CarterHud

           After the 2019 playoffs, the Maple Leafs\’ recent playoff woes became a theme: they will lose in seven games to the Boston Bruins. Out of Toronto\’s last four playoff appearances, three of them included a game seven loss to Boston. Now Toronto will need to get over their playoff struggles against the not just the Bruins, but against every team. The Maple Leafs have not been to the second round of the playoffs since 2004.

            Additions: Tyson Barrie, Alex Kerfoot, Cody Ceci, Jason Spezza, Ilya Mikheyev, Ben Harpur, Nick Shore, Kenny Agostino, Pontus Aberg, Kevin Gravel, Jordan Schmlaltz, Michal Neuvirth (PTO), Matt Read (PTO), David Clarkson (contract)

            Subtractions: Nazem Kadri, Jake Gardiner, Patrick Marleau, Nikita Zaitsev, Connor Brown, Ron Hainsey, Garrett Sparks, Tyler Ennis, Igor Ozhiganov, Calle Rosen, Andreas Borgman

            Forwards
The Mitch Marner saga was well documented, as the RFA forward reportedly had an absurd asking price for his new contract. He signed a six year deal with a $10.893 million cap hit that makes him the seventh highest paid player in the league, but just the third highest paid player on his team. He scored a career high 26 goals, and his 92 points led the team. Auston Matthews had another great season, with a career high 73 points in 68 games, plus 37 goals. John Tavares had a great first year with the Maple Leafs, with a career high 47 goals and 88 points. Kasperi Kapanen had a nice breakout season, with 20 goals and 44 points. After two consecutive 61 point seasons, William Nylander was an RFA, and held out until the December 1st deadline, then signed. He was bad in his 54 regular season games, with seven goals and 27 points. He unintentionally completed the not-so-hard task of getting the fan base to turn on him. The Leafs acquired 25 year old center Alex Kerfoot from the Avalanche. Kerfoot scored 15 goals with 42 points in his sophomore 2018-19 season. Playing on a line with Tavares and Marner, Zach Hyman scored a career high 21 goals with 41 points. He tore his ACL and could miss the first month of the season. However, since he isn\’t expected to miss significant time, he is still in the projected lineup below. Like Kapanen, Andreas Johnsson also had a breakout season. He scored 20 goals with 43 points. Trevor Moore had 39 points in 46 AHL games, earning an NHL stint. He had eight points in 25 games. The Leafs signed Russian forward Ilya Mikheyev. In the KHL last year, he scored 23 goals in 62 games. He eyes a bottom six role. The Leafs signed Toronto native Jason Spezza to a one year deal as the 16 year veteran eyes his first Stanley Cup. For the Stars last year, Spezza scored eight goals with 27 points in 76 games. The last forward spot is up for grabs. Former first rounder Frederik Gauthier is the best option among returning Leafs. He had 14 points in 70 games last year, but he isn\’t a right winger. Kenny Agostino is another option. In 63 games for the Canadiens and Devils last year, he had 24 points. Pontus Aberg scored 11 goals in 37 games for the Ducks last year, but he scored just one in 22 games with the Wild after he was traded to Minnesota.

                 Defensemen
Morgan Rielly had a major breakout season. He never had double digit goals in a season entering 2018-19, then he scored 20. He also had 72 points, a career high. He finished 5th in Norris voting. Unfortunately, he is the only Toronto defenseman signed past 2019-20. Tyson Barrie came to Toronto in the same trade as Kerfoot. He scored 14 goals with a career high 59 points last year. After being acquired in a trade from the Kings, Jake Muzzin had 16 points in 30 games, and somehow finished 11th in Norris voting. Travis Dermott had shoulder surgery, and could miss a similar amount of time as Hyman. He had 17 points in 63 games last year. The Leafs traded for Cody Ceci, who had 26 points for Ottawa last year. He is a -60 player over the last three seasons. Like the last forward spot, the last defensive spot is up for grabs. Justin Holl spent all of last year in the NHL, but only played in 11 games. Ben Harpur had five points in 51 games for Ottawa last year. Martin Marincin has played in a depth role in Toronto over the past four years, playing in 116 games total for the Leafs.

