Monday, October 19, 2015

NHL 2015-16 Season Preview

IT'S BACK! The chase for Lord Stanley's Cup is officially on. Thirty teams all vying for the same silver trophy. Its a long march for the clubs, an 82 game slate to see who has the best team in all of hockey. Some teams got better during the offseason, some stayed put with the teams they had. While others took a step backwards with loss of player personal. There's also a few new rules that are going to be put in place for this season.

First there's thew new overtime format to help decide games. Overtime during the regular season will now have three skaters per side, instead of the 4-on-4 format that has been used the last few years. However, if there are carry-over penalties from the third period to overtime, a side is still guaranteed to have at least three skaters and the man-advantage will be adjusted accordingly (e.g. a 5-on-4 power play at the end of regulation will be converted to a 4-on-3 one at the start of overtime). If the game is still tied after OT, the game will be decided in a shootout. We also have a new rule in effect for a coaches challenge. Video review has been expanded to include a coach's challenge, similar to the system used by the NFL since 1999. Much like the NFL, each challenge will require the use of a team's timeout. If the challenge is successful, the timeout is restored.

Teams may only challenge the following situations:
-Whether a goal called on the ice should have been disallowed because the attacking team was offside or interfered with the goaltender
-Whether a disallowed goal, called on grounds of goalkeeper interference, should instead be overturned because either: there was no actual contact between the attacking player and the goalie the attacking player was actually pushed or fouled by a defender into the goalie the attacking player's position in the crease did not actually impair or impact the goalie's play Inside the final minute of regulation, and during overtime, all reviews that would otherwise be subject to the coach's challenge will instead be initiated by the NHL's Situation Room in Toronto.
-All reviews involving whether the puck entered the net will still be initiated by the Situation Room.

Now that wee have some of the new rule changes out of the way, here we go with the predictions. Here's how I see the 2015-16 NHL season going down

Western Conference:
Pacific Division
1. Anaheim Ducks*
Anaheim has won the division each of the last three seasons, so what's stopping this team from winning it for a fourth year in a row. As a matter of fact, if you look at the way things have gone for the Ducks the last three years in the playoffs, they have gone deeper and deeper each year. Yes Anaheim did lose some notable talent in the offseason, losing guys like Francois Beauchemin, Emerson Etem, Kyle Palmieri, and Matt Beleskey. But they more than made up for it by adding in Carl Hagelin, Kevin Bieksa, Shawn Horcoff, Mike Santorelli, and Anton Khudobin. there's plenty of depth in the Ducks lineup, from the forward lines to the blueline to between the pipes. There's nothing really stopping the Ducks (baring injury of course) from going all the way to the Finals.

2. Los Angeles Kings*
Talk about a team on a rebound. After winning the Cup two years ago, LA missed the playoffs by four points last season. Sure this summer has been a bit of a rocky one. Los Angeles has been dealing with Mike Richards contract saga, not to mention Slava Voynov’s domestic violence accusations. Those two topics could be cause for concern during the regular season for LA. But, with the team that's coming back on the ice this year, LA could be very very good. Think about it. Jonathan Quick is still a stud in net. Milan Lucic was brought in from the Bruins to add some major offensive punch to the team. Pair up him with Kopitar and that could be a very deadly one two punch for an offense.

3. Calgary Flames*
Look at what happened to this team a season ago. They finished 3rd in the division with 97 points, trailing only the Canucks and Ducks. This year, whats to stop the Flames from moving up in the division? They made a pretty big addition to their team, by adding a top four defemseman in Dougie Hamilton. Michael Frolik was added to bring in some more offensive punch to the lineup, one which pumped in 241 goals a season ago. This team is very very good.

4. Vancouver Canucks
Coming off a playoff spot a season ago, having the 2nd best record in the entire division, you would think that the Canucks would be right back in the thick of things? They will be don't worry. Ryan Miller will be his usual self between the pipes again this season. They lost some talent when guys like Kevin Bieksa, Zack Kassian, Nick Bonino, Eddie Lack, and Shawn Matthias left for other cities. To replace what was lost, Vancouver did bring in Brandon Sutter, Brandon Prust, Richard Bachman, and Matt Bartkowski. Without a solid backup behind Miller, it does leave me worried as to what's going to happen with this team. Vancouver was a solid team a year ago, but I think lost a lot. yes you still do have the Sedin Twins holding down the offense, but the defense leaves a bit to be desired.

