Ramblings: Scoping out the Metro

Neil Parker

2017-07-07

Jake Guentzel - USA TODAY Sports Images

 

After looking at the Central Division Tuesday, I'll run through the Metropolitan Division today. As noted, I'm going to take a look at each division for an offseason lay of the land now that most of the pieces are in place. It's an opportunity to look at each team closely and how the depth charts should shake out while considering the potential position battles, in addition to the strengths and weaknesses of each club.

With a lot of analysis and projecting ahead leading into the season, this seems like an apt starting point to begin the process. Additionally, it's an opportunity to hear from you about particular teams and players.

 

Are there obvious oversights?

Is there an emerging prospect I'm forgetting about?

 

Thanks for the comments Tuesday. They were helpful.

Just a reminder, while there might be a slight lack of explicit fantasy focus going through each team, recalibrating the virtual outlook following the offseason changes should reveal plenty of implications for our fake game.

 

 

The Hurricanes resemble a poor man's Predators. Carolina has a bevy of young talent with solid two-way forwards and defensemen. How Scott Darling performs as a No. 1 starting goalie will be very telling. Additionally, it's interesting to note all the former Blackhawks on the roster, which should smooth the transition for Darling, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Marcus Kruger.

The Hurricanes are going to push for a playoff spot.

Obviously, Justin Williams bolsters the forward corps as a nice complement to Jordan Staal, Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Elias Lindholm, Sebastian Aho, Lee Stempniak and Teuvo Teravainen. Carolina also has a number of young players knocking on the door with Lucas Wallmark, Valentin Zykov, Andrew Poturalski and Aleksi Saarela. Brock McGinn and Phillip Di Giuseppe are pushing for more work, too. All it will take is one player to settle into a middle-six role and produce to give Carolina four solid lines, as Kruger and Joakim Nordstrom are the starting pieces of a serviceable fourth line.

We know the defense is good, and we know Carolina was a high-end possession team, so the first step step is likely to stride forward next year.

 

 

It's hard not to get the sense that Columbus isn't finished tinkering. The roster remains virtually unchanged, and most of the players are in their offensive primes. Scott Hartnell's buyout opens the door for Oliver Bjorkstrand to play more meaningful minutes, and Bjorkstrand flashed upside with six goals and 10 points during a 17-game stretch late in the season.

The big question mark is whether Pierre-Luc Dubois can crack the roster and handle a bottom-six gig. Columbus has enough offensive pieces in place to succeed, but Dubios will probably need to take care of business in a supporting role for the Blue Jackets to take a notable leap forward. After all, a lot went right for them last year, and it still wasn't good enough.

Obviously, Sergei Bobrovsky is a prime candidate for negative regression. However, there is plenty of room for decline before it's a fantasy or real-world concern. Columbus also returns an excellent defense corps that is probably a little underrated and might also be its key to success next season.

 

 

The Devils had a sneaky good offseason adding Nico Hischier, Marcus Johansson, Mirco Mueller and Brian Boyle. Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Pavel Zacha and Adam Henrique or Travis Zajac combine with Hischier and Johansson to make a solid top-six group.

Cory Schneider won't be as bad as last season, either. He can't be right?

However, the defense corps remains the worst in the league. New Jersey also is coming off a season with where it ranked fifth-last in Corsi For percentage, second-last in Goals For percentage at five-on-five and third last in goals per game.

What's further concerning is that while the offense is moving in the right direction, and Schneider is a top talent in the league, the blue line doesn't appear to have any help on the way anytime soon. Expecting even modest improvement could prove ill-advised.

 

 

Off-ice storylines focusing on John Tavares will likely loom over the Islanders until he inks a long-term, big-ticket contract. The team made its splashes by acquiring Jordan Eberle and dealing Travis Hamonic for picks. New York has six selections in the first two rounds of the next two drafts, but how that helps them win now and keep Tavares is yet to be determined.

Eberle has the potential to be a huge addition, and his playmaking ability could help Tavares take a run at 40 goals this season. Assuming Anders Lee slots in on that top line, he should also turn in another strong campaign. Where Joshua Ho-Sang, Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier fit in and how successful they are offensively will be very important to New York's success. Add in Andrew Ladd, Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey, and the Islanders have the pieces up front.

📢 advertisement:

Losing Hamonic stings, but Ryan Pulock is ready and able for a top-four role, and Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy, Calvin de Haan and Thomas Hickey are solid. The potential for solid goaltending is also in place with Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss.

The Islanders are far from a doormat, and they now have young pieces, draft picks and over $9 million in cap space to fine-tune the roster.