                 Goalies
Frederik Andersen had another decent season, with a .917 SV% and a 2.77 GAA. That\’s been the average numbers for him in his Maple Leaf career. The problem is who will back him up. The answer seems to be Michael Hutchinson. In five games for the Leafs last year, Hutchinson had a .914 SV% and a 2.64 GAA. 11 year veteran Michal Neuvirth is in camp on a PTO as well.

                 Deep Depths
Nic Petan was acquired by the Leafs at the trade deadline. He scored one goal in five games post trade. before the trade, he had two assists in 13 games for the Jets. The Leafs signed depth defenseman Kevin Gravel, who had three assists in 36 games for Edmonton last year.

                 Up and Coming
The Leafs\’ top two prospects are both defensemen that are an option for the final spot on D. They were also the last two Toronto first round picks. Timothy Liljegren had 15 points in 43 AHL games, and played in one ECHL game last season. As an AHL rookie, Rasmus Sandin had 28 points in 44 games. Jeremy Bracco had a great AHL season. He scored 22 goals with 79 points in 75 games.

                 2019 draft class
Round 2, 53rd overall: Nick Robertson
Round 3, 84th overall: Mikko Kokkanen
Round 4, 115th overall: Mikhail Abramov
Round 4, 124th overall: Nicholas Abruzzese
Round 5, 146th overall: Michael Koster
Round 7, 204th overall: Kalle Loponen

                  Management
There is no denying that Mike Babcock is an great coach. He has been to the Stanley Cup finals three times, and won once. But he may be on the hot seat in Toronto after three consecutive first round exits, and a mini controversy when he didn\’t play Matthews a lot in game 7 of the series vs Boston last season. Kyle Dubas did a great job of getting around the salary cap, and signing his RFAs.

                  Projected Lineup
Andreas Johnsson – Auston Matthews – William Nylander
Zach Hyman – John Tavares – Mitch Marner
Trevor Moore – Alex Kerfoot – Kasperi Kapanen
Ilya Mikheyev – Jason Spezza – Kenny Agostino
Extras: Frederik Gauthier, Pontus Aberg, Nic Petan, Nick Shore

                  Morgan Rielly – Tyson Barrie
                  Travis Dermott – Jake Muzzin
                  Ben Harpur – Cody Ceci
Extras: Justin Holl, Martin Marincin, Kevin Gravel

                                 Frederik Andersen
                                 Michael Hutchinson

                   Prediction
The Maple Leafs are scary good. But, they play in a great Atlantic Division that has two better teams than them. The Leafs are still a third place team, behind the Lightning and Bruins.

From Getty Images

         It might have been said a million times this offseason how the Lightning collapsed in 2018-19. They tied the record for most wins in a season with 62, they had the Hart winner on their team, and had three 40 goal and 90 point scorers, and nine players with at least 40 points. But they fell against the Blue Jackets in the first round, and were swept. The Lightning enter the preseason needing to sign one of their top players, and figuring out how to succeed in the playoffs.

         Additions: Patrick Maroon, Kevin Shattenkirk, Curtis McElhinney, Luke Witkowski, Luke Schenn, Mike Condon, Gemel Smith, Scott Wedgewood

         Subtractions: JT Miller, Anton Stralman, Adam Erne, Ryan Callahan, Dan Girardi

         Forwards
Not only did the Lightning finish with 128 points on the season, Nikita Kucherov did too. He scored 41 goals with 87 assists for 128 points, leading the league in the latter two. He won the Hart and Ted Lindsay awards at the end of the year. Steven Stamkos finished with a career high 98 points, and he scored 45 goals for the first time since he won the Rocket Richard with 60 in 2011-12. The Lightning have just under $8.5 million in cap space to sign RFA Brayden Point. Point scored 41 goals with 92 points. 20 of his goals came on the powerplay, which led the league. The forward with the next most points, Yanni Gourde, nearly had half as many points as Point. Gourde finished with 22 goals and 48 points, but he still dropped off from his rookie 2017-18 season. Not counting his 14 games in 2012-13, Tyler Johnson\’s 18 assists were a career low. But, he scored 29 goals, tied for his career high. Alex Killorn scored 18 goals with 40 points, and was a +22 for the second consecutive season. He also kills penalties. Another penalty killing forward is Anthony Cirelli. As a rookie, Cirelli scored 19 goals with 39 points. He finished 6th in Calder and 11th in Selke voting. Ondrej Palat has regressed over the last few years. He scored just eight goals in 2018-19, with 34 points in 64 games. The Lightning signed veteran forward Patrick Maroon, fresh off a Stanley Cup victory with the Blues. Maroon scored 10 goals with 28 points last year. Rookie forward Mathieu Joseph scored 13 goals, giving the Lightning solid third line production. Fourth line center Cedric Paquette scored a career high 13 goals. Danick Martel eyes the final spot on the wing. In nine games last year, he had two assists. 2015 2nd rounder Mitchell Stephens could be the depth forward. He scored 11 goals with 24 points in 32 AHL games. Another option is Carter Verhaeghe, who scored 34 goals with 82 points in 76 AHL games.

