Down the Frozen River

Tag: Laval Rocket

  • Montréal Canadiens 2021-22 Season Preview

    Montréal Canadiens 2021-22 Season Preview

    2020-21 record 24-21-11, 59 points

    4th in the Scotia NHL North Division

    Eliminated in the Stanley Cup Final by Tampa

    Additions: F Jean-Sébastien Dea, F Christian Dvorak (acquired from ARI), F Mike Hoffman, F Cedric Paquette, F Mathieu Perreault, D Louis Belpedio, D Sami Niku, D David Savard, D Chris Wideman, G Sam Montembeault (claimed off waivers from FLA)

    Subtractions: F Phillip Danault (signed with LAK), F Charles Hudon (signed with TBL), F Jesperi Kotkaniemi (offer sheet signed with CAR, not matched), F Jake Lucchini (signed with Laval Rocket, AHL), F Corey Perry (signed with TBL), F Tomas Tatar (signed with NJD), F Jordan Weal (KHL), D Cale Fleury (expansion, SEA), D Erik Gustafsson (signed with CHI), D Otto Leskinen (Liiga), D Jon Merrill (signed with MIN), D Gustav Olofsson (signed with SEA), G Vasili Demchenko (KHL), G Charlie Lindgren (signed with STL)

    Still Unsigned: F Joseph Blandisi, F Michael Frolik, F Eric Staal

    Re-signed: F Joel Armia, F Brandon Baddock, F Alex Belzile, F Laurent Dauphin, F Artturi Lehkonen, F Michael Pezzetta, F Ryan Poehling, F Lukas Vejdemo, G Michael McNiven

    Offseason Analysis: After back-to-back miracle runs to the postseason aided by the circumstances of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Montréal Canadiens are expected to fall back to Earth in 2021-22.

    The Canadiens were a .500 team that upset the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers, then Montréal was a below .500 team that benefitted from the four teams per division playoff format in 2021.

    Any of the 16 teams that make the playoffs can win the Cup and the Canadiens almost bested the 2012 Los Angeles Kings in terms of being a long shot to do so, but the Tampa Bay Lightning had other plans in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final.

    Instead, the Bolts repeated as back-to-back Stanley Cup champions while Montréal was eliminated in five games in a Game 5 that was decided by one goal– the only goal, scored by Ross Colton a little past the midpoint of the second period, as the Lightning emerged victorious with a, 1-0, win on home ice to secure their third Stanley Cup ring in franchise history.

    Corey Perry lost to Tampa in back-to-back years and, as such, as taken the “if you can’t beat them, join them” mantra to heart in the offseason, signing a two-year contract worth $1.000 million per season with the Lightning.

    Fear not, Habs fans, unlike when Marian Hossa bounced from the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Detroit Red Wings before landing in Chicago ahead of the 2009-10 season, Perry’s already won a Cup ring. He’s just in search of his second before the twilight of his career reaches sunset.

    Montréal’s cast of characters in Perry, Eric Staal and others that joined the leadership of captain, Shea Weber– whether via free agency ahead of the 2020-21 season or prior to the 2021 trade deadline– has mostly disbanded.

    Whether or not Canadiens General Manager, Marc Bergevin, planned on making an appearance in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final or not as the 56-game regular season approached last season, it’s hard to say that he didn’t give the Habs their best roster in recent years.

    They replaced Claude Julien with Dominique Ducharme behind the bench after a shaky start and rode the waves of change into a fourth-place finish in the one-off Scotia NHL North Division to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2021 First Round.

    They didn’t surrender when they trailed in the series 3-1, as Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Jesperi Kotkaniemi followed the examples of Perry, Staal, Joel Armia, Tyler Toffoli and other veterans that led the charge.

    Montréal beat Toronto in seven games. They swept the Winnipeg Jets in the Second Round and upset the Vegas Golden Knights in six games in the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals.

    Then David faced Goliath, but Goliath won.

    Because of the nature of the salary cap era, Bergevin couldn’t hold onto all of his puzzle pieces.

    Perry, Staal, Jordan Weal, Phillip Danault, Charlie Lindgren, Jon Merrill, Tomas Tatar, Kotkaniemi and Erik Gustafsson are all gone for one reason or another, while Mike Hoffman, Cedric Paquette, David Savard, Chris Wideman, Mathieu Perreault, Sami Niku and Sam Montembeault have all been signed to take their place on the depth chart.

    The heart of the Canadiens– however recently formed– is changing. The identity of the team last season– forged with the additions of Perry and Staal to the already existent tenures of Danault, Weber, Price and Co. is in transition.

