CarterHud

                After trading captain Shea Weber to the Montreal Canadiens for P.K. Subban, the Nashville Predators finished with 94 points, and made the playoffs as the second wild card team in the Western Conference. They magically got around the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks, and made the Stanley Cup finals. But, they were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games. In the offseason, they made a lot of changes. Let\’s look at what they did in the offseason.

                Notable additions: C Nick Bonino, F Scott Hartnell, D Alexei Emelin, G Anders Lindback.

                Notable subtractions: LW James Neal, C Mike Fisher, F Mike Rebeiro, F Colin Wilson, F Harry Zolnierczyk, F Vernon Fiddler, G Marek Mazenec.

                                       Forwards
Here are my projected forward lines.

Filip Forsberg – Ryan Johansen – Victor Arvidsson
Scott Hartnell – Nick Bonino – Craig Smith
Kevin Fiala – Calle Jarnkrok – Pontus Aberg
Austin Watson – Colton Sissons – Mikko Salomaki

That first line was dominant last year when Arvidsson had a breakout year. The second line is more of a third line, but I found it weird that Mikko Salomaki had a chance at the second line. Maybe the second and third line switches. Fiala is coming off a major injury in the playoffs, but he should be healthy. The extra forwards are Cody McLeod and Fredrick Gaudreau.

                                       Defensemen
 Here are my projected defensive pairs

Mattias Ekholm – P.K. Subban
Roman Josi – Yannick Weber
Alexei Emelin – Matt Irwin

Ekholm and Subban is a really good first pairing. It\’s a big blow that Ryan Ellis is out for most of the season. That means that Weber will play with Josi. Emelin brings a good physical style of play. I think that Anthony Bitetto is the extra defenseman, and could play instead of Irwin some nights.

                                        Goalies
                                        Pekka Rinne
                                        Juuse Saros
Rinne is old, but he\’s still a starting goalie. Saros is very small for a goalie, but still is a good backup. Anders Lindback will either be in the AHL or the third goalie (probably AHL), but will be the backup if either Rinne or Saros go down.

                                         Prediction
The Predators are still a good team. But, I have one concern for them. Besides their first line, I think they have a below average offense. They are relying on their defense. But, I still think they will once again sneak into the playoffs.

               Led by superstar goalie Carey Price, the Montreal Canadiens won the weak Atlantic division with 103 points in 2016-17. They were able to re-sign center Alex Galchenyuk. Also, they made a monster trade acquiring Jonathan Drouin from the Lightning. The Habs had a busy offseason, reconstructing their roster. Let\’s take a look at what they did.

                Notable additions: F Jonathan Drouin, D Karl Alzner, F Ales Hemsky, D Mark Streit, D David Schlemko, D Joe Morrow.

                Notable subtractions: F Alex Radulov, D Andrei Markov, D Nathan Beaulieu, F Brian Flynn, D Alexei Emelin, D Mikhail Sergachev F Dwight King, F Steve Ott.

                                Forwards
Here are my projected forward lines.

Jonathan Drouin – Alex Galchenyuk – Brandon Gallagher
Max Pacioretty – Tomas Plekanec – Ales Hemsky
Paul Byron – Andrew Shaw – Artturi Lehtonen
Paul Danult – Torrey Mitchell – Andreas Martinsen

That first line with Drouin and the two \”Gally\’s\” can put up some good numbers this year. Pacioretty is a first line player, but will be moved down because of the first line. That third line can be good if Lehtonen can have a good sophomore year, and Byron can have another good season. The 4th line is a solid grinder line.

                                Defensemen
 Here are my projected defensive pairs.

Karl Alzner – Shea Weber
Jordie Benn – Jeff Petry
David Schlemko – Mark Streit

Alzner was signed to be a top-4 defenseman. Due to the P.K. Subban trade, Weber has actually been underappreciated. The rest of the defensemen are pretty good. Joe Morrow and Brandon Davidson will be the extra defensemen.

                                   Goalies
                                   Carey Price
                                   Al Montoya
Price is undoubtedly the best goaltender in the world. Montoya is an okay backup.

                                   Prediction
The Canadiens are still are a good team. I think that they will make the playoffs in 2017-18.

             Scoring an overtime goal is a dream for every hockey player. New York Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey is used to scoring beyond regulation. Hickey has just 18 career goals, including one in the postseason, but six of them have been in the extra period. That\’s a whopping 33 percent. Hickey played junior hockey for the WHL\’s Seattle Thunderbirds. He played so well in Seattle, that the Los Angeles Kings selected him 4th overall in the 2007 NHL draft. After five seasons for the Kings AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs (now the Ontario Reign), Hickey was placed on waivers by the Kings, and was later claimed by the New York Islanders. Hickey made the Islanders\’ roster, and became a stable defenseman for them. In 2015-16, Hickey scored an overtime goal in game 3 of the playoffs to help the Islanders beat the Florida Panthers. In his 340 game career, all for the Islanders, Hickey has scored 86 points (17 goals and 69 assists).

           Recently, I was able to speak to Hickey. Here are the questions I asked him.