           Defensemen
Victor Hedman, who entered 2018-19 as the reigning Norris trophy winner, put up another great season, with 12 goals and 54 points. He was a Norris finalist for the third consecutive season, finishing third. Ryan McDonagh finished his first full season with the Lightning with a career high 46 points and +38 rating. Mikhail Sergachev took a minor step back from his rookie season, with 32 points. He is still just 21. Erik Cernak, part of the Ben Bishop trade, had a good rookie season, with 16 points and a +25 rating in 58 games. He will take Anton Stralman\’s top four spot. Brayden Coburn had 23 points, his most since 2011-12. He re-signed to a two year deal in the offseason. The team signed Kevin Shattenkirk to a one year deal. He had four consecutive 40 point seasons from 2013-14 to 2016-17, but he didn\’t reach 30 in his two seasons with the Rangers. He was bought out by the team. Jan Rutta was acquired midseason, then had two assists in 14 games for Tampa. He has 28 points in 94 career games. Former fifth overall pick Luke Schenn signed with the Lightning. He had two assists in 26 games for the Canucks and Ducks last year. He has 145 points in his 11 season career.

              Goalies
The Lightning didn\’t just have the Hart winner, their goalie won the Vezina Trophy. That would be Andrei Vasilevskiy. In his age 24 season, Vasilevskiy had a 2.40 GAA and a .925 SV%. He had a league leading 39 wins. The team signed Curtis McElhinney, who had one of the best seasons of his career at age 35. He had a .912 SV% and a 2.58 GAA for the Hurricanes. He had a 2.01 GAA and .930 SV% in five playoff games. The signing of McElhinney puts last year\’s backup, Louis Domingue, in an awkward spot. Domingue had a .908 SV% and a 2.88 GAA last year.

               Deep Depths
Luke Witkowski returns to the Lightning. They drafted him in 2008 and he played 2014-15 to 2016-17 in Tampa Bay, but was with Detroit the last two seasons. He had two assists in 34 games last year. The Lightning also signed Gemel Smith, who played in 17 games for the Stars and Bruins last year. He scored 16 goals with 40 points in 47 AHL games. The team also signed Scott Wedgewood, who had a .908 SV% and 2.68 GAA last year in the AHL.

              Up and Coming
2017 first rounder Cal Foote could be NHL ready. In his first AHL season, the defenseman scored 10 goals with 31 points in 76 games. The team drafted his brother, Nolan, in the first round this past year. In his first AHL season, Taylor Raddysh scored 18 goals with 46 points in 70 games in his rookie AHL season. Alexander Volkov scored 23 AHL goals for a second consecutive season, with 48 points.

               2019 draft class
Round 1, 27th overall: Nolan Foote
Round 3, 71st overall: Hugo Alnefelt
Round 3, 89th overall: Maxim Cajkovic
Round 4, 120th overall: Max Crozier
Round 6, 182nd overall: Quinn Schmiemann
Round 7, 198th overall: Mikhail Shalagin
Round 7, 213th overall: Mckade Webster

               Management
Jon Cooper has been the Lightning Head Coach since the end of 2012-13, making him the league\’s longest tenured coach. The Lightning have a .644 winning percentage under Cooper. After taking over for Steve Yzerman, GM Julien Brisbois has the challenge of getting the Lightning over the hump in the playoffs.

