Post by Ville (SJS) on Apr 3, 2018 6:17:27 GMT -5
1. Edmonton
Hutchinson is a proven #1 goalie and will be the starter again. The defense is very good, Carlson, Busby, McAvoy and Werenski maybe just behind STL but a very good top-4.
Offense, led by Connor McDavid is the best in the west. Edmonton can field a top-9 of very good players with one of the biggest stars in the league leading the way. Only problem might be that the Oilers only have 27 players contracted. That might not be enough.
2. St Louis
Raaymakers looks solid in net and the Blues have the best two-way defenseman in the game in Dahlin. The defense looks really good with Pietrangelo still going strong, Byram, Green, Bigras and Coghlan. Probably the best in the west, not at all surprising with Dahlin in the mix.
On offense the Blues have been riding the top trio of Teräväinen, Schwartz and Tarasenko. They can still ride that trio, but not for too many seasons. Elias Lindholm and Dylan Larkin, who had a bad season last time out will provide the cover. Possibly a bit thin on the offense but should be ok due to the overall talent on the team.
3. Winnipeg
A powerhouse in the west for the past 4 seasons or so, the Jets have found it hard to succeed in the playoffs. They are looking to set that straight as soon as possible. Kähkönen carries the load in net and does it well, one of the top goalies for sure. Josh Morrissey, Tommy Vannelli and Sergachev are proven top-4 guys and Le Coultre had a whopping 19 goals from the blue line last season. Defense looks solid, some additional depth if anything needed.
Kyle Connor is one of the top players in the league, Peter Tiivola, A.Nylander are proven top-6 players for sure. Latvian Richards Bukarts had a good season last year with a 20+ goal season, Ada Musil is a very solid #3 center. Other than those, the Jets have a few unproven young guys looking to step up. The offense doesn't look quite as potent as it has in the past, but with the top talent of Connor and Vannelli, the Jets are always going to be a factor in the west.
4. Arizona
On paper the Coyotes goalie situation could look worrying, but Jon Gillies has shown time and time again that he has what it takes to succeed in this league if it comes down to that. Familiar faces OEL, Samuelsson and Fabbro lead the way on defense, Ekman-Larsson had 63 points last season. Tobias Björnfot had a very solid rookie campaign and is looking like a good addition to this defense.
Probably the best line in the west if the Coyotes put Matthews, Domi and Puljujärvi on the top line. Other than that, Oliver Wahlström is a proven 40-point scorer, but that's about it. Some of Kurashev, Coxhead, Röndbjerg or Iskhakov need to step up and probably will.
5. Dallas
Carey Price continues to do his thing between the pipes. No worries at goalie for Dallas. Seth Jones was shipped out and Darnell Nurse and Joni Tuulola were brought in. Max Gildon, Calen Addison and Ryan Lindgren are solid too. Addison had a very good year and will provide the offense with Tuulola. Max Gildon is one of the top young defensive d-men in the league, so DAL defense looks good.
No need to worry about offense as long as you have Sidney Crosby to carry the load. Popugayev, White, Crouse, Somppi and Nichushkin are the rest of the top-6. Dallas should be in if Sid and the rest can stay injury free.
6. Vegas
The Knights have starting goalies to choose from, But Stezka seems to be #1. On defense there's maybe not a clear top defenseman, but the Vegas defense is solid as a rock and filled with hard-nosed veterans of this league.
Vegas has a #1 center in Reinhart, #2 in Granlund, who still gets it done at that position. Top-6 wingers in Vrana, Scherbak, Neumann and Kucherov. That leaves Smith-Pelly and Kotkaniemi on the 3rd. Anything but the playoffs would be a disappointment for the young franchise.
7. Vancouver
The Canucks have one of the top goalies in the league in Ilya Samsonov and he's only 26, so he'll be there for a while. Top-4 of Trouba, Chabot, Neill and Stephens is of very good iNHL quality. Depth seems ok too, so no real problems on defense.
Leon Draisaitl was traded after a long time of speculating that he might be gone. That leaves a huge hole to fill at #1 C. Proven top talent on offense are Drouin, Virtanen, Giroux and Boeser. Lots of really talented players, Dovar Tinling will for sure be considered for that top line C spot.
