CarterHud

         There were two things about 2019 than were good for the Orioles. They drafted Adley Rutschman first overall in June, and they didn\’t finish last in the MLB. The Tigers beat the Orioles to the first overall pick this June, while Baltimore will pick second. Despite moving up in the standings one place from 2018 to 2019, the Orioles\’ rebuild is not even close to being over. They have some good players in Trey Mancini and John Means, but it isn\’t guaranteed that they will still be decent players by the time the Orioles ever turn it around. It is all about helping the minor league teams now.

          Offseason additions: SS Jose Iglesias, LHP Wade LeBlanc, RHP Kohl Stewart, LHP Tommy Milone, SS Richard Urena, RHP Travis Lakins, RHP Cole Sulser, IF Andrew Velazquez, IF Pat Valaika, C Bryan Holaday.

          Offseason subtractions: IF Jonathan Villar, RHP Dylan Bundy, RHP Dan Straily, OF Joey Rickard

          Rotation
The Orioles had just one player finish the season with the team with at least 10 innings pitched that had an ERA under 4.00. That was John Means, a 26 year old rookie with an elite change-up, but not the strikeout stuff. Means struck out just 121 batters in 155 innings with a 3.60 ERA. The rest of the rotation is a big question. Former Rays second starter Alex Cobb started the season on the IL with the a groin strain, then suffered a lumbar strain and later a hip impingement, which required surgery, ending his season after three starts. Cobb struck out eight batters and allowed 15 earned runs in 12.1 innings. He also somehow allowed nine home runs. He should be healthy for Opening Day. The Orioles signed 2013 4th overall pick Kohl Stewart to a major league deal. In 17 career games (six starts), Stewart has a 4.79 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 62 innings. Even as a AAA starter last year Stewart had a 5.14 ERA. Another former first rounder, Asher Wojciechowski, is more of a wild card. In 82.1 innings last year, Wojciechowski struck out 80 batters and allowed just 80 hits. However, 17 of those hits were home runs, helping inflate his ERA to 4.92. The Orioles gave Wade LeBlanc a minor league deal. A journeyman with a 3.72 ERA in 162 innings for Seattle in 2018, LeBlanc struggled last year, with a 5.71 ERA in 121.1 innings, and lost his spot in the rotation. Now on a much worse Orioles team, LeBlanc gets another shot. LeBlanc\’s Mariners teammate Tommy Milone is also in camp. Milone pitched 100 innings last year, the first time he\’s done that since 2015. Rule 5 pick Brandon Bailey had a 3.30 ERA with 103 strikeouts in 92.2 innings for AA Corpus Christi (Houston). Another Rule 5 pick, Michael Rucker, struck out 93 batters in 79.2 innings in AA and AAA in the Cubs system.

             Bullpen
Closer Mychal Givens failed to pitch 70 innings for the first time since his first taste of the MLB in 2015. His 4.57 ERA was over a half run worse than his previous career worst. He saved only 11 games, but his 86 strikeouts in 63 innings led to a career high 12.3 K/9. Richard Bleier never had a season with an ERA over 2.00 entering 2019, but after the season, his career ERA went all the way up to 3.05. A lefty with a career 4.3 K/9, Bleier allowed six home runs in 55.1 innings, six more home runs than he allowed in 2018. Even though he won all three of his decisions, Bleier had an awful 5.37 ERA. Hunter Harvey, a 24 year old first rounder in 2013, finally debuted late in 2019, allowing one run while striking out 11 in 6.1 innings (1.42 ERA). Harvey looks like the potential future closer. Speaking of potential future closers, Toronto thought Miguel Castro was exactly that, when he had four saves in his first 13 career games in 2015. However, he saved his first game since then last season. His K/9 went from 5.9 in 2018 to 8.7 in 2019. However, his ERA raised from 3.96 to 4.66. Lefty Paul Fry allowed lefties to have an .839 OPS, but righties had just a .679 OPS. The Orioles claimed Travis Lakins from the Red Sox. He didn\’t have good AAA numbers, but he had a respectable 3.86 ERA in 23.1 innings last year. It was his MLB debut. Shawn Armstrong had a 5.74 ERA in 58 innings, striking out 63. With limited bullpen spots, Armstrong, Lakins or one of the Rule 5 picks will not make the team. Just based off of stats, Armstrong would be the odd man out. Based of seniority and Rule 5 picks not being able to go to Baltimore\’s farm system, Lakins would be sent down. Tanner Scott, Dillon Tate, David Hess, Evan Phillips and Cole Sulser will all likely play in the majors in 2020, but also ride the AAA-MLB shuffle.

