NHL: Why Your Favorite Hockey Team Rocks 2015

Mandatory Credit: Gary Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Why Your NHL Team Rocks: Anaheim To Boston

Anaheim Ducks

Ducks fans have a lot to be happy and hopeful about right now. Your team is coming off an impressive season that saw the Ducks go down admirably against the eventual Stanley Cup Champions in the Western Conference Finals. Your team hasn’t lost any significant pieces from last season. Matt Belesky is replaceable. By who you ask? This awesome guy named Carl Hagelin. As a Caps fan, I’m ecstatic that I don’t have to watch him carve up the Caps with his speed and skating. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry are one of the best duos in the league. Your blue line is a bit inexperienced but has a very high ceiling. With the Hawks likely taking a step back, the Ducks might be the best team in the NHL right now.

Arizona Coyotes

Coyotes fans should be extremely happy because they’re still in Glendale. It was inspiring to see fans from all over the NHL rally behind the Coyotes while they were temporarily homeless. Even though Arizona will likely be tanking in 2015-2016, there are some darn good players in Arizona. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is a criminally underrated defenseman. He’s the kind of guy that you can build your blue line around. The best part? He’s only 25 years old. The Coyotes also have some excellent forward prospects in their system. Max Domi and Anthony DuClair both have a good shot at cracking the Opening Night Roster. If they do, they should form an exciting forward line for years to come.

Boston Bruins

This off-season has been a bit confusing for Bruins fans, but they have three reasons why they should be very excited for the season to begin. Two of them are line mates Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. You might also know them as the best shutdown in the NHL. They can go against any forward line and dominate them in terms of possession. That’s incredibly valuable. After Reilly Smith built up his value with the duo, Loui Eriksson is next in line for the patented Bergeron and Marchand bump that tends to occur when one plays a lot of minutes with the duo. The third reason? Tuukka Rask. You’ve probably heard of him, he’s arguably the second best goalie in the NHL next to Carey Price. As long as Boston has the trio of Bergeron, Marchand and Rask, they will always have a chance to be a contender.

Next: Buffalo Through Carolina

Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Why Your NHL Team Rocks: Buffalo Through Carolina

Buffalo Sabres

After a season in which one could argue that the Sabres failed at failing when they lost out on the number one overall pick, Sabres fans have some reasons to be hopeful for the future. They drafted Jack Eichel. He’s no McDavid, but he should develop into one of the best two-way centers in the NHL. They also traded for Ryan O’Reilly, giving the Sabres a ton of depth down the middle. They also might have finally found their franchise goalie in Robin Lehner. They paid a steep price for him, but if he lives up to his potential, he’s worth it.

Calgary Flames

Why shouldn’t Flames fans be optimistic? They have an exciting young superstar who looks like he’s still in high school (John Gaudreau). They have Mark Giordano, who had injuries take away possibly two Norris Trophies. Not only that, they just traded for Dougie Hamilton without giving up anything of consequence. Also, Jiri Hudler did this.

If you can’t get excited about that guy, get your pulse checked.

Carolina Hurricanes

The Carolina Hurricanes finished last season very strong. Though they will likely still be the owners of a top 10 pick at next year’s NHL draft in Buffalo, the Canes are definitely on the right path. Their blue line is sneaky good. Justin Faulk, James Wisniewski and Ron Hainsey should help the newcomers. Those newcomers could include two first round picks in Noah Hanifin and Haydn Fleury. Jordan Staal and Eric Staal are good players when healthy. Jeff Skinner had a Murphy’s Law season in 2014-2015 so he should bounce back this year. The Canes are making the right moves to become a contender in the NHL. That’s not happening this year, but keep the faith Canes fans, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel!