                Projected Lineup
Ondrej Palat – Steven Stamkos – Nikita Kucherov
Yanni Gourde – Brayden Point – Tyler Johnson
Alex Killorn – Anthony Cirelli – Mathieu Joseph
Danick Martel – Cedric Paquette – Patrick Maroon
Extras: Mitchell Stephens, Gemel Smith, Carter Verhaeghe

                Victor Hedman – Erik Cernak
                Ryan McDonagh – Mikhail Sergachev
                Braydon Coburn – Kevin Shattenkirk
Extras: Luke Schenn, Luke Witkowksi, Jan Rutta, Cal Foote

                              Andrei Vasilevskiy
                              Curtis McElhinney
                              Louis Domingue
Extras: Mike Condon, Scott Wedgewood

                  Prediction
The Lightning are stupid good. While their postseason collapse last season hurts, the team is still very good, and while they lost JT Miller and Adam Erne, they made veteran additions in Maroon, Shattenkirk and McElhinney. I still think they will finish 1st in the Atlantic Division.

          It is almost a tradition at this point for the defending Stanley Cup champions to have a quiet offseason, which makes sense. This applies to the St. Louis Blues, who won the Cup for the first time in their 52 year history in a wild seven game series. They signed their RFAs and some depth defensemen, using all but about $500k in cap space. But the main problem is next offseason, with Alex Pietrangelo, Brayden Schenn, Joel Edmundson and Jay Bouwmeester a year away from free agency, and both goalies two years away. The window for a second championship could already be closing.

          Additions: Derrick Pouliot, Jake Dotchin, Andreas Borgman, Nathan Walker, Nick Lappin

          Subtractions: Patrick Maroon, Michael Del Zotto, Jakub Jerabek, Nikita Soshnikov, Chris Thorburn, Jordan Schmaltz, Chris Butler

          Forwards
For the fifth consecutive season, Vladimir Tarasenko scored at least 33 goals, and scored exactly that for the second straight year. Tarasenko finished with 68 points in 76 games. Over the past four years, Tarasenko received Hart, Lady Byng and Selke votes, but for the first time since 2013-14, he didn\’t get any award votes at all. Speaking of the Selke Trophy, Ryan O\’Reilly had a career season, and won that award. He also finished second in Lady Byng voting. His 28 goals were a career high, and his 77 points were a career high. His 23 points in 26 playoff games earned him the Conn Smythe Trophy. After a career season in 2017-18, Brayden Schenn regressed. His 54 points were his lowest since 2014-15, and his 17 goals were his lowest since the shortened 2012-13 season. In his first year in his third stint with the Blues, David Perron scored 23 goals, the second most in his career. He had 46 points in just 57 games. He was on pace for a career high 33 goals. Jaden Schwartz had a rough season, but he had a strong postseason. He had more playoff goals (12) in 26 games than in the regular season (11 goals in 69 games). Tyler Bozak had a decent debut season in St. Louis. He scored 13 goals with 38 points, but both were below his career average. He\’s still a good third line center. Oskar Sundqvist was impressive in his first full season, scoring 14 goals with 31 points. Robert Thomas had a great age 19 season, with 33 points. Alex Steen hasn\’t aged well, and because of his $5.75 million cap hit, he is a trade candidate. His 10 goals were his lowest full season goal total since 2008-09. Ivan Barbashev scored a career high 14 goals, playing on the fourth line. Zach Sanford had 20 points in 60 games, and could see second line time due to the Blues\’ weak left wing depth. Sammy Blais and Robby Fabbri battle for the final left wing spot. Both of them under performed in 32 games each in the regular season, with a combined 10 points. Blais played in five more playoff games than Fabbri, giving him the leverage.

            Defensemen
It will be interesting to see what Alex Pietrangelo\’s next contract is. The Stanley Cup winning captain received Norris votes in six out of the seven seasons leading up to 2018-19, and Lady Byng votes in six of the previous eight seasons, but didn\’t receive votes for either in 2018-19. He scored 13 goals with 41 points. Vince Dunn had a breakout 2018-19 season, with 12 goals and 35 points, both second among defensemen on the team. He was also a +14. Colton Parakyo had a career low 28 points, but he scored a career high 10 goals, finishing 20th in Lady Byng voting. Jay Bouwmeester, a 16 year veteran, has been with the Blues since the middle of 2012-13, but he could be entering his last year with the team. The soon to be 36 year old had 17 points in 78 games this past season. Joel Edmundson had 11 points and a +8 rating in 64 games, and had seven points in 22 playoff games. Carl Gunnarsson played in just 25 games but his seven points put him on pace for a career high 23 points. Robert Bortuzzo scored two goals in 17 playoff games, the same amount of goals he scored in 59 regular season games.