              Catchers
The Orioles picked up Pedro Severino from the Nats in Spring Training, and he was not bad offensively. He hit 13 home runs with a .740 OPS, okay for a catcher. He also had a 1.2 bWAR. Chance Sisco, once a decent catching prospect, hit eight home runs, but had a weak .210 average and .729 OPS. Sisco has a career .203 batting average. Veteran catcher Bryan Holaday is a non-roster invitee. He hit a career high four home runs in 43 games for Miami last year. He had a solid .278 batting average and a .779 OPS.

              Infielders
Former 53 home run hitter Chris Davis was usurped by Jeff Mathis as the worst hitter in baseball. Davis was still terrible in 2019, with a .179 average and .601 OPS. It is probably best for the team to move Trey Mancini down from right field to play first. Mancini had a breakout season, hitting 35 home runs with 97 RBIs, a .291 average and .899 OPS. The Orioles took a chance on second baseman Hanser Alberto, and he hit 12 home runs with a .305 average. He hit .398 against lefties, ranking among the league\’s best. The Orioles traded away Jonathan Villar, who was at one point the team\’s best player. His replacement is Jose Iglesias, a good defender who hit 11 home runs with a .288 average for the Reds last year. Rio Ruiz hit 12 home runs, but his other offensive numbers weren\’t good. Richie Martin, a Rule 5 pick last year, spent the whole year with the team, hit .208 with a .581 OPS. He can play shortstop, second and third base. Renato Nunez can play corner infield, but he is more of a DH. He hit 31 home runs in his first year with the team.

               Outfielders
Switch hitting outfielder Anthony Santander hit 20 home run in 93 games after hitting one home run in his previous 46 games. He also had a .773 OPS. Austin Hays was called up in September and hit four home runs with a .309 average and .947 OPS. 2015 first rounder DJ Stewart had a weak .698 OPS, but will get a good chance to be the left fielder. Dwight Smith Jr. had a .241 batting average with 13 home runs. Stevie Wilkerson can play all over the field. Playing mostly center field, Wilkerson hit 10 home runs but had a .225 average and .286 OBP.

                 Projected Opening Day Lineup
2B Hanser Alberto (R)
RF Anthony Santander (S)
1B Trey Mancini (R)
DH Renato Nunez (R)
LF DJ Stewart (L)
C Pedro Severino (R)
CF Austin Hays (R)
SS Jose Iglesias (R)
3B Rio Ruiz (L)

                 Projected Rotation
John Means (L)
Alex Cobb (R)
Asher Wojciechowski (R)
Kohl Stewart (R)
Wade LeBlanc (L)

                  Projected Bullpen
Mychal Givens, closer (R)
Richard Bleier (L)
Miguel Castro (R)
Hunter Harvey (R)
Paul Fry (L)
Brandon Bailey (R)
Michael Rucker (R)
Travis Lakins (R)

                   Projected Bench
1B Chris Davis (L)
SS Richie Martin (R)
OF Dwight Smith Jr. (L)
C Chance Sisco (L)

                  It\’s going to be a rough next few years in Baltimore. Every other team in the AL East is far superior to the Orioles, and so is every team in the league besides the Marlins and Tigers.