8. Chicago
Times have been rough in windy city. Six seasons now without playoff hockey, things need to change and fast at that. Linus Söderström has not been in the easiest of places maybe, but his career 2.95 GAA and .907 save pct aren't too impressive. He has got the job, though and the tools are probably there, so maybe he can carry the Blackhawks this year. Defense looks young and solid without any real top performers (at least yet), but absolutely ready for iNHL action.
CHI can field a quite good top-6 with Byfield, McCann, Brown, Ritchie, Sprong and Robby Fabbri. If young Byfield can take on a top-6 role from the start, that does look good enough and many might be in for a surprise. Should be fighting for a wild card spot if everything goes well.
9. Colorado
Top goalie, a few really good defensemen in RR, Theodore and Cernak. Behind those guys there are Wood, Struble, Middleton so the Avalanche could possibly use one more solid defenseman. Top talent is really good though.
On offense Jack Kopacka had a 78 point season and together with Nathan MacKinnon and Huberdeau he forms a deadly line for the Avalanche. Loschiavo and Lindberg topped the 30-point mark, but the offense just looks thin behind the top guys. The Avs are looking for some help from the young talent on the team, but remains to be seen if they are ready.
10. Nashville
#1 goalie Sarthou didn't have the best of seasons last time around, but the Predators are counting on him to find his form early. On defense the top -3 are Torey Krug, Cody Ceci, Brandon Carlo and that leaves Michael Ferrandino, Casey Staum and Jonas Sigenthaler for the rest. Not quite the powerhouse defense we saw in Nashville a few seasons ago.
The Predators have one of the top forwards in the league in Filip Forsberg, who sadly has seen his fair share of injuries lately. Danil Zinovyev, who scored 39 goals for the KHL powerhouse SKA last season was brought in on a 3 year deal to help with the scoring and if he can continue from where he finished in Russia, the top-6 looks pretty solid. Familiar faces in Jeff Skinner and Nail Yakupov are still going strong and Clayton Keller had a strong season with 25 goals. Kyle Betts has grown into a decent 2nd C for NSH and if the can stay relatively injury free they have every chance to compete for a playoff spot.
11. Los Angeles
Matt Murray has been under siege for the past few seasons in the L.A net. Maybe that is about to change? The Kings have a great young 1-2 punch at center in Vilardi and Pratt. Seth Jones came over from Dallas to lead the defense and Alex DeBrincat, Rourke Chartier and Mikko Rantanen will certainly chip in. The offense looks all right to start the season, defense might be slightly thin still behind Jones. Adam Tilander looks solid and Dylan Labbe will bring some offense. Remains to be seen if it's enough, but the Kings are getting closer.
12. San Jose
Looks strong in the goaltending department with a proven duo in Halvorsen and Guindon. Defense, after the addition of star player Ryan Murray is of very solid iNHL -quality. Sergei Zborovsky is one of the best shot blockers in the league every year and Christian Jaros and Travis Sanheim are of decent, proven quality.
Aapeli Räsänen is the top center on the team and he has done fairly well in that role the past two seasons. Rizvan Mansurov joined Zach Senyshyn last season in the SJS players to score 20+ goals. Expect him to be there (and more) for a long time. Behind those three guys the offense seems solid, but slightly thin in the scoring department. This team, however seems to be built to be strong defensively and rely on the top guys to chip in the goals needed. Don't be surprised if you see them in the postseason.
13. Anaheim
Alec Dillon astonishingly played in all 82 games last season. He is among the top-10 goaltenders in the league for sure, but one would really like to see him get the night off every once in a while. Experienced Adam Larsson was really good last season and ANA are probably expecting the same out of him with young Case McCarthy and Olli Juolevi the other top-4 guys on the team. Overall depth on the defense might be an issue during the long season.
League MVP center Steven Stamkos out for the season. That would obviously hurt any team and ANA are no different. They still have Tyler Seguin to carry the load and he had 59 pts last season playing second fiddle to Stamkos, so expect him to play big minutes to try and compensate for the loss of the MVP. Other proven scorers are Pastrnak, Roy and Will Nylander. The top-6 without Stammer is on the thin side and with only 31 players signed, the Ducks are somewhat lacking depth also.