              Goalies
Jordan Binnington busted onto the scene in 2018-19 as a nothing prospect and won St. Louis a Stanley Cup. In 32 games, almost all of them down the stretch, Binnington had a .927 SV% and a league leading 1.89 GAA. He finished 2nd in Calder voting and 5th in Vezina voting. He passed Jake Allen on the depth chart. Allen had another mediocre season, with a .905 SV% and a 2.83 GAA.

              Deep Depths
In his rookie season, forward Mackenzie MacEachern played in 29 games, with five points. The Blues signed the 8th overall pick in 2012, Derrick Pouliot. The defenseman had 12 points in 62 games for Vancouver last year. The club also signed big defenseman Jake Dotchin, who played in 20 games for the Ducks last year. The Blues traded for defenseman Andreas Borgman, who played in 48 games with the Leafs in 2017-18. He spent last year exclusively in the AHL, with 17 points in 45 games.

               Up and Coming
Jordan Kyrou will push for an NHL spot after debuting in 2018-19, with three points in 16 games. In his first AHL season, he had 43 points in 47 games. Mitch Reinke played in one NHL game, and had 45 points in 76 games in the AHL. He was one of the two defensemen named to the AHL all rookie team. 2017 first rounder Klim Kostin captained Russia in the World Juniors. In the AHL, He had 24 points in 66 games, with 102 penalty minutes.

               2019 draft class
Round 2, 62nd overall: Nikita Alexandrov
Round 3, 93rd overall: Colten Ellis
Round 5, 155th overall: Keean Washkurak
Round 7, 208th overall: Vadim Zherenko
Round 7, 217th overall: Jeremy Michel

               Management
You probably know by now that the Blues were dead last in the NHL on January 2nd, then won the Stanley Cup. You also probably know that it was interim Head Coach Craig Berube that lead them there. After Berube was hired, the Blues went 38-19-6, for a .651 winning percentage. Doug Armstrong was a great GM of the Year candidate. He now has a lot of work in front of him.

               Projected Lineup
Jaden Schwartz – Brayden Schenn – Vladimir Tarasenko
Zach Sanford – Ryan O\’Reilly – David Perron
Sammy Blais – Tyler Bozak – Robert Thomas
Alex Steen – Ivan Barbashev – Oskar Sundqvist
Extras: Robby Fabbri, Jordan Kyrou

               Vince Dunn – Alex Pietrangelo
                Jay Bouwmeester – Colton Parakyo
                Joel Edmunson – Robert Bortuzzo
Extras: Carl Gunnarsson, Derrick Pouliot, Jake Dotchin

                           Jordan Binnington
                           Jake Allen

                 Prediction
The Blues are obviously a good team, and besides losing Patrick Maroon, they are virtually the same team that just won the Stanley Cup. I think the Blues will make the playoffs again, finishing 2nd in the Central Division.

From NHL.com

         In a season in which they were expected to win, the San Jose Sharks once again failed to win the Stanley Cup. After just beating the Golden Knights and Avalanche in the first and second rounds, a deflated and injured Sharks team fell to the eventual champions, the St. Louis Blues, in the Conference Finals. The Sharks survived a cap crunch, and head into 2019-20 with high expectations, even without their former captain.