    Whereas Suzuki was already leading the charge in Montréal’s new core, this offseason has solidified the inevitable. It may not be a rebuild, but it may be a few more stagnant years in-between before long term success and growth.

    It’s crazy to write about how the Habs– a team that made the 2021 Stanley Cup Final– are not going to be as “good” as they were good enough to reach the Final, but it also makes the most sense.

    Again, in a normal 82-game season without the pandemic, the Canadiens likely wouldn’t have even made the playoffs in the last two years.

    The fact that they have has provided valuable experience for Suzuki, Jake Evans, Ryan Poehling and more, but the veteran turnover from last season to this season is palpable.

    The additions of Hoffman, Paquette, Savard, Wideman and Perreault signal a distinct shift in character.

    Heart and grit be damned– Montréal is wholly embracing the speed and skill era. Sort of.

    Hoffman joined the St. Louis Blues on a one-year deal last season after amassing five consecutive seasons with at least 55 points or more dating back to the 2015-16 season. His play in an Ottawa Senators uniform was consistent, but his dressing room presence earned him a ticket to the San Jose Sharks in a trade before being flipped to the Florida Panthers ahead of the 2018-19 season.

    After amassing 70 points in 82 games with the Panthers in his first season in Florida, Hoffman had 59 points in 69 games in the 2019-20 regular season that was cut short by the ongoing pandemic.

    Then he had 17-19–36 totals in 52 games with the Blues last season after a slow start.

    As a top-nine forward, Hoffman’s one-dimensional game as a sniper isn’t that bad as long as he scores.

    Since being traded by the Lightning, Paquette had a little bit of a journey on his way to Montréal. First, in nine games with the Senators last season he had one goal. Then in 38 games with the Carolina Hurricanes, he amassed seven points (three goals, four assists) for a grand total of 4-4–8 totals in 47 games combined between his Sens and Canes tenure.

    As a fourth liner, it’s a low-risk, high-reward move for the Habs, but that’s assuming he’ll be in the lineup from night-to-night as the Canadiens have a backlog of bottom-six talent looking to earn a regular role.

    Savard might just be the best value signing this summer by Bergevin. The 30-year-old defender was signed to a four-year contract worth $3.500 million per season and had six points (one goal, five assists) from the blue line in 54 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets and Lightning last season en route to winning his first Stanley Cup ring.

    Don’t let his offensive shortfalls fool you, Savard is a quality shutdown defender of the top-four variety.

    Seriously, it’s a good signing by the Canadiens.

    Wideman hasn’t made an appearance in the NHL since the 2018-19 season, when he played for the Senators until the infamous Uber ride, then was traded to the Edmonton Oilers and finally traded again to the Panthers.

    In 181 career NHL games, he’s had 16-29–45 totals from the point and spent 2019-20 in the American Hockey League with the San Diego Gulls after signing with the Anaheim Ducks and missing out on the roster after training camp and spending last season in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia.

    While in the KHL, Wideman reinvented his game– compiling 9-32–41 totals in 59 games with Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod.

    With Niku on the injured reserve to start the season and Weber’s career in doubt, Wideman is a welcome addition to the bottom pairing as Montréal looks to hold things together in their own end with Carey Price out indefinitely (Price entered the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program last Thursday) and Jake Allen as their last resort as the de facto starting goaltender.

    Meanwhile, Perreault’s arrival shores up the fourth line and Montembeault should provide an added cushion as a backup option to Allen in the crease.

    By now, you’ve read almost 1,300 words on Montréal’s summer and we haven’t even gotten around to talking about the ongoing feud with the Hurricanes as a result of the Kotkaniemi offer sheet, as well as the Christian Dvorak acquisition.

    Let’s try to keep this brief, O.K.?

    Carolina signing Kotkaniemi wasn’t revenge (allegedly) for Montréal signing Sebastian Aho to an offer sheet, but it was an offer that was too good to refuse (for Kotkaniemi, anyway).

    A one-year deal worth about $6.100 million with a $20 signing bonus (symbolism!) means that Kotkaniemi will be due for a decent payday if he’s tendered a qualifying offer next summer.

    The Canadiens didn’t have the cap space and even the Hurricanes had to make a move to finagle his salary on the books. The Habs will gladly take Carolina’s 2022 1st round and 2022 3rd round draft picks, despite losing one of their better centers for the future.

    It was hard enough to let Danault walk to the Los Angeles Kings in free agency, surely things only got harder for Montréal to find a replacement after Kotkaniemi left too– oh.