14. Seattle
Solid goaltending duo in Brizgala and Vejmelka. Seattle also looks pretty solid on the defense with one of the top offensive d-men in the game leading the way. Julius Honka had 69 points for the Sea Lions last season and was by far the best player on the team. Seattle might lack another true top-pairing defenseman, but Lauzon, De Haan, Pelletier and Schemitsch all of solid iNHL quality.
The Sea Lions could definitely use a star player like Honka on offense also. The 'Horvat experiment' was quickly buried and the 'Bitsy experiment' is what we are experiencing at the moment. Pastujov, Mascherin, Sokolov and Tkachuck are decent scorers and the depth on the offense seems good enough. The teams lacks a offensive leader, but depending on how guys can find their form from last season, the Sea Lions could be in for another run.
15. Minnesota
Goaltending is solid with Carter Hart being the number one and Finns Saros and Luukkonen providing depth. The Wild have three proven top-4 defensemen in DeAngelo, Carlsson and Ryan Pilon. DeAngelo and Carlsson are among the top d-men in the league and the 2022 10th overall pick Seamus Casey is looking interesting too. That leaves Joshua Jacobs and some guys we haven't heard of. Very sharp at the top but not too deep is the defense.
Joel Eriksson Ek has worked himself into a true #1 centerman in this league and would fit on pretty much every roster. Behind him it's kind of a gray area. Fabrice Herzog had a great season two years ago but not so last year. More is certainly expected out of him and Brady Tkachuk needs to step it up also. Miles Wood had 44pts, Sonny Milano 45. If These guys all can improve, things look better for Minny.
16. Calgary
Dereck Baribeau will be the starter, he came over from CAR where he played in 82! Games last season. Mike Matheson is the shutdown guy and leader on defense. Ondrej Vala finally came over from the KHL, where he has had a fine career, and CGY are counting on him to continue with that on this side of the pond.
Sam Bennett leads the top line with Saad and possibly Maltsev from the KHL. The offense looks thin behind Bennett, Saad and possibly Beau Bennett, who had 20 goals last season. The Flames need help from some of their FA signings and other unproven guys to make the playoffs.
Hutchinson is a proven #1 goalie and will be the starter again. The defense is very good, Carlson, Busby, McAvoy and Werenski maybe just behind STL but a very good top-4.
Offense, led by Connor McDavid is the best in the west. Edmonton can field a top-9 of very good players with one of the biggest stars in the league leading the way. Only problem might be that the Oilers only have 27 players contracted. That might not be enough.
2. St Louis
Raaymakers looks solid in net and the Blues have the best two-way defenseman in the game in Dahlin. The defense looks really good with Pietrangelo still going strong, Byram, Green, Bigras and Coghlan. Probably the best in the west, not at all surprising with Dahlin in the mix.
On offense the Blues have been riding the top trio of Teräväinen, Schwartz and Tarasenko. They can still ride that trio, but not for too many seasons. Elias Lindholm and Dylan Larkin, who had a bad season last time out will provide the cover. Possibly a bit thin on the offense but should be ok due to the overall talent on the team.
3. Winnipeg
A powerhouse in the west for the past 4 seasons or so, the Jets have found it hard to succeed in the playoffs. They are looking to set that straight as soon as possible. Kähkönen carries the load in net and does it well, one of the top goalies for sure. Josh Morrissey, Tommy Vannelli and Sergachev are proven top-4 guys and Le Coultre had a whopping 19 goals from the blue line last season. Defense looks solid, some additional depth if anything needed.
Kyle Connor is one of the top players in the league, Peter Tiivola, A.Nylander are proven top-6 players for sure. Latvian Richards Bukarts had a good season last year with a 20+ goal season, Ada Musil is a very solid #3 center. Other than those, the Jets have a few unproven young guys looking to step up. The offense doesn't look quite as potent as it has in the past, but with the top talent of Connor and Vannelli, the Jets are always going to be a factor in the west.
4. Arizona
On paper the Coyotes goalie situation could look worrying, but Jon Gillies has shown time and time again that he has what it takes to succeed in this league if it comes down to that. Familiar faces OEL, Samuelsson and Fabbro lead the way on defense, Ekman-Larsson had 63 points last season. Tobias Björnfot had a very solid rookie campaign and is looking like a good addition to this defense.
