo in hockey who can carry a team. They will be the reasons this is a playoff team, not the additions that were made in the offseason.

The hope for the 2020-21 season was that the Red Wings would progress well enough for there to be hope for 2021-22. They did not do that. There was never going to be a chance to make the playoffs this year, but they at least wanted some hope. Training camp is about to start, and the hope is subzero. They scored the second-least amount of goals in the league, with just three forwards recording over 20 points, none of which reached 25. At least they weren’t a last place team, right?

Offseason additions: D Nick Leddy, F Pius Suter, G Alex Nedeljkovic, F Mitchell Stephens, D Jordan Oesterle, F Carter Rowney.

Offseason subtractions: G Jonathan Bernier, F Valtteri Filppula, F Luke Glendening, D Christian Djoos, F Bobby Ryan, F Darren Helm, F Evgeny Svechnikov, F Frans Nielsen, F Richard Panik, D Dennis Cholowski.

Forwards

If the Red Wings want to get out of this rebuild fast, they need Dylan Larkin to be the electric player he was early in his career. Larkin scored 32 goals with 73 points in 2018-19, but the production since then has been weak. 2020-21 was easily his worst season, as Larkin scored just nine times with 23 points. It led Detroit forwards, but was no where near good enough. At least his two wingers will have good excuses for not scoring more than that. Tyler Bertuzzi had five goals with two assists in nine games before he missed the rest of the season with a back injury. He scored 21 goals in each of the two previous seasons. The biggest concern with Bertuzzi this year will be his missed games in Canada because he is not vaccinated. The Red Wings turned Anthony Mantha into a first and second-round pick, plus two forwards, most notably Jakub Vrana. Vrana scored 25 goals in 2019-20, but was slumping for Washington at the time of the trade. He got hot afterward, scoring eight goals with three assists in 11 games. In his second season in Detroit, Robby Fabbri got into just 30 games thanks to an upper-body injury. He still scored 10 times in those games, solidifying his role as a top-six winger on the team. The Blackhawks made a shocking move when they decided to not tender a contract to restricted free agent Pius Suter after a surprise rookie season. He finished 11th in Calder voting, scoring 14 goals with 27 points. The Red Wings must be elated to pick that guy up for just money, as they have a new, young second-line center. 2018 sixth overall pick Filip Zadina was touted for his scoring ability, something that he has not showed off at the NHL level. He scored six goals in 49 games last year. Zadina has played 86 career games, roughly a full NHL season. In those games, he has 15 goals with 37 points. The good news is that he is disciplined, with just one minor penalty in his career. While Adam Erne’s 11 goals tying for the team lead was bad for the team, it was a positive development for Erne. Sure, he had a 15.5 percent shooting rate. But it showed that he can stick around as a bottom-six winger. Another top-ten pick having a rough start to his NHL career is Michael Rasmussen. The six-foot-six center has just 30 points through his first 102 games. 12 of those came in 40 games last year. He does bring the physicality that you would expect from a guy of his height, with 156 career hits. Vladislav Namestnikov was a consistent scorer early in his career but that died with the Wings last year. In 53 games, he scored eight goals with 17 points. He was not a great fit at center either, with a 39.1 percent face-off rate in over 300 draws. Veteran Sam Gagner is back as he has been a solid bottom-six option since coming to Detroit. He scored seven goals in 42 games last year, for a 14 goal pace. That would be more than acceptable given his role. Like Erne, Mitchell Stephens is a Steve Yzerman product from Tampa Bay who has made his way to the Wings through a minor trade. Stephens was limited to just seven games last year after he was expected to play a sizable role for the Lightning’s fourth line. In the four AHL games he played in, Stephens had eight points, seven of which were assists. Grinder Carter Rowney has traded his Ducks jersey for a Detroit one. He had six assists in 19 games last year, although that was accompanied with 21 blocked shots and 45 hits. In 71 games the season prior, Rowney scored eight goals with 189 hits. Givani Smith is in the mix for a fourth line role. He had four points in 16 games last year, with 28 hits. Another option is Joe Veleno, a 2018 first-rounder. He had just 20 points in 46 games in Sweden, and three in four AHL games. Veleno got into five NHL games, scoring once.