From Sports Illustrated

          Entering 2019, it was almost a unanimous opinion that the NL East was the strongest division in baseball. But, the Braves were able to fend off the surging Nationals, the new-look Phillies and the self destructive Mets to win the division. However, the Braves lost in the NLDS to the Cardinals while the Nationals won the World Series. The offseason wasn\’t easy either, as the Braves made many additions, but lost multiple star players. The Braves still have a very young core, so their window is not close to closing.

          Offseason additions: LHP Will Smith, OF Marcell Ozuna, C Travis d\’Arnaud, LHP Cole Hamels, RHP Felix Hernandez, OF Peter O\’Brien, IF Yangervis Solarte, OF Shane Robinson, 1B Yonder Alonso, LHP Chris Rusin

           Offseason subtractions: 3B Josh Donaldson, LHP Dallas Keuchel, RHP Julio Teheran OF Matthew Joyce, RHP Kevin Gausman, RHP Anthony Swarzak, LHP Jerry Blevins

           Rotation
The Braves cut ties with former ace Julio Teheran in the offseason. Teheran is now a third starter type. But, the Braves have their own new ace. As a rookie, Mike Soroka had a 2.68 ERA with 142 strikeouts in 174.2 innings. He had a WHIP of just 1.11, while allowing 7.9 hits per nine. Mark Melancon was the only Braves pitcher with at least 20 innings pitched with a HR/9 under Soroka\’s 0.7. Melancon pitched in just 21 innings. Soroka finished 6th in Cy Young voting and 2nd in Rookie of the Year. With Dallas Keuchel gone for Chicago, Max Fried will have to step in to be the number two starter. Fried and his great curveball struck out 173 batters in 165.2 innings with a 4.02 ERA. It was his first full MLB season. Mike Foltynewicz had a career season in 2018 with a 2.85 ERA, but made just 21 starts in 2019, and went back to his pre-2018 struggles, with 105 strikeouts in 117 innings and a 4.54 ERA. His 100 ERA+ means that he was a league average pitcher. For Opening Day, the rest of the rotation is a big question mark. The Braves signed four time all-star and World Series MVP winner Cole Hamels to a one year deal, but he will miss the first couple of weeks of the season with a shoulder injury. He struck out 143 batters in 141.2 innings with a 117 ERA+ for the Cubs last season at age 35. Sean Newcomb was a big part of the rotation in 2018, making 30 starts with a 3.90 ERA. He was moved to the bullpen in 2019, and had career highs in ERA (3.16) and ERA+ (144). He is probably best suited for the bullpen, but he will try to make the rotation. Young prospects Bryse Wilson and Kyle Wright are also candidates. They both struggled in little play last season. Former Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez is in camp. However, he has flamed out by now.

            Bullpen
The Braves gave Will Smith $40 million over three years to be their closer. The best available reliever in free agency, Smith had a 2.76 ERA with a career high 34 saves and 96 strikeouts in 65.1 innings. He will be a welcome addition for a Braves team whose closer most of last season was Luke Jackson. However, Jackson was a pleasant surprise for the Braves. A former Texas supplemental first rounder, Jackson was traded to the Braves for two non prospects in December 2016. Last year, he struck out 106 batters in 72.2 innings with 18 saves and a 3.84 ERA. However, Jackson lost the closer job to Mark Melancon after he was acquired from San Fransisco at the trade deadline. Melancon, who had 98 saves from 2015-16, saved 11 games for the Braves and struck out 24 batters in 21 innings. The Braves acquired both Shane Greene and Chris Martin at the trade deadline as well. Greene had a 1.18 ERA and a 10.2 K/9 in 38 games with the Tigers, but struggled after the trade, with a 4.01 ERA and a 7.7 K/9 in 27 games. Martin is a success story that walked one batter and struck out 22 in 17.2 innings for the Braves. However, he also allowed eight earned runs for them. Darren O\’Day was acquired at the 2018 trade deadline but didn\’t make his Braves debut until late 2019. The submariner allowed one run in 5.1 innings. There are two more spots to be filled and more than two competitors. Josh Tomlin is a non-roster invitee. He had a 3.74 ERA in 79.1 innings over 51 games (one start). Jacob Webb had an amazing rookie season, with a 1.39 ERA and a 329 ERA+ in 32.1 innings before an injury ended his season. The problem is that Smith would be the only lefty on the roster. AJ Minter saved 15 games for the team in 2018, but had a terrible 7.06 ERA in 29.1 innings. Former Rockie Chris Rusin is in camp on a minor league deal. He only pitched an inning in the big leagues last year. He has starting experience and is a lefty, so he could be an alternate to Tomlin.