5. San Jose Sharks
Losing Nemi is going to hurt the Sharks. No offense to the guys who are manning the pipes in San Jose, Martin Jones and Alex Stalock, but come on both of those guys are career backup netminders. The big stars on the team, that of Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski aren't exactly getting any younger. Sure they still have talent to score, but they aren't anywhere near as quick as they once were. Raffi Torres was just suspended 41 games by the NHL for his hit in a preseason game against the Ducks, as if he was going to be able to stay healthy all year.

6. Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers team can only be improved after their 62-point season last year. Peter Chiarelli has become the team’s GM, Todd McLellan has moved to Edmonton to go behind the bench and first overall pick from last summer’s NHL Entry Draft, Connor McDavid-mania is about to begin. The team will improve slightly but probably will still be without a ticket to the playoffs.

7. Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes do have some youngsters within their lineup, guys like Anthony Duclair and Dylan Strome to name a few. But the Coyotes are still the organization with more questions than answers. The constant ownership issues rear its ugly head and both the NHL fans and owners want a resolution now. They still have goaltender Mike Smith and forward Shane Doan. Oliver Ekman-Larsson can contribute from the back end. At the end of the day, this is still a bad hockey club.

Central Division:
1. Minnesota Wild*
A season ago, Minnesota finished two points back of the top three in the division. This is a team on the brink of being a huge success. Devan Dubnyk was a big reason for the Wild success in the 2nd half of the year, going 27-9-2 after coming over from the Coyotes. If he can play like that again this year, Minnesota has themselves a number one netminder for a long time. Kyle Brodziak and Chris Stewart were let go, but still the Wild have a deep enough team to make a run at this thing. With their two studs in the lineup, Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, along with Captain Mikko Koviu, they have enough talent on this hockey team to take the division.

2. Chicago Blackhawks*
OK I know this is going to be tough to swallow but the Hawks have a chance here. Yes they are the defending Stanley Cup Champions, but there is a bit of a problem here. Much like after their first cup win in 2010, the salary cap has struck the Hawks again. Due to the cap, Chicago had to get rid of a lot of talent, including guys like Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp, Brad Richards, Antoine Vermette, Johnny Oduya, Kris Versteeg, Joakim Nordstrom and they let Antti Raanta walk in free agency. They did bring in former Ranger Artem Anisimov, who fills the long-standing need of a second-line center upgrade. They have depth on the blueline still and with Corey Crawford and Scott Darling as the goalie tandom in the Windy City, Chicago will be once again back in the playoffs.

3. St. Louis Blues*
This is a team that has managed to keep its foot in the playoff race the last few years. They have made the playoffs now four years in a row, as they will make it five straight this year, but they haven't won a round since 2012 and haven't gotten past the 2nd round since 2001. The Blues must get over the one-and-done hump. Sure making the playoffs is great, but the feeling would be even better if they manage to win a round come spring.  That could explain the Oshie-Troy Brouwer swap. Also letting go of veteran defenseman Barret Jackman makes you scratch your head a little. But it does show a shift in direction in which head coach Ken Hitchcock is looking to make. St. Louis has retained its core and stuck with the same coach-GM combo. St. Louis is good enough to lock up another playoff spot again this season, but expect major changes if the Blues get bounced early again.

4. Dallas Stars*
A team that won 41 games last year and still missed the playoffs. That won't happen again this year. But they will be good enough to make the playoffs again this season. They have a solid goalie tandom with Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi. Both guys are expected to split the workload between the pipes this season. Bringing in Patrick Sharp was a big boost to the Dallas offense, which was already lethal as is. Throw in Tyler Seguin and last years Scoring champion Jamie Benn, you got yourself a nasty three headed monster at the top of your offense. Jason Spezza, Valeri Nichushkin and Ales Hemsky will round out the Stars’ top six. That's a damn good top scoring unit. Its the blueline that's going to leave a few question marks in Dallas. Trevor Daly went away, traded to the Hawks in the Sharp trade. Johnny Oduya and John Klingberg are going to be expected to step up bigtime in Dallas to help fill some of the void on defense. Its going to be a bit of a rough start on D for Dallas but its good enough to make the playoffs.