Next: Chicago Through Dallas

Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-USA TODAY Sports

Why Your NHL Team Rocks: Chicago To Columbus

Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks fans should be excited because they’ve witnessed their team win three Stanley Cups in 10 years. Back to the present, while Chicago lost quite a few guys due to salary cap space, they still have their core. Brandon Saad was supposed to be a part of it, but Marco Dano should replace him in that regard. If he doesn’t, look for Teuvo Teravainen to do so. It took a while for Coach Q to trust Teuvo, but once he did, Teuvo rewarded him for it. Chicago still has the best core in the NHL in Corey Crawford, Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa. As long as Chicago has those five guys and the best GM around, nobody should be counting them out.

Colorado Avalanche

Your head coach is Patrick Roy. He’s a player’s coach who picked a fight with Bruce Boudreau in his NHL head coaching debut. How could you NOT be excited about your team when that guy’s your coach? Colorado has some pretty underrated forwards. Blake Comeau is a guy to watch as he looks to prove that Colorado did not make a mistake by signing him. When healthy, he acted as a band-aid to the Penguins offense in 2014-2015. Nobody talks about Matt Duchene nearly as much as they should. He’s a darn good forward. So is Gabriel Landeskog, who apparently had an “off-year” with 59 points. I’ll take that from my captain. Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay, despite getting older, are still productive players and still fun to watch. Semyon Varlamov is a franchise goaltender. Their most underrated player? Tyson Barrie. He had one of the quietest 53 point seasons from a blue liner that I can remember and more importantly, he helped carry my fantasy team while Kris Letang battled concussions.

Columbus Blue Jackets

First things first: your team’s Twitter account is the best NHL team account by far. Even if the Jackets lose 82 games, your favorite NHL team can chirp its opponents better than anyone. Blue Jackets fans should be extremely excited because they have a forward group that is really scary. Nick Foligno is a very good player and should remain productive even if his shooting percentage falls. Ryan Johansen has redeemed himself and has become beloved by Columbus after a near-fallout due to contract negotiations. Brandon Saad could be the guy that puts Columbus over the top. Brandon Dubinsky is quickly rising on my list of “NHL players who are the hardest to play against” because not only is he good, he’s a pest and he stands up for his team. Sergei Bobrovsky is about as good of a beat as anyone not named Carey Price to win the Vezina in 2015-2016.

Next: Dallas Through Edmonton

Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Why Your NHL Team Rocks: Dallas To Edmonton

Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars are going to be an extremely fun NHL team to watch in 2015-2016. Their offense is basically a video game. Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza and Patrick Sharp should lead an offense that will be able to come back from virtually any deficit. Their defense was a concern in 2014-2015, but they did add Johnny Oduya. Oduya should stabilize the blue line for Dallas. Regarding their goaltending: there are far worse methods to getting above average goaltending than signing two guys who should be above average and riding the hot hand. I don’t 100% agree with it, but I think it’ll work for the Stars because of their offense. John Klingberg had a heck of a rookie season. I’m really excited to see what he does with an even better offense. Win or lose Stars fans, the 2015-2016 NHL season should be a really fun one.

Detroit Red Wings

Similar to the Blackhawks, the Red Wings have an impressive core. Offensive dynamo Mike Green joins Niklas Kronwall, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. The core might be starting to get old, but I think that young guys like Tomas Tatar and Gustav Nyquist could give them a nice boost. I think 2015 is when both of those guys take their game to the next level. Jimmy Howard is not far removed from being a very solid goaltender. I think he has a rebound season. While they did lose Mike Babock as their head coach, perhaps it was time for a change. The Red Wings are one of my dark horse picks to win the Stanley Cup in the 2015-2016 NHL season.

Edmonton Oilers

Your front office is finally doing the rebuild right. The Oilers have been the laughing stock of the NHL for so long. The Oilers, led by Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Cam Talbot, Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, Nail Yakupov, Andrej Sekera and new head coach Todd McLellan are going to quickly change that. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will the Oilers. However, this is probably the most optimistic that I’ve been about the Oilers in a very long time. There’s a ton of talent there. That’s undeniable. They have a front office that is desperate to win. Mix that with a head coach who knows what he’s doing and a 2015-2016 playoff run is not completely out of the question.

