CarterHud

From Sportsnet

           The Oilers have been a consistent team over the last decade, but it isn\’t the type of consistency you want. They are consistent on being bad, missing the playoffs in 12 of the last 13 seasons. Even with two 100 point players, including the best in the league, the Oilers still couldn\’t make the playoffs. Another new Head Coach is in, and Peter Chiarelli isn\’t the GM, so there is finally a beacon of hope in Edmonton.

            Additions: Mike Smith, Markus Granlund, James Neal, Josh Archibald, Joakim Nygard, Tomas Jurco

            Subtractions: Andrej Sekera, Milan Lucic, Tobias Rieder, Alex Petrovic, Ty Rattie, Anthony Stolarz

            Forwards
Connor McDavid tied his career high in goals with 41, and had a career high 116 points, finishing 3rd in Hart voting, and he missed four games. He was also fifth in Lady Byng voting. He has scored 1.3 points per game in his career. That would put him sixth all-time, behind Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy, Bobby Orr and Marcel Dionne. And on some very bad teams, he\’s a +49 in his career. McDavid finally got some help in the form of Leon Draisaitl. Draisaitl scored 30 goals for the first time, and didn\’t just score 30, he scored 50, and had 105 points. But his shooting percentage of 21.6 led the league, so don\’t be surprised if he regresses. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored a career high 28 goals and 69 points, but was a career worst -13. Career third liner Alex Chiasson come in on a PTO and scored a career high 22 goals, then re-signed in the offseason. Grinder Zack Kassian had 102 penalty minutes, and scored a career high 15 goals. The Milan Lucic era is over in Edmonton, and in comes James Neal. Neal scored 20 goals in each of his first 10 seasons in the NHL, but scored just seven in his first season in Calgary. After a change of scenery, Neal can get back to his scoring ways. Joakim Nygard comes from the Swedish league, where he scored 21 goals in 52 games. In his return to Edmonton, Sam Gagner scored five goals with five assists in 25 games. Markus Granlund was non-tendered by Vancouver, and comes to Edmonton after scoring 12 goals in 77 games. Jujhar Khaira went from 11 goals in 2017-18 to just three in 2018-19, but he did have a career high 15 assists. Kyle Brodziak scored just six goals and was a -14, but was frequent penalty killer. Colby Cave had just three points in 33 games in Edmonton. Josh Archibald scored 12 goals in Arizona.

              Defensemen
Darnell Nurse was a -5, but scored 10 goals with 41 points, becoming Edmonton\’s top defenseman. The oft-injured Oscar Klefbom played in just 61 games, but scored 28 points. Adam Larsson will always be disappointing after being traded for Hart winner Taylor Hall, and he was a career worst -28 last season, with 20 points, his most with Edmonton. Kris Russell isn\’t worth his $4 million cap hit, but his +5 rating and 16 points aren\’t terrible. Matt Benning scored 17 points, and was a +11. Joel Persson comes to North America after scoring 31 points in 50 games in Sweden.

              Goalies
Mikko Koskinen was signed by former GM Peter Chiarelli right before he was fired. It probably isn\’t a coincidence. Koskinen\’s three year, $4.5 million per year contract is terrible. He is 31, and had a .906 SV% with a 2.93 GAA in 55 games. To be Koskinen\’s 1B, Mike Smith was signed. Smith has a history of being a good goalie on bad teams, but last year was the opposite. While Calgary surged to the playoffs, Smith had a .898 SV% and 2.72 GAA, and was passed over by David Rittich.

              Deep Depths
Tomas Jurco, a former high second rounder, signed a one year deal. In 201 career NHL games, Jurco has 50 points. Brandon Manning was terrible in Chicago, and then was traded to Edmonton in a questionable mid season trade. He was bad in 12 games, then was placed on waivers. Keegan Lowe has played in four NHL games, and had 20 assists in 67 AHL games in 2018-19.