                Carter LaCorte (me): \”Out of all of the Islanders defenseman, do you have a preference of who to play with?\”

                Thomas Hickey: \”No. I usually play with everyone throughout the year, so I don\’t really care who it is.\”

                CL: \”Do you pay any attention to the arena situation?\”

                TH: \”Not really. I\’ll keep my eyes out, but I think people [overreact to it]. We\’re hanging on tooth and nail, and our owner are doing everything they can and [we need to] sit back and let them make the tough decisions. We know we are in good hands, so I don\’t pay attention to it.\”

                CL: \”Do you think John Tavares will re-sign with the team?\”

                TH: \”I do. But, I don\’t know anything. We\’ll see.\”

                CL: \”Is it a big blow to lose Travis Hamonic to the Calgary Flames?\”

                TH: \”Yeah, it\’s a blow because he\’s good friends with a lot of the guys, but he\’ll do good in Calgary. We are all rooting for him. We have a lot of depth, but we definitely are going to miss him. He\’s a great teammate.\”

                CL: \”What do you think of the trade the Isles made acquiring Jordan Eberle?\”

                TH: \”He\’s a good friend of mine. I think he\’ll be a lot better than people think. [I] predict he\’ll do well and exceed expectations.\”

                CL: \”Last question. What do you think your overall will be in NHL 18?\”

                TH: \”I don\’t know what\’s it\’s ever been. Hopefully it will be better than last year.\”

                    In 2016-17, the Minnesota Wild were a surprise team, finishing 2nd in the Central division with 106 points. There were led by Mikael Granlund, Eric Staal and Nino Niederreiter, who all had surprisingly good seasons. But, the St. Louis Blues knocked them out in round one. There were quick to make a big trade, acquiring Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno from the Sabres for Marco Scandella and Jason Pominville. Here\’s a look at the Wild\’s full offseason.

                    Notable additions: F Tyler Ennis, F Marcus Foligno, C Matt Cullen, D Kyle Quincey.

                    Notable subtractions: F Jason Pominville, D Marco Scandella, C Eric Haula, C Martin Hanzal, F Jordan Schroeder, F Ryan White, F Tyler Groavac, D Christian Folin, G Darcy Kuemper, F Alex Tuch, D Nate Prosser.

                                      Forwards
Here are the projected forward lines.

Zach Parise – Mikael Granlund – Nino Niederreiter
Eric Staal – Mikko Koivu – Charlie Coyle
Jason Zucker – Joel Eriksson Ek – Tyler Ennis
Marcus Foligno – Matt Cullen – Chris Stewart

If Niederreiter and Granlund can produce again, that can be a killer line. That second line is really solid. He may only have 15 career NHL games, but Eriksson Ek can be their third line center this year. Zucker and Ennis are two solid top 9 wingers. The grinder 4th line is solid. Foligno is currently an RFA, but I think he\’ll sign.

                                    Defensemen
Here are my projected defensive pairs.

Ryan Suter – Jared Spurgeon
Jonas Brodin – Matt Dumba
Mike Reilly – Kyle Quincey

That top-4 is really good. Suter is an absolute work-horse on the top pairing. Brodin and Dumba are good, and the Wild gave up a lot to protect them in the expansion draft. Reilly has just 46 games of NHL experience, but can crack the team this year. Quincey was a solid veteran signing for the third pairing.

                                      Goalies
                                       Devan Dubnyk
                                       Alex Stalock
Dubnyk has been a Vezina candidate since being acquired by the Wild a few years ago. Stalock gets the chance to be the backup this year with Darcy Kuemper gone.

                                       Prediction
The Wild are a still a good team. Even with a tough division, I think they\’ll make the playoffs.

    
     The Los Angeles Kings were a disappointment in 2016-17, finishing with just 86 points. All-star goalie Jonathan Quick was limited to just 17 games, and first line center Anze Kopitar scored a career low 12 goals. GM Dean Lombardi and head coach Darryl Sutter were fired, and assistant GM Rob Blake and assistant coach John Stevens took over the head roles. Blake didn\’t do much, but here\’s a look at what he did do.

 Notable additions: F Michael Cammalieri, D Christian Folin, G Darcy Kuemper.

 Notable subtractions: G Ben Bishop, F Jarome Iginla, F Teddy Purcell.

                                   Forwards
Here are my projected forward lines.

Michael Cammalieri – Anze Kopitar – Dustin Brown
Tanner Pearson – Jeff Carter – Tyler Toffoli
Marian Gaborik – Trevor Lewis – Nic Dowd
Kyle Clifford – Nick Shore – Andy Andreoff

Kopitar playing with two vets in Brown and Cammalieri is a solid top line. The 70s line will always produce. Gaborik might miss the beginning of the season, so former 1st rounder Adrian Kempe will in if Gaborik is out. The bottom six is pretty good. Jordan Nolan, Jonny Brodzinski and Boko Imama are the extra forwards, but Brodzinski and Imama could be in the AHL.

                                 Defensemen
 Here are my projected defensive pairs.

Alec Martinez – Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin – Christian Folin
Derek Forbort – Kevin Gravel

Doughty is a Norris trophy candidate. He should play with Muzzin, but they to want to spread the skill around. Forbort turned into a solid NHL defenseman last year, playing 82 games. His previous career high was 14 games. Gravel has only 54 career NHL games under his belt, so he can have that successful season this year. Paul LaDue is the extra defenseman.

                                   Goalies
                        Jonathan Quick
                        Darcy Kuemper

Getting Quick back for a full season is key. He\’s a huge part of their team. They signed Kuemper to be their backup, after he was Devin Dubnyk\’s backup in Minnesota. Jack Campbell is the third goalie and AHL goalie, and so is Jeff Zatkoff.

                                   Prediction
The Kings still are a good team. If Quick stays healthy, they can succeed, but, in a tight conference, I think they won\’t make the playoffs in 2017-18.