           Catchers
The Braves saw veteran Brian McCann retire after the team\’s loss to St. Louis. They went out and signed former 1st rounder Travis d\’Arnaud to a one year deal. d\’Arnaud started out 2019 by going two-for-24 for the Mets and Dodgers before catching on with the Rays. d\’Arnaud then broke out, hitting 16 home runs with a .782 OPS in 92 games. However, his 85 strikeouts were 21 more than his previous career worst. Tyler Flowers is entering his 5th season with the team. His first two were great, but he has been bad since, with averages under .230 and and OPS under .750 in both 2018 and 2019.

            Infielders
The Braves had one of baseball\’s best infields in 2019. Even after Josh Donaldson walked in free agency, it is still shaping up well. Freddie Freeman is still a top three first baseman in baseball. He had career highs in home runs (38) and RBIs (121) with a .295 batting average and a .938 OPS while swiping six bags. Somehow, his Silver Slugger win was only his first. Ozzie Albies also won a Silver Slugger award, hitting 24 home runs, stealing 15 bases and hitting .295 with an .852 OPS. Former first overall pick Dansby Swanson is still inconsistent, but had his best season at the plate. He hit 17 homers, stole 10 bases, hit .251 with a .748 OPS. Johan Camargo had a breakout 2018 at third base, but struggled after Donaldson took his spot at third base. He had a terrible .663 OPS in 98 games. He fights Austin Riley for the starting position. Riley plays third base and left field, like Camargo can. Riley hit 18 home runs in his 80 game rookie season. However, he hit just .226 with a .750 OPS. He is not guaranteed a roster spot for Opening Day. Adeiny Hechavarria is known as a great defender with a weak bat. However, in 24 games for the Braves last season, Hechavarria hit four home runs with a .328 average and a 1.039 OPS. Charlie Culberson can play seven positions. He has played over 100 games for the Braves in the last two years, but is in camp as a non-roster invitee. He was very bad offensively, with a .731 OPS. Despite playing in 108 games, Culberson made just 144 Plate Appearances.

            Outfielders
Ronald Acuna Jr. has usurped Freeman as the face of the franchise. The former Rookie of the Year winner flirted with a 40-40 season, hitting 40 home runs and stealing 37 bases, the latter leading the league. Acuna also lead the league in Plate Appearances (715) and runs (127). He ended the season 5th in MVP voting and with a Silver Slugger. The Braves poached Marcell Ozuna from the Cardinals after he beat them in the playoffs. Ozuna hit 29 home runs with an .800 OPS in his second season in St. Louis. Ender Inciarte won three consecutive Gold Gloves leading up to 2019. However, he played in just 65 games, stealing seven bases, a career low. He has 113 stolen bases in six years. However, he is not a good hitter, with a career high OPS of .759. Nick Markakis chose to re-sign in Atlanta, likely ruining his outside shot at 3,000 hits. The 36 year old has 2,355 hits in his career. He will be a 4th outfielder and bench bat. Two time 30 home run hitter Adam Duvall played in 41 games, hitting 10 home runs with an .882 OPS.

