Post by Beans (BOS) on Dec 24, 2015 14:05:47 GMT -5
Wishlists from each of the 30 iNHL franchises
The Hockey News staff
1. Anaheim Ducks – Goals. The Ducks are (surprisingly) 25th in goals scored.
2. Arizona Coyotes – Lottery luck. Hometown boy Auston Matthews could revitalize the franchise.
3. Boston Bruins – A time machine to the future or a competent GM. Neither is likely so we’ll say a right-side defenseman.
4. Buffalo Sabres – Secondary scoring. The top line of E. Kane – Eichel – P. Kane has been lighting it up but the drop off after that is significant.
5. Calgary Flames – Defense. Whether it’s the system or the personnel, the Flames high-flying offense (6th best) is being nullified by their worrisome D (4th worst)
6. Carolina Hurricanes – A hometown discount. Pending UFA Eric Staal has picked the right time to be a top iNHL scorer.
7. Chicago Blackhawks – Corey Crawford of old. GM Ranek has been more than vocal about the Blackhawks’ surprising goaltending issues.
8. Colorado Avalanche – Defensive depth. The Avalanche have been a present surprise with the 3rd best offense in the league and a better than average D but we think a solid veteran to ease the workload of Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie would be a good idea.
9. Columbus Blue Jackets – Philly re-build. The Blue Jackets are on the playoff cusp with the biggest threat seemingly coming from the Flyers. GM Bjorn has flirted with a potential rebuild if things don’t improve, and that would be great news for CBJ.
10. Dallas Stars – Consistent goaltending. This team is loaded with firepower but the inconsistency from Niemi and Lehtonen (and even prospect Jack Campbell) could be holding the Stars back.
11. Detroit Red Wings - Second-line centre. Without looking, who is Detroit’s 2nd line C? (Answer at the bottom of this article)
12. Edmonton Oilers – Defense. This team has come a long way and should probably be satisfied with the year over year improvement but if they want to make a run they’ll need more than a top pairing of Seth Jones and Andrej Sekera.
13. Florida Panthers – 2016 1st round pick. One of the biggest surprises of the year, the Panthers probably wish they could get their potential lottery pick back from Winnipeg.
14. Los Angeles Kings – A committed general manager.
15. Minnesota Wild – Third-line centre. Not much wrong with the Wild but, with all due respect to Erik Haula, a depth centre would be a nice addition.
16. Montreal Canadiens – Results. It’s probably just statistical randomness but the Habs have had questionable results following the additions of Jordan Eberle and Bobby Ryan.
17. Nashville Predators – Third-line RW. Like the Wild, very hard to find issues with the Predators, but an upgrade over Victor Arvidsson could put the Preds over the top.
18. New Jersey Devils – 3rd D-pairing. We had never heard of Matthew Register or Drew Daniels so were surprised to find these two make up the bottom pairing for one of the best teams in the East. Not surprisingly, their results haven’t been great.
19. New York Islanders – Consistent effort. The Islanders are surprisingly a bottom-10 team in goals for and against.
20. New York Rangers – Goals. The Rangers have the third-best defense in the iNHL but their offensive numbers are very average. Hard to find a hole in the lineup but more goals will make the playoff chase significantly easier.
21. Ottawa Senators – Depth. The Senators have a very clear championship window following the Sedins trade but they’ll need more from their bottom-6 forwards and their D-men if they hope to emerge from the increasingly deep Eastern Conference.
22. Philadelphia Flyers – Columbus rebuild. See Columbus and the same comment basically applies for Philly.
23. Pittsburgh Penguins – Consistency. After their unbelievable start to the season, the Pens are struggling to stay above .500. Hands up if you thought they’d be a bottom-10 offensive team.
24. San Jose Sharks – Good health. Pretty obvious given season ending injuries to their top two centres.
25. St. Louis Blues – One top-4 defenseman. The Blues are the best offense in the iNHL but Carl Gunnarson is not a top-4 D-man, especially on a Cup contender.
26. Tampa Bay Lightning – Good health. Unlike San Jose, injuries haven’t been a problem, but with their dominant position in the East and all the firepower added by GM Justin, this team just needs to stay healthy prior to and during the playoffs.
27. Toronto Maple Leafs – A general manager.
28. Vancouver Canucks – Full re-build. This team doesn’t appear to be regaining their form from years past so there’s no point keeping guys like Burrows, Edler, Hamhuis – plus, the return could be huge and set up Vancouver for a very bright future.
29. Washington Capitals – Brooks Orpik trade. Orpik’s numbers this season are problematic but the $5.5 million cap hit until he’s 40 could be even worse. A contender like the Caps should dump this contract and replace it with a more useful or younger player.
30. Winnipeg Jets – 4-5-6 Defenseman. The top 3 in Winnipeg is solid (Enstrom, Trouba, and Myers) but the bottom 3 is less than inspiring (Seidenberg, Stuart, Olesky).