Next: Florida Through Minnesota

Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports

Why Your NHL Team Rocks: Florida To Minnesota

Florida Panthers

Roberto Luongo is without a doubt the most entertaining guy in the NHL. Whenever I need a laugh, I just read some of his old tweets (this one is one of my favorites). On ice, in a relatively weak Atlantic Division, there’s no reason to think that the Panthers don’t stand at worst a decent shot at making the playoffs. Nick Bjugstad is awesome and he probably has the most team friendly contract in the NHL. Aaron Ekblad is somehow only 19 years old. He doesn’t look it and he sure doesn’t play like it. Jonathan Huberdeau could have a breakout year in 2015-2016. Jaromir Jagr playing with a bunch of young guys is why hockey is amazing. Aleksander Barkov is not only an excellent center, he’s also hilarious.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings had a dramatic 2014-2015 NHL season. The locker room pretty much fell apart with too many personalities. That said, they got two Stanley Cups out of that motley crew and it’s time to move on. What hasn’t changed is that they still have some elite or at worst borderline elite players. Anze Kopitar is the second best two-way center in the NHL. Marian Gaborik has proven that he’s more than just a sniper by playing surprisingly good defense. Tyler Toffoli is ready to take on a larger role and should help replace possession demigod Justin Williams. I’m baffled how people constantly don’t mention Jeff Carter when talking about the best centers in the NHL. He ought to be in that conversation. Drew Doughty has found the “unlimited stamina” cheat and is one of the best blue liners in the NHL. Jake Muzzin is an underrated defenseman.

Minnesota Wild

Wow, what a run the Wild had in 2014-2015! The goalie who started it all (Devan Dubnyk) is back. They lack an elite scorer, but their offense is well-balanced. They get contributions from all over their lineup. Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Jason Pominville, Nino Niederreiter and Tomas Vanek lead their offense. Ryan Suter might not be an offensive dynamo but he still eats the toughest minutes life can throw at him for breakfast. There’s a ton of value in that. Mathew Dumba could have a breakout year.

Next: Montreal Through New Jersey

Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Why Your Favorite NHL Team Rocks: Montreal To New Jersey

Montreal Canadiens

They have the best goaltender in the NHL in Carey Price. Anytime you have a goaltender of his caliber, you have a chance to win every night because they cover your flaws. That’s precisely what Price does for the Habs. The Canadiens have quietly done a good job of patching of those flaws, making Price’s job potentially much easier. Getting Jeff Petry back is huge for their blue line. People might have mixed feelings about P.K. Subban the person, but Subban the player is outstanding. Max Pacioretty is a borderline elite goal scorer, and will likely be elite by the time the 2015-2016 NHL season is over. Take it to the bank. Adding Alex Semin to a one year deal is a brilliant move that could pay off big time for Montreal. The Habs have a ton of depth, especially on their blue line. If they can just be an average possession team, as long as Price keeps doing what he’s been doing, they’re a Stanley Cup contender.

Nashville Predators

There are people who think that Nashville won’t improve from last season. In my opinion, that’s false. Their young forwards are going to continue to grow. Filip Forsberg will no longer have to be sheltered with offensive zone starts nearly as much. That opens up the rest of the forward lines. Much has been written about the decline of defenseman Shea Weber, but I’d love to see anyone who thinks he’s “declining” to stand in front of one of his slap shots. Sure, he’s declining, but he’s still Shea Weber. Also, he has one of my sleeper picks for the Norris Trophy (Roman Josi) by his side. With other teams taking a step back, this might be Nashville’s year to be the best if they can continue to get excellent goaltending from Pekka Rinne.

