CGY needs a 6/7 D, so maybe Borowiecki or Hainsey gets flipped early in the season for a 5th. I know people are going to say Boro is garbage, but CGY does want to get tougher, and that is the only part of his game that is elite.
With this lineup, the Sens will have five rookies in the opening night lineup, with a couple more coming as players get traded, with Balcers, Chlapik, and Gruden as the most likely additions, and maybe JBD after his NCAA season is over.
First line is a possible first line for the future, and lets the Sens see if Brown can handle top minutes before the draft where they'll have a couple potential top-line centres available when they pick.
Second line will be all about speed, and let the fans see if White is good without Tkachuk and Stone, and if Formenton and Norris are capable of more than being third liners in the NHL (I'm skeptical).
Third-line should actually be ok. All three players are good near the net, and the line could see three players at or above 40 points on the year, and Duclair has a real shot at 20 goals if he can stay hot like he was last season. Either this is the frame for a solid third line moving forward, or a trio to be moved at the TDL for a basket of picks.
Fourth-line is where all the salary goes. Combined these three make $14.9M and scored 44 G-57A-101PTS last season. Kucherov scored 41 G-87 A-128PTS, while making $5.5M last season.
Defense is a bit stronger.
1D of Chabot and Zaitsev could be very good. It all depends on whether Zaitsev rediscovers some magic playing top minutes with a truly great young defenceman. He never got much of a chance to play with Rielly, and getting minutes with a player like Chabot should hopefully improve his numbers rather than tanking Chabot's.
2D of Brannstrom and DeMelo should have good success. The hope is that DeMelo can be a calming presence for Brannstrom like he was for Chabot last year. This will let Brannstrom focus on making things happen off the back-end and hopefully make his rookie season more successful.
3D will let us find out if Jaros and Wolanin are worth continuing to develop, or if the Sens should cut bait early like they failed to do with Ceci. With Thomson, JBD, and Tychonik coming up, the Sens need to figure out what they have in their existing D prospects, and make ruthless decisions about younger guys who aren't going to fit.
Répondre
CapFriendly
CapFriendly