             Projected Opening Day Lineup
RF Ronald Acuna Jr. (R)
2B Ozzie Albies (S)
1B Freddie Freeman (L)
LF Marcell Ozuna (R)
C Travis d\’Arnaud (R)
CF Ender Inciarte (L)
SS Dansby Swanson (R)
3B Johan Camargo (S)
Pitcher

              Projected Rotation
Mike Soroka (R)
Max Fried (L)
Mike Foltynewicz (R)
Cole Hamels (L)
Sean Newcomb (L)

               Projected Bullpen
Will Smith, closer (L)
Mark Melancon (R)
Shane Greene (R)
Chris Martin (R)
Luke Jackson (R)
Darren O\’Day (R)
AJ Minter (L)
Jacob Webb (R)

              Projected Bench
C Tyler Flowers (R)
3B/LF Austin Riley (R)
SS Adeiny Hechavarria (R)
OF Nick Markakis (L)
OF Adam Duvall (R)

               The Braves are still a really good team. While they will be hurt by a young pitching staff, they have the bullpen to bail them out. I believe that they will lose the division, but make the Wild Card as the first team.

           Who would have thought that the Diamondbacks would find a taker for Zack Greinke. The team was able to trade the expensive starter to Houston for four good prospects. But when that trade happened, no one expected it to lead to Madison Bumgarner. The team went out and signed the former Giants star to a five year, $85 million deal. The team finished just four games back of the second wild card spot, and now they have the deepest rotation they\’ve had in a while. They might be your 2020 surprise team.

            Offseason additions: LHP Madison Bumgarner, OF Starling Marte, OF Kole Calhoun, C Stephen Vogt, RHP Hector Rondon, RHP Junior Guerra, C John Hicks, OF Jon Jay, OF Trayce Thompson, RHP Edwin Jackson, LHP Matt Grace

             Offseason subtractions: OF Adam Jones, RHP Matt Andriese, RHP Yoshi Hirano, OF Jarrod Dyson, C Alex Avila, LHP TJ McFarland

             Rotation
The addition of Bumgarner brings the Diamondbacks a replacement ace for Greinke. However, Bumgarner might not fill the role. While he was healthy for the first time since 2016, Bumgarner had a career worst 3.90 ERA and allowed his most hits since 2014. However, his K rate was up, and his walk rate was down. A three time World Series Champion and two time Silver Slugger winner as a pitcher, Bumgarner should still fit in fine. He is entering his 11th season, but he\’s only 30. The Diamondbacks decided to hold onto Robbie Ray while trading Greinke. A free agent at the end of the year, Ray\’s ERA has gotten worse in the two seasons since his breakout 2017. However, he was finally healthy, starting a career high 33 starts and tying his career high in innings with 174.1. He also had a 12.1 K/9, really good for a starter. If the team starts the season slow, then Ray could be the first one to be traded. In his rookie season as a 30 year old, Merrill Kelly led the team in innings with 183.1. However, he had a weak 4.42 ERA and led the league in losses with 14. His 101 ERA+ indicates that he is a league average pitcher. In his rookie season, Zac Gallen had an impressive 2.72 ERA in seven games with the Marlins, before being traded to Arizona at the trade deadline. Gallen continued his good play, with a 2.89 ERA in eight starts. The team went out and got Mike Leake from Seattle to take Greinke\’s spot in the rotation. Leake does not strike out guys but allows a lot of hits. He had a 102 ERA+ last season and has a career 99 ERA+, showing that he, like Kelly, is very average. A 2015 2nd rounder, Alex Young impressed, with a 3.56 ERA in 17 games (15 starts) with a 125 ERA+. Luke Weaver has dealt with injuries in the past, and missed most of 2019 with right forearm tightness. In 12 starts he had a 2.94 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 64.1 innings.