              Up and Coming
Drafted 10th overall in 2018, Evan Bouchard started the season in the NHL, scoring one goal in seven games, before going back to the OHL. He scored 16 goals and 53 points in 45 games, impressive for a defenseman. He had 21 points in 11 games, and got to play in the AHL playoffs, with eight points in eight games. He should make the team this year. Former first rounder Kailer Yamamoto had a rough season, with one goal in 17 NHL games, and 10 goals in 27 AHL games. Tyler Benson scored 15 goals with 66 points in 68 AHL games, and should get an NHL look.

               2019 draft class
Round 1, 8th overall: Phillip Broberg
Round 2, 38th overall: Raphael Lavoie
Round 3, 85th overall: Ilya Konovalov
Round 4, 100th overall: Matej Blumel
Round 6, 162nd overall: Tomas Mazura
Round 7, 193rd overall: Maxim Denezhkin

                 Management
Since the start of 2008-09, the Oilers have had eight Head Coaches, including interim coaches Ken Hitchcock and Todd Nelson. Three of those coaches (Todd McLellan, Dallas Eakins, Ralph Krueger) got new Head Coaches gigs this offseason. Dave Tippett will make in nine Head Coach. The former Head Coach of Dallas and Phoenix/Arizona for 14 seasons, Tippett has a career 553-413-28 record as a Head Coach. Ken Holland replaces interim GM Keith Gretzky. The longtime GM in Detroit, Holland has won multiple Stanley Cups.

                 Projected Lineup
Leon Draisaitl – Connor McDavid – Zack Kassian
James Neal – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Kailer Yamamoto
Joakim Nygard – Markus Granlund – Alex Chiasson
Jujhar Khaira – Sam Gagner – Josh Archibald
Extras: Kyle Brodziak, Colby Cave

                 Darnell Nurse – Adam Larsson
                 Oscar Klefbom – Evan Bouchard
                 Kris Russell – Matt Benning
Extras: Joel Persson, Brandon Manning, Caleb Jones

                               Mikko Koskinen
                               Mike Smith

                  Prediction
The Oilers have some talented players in McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins and Nurse, but their overall team is lacking. I predict the Oilers to finish 6th in the Pacific Division in 2019-20.

From NHL.com

         In a way, the NHL has been drifting away from former players as GMs, though some do remain. One of the best general managers in the game was a former player, and he\’s now hired by the Red Wings. Steve Yzerman spent his entire 22 season hall of fame career in Detroit, and now he\’s back in the front office after a stint in Tampa Bay. Yzerman built a powerhouse there, and now Detroit hopes he can do it again.

          Additions: Valtteri Filppula, Patrik Nemeth, Adam Erne, Calvin Pickard

          Subtractions: Thomas Vanek, Niklas Kronwall, Luke Witkowski, Martin Frk

          Forwards
Dylan Larkin finally broke out, with his first 30 goal season, with 32. His 73 points and .96 points per game were career highs. Another very fast and young forward, Andreas Athanasiou scored a career high 30 goals with 54 points. Anthony Mantha has proven himself as a quality linemate for Larkin. He has scored 49 goals with 47 assists over the last two seasons. In his first full season, Tyler Bertuzzi scored 21 goals and was a +11 player. Valtteri Filppula played his first eight NHL seasons in Detroit, and now returns. He left after 2012-13. His 17 goals this past season was his highest since 2013-14, but an extremely high 21.8 shooting percentage is to blame. He is a very good defender and penalty killer. Two-way center Frans Nielsen has fallen since coming to Detroit. His 10 goals last year was his lowest in a non lockout season since 2008-09, his first full season. Luke Glendening was re-signed, coming off a career high 23 points. Darren Helm has fallen off, with just 17 points last year, and a career worst -11 rating. The same could be said for Justin Abdelkader, whose 42 goal two year stretch from 2014-15 to 2015-16 looks like a fluke, after his six goals and 19 points in 2018-19. He\’s a terrible -42 in his career. Adam Erne comes from Tampa Bay, where Yzerman drafted him. He had 20 points in 65 games in 2018-19. 2017 9th overall pick Michael Rasmussen had 18 points in his debut season. Jacob de La Rose had nine points in a career high 60 games, as did Christoffer Ehn.

