CarterHud

                 The Seattle Mariners have acquired RHP Mike Leake, cash and international bonus pool space from the St. Louis Cardinals in exchange for SS prospect Rayder Ascanio.

                 The Mariners, needing starting pitching, with James Paxton, Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma all currently on the DL. Leake is a reliable starter, making at least 30 starts in every season since 2012, and is just four starts from hitting that mark this year. Also, his control makes him a worthy acquisition. The only problem is his contract. The M\’s will also acquire cash, but it\’s not going to be all of the $55 million he\’s owed over the next three years. He was having a good season, but a horrible August has weakened his numbers.

                  Leake, 29, has a 4.21 ERA, 1.32 WHIP and 103 strikeouts in 154 innings for the Cardinals this year. In his eight year MLB career for the Cardinals, San Francisco Giants and Cincinnati Reds, Leake has a 4.02 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 958 strikeouts in 1414.1 innings.

                   The Cardinals are looking to get rid of some salary. Leake\’s high contract hurts his value, so they have to get a lesser prospect, and give up cash. Ascanio isn\’t the best hitter but is a good fielder.

                    Ascanio, 21, has a .217 batting average, nine homers, 44 RBIs and 12 steals in 450 Plate Appearances between Low-A, High-A and AAA. In his minor league career, Ascanio has a .240 batting average, 15 homers, 158 RBIs and 36 stolen bases in 1696 Plate Appearances.

                   I think the Mariners win this trade. They get a reliable MLB starter, plus cash, for a low leveled prospect, who struggles offensively. Even though they still will overpay Leake, it\’s a fair deal for them.

              In 2016-17, the Calgary Flames rebounded off a bad 2015-16 and finished 4th in the Pacific division with 94 points, making the playoffs. But, they were swept in the first round by the Anaheim Ducks. Lead by big goaltending changes, the Flames had a solid offseason. Let\’s look at what GM Brad Treliving did.

        
          
               Notable additions: G Mike Smith, G Eddie Lack, D Travis Hamonic, RW Spencer Foo.

               Notable subtractions: G Brian Elliott, G Chad Johnson, F Lance Bouma, D Deryk Engelland, D Dennis Wideman.

                                        Forwards
Here are my projected forward lines.

Johnny Gaudreau – Sean Monahan – Michael Ferland
Matthew Tkachuk – Mikael Backlund – Michael Frolik
Curtis Lazar – Sam Bennett – Spencer Foo
Kris Versteeg – Matt Stajan – Troy Brouwer

Ferland played with Monahan and Gaudreau last year. The second line is pretty good. The kid line with Bennett, who\’s looking to breakout, like Lazar will go well with the rookie Foo. Versteeg and Brouwer are better than fourth liners, but their team is so good they have to play there. Also, Freddie Hamilton is the extra forward. The Flames might also have interest in signing Jaromir Jagr, so we\’ll see if they do that.

                                                    Defensemen
Here are my projected defensive pairs.

T.J. Brodie – Dougie Hamilton
Mark Giordano – Travis Hamonic
Brett Kulak- Michael Stone

Everyone besides Kulak is a good top-4 defenseman. In my opinion, this is the second best defensive core in the NHL, behind the Nashville Predators. Matt Bartkowski is their 7th defenceman.

                                              Goaltending

                                              Mike Smith
                                              Eddie Lack

                 Smith is a solid starter, and Lack is a solid backup. If one of them goes down, top goalie prospect and AHL starter Jon Gillies should get the call.

                                           Prediction
The Flames improved their team a lot in the offseason. This will get them more points in 2017-18, and they will make the playoffs. 

                                                     YouTube
 Also, check out my YouTube preview for the Flames

                  With a promising core, the Buffalo Sabres failed to impress in 2016-17, finishing last in the Atlantic division with 78 points. But on the positive side, 20 year old sensation Jack Eichel broke out a little with 24 goals and 57 points. To improve their staff, the Sabres brought in hall-of-famer Phil Housley as their head coach. On the ice, the Sabres made more moves. Let\’s take a look at what they did.

                     Notable additions: RW Jason Pominville, LW Benoit Pouliot, C Jacob Josefon, F Seth Griffith, D Nathan Beaulieu, D Marco Scandella, G Chad Johnson.

                     Notable subtractions: RW Tyler Ennis, LW Marcus Foligno, RW Brian Gionta, F William Carrier, D Dmitry Kulikov, D Cody Franson, G Anders Nillson.

                                                Forwards
Here are my projected forward lines.

Evander Kane- Ryan O\’Reilly – Kyle Okposo
Matt Moulson – Jack Eichel – Sam Reinhart
Benoit Pouliot – Sean Malone – Jason Pominville
Nicolas Deslauriers – Jacob Josefson – Seth Griffith

The first line is really nice, especially if Kane can get things going. Eichel and Reinhart are both young, and getting to play with a vet in Moulson helps. The rookie Malone gets to center two vets, so that helps too. The fourth line is a grinder, Deslauriers, Josefson a nice 4th line center, and Griffith, who is small, but feisty. Johan Larsson and C.J. Smith are the extra forwards.

                                                  Defensemen
Here are my projected defensive pairs.

Marco Scandella – Rasmus Ristolainen
Nathan Beaulieu – Zach Bogosian
Jake McCabe – Victor Antipin

Ristolainen is a growing top-2 defenseman. Scandella, the new guy, is a nice top-4 defenseman. Same goes with Beaulieu and Bogosian. McCabe is a top-6 defenseman, and Antipin, the rookie, gets a chance at the NHL. Justin Falk, Taylor Fedun and Josh Gorges are the replacements.