Defensemen

The leading scorer for the 2020-21 Red Wings was actually Filip Hronek, with 26. The 23-year-old has a ton of offensive potential but has not been able to handle the top-pairing minutes that he has been given. Plus-minus may be a bit of an outdated stat, but it is alarming to see Hronek having a career mark of -66. Michigan native Danny DeKeyser is back for his tenth season with his hometown team. He got into 47 games last season, with 12 points and 81 blocked shots. He could get top-pairing ice-time. Like Hronek, that is asking a lot from him. It was a surprise to see the Red Wings deal the 52nd overall pick for the final year of Nick Leddy’s contract. Leddy is a great skater and is coming off of a season where he had 29 assists, more than any Red Wing had points, aside for Vrana (counting Washington stats). That is not an easy thing to do in Barry Trotz’s system. But Leddy really struggles defensively, something that was shown in the playoffs. The plan could be to flip him at the trade deadline. The exciting rookie to anticipate this season will be 2019 sixth overall pick Moritz Seider, fresh off a great season in Sweden. He was the SHL’s defenseman of the year, with 28 points in 41 games. He has experience in North America, playing the 2019-20 season in the AHL. After a bit of an expansion draft scare, Troy Stecher is back with the Red Wings. He was a very good two-way defender in his first season in Detroit, with 11 points and 46 blocked shots in 44 games. Over three seasons in Arizona, Jordan Oesterle was a blocked shot machine. He had 44 points with 291 blocks in 172 games for the Coyotes. 11 of those points and 64 of those blocks came in 43 games last season. Speaking of blocked shots, Marc Staal has over 1200 in his 14 season career. The last of those years came with the Red Wings, where he was merely a veteran presence who came with a draft pick for cap-related reasons. Still, he did play in all 56 games. Gustav Lindstrom is looking to break-in with the team. He had three assists in 13 games last year, and has four in 29 career games, with 33 hits and 32 blocks. His uncle, Marcus Ragnarsson, was a defender for the Sharks in the 1990s.

Goalies

The Red Wings have a real goalie for their rebuild. They got a steal from the Hurricanes, dealing a third-round pick and the rights to UFA Jonathan Bernier for Alex Nedeljkovic, who just finished third in Calder voting. Nedeljkovic was great in the regular season, with a .932 save percentage and a 1.90 GAA in 23 games. Both of those led the league. The narrative that he struggled in the playoffs is not completely true, as he had a .920 save percentage in nine starts. Veteran Thomas Greiss returns as a backup. He went from the Islanders’ system to the Wings’, and it did not go as bad as you would have thought. Greiss posted a respectable .912 save percentage with a 2.70 GAA.

Projected Lines

Tyler Bertuzzi – Dylan Larkin – Jakub Vrana

Robby Fabbri – Pius Suter – Filip Zadina

Adam Erne – Michael Rasmussen – Vladislav Namestnikov

Carter Rowney – Mitchell Stephens – Sam Gagner

Extras: Givani Smith, Joe Veleno

Danny DeKeyser – Filip Hronek

Nick Leddy – Moritz Seider

Jordan Oesterle – Troy Stecher

Extras: Marc Staal, Gustav Lindstrom

Alex Nedeljkovic

Thomas Greiss

Prediction

The Red Wings made progress through their rebuild this offseason. They have a new starting goalie in Nedeljkovic, who at age 25 is young. They also made a nice addition in Suter. This all helps, but it does not make them a playoff team. They hope that Seider can be the real deal and that Larkin can bounce back. That is just about all the hope they have for this season.