New Jersey Devils

For the first time in a little while, it seems like the Devils finally know what they are (a team that’s rebuilding) and how to be what they are (by giving their young players a chance). Cory Schneider should have been a Vezina Trophy Finalist last season. Doesn’t matter how bad the Devils were, Schneider was arguably the second best goalie in the NHL, or at least the third best. I really like defenseman Adam Larsson. He reminds me a bit of John Carlson. Just like Carlson’s deal, Larsson’s new contract could wind up being a huge bargain if he keeps on developing as a player. Ray Shero knows what he’s doing. Be excited Devils fans, and see what the young kids can do.

Next: New York Islanders Through Ottawa

Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Why Your Favorite NHL Team Rocks: New York To Ottawa

New York Islanders

As a Caps fan, I am scared of the forward depth that the Islanders have. It’s ridiculous. Ryan Strome has to battle to get top six minutes. That tells you everything you need to know about their forward depth. John Tavares, Anders Lee, Kyle Okposo, Brock Nelson and Strome are coming back one year better and one year wiser. Their blue line is a little concerning, especially once you look past Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy. However, they have some guys who I think are ready to take their game to the next level. Jaroslav Halak is in net for them. If things get out of control, Thomas Greiss could be this year’s Dubnyk. Garth Snow is probably the second best general manager in the NHL.

New York Rangers

Like the Islanders, the Rangers have great forward depth. They lost Hagelin and Martin St. Louis, but they still have a pretty darn good team. Their blue line is a little shaky after Ryan McDonagh, but I think it should be just fine for them. The biggest reason why Rangers fans should be optimistic and full of hope is their goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Not only is he incredibly handsome, he’s also kind of good at this hockey thing. I don’t think there’s a goalie in the world that I’d take over him in a big game. Expect Derek Stepan to have a bounce back year and Chris Kreider to have a breakout year. Kevin Hayes is primed for a breakout year as well, especially since he’ll likely be taking on a top six forward role. Keith Yandle took a while to get used to New York’s system, but he’s a dangerous defenseman who can do a lot of good things with the puck, especially if he gets sheltered minutes.

Ottawa Senators

The Senators will be hard-pressed to replicate the magic of March of last season, but this is still a really good team. Erik Karlsson is the best defenseman in the NHL, bar none. Craig Anderson is quietly one of the better goaltenders in the NHL if he’s healthy. Andrew Hammond is a capable backup if Anderson goes down. Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Mika Zibanejad and Kyle Turris give Ottawa fans hope for the future.

Next: Philadelphia Through San Jose

Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Why Your Favorite NHL Team Rocks: Philadelphia To San Jose

Philadelphia Flyers

Your team is definitely on the right path after jettisoning the worst of their contracts. The Flyers got a third round pick for Zac Rinaldo, who one could easily argue is the worst player in the NHL. The rebuild under Ron Hextall won’t be quick but he’s going to do it the right way. The Flyers have a tremendous trio of Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek and Wayne Simmonds that should make things better for Flyers fans. Steve Mason is a dark horse Vezina candidate if he can stay healthy. Even if he doesn’t, Michal Neuvirth is a nice backup goalie.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins fans should be EXTREMELY excited about the potential of the Pens in 2015-2016. Not only do they have two of the top five centers in the world in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, now one of those two (probably Malkin) has an elite goal scoring wing in Phil Kessel. Kessel was a consistent 30 goal scorer even when his main center was Tyler Bozak. Graduating from Bozak to Crosby or Malkin makes Kessel a serious Rocket Richard candidate. If the Penguins are healthy, they are the best team in the NHL, in my opinion. Eric Fehr is vastly underrated as a bottom six forward and would most likely hold his own if he had to be a top six forward. Kris Letang is (hopefully) healthy.

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks are done with their questionable one year rebuild and are back to trying their best to win a Stanley Cup with Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. Brent Burns, Paul Martin, Logan Couture and Game Seven legend Joel Ward will assist Thornton and Marleau on their valiant quest. The Sharks pulled a pretty epic troll job by trading for former rival Martin Jones. A first round pick is steep, but I really like Jones. If nothing else, the Sharks teal jerseys are gorgeous.