                                                  Goalies

                                          Robin Lehner
                                          Chad Johnson

Lehner is still growing, and looking for a breakout season. Johnson has been with the team before, and is a solid backup.

                                                 Prediction

   The Sabres are still a growing team. I think that they will have a much better 2017-18, with 85 points, seven more than in 2016-17. But, they will finish just 7th in the Atlantic division, right behind sixth place. That means they will miss the playoffs. 

                                                 YouTube
     Also, check out my Youtube video preview for the Sabres

         The Boston Bruins surprised some in 2016-17, finishing 3rd in the Atlantic division with 95 points. But, they lost in the first round to the Ottawa Senators. Their offseason was very uneventful, not doing much. But, here\’s a quick look at what GM Don Sweeney did.

Notable addition: D Paul Postma.

                Notable subtractions: D Colin Miller, C Dominic Moore, RW Drew Stafford, RW Jimmy Hayes, D John-Michael Liles.

                              Forwards

          Here are my projected forward lines.

 Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak
 Frank Vatrano – David Krejci – David Backes
 Matt Belesky – Ryan Spooner – Riley Nash
 Austin Czarnik – Noel Acciari – Jakob Forsbaka Karlsson

         The first line is one of the best in the league. The second line with the two Davids is very potent. The vet third line is solid. Ryan Spooner is very underrated. The 4th line has their sophomores and Forsbaka Karlsson, a 20 year old rookie with just one game of NHL experience, can breakout this year. Danton Heinen, Tim Schaller and Kenny Agostino will be injury replacements.

                               Defensemen

          Here is my projected defensive pairs.

                 Zdeno Chara – Charlie McAvoy
                 Torey Krug – Brandon Carlo
                 Adam McQuaid – Kevan Miller

             The superstar rookie, McAvoy, gets to play with one of the best leaders in the league in Chara. Krug is another underrated defenseman. Carlo is looking to have a solid sophomore season. The two vets, McQuaid and Miller, are solid third pair defensemen. Paul Postma is their 7th defenseman.

                                 Goalies

                          Tuuka Rask
                          Anton Khudobin
                          Zane McIntyre
                          Malcolm Subban

            All four of them played in the NHL last year. Rask is an elite goaltender who has been plagued by injuries. Khudobin struggled as a backup last year, and McIntyre and Subban were called up from the AHL to play.

                                   
                             Predictions

           The Bruins\’ core from last year is still intact, and that team made the playoffs last year. But, with the rest of the Atlantic getting better, it will be tougher for the Bruins to make the playoffs. So, I think they\’ll miss the playoffs in 2017-18.

                                 YouTube
       Also, here\’s my YouTube season preview for the Bruins.

      A 70 point finish led to the Arizona Coyotes finishing 6th in the Pacific division, and missing the playoffs once again. But, the youngsters are starting to develop. With new head coach Rick Tocchet, the Coyotes are looking to exit the tough years of the rebuild. While losing franchise icon Shane Doan, GM John Chayka brought in some nice, experienced veterans to lead their team. Here\’s a quick look at what they did.

              Notable additions: C Derek Stepan, C Nick Cousins, D Niklas Hjalmarsson, D Adam Clendening, G Antti Raanta.

              Notable subtractions: RW Shane Doan, RW Radim Vrbata, C Laurent Dauphin, D Connor Murphy, D Anthony DeAngelo, G Mike Smith, C Josh Jooris

       
                                      Forwards

      Here are my projected forward lines. 

      Max Domi – Derek Stepan – Anthony Duclair
      Jamie McGinn – Nick Cousins – Tobias Rieder
      Clayton Keller – Dylan Strome – Christian Fischer
      Lawson Crouse – Christian Dvorak – Brendan Perlini

    The first line is their best two forwards, Domi and Stepan, and Duclair, who can bounce back in year three playing with two stars. The second line is their remaining non-rookie-and-sophomores. The bottom six is just their youngsters. If any of them have a bad training camp, and start in the AHL, or someone gets hurt, Jordan Martinook and Brad Richardson can fill in.

                                       Defensemen
                    
       Here are my projected defensive pairs

            Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Jakob Chychrun
            Niklas Hjalmarsson – Luke Schenn
            Alex Goligoski – Adam Clendening

     Chychrun, the 19 year old, plays on his offside here, but gets to play with a top-5 defenseman in the league in \”OEL\”. Goligoski is a top-4 defenseman, but is playing on the third pair because he\’s left-handed, and not right-handed. Hjalmarsson is a better defenseman, so he gets to play on the top-4. Chychrun also could be out for awhile, so prospect Kyle Wood should replace him. If someone else goes down, Kevin Connaton will probably their replacement.

                                  Goalies

                           Antti Raanta
                           Louis Domingue

        Raanta developed from a backup to a starter with the Rangers last year. This year, he\’ll finally get the chance to be a full-time starter in the desert. Domingue has gotten the chance to be a starter in Arizona sometimes, but he\’s really just a fringe-goalie.

                              Prediction

           The Coyotes got significantly better this offseason. As a result, I think they\’ll improve by eight points to 78 points, but still finish sixth in the Pacific division. Also, I have a wacky prediction that the Coyotes will win the lottery for a top three pick in the 2018 NHL draft.

                                        YouTube

          Also, check out my YouTube season preview here.