              Bullpen
Archie Bradley held the closer role for the second half of the season after Greg Holland struggled and was eventually DFAd. Bradley finished the season with 18 saves and 87 strikeouts in 71.2 innings, with a 3.52 ERA. Yoan Lopez is not a strikeout pitcher, with 42 Ks in 60.2 innings in 2019. But, he had a 3.41 ERA and allowed 7.7 hits per nine in his first full MLB season. It will be interesting to see how the three batter minimum rule affects lefty Andrew Chafin. Chafin appeared in 77 games in 2019, but pitched just 52.2 innings, striking out 68 batters. The team signed former Cubs closer Hector Rondon to a one year deal. Normally a big strikeout guy, Rondon punched out just 48 batters in 60.2 innings with a 3.71 ERA for Houston in 2019. Former starter Junior Guerra transferred to the bullpen last year, and struck out 77 batters with a 3.55 ERA in 83.2 innings. Kevin Ginkel is a nice dark horse bullpen candidate. Debuting at age 25, Ginkel had a 1.48 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 24.1 innings, plus an inflated 304 ERA+. In his rookie season, Taylor Clarke pitched in 23 games (15 starts), and finished with a terrible 5.31 ERA. If he makes the team it will be in the bullpen. The same can be said for Jon Duplantier. A third round pick in 2016, Duplantier struck out 34 batters in 36.2 innings with a 4.42 ERA. Stefan Crichton played in the MLB for the first time since 2017, and pitched in 28 games, with a 3.56 ERA and 33 strikeouts.

                 Catchers
Carson Kelly, who came over from St. Louis with Weaver for star Paul Goldschmidt, broke out with an .825 OPS and 18 home runs in 365 Plate Appearances. In a league where catchers don\’t really hit for power, Kelly is a luxury for the D-Backs. Two time all-star Stephen Vogt was hurt for all of 2018, but returned with the Giants in 2019, hitting 10 home runs with an .804 OPS. He will be a very good backup catcher if healthy. The Diamondbacks used four catchers last year, but three of them (Alex Avila, John Ryan Murphy and Caleb Joseph) are gone. The third catcher would be former Tiger John Hicks, who hit a career high 13 home runs last year and is with the team as a non-roster invitee.

                  Infielders
The Diamondbacks found their replacement for Paul Goldschmidt, the former face of the franchise, in an odd way. Christian Walker, a then 28 year old rookie who debuted back in 2014 but barely played, hit 29 home runs with a .259 batting average and an .825 OPS. It was a welcomed surprise for Arizona. Ketel Marte moved to center field last year, and had an MVP caliber breakout season. Marte hit 32 home runs, stole 10 bases, hit .329 with a .981 OPS and a 149 OPS+. He finished 4th in NL MVP voting. He will move back to second base with the acquisition of Starling Marte (no relation). Nick Ahmed signed an extension recently. Always a great defender, Ahmed had career highs in home runs (19), batting average (.254) and OPS (.753) among other categories. He also has won back-to-back Gold Gloves at shortstop. Another breakout infielder was Eduardo Escobar. Moved to third base for good, Escobar hit 35 home runs with 118 RBIs and an .831 OPS. He also lead the league with 10 triples. Jake Lamb hit 59 home runs from 2016-2017, but has been awful since with a combined 12 home runs. Lamb had a .193 batting average in 2019. He will still be the backup corner infielder. Ildemaro Vargas is the utility infielder. In his first full season he hit six home runs with a .269 batting average while playing third base, shortstop, second base and both corner outfield positions. Kevin Cron will compete for the final roster spot. Cron hit six home runs with a .790 OPS in his first taste of MLB experience last year. A 27 year old first baseman, Cron has a .319 average with 60 home runs and a 1.057 OPS in his AAA career.