5. Nashville Predators*
Nashville finished with 104 points a season ago, good enough for a second place finish in the division. Clearly that's not going to happen this year, but they are still good enough to make the playoffs this season. Goaltending will be strong again for the Preds. Pekka Rinne and Carter Hutton make a pretty good one two punch in goal. Nashville would have gone a little further, and had a stronger finish in the division for that matter, had Rinne been able to stay healthy. To make things better, from a defensive perspective anyway, they are one of the top units in the league. Shea Weber and Roman Josi logged 26-plus minutes per game last year and will be asked to do the same again this season as the team’s top-pair. In addition to Weber and Josi, two former first round picks in Seth Jones and Ryan Ellis make up a fine second pair. And throw in the newly acquired Barrett Jackman, and you got yourself a well rounded defense. Even at a relative strong suit, the offense may be a weak link, at least compared to the defense and goaltending. Sure they  have plenty of scoring punch. Filip Forsberg, Mike Ribero, Craig Smith, James Neal and Mike Fisher are expected  to carry the scoring load. By comparison to the rest of the division, the Nashville offense may pack the least punch of the playoff bound teams.

6. Winnipeg Jets
They made history just a season ago. Winnipeg made the playoffs for the 2nd time in the history of the franchise (the other time coming when the team was still in Atlanta). They have yet to even win a game in the playoffs, a streak that the team is hoping to end soon. Sadly this won't be able to do that this year, just missing out on post season hockey. Winnipeg is a good team, I'm not taking anything away from them and what they did last year. They have a solid goalie in Ondrej Pavelec. The defense, lead by Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Meyers, Jacob Trouba and Tobias Enstrom. Then you have a decent scoring punch in Brian Little, Blake Wheeler and Andrew Ladd leading the charge. But where the Jets suffer is the fact that the rest of the division is once again loaded and it will be very tough to get back to the playoffs in the Central Division.

7. Colorado Avalanche
Patrick Roy got off to a great start to his coaching career, making the playoffs in his first year behind the bench. Last year, the team stunk, coming in last place in their division. They made a lot of changes this summer, but they brought in a lot of quality hockey players in the process. They had to part way with Ryan O’Reilly, but acquired players like Mikhail Griorenko, Carl Soderberg and Blake Comeau. Their top line of Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene and Nathan Mackinnon has the ability to be one of the most productive lines in hockey for years to come. Joining them in the top-six are veterans Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay, who should help Grigorenko and the rest of the young players develop into great NHLers. This is an up and coming group to be sure, but they are probably another year away from a playoff berth. Francois Beauchemin and Nikita Zadorov were brought in to try and bolster a weak defense, but it may not be enough. Semyon Varlamov is going to be relied on again heavily, and if he can stay healthy and return to old for it might be a way to help the team out. Otherwise it doesn't look to good for Colorado.

Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
1. Tampa Bay Lightning *
Here's a team who a season ago made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. What's to stop them from going back there again this year. They didn't really retool this team at all in the offseason, a credit to how confident Steve Yzerman is in the team he has assembled. Steven Stamkos is still the undisputed leader of this hockey team, that's not going to change. He will be a free agent at the end of the season, but there's a good chance that the Lightning are going to get him locked up before it goes that far. To back up Stamkos in the scoring department is going to be the Triplets line of Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov, all of whom had a big impact last year in the playoffs, will be counted on to do it again this year. From the back end, Victor Hedman had a breakout year last year, taking a role of leader of the defense corp. This year he and Jason Garrison will be counted on to do it again in Tampa. Ben Bishop will be counted on again to handle the goalie duties this year, after coming off a monster year last year. It'll be a slow start to the year for Bishop, who's dealing with health issues at the start, but will have plenty of support in net from Andrei Vasilevskiy, whos a more than capable backup. This team is balanced from top to bottom, making them one of the biggest threats to come out of the East

