NHL Contenders: #10 to #6
Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
#10: Montreal Canadiens
ADDITIONS:
- Mark Barberio
- Zack Kassian
LOSSES:
- Brandon Prust
- P.A,. Parenteau
TRENDING: Standing Still
The Montreal Canadiens are likely going to take a bit of a step back this season. They haven’t really addressed their major problem (their forwards). They have improved their blue line though, which was needed. They have the best goaltender in the NHL (Carey Price), so they’ll definitely be contenders. But if Price has an off-year, things could get ugly fast.
#9: Columbus Blue Jackets
ADDITIONS:
- Brandon Saad
- Gregory Campbell
LOSSES:
- Artem Anisimov
- Marko Dano
- Jeremy Morin
- Mark Letestu
TRENDING: Upwards
If the NHL off-season were a pool party, the Columbus Blue Jackets came in a colorful speedo and did a huge cannonball by trading for WWE Champion Seth Rollins Brandon Saad. I love that move for Columbus. It came at a steep price, but thanks to Saad and Campbell, the Blue Jackets now have two guys who know what it takes to win a Stanley Cup. Campbell isn’t what he used to be, but he’s still as feisty as ever and he fits in with Columbus. They have major concerns on their blue line, but they have an elite goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky who can make up for those flaws.
#8: Pittsburgh Penguins
ADDITIONS:
- Phil Kessel
LOSSES:
- Steve Downie
- Blake Comeau
- Paul Martin
- Thomas Greiss
- Taylor Chorney
- Scott Harrington
- Nick Spaling
TRENDING: Slightly upwards
The Penguins made the biggest trade of the off-season, acquiring Phil Kessel from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kessel has never played with an elite center since his days in Boston when he briefly played with Bergeron. They have arguably the best forward trio in the NHL in Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kessel. Kessel will score 40 goals if he simply shows up to games. That said, the Penguins still have holes. Their bottom six is nothing special. Their blue line is cheap and actually pretty good. However, if/when Kris Letang gets injured, that could cause some serious issues. Still, they are a very top-heavy team. That top is about as good as any top that I’ve ever seen.
#7: St. Louis Blues
ADDITIONS:
LOSSES:
- T.J. Oshie
- Barret Jackman
- Zbynek Michalek
TRENDING: Standing still
The St. Louis Blues have had an interesting off-season to say the least. Changes were needed so they traded one of the better young players in the NHL (Oshie) for a grinder (Brouwer). As a Caps fan, I love Brouwer and always will. Fantastic dude and his Winter Classic goal is probably the greatest sporting event I’ve ever witnessed live. That said, I’ll take Oshie a thousand times over Brouwer. The Blues have a very good team, but they still need to make some more changes. Otherwise, the Oshie trade just looks dumb.
#6: Minnesota Wild
ADDITIONS:
- Mike Reilly
LOSSES:
TRENDING: Upwards
The most important thing that Minnesota did this off-season was re-sign Vezina Trophy finalist Devan Dubnyk. The Wild’s season made a complete 180 turn the moment they traded for him. If Dubnyk can avoid a huge drop off, the Wild will be right in the mix of things come the NHL playoffs. I still think they need to add some offense, but again, they have Dubnyk. I like the Reilly signing for them. Losing Stewart is addition by subtraction.
Next: #5 to #1