Next: St. Louis Through Toronto

Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Why Your Favorite NHL Team Rocks: Blues To Maple Leafs

St. Louis Blues

Yes, the T.J. Oshie trade was not that smart. However, as a Caps fan, you’re getting a good player back in Troy Brouwer. Not only is he a good player, he’s an awesome dude who is very fun to root for. He’ll likely be in the role that the Caps should have used him in (checking line wing). That role fits him perfectly as a defensively responsible forward. He’ll fit in well with the Blues penalty kill and power play. Also, the Blues have one of the best shutdown lines in the NHL in David Backes, Alex Steen and whoever the lucky guy is who gets to play with that duo. Vladimir Tarasenko is one of the best scorers in the NHL. Ken Hitchcock is a coach who is smart enough to realize that giving your best offensive players lots of offensive zone starts is a really awesome idea. The Blues blue line is one of the best in the NHL.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Lightning fans have so many reasons to be optimistic and excited. They have the best forward group in the NHL, bar none. Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat form the “Triplet Line”, which is one of the most unique shutdown lines in the NHL. It’s basically a shutdown line that gets heavy offensive zone starts. While they get heavy offensive zone starts, they face the toughest competition. It’s weird, but it works perfectly. Steven Stamkos is probably the best goal scorer in the NHL not named Alex Ovechkin. Viktor Hedman should be talked about a lot more. He’s a dark horse Norris candidate. Anton Stralman is an analytics darling boy who is starting to win over even the staunchest of critics. Andrei Vasilevskiy is awesome.

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs are finally undergoing a full rebuild. The best part? It’s getting done the right way. The Leafs are one of the worst teams in the NHL. They plan on fixing that through the draft, which is brilliant. That’s probably the best way to get better. However, the draft is a crap shoot. How are the Leafs working around that? By getting as many draft picks as they can. In a roundabout way, they’re sort of buying draft picks. They gave Mark Arcobello, P.A. Parentau and Shawn Matthias (among others) one year deals. They’ll be flipped at the trade deadline for, you guessed it, draft picks and prospects. Speaking of prospects, the Leafs have quietly assembled a nice group of guys. Nazem Kadri and Jake Gardiner are two of the most underrated players in the NHL. I fully expect that to change this season.

Next: Vancouver Through Winnipeg

Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

Why Your Favorite NHL Team Rocks: Canucks To Jets

Vancouver Canucks

Canucks fans have two reasons to have hope. Those two reasons? Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. It’s quite scary how they are twins not just on the ice, but off it as well. Both of them played 17 minutes at five on five without the other in 2014-2015. Yes, they’re aging. However, they’re still awesome and likely will be until they retire. Bo Horvat should be taking on a larger role this year for Vancouver, which is a very good thing because Horvat is awesome.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals probably have the best team that they’ve had since at least the 2009-2010 season right now. Alex Ovechkin is still a goal scoring god who is showing no signs of slowing down. Nicklas Backstrom is criminally underrated as a two-way player. John Carlson is a dark horse Norris candidate. If the Caps go through another Game Seven (let’s not kid ourselves, that’s happening), we’ll get to see who wins between two unstoppable forces (Justin Williams and Braden Holtby in the playoffs) and an immovable object (the Caps in any Game Seven). Evgeny Kuznetsov and Andre Burakovsky look to take on larger roles in 2015 and I’m really excited to see what both of them do. Barry Trotz is a national treasure and a quote gold mine. I envy reporters who get to interview him.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets finally have a contending team. There’s a lot to like about the Jets. Dustin Byfuglien is a dark horse Norris Candidate. Andrew Ladd and Blake Wheeler are two very good forwards. Bryan Little is quite underrated. Mathieu Perreault is an excellent role player. The Jets, who made the playoffs last season, should be able to return this season even without Michael Frolik.

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