trentmccleary
Registered User
tl:dr = the minimum the team needs to acquire to go into next season is a bottom pairing, big, LHD, defensive, PK’er. Otherwise the team will get better through internal development.
Forwards:
1st LW – Tkachuk, who also brings a lot of intangible value.
2nd LW or C- Emerging star Stutzle, hoping for big strides in years 2 & 3 building his all-round game, finding a semi-permanent line and taking a bigger PP role.
2nd C – Norris, will hopefully develop into a legit 1st line C.
2nd RW – Batherson, will hopefully develop into a legit 1st line RW.
2nd RW – C.Brown, who also brings a lot of intangible value.
2nd RW – Dadonov, hoping for a bounce back season.
3rd LW – N.Paul, did a little bit of everything and became one of the coaches favs (5th in TOI among F’s).
3rd C – Pinto, seems crazy to label him as a 3rd line C after only 12 games, but he looks legit. He could even grow into a 2nd line center. <trentmccleary dream sequence starts where Norris & Pinto develop into the next Krejci & Bergeron>
3rd C – Tierney, he brings too much to be a 4th line C and is another bounce back candidate.
3rd C – White, jack of all trades and master of none. Needs to improve offensively to compete for the 2nd line C job or defensively to keep the 3rd line C job.
4th LW – Formenton, with the ability to move up the lineup.
4th RW – Watson, brought a lot of hard work and leadership. A good example for the kids.
4th C – Amadio, don’t know if he’ll be back. But he could hold down the 4th line spot if he did.
4th C/LW, PP specialist – L.Brown, will be in competition for the 2nd line center spot. Has a lot to prove next season.
Strengths – RW depth is very strong with Batherson, C.Brown and Dadonov on the top-3 lines.
Bottom-6 center depth is strong. Top-6 LW is elite with Tkachuk and Stutzle, while Paul and Formenton add good depth.
Weaknesses – An offensive C is clearly lacking.
Needs – The offensive C job should be filled internally with Stutzle/Pinto/White/L.Brown. That’s the biggest hole up front. I figure that the worst case scenario next year is that nobody progresses and takes hold, which could mean that White is the EV 2nd line C and L.Brown is the PP 2nd line C.
Also, generally the top-6 needs to produce more as whole. I believe that they will next year.
Short term – no acquisitions are necessary.
Long term – Top-3 RW. Dadonov will leave and C.Brown’s prime will end. Who do we see competing for the top-3 RW’s a few years from now? This could be a question that is answered more definitively at the draft.
Defense:
Top-2
LHD offensive top pairing- Chabot
Middle-2
RHD 2-way middle pairing – Zaitsev
RHD 2-way middle pairing – Zub
Bottom 3
L/R offensive bottom pairing – Brannstrom
L/R defensive bottom pairing – Mete
RHD defensive bottom pairing – J.Brown
Minors
RHD – JBD, Thomson
LHD – Alsing and eventually Sanderson
Strengths
Solid, stable right side, good size, all-round ability, strong defensively and good near term prospect reinforcements ready to compete for jobs.
Weaknesses
Left side is small and leans much more offensive.
Needs
Short term – Brannstrom and Mete can compete for the 2nd pair role until Sanderson is ready to compete amongst them. In the mean time, DJ needs a big, LHD, defensive, PK’er to complete a 7-man d-corps to give him the flexibility to match lineups and cover injuries.
Long term – The defense is young, talented and there are strong reinforcements on the way. I don’t see a long term need yet.
Goalie
Murray – needs to continue to bounce back now that the team’s defensive play has been straightened out.
Daccord – I thought he would be penciled into the back up role and eventually compete with Murray.
Forsberg – I don’t understand why he was re-signed. Maybe they expect to lose Daccord to Seattle.
Gustavsson – has made himself the must-protect goalie. I thought that he would start in Belleville next year, now I’m not so sure.
Strengths – Lots of guys and lots of prospects behind them.
Weaknesses – who is the #1 goalie? Is he good enough? Can anybody else become a #1 goalie? Have you seen the franchise’s goalie prospect graveyard?