    After swapping draft picks on the second day of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft in three separate trades, Bergevin made his only trade that resulted in a change to Montréal’s roster this offseason on Sept. 4th.

    The Canadiens dealt a conditional 2022 1st round pick and a 2024 2nd round pick to the Arizona Coyotes for Dvorak and with that brought in his 17-14–31 totals in 56 games from last season to their top-six forward group.

    Since making his league debut in 2016-17, Dvorak has never reached the 40-point plateau, but with teammates like Toffoli, Hoffman, Jonathan Drouin, Josh Anderson, Caufield and anyone else that might bounced around inside the top two lines on any given night– Dvorak is sure to have a more consistent supporting cast around him than in his Coyotes days.

    Offseason Grade: C

    It’s not a great look to have mismanaged Kotkaniemi over the years– culminating in the loss of his talent via an offer sheet, but what’s more concerning for the Canadiens is just how much of what made them pernicious in their Cinderella run to the Final last year that they lost.

    It wasn’t just one or two minor moves that were made to improve from last season to this season– Bergevin made some sweeping changes, by necessity or otherwise.

    The top-six forward group should be fine, but do the Habs have the same level of depth that they had last season? That’s another question entirely.

    At the very least, they’re not getting caught up having an overstayed welcome with replacement level talent, yet their window in the Price era may be coming to a close.

    Hopefully Price gets the help that he needs most as there’s a lot more to life than just hockey. In the meantime, time marches on as the 34-year-old goaltender is susceptible to the inevitable fallout from a goaltender’s prime.

    Montréal may very well win another Cup someday soon, but Price might be in a more limited role as the club’s backup by then, if all things go according to plan with this ideally seamless transition from a team that lucked into postseason runs.

    The Habs need to improve in the regular season in a division that’s already tough enough to compete in with Tampa, Toronto, Florida and Boston expected to be in the playoff hunt in the Atlantic Division.

  • Ottawa Senators 2021-22 Season Preview

    Ottawa Senators 2021-22 Season Preview

    2020-21 record 23-28-5, 51 points

    6th in the Scotia NHL North Division

    Missed the postseason for the fourth-straight year

    Additions: F Pontus Åberg, F Andrew Agozzino, F Scott Sabourin, F Kole Sherwood, D Michael Del Zotto, D Dillon Heatherington, D Nick Holden (acquired from VGK)

    Subtractions: F Vitaly Abramov (KHL), F Michael Amadio (signed with TOR), F Artem Anisimov (signed to a PTO with COL), F J.C. Beaudin (signed with Laval Rocket, AHL), F Evgenii Dadonov (traded to VGK), F Jonathan Davidsson (HockeyAllsvenskan), F Ryan Dzingel (signed with ARI), F Jack Kopacka (signed with Toronto Marlies, AHL), F Zachary Magwood (ICEHL), F Matthew Peca (signed with STL), F Derek Stepan (signed with CAR), D Olle Alsing (KHL), D Mikael Wikstrand (SHL), G Joey Daccord (expansion, SEA), G Marcus Högberg (SHL)

    Still Unsigned: F Logan Brown (RFA), F Micheal Haley, F Brady Tkachuk (RFA), D Brandon Fortunato, D Cody Goloubef, D Erik Gudbranson

    Re-signed: F Drake Batherson, F Clark Bishop, D Victor Mete, D Artem Zub, G Anton Forsberg, G Filip Gustavsson

    Offseason Analysis: Ottawa announced a multi-year extension on Tuesday for their General Manager, Pierre Dorion, that runs through the 2024-25 season and Dorion proudly exclaimed that “[t]he rebuild is done”.

    Well, we’ll see.

    It’s not hard to admit there’s a lot to like about the Senators’ roster. Drake Batherson is coming off of a career-year so far with 17-17–34 totals in 56 games last season and signed a six-year extension worth $4.975 million per season, which will eat up a couple of years of potential unrestricted free agency.

    I cannot emphasize enough how good of a contract Batherson’s team-friendly deal is, considering he is only 23-years-old and playing first line minutes.

    It was also his first full season, technically, but 34 points in 56 games is a 50 point pace in a full 82-game schedule. That’s some solid production from a first year player.

    Brady Tkachuk led the Sens in scoring last season with 17-19–36 totals in 56 games and is currently an unsigned restricted free agent, while Connor Brown and Josh Norris each tallied 35 points in 56 games to round out the top-three in team scoring.

    Ottawa took their time to construct a younger roster over the last few years by a combination of high draft picks and trading for quality prospects and now might see the fruits of their labor begin to blossom.