 

 

Kevin Shattenkirk should be a solid addition for the Rangers. What he brings to the table is exactly what the Rangers need, and with Ryan McDonagh, Brendan Smith and Brady Skjei also all competent puck movers, this blue line should be better than it has been in a long time. Henrik Lundqvist's playoff run (.927 save percentage) gives hope for a bounce-back season, too.

New York looks weaker than it has in years up front, though. Derek Stepan hasn't been replaced, and while we're all pretty high on Mika Zibanejad in fantasy circles, he definitely isn't a No. 1 center. Kevin Hayes hasn't proven to be a legitimate top-six center, either. Can J.T. Miller switch into the middle? It's a huge concern, and especially considering the centers within this division and conference. There is serious star power to matchup against.

The offense and forward depth are definitely here. Nicklas Jansen, Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich are all eyeing improved production. Chris Kreider, Mats Zuccarello, Hayes and Miller are established scorers, and Rick Nash is still an excellent player, albeit past his prime and injury prone. It's just going to be interesting to see how this hodgepodge of wingers take care of the middle of the ice.

 

 

Philadelphia made a slew of moves this offseason, and probably has accomplished nothing. Brian Elliott isn't a notable upgrade over Steve Mason, and while there are capable wingers to step into Brayden Schenn's minutes, that's a high bar to clear.

There is a lot to like about the potential Travis Konecny, Michael Vecchione and Jordan Weal offer, but all three aren't going to have breakout campaigns. Matt Read, Jori Lehtera, Michael Raffl and Dale Weise are serviceable bottom-six options, but the upside is seriously capped.

Add in Claude Giroux's plummeting five-on-five offensive numbers, and the Philadelphia attack is probably going to remain underwhelming. The Flyers ranked 20th with 2.59 goals per game last year, remember.

Where things could get interesting is on the blue line. Travis Sanheim, Samuel Morin, Mark Friedman and even Philippe Myers are making noise, but there like the promosing forwards, how many are going to be able to take the next step and succeed immediately?

 

 

The back-to-back champions have four elite scorers, a top-tier goaltender and hopefully a healthy Kris Letang returning. It obviously softens the blow that the depth chart took with the offseason exits of Marc-Andre Fleury, Chris Kunitz, Nick Bonino, Trevor Daley  and Ron Hainsey, and those losses  shouldn't worry fantasy owners.

While some reinforcements are in the pipelines, it will be interesting to see how — and if — Daniel Sprong, Derrick Pouliot and Tristan Jarry can slot in. Sprong and Pouliot have the potential to be huge additions for the Penguins, and maybe fantasy owners. Unfortunately, both are far from guaranteed to land roster spots and meaningful playing time at anytime next season.

There are a number of question marks surrounding the supporting cast, and it's not out of the question to expect Pittsburgh to struggle to repeat its recent success. However, the Pens have over $10 million of open cap space, No. 87 and an impressive recent track record of winning.

 

 

The biggest fantasy news out of Washingon's offseason is that Andre Burakovsky is going to be given an opportunity to take a huge step forward with a guaranteed top-six role. Additionally, with Justin Williams out of the picture, there is another vacant opportunity on the wing of the second line. Jakub Vrana is the obvious candidate, but Stanislav Galiev and Brett Connolly could also be in the mix.

The blue line has to deal with the losses of Kevin Shattenkirk, Karl Alzner and Nate Schmidt, and there aren't likely to be viable replacements coming from the lower ranks. Additionally, the Capitals don't have the cap space to beef up their defense corps. There is definitely a respectable top-four group in tact, though.

The top-heavy nature of the Washington lineup has work for teams in the past, but that doesn't mean it's going to click for the Capitals in 2017-18. Considering how competitive this division has been in the past, is it outrageous to suggest that the back-to-back President Trophy winners are in danger of missing the playoffs?

 

 

Thanks for stopping by, Dobberheads.

 

 

22 Comments

  1. OzFlyers 2017-07-07 at 03:32

    No mention of Patrick or Lindblom additions to the Flyers roster?

    • Shadow 2017-07-07 at 04:08

      I thought that was odd myself. People have been sleeping on Lindblom for years, and he’s NHL ready. Not a guarantee to make the roster out of camp, but certainly deserves a mention above Vecchione.

      Patrick is probably the most NHL ready prospect from the 2017 draft, so pretty odd he didn’t get a mention. Hextall likes to take it slow with prospects, but I’m guessing Patrick makes the opening night roster. That’s a pretty decent addition in and of itself, it it happens.

      At the least, those two players deserved a mention.

      • Marc-Olivier Fortier 2017-07-07 at 07:47

        Agreed; if Patrick can stay healthy he might just edge out Hischier for the Calder.

        • Neil Parker 2017-07-07 at 12:01

          I’m not sold that Lindblom will be an instant fantasy asset. There’s potential.