Probably the best line in the west if the Coyotes put Matthews, Domi and Puljujärvi on the top line. Other than that, Oliver Wahlström is a proven 40-point scorer, but that's about it. Some of Kurashev, Coxhead, Röndbjerg or Iskhakov need to step up and probably will.
5. Dallas
Carey Price continues to do his thing between the pipes. No worries at goalie for Dallas. Seth Jones was shipped out and Darnell Nurse and Joni Tuulola were brought in. Max Gildon, Calen Addison and Ryan Lindgren are solid too. Addison had a very good year and will provide the offense with Tuulola. Max Gildon is one of the top young defensive d-men in the league, so DAL defense looks good.
No need to worry about offense as long as you have Sidney Crosby to carry the load. Popugayev, White, Crouse, Somppi and Nichushkin are the rest of the top-6. Dallas should be in if Sid and the rest can stay injury free.
6. Vegas
The Knights have starting goalies to choose from, But Stezka seems to be #1. On defense there's maybe not a clear top defenseman, but the Vegas defense is solid as a rock and filled with hard-nosed veterans of this league.
Vegas has a #1 center in Reinhart, #2 in Granlund, who still gets it done at that position. Top-6 wingers in Vrana, Scherbak, Neumann and Kucherov. That leaves Smith-Pelly and Kotkaniemi on the 3rd. Anything but the playoffs would be a disappointment for the young franchise.
7. Vancouver
The Canucks have one of the top goalies in the league in Ilya Samsonov and he's only 26, so he'll be there for a while. Top-4 of Trouba, Chabot, Neill and Stephens is of very good iNHL quality. Depth seems ok too, so no real problems on defense.
Leon Draisaitl was traded after a long time of speculating that he might be gone. That leaves a huge hole to fill at #1 C. Proven top talent on offense are Drouin, Virtanen, Giroux and Boeser. Lots of really talented players, Dovar Tinling will for sure be considered for that top line C spot.
8. Chicago
Times have been rough in windy city. Six seasons now without playoff hockey, things need to change and fast at that. Linus Söderström has not been in the easiest of places maybe, but his career 2.95 GAA and .907 save pct aren't too impressive. He has got the job, though and the tools are probably there, so maybe he can carry the Blackhawks this year. Defense looks young and solid without any real top performers (at least yet), but absolutely ready for iNHL action.
CHI can field a quite good top-6 with Byfield, McCann, Brown, Ritchie, Sprong and Robby Fabbri. If young Byfield can take on a top-6 role from the start, that does look good enough and many might be in for a surprise. Should be fighting for a wild card spot if everything goes well.
9. Colorado
Top goalie, a few really good defensemen in RR, Theodore and Cernak. Behind those guys there are Wood, Struble, Middleton so the Avalanche could possibly use one more solid defenseman. Top talent is really good though.
On offense Jack Kopacka had a 78 point season and together with Nathan MacKinnon and Huberdeau he forms a deadly line for the Avalanche. Loschiavo and Lindberg topped the 30-point mark, but the offense just looks thin behind the top guys. The Avs are looking for some help from the young talent on the team, but remains to be seen if they are ready.
10. Nashville
#1 goalie Sarthou didn't have the best of seasons last time around, but the Predators are counting on him to find his form early. On defense the top -3 are Torey Krug, Cody Ceci, Brandon Carlo and that leaves Michael Ferrandino, Casey Staum and Jonas Sigenthaler for the rest. Not quite the powerhouse defense we saw in Nashville a few seasons ago.
The Predators have one of the top forwards in the league in Filip Forsberg, who sadly has seen his fair share of injuries lately. Danil Zinovyev, who scored 39 goals for the KHL powerhouse SKA last season was brought in on a 3 year deal to help with the scoring and if he can continue from where he finished in Russia, the top-6 looks pretty solid. Familiar faces in Jeff Skinner and Nail Yakupov are still going strong and Clayton Keller had a strong season with 25 goals. Kyle Betts has grown into a decent 2nd C for NSH and if the can stay relatively injury free they have every chance to compete for a playoff spot.