Needs – No acquisitions. Murray needs to rebound and internal competition needs to keep standards high.
Forwards:
1st LW – Tkachuk, who also brings a lot of intangible value.
2nd LW or C- Emerging star Stutzle, hoping for big strides in years 2 & 3 building his all-round game, finding a semi-permanent line and taking a bigger PP role.
2nd C – Norris, will hopefully develop into a legit 1st line C.
2nd RW – Batherson, will hopefully develop into a legit 1st line RW.
2nd RW – C.Brown, who also brings a lot of intangible value.
2nd RW – Dadonov, hoping for a bounce back season.
3rd LW – N.Paul, did a little bit of everything and became one of the coaches favs (5th in TOI among F’s).
3rd C – Pinto, seems crazy to label him as a 3rd line C after only 12 games, but he looks legit. He could even grow into a 2nd line center. <trentmccleary dream sequence starts where Norris & Pinto develop into the next Krejci & Bergeron>
3rd C – Tierney, he brings too much to be a 4th line C and is another bounce back candidate.
3rd C – White, jack of all trades and master of none. Needs to improve offensively to compete for the 2nd line C job or defensively to keep the 3rd line C job.
4th LW – Formenton, with the ability to move up the lineup.
4th RW – Watson, brought a lot of hard work and leadership. A good example for the kids.
4th C – Amadio, don’t know if he’ll be back. But he could hold down the 4th line spot if he did.
4th C/LW, PP specialist – L.Brown, will be in competition for the 2nd line center spot. Has a lot to prove next season.
Strengths – RW depth is very strong with Batherson, C.Brown and Dadonov on the top-3 lines.
Bottom-6 center depth is strong. Top-6 LW is elite with Tkachuk and Stutzle, while Paul and Formenton add good depth.
Weaknesses – An offensive C is clearly lacking.
Needs – The offensive C job should be filled internally with Stutzle/Pinto/White/L.Brown. That’s the biggest hole up front. I figure that the worst case scenario next year is that nobody progresses and takes hold, which could mean that White is the EV 2nd line C and L.Brown is the PP 2nd line C.
Also, generally the top-6 needs to produce more as whole. I believe that they will next year.
Short term – no acquisitions are necessary.
Long term – Top-3 RW. Dadonov will leave and C.Brown’s prime will end. Who do we see competing for the top-3 RW’s a few years from now? This could be a question that is answered more definitively at the draft.
Defense:
Top-2
LHD offensive top pairing- Chabot
Middle-2
RHD 2-way middle pairing – Zaitsev
RHD 2-way middle pairing – Zub
Bottom 3
L/R offensive bottom pairing – Brannstrom
L/R defensive bottom pairing – Mete
RHD defensive bottom pairing – J.Brown
Minors
RHD – JBD, Thomson
LHD – Alsing and eventually Sanderson
Strengths
Solid, stable right side, good size, all-round ability, strong defensively and good near term prospect reinforcements ready to compete for jobs.
Weaknesses
Left side is small and leans much more offensive.
Needs
Short term – Brannstrom and Mete can compete for the 2nd pair role until Sanderson is ready to compete amongst them. In the mean time, DJ needs a big, LHD, defensive, PK’er to complete a 7-man d-corps to give him the flexibility to match lineups and cover injuries.
Long term – The defense is young, talented and there are strong reinforcements on the way. I don’t see a long term need yet.
Goalie
Murray – needs to continue to bounce back now that the team’s defensive play has been straightened out.
Daccord – I thought he would be penciled into the back up role and eventually compete with Murray.
Forsberg – I don’t understand why he was re-signed. Maybe they expect to lose Daccord to Seattle.
Gustavsson – has made himself the must-protect goalie. I thought that he would start in Belleville next year, now I’m not so sure.
Strengths – Lots of guys and lots of prospects behind them.
Weaknesses – who is the #1 goalie? Is he good enough? Can anybody else become a #1 goalie? Have you seen the franchise’s goalie prospect graveyard?
Needs – No acquisitions. Murray needs to rebound and internal competition needs to keep standards high.