          Patrick was an obvious oversight. Editing and posting articles when the sun is about to come up is to blame.

        • Striker 2017-07-07 at 12:58

          I will wager that the Calder will be won by a different rookie not yet playing in the NHL that was drafted by another team at some point in the last 2, possibly 3, NHL drafts. I’m not even convinced it’s in Philadelphia’s bets interests to bring Nolan to the NHL for more than a cup of coffee next year. I’ll reserve judgement until just before the season starts but with their current roster make up & another round of expansion for 1 more team coming very soon; I wager they start play in 2019-20, no later than 2020-21 as the NHL will want to collect this expansion revenue before the next CBA, it may not be in their best interests to do so.

          He will need to be truly ready, he won’t just be given a spot at the expense of Couturier being pushed down the roster. Which is what would have to happen to accommodate him essentially. I’m not saying he won’t just not guaranteed especially with his repeated injury issues with his abdomen.

          • Neil Parker 2017-07-07 at 13:18

            There has been talk about him dominating for a full year with Brandon and playing for Team Canada, etc. etc.

      • Striker 2017-07-07 at 12:31

        I don’t think anyone is sleeping on Lindholm here. Stepping into the NHL is hard enough but at 20 years old coming from a new country Lindholm will most likely need at least 1/2 a season in the AHL. Might he step straight into the NHL? Sure but Philadelphia has 12 forwards signed now & they only 2 that don’t have to clear waivers to be sent down are Konecny & Vecchionne. Are either of these players being sent down? Vecchionne maybe.

        There is also no guarantee Nolan steps straight into the NHL. With Giroux, Couturier, Filppula, Lehtera & Vecchionne all natural C’s but none really suited to a 4th line role at least 1 if not 2 are moving to the wings.

        • Shadow 2017-07-07 at 19:41

          The point was that they both deserve mention because they *could* step right into the NHL and become fantasy assets, particularly in deep leagues (such as mine).

          I’m not picking on Neil, but they should have been highlighted as potential additions, because they most certainly have the ability to be on the roster and make an impact immediately.

          • Striker 2017-07-07 at 19:59

            I agree.

            Sorry I misunderstood you.

          • Shadow 2017-07-08 at 06:19

            No need to be sorry, we’re just talking hockey :)

  2. paul 2017-07-07 at 06:08

    Agree with the conclusion about NYR however Stepan was never really a first line center and the team was fairly effective with him, so its not a stretch to figure that they will be fine with the current squad of pivots.

    • JoePToms 2017-07-07 at 11:22

      Yes, Stepan’s offense can be probably be replaced. Zibanejad is capable of hitting (an assist-heavy) 55 pts with the talent that surrounds him. It’s Stepan’s defense that will be missed. Stepan went up against the Crosby and Ovechkin lines the last couple of years when NYR played their respective teams. Sorry, but Zibby and Miller (?) are a huge downgrade when it comes to those matchups.

      • Neil Parker 2017-07-07 at 12:02

        Thanks, guys.
        Good points.

  3. Dave 2017-07-07 at 08:39

    Pen’s pipeline of talent just keeps pumping players into the system… How far is Aston-Reese from being given a shot?

    • Neil Parker 2017-07-07 at 12:05

      Suspect he’ll spend the majority of 2017-18 in the AHL and push for NHL playing time during the 18-19 season.

  4. Pat Quinn 2017-07-07 at 09:44

    On the Caps:
    1. It would be a good chance for Galiev, but he bolted to the KHL. To Dynamo Moscow to be exact where that teams had the whole “all contracts are void thing” and now he has no contract and apparently can’t come back to NA (according to twitter)
    2. There are viable replacements in the Caps D ranks. Bowey, Hobbs, Lewington and Djoos all have a chance to jump in. Perhaps all are not ready for that top 4 spot but they aren’t far away either. It probably be smart of the Caps to fill that hole with like Campbell or Franson if possible

    • Neil Parker 2017-07-07 at 12:03

      I don’t think there’s money for Campbell or Franson.
      I’m not sold that any of the youngsters are ready to make an impact. Washington is an injury away from being in trouble throughout its lineup.

  5. Striker 2017-07-07 at 10:07

    Neil.

    What is a 1st line C for you? What’s your criteria? There are 31 teams so 1 way would be there are 31 #1 centers. That said some teams have 2. The top 31 scoring C’s?

    • Neil Parker 2017-07-07 at 11:58

      It’s a pretty loose criteria for me. A lot of teams don’t have a No. 1 center, though. Just because Adam Henrique was often the top center for New Jersey doesn’t mean he’s a No. 1, and as you noted, Evgeni Malkin is.