    Tim Stützle left many in the crowd and press box awestruck by his spin moves, skillful hands and 12-17–29 totals in 53 games last season after being drafted 3rd overall in the 2020 NHL Draft.

    Signing Tkachuk to a bridge deal, at least, is of the utmost priority for the Sens to keep their band of youth infused with experience together and striving for more this season, despite Ottawa’s roster being made up of an average age of 26.3.

    Had their been an 82-game schedule in 2020-21, it’s not hard to see that the Senators’ late season surge might have put them into playoff contention with the special “top four teams per division qualify for the playoffs” playoff format for last season.

    Can Ottawa make it back to the playoffs in 2022? It’s possible, but they’ll also be facing a lot more teams than just the six other Canadian teams they faced through 56 games last season.

    How will the Senators stack up against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion and fellow Atlantic Division rival, Tampa Bay Lightning, for instance?

    The Sens should improve, but they’re best bet might be playing spoiler with a side of forward progress.

    Michael Del Zotto’s re-emergence as a solid bottom-pairing defender in the league brings experience and stability to the blue line of a team that had a minus-33 goal differential last season.

    Del Zotto had four goals and nine assists (13 points) in 53 games for the Columbus Blue Jackets last season and was a plus-five rating.

    Along with the acquisition of Nick Holden in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Evgenii Dadonov that also brought a 2022 3rd round pick to Ottawa, Del Zotto and Holden bring over 1,200 NHL games of experience to the Sens defense as a pair of low-risk, high-reward moves (though, again, not as your surefire first pairing superstars).

    As a bonus in the acquisition of Holden from the Golden Knights, Dorion rid himself of Dadonov’s $5.000 million cap hit through 2022-23 and his continuing decline from 70 points in 82 games with the Florida Panthers in 2018-19, to 47 points in 69 games with Florida in 2019-20, to a dismal 20 points in 55 games with the Senators last season.

    At the end of the day, the Sens are building towards something.

    They should be more competitive, but they can’t quite win a Cup just yet. They could make the playoffs, but they shouldn’t make it out of the First Round.

    Alternatively, they could miss and land another lottery pick.

    Regardless, an important question remains in the crease– can Matt Murray rebound from his 10-13-1 record in 27 games last season– as well as his 3.38 goals-against average, .893 save percentage and two shutouts in that span– or will Filip Gustavsson emerge as the expected “goaltender of the future” in Ottawa?

    Gustavsson went 5-1-2 in nine games with a team-best 2.16 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage in that span. He also had a 5-7-1 record in 13 games with the Belleville Senators (AHL) last season.

    It might be throwing him into the fire, but if it’ll help keep Ottawa’s overall goals against down, then a little healthy competition for the starting job can’t hurt anyone.

    Offseason Grade: B-

    Dorion’s extension for Batherson could be praised as one of the best contracts in the league in the next couple of seasons for its value. That said, getting a deal done with Tkachuk is paramount for Ottawa’s young, developing, chemistry.

    The Senators didn’t snatch any big names via free agency or trades, so they didn’t “win” the market in that sense this offseason, but they quietly went about patching some needs.

    Now it’s a matter of whether or not things will pan out as the Sens look to improve off of last season’s late surge and gain momentum towards being a competitive playoff team with the end goal of opening a Stanley Cup window while their younger players are only just entering their prime.

    If anything, Dorion deserves credit for not tearing things apart or making matters worse this offseason and that alone can get you an above average grade– stay the course and be a spoiler at worst or a competitor at best.

  • New Jersey Devils 2021-22 Season Preview

    New Jersey Devils 2021-22 Season Preview

    2020-21 record 19-30-7, 45 points

    7th in the MassMutual NHL East Division

    Missed the postseason for the third-straight year

    Additions: F Tomas Tatar, D Ryan Graves (acquired from COL), D Dougie Hamilton, D Christian Jaros (acquired from SJS), G Jonathan Bernier

    Subtractions: F Nathan Bastian (expansion, SEA), F Christoph Bertschy (NL), F Brandon Gignac (signed with Laval, AHL), F Mason Jobst (signed with Rochester, AHL), F Mikhail Maltsev (traded to COL), F Nicholas Merkley (traded to SJS), F Brett Seney (signed with TOR), F Ben Street (DEL), D Will Butcher (traded to BUF), D Connor Carrick (signed with SEA), D Josh Jacobs (signed with CAR), D Ryan Murray (signed with COL), D David Quenneville (SHL), D Colby Sissons (HockeyAllsvenskan), D Matt Tennyson (signed with NSH), G Corey Crawford (retired), G Aaron Dell (signed with BUF)

    Still Unsigned: G Gilles Senn (NL, NJD reserve list), G Evan Cormier

    Re-signed: F A.J. Greer, F Janne Kuokkanen, F Yegor Sharangovich, F Marian Studenic

    Offseason Analysis: The Devils, like Chicago, turned some heads in the first half of the 2020-21 season. Unlike Chicago, New Jersey wasn’t really anywhere near the top of the standings in their division, but at least Yegor Sharangovich’s emergence and Ty Smith’s performance was a welcome reception for a team that’s yearning for more.

    Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Pavel Zacha and Miles Wood are all growing in their roles and looking for supporting cast members that haven’t been traded in recent years (think Blake Coleman, Kyle Palmieri and others) as the winds of change sweep through the Devils organization.

    Now, it appears, is the time for New Jersey to blossom into something. What that something might be remains to be seen, however.

    Sharangovich signed a two-year extension worth $2.000 million per season as a solid bridge contract after putting up 30 points (16 goals, 14 assists) in 54 games in his first NHL season after starting the 2020-21 calendar in the Kontinental Hockey League with Dinamo Minsk, where he had 17-8–25 totals in 34 games.

    His speed is impressive, but his hands and quick shot might be even more so.

    Zacha may have led the team in scoring with 35 points last season, while Hughes trailed with 31 points, but Sharangovich was tied with Jesper Bratt for the third-most points on the roster. Few people outside of New Jersey could’ve seen that coming.

    On defense, Smith was a welcome addition to re-igniting some semblance of an offense from the backend.

    That said, P.K. Subban managed to score 19 points in 44 games and was on pace for about 27 points in a regular 82-game schedule.

    After bottoming out with 18 points in 68 games in 2019-20, Subban’s rise back to relevance times out pretty well entering a contract year for 2021-22– and with Dougie Hamilton locked up via free agency to a seven-year deal at Subban’s $9.000 million cap hit, a little healthy competition might just be the thing that he needs.

    Hamilton had 42 points (10 goals, 32 assists) in 55 games with the Carolina Hurricanes last season, which was down from his .852 points-per-game production in 2019-20, when he had 14-26–40 totals in 47 games prior to injury.

    At .764 points-per-game in 2020-21, though, and being only 28-years-old, Hamilton is in the peak of his defensive prime and should be a power play specialist– quarterbacking New Jersey’s defense for a long time in the new-age era of two-way defenders.

    Plus Hamilton is four years younger than Subban, so there’s less risk of things backfiring up front in Hamilton’s tenure with the Devils than Subban’s tumultuous drop in production from Nashville to New Jersey.

    It’s a risk worth taking for a team that’s looking to get back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2018, when Taylor Hall went on his Hart Memorial Trophy winning MVP of the regular season run prior to being eliminated in five games in the 2018 First Round by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Hall is a member of the Boston Bruins these days– a team the Devils went 5-1-2 against last season.

    The additions of Tomas Tatar and Jonathan Bernier via free agency should shore up depth in the middle-six and in the crease where Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood looked fine, but in desperate need of veteran leadership– especially as Blackwood continues to emerge in the league.

    New Jersey General Manager, Tom Fitzgerald, shouldn’t have to worry about any unexpected retirements like how Corey Crawford signed with the Devils before retiring prior to the 2020-21 season getting underway.

    Offseason Grade: A-

    Fitzgerald added one of the better free agents in the market to his roster and still has about $12.100 million in cap space to work with, which is the only reason why the Devils didn’t get an “A” since it seems like they could’ve done a little more.

    Nobody’s really expecting New Jersey to make a deep run, but they should align themselves with better chances at playoff contention given the moves made this offseason.

    For a team that’s been out of a serious run since making the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, it’s about time that the Devils get back into the playoff picture and adding Hamilton to New Jersey’s core certainly speeds things up by making the Devils a desirable destination at least.

    Whereas other teams in the highly competitive Metropolitan Division are expected to falter, New Jersey’s stock is starting to rise so right about now would be the perfect time to buy in.

    Ideally, they should be in wild card contention.

  • DTFR Podcast #215- Willie!/2020-21 Season Preview: East Division

    DTFR Podcast #215- Willie!/2020-21 Season Preview: East Division

    The Boston Bruins have finally decided to retire Willie O’Ree’s No. 22 on Feb. 18th. A bunch of signings, waiver transactions and retirements were announced in the last week. Patrice Bergeron is now captain of the Bruins and we preview the East Division for the 2020-21 season.