          Additions: Jonny Brodzinski, Dalton Prout, Trevor Carrick

          Subtractions: Joe Pavelski, Justin Braun, Gustav Nyqvist, Joonas Donskoi, Joakim Ryan, Michael Haley, Rourke Chartier, Kyle Wood

          Forwards
With Joe Pavelski leaving for Dallas, Logan Couture was named the new captain of the Sharks. A Shark since 2009-10, Couture had a career high 70 points in 2018-19, with 27 goals. Tomas Hertl finally broke out. He scored a career high 35 goals and 74 points, becoming a top line player, though the Sharks could put him on the second line. Another player to break out was 2015 9th overall pick Timo Meier. Meier scored 30 goals with 66 points, both career highs. He earned himself a four year, $24 million extension. Evander Kane became the first player since Tiger Williams in 1980-81 to lead the league in penalty minutes and score 30 goals. Kane had exactly 30, and had 153 penalty minutes. Kevin Labanc had a surprise 17 goal, 56 point season, and was lined up to get a big payday as an RFA. Instead, he signed a very odd one year deal worth $1 million. Joe Thornton returns for his age 40 season, and his 22nd year. He scored 16 goals, with 51 points last season. While he hasn\’t scored 20 goals since 2010-11, Thornton has always been a big assist player, with 1,065 apples in his career. In his first full season, Marcus Sorensen scored 17 goals with 30 points, becoming a good depth player for San Jose. Melker Karlsson\’s four assists were a career low, but his 12 goals were his most since his rookie season (2014-15). Barclay Goodrow finally got a starting opportunity, and had a career high 17 points. But his seven goals in 82 games matched his goal total in 47 games in 2017-18. Lukas Radil came from the KHL, and as a 28 year old rookie, he scored seven goals in 36 games. In his first NHL season, Finnish forward Antti Suomela had eight points in 27 games. The Sharks signed depth forward Jonny Brodzinski. In his 54 career NHL games, he has 11 points. A 2016 2nd rounder, Dylan Gambrell has played in 11 NHL games, plus two more in the playoffs. In the AHL last season, he scored 20 goals with 45 points in 51 games.

           Defensemen
Brent Burns is the rare player to get better with age. For the fourth consecutive season, the defenseman shot the puck 300 times. He scored 16 times, and his 67 assists led to a career high 83 points. He finished second in Norris voting. He is entering his age 34 season, but he hasn\’t missed a game since 2013-14, so don\’t expect a decline to happen soon. Erik Karlsson struggled with injuries in his first season with the Sharks. He played in just 53 games, and scored a career low three goals. He did have 45 points, and got an eight year extension. In the first year of an eight year deal, defensive defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic was a minus for just the second time in his career, and the first time since 2007-08. His 25 points were his lowest since 2014-15. Despite scoring just one goal, Brenden Dillon tied his career high point total of 22 thanks to his 21 assists. His +19 rating was by far a career high. With Justin Braun off to Philadelphia, Tim Heed will look to take his place. In 37 games last year, Heed had 13 points, for a 28.8 point pace. Radim Simek played only in the NHL last year. He had nine points in 41 games. Jacob Middleton played in three NHL games, making his debut. The 23 year old had 19 points in 57 games. Eight year veteran Dalton Prout signed with the Sharks. In 20 games for the Flames last year, Prout had two points.

           Goalies
The reason the Sharks fell short again was because of how bad the goaltending was last year. Only two goalies played all year for the Sharks, but they both had a SV% under .900. Martin Jones played in 60 games for the fourth consecutive season, and had his worst year, with a 2.94 GAA and .896 SV%. His backup, Aaron Dell, had a great first two NHL seasons, but faltered in the third. He had a 3.17 GAA and a .886 SV%. If the Sharks want to contend, then their goalies have to be better.

           Deep Depths
The Sharks traded for depth defenseman Trevor Carrick. Carrick played in one NHL game last year, and has played in four overall. He had 47 points in 71 AHL games. Nick Desimone could be NHL ready after scoring 14 goals with 46 points in 65 AHL games as a defenseman. Goalie Antoine Bibeau hasn\’t played in the NHL since 2016-17 with the Leafs. He figures as the third goalie after posting a .904 SV% in the AHL.

           Up and Coming
Ryan Merkley could be NHL ready by 2020-21. The 2018 first rounder is a defenseman, and had 71 points in 63 OHL games. He turned pro with the Barracuda (AHL), and played in six games, regular season and playoffs included. In his first full AHL season, Jeremy Roy, the first pick of the 2015 second round, had 21 points in 58 games. A 2016 2nd rounder, Jonathan Dahlen was acquired at the trade deadline in a prospect swap, then had four assists in seven AHL games. He scored 14 goals in 50 games pre trade.

