by: Nate Underdog
Ottawa Senators – The Senators haven’t qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2017, after five years of collecting draft picks and prospects. They made a splash in free agency signing Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat to join the young core of Brady Tkachuk, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson. Goaltending has been an issue for this team the last few years, but they feel they found there goalie in trade by getting Talbot from the Wild.
Players to watch
Brady Tkachuk – The 21-year-old has led the team in scoring the past 2 seasons, but they are looking for more from him.
Drake Batherson – They are looking for him to break out in a big way this season.
Winnipeg Jets – New manager Bowness has come in and wanted to instantly change the culture by removing Blake Wheeler from captain and wanting the players work to earn it. This team has the offensive weapons to compete with any team, the issue has been goal-tending and defense. Connor Hellebuyck had the highest goals-against avg (2.97) and the 2nd lowest save % of (.910) in his career. They will need to make his job a lot easier this season.
Players to watch
Neal Pionk – The Defenseman has had at least 32 points in his first 3 years with the Jets, under Rick Bowness they think he can hit a higher level.
Blake Wheeler – After being stripped of his C look for him to play angry and, on a mission, to regain it.
New York Islanders – They need secondary scoring there were 24 teams with at least 2 players over 60 pts, Brock Nelson and Barzal led the Islanders with 59, they will need Anders Lee and Anthony Beauvillier to step up to a bigger role this season. The Islanders’ strength is their goalie tandem of Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov so if they can find a way to produce scoring, they could find their way in the playoffs.
Players to watch
Oliver Wahlstrom – Has 25 goals in 117 games but is arguably the best shot on the Islanders, they will look for him to make a bigger impact this season.
Anthony Beauvillier – He had a career high in assist last season with 22 and power play points with 11, look for him to hit the 20 goals mark this season.
New Jersey Devils – Devils are hoping incumbent starter Mackenzie Blackwood improves this season, for insurance, they acquired goalie Vitek Vanecek in a trade with the Washington Capitals. Last season marked the first time since 2011-12 that New Jersey had at least four players with at least 20 goals. Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier (26 goals each) and forwards Jesper Bratt (24 goals) and Yegor Sharangovich (21 goals). Last year’s weakness was power play where they finished 28th, just a little improvement there could make them a solid playoff team.
Players to watch
John Marino – Acquired in trade from Penguins he had 25 points 1 goal 24 assists and was 3rd among defenseman with 88 blocked shots.
Jack Hughes – The 21-year-old missed 17 games last year with a dislocated shoulder and still had 56 points in 49 games. He’s an up-and-coming superstar.
Vancouver Canucks – Slow start last season made it so they just missed the playoffs, and it won’t be any easier this season as they play 11 of their first 17 games and 14 of their first 22 on the road. Thatcher Demko played 64 games last season and handled the workload pretty well but tired toward the end of the season added to a lower body injury finished 9-6-5 with a goals-against of 3.00. The one big addition to the team was signing IIya Mikheyev the 27-year-old had career highs with 21 goals and 32 points in 53 games last season.
Players to watch
Vasily Podkolzin – The 21-year-old is entering his 2nd season the #10 pick in 2019 is looking to breakout this season.
Ilya Mikheyev – Now with a much bigger role than he had in Toronto he will look to pick up new career highs this season.
St. Louis Blues – One of the hallmarks of the Blues last season was their depth, with nine 20-goal scorers. They lost one of those players when David Perron signed with the Red Wings, they will need someone to fill the void. Jordan Binnington is once again the man in St. Louis after they traded Ville Husso to the Red Wings, they need him to regain his old form. Robert Thomas the 23-year-old was rewarded with a 65 million 8-year contract in the off-season as the Blues are hoping he will be the centerpiece of the team after 20 goals 57 assist and 77 points in 72 games last season.
Players to watch
Robert Thomas – Does the youngster take it to another level and hit the 100 points mark this season?
Ivan Barbashev – With Perron heading to Detroit look for Barbashev to take a bigger role on the Blues.
Los Angeles Kings – Set up for long-term success with forwards Adrian Kempe, 25, Arthur Kaliyev, 21 and Rasmus Kupari, 22, and 20-year-old center Quinton Byfield, the No. 2 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, set for his first full season in the NHL. The Kings are energized after pushing the Edmonton Oilers to Game 7 Acquiring forward Kevin Fiala in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on June 29 and signing him to a seven-year contract gives Los Angeles a potential difference-maker, the ideal mix of youth and experience to evolve this season. How much longer can captain Anze Kopitar, 35, defenseman Drew Doughty, 32, and goalie Jonathan Quick, 36, stave off Father Time?
Players to watch
Arthur Kaliyev – Rookie season last year he had 14 goals 13 assist in 80 games, but tired with only 3 goals in the final 26 games. look for him to be better after a year under his belt.
Trevor Moore – Had career highs in Points, Goals and Assist last season look for him to build on that performance.
Vegas Golden Knights – New coach Bruce Cassidy must develop relationships, install systems, and determine line combinations in the short term. The biggest question mark is in goal. Robin Lehner is expected to be out for the season recovering from double hip surgery, backup goalie Laurent Brossoit is also a question mark with his own recovery from hip surgery, leaving Logan Thompson with a chance to take the job. How does Jack Eichel look after missing almost a year recovering from neck surgery that has never been done on an NHL player.
Players to watch
Logan Thompson – Thompson might be ready to be a No. 1 goalie or at least a solid option in the NHL. He has put up strong numbers in the minor leagues the past three seasons.
Phil Kessel – Only had 9 goals last season for Arizona, this man has 12 seasons of 20 goals, 6 of 30 or more. Can he find his old form?
New York Rangers – Igor Shesterkin blew away the field last season for the award that goes to the best goalie in the NHL, leading the NHL with a 2.07 goals-against average and .935 save percentage. The Rangers’ success in front of Shesterkin could be determined by the growth of several young players that took significant steps last season. Kaapo Kakko (21 years old) and Alexis Lafreniere (20) could fill out the top-six forward group that already features left wings Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin, and centers Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trocheck. New York signed Trocheck to replace Ryan Strome, he had 51 points 21 goals and 30 assist for the Hurricanes last season, might find higher production in this offense. This is a solid all-around team with huge expectations coming into the season.
Players to watch
Braden Schneider – The recently turned 21-year-old defense-man is looking to breakout after a quality rookie season.
Alexis Lafreniere – Can he take another step toward the superstar he was predicted to be coming out of the NHL draft.
Dallas Stars – DeBoer comes to a team that made the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season and should be in contention for a spot this season, how quickly he adjusts to the Stars and how they adjust to his coaching style will be an important factor in their success this season. The biggest pickup was Mason Marchment who had NHL career highs in Goals, Assists, Points last season with 47 in 54 games with the Panthers. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin will have to be better offensively than last year where Benn had his lowest totals since 18-19 season.
Players to watch
Jason Robertson – The talented forward is a free agent at seasons end look for him to make a huge impact before heading into free agency.
Tyler Seguin – He has had a decline the last few seasons but with the addition of Marchment look for his production to return to normal.