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  • DTFR Podcast #201- Summer School (Since Summer Camp Is A Sponsored MLB Thing Now)

    DTFR Podcast #201- Summer School (Since Summer Camp Is A Sponsored MLB Thing Now)

    Dates, awards finalists, opting out, new faces, exhibition schedule and the Ottawa Senators rebrand.

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  • DTFR Podcast #172- Participation Trophies After One Game (Part IV)

    DTFR Podcast #172- Participation Trophies After One Game (Part IV)

    The 2019-20 season has begun, so naturally we handed out awards in our 4th Annual Participation Trophies After One Game ceremony.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • Tampa Bay Lightning 2019-20 Season Preview

    Tampa Bay Lightning

    62-16-4, 128 points, 1st in the Atlantic Division

    Eliminated in the First Round by Columbus

    Additions: F Pat Maroon, F Chris Mueller, F Gemel Smith, D Kevin Shattenkirk, D Luke Schenn, D Luke Witkowski, G Mike Condon (acquired from OTT), G Spencer Martin, G Curtis McElhinney, G Scott Wedgewood

    Subtractions: F Andy Andreoff (signed with PHI), F Michael Bournival (retired), F Ryan Callahan (traded to OTT), F Gabriel Dumont (signed with MIN) F Adam Erne (traded to DET), F Mitch Hults (signed with Stockton, AHL), F Kevin Lynch (signed with Laval, AHL), F J.T. Miller (traded to VAN), D Dan Girardi (retired), D Anton Stralman (signed with FLA), G Connor Ingram (traded to NSH), G Edward Pasquale (KHL)

    Still Unsigned: G Marek Mazanec (ELH, TBL reserve list)

    Re-signed: F Danick Martel, F Cedric Paquette, F Brayden Point, F Carter Verhaeghe, D Dominik Masin, D Ben Thomas

    Offseason Analysis: Despite tying the NHL record for the most wins in the regular season, the Tampa Bay Lightning couldn’t even win a playoff game and were swept by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    Every year, a lot of people pick the Lightning to win the Stanley Cup and every year, a lot of people are disappointed.

    On paper, this team is like the San Jose Sharks– really good and should win every season. In reality, this team is nothing like the San Jose Sharks, because Tampa has at least won the Cup before in 2004.

    Bolts GM, Julien BriseBois, had one primary focus this offseason– re-signing Brayden Point.

    Everything else was just excess.

    Anton Stralman became expendable at his high cost and Dan Girardi aged out of Tampa’s system.

    In their place– veteran defenders in their prime and on one-year contracts– Kevin Shattenkirk and Luke Schenn are fully capable of taking on top-six defensive roles with the Lightning. Shattenkirk is yet another former New York Ranger to head join Tampa– this time on a one-year, $1.750 million deal– and Schenn costs the Bolts a league minimum, $700,000.

    BriseBois also brought in a revolving door of backup goaltenders with Curtis McElhinney as the main course behind Andrei Vasilevskiy.

    Tampa’s starter himself (Vasilevskiy), signed an eight-year extension worth $76.000 million ($9.500 million cap hit) that goes into effect next season.

    BriseBois negotiated a team-friendly bridge deal with Point, keeping the 23-year-old center in a Lightning sweater for three more years at $6.750 million per season (the same cap hit as Patrik Laine’s new deal with the Winnipeg Jets, but with an extra year).

    In the third season of his current contract, however, Point’s salary will be $9.000 million, which means Tampa will have to tender a qualifying offer of at least $9.000 million to re-sign him three years from now.

    Point’s going to get paid big money on his next deal and the Bolts are banking on the salary cap to go up with increased league revenue thanks to a new U.S. TV broadcasting rights deal that will have to be signed by then too.

    For now, head coach, Jon Cooper can continue to relax and coach his casual style for the regular season, at least.

    Come playoff time, he’ll have to tighten the reigns a bit in hopes of driving Tampa’s compete level to an all time high for what’s expected to be a deeper run than a First Round embarrassment.

    To keep the band together for the time being, BriseBois shipped J.T. Miller to the Vancouver Canucks for Marek Mazanec (since signed with a team in the Czech Republic), a 2019 3rd round pick and a conditional 2020 1st round pick in June, dumped Ryan Callahan’s contract and a 2020 5th round pick in Ottawa for now former Senators backup, Mike Condon, and a 2020 6th round pick in July and traded Adam Erne to the Detroit Red Wings for a 2020 4th round pick in August.