          Defensemen
Former 31 goal scorer Mike Green doesn\’t score as much nowadays. he had five goals with 21 assists, which isn\’t bad considering he played in just 43 games. At age 21, Filip Hronek had an impressive rookie season, with 23 points in 46 games. Detroit native Danny DeKeyser is a decent top four defenseman. He missed thirty games, but he did have 20 points still. Trevor Daley missed nearly half the season. He was a minus player for just the sixth time in his 15 year career. Patrik Nemeth comes to Detroit, after he was a +32 player in two seasons for Colorado. Former first rounder Dennis Cholowski was a terrible -20 in his first season, but he had 16 points in 52 games. Jonathan Ericsson is most likely in his last season in Detroit, and if he has a bad year, it could be his last NHL season. He has been injured a ton, and was a -10 with five points in 52 games. Madison Bowey had four points in 17 games after a trade from Washington.

             Goalies
Jimmy Howard was somehow an all star over Larkin. Howard had a terrible .909 SV% and 3.07 GAA. He has struggled since Petr Mrazek left. Jonathan Bernier was bad in his first season in Detroit, with a 3.16 GAA and .904 SV%. Goaltending is a big issue for Detroit. They signed Calvin Pickard, who was good as the Avalanche\’s backup for three seasons, but was never the same after he was picked in the expansion draft.

             Deep Depths
Matt Puempel played in eight NHL games in 2018-19. He has scored 11 goals in 87 career NHL games. Joe Hicketts played in 11 NHL games, and scored 27 points in 64 AHL games. Enforcer Dylan McIlrath played in seven NHL games. He had 98 penalty minutes in 52 AHL games.

             Up and Coming
2018 6th overall pick Filip Zadina had three points in nine NHL games, and 35 points in 59 AHL games. After scoring 50 points in 36 college games, Taro Hirose came to the NHL, with seven points in 10 games. Ryan Kuffner didn\’t have the same success. After dominating at Princeton, he didn\’t have a point in 10 games. Evgeny Svechnikov had four points in 14 NHL games, and 23 points in 57 AHL games. Joe Veleno fell to 30th overall in 2018, and made every else pay, with 42 goals and 104 points in 59 games in the QMJHL.

              2019 draft class
Round 1, 6th overall: Moritz Seider
Round 2, 35th overall: Antti Tuomisto
Round 2, 54th overall: Robert Mastrosimone
Round 2, 60th overall: Albert Johansson
Round 3, 66th overall: Albin Grewe
Round 4, 97th overall: Ethan Phillips
Round 5, 128th overall: Connor Moore
Round 6, 159th overall: Elmer Soderblom
Round 6, 177th overall: Gustav Berglund
Round 7, 190th overall: Kirill Tyutyayev
Round 7, 191th overall: Carter Gylander

               Management
Since taking over for Mike Babcock as Head Coach, Jeff Blashill made the playoffs in his first year, but hasn\’t made it in the three seasons since, ending a 25 year playoff streak. With a new general manager in Yzerman, Blashill could be on the hot seat.

                Projected lineup
Tyler Bertuzzi – Dylan Larkin – Anthony Mantha
Andreas Athanasiou – Valtteri Filppula – Filip Zadina
Adam Erne – Frans Nielsen – Michael Rasmussen
Justin Abdelkader – Luke Glendening – Darren Helm
Extras: Taro Hirose, Ryan Kuffner, Jacob de La Rose, Evgeny Svechnikov

                 Danny DeKeyser – Mike Green
                 Dennis Cholowski – Filip Hronek
                 Patrik Nemeth – Trevor Daley
Extras: Jonathan Ericsson, Madison Bowey
                                
                               Jimmy Howard
                               Jonathan Bernier
Extras: Calvin Pickard

                  Prediction
The Red Wings are still in a rebuilding phase that doesn\’t seem like it will end soon. With Yzerman in the front office, it may end quicker, but not now. The Wings will finish 7th in the Atlantic Division in 2019-20.