11. Los Angeles
Matt Murray has been under siege for the past few seasons in the L.A net. Maybe that is about to change? The Kings have a great young 1-2 punch at center in Vilardi and Pratt. Seth Jones came over from Dallas to lead the defense and Alex DeBrincat, Rourke Chartier and Mikko Rantanen will certainly chip in. The offense looks all right to start the season, defense might be slightly thin still behind Jones. Adam Tilander looks solid and Dylan Labbe will bring some offense. Remains to be seen if it's enough, but the Kings are getting closer.
12. San Jose
Looks strong in the goaltending department with a proven duo in Halvorsen and Guindon. Defense, after the addition of star player Ryan Murray is of very solid iNHL -quality. Sergei Zborovsky is one of the best shot blockers in the league every year and Christian Jaros and Travis Sanheim are of decent, proven quality.
Aapeli Räsänen is the top center on the team and he has done fairly well in that role the past two seasons. Rizvan Mansurov joined Zach Senyshyn last season in the SJS players to score 20+ goals. Expect him to be there (and more) for a long time. Behind those three guys the offense seems solid, but slightly thin in the scoring department. This team, however seems to be built to be strong defensively and rely on the top guys to chip in the goals needed. Don't be surprised if you see them in the postseason.
13. Anaheim
Alec Dillon astonishingly played in all 82 games last season. He is among the top-10 goaltenders in the league for sure, but one would really like to see him get the night off every once in a while. Experienced Adam Larsson was really good last season and ANA are probably expecting the same out of him with young Case McCarthy and Olli Juolevi the other top-4 guys on the team. Overall depth on the defense might be an issue during the long season.
League MVP center Steven Stamkos out for the season. That would obviously hurt any team and ANA are no different. They still have Tyler Seguin to carry the load and he had 59 pts last season playing second fiddle to Stamkos, so expect him to play big minutes to try and compensate for the loss of the MVP. Other proven scorers are Pastrnak, Roy and Will Nylander. The top-6 without Stammer is on the thin side and with only 31 players signed, the Ducks are somewhat lacking depth also.
14. Seattle
Solid goaltending duo in Brizgala and Vejmelka. Seattle also looks pretty solid on the defense with one of the top offensive d-men in the game leading the way. Julius Honka had 69 points for the Sea Lions last season and was by far the best player on the team. Seattle might lack another true top-pairing defenseman, but Lauzon, De Haan, Pelletier and Schemitsch all of solid iNHL quality.
The Sea Lions could definitely use a star player like Honka on offense also. The 'Horvat experiment' was quickly buried and the 'Bitsy experiment' is what we are experiencing at the moment. Pastujov, Mascherin, Sokolov and Tkachuck are decent scorers and the depth on the offense seems good enough. The teams lacks a offensive leader, but depending on how guys can find their form from last season, the Sea Lions could be in for another run.
15. Minnesota
Goaltending is solid with Carter Hart being the number one and Finns Saros and Luukkonen providing depth. The Wild have three proven top-4 defensemen in DeAngelo, Carlsson and Ryan Pilon. DeAngelo and Carlsson are among the top d-men in the league and the 2022 10th overall pick Seamus Casey is looking interesting too. That leaves Joshua Jacobs and some guys we haven't heard of. Very sharp at the top but not too deep is the defense.
Joel Eriksson Ek has worked himself into a true #1 centerman in this league and would fit on pretty much every roster. Behind him it's kind of a gray area. Fabrice Herzog had a great season two years ago but not so last year. More is certainly expected out of him and Brady Tkachuk needs to step it up also. Miles Wood had 44pts, Sonny Milano 45. If These guys all can improve, things look better for Minny.
16. Calgary
Dereck Baribeau will be the starter, he came over from CAR where he played in 82! Games last season. Mike Matheson is the shutdown guy and leader on defense. Ondrej Vala finally came over from the KHL, where he has had a fine career, and CGY are counting on him to continue with that on this side of the pond.
Sam Bennett leads the top line with Saad and possibly Maltsev from the KHL. The offense looks thin behind Bennett, Saad and possibly Beau Bennett, who had 20 goals last season. The Flames need help from some of their FA signings and other unproven guys to make the playoffs.