Coach: D.J. Smith (since 2019). 6.5/10
2018-19 record: 29-47-6, 64 points (eighth in the Atlantic Division, 16th in the Eastern Conference).
Playoffs: Did not qualify.
Departures: Mark Stone (RW), Erik Karlsson (D), Matt Duchene (C), Ryan Dzingel (LW), Cody Ceci (D), Zack Smith (F), Ben Harpur (D), Brian Gibbons (LW), Oscar Lindberg (C), Aaron Luchuk (C).
Arrivals: Ron Hainsey (D), Nikita Zaitsev (D), Connor Brown (RW), Tyler Ennis (RW), Artem Anisimov (C), Ryan Callahan (RW), Michael Carcone (LW).
Top forwards: Brady Tkachuk (45-60 points), Colin White (45-60 points), Chris Tierney (40-50 points), Artem Anisimov (30-40 points), Connor Brown (35-40 points), Bobby Ryan (35-50 points), Jean-Gabriel Pageau (45-60 points), Mikkel Boedker (20-30 points), Anthony Duclair (30-45 points), Tyler Ennis (15-25 points).
Must-improve forwards: Duclair finished the 2018-19 season on a high note, scoring 8 goals and adding 6 assists for 14 points in 21 games. He's on the verge of putting it all together, and he may now understand what Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella meant when he announced in a press conference that Duclair's parents would likely be watching that their son wasn't going to suit up that night against the Montréal Canadiens because he "(wasn't) sure he knows how to play". The Duke has the kind of talent that produces 60-point seasons and maybe an All-Star Game or two in a 12-year career, if that talent stays within the confines of a system that minimizes defensive risk. Because for all the talent he has, most teams have three defensemen that are good enough to counter it and two or three forwards that are perhaps even more talented, so he cannot think that by scoring 30 goals, he'll bring 30 wins to his team by himself; scoring against the Piuttsburgh Penguins means very little if Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby also score on the other end.
Top defensemen: Thomas Chabot (60-75 points), Ron Hainsey (15-25 points), Mark Borowiecki (10 points), Nikita Zaitsev (20-35 points), Dylan DeMelo (5-10 points).
Goalies: Craig Anderson (86/100), Anders Nilsson (78/100).
Top rookies: Erik Brannstrom (20, D), Lassi Thomson (18, D), Christian Wolanin (24 years old, D), Max Veronneau (23, RW), Drake Batherson (21, C), Christian Jaros (23, D), Logan Brown (21, C, 2016 first-round pick).
Analysis:
There certainly is a lot of talent on this roster, but things would have to gel amazingly well for them to not finish last in a strong Atlantic Division. I don't know much about new head coach D.J. Smith, but I know he used to play for and coach the Toronto Maple Leafs, so I'm not overly confident there.
It's hard to believe this team was two years removed from a Conference Final, had the best defenseman in the game, two 60-point centres and possibly four 30-goal wingers and now has a bunch of guys in their early 20s trying to find their way onto a roster spot with their third coach in six months.
I think we'll start to see the fruits of that rebuild in two or three years and that they'll be good for a decade - unless the current trend of RFAs wanting superstar money when they haven't reached their prime yet continues, in which case this team will implode before they're even ready to get going. I'd love to be an NHL GM, it's possibly the job I would best excel at (well, that and goalie-specific scout), but I do not envy Pierre Dorion in the least. He's got a losing proposition waiting for him at every turn, although he's come out of the ones he's faced somewhat unscathed so far, but it's only going to get harder from here. He's got 30 vultures disguised as colleagues circling him, pretending to be his friend, waiting for him to slip so they can fleece him and buy low on his high-quality talent but limited financial means. A number that will soon increase, too.
If any current GM can do it or come close, it's him. Very little seems to phase him. Good luck!
Prediction: 8th in the Atlantic Division, 30th in the NHL.
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