The bubble saw the Stars make a shocking run to the Stanley Cup Finals, behind a tough defense and great goaltending from Anton Khudobin. They lost to the Lightning, but they put everything on the line. That showed when the injuries in the playoffs carried over in 2020-21. Most notably, Tyler Seguin missed most of the season. It was a rough season for the Stars, but as they get healthy, the scene does get brighter for this upcoming season.

Offseason additions: D Ryan Suter, G Braden Holtby, F Luke Glendening, D Jani Hakanpaa, F Michael Raffl.

Offseason subtractions: D Jamie Oleksiak, F Jason Dickinson, F Andrew Cogliano, D Mark Pysyk, D Sami Vatanen.

Forwards

The return of Tyler Seguin is going to be a huge storyline for the Stars this season. Seguin missed nearly all of the season with a torn labrum, before returning for the final three games. He did score twice in those games, showing that he still has the scoring touch. While Seguin may not have fallen off just yet, his longtime winger Jamie Benn may have. Benn played in 52 games last year and scored just 11 goals with 35 points. For the first time since 2016-17 and for just the third time in his career, Benn did not reach triple-digit hits. Also missing most of the season was Alex Radulov after he had core muscle surgery. He was played his best hockey through his eleven games, scoring four goals with eight assists. That line, which has been Dallas’ go-to for many seasons, may have been usurped last season. Veteran Joe Pavelski had a great season, as he was a dominant two-way player at age 36. He scored 25 goals with 51 points in 56 games, both of which led the team. Entering the final year on his contract, Pavelski was the team’s best player last year and intends to do the same in 2021-22. Rookie Jason Robertson, a 2017 second-round pick, busted on to the scene to become a legitimate Calder Trophy threat. He ended up becoming the runner-up, but he still had a great season. Robertson scored 17 goals with 45 points in 51 games. He went on a heater in late March and early April, with 11 goals and 16 assists coming in about 40 days. Roope Hintz is the third player on the line and easily the most forgotten, despite being the only one on the team to average over a point-per-game. In 41 games, he scored 15 goals with a career-high 43 points. Hintz also finished sixth in Lady Byng voting. Denis Gurianov had a huge breakout 2019-20 season, especially in the playoffs. He followed that up with a solid campaign, scoring 12 goals with 18 assists for a career-high 30 points in 55 games. With how Dallas’ top-six works out, he gets shafted a bit, but will move up should there be an injury. Center Radek Faksa was a consistent scorer a few years ago, but had a rough season in 2020-21. Faksa scored just six times with 14 points. He also had exactly 100 hits with 30 penalty minutes. Top prospect Ty Dellandrea had six points in eight AHL games and also got 26 games of NHL experience. He scored three times with a pair of assists. Dellandrea gives the Stars flexibility at center and wing. Playoff legend Joel Kiviranta may never have to buy anything in Dallas ever again for his performance in game seven of round two in 2019-20. He had a solid 26 game season in 2020-21, scoring six times with five assists. Veteran leader Blake Comeau reached the 100 hit mark for the eighth consecutive season, and for the 11th time in the past 12 seasons. He does not bring much on offense, with just 14 points last year, but he is a fine fourth line player. After spending the first eight seasons of his career in Detroit, Luke Glendening has come to Dallas. The fourth line center received Selke votes in each of the past two seasons and can be a decent penalty killer. His greatest skill, however, is face-offs. Glendening won an amazing 60.9 percent of draws he took in 2020-21. Another veteran joining the Stars is winger Michael Raffl. Raffl was a clutch player in the 2020 bubble for Philadelphia, scoring four goals in nine games. He was traded to Washington at the deadline last year, but did nothing in four playoff games. He had 11 points in 44 regular season games. Tanner Kero is a depth option. He got into 39 games for the Stars last year, with ten points.

