I think the team is still capable of having a season like last year. For all the talk of the team losing players, most of them didn't make a big impact. Kassian had a hot streak, but was injured and misused/ineffective most of the year. Baertschi should at least bring similar results, and hopefully more. Bieksa was poor, and not allowing Willie to use the Sbisa-Bieksa pairing is probably a bonus. Richardson missed half the year. Bonino and Matthias will be missed, but hopefully Sutter can replace a lot of what Matthias brought, and an improved Horvat can make up for Bonino. Goaltending is probably the biggest question mark from the year before after the loss of Lack. I don't think he was ever as good as some people here think though, and I don't believe there's a large difference between he and Miller. Markstrom is the wild card, but it seems reasonable to think that after the AHL season he had after rebuilding his game, he should be able to at least provide average backup quality goaltending. Ultimately, it's the main guys that will make or break the season: the Sedins, Vrbata, Horvat, Burrows, Edler, Tanev, Hamhuis and Miller. Regression from the older players and health will be the biggest factors in fighting for a playoff spot. As it is, I think they finish just out in 9th or 10th. If they do make the playoffs though, I think this team has shown they just don't have what it takes to win a round anymore. Personally, I'm just hoping for the young guys to bring some excitement to a still stale group. There was a bit of that last year, but not enough.
