NHL Hockey: Surprise Teams and Catalyst Players Roundtable
NHL Hockey: Teams That Could Surprise and Catalyst Players in 2016-17 (Group Roundtable)
Every year there is that one team that performs well above our expectations. Last season, we witnessed the Buffalo Sabres improve by nearly thirty points above their previous season.
NHL hockey is nothing like the other big leagues in North America. A rebuilding era is more than just a season of shrewd moves and a strong draft. A new coach can instill confidence in a team that has lost it, and every player needs to be in sync for the team to find any success on the ice.
On a weekly basis here at Puck Prose, we turn to our contributors and experts to get their opinion on various league-wide NHL topics. In our previous edition, we asked which World Cup of Hockey teams/players would surprise, you can check it out here.
This week, we asked our team two questions tying into one another. The first was which team they thought would surpass expectations in 2016-17. The other was which player on that team would be a catalyst for their success.
There was a diverse range of thoughts expressed. Every reasoning is different, but one thing is for sure, we have an exciting NHL hockey season on our hands if these teams perform well.
Suraj Sukumar (Contributor)
Flying under the radar, the New Jersey Devils have all the makings of an underdog story in the NHL. After trading for Taylor Hall, they added an elite scoring forward to compliment their current squad.
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Pucks and Pitchforks
Adam Henrique is not an elite offensive player, but when paired with a high-end scorer, he has proven himself in the past. Henrique found tremendous success with Zach Parise, and there is a good chance he finds the same chemistry with Hall. Not only did they play their junior careers together with the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL, they even represented Canada at the 2010 World Junior Championships.
In terms of overall success, it will come down to the young forwards for the Devils. Pavel Zacha, Reid Boucher, and Joseph Blandisi (spent time with the Devils later in the year) are all top-end offensive producers at the AHL level, and should get a shot at cracking the NHL roster. It will be interesting to see if anyone separates themselves in training camp, but the fact is the Devils have several young forwards to choose from in 2016-17.
The one knock against the Devils is defense. Several players are still young and inexperienced, but the leadership of Andy Greene can help bring the unit together. The Devils have always played well defensively, and there is a good chance they can continue that trend with the right combinations on the blue line.
Not to mention, Cory Schneider is an elite goalie and provides an incredible insurance marker from a defensive perspective. Even if the Devils have to give a couple younger prospects a look, they have the team to find success down the stretch.
Aly Dhanani (Contributor)
I think the Edmonton Oilers will finally live up to expectations and make the playoffs as a wild card this season. The Oilers have a great coach with playoff experience in Todd McLellan, and GM Peter Chiarelli has built a well-balanced offense that looked like it was coming together at the end of the season.
Who’s going to lead this team into the postseason? Of course, it’s gonna be the 19-year-old Connor McDavid. The sky’s the limit for this kid, and he us one of those rare players who can drastically alter his teammates’ production. McDavid is a legitimate candidate for 100-plus points. The big x-factor here is new addition Adam Larsson. The Oilers lack depth on the ride side of the back end, so it will be crucial for Larsson to prove himself as a top-flight defender.
Some other bold predictions? I believe Johnny Gaudreau and the Calgary Flames will return to the playoffs, taking the third spot in the Pacific. Big, gritty players like Troy Brouwer, Alex Chiasson and Matthew Tkachuk round out the Flames offense, and new coach Glen Gulutzan has a mountain of riches to work with on defense.
On the other end of the spectrum, that takes the Los Angeles Kings off my playoff board. The Kings lack depth on defense, and the once big, mean offense in LA is being countered by speed and skill from other teams.
One more prediction I have is that the Colorado Avalanche will contend for the playoffs in 2016-17 (though my season preview has them ultimately missing the postseason). Jared Bednar is the perfect fit in Denver and I think Nathan MacKinnon will breakout alongside Mikhail Grigorenko and Mikko Rantanen this season.
Joe Golding (Contributor)
The biggest shocker of a team this upcoming season has to be the Carolina Hurricanes. Last season, the Hurricanes were a middle of the pack team, ultimately missing the playoffs by 10 points. The ‘Canes boasted arguably one of the youngest and exciting defense corps in the league, highlighted by their big 4 under 25 players; Justin Faulk, Noah Hanifin, Jaccob Slavin and Brett Pesce. Add in a solid veteran in Ron Hainsey and that’s one of the better defensive units in the NHL.
Up front, is not as impressive but still solid. Jeff Skinner is a terrific player, Jordan Staal plays an exceptional two-way game, and youngsters Victor Rask and Elias Lindholm showed a ton of promise this past season. This would most likely be a playoff team if not for their putrid goaltending. Cam Ward and Eddie Lack finished 40th and 46th, respectively, out of 49 goalies in 5v5 even strength save percentage. If the goaltending holds up, Carolina could be a wildcard team.
Tanner Rebelo (Contributor)
The Edmonton Oilers are a team that is going to shock a lot of fans around the National Hockey League. Since the general manager Peter Chiarelli joined the organization their stock has trended upwards and this season is going to be their breakout year.