Defensemen

The Stars made the move to lock up Miro Heiskanen this offseason. You can argue that his $8.45 million cap hit was high, but he has developed into a star. Heiskanen carried the team in the bubble and had another solid season in 2020-21. He is not the most physical defenseman, but he is talented and a great skater. Heiskanen scored eight goals with 27 points in 55 games last year. The Stars did lose out on big defensive Jamie Oleksiak when the Kraken took him in the expansion draft right before he would have been a free agent. The replacement is Ryan Suter, the 36-year-old veteran. Suter can still play, but the four years the Stars gave him is concerning. In his final year as a Wild, Suter had 19 points in all 56 games. John Klingberg’s offensive production has dropped over the past few seasons. He did have a nice 36-point season in 53 games last year, for an 82 game pace of 57 points. Klingberg’s prime has not been as nice as his youth, where he did not get paid enough. With an expiring contract, this could be his final year with the team. Esa Lindell has been a good second-pairing defensive defender next to Klingberg. For the second time in his career, Lindell had triple-digit hits and blocked shots. After a big offensive season in 2018-19, Lindell has not scored much. Veteran Andrej Sekera, once a threat to put up 30 points in a season, was sheltered a ton last year. Sekera averaged less than 16 minutes a game last year with just five points. Physical, right-handed shot defender Jani Hakanpaa comes to Dallas after playing in a league-high 57 games last season. Split between Anaheim and Carolina, Hakanpaa made 215 hits, second to just Radko Gudas among defensemen. Journeyman Joel Hanley got into a career-high 35 games last year. He has scored more goals in the Stanley Cup Finals than in the regular season. 2019 first-round pick Thomas Harley is also an option after he had 25 points in 38 AHL games.

Goalies

The status of Ben Bishop is still unknown at the time. The veteran net minder missed all of last year with a torn meniscus, and it remains to be seen when he will return. For now, the Stars have three NHL goalies, not including Bishop. Anton Khudobin led the league in save percentage in 2019-20, but that dropped all the way to .905 last year, along with a 2.54 GAA. Splitting time with him last year was rookie Jake Oettinger, who impressed, with a .911 save percentage and a 2.36 GAA. A tandem of Khudobin and Oettinger with the prospect of Bishop returning at some point would be good enough on its own. But then the Stars decided to give Braden Holtby $2 million. The former Vezina winner has completely fallen off as he has reached the age of 30. In 21 games for Vancouver, Holtby had a 3.67 GAA with a .889 save percentage.

Projected Lines

Roope Hintz – Joe Pavelski – Jason Robertson

Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Alex Radulov

Denis Gurianov – Radek Faksa – Ty Dellandrea

Joel Kiviranta – Luke Glendening – Blake Comeau

Extras: Michael Raffl, Tanner Kero

Ryan Suter – Miro Heiskanen

Esa Lindell – John Klingberg

Andrej Sekera – Jani Hakanpaa

Extras: Joel Hanley, Thomas Harley

Anton Khudobin

Jake Oettinger

Extras: Braden Holtby

Prediction

The Central Division could easily have five playoff teams this year. The question is, are the Stars one of them? They did not exactly have a flashy offseason, but it fits their team, one that is not flashy themselves. They are solid in every category, but not truly elite anywhere. Still, they will capture that second wild card spot in the Western Conference.

The Metropolitan Division is looking mighty as usual this year. There are seven teams who can vie for a playoff spot… and then there are the Columbus Blue Jackets. Columbus is not an awful team, but man that division is tough. Once again, the Blue Jackets have watched their stars leave town as another rebuild continues. At the very least, they picked up some young talent.

Offseason additions: F Jakub Voracek, D Adam Boqvist, D Jake Bean, F Sean Kuraly, F Zac Rinaldo.

Offseason subtractions: D Seth Jones, F Cam Atkinson, D Michael Del Zotto, F Mikhail Grigorenko, F Stefan Matteau.

