2015-16 Preview Part 4
Part 4 of our 2015-16 preview series, showing where teams stand going into training camp, finishes the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference. It also begins the West Conference with the top teams from the Central Division at the forefront.
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CAROLINA HURRICANES
2014-15 Finish: 30-41-11 record, 14th in Eastern Conference
Noteworthy Gains: Eddie Lack, James Wisniewski
Noteworthy Losses: Alexander Semin, Anton Khudobin
Biggest Strength: Justin Faulk broke out last season, with 15 goals and 49 points, and emerged as the team's top defender. That's great news for the Hurricanes, as he is just 23 years of age and he will enter his fifth season in the league in 2015-16. Carolina drafted another promising defenseman in the 2015 draft when Noah Hanifin was selected fifth overall. The Canes almost sprinted to the podium to make that choice and he's expected to compete for a roster spot after deciding to turn pro. It also won't be long before 2014 first rounder (seventh overall) Haydn Fleury is in the NHL. Carolina is building up a talented and young crop of blueliners.
Biggest Weakness: Carolina's offense struggled for most of the season, finishing 27th in the league at 2.23 goals per game. The Hurricanes also ranked 27th in the NHL with a 5-on-5 goals for/against ratio of 0.76. The team's trouble in the goal department also led to a paltry .325 winning percentage in one-goal games. Eric Staal's hot streak at the end of the season (17 points in his last 21 contests) helped him lead the club in scoring with just 54 points. He was also the only player on the team to surpass 20 goals.
Player to Watch: Carolina has some great defense prospects, but Elias Lindholm is someone to watch up front. The 20-year-old will see top-six minutes this season and he'll probably see a prominent role on the power play as well. Lindholm should see an increase in the 17 goals and 39 points he produced last season.
ST. LOUIS BLUES
2014-15 Finish: 51-24-7 record, first round loss to Minnesota (4-2)
Noteworthy Gains: Troy Brouwer
Noteworthy Losses: T.J. Oshie
Biggest Strength: St. Louis has an excellent offensive group, especially on their top-two lines. Vladimir Tarasenko exploded in 2014-15 with 37 goals and 73 points in 77 games. His meteoric rise isn't expected to die down anytime soon, while he has plenty of support thanks to Alexander Steen, Jaden Schwartz, David Backes and Paul Stastny. Alex Pietrangelo and Kevin Shattenkirk have proven to be dependable sources of points from the back end. The group helped the Blues finish fifth in the league with 2.92 goals per game. St. Louis also excels defensively where they tied Los Angeles for fourth overall at 2.40 goals against per contest.
Biggest Weakness: Aside from their playoff failures, the most frustrating part of the Blues from a fantasy standpoint is their constant question marks in the crease. The team still lacks a true number one netminder. Brian Elliott and Jake Allen posted solid numbers in 2014-15, but their goalie time share cuts into their fantasy value. The duo is slated to battle for starts this campaign, with Allen expected to get plenty of opportunities to prove himself.
Player to Watch: Paul Stastny didn't provide the Blues with much bang for their buck in the first season of his four-year, $28 million deal. Still, he managed to post 16 goals and 46 points in 74 games while spending most of his time outside of the top-six forward group. Stastny is projected to take on a greater role in 2015-16 and his comfort level in St. Louis will be at a point where he can make more meaningful contributions on and off the ice.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
2014-15 Finish: 47-25-10 record, first round loss to Chicago (4-2)
Noteworthy Gains: Cody Hodgson, Barret Jackman, Steve Moses
Noteworthy Losses: Matt Cullen, Cody Franson
Biggest Strength: Pekka Rinne proved how valuable he is to the Predators last year. He missed most of the 2013-14 season due to a hip infection, but a healthy Rinne nearly led Nashville to a Central Division title and he finished as the runner up for the Vezina Trophy. The club also has a very strong defense corps, which is led by Shea Weber and Roman Josi, that chips in regularly on the offensive front.
Biggest Weakness: Nashville's offense was better under coach Peter Laviolette in 2014-15. The team had two players surpass 60 points (Filip Forsberg and Mike Ribeiro) for the first time since 2007-08 J.P. Dumont and Jason Arnott). However, depth scoring on the Predators was an issue. Craig Smith and Colin Wilson took positive steps in 2014-15, but Nashville will need a little more from them. A full season from Mike Fisher will help out the second line and James Neal is capable of producing more than he did during his first campaign with Nashville. The Predators will hope that Cody Hodgson can provide some offense from the third line, while 2014 first-round pick Kevin Fiala and free agent signing Steve Moses will look to contribute if they can land roster spots.