         Good goaltending proved to be the answer to the Stars\’ issues. Ben Bishop was nothing special in his first year, but was a Vezina finalist in his second year, and Anton Khudobin had a good season as a backup. Getting inconsistent goalies Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi out of the crease over the last two seasons helped, even though the two led a 109 point team in 2015-16, even though they were terrible. The Stars made it back to the playoffs in 2018-19, and took down Nashville in the first round, before losing a heartbreaking game 7 in the second round to the eventual champs, the Blues. The team had a good offseason, as they hope to make it back to the playoffs.

          Additions: Joe Pavelski, Corey Perry, Andrej Sekera, Scottie Upshall (PTO)

          Subtractions: Mats Zuccarello, Jason Spezza, Tyler Pitlick, Brett Ritchie, Ben Lovejoy, Valeri Nichuskin, Marc Methot

          Forwards
Tyler Seguin had 80 points for the second time in his career, and scored 33 goals, while signing an extension mid season. He is centering an elite first line. Alex Radulov scored 72 points for the second consecutive season, and scored a career high 29 goals, and in just 70 games. Jamie Benn had the worst season since he was a rookie in 2009-10, with 53 points. His .68 points per game were the second lowest in his career, to 09-10. After the first line, the offense tailed off. That\’s why Joe Pavelski was brought in. Even though he is 35, the former Sharks captain scored 38 goals last year, and is one of the, if not best, puck deflectors in the league. Radek Faksa has had 30 points three seasons in a row, with 15 goals and 15 assists last year. Former Hart winner Corey Perry arrives in Dallas after a 14 year tenure in Anaheim ended with a buyout. Perry had a career worst 10 points in 31 games last year. He\’s a six time 30 goal scorer. Roope Hintz scored 22 points in a 58 game rookie season, and was impressive in the playoffs, with eight points in 13 games. Mattias Janmark went from 19 goals in 2017-18 to six in 2018-19. His 19 assists were a career high. Andrew Cogliano was terrible after a trade from Anaheim, with six points in 32 games, averaging just 11:39 a night. Jason Dickinson had 22 points in 67 games, and was a +9. In his first season in Dallas, Blake Comeau scored seven goals in 77 games, and averaged over two minutes on the penalty kill. A high draft pick in the outstanding 2015 draft, Denis Gurianov has yet to prove himself at the NHL level. He has just four points in 22 career games. He scored 20 goals in 58 AHL games, and has improved defensively. This could be Gurianov\’s year.

            Defensemen
Perhaps the biggest two snubs at the NHL Awards this year were both from Stars. The first one was that Miro Heiskanen wasn\’t a Calder finalist. Heiskanen was hurt by his -14 rating, but he scored 12 goals with 33 points and was a great defender. He was very impressive in the playoffs, averaging 25:31 minutes a game. And he was just 19, and was a defenseman, a position that doesn\’t see many teenagers. Proven number one defenseman John Klingberg had 45 points, and that was a disappointment, coming after a 67 point season. But he played in just 64 games, and his points per 60 minutes of 1.72 was 12th among defensemen with 60 games played. Esa Lindell scored a career high 11 goals and 32. He was also a +14, averaging over 24 minutes a night, finishing 18th in Norris voting. The oft-injured Andrej Sekera comes to Dallas on a one year deal. He hasn\’t scored a goal over the last two seasons, and has missed more games (104) then played in (60). He was good in his last full season, 2016-17. Stephen Johns will hopefully return from head injuries. He missed all of 2018-19. He scored a career high eight goals and was a +10 in a promising 2017-18. Jamie Oleksiak returned to Dallas, and played in 21 games that didn\’t stand out. Roman Polak re-signed. He was a +6 in 77 games last year. At age 30, Taylor Fedun had a career season after a trade from Buffalo. He had a career high 11 points in 54 games.

              Goalies
The other big snub from the Awards was that Ben Bishop didn\’t win the Vezina Trophy, finishing second instead. He had a .934 SV% and a 1.98 GAA, the former leading the league. He had a career high seven shutouts. Anton Khudobin served as a good backup, with a .923 SV%.