Forwards

The Blue Jackets moved on from longtime winger Cam Atkinson this offseason when they dealt him one-for-one to Philadelphia for Jakub Voracek. A 2007 first-rounder by the Jackets, Voracek made his NHL debut for Columbus and now returns. For the first time since that rookie season, he did not reach double-digit goals. However, the pass-first player did have 34 assists, and in total had 43 points in 53 games. We will see how long Patrik Laine lasts in Columbus. The elite shooter was traded after one game to Columbus, then stopped scoring. In 45 games, he lit up the lamp just ten times. It was not a matter of shooting luck, either. Laine just did not shoot the puck enough to put up a high goal total. When he is not doing that, then his awful 5v5 play is a lot more noticeable. On the other hand, his teammate with the Jets and Jackets, Jack Roslovic, thrived. Roslovic tied his career high in goals with 12 and set a career high in points with 34, all in just 48 games. That is a 58-point pace, something Columbus would gladly take from the Ohio kid. Thanks to the Kraken passes on Max Domi for Gavin Bayreuther (who ended up back with the Blue Jackets), the center remains in Columbus. He had a disappointing 24 points last year. However, a torn labrum will cost Domi at least the first month of the season. Another shooter, Oliver Bjorkstrand, had a career high 44 points in just 56 games last year. His 18 goals may have been his least since 2017-18, but he did have 26 assists. Veteran winger Gustav Nyquist missed all of 2020-21, the second year of his contract with the team. The four-time 20+ goal scorer netted 15 with 42 points in 70 games back in 2019-20. He should be fully healthy this season. With Domi out, Alex Texier could move up. The 22-year-old has the talent but has never had great production. He scored just four goals with 11 assists in 49 games last year. The same could be said for 2018 first-rounder Liam Foudy. He has just five assists in 26 regular season games in his career, 24 of those coming last year. He does have an NHL goal, coming in the 2019-20 postseason. Veteran Boone Jenner signed an extension with the team this offseason. The team gave him four extra years, which feels like a mistake. Jenner had a career low eight goals in 41 games with 17 points. For the first time in his career, he did not reach the 100 hit mark. Speedy winger Eric Robinson also got an extension this offseason, but much shorter and for much less money. He is a very solid bottom-six winger, and he had eight goals with 10 assists while playing in every game last season. The Blue Jackets gave a four-year deal to Dublin, Ohio native Sean Kuraly. He was a physical penalty killer who did not bring much offensive talent in his five seasons in Boston. For the second consecutive season, Kevin Stenlund got into exactly 32 games, and for the second consecutive season, he scored exactly ten points. Stenlund can give the team center depth while playing on the wing. Emil Bemstrom scored 10 goals with 10 assists as a 20-year-old in 2019-20, leading to some optimism around him. However, he got into just 20 games last year, with five points. Coming over this year is Gregory Hofmann, a 4th rounder by Carolina alllll the way back in 2011. Since then, Hofmann has dominated in Switzerland. He scored 18 goals with 41 points in 36 games for Zug EV last year.

Defensemen

While Seth Jones is out the door, the good news is that Zach Werenski will stay. He was locked up until the end of 2027-28 for a cap hit of $9.583 million (!!). Werenski is arguably the better player on both ends of the ice, and scored seven goals in 35 games last year with 13 assists. This was off the back of a 20 goal season. Acquired for Jones, Adam Boqvist can easily reach the potential of his predecessor. In his 76 career NHL games, Boqvist has shown his offensive potential, scoring six goals with 23 assists. 16 of his 29 points came in 35 games last year. For now, Vladislav Gavrikov is still a Blue Jacket. He is a very underrated defensive defenseman who has a bargain of a $2.8 million cap hit. Gavrikov had 77 blocked shots with 12 points in 55 games last season. After Domi, Dean Kukan should have been Seattle’s next choice from this team, but he wasn’t. Kukan is a left-handed defensive defender who plays on the right side. He only got into 35 games last year, but it was a career high. 2016 second-round pick Andrew Peeke has only played in 33 NHL games, 11 of which came in 2020-21. He had three assists, plus four more in seven AHL contests. There is hope that he can jump into a top-four role by at least the end of the year. The Blue Jackets flipped a second-round pick acquired for Jones to Carolina for Jake Bean, who was the 13th pick in 2016. He has a lot of potential but was blocked with the Hurricanes. He got into 42 games last year, with 12 points. Back for his sixth season in Columbus is Scott Harrington. He only played in 12 games last year, but did have three points. He also had 20 blocked shots. Another former Maple Leaf, Mikko Lehtonen, had three assists in 17 games after coming over via trade. He showed early in 2020-21 that he has a ton of talent, scoring eight goals with 17 points in 17 games for the KHL’s Jokerit Helsinki. Ex-first-round pick Gabriel Carlsson remains an option. He had three assists in 14 NHL games last year.