2. Montreal Canadiens*
A team with the best record in the Eastern Conference is looking to get back to the top again this season. A second round playoff exit wasn't what the Canadiens were looking for, but the 2nd round appearances was pretty cool never the less. Now Montreal is in a place to get back there again this season. Max Pacioretty is coming off a huge season last year, and is in a good place to do that again this year. He's not the only Montreal forward who can fire the puck. Tomas Plekanec, David Desharnais and Alex Galchenyuk are all poised to help Pacioretty in filling the opposing nets. Scoring goals is one thing, but keeping them out of the nets is another entirely. PK Subban and Andrei Markov are once again going to be counted on to anchor the blueline and keep the opposition off the scoresheet. If that, for some reason, breaks down, there's the goaltending. Carey Price is again the man in the Montreal nets. He's coming off a huge year last year, winning 44 games and walking away with some hardware (Vezna trophy as top goalie and Hart trophy as MVP). He could be poised for another good this year, although I don't think quite as big as last year. Behind him though is a bit of a question mark. Dustin Tokarski was waved at the start of the season, laving Mike Condon as Price's backup. Condon I'm sure is a good goalie, but if Price gets hurt or misses significant time, Montreal could be in trouble.

3. Detroit Red Wings*
You want to talk about a model organization, look no further than the Red Wings. Ever since the 1990-91 season, Detroit has made the playoffs, a streak that they will continue on this year. Jeff Blashill comes in as new head coach, looking to keep the Wings on track. He has plenty of talent to work with. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg are still leading the charge on offense, though not they players they once were, they can still produce. Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyqvist, Riley Sheahan and Justin Abdelkader help provide scoring depth for the Wings. Nick Kronwall is still a major force on the Detroit blueline, but Detroit wanted to take some pressure off him. Enter Mike Green. The high scoring rearguard will add a little more offensive punch to an already solid Detroit blueline. In goal, the only question mark is health. Both Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek have the talent to carry a team into contention. Howard had health issues last season, which cost him playing time. Detroit has enough talent to make a good run in the playoffs. But can they stay healthy? Thats the million dollar question.

4. Ottawa Senators
Coming off a surprise year last year, making the playoffs as an 8th seed, Ottawa is looking to get back there again this season. Andrew Hammond came up last year and the Senators caught fire. The lone question I have with this team is does Hammond still have the magic he came in with last year? We will find out when he comes back from injury. Until then, Craig Anderson will have to hold the fort down till Hammond comes back and they can split duties. Erik Karlsson will once again be leading the charge on the blueline for Ottawa, a man who can not only shut down the opposition, but knows how to put the puck in the back of the net as well. Chris Wideman, Patrick Wiercioch, and Cody Ceci are more than capable of taking the pressure off Karlsson on the blueline. Up front, scoirng is something to keep an eye on. Booby Ryan is a former 30+ goal scorer who is looking to get back to form. Mike Hoffman had a good year in the goal department and will be able to build off that again this season. Mark Stone and Kyle Turris will be also counted

5. Boston Bruins
Two points. Two lousy stinking points is all that seperated Boston from the playoffs a season ago. Due to that, it caused a few heads to roll and some major changes to be made in Boston. Peter Chiarelli was fired as GM and replaced by Don Sweeney. Two of their better players, Milan Lucic (Los Angeles) and Dougie Hamilton (Calgary) were sent away. The depth of the Bruins was also depleted, with the team losing Reilly Smith, Carl Soderberg, Matt Bartkowski, and Gregory Campbell. There was a bit of upside to the offseason in Beantown. Matt Beleskey to try and replace the size and scoring they lost. Beleskey joins a quality group that consists of Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Brad Marchand and one of the best young forwards in the NHL in David Pastrnak. Chara and Krug are still leading a talented defense coprp. Tuukka Rask is the Man in the Boston nets, but behind him is Jonas Gustavsson, who's hoping to add a little stability to the spot behind Rask. Boston is an OK team, but they're not deep enough to get into the playoffs.

6. Florida Panthers
Here's a young team that could be coming along quite nicely. Look at what happened after the trade deadline last year. Florida went 10-6-1. You stretch that out over a full season, its a 48 win year. And why not, this team has the tools to make this possible., The tandom in net of Roberto Lunogo and Al Montoya is going to keep the Panthers in a lot of games. Same thing with the defense, being lead by Aaron Ekblad, Brian Campbell and Dmitry Kulikov. Up front, somehow he still manages to keep doing this, Jaromir Jagr is keeping going at age 43. He's helping lead a young talented group that has skill players like Jonathan Huberdeau, Aleksander Barkov, and Nick Bjugstad. This team has plenty of room to go up in the division, but this year may not be the time.