           2019 draft class
Round 2, 48th overall: Artemi Kniazev
Round 2, 55th overall: Dillon Hamaliuk
Round 4, 108th overall: Yegor Spriridonov
Round 6, 164th overall: Timur Ibragimov
Round 6, 184th overall: Santeri Hatakka

           Management
The Sharks have been very consistent under Head Coach Peter DeBoer. They have improved by one point every season under him, from 98 in 2015-16, to 101 in 2018-19. They finished in third every year until a second place finish in 2018-19. Doug Wilson returns as GM. The 1981-82 Norris winner has made some savvy trades to improve the Sharks depth, including acquiring Evander Kane and Erik Karlsson.

           Projected Lineup
Timo Meier – Logan Couture – Kevin Labanc
Evander Kane – Tomas Hertl – Barclay Goodrow
Marcus Sorensen – Joe Thornton – Melker Karlsson
Lukas Radil – Dylan Gambrell – Jonny Brodzinski
Extras: Antti Suomela, Ivan Chekhovich

           Marc-Eduoard Vlasic – Brent Burns
           Brenden Dillon – Erik Karlsson
           Radim Simek – Tim Heed
Extras: Dalton Prout, Jacob Middleton

                     Martin Jones
                     Aaron Dell

            Prediction
The Sharks are a good team, and while they got worse in the offseason, losing Pavelski, Braun, Gustav Nyqvist and Joonas Donskoi, they are still a playoff team. I predict the Sharks will finish 4th in the Pacific Division, making the playoffs.

From Getty Images

       It is amazing how quick a team that won two consecutive Stanley Cups could go to retooling. The Penguins, now two seasons removed from their 2017 Stanley Cup, traded away Phil Kessel and Olli Maatta, big parts of the cup teams, bringing in Alex Galchenyuk and Dominik Kahun, as the team looks to build a younger core around the aging Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

       Additions: Alex Galchenyuk, Brandon Tanev, Dominik Kahun, Pierre-Olivier Joseph

       Subtractions: Phil Kessel, Olli Maatta, Matt Cullen, Garrett Wilson, Chris Wideman

       Forwards
It is pretty much official that Connor McDavid has passed Sidney Crosby as the best player in hockey. But in 2018-19, Crosby, even at age 31, proved that he is still the second best. He scored 35 goals, and his 100 points were his most since he won the Hart Trophy in 2013-14. He finished 2nd in Hart voting, and 4th in Selke voting. But his partner in crime throughout the years, Evgeni Malkin, took a step back. In 68 games, he scored 21 goals, which was least in a single season with at least 50 games played. While he still had 72 points, his -25 rating was a career worst. Crosby\’s most consistent linemate last year, Jake Guentzel, broke out in a big way. He scored 40 goals with 76 points, both demolishing career highs. Another player to regress in 2018-19 was Patric Hornqvist not including 2008-09 and 2012-13, when he didn\’t even play in 30 games, Hornqvist failed to score 20 goals for the first time, with 18. His 37 points were also a career low. Coming back from Arizona for Kessel was Alex Galchenyuk. Galchenyuk scored 30 goals in 2015-16, but hasn\’t scored 20 since. He had 19 goals and 41 points in his lone season in the desert. Nick Bjugstad enters his first full season in Pittsburgh. He scored nine goals in 32 games there post trade from Florida. His 14 overall goals in 64 games was lower than his career average. Another player that was a part of the trade with Florida with Bjugstad was Jared McCann. He scored a career high 19 goals, and his 11 in 32 games with Pittsburgh alone would have been a career high for him. Bryan Rust spent some time on Crosby\’s line, which resulted in a career high 18 goals, with 35 points. Acquired for Maatta was Czech forward Dominik Kahun. In his rookie season in Chicago, Kahun scored 13 goals with 37 points, finishing 11th in Calder voting. The Penguins signed free agent forward Brandon Tanev to a questionable six year deal worth $20 million. Tanev is already 27 years old, and is a third liner at best. He scored a career high 14 goals and 29 points in Winnipeg last season. Dominik Simon also spent time on Crosby\’s line. He had career highs in games played (71), goals (8), assists (20) and points (28). With 21 year veteran Matt Cullen retiring, it will be Zach Aston-Reese\’s job to be the fourth line forward. In 43 games last year, Aston-Reese scored eight goals with 17 points. Teddy Blueger scored 21 goals with 39 points in 45 AHL games, earning himself his first taste of the NHL. He had 10 points in 28 games, and due to an injury to McCann, he got to play in a single playoff game.