    In the end, Point signed a team friendly cap hit, but with the long-term cost of having to rebalance the books in 2022.

    Offseason Grade: C+

    For a team that didn’t meet their high expectations, the Lightning met their goals for this offseason– don’t overreact and re-sign Point.

    They made some minor moves and understand the core of the roster still has enough in it for at least a few more years together until bigger philosophical questions must come into consideration.

  • DTFR Podcast #134- Slinging First Round Picks

    DTFR Podcast #134- Slinging First Round Picks

    The Board of Governors meeting gets underway next week involving the Seattle expansion vote, Bill Peters took a puck to the jaw and Rick Middleton and Vic Hadfield are having their numbers retired this week.

    The Chicago Blackhawks and Arizona Coyotes made another trade with each other, Karl Alzner is being Wade Redden’ed, Ron Hextall got ousted as the Philadelphia Flyers GM, the Buffalo Sabres win streak reached double digits and the Winnipeg Jets brought back their Heritage Jerseys.

    Nick and Connor also encourage all of Long Island to go to the New York Islanders game at NYCB Live (it’s the Nassau Coliseum) this week and quickly plan a hopeful trip to see Sporting KC play in Atlanta.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts (iTunes), Stitcher and/or on Spotify. Support the show on Patreon.

  • Florida Panthers 2018-19 Season Preview

    Florida_Panthers_logo_2016

    Florida Panthers

    44-30-8, 96 points, 4th in the Atlantic Division

    Additions: F Mike Hoffman (acquired from SJ), G Michael Hutchinson, D Jacob MacDonald, F Paul Thompson

    Subtractions: F Chase Balisy (signed with OTT), F Connor Brickley (signed with NSH), F Gregory Chase (signed with Wichita Thunder, ECHL), F Alexandre Grenier (signed with Laval Rocket, AHL), D Linus Hulstrom (signed, SHL), G Harri Sateri (signed with DET), D Edward Wittchow (signed, Liiga), F Curtis Valk (signed, KHL), F Radim Vrbata (retired)

    Still Unsigned: None

    Re-signed: F Jared McCann, D Alexander Petrovic, F Frank Vatrano, D MacKenzie Weegar

    Offseason Analysis: Despite losing their leading scorers from 2016-17 after trading Reilly Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights and leaving Jonathan Marchessault exposed in the expansion draft, the 2017-18 Florida Panthers almost made the playoffs. Almost.

    The 44-30-8 Panthers earned 96 points on the regular season and finished one-point shy of a wild card spot in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Florida tied the record set by the 2014-15 Boston Bruins for the team with the most regular season points to miss the postseason.

    General Manager Dale Tallon replaced Marchessault’s scoring ability this offseason by acquiring Mike Hoffman and a 2018 7th round pick (207th overall, Santtu Kinnunen) from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 2018 4th round pick (123rd overall, Jack Gorniak– drafted by MTL), a 2018 5th round pick (139th overall, Mikael Hakkarainen– drafted by CHI) and a 2019 2nd round pick. The Sharks subsequently flipped the fourth and fifth round picks at the draft.

    Hoffman had 22-34–56 totals in 82 games for the Ottawa Senators last season– his third straight season of 50 or more points– before it was revealed that his fiancée allegedly harassed Erik and Melinda Karlsson on social media.

    Ottawa General Manager Pierre Dorion specifically did not want to trade within the division, so he sent Hoffman to San Jose, where Sharks GM Doug Wilson was more than happy to flip the offensively gifted forward to the Panthers right back in– you guessed it– the Atlantic Division.

    Tallon’s not concerned about any potential locker room quarrels and Hoffman’s already texted all of his new teammates asking if they’d be okay with him wearing No. 68– last worn by Jaromir Jagr in a Panthers uniform.

    While Hoffman remains Tallon’s biggest prize and boost to Florida’s offense, Michael Hutchinson, 28, was brought in as a candidate for the backup goaltending job that is all but assured to be James Reimer‘s, unless Hutchinson can do anything about that.

    Yes, it was Reimer’s inability to remain a stable starting goaltender (2.99 goals against average and a .913 save percentage in 44 games played last season, 22-14-6 record) that pushed 39-year-old Roberto Luongo (2.47 GAA, .929 SV% in 35 GP, 18-11-2 record) into not only saving the season, but nearly bringing the Panthers into the playoffs on his back.

    The future of goaltending in Florida remains shrouded as Luongo is under contract at $4.533 million per season through 2021-22 (by then Luongo will be 43 at season’s end), Reimer, 30, is signed through 2020-21 at $3.400 million and Hutchinson (the youngest goaltender of the three) is on a one-year deal.