7. Buffalo Sabres
Talk about a team in a rebuild mode, you got it here in Buffalo. Adding second overall pick Jack Eichel and making multiple offseason moves, the Sabres appear poised to move up the standings a little bit this year. David Legwand and Ryan O'Reilly were brought in, along with Eichel, to help boast an offense that could have something. A team with talent like Tyler Ennis, Brian Gionta, Matt Moulson, and Evander Kane. Buffalo could fill the net once they find a right mix. The blueline and goaltending may leave a little to be desired. Nikita Zadorov, Rasmus Ristolainen and Zach Bogosian are the anchors on the blueline, which is a question mark. Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson are the two men manning the nets. Not great, but not bad either. Decent team that has a little bit of potential.

8. Toronto Maple Leafs
My how they have fallen. It seems like not that long ago, all people would talk about how good the Leafs are. People are still talking, but now its how bad they are. Got rid of Phil Kessel, brought in P.A Parenteau, Shawn Matthias, Daniel Winnik, Mark Arcobello, Matt Hunwick and Nick Spaling. Lou Lamorillo and new coach Mike Babcock are trying to rebuild the team in a new image. But lests face facts, even with the new faces in the place, the Leafs are still a bad team.

Metropolitan Division
1. Washington Capitals*
A second place finish in the Division was what the Capitals had. This year is going to be a different year for the Caps. They will win their first division title since 2013 this year. Sure they took a bit of a hit in the offseason. Not having Mike Green on the blueline is going to hurt a little, he has been mister reliable for the Caps in years past. John Carlson and Matt Niskanen are going to be counted on more. From an offensive perspective, Joel Ward and Troy Brouwer have left town and that left a little bit of a void in the depth on offense for Washington. So management went out and landed a big finsh up front. US Olympic hero T.J Oshie. Justin Williams and Oshie were brought in to bolster a lineup that already includes talent like Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstro, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky. Washington is going to have plenty of scoring punch. One of the biggest reasons the Caps can win this division is goalie Braden Holtby. Holtby started a league-high 73 games, ranked second in Wins (41) and shutouts (9), fifth in GAA (2.22) and seventh in SV% (.923). He won't start that many games this year but is still just as outstanding a netminder.

2. New York Rangers*
Here we have another stronghold in the Metro Division. The Broadway Blueshirts are a team that has played in the Eastern Conference Finals three times in the last four years. What's to stop them from doing it again this year as well. They still have the best goalie on the planet in Henrik Lundqvist. He is that good and then some, but the problem here is he isn't getting any younger. He can still go in net, but his window for a title is starting to shrink a little. On the blueline, the Rangers have a lot going for them. Keith Yandle, Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Dan Boyle and Kevin Klein can be considered one of the top defensive units in all of professional hockey. Then there's the offense. Martin St. Louis has called it a career, and Carl Haglin was traded away. So to suplement that, Emerson Etem and Viktor Stalberg were brought on board to help support the scoring exploits of guys like Rick Nash, Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello, Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes. This team has a lot of talent to make a lot of noise and be a force in the Eastern Conference.

3. Pittsburgh Penguins*
There has been a lot done to try and re-tool this Pittsburgh squad. They have made the playoffs in each of the last nine season, but haven't been able to get out of the 2nd round in the last five years. Sure they still have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin leading the offensive charge. They have a few new weapons to work with up front. Phil Kessel was the biggest name that was brought on board. Eric Fehr and Matt Cullen were also brought in to build around the Pens big three on offense. Then they still have Chris Kunitz and David Perron who can still be factors. So the Pens have the scoring punch. Defensively, the Pens have a few issues. Olli Maatta and Derrick Pouliot are going to have to step up because it doesn't look like Kris Letang can stay healthy. Letang hasn't played a full season since 2010-11, so it'll be something to keep an eye on. Marc-Andre Fleury is still a top tier netminder, but he hasn't been quite the same goalie over the past few seasons. It's most notable come playoff time. Jeff Zatkoff is the backup, but he does leave a little to be desired if something happens to Fleury.