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With the veteran additions of Milan Lucic, Adam Larsson, Jonas Gustavsson, and the PTO of Kris Versteeg the Oilers have become a balanced team. Despite trading Taylor Hall to the Devils, the team’s offense will be exciting with Connor McDavid, Lucic, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jordan Eberle, and Nail Yakupov.
The team’s issue in the last couple of seasons hasn’t been a lack of talent, it has been a lack of veteran leadership, an issue that Chiarelli has fixed while improving the defense with the addition of a top four defenseman in Larsson.
For a comparison, this season’s Oilers will be what the Calgary Flames were two seasons ago when they made the playoffs with 97 points and then got bounced early.
Timothy Redinger (NHL Director)
What team is going to surprise? There are some teams that are expected to be better. Edmonton, Buffalo, Arizona, Toronto are four teams that have been carrying the torch at the bottom of the league for the past few years. The injection of so much high level talent should start to payoff for these clubs, and push them into the postseason. There is a chance for these teams to be “surprise” clubs, but the only surprise here would be for them to come out the gates in October and go on an incredible run thrusting them to the top of their respective division or conference.
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The team that I really think could surprise people is the Calgary Flames, but given their success two years ago, it might be expected that the team turn things around this year, with the team wanting to show that last year was a blip on the radar.
The team that everyone is going to be talking about this year is the Colorado Avalanche. Certainly I am a little biased as I have been a fan of the Avs since they moved to Colorado; but the departure of Patrick Roy is going to open things up a bit, and I think you are going to see a little bit more of a relaxed hockey club. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a slam on Patrick Roy. He is a very passionate man, and I think that hindered the club while he was behind the bench.
Doug Praskach (Contributor)
There is a surprise team every year in the NHL.
Every season there seems to be that team that comes out of nowhere to make the playoffs or finish much higher than expected. Two years ago it was Calgary and Ottawa. Last season, the Florida Panthers had 103 points to finish first in the Atlantic and Philadelphia nosed out Boston for the final playoff spot.
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Oil On Whyte
This season there is a young team in Arizona that could surprise plenty of folks. They actually started last season near the top of the Western Conference before fading when goaltender Mike Smith went down with an abdominal injury. Rookie Louis Domingue couldn’t fill in well enough for him.
They have made some interesting offseason moves, most notably by hiring young 27-year old John Chayka as their new GM. He is heavily into analytics and more progressive and creative moves than normal. Those moves brought draft picks, players, and even the league’s first full-time female coach.
Some of the changes he made brought defenseman Jakob Chychrun late in the first round and smooth skating D-Man Alex Goligoski to bolster the blue line. He also signed big physical winger Jamie McGinn who had 22 goals and 39 points for Buffalo last season. He bought out 34-year old Antoine Vermette to give prospects like Dylan Strome and Christian Dvorak a chance to make an already young speedy roster.
Youngsters like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Anthony Duclair and Max Domi should all step up and you are going to have a team that has talent and speed. Add leadership by the Jagr-like ageless wonder of Shane Doan who chipped in 28 goals last year and the return of Radim Vrbata who had his best years in the desert and you have the makings of an up and coming team.
If Mike Smith plays well and stays healthy, they have enough young talent and prospect potential to knock another good Western Conference team out of the playoffs.
Ryan Ritchie (Expert)
One could argue that Buffalo was the biggest surprise in 2015-16. In 2014-15, the Sabres were 30th in the NHL with a record of 23-51-8 (54 points), 161 goals for, 274 goals against. A year later, they finished 35-36-11 (81 points), 201 goals for, 222 goals against.
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While I’d love to call the Buffalo Sabres a surprise contender in 2016-17, it would be hardly shocking to see this team sneak into the playoffs. Instead, I find myself wondering which team might have a similar turn around this year. Oddly enough, we can look to the NHL’s most recent basement dweller, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Fans did an excellent job leveling expectations in 2015-16, but a similar finish again this year would be disappointing (even though a 20 percent chance of nabbing Nolan Patrick is tempting).
There are simply too many factors that suggest the Maple Leafs are destined for improvement in 2016-17:
1) Frederik Andersen – It’s still unclear whether the Danish netminder stands to be the long-term answer in goal for Toronto. The good news? He has a stellar three-year resume that far exceeds both former goaltenders (James Reimer and Jonathan Bernier); it’s not Vesa Toskala; and definitely not an established veteran on the back nine of their career (i.e. Curtis Joseph/Ed Belfour).
2) Improved Blue Line – We can expect to see even more improvement from Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner in 2016-17 as the pair continue to blossom into more well-rounded defenders. The Maple Leafs also brought back punishing blue liner Roman Polak, and added right-handed KHL standout Nikita Zaitsev. Lastly, we come to a trio of prospects that could impress in Rinat Valiev, Viktor Loov, and Connor Carrick. Couple all of that with a full year (for most) under Mike Babcock’s defensively structured system, this should be a tougher group to play against.
3) Youth Movement – Auston Matthews and William Nylander are locks to crack this roster. The other potential prospects we could see on opening night is a long list: Mitch Marner, Zach Hyman, Nikita Soshnikov, Connor Brown, Tobias Lindberg, Kasperi Kapanen, Kerby Rychel (among others).