                    Outfielders
The D-Backs\’ big trade this offseason was getting Starling Marte from the Pirates. Marte is a power and speed threat in center field. He hit 23 home runs and stole 25 bases with a .295 batting average and an .845 OPS. Arizona also brought in Kole Calhoun on a two year contract. His 33 home runs and .792 OPS for the Angels last year were career highs. David Peralta rebounded to a breakout season poorly, with just 12 home runs. However, he still had an .804 OPS. He played in just 99 games last season. The D-Backs did not bring back Jarrod Dyson, who stole 30 bases for the fifth time last year. However, their fourth outfielder is arguably faster. Tim Locastro returns after stealing 17 bases without being caught once in his rookie season. He can play all four outfield positions. Josh Rojas is fighting with Cron for that last spot. Acquired in the Greinke deal, mostly played left field, but he can also play right field, third base and second base. Making his debut just after the trade, Rojas\’ numbers weren\’t good. He hit two home runs in 41 games, and had a matching OBP and slugging percentage at .312.

                       Projected Opening Day Lineup
CF Starling Marte (right handed hitter)
2B Ketel Marte (switch hitter)
3B Eduardo Escobar (S)
1B Christian Walker (R)
LF David Peralta (L)
C Carson Kelly (R)
RF Kole Calhoun (L)
SS Nick Ahmed (R)
Pitcher

                       Projected Rotation
Madison Bumgarner (L)
Robbie Ray (L)
Luke Weaver (R)
Zac Gallen (R)
Mike Leake (R)

                      Projected Bullpen
Archie Bradley (R), closer
Yoan Lopez (R)
Andrew Chafin (L)
Hector Rondon (R)
Junior Guerra (R)
Kevin Ginkel (R)
Andy Young (L)
Merrill Kelly (R)

                      Projected Bench
C Stephen Vogt (L)
OF Tim Locastro (R)
IF Ildemaro Vargas (S)
IF Jake Lamb (L)
LF Josh Rojas (L)

The Diamondbacks are a really good team. They have a chance to dominate in their division, besides the Dodgers. They should be a lock to finish second in the NL West, and be really close to the second Wild Card spot. But, I don\’t think they\’ll make the playoffs in 2020.

From Getty Images

       The Vegas Golden Knights have acquired forward Nick Cousins from the Montreal Canadiens for a 2021 4th round draft pick.

       Cousins is a solid bottom six player. He can play center and wing, is on a cheap contract, and will score 10 goals this year. He signed with the Canadiens in the offseason, didn\’t have a bad year, and now they get value for him as a rental player. If Cousins scores again this year, he will score double-digit goals for the second time in his career. The Canadiens have given Cousins some power play time, but he does not kill penalties. Cousins has averaged one minute and 39 seconds a game on the power play. He is a cheap add for the Golden Knights to improve their forward core. At best you a 4th rounder will be a Cousins type player.

        Cousins, 26, has scored nine goals with 13 assists for 22 points in 58 games for the Canadiens this year. In his NHL career for the Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and Arizona Coyotes, Cousins has scored 40 goals with 55 assists for 95 points in 317 games.

       The Columbus Blue Jackets have acquired forward Devin Shore from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Sonny Milano.

       The Blue Jackets didn\’t make many trades while the rest of the Metropolitan Division improved today. Shore is a decent bottom six center and winger who scored double digit goals in his first three full seasons in the league, but is not on pace to do it this year. A 2nd rounder in 2012, Shore is fairly young. He will be an RFA at the end of the season. He doesn\’t have much potential, so there is no point for a rebuilding Anaheim team to keep him. They get a lottery ticket in Milano, a 2014 1st rounder who is a bottom six winger. He has not panned out in Columbus. Shore is a better player for now, and he is older and more experienced. He is a center, but not much of a defensive one. He has not killed penalties for the Ducks. Milano has some potential and will go into the core of young players in the Ducks\’ system.

        Shore, 25, has scored four goals with six assists for 10 points in 39 games for the Ducks this year. In his NHL career for the Ducks and Dallas Stars, Shore has scored 38 goals with 66 assists for 104 points in 282 games.

         Milano, 23, has scored five goals with 13 assists for 18 points in 46 games for the Blue Jackets this year. In his NHL career, all in Columbus, Milano has scored 20 goals with 22 assists for 42 points in 116 games.