Being essentially a bubble team creates a sense of uncertainty in more ways than I would like. While it’s nice to have a restored culture of winning and competitiveness, and with specific players being in a sense, a state of flux; it will be challenging for Yzerman to navigate the roster moving forward.
Seeing as how this team seems capable of making the playoffs, but not quite a team that can make a Stanley Cup run; would it be better to miss the playoffs and enter the lottery?
Larkin, Maatta, Bertuzzi, Suter, Sundqvist, Erne, Kubalik & Nedjelkovic are all seemingly players with value whose future with the team are uniquely unclear.
Who stays, who goes?
Jakub Vrana, Robby Fabbri & Filip Zadina may be the most polarizing on the roster and add yet another layer of uncertainty.
What value do these 3 have?
In terms of our prospects, Soderblom & Berggren have looked promising. It is reasonable to expect both to be mainstays as early as this year and certainly next. Edvinsson could see some action this year if the opportunity presents itself so you would have to imagine next year he will play the entire year. Albert Johansson could be another guy that could be ready to step in as well.
A couple other guys who could make a jump to the NHL next year could be Marco Kasper and/or Carter Mazur.
Other promising prospects; Sebastian Cossa, William Wallinder & Dmitri Buchelnikov seem to be at least 2 more years out.
With all that considered - what are we to do with the current personnel?
Could Marco Kasper be the dark horse superstar this team has been starving for? I’m optimistic about him but, I think another lottery entry would be more important to the future of this team than making the playoffs and be bounced in the first or second round.