              Deep Depths
Justin Dowling has three assists in 20 career NHL games. Julius Honka, a 2014 1st rounder, has fallen in the depth chart, and has been very disappointing. He had just four assists in 29 NHL games last year. Joel Hanley played in 16 games for Dallas last year. He had 28 points as a defenseman in 60 AHL games. Dillon Heatherington played in five NHL games last year, and one in the playoffs.

              Up and Coming
A 2017 second rounder, Jason Robertson has excelled up to the top prospect spot thanks to an outstanding OHL season. He scored 25 goals with 79 points in just 38 games after a trade to Niagara, and 48 goals overall. He should make his NHL debut this year. Riley Tufte, a former 1st rounder, had a rough season at Duluth. Top goalie prospect Jake Oettinger enters his first full pro season in the AHL after posting a .926 SV% at Boston University. Ty Dellandrea was a point per game player in the OHL, and played in 11 AHL games. Defenseman Gavin Bayreuther scored five points in 19 NHL games.

              2019 draft class
Round 1, 18th overall: Thomas Harley
Round 4, 111th overall: Samuel Sjolund
Round 5, 142nd overall: Nicholas Porco
Round 6, 173rd overall: Benjamin Brinkman

              Management
Jim Montgomery had a good first season as Stars\’ Head Coach, dealing with many injuries. Former nine year NHL veteran Jim Nill has made some good moves, trading for Tyler Seguin and the rights to Ben Bishop, signing Alex Radulov and Bishop, and drafting Jamie Benn, Miro Heiskanen and  John Klinberg.

              Projected lineup
Jamie Benn – Tyler Seguin – Alex Radulov
Roope Hintz – Joe Pavelski – Denis Gurianov
Mattias Janmark – Radek Faksa – Corey Perry
Jason Dickinson – Andrew Cogliano – Blake Comeau
Extras: Justin Dowling, Jason Robertson
           
             Esa Lindell –  John Klingberg
             Miro Heiskanen – Stephen Johns
             Andrej Sekera – Roman Polak
Extras: Jamie Oleksiak, Taylor Fedun, Gavin Bayreuther

                         Ben Bishop
                         Anton Khudobin
Extras: Landon Bow, Jake Oettinger

               Prediction
The Stars may not appear to be a powerhouse, but they are a very underrated team, with two of the top defensemen in the league and a very good one in Lindell. I predict the Stars to finish first in the Central Division in 2019-20.

From NHL.com

          Major success in the NHL normally means the Stanley Cup, but the Blue Jackets will take a second round appearance. They hadn\’t won a playoff series in their nearly two decade existence, until 2018-19, when they took down the mighty Tampa Bay Lightning, who tied the record for most wins in a season. The Blue Jackets did that by trading a whole lot of picks at the trade deadline, then saw a ton of good players leave in free agency.

           Additions: Gustav Nyqvist, Marko Dano

           Subtractions: Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel, Adam McQuiad, Keith Kinkaid, Mark Letestu