4. New York Islanders*
Here we go with a team that's looking to have another strong season. Thye are trying to build off last years playoff year, hoping to break a 23 year slump and win a playoff round. The Isles offense is once again stacked. Lead by perennial Hart Trophy candidate John Tavares, the Islanders have a solid supporting cast around him. Guys like Kyle Okposo, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, Josh Bailey, Frans Nielsen and Ryan Strome can help provide the offensive punch. Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy are once again going to be counted just as much this year as they were last year. Jaroslav Halak is going to have another big year in net again for the Islanders but the question mark once again is going to be the backup goalie. Thomas Greiss was brought in over the summer. He is a high-end backup and will pick up the slack if Halak falters. This team is good enough to not only get into the playoffs, but make a nice run at it.

5. Philadelphia Flyers*
Dave Hakstol is coming in with a lot on his plate this season. He's got a few good pieces to work with in Philly. Steve Mason back in net again this year in Philly, coming off 51 starts last year. If he can stay health, he'll be just fine and could start close to 70 games. With Michal Neuvirth backing him up, Mason will be challenged to keep the top position between the pipes in Philly. ON the blueline, Mark Streit can still be productive. Michael Del Zotto and Radko Gudas are going to hold down the top spots on the blueline and make sure the crease is clear in front of whoever is in net. And of course you also have Luke Schenn there to pick up some of the slack and round out the top four. Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek are going to be counted on again to help carry the offensive load, which Giroux will have no problem doing. Wayne Simmonds should have no problem keeping up his scoring place from last year. Throw in Brayden Schenn and Sean Couturier, bogth of whom keep getting better year in and year out, the Flyers have enough talent in the lineup to become a playoff team.

6. Columbus Blue Jackets
Injuries took their tole on the Jackets last season, a team that missed out on the playoffs by nine points a season ago. This year, they made a big splash in the offseason by picking up Brandon Saad from the Hawks. Saad has a good scoring touch around the net and will provide a nice scoring touch for the Jackets, something they really need. Saad will likely play with budding superstar Ryan Johansen and the two could form one of the most dynamic duos in the league for many years. They’re joined by Nick Foligno, Scott Hartnell and Brandon Dubinsky, who make up a pretty good supporting cast. Jack Johnson has really taken strides on the Columbus Blue line, getting better and better. In goal is once again going to be Sergei Bobrovsky, a star goalie in the making. The Jackets may come up just a bit short in the playoff push but they will surely make it close.

7. Carolina Hurricanes
This is a team that is a work in progress, but they are taking little steps in the right direction. The Staal brothers, Eric and Jordan, are going to once again carry the offense for the Canes. Kris Versteegn was brought on board to help improve the team, something he should have no problem doing. Throw in guys like Jeff Skinner, Elias Lindholm and Victor Rask should be able to carry the offense. Justin Faulk has turned himself into a great all around defensemen and Ryan Murphy is just scratching the surface offensively. This offseason they brought in veteran James Wisniewski, who will help the power-play and their 2014 first-round pick, Haydn Fleury, should make an impact in 2015-16. Then there's Cam Ward in net. When healthy he has top end talent. Having Eddie Lack as a backup will keep the Hurricanes in contention for a little while at least.

8. New Jersey Devils
Things have been a bit of a struggle in Jersey the last few years, having not made the post season since their trip to the finals in 2012. Sadly this year won't happen either, Jersey is going to miss out again. They have a good goalie in Corey Schneider, who has really come into his own as a goalie and will make an impact in Jersey for a long time. Adam Larsson, Damon Severson and Eric Gelinas are going to have to do a lot of the heavy lifting on the blueline this year, a weak spot that the Devils are going to need to try and improve apon if they want to get back to the playoff contention. Another big problem for the Devils is going to be scoring Kyle Palmieri, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But, New Jersey added him this summer and he will likely play on their top line and could lead the team in points. No disrespect to Palmieri, he is a quality forward, but he shouldn’t be leading your team in points. Mike Cammalleri will do what he does. Play roughly 65 games and score roughly 25 goals. Adam Henrique is a solid second line centre but so is Travis Zajac. The problem? One of them has to be a first line centre. Zajac was god awful last year…He can’t be worse this season, but he will probably only be fantasy relevant in deep leagues.

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