St. Louis Blues Season Preview

Make sure to check out my other season previews below this post! The Blues were within two wins of the Stanley Cup Final last year , but getting further than that this year is going to be harder than before. The Blues have lost Steve Ott, Anders Nilsson, Brian Elliot, Troy Brouwer, and David Backes this offseason and have added David Perron and Carter Hutton. Hutton will be the backup for Jake Allen since Brian Elliot is now gone and Perron will most likely be on the second line for the Blues since he can get points somewhat consistently. That being said the Blues traded their former starter which means they either have more trust in Jake Allen or Elliot is getting older who knows, but their goal tending should be a bit weaker than last year plus Brian Elliot was the league leading save percentage guy.  David Backes was the Blues captain since 2011 and is now gone which will hurt their play undoubtedly. He was their second leading scorer with 21 goals and Troy Brouwer who is also leaving was number 3 with 18 goals. Both of these departures will require someone to step up and score more. Troy Brouwer was the tough guy who can score goals and he definitely leaves the toughness spot open. Aside from all their losses they still have great players like Vladimir Tarasenko, Robbi Fabbri, Alexander Steen, Alex Pietrangelo, and Jake Allen, but they really need more depth players who can score for them. This season you expect it to be good enough to make the playoffs, but the actual playoffs may have them be taken out early unless they acquire someone else or all their young players step up. How big of and impact will these losses have on their play this year? Will their young players step up for the team? Will they make any more moves this offseason? stay tuned....

Tampa Bay Lightning Season Preview

Before you read this make sure you check out my Capitals season preview below and all the others I did 2 weeks ago. The Lightning have done amazing this offseason by signing Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman to 8 year deals and Alex Killorn to a 7 year deal. They know they're a competitive team so they keep resigning key pieces to the puzzle that had big roles for the team. They need to sign Nikita Kucherov since his contract has expired and he is a restricted free agent now. The Lightning now have 6.6 million dollars left to sign Kucherov and anyone else that needs to be signed and a trade or two could be happening sooner or later who knows. The Lightning have made it to the Stanley Cup Finals and to game 7 in the Eastern Conference Finals in the past two years and are so close to finally getting the Stanley Cup. The regular season should be better than last year as their players only get better, and they should have a good chance at winning the Stanley Cup. Their main focus this year is going to be the Stanley Cup and that's it. They have plenty of years left to do it so it really could happen this year. Is this finally the year? Will they make any trades to free up cap space? Will they be better than last year? stay tuned....

Washington Capitals Season Preview

First of all I'm sorry for not posting in a week or two, I just recently got back from vacation and I will start getting back into the routine. For a real explanation check out my offseason update post which explains everything. Anyways the Capitals have not really changed their roster this offseason, but the added on Lars Eller during the draft and he should be a good 3rd line or 4th line center for the Caps. Their new center core is Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Lars Eller, and Marcus Johansson, and that should be pretty solid this year. The Caps should be competitive once again, but in the playoffs if they make it they NEED to get past the second round. The Capitals every year it seems like have lost in the first or second round and this year they are looking to take the next step towards their goal of a Stanley Cup. The regular season should be just fine, but the playoffs are the main focus this year. Can the Capitals make it past round 2? Will they make any more moves this offseason? Is this finally the year? stay tuned....
 

Calgary Flames Season Preview

The Flames improved their roster for sure this offseason by acquiring, signing, or drafting Troy Brouwer, Brian Elliot, and Matthew Tkachuk this offseason so far. Troy Brouwer can score, lay out big hits, and bring leader-ship to the Flames since he's won a Stanley Cup and been in crazy playoffs series h will for sure improve the team. Brian Elliot finally solves their goalie problems that they've had for a while and can maybe provide veteran leader-ship to the young Flames. Matthew Tkachuk was drafted 6th overall this year and will be a nice addition to the team this year. The Flames are still a very young roster that has everything a team really needs, so maybe they can bounce back from last year and make the playoffs like 2015. You should expect improvement from the whole team, and maybe even the playoffs this year or in upcoming years. Also check out my Oilers and Blackhawks season previews below this post! Will the Flames improve this year? Can they make the playoffs? Will they make any more moves this offseason? stay tuned....