Goalies

Of the goalies on the trade block as the offseason began, it seems like only Columbus’ two stayed with their teams. There is a good reason for the team to trade at least one of them, as they could easily tank this year, and both Elvis Merzlikins and Jones Korpisalo are pending unrestricted free agents. Merzlikins finished fifth in Vezina voting in his rookie season of 2019-20, but did take a bit of a step back last year. His .916 save percentage was still impressive. Korpisalo has always been a wild card. Last year was the bad side of that. He had a 3.30 GAA with a save percentage of .894. It should also be noted that the Blue Jackets suffered in this department with the tragic death of third goalie Matiss Kivlenieks, who passed away in a Fourth of July-related accident.

Projected Lines

Patrik Laine – Jack Roslovic – Jakub Voracek

Gustav Nyquist – Alex Texier – Oliver Bjorkstrand

Eric Robinson – Boone Jenner – Liam Foudy

Sean Kuraly – Kevin Stenlund – Emil Bemstrom

Extras: Gregory Hofmann.

Zach Werenski – Adam Boqvist

Vladislav Gavrikov – Dean Kukan

Jake Bean – Andrew Peeke

Extras: Scott Harrington, Gabriel Carlsson, Mikko Lehtonen.

Elvis Merklikins

Joonas Korpisalo

Prediction

If they played in the Pacific Division, maybe the Blue Jackets would be playoff dark horses. But they have really been dealt a tough hand. It is easy to feel for them; everyone leaves, and now they have seven potential playoff teams to compete against. So no, the Blue Jackets will not be playing deep into April.

The Ottawa Senators have acquired forward Zach Sanford from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for forward Logan Brown and a conditional fourth round pick. If Brown plays in 30 or more games this season, then the pick does not transfer.

A second round pick by Washington all the way back in 2013, the Boston College alum Sanford was acquired by the Blues in the Kevin Shattenkirk trade in 2016-17. He scored in game seven of the Stanley Cup Finals to help the Blues win against his hometown team. But his time with the team has been running out. He struggled last year, with both a drop in goals and points, plus in his all-around game. The Senators see a one-year rental who they can try to clean up, and then potentially flip at the deadline or extend. Sanford will earn $2 million this season then hit unrestricted free agency. But the price comes at a former first-rounder who has not panned out how Ottawa has hoped.

Sanford, 26, scored 10 goals with six assists for 16 points in 52 games for St. Louis last year. In his NHL career for the Blues and Capitals, he has scored 38 goals with 36 assists for 74 points in 209 games.

The Blues definitely receive a ton of upside in this trade. Brown has been a great AHL player with little NHL experience. He had 28 points in 25 games for the Belleville Senators in 2019-20 while also playing the bulk of his NHL experience. Brown only played in one NHL game last year, but also had nine points in 13 AHL games. The 11th overall pick in 2016 is a Raleigh native who grew up in the St. Louis area. His father, Jeff Brown, was a Blue for five seasons and was also an all-star.

Brown, 23, scored a goal with seven assists in 23 games in 2019-20. In his NHL career, he has just one extra assist for nine points in 30 games.