They’ll probably stick suck, albeit not quite as much as last year. Beyond that there’s just too many wildcards to say with any certainty how much improvement should be expected.
Trouba’s effect on Skjei; The new team and role’s effect on Trouba; How will Kakko and Kravtsov do; Goaltending splits between Georgiev/Lundqvist/Shesterkin; Will one of Chytil/Andersson/Howden take the next step; Hajek/whoever is holding the 3LD spot; DeAngelo continuing or building upon his last season; Will Fox bounce between the NHL/AHL, have a decent season or an exceptional season; Who is going to win the 2C spot; Will Panarin play with Zibanejad or carry his own line; Will Kreider be moved before or during the season, if at all; Can Buchnevich find a new level, or is he what he is; Are the dickweed refs done hazing Quinn?
Large potential, larger uncertainty.
Hayes, Zuccarello, Vesey, Shattenkirk, Pionk; 3F/2D—168 points.
Panarin (82 [career avg],) Kakko (40 [based roughly on post-2005 2OAs],) Trouba (33 [based on career avg pre-2018-19],) Fox (14 [req. pts to top 168, conservative].) 2F/2D, discounting Kravtsov—169 points.
So, replacing lost production should not be a problem, although there are obviously any number of factors (i.e. injuries,) that could throw a wrench into it; For that reason, I tried to keep the projections as conservative as possible. It may have been better to use a difference metric like goals created or GAR/WAR, but oh well. Additionally, Panarin is an excellent possession player, and Kakko certainly has all the making of one, too; Trouba, even with an underwhelming season, will nonetheless be a vast improvement over Pionk.
Definitely no shortage of things to keep an eye on. This is uncharted territory for the franchise. I don’t think drafting Kakko will really sink for anyone until the first game. I mean I’m still getting used to even having 1st round picks again to begin with.