Edmonton Oilers Season Preview

The Oilers this season should be an improvement for sure especially the defense with Adam Larsson joining the team, but that means the offense should be a little weaker with Taylor Hall leaving the team. The Oilers were in need for a top two defenseman, but only got a top four which can still do them good. Adam Larsson is more of a defensive defenseman who is still young and can still improve. On the other hand the Oilers lost Taylor Hall who was a huge part of their offense and played with Connor McDavid and he is supposed to have a great season, but it could be not as good with Hall gone. Not to mention Milian Lucic who just joined the Oilers and he can score 30 goals a year and defend young stars like Connor McDavid with a fight or a big hit. Overall it should be an improvement, but still basically the same unless someone really steps up for the Oilers and leads them to victory and maybe even a playoff spot, who knows. Will Connor McDavid have a good season? Will they make the playoffs? Are they going to make any more moves this offseason? stay tuned.... Also make sure to check out my Blackhawks season preview right below this post!

Chicago Blackhawks Season Preview

The Blackhawks have once again lost key pieces of their roster and will once again have to adjust and regroup for the season. They have lost Andrew Shaw, Andrew Ladd, Bryan Bickell, Teuvo Travainen, Dale Weise, and Tomas Fleischmann this offseason and currently don't look so good. Their Panarin-Anisimov-Kane line will remain, but with Ladd leaving the team that once again puts a hole in the first line left wing spot. The defense should improve this year with former Blackhawk Brian Campbell rejoining the team, but it most likely will be weaker like last year. Overall the Blackhawks will be hungry to take back their title, but will have to work harder than before to get it. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are still in their prime so they should be good to go for a few more years before they start to drop. Will the Blackhawks make the playoffs? Will they be worse than last year? Will any more changes be happening? stay tuned.... P.S I will be doing more of these short season previews for other teams soon.

Off Season Update

So the draft and the free agent frenzy is over and we are now entering the "dead zone" of the NHL offseason. Not too much is going to happen for a while which means I will not be ale to post often during this time, but stuff will still happen during the off season that I will cover. When there isn't anything going on I will probably do season previews for some teams and or just talk about a specific team. So basically what I'm saying is be patient and news will hopefully come out so I can cover it. Just note that I will be out of town once again, but this time during July 20th-26th and if you're wondering I'm going to Los Angles. So hopefully something will happen soon and I will be on top of it within that very day so lets hope for news. Will more trades happen? Will there be any more major free agent signings? Who will win the 2016-2017 Stanley Cup? stay tuned....

Free Agency

So I am going on a weekend trip and most likely won't be able to post anything :( That being said it is free agency and I will review what I missed when I get back. I heard that Lucic signed with the Oilers with a 7 year 6 million dollar contract. David Perron signed with the Blues for a two year 7.75 million contract, Frans Nielson signed with the Red Wings for 6 years and 31.5 million dollars. James Reimer signed with the Panthers for 5 years for 17 million dollars in total, Loui Eriksson signed a 6 year contract with the Canucks and the money has not been revealed yet. Aaron Ekblad resigned with the Panthers for 8 years for 60 million dollars in total. David Backes signed a contract with the Bruins that has 5 years on it for 30 million dollars. Kyle Okposo signed a 7 year contract with the Sabres that's worth 42 million dollars. Brian Cambell signed a 1 year 2 million contract with the Blackhawks. Anyways Brouwer just signed with the Calgary Flames with a 4 years 18 million dollar contract. Eric Staal has signed with the Wild with a 3 year 10.5 million dollar contract, and those are some of the bug names that have been moved on day one. I will be back on Sunday or Monday so I will pick up anything I missed. Are these signings going to have a big impact on the teams? How much more is to come? Will there be any trades? stay tuned....