              Defensemen
Kris Letang ran the defense again, but he was also hurt again. In 65 games, he tied his career high of 16 goals, and he had 56 points too, finishing 6th in Norris voting. Brian Dumoulin has developed as Pittsburgh\’s 2nd best defenseman. He scored a career high 23 points, and he was an astounding +31 player. Justin Schultz got Norris votes in 2016-17, but he has fallen off in every season since. He played in just 29 games last year, with 15 points. He could be traded, as he is a pending UFA. Currently an RFA, Marcus Pettersson had a great first season. While playing in a league leading 84 games between Anaheim and Pittsburgh, Pettersson had 25 points, 19 of those coming in 57 games with Pittsburgh. He finished 10th in Calder voting. Physical defenseman Erik Gudbranson was a -27 in 57 games in Vancouver until he was traded to Pittsburgh. He was a +7 with two assists in 19 games post trade. He had 52 hits in 19 games with Pittsburgh. Before the season, the Penguins signed Jack Johnson to a five year deal that looked awful before the ink was dry. He was a -4 with 13 points in 82 games, with a career high 233 hits. Chad Ruhwedel has been a depth defenseman for the past three years in Pittsburgh. He suited up for 18 games, and he was a -9. In his first year in North America, Juuso Riikola played in 37 NHL games, with five points.

               Goalies
After winning two Stanley Cups as a rookie, Matt Murray has regressed. He improved after a bad 2017-18 season, but his .919 SV% and 2.69 GAA weren\’t better than his rookie season numbers. However, his 14.67 GSAA was a career best. In four playoff games, Murray struggled, with a 3.02 GAA. In his first full season as the backup, Casey DeSmith had a .916 SV% and a 2.75 GAA. In 29 games over the past three seasons, Tristan Jarry has a .906 SV% and 2.84 GAA.

               Deep Depths
The Penguins signed Finnish forward Oula Palve, who had 51 points in 53 games in the Finnish League last year. Joseph Blandisi played in six games for Pittsburgh after being acquired for Derek Grant. Depth defenseman Zach Trotman played in 13 games last year.

               Up and Coming
The Penguins\’ farm system is one of the league\’s weakest as the team has traded assets for proven talent, and their first round pick in this past draft was their first in a while. They used that pick on Sam Poulin, who scored 76 points in 67 QMJHL games. Part of the Kessel trade was defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph. A 2017 first rounder, Joseph had 47 points in 62 QMJHL games.

                2019 draft class
Round 1, 21st overall: Sam Poulin
Round 3, 74th overall: Nathan Legare
Round 5, 145th overall: Judd Caulfield
Round 7, 203rd overall: Valtteri Puustinen
Round 7, 211th overall: Santeri Airola

                Management
Mike Sullivan is one of the longest tenured Head Coaches in the NHL, and he has only been with Pittsburgh since 2015-16. Every year under Sullivan the team has had a winning percentage over .600. GM Jim Rutherford was tested after the first round playoff exit, and we will see if the Kessel trade works out.

                Projected Lineup
Jared McCann – Sidney Crosby – Jake Guentzel
Alex Galchenyuk – Evgeni Malkin – Patric Hornqvist
Dominik Simon – Nick Bjugstad – Dominik Kahun
Brandon Tanev – Zach Aston-Reese – Bryan Rust
Extras: Teddy Blueger, Oula Palve

               Brian Dumoulin – Kris Letang
               Marcus Pettersson – Justin Schultz
               Jack Johnson – Erik Gudbranson
Extras: Chad Ruhwedel, Juuso Riikola, Zach Trotman

                          Matt Murray
                          Casey DeSmith
Extras: Christian Jarry

                Prediction
The Penguins are a really good team, and even after trading Kessel and Maatta, and being swept in the first round, they are a good bet to be in the playoffs. I predict the Penguins will finish 2nd in the Metropolitan Division.