Player to Watch: Cody Hodgson was bought out by the last-placed Sabres after a horrible season. He should have plenty of motivation after he signed a one-year, $1.05 million contract with Nashville. He is projected to center the third line, but could also play as a winger in the Predators' top-six forward group. Hodgson had 20 goals and 44 points in 72 games in 2013-14 and he has a shot at posting similar numbers this year depending on how he is utilized.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
2014-15 Finish: 48-28-6 record, won Stanley Cup over Tampa Bay (4-2)
Noteworthy Gains: Artem Anisimov, Marko Dano, Trevor Daley
Noteworthy Losses: Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp, Brad Richards, Antoine Vermette
Biggest Strength: Chicago's depth will be tested again this season after the roster was carved up by the salary cap. Being forced to move top-six wingers Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad would probably cripple most teams, but the Blackhawks still have a very good core group (Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford) and plenty of players who can conceivably fill those holes.
Biggest Weakness: The hefty contracts of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, who both carry $10.5 million cap hits, hasn't given Chicago any wiggle room when it comes to the salary cap. This isn't something new to the Blackhawks. The team's handling of the cap was an issue in 2010 when Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd and Antti Niemi became cap casualties, but it didn't set them back that much. The Blackhawks will probably be fine up front this year, but the club's defense corps remains too top heavy. Keith and Seabrook receive big minutes in all situations because of their two-way prowess, while Niklas Hjalmarsson excels defensively. New arrival Trevor Daley will take Johnny Oduya's spot in the top-four group, but the third pairing is likely to have inexperienced defenders, like David Rundblad and Trevor van Riemsdyk, who are unlikely to see much action.
Player to Watch: Chicago has some openings on the top-two lines and it will be interesting to see who gets to play on the lines headlined by Toews and Kane. Marko Dano, Teuvo Teravainen and Artem Panarin are the most intriguing candidates. I like Dano the most because he has strong defensive and offensive instincts, which could endear him to coach Joel Quenneville quickly. He also recorded eight goals and 21 points in 35 games with Columbus last season despite averaging just 13:15 of ice time per game. The 20-year-old appears as though he would be a great fit alongside Toews and Hossa.
MINNESOTA WILD
2014-15 Finish: 46-28-8 record, second round loss to Chicago (4-0)
Noteworthy Gains: Mike Reilly
Noteworthy Losses: Chris Stewart
Biggest Strength: Minnesota has an outstanding defense corps. Marco Scandella, Jared Spurgeon and Matt Dumba are coming off great campaigns behind workhorse Ryan Suter and his partner Jonas Brodin. The Wild brought in highly-regarded prospect Mike Reilly to compete for a roster spot as well. More is expected from Dumba after he got better as the 2014-15 season progressed and we could see a breakout performance as early as 2015-16. Minnesota has enough depth on the back end that Suter probably could get his minutes scaled back, but it likely won't be by much if it happens. The defense played a key role on Minnesota's top-ranked penalty kill (86.3 percent) after they finished 27th overall in 2013-14.
Biggest Weakness: Minnesota needs to get more out of its offense this season, especially down the middle. Mikko Koivu slipped to 48 points in 80 games last year. His fantasy value has taken a hit because he spends most of his time apart from Zach Parise, but he doesn't generate offense the same way he used to. The Wild were expecting big things from Mikael Granlund, but he collected just eight goals and 39 points in 68 appearances. Granlund's point production increased down the stretch last season and he played well in the playoffs, but he still needs to up his effort in the goal department. In terms of offensive depth behind behind Zach Parise, the Wild will be counting on more progress from Jason Zucker and Nino Niederreiter. As a group, they have what it takes to help push the team forward, but more consistency and a lack of game breakers holds them back.
Player to Watch: Jason Zucker is someone to keep an eye on after he posted 1.59 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 last season. That ranked him second in the league, behind only Rick Nash, among skaters with at least 500 minutes of playing time. Zucker netted 21 goals and added five assists in 51 contests. Obviously, he still has work to do before he can be of use in standard leagues, but he has very good potential going into 2015-16. If Zucker can lock down a spot in the top-six forward group then he has a very good shot at being used in most formats.