           Forwards
The main loss for the Blue Jackets was winger Artemi Panarin, whose 59 assists and 87 points were both single season franchise records. Speaking of single season franchise records, Cam Atkinson tied the one for goals, with 41. When Pierre-Luc Dubois was drafted 3rd overall in 2016 over expected pick Jesse Puljujarvi, there was outrage. But while Puljujarvi wants out of Edmonton and very likely could go to Europe, Dubois scored 27 goals with 61 points, and hasn\’t missed a game in his two year career. Gustav Nyqvist was their big forward acquisition. He had a career high 60 points last year, and scored 22 goals. Captain Nick Foligno has never come close to his 73 point 2014-15, with just 68 over the last two seasons combined. Josh Anderson scored a career high 27 goals, but his goals per game was similar to his 19 goal 2017-18 season. Boone Jenner has never lived up to his 30 goal 2015-16 season, with 29 over the last two seasons. Oliver Bjorkstrand had 16 less assists than in 2017-18, but he scored 12 more goals, up to a career high 23. Alex Wennberg has always been a pass-first center, scoring a career high 13 goals in 2016-17, but he had 46 assists that season. He had just two goals in 2018-19, and his 23 assists were his lowest since his rookie season. Brandon Dubinsky has completely fallen off, with 12 goals and 30 points over his last 123 games. At age 19, Alex Texier had 41 points in 55 games in the Finnish League (against men), five goals in seven AHL games, and played in two NHL games, and eight playoff games, and was impressive. He should get a starting role. Riley Nash enjoyed a 15 goal, 41 point season in Boston, then came to Columbus and had just 12 points in 78 games. Markus Hannikainen has gotten limited action over four seasons. He has 15 points in 91 career NHL games. With all the offensive losses, he could fill in as a starter. Marko Dano was a first round pick by the Blue Jackets back in 2013, and was traded for Brandon Saad. He returns this year, and he has never reached his potential. Eric Robinson has no points in 14 NHL games, but had 24 points in 45 AHL games last year. 23 goals in 47 games in Sweden could earn Emil Bemstrom an NHL shot this year.

              Defensemen
Seth Jones has matured into one of the top defensemen in the league. He had 46 points last year, and averaging nearly 26 minutes a night. He finished 9th in Norris voting. Zach Werenski was a terrible -12 last year with 44 points. He is currently an RFA, and while he had bad defensive numbers, he should be the only Blue Jacket with a cap hit of at least $6 million. Former second overall pick Ryan Murray hasn\’t lived up to the expectations, mainly because of injuries. In just 56, he scored a career high 29 points, with all but one of them coming from assists. David Savard scored eight goals, the second highest in his career, and he was a +19, also the second highest in his career. Markus Nutivaara has settled in as a nice bottom pair defenseman, with 51 points and a +23 rating over three seasons. Scott Harrington\’s career high games played in a season was more than doubled, up to 73, leading to a career high 17 points and +6 rating. Swiss defenseman Dean Kukan was mainly in the NHL for the first time last year, with five assists in 25 games, and scored his first career goal in the playoffs. Adam Clendening has played in just 90 NHL games, but he\’s played for seven (!) teams. If he plays in one game for the Jackets this year (he played in four last season), it\’ll be the first team he has played for in two separate seasons.

              Goalies
With star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky off to Florida, the Blue Jackets will turn to two 25 year old in the crease. To start the season, Joonas Korpisalo should be the starter. As Bobrovsky\’s backup, Korpisalo has a .907 SV% and a 2.89 GAA over four seasons. Top prospect Elvis Merzlikins will likely take over the starting job by the end of the season. Merzlikins comes to North America after a 2.44 GAA and .921 SV%  in the Swiss League.

               Deep Depths
Zac Dalpe has played in 141 games in his NHL career, included one in 2018-19. He scored 33 goals with 55 points in 55 games in the AHL this year. Kole Sherwood made his NHL debut in 2018-19. He scored 16 goals in the AHL. Nathan Gerbe has nearly 400 games of NHL experience, but is now an AHLer. He had 32 points in 41 AHL games last year.

               Up and Coming
Liam Foudy, a 2018 1st rounder, scored 36 goals in 62 OHL games, and could be NHL ready by 2020-21. Vladislav Gavrikov came over from the KHL, and played in two NHL playoff games. He had 20 points in 60 KHL games. Gabriel Carlsson, a former first rounder, has dealt with injuries, but could be a sneaky late developer.

                2019 draft class
Round 4, 104th overall: Eric Hjorth
Round 4, 114th overall: Dmitri Voronkov
Round 7, 212th overall: Tyler Angle

                Management
John Tortarella is already the longest tenured head coach in team history, and despite his wacky ways, he should be around for at least 2-3 more season unless 2019-20 goes catastrophically wrong. GM Jarmo Kekalainen doesn\’t seem to be on the hot seat, even after everyone left in free agency.

