I'm definitely concerned about our physicality. We had 4 big hitters last year - Leo, Martin, Polak and Borgman, and 3 of them are gone. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we aren't bringing back Leo/Martin/Polak, too ineffective outside of their physicality, but this team will definitely be soft.
I think finding a spot for Borgman will be key, he's a beast who hits very hard, and very frequently, while also being a decent 3rd pairing dman (much better breakout passer than Roman "icing" Polak). However, it's tough because he's an LD, and behind Rielly/Gards/Dermott. I'd love to see a trade along the lines of:
Gards + Brown + Carrick + 2019 1st
for
Tanev + Virtanen
Which opens up an LD spot for Borgman, and brings in another big hitter (Virtanen). Our lineup would then be something like:
Hyman - Tavares - Marner
Marleau - Matthews - Nylander
Johnsson - Kadri - Kapanen
<Jooris/Grundstrom/Ennis> - Lindholm - Virtanen
Rielly - Tanev
Dermott - Hainsey
Borgman - Zaitsev
Andersen
McBackup
Which would leave us in a decent spot, physicality wise, by opening up a spot for a big hitter (Borgman), and adding another (Virtanen). That's a team that's decently physical, while still very skilled, with a pretty reliable defence. With a move like this, my assessment of our hitters would be:
Hit hard and often: Borgman, Virtanen
Hit hard, but less often: Kadri
Hit a bit, but not that hard: Hyman, Kapanen, Marleau, Zaitsev, Hainsey, Dermott (and Jooris/Grundstrom, if either make it)