(Riley Sheahan is Detroit’s 2nd line centre)
The Hockey News staff
1. Anaheim Ducks – Goals. The Ducks are (surprisingly) 25th in goals scored.
2. Arizona Coyotes – Lottery luck. Hometown boy Auston Matthews could revitalize the franchise.
3. Boston Bruins – A time machine to the future or a competent GM. Neither is likely so we’ll say a right-side defenseman.
4. Buffalo Sabres – Secondary scoring. The top line of E. Kane – Eichel – P. Kane has been lighting it up but the drop off after that is significant.
5. Calgary Flames – Defense. Whether it’s the system or the personnel, the Flames high-flying offense (6th best) is being nullified by their worrisome D (4th worst)
6. Carolina Hurricanes – A hometown discount. Pending UFA Eric Staal has picked the right time to be a top iNHL scorer.
7. Chicago Blackhawks – Corey Crawford of old. GM Ranek has been more than vocal about the Blackhawks’ surprising goaltending issues.
8. Colorado Avalanche – Defensive depth. The Avalanche have been a present surprise with the 3rd best offense in the league and a better than average D but we think a solid veteran to ease the workload of Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie would be a good idea.
9. Columbus Blue Jackets – Philly re-build. The Blue Jackets are on the playoff cusp with the biggest threat seemingly coming from the Flyers. GM Bjorn has flirted with a potential rebuild if things don’t improve, and that would be great news for CBJ.
10. Dallas Stars – Consistent goaltending. This team is loaded with firepower but the inconsistency from Niemi and Lehtonen (and even prospect Jack Campbell) could be holding the Stars back.
11. Detroit Red Wings - Second-line centre. Without looking, who is Detroit’s 2nd line C? (Answer at the bottom of this article)
12. Edmonton Oilers – Defense. This team has come a long way and should probably be satisfied with the year over year improvement but if they want to make a run they’ll need more than a top pairing of Seth Jones and Andrej Sekera.
13. Florida Panthers – 2016 1st round pick. One of the biggest surprises of the year, the Panthers probably wish they could get their potential lottery pick back from Winnipeg.
14. Los Angeles Kings – A committed general manager.
15. Minnesota Wild – Third-line centre. Not much wrong with the Wild but, with all due respect to Erik Haula, a depth centre would be a nice addition.
16. Montreal Canadiens – Results. It’s probably just statistical randomness but the Habs have had questionable results following the additions of Jordan Eberle and Bobby Ryan.
17. Nashville Predators – Third-line RW. Like the Wild, very hard to find issues with the Predators, but an upgrade over Victor Arvidsson could put the Preds over the top.
18. New Jersey Devils – 3rd D-pairing. We had never heard of Matthew Register or Drew Daniels so were surprised to find these two make up the bottom pairing for one of the best teams in the East. Not surprisingly, their results haven’t been great.
19. New York Islanders – Consistent effort. The Islanders are surprisingly a bottom-10 team in goals for and against.
20. New York Rangers – Goals. The Rangers have the third-best defense in the iNHL but their offensive numbers are very average. Hard to find a hole in the lineup but more goals will make the playoff chase significantly easier.
21. Ottawa Senators – Depth. The Senators have a very clear championship window following the Sedins trade but they’ll need more from their bottom-6 forwards and their D-men if they hope to emerge from the increasingly deep Eastern Conference.
22. Philadelphia Flyers – Columbus rebuild. See Columbus and the same comment basically applies for Philly.
23. Pittsburgh Penguins – Consistency. After their unbelievable start to the season, the Pens are struggling to stay above .500. Hands up if you thought they’d be a bottom-10 offensive team.
24. San Jose Sharks – Good health. Pretty obvious given season ending injuries to their top two centres.
25. St. Louis Blues – One top-4 defenseman. The Blues are the best offense in the iNHL but Carl Gunnarson is not a top-4 D-man, especially on a Cup contender.
26. Tampa Bay Lightning – Good health. Unlike San Jose, injuries haven’t been a problem, but with their dominant position in the East and all the firepower added by GM Justin, this team just needs to stay healthy prior to and during the playoffs.
27. Toronto Maple Leafs – A general manager.
28. Vancouver Canucks – Full re-build. This team doesn’t appear to be regaining their form from years past so there’s no point keeping guys like Burrows, Edler, Hamhuis – plus, the return could be huge and set up Vancouver for a very bright future.
29. Washington Capitals – Brooks Orpik trade. Orpik’s numbers this season are problematic but the $5.5 million cap hit until he’s 40 could be even worse. A contender like the Caps should dump this contract and replace it with a more useful or younger player.
30. Winnipeg Jets – 4-5-6 Defenseman. The top 3 in Winnipeg is solid (Enstrom, Trouba, and Myers) but the bottom 3 is less than inspiring (Seidenberg, Stuart, Olesky).
(Riley Sheahan is Detroit’s 2nd line centre)
