Isles have the crispiest defence in the league and a Goaltender that's exceptional. Just need a touch bit of scoring...like Gaudreau

Do we really believe in this group after last year?

Yes and no.

Defense was the biggest problem and, on paper, I think it looks good right now. Hopefully Romanov and Dobson are signed ASAP, although I’m sure Lou is gonna keep us in the dark until September again with them.

Forwards I’m not sure. Almost everyone underperformed last season, including the young guys we were all clamoring for more of. As for the older guys, obviously I’d like to move off of Bailey or Pageau, but it seems like those moves could be more trouble than they’re worth at this point. At least for this year, I hope that Lambert can find a way to utilize those guys more effectively than Trotz was and hopefully give trading them another shot next offseason after good seasons. The 4th line I think is a lost cause ngl and I hope someone in coaching/management recognizes that early and adjusts accordingly. I like how Ross played for the most part last season and I think he brings a little more jump to that line than Martin and Clutterbuck do rn and obviously Bellows deserves a chance to build off the progress he made last season.

So really idk, it could go either way. Maybe we’re still trying to add. But in truth, I think we addressed last season’s biggest problem and that gives me some hope. But we’ve done nothing to address the biggest problem of the Lamoriello Era, which is goal scoring. Maybe that issue can be addressed internally next season, but its a bit of a gamble.

Response to u in the comment above haha oops