    But Florida’s top-six forward core is stacked with Evgenii Dadonov, Aleksander Barkov and Nick Bjugstad on the prospective first line and Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck and Hoffman filling out line two. That leaves February acquisition from the Bruins who’s looking to prove himself in a full-time role with the Panthers, Frank Vatrano on the third line.

    Right about where he was on Boston’s depth chart before their youth movement– yes a youth movement, despite Vatrano only being 24– forced him out of the lineup.

    Despite the existence of Aaron Ekblad and Keith Yandle on the blue line, Tallon still has work to do in finding another legitimate top-four defender, let alone fixing the drastic drop-off in talent from Ekblad and Yandle to MacKenzie Weegar and Ian McCoshen likely on the third pair.

    Then again, it’s really head coach Bob Boughner‘s job to figure out the right matchups to maximize potential and win games, so perhaps Michael Matheson or Mark Pysyk will be paired with better suitors as the season progresses.

    Overall, between the defense and goaltending, the Panthers have to improve their plus-two goal differential from 2017-18 to be a lot more in the black.

    Florida’s on the cusp of making the playoffs and turning a few heads, but they really aren’t built for a Cup run. They might be ahead of last season’s Eastern Conference wild card teams (the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils) in both development and talent, but they don’t have all the pieces as thing stand to go against the powerhouses in the league– including their intrastate rival, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Offseason Grade: B-

    The Panthers didn’t yield a huge harvest in the offseason, but they certainly got the most out of filling their need for a top-six forward in Mike Hoffman on the second line.

    While Tallon was rumored to have had conversations with Montreal regarding Max Pacioretty (now traded to the Golden Knights) prior to acquiring Hoffman, Florida made the better move for their organization in that they didn’t have to give up any current or future roster pieces for the services of a goal-scorer.

    External factors might have driven Hoffman’s price down, but a prospective deal with the Canadiens for Pacioretty would have meant parting with a guy like Huberdeau and that cannot happen if the Panthers are serious about making a playoff run.

  • TRADE: Toronto acquires Plekanec from Montreal

    Somebody get Tomas Plekanec a new turtleneck for under his uniform, his current one is out of style.

    On Sunday, the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired F Tomas Plekanec and F Kyle Baun from their arch-rival– the Montreal Canadiens– in exchange for F Kerby Rychel, D Rinat Valiev and a 2nd round pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

    UnknownPlekanec, 35, has six goals and 18 assists (24 points) in 60 games with Montreal this season.

    The veteran NHL forward made his NHL debut with the Habs in the 2003-04 season and has been with the Canadiens for his entire career, amassing 232-373–605 totals in 981 career games played.

    The 5’11”, 193-pound native of Kladno, Czech Republic ranks seventh on Montreal’s all-time games played list, 13th in assists and points and 17th in goals. He is a seven-time 20-goal scorer and is a pending-UFA this July.

    Originally drafted by the Canadiens in the 3rd round (71st overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Plekanec has 16 goals and 33 assists (49 points) in 87 career postseason games.

    Baun, 25, has four goals and 12 assists (16 points) with Montreal’s AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket, this season. The 6’2″, 209-pound native of Toronto, Ontario has 19-40–59 totals in 171 career AHL games between the Rockford IceHogs and Rocket from 2015-present.

    He has yet to score a point in the NHL and appeared in five career NHL games from 2014-2016 with the Chicago Blackhawks.

    Unknown-1Rychel, 23, has ten goals and 20 assists (30 points) in 55 games with the Maple Leafs AHL affiliate, Toronto Marlies this season.

    The 6’1″, 207-pound Torrance, California native has 2-10–12 totals in 37 career NHL games with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

    He was originally drafted by Columbus in the 1st round (19th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

    Valiev, 22, has 5-10–15 totals in 40 games with the Marlies this season and 10 career NHL games (during the 2015-16 season) under his belt with the Maple Leafs. The 6’3″, 215-pound defenseman is a native of Nizhnekamsk, Russia and was originally drafted by Toronto in the 3rd round (68th overall) in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

    As a result of this trade, Montreal now has four-second round picks in the upcoming NHL draft in June.

    The last time the Maple Leafs and Canadiens made a trade with each other was on July 3, 2008. Montreal acquired D Greg Pateryn and a 2010 2nd round pick (32nd overall, Jared Knight– drafted by Boston after the pick changed hands several more times) in exchange for F Mikhail Grabovski.