                Projected Lineup
Gustav Nyqvist – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Cam Atkinson
Nick Foligno – Alex Texier – Oliver Bjorkstrand
Boone Jenner – Alex Wennberg – Josh Anderson
Markus Hannikainen – Brandon Dubinsky – Riley Nash
Extras: Marko Dano, Eric Robinson

                Zach Werenski – Seth Jones
                Ryan Murray – David Savard
                Markus Nutivaara – Scott Harrington
Extras: Dean Kukan, Adam Clendening

                           Joonas Korpisalo
                           Elvis Merzlikins

                   Prediction
The Blue Jackets had a good core pre Panarin, and while losing him and your goalie will hurt, I don\’t think the Jackets will be as bad as everyone thinks. I still think they\’ll miss the playoffs, but finish 7th in the Metro Division.

From USA Today

      A skilled Avalanche team always had the chance of making the playoffs for the second consecutive season. But with just 90 points? Thanks to a terrible Western Conference, the Avs were able to capture the second wild card spot, and face the Flames, who had 17 more points than them. But in the crazy 2019 playoffs, the Avalanche were able to beat the Flames, but they were eliminated in the second round by the Sharks.

      Additions: Nazem Kadri, Joonas Donskoi, Andre Burakovsky, Kevin Connauton, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Valeri Nichuskin, Calle Rosen, Jacob MacDonald

      Subtractions: Tyson Barrie, Alex Kerfoot, Semyon Varlamov, Carl Soderberg, Derick Brassard, Sven Andrighetto, Patrick Nemeth, Gabriel Bourque, Dominic Toninato

      Forwards
Nathan MacKinnon continues to prove that he is a top five player in the NHL. After finishing second in Hart voting in 2017-18, MacKinnon finished sixth in 2018-19, but scored a career high 41 goals, plus a career high 99 points, but he did play in eight more games than his 97 point 2017-18. He\’s also just 24. MacKinnon is centering arguably the best line in hockey, with wingers Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen having great seasons. Rantanen had eighty points for a second season, with a career high 87, plus a career high 31 goals. He is currently an RFA, and with all the other RFAs out there, Rantanen hasn\’t gotten much attention. Captain Landeskog, drafted second overall in 2011, finally was a point per game player, with a career high 34 goals and 75 points in 73 games. The Avs traded top defenseman Tyson Barrie and young forward Alex Kerfoot to Toronto for second line center Nazem Kadri. Kadri scored 16 goals, a 50% drop off from his 32 the two seasons prior. He had 44 points last year, but has averaged 48 points over the last seven seasons, including the shortened 2012-13 season. Joonas Donskoi enters on a four year deal with a $3.9 million AAV. Donskoi is coming off a season with a career high 37 points, plus 14 goals for the Sharks. Center JT Compher scored a career high 16 goals with 32 points. Andre Burakovsky comes via trade. He scored 17 goals as a 20 year old in 2015-16, but has scored 12 goals in each of the three seasons since, including two consecutive 25 point seasons. Colin Wilson re-signed instead of leaving as a UFA. He has been inconsistent in his career, with 27 points last season, and has averaged 31 points over his eight full seasons. Tyson Jost has one more year left on his entry level deal, and looks to elevate his game after a career high 26 points in 2018-19. In his first season in Colorado, Matt Calvert scored a career high 26 points. After scoring a career high 15 goals in 2017-18, Matt Nieto scored just four in 2018-19, but he did have a career high 19 assists. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was signed to a two year deal, even though he robs a young player of a shot. He\’s better defensively than offensively, and he should help out the penalty kill that finished 25th in the NHL. Vladislav Kamenev, part of the highly successful Matt Duchene trade, had five points in 23 games. Valeri Nichuskin, a former 10th overall pick, returned to the NHL, and didn\’t score a goal with 10 assists in 57 games for Dallas.