      Off the top of my head

      McDavid
      Crosby
      Malkin
      Matthews
      Tavares
      Eichel
      Bergeron
      Seguin
      Scheifele
      Draisaitl
      Stamkos
      Getzlaf
      Backstrom
      Johansen
      Monahan
      Barkov
      Kopitar
      Carter
      Toews
      Couture
      O’Reilly

      Cases could be made for others, and that some of the above aren’t.

      • Striker 2017-07-07 at 12:49

        Sorry I meant more your criteria for determining what 1 is as opposed to a list of names. For me their can only be 31 as there are only 31 teams. Malkin isn’t Pit #1. He is their #2. Would he be a #1 on most other teams sure but that doesn’t change the fact he isn’t. Nor will he be anytime soon. A luxury for Pit.

        My argument is your criteria or perspective is somewhat flawed. As every team will have a C that plays more minutes than anyone else. For me it comes down to TOI/GP. The C that plays the most minutes overall is that teams #1. Jordan Staal is Carolina’s #1 but offensively plays as a #3 in a shut down role. He still see’s quality PP TOI/GP but at ES plays more of a shut down role eliminating his ability to generate significant offensive production. Toews is similiar, as are numerous others.

        Zibanejad played as NYR’s #2 last season. He will play as their #1 this year. I had Zibby breaking thru last season but an injury derailed that. Baring a significant injury this season 20 to 25 goals & 55 to 60 points should be easily achievable. That is easily 1st line C production & he is a solid 2 way hockey player having just turned 24 in April.

        • Neil Parker 2017-07-07 at 13:17

          We’re kind of just arguing semantics.
          Do you think there is a chance that Zibanejad doesn’t play as well because he has to face tougher opposition as the top center for the Rangers?
          There’s always a chance when players go from cushy supporting roles to top-line assignments and matchups that there isn’t a jump in production.

      • Striker 2017-07-07 at 12:49

        Sorry I meant more your criteria for determining what 1 is as opposed to a list of names. For me their can only be 31 as there are only 31 teams. Malkin isn’t Pit #1. He is their #2. Would he be a #1 on most other teams sure but that doesn’t change the fact he isn’t. Nor will he be anytime soon. A luxury for Pit.

        My argument is your criteria or perspective is somewhat flawed. As every team will have a C that plays more minutes than anyone else. For me it comes down to TOI/GP. The C that plays the most minutes overall is that teams #1. Jordan Staal is Carolina’s #1 but offensively plays as a #3 in a shut down role. He still see’s quality PP TOI/GP but at ES plays more of a shut down role eliminating his ability to generate significant offensive production. Toews is similiar, as are numerous others.

        Zibanejad played as NYR’s #2 last season. He will play as their #1 this year. I had Zibby breaking thru last season but an injury derailed that. Baring a significant injury this season 20 to 25 goals & 55 to 60 points should be easily achievable. That is easily 1st line C production & he is a solid 2 way hockey player having just turned 24 in April.

Leave A Comment

UPCOMING GAMES

Mar 28 - 19:03 OTT vs CHI
Mar 28 - 19:03 TOR vs WSH
Mar 28 - 19:03 MTL vs PHI
Mar 28 - 19:03 PIT vs CBJ
Mar 28 - 19:03 FLA vs NYI
Mar 28 - 19:03 CAR vs DET
Mar 28 - 20:03 MIN vs S.J
Mar 28 - 20:03 STL vs CGY
Mar 28 - 20:03 WPG vs VGK
Mar 28 - 21:03 EDM vs L.A
Mar 28 - 21:03 COL vs NYR
Mar 28 - 22:03 SEA vs ANA
Mar 28 - 22:03 VAN vs DAL
Mar 28 - 22:03 ARI vs NSH

Starting Goalies

Top Skater Views

  Players Team
TAGE THOMPSON BUF
JJ PETERKA BUF
ANTHONY DUCLAIR T.B
JORDAN GREENWAY BUF
JURAJ SLAFKOVSKY MTL

Top Goalie Profile Views

  Players Team
ALEKSEI KOLOSOV PHI
JOONAS KORPISALO OTT
KAREL VEJMELKA ARI
UKKO-PEKKA LUUKKONEN BUF
JUSTUS ANNUNEN COL

LINE COMBOS

  Frequency CBJ Players
25.7 ALEXANDRE TEXIER BOONE JENNER JOHNNY GAUDREAU
22.0 COLE SILLINGER MIKAEL PYYHTIA KIRILL MARCHENKO
17.3 DMITRI VORONKOV MATHIEU OLIVIER BRENDAN GAUNCE

DobberHockey Podcasts

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

📢 advertisement: