Hello Preds fans. Just a CBJ fan with some potential info.
Expected lines (note: some of these are still in flux)
Umberger - Brassard - Atkinson (played together at the end of last season, worked well together, Atkinson IIRC was the 3rd leading scorer in the AHL so far this season)
Dubinski - Anisimov - Dorsett
Prospal - ? (Letestu and Johansen have both been here) - Foligno
? - ? - ? (expect this to contain MacKenzie and Boll, but don't know the 3rd player - too many options still)
Johnson - Wisniewski
Tyutin - Nikitin
Aucoin - Moore or Erixon (both have seen time with Aucoin, Moore 1 day, Erixon 2 days)
No idea about the goalie.
So, basically the plan is to play a top 9 (or three second lines if you want to look at it that way) and a bottom 3. I see a bunch of guys of which most are capable of 15 +/- 5 goals over an 82 game season. There has also been a lot of talk from the room about how they can't depend on Nash to carry the load anymore. That each guy is responsible for helping the team and in my opinion that will make all the difference in the world. They should finally play as a cohesive unit (not unlike the first couple of seasons). It should make for fun hockey even if it may not be "good" hockey.
The top 2 defensive pairings worked VERY well together last season. Many look at the Johnson/Wisniewski pairing and cringe, but actually it worked pretty well. My pet theory is that they both completely understand what the other guy is going to do because it is the exact same thing they would do in the same situation. People forget the injuries to the CBJ blue line last year. Moore (a rookie) had the most games with 67. Wisniewski, Tyutin, and Nikitin all missed time.
There has been no word from the team about the goaltenders other than "we will play the hot hand". Both have potential. Both are in contract years. Mason is not being handed the job, unlike in previous seasons (he also has supposedly dropped 15 lbs and actually worked out this past summer). We have no idea how this is going to play out.
May this be the year that the CBJ and Preds bash the crap out of Detroit, St. Louis, and Chicago. Who's with me?