            Defensemen
While Barrie and his 59 points will be missed, the Avalanche believe they have a top pairing defenseman in Cale Makar. Makar, maybe the top prospect in the entire league, hasn\’t played in a regular season game, but debuted in the playoffs, with six points in 10 impressive games. He had 49 points in 41 games at U Mass. Erik Johnson was the first overall pick in 2006, and while he hasn\’t lived up to that hype, he has been a solid second pairing defenseman in Colorado after flaming out in St. Louis. Sam Girard signed a seven year, $35 million extension that will kick in for 2020-21. He has been impressive in his two NHL seasons. The 21 year old had 27 points and finished 7th in Lady Byng voting. Nikita Zadorov scored seven goals for the second straight season, and had a career high +19 rating. In his first year in Colorado, Ian Cole took 115 penalty minutes, and dropped off to 15 points and a -1 rating. Kevin Connauton comes from Arizona for 49 point man Carl Soderberg. A year removed from an 11 goal season, Connauton had just eight points in 50 games in 2018-19. Mark Barberio was passed over, and played in just 12 games. Calle Rosen, part of the Kadri trade, has dominated the AHL (46 points in 54 games), but doesn\’t have much NHL experience.

              Goalies
Inconsistent starter Semyon Varlamov left in free agency, handing the job over to Phillip Grubauer. Grubauer had a .917 SV% and 2.64 GAA in his first year in Colorado. He was very successful as Braden Holtby\’s backup in Washington. Pavel Francouz had a very successful career in the Czech league and KHL, and stopped 33 of 35 shots in two NHL games. He had a 2.68 GAA and .918 SV% in the AHL, and will now be the backup.

              Deep Depths
The Avs have a deep forward and defense core. AJ Greer has just six points in 37 NHL games in his career, but scored 19 goals in 54 AHL games in 2018-19. Sheldon Dries played in 40 NHL games, but with the addition of Bellemare, it will be hard for him to crack the lineup. Logan O\’Connor played in five NHL games, and had 42 points in 64 games in the AHL. Defenseman Jacob MacDonald played in two NHL games for Florida last year. He has 34 goals over the last two AHL seasons.

              Up and Coming
Fourth overall pick Bowen Byram had a great WHL season, and as a defenseman, scored 26 goals with 71 points in 67 games, plus 26 more points in 22 playoff games. He could start the season with the team, but probably won\’t be a starter until 2020-21. Shane Bowers, a 2017 first rounder, played in four AHL games last year and is entering his first full pro season. His offense dropped in his last college season. Martin Kaut come to America, and as an 18 year old in the AHL, had 26 points in 63 games. Conor Timmins was a promising prospect, as he was a point per game player in the OHL as a defenseman, but he missed the entire season with a concussion.

              2019 draft class
Round 1, 4th overall: Bowen Byram
Round 1, 16th overall: Alex Newhook
Round 2, 47th overall: Drew Helleson
Round 3, 63rd overall: Matthew Stienburg
Round 3, 78th overall: Alex Beaucage
Round 5, 140th overall: Sasha Mutala
Round 6, 171st overall: Luka Burzan
Round 7, 202nd overall: Trent Miner

               Management
Jared Bednar was criticized after his first year as head coach was a disastrous 48 point season. But after shockingly making the playoffs in 2017-18, and shockingly beating the Flames in the first round, that criticism doesn\’t exist anymore. The greatest player in franchise history, Joe Sakic has done a good job as general manager, and the Avs are reaping the benefits of the Matt Duchene trade, with top defenseman Sam Girard, plus prospects Bowen Byram, Vladislav Kamenev and Shane Bowers part of it.

               Projected Lineup
Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Mikko Rantanen
Tyson Jost – Nazem Kadri – Joonas Donskoi
Andre Burakovsky – JT Compher – Colin Wilson
Matt Nieto – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Matt Calvert
Extras: AJ Greer, Vladislav Kamenev, Valeri Nichuskin

               Sam Girard – Erik Johnson
               Nikita Zadorov – Cale Makar
               Ian Cole – Kevin Connauton
Extras: Calle Rosen, Mark Barberio

                         Phillip Grubauer
                         Pavel Francouz

                Prediction
The Avalanche are a promising team coming off two consecutive playoff berths. That normally means a deep playoff run could be in the making. I predict the Avs will win at least one round, after finishing third in the Central Division.