I am generally an optimistic fan and I think this team will be anywhere from the bubble to first in the division. I think the mediocre press this team will receive is the perfect ingredient for Sutter to get them to play with a chip on their shoulder. He will have them playing the right way for the team to win. They have a lot of bounce back candidates and guys like Mangiapane, Dube, Valimaki who could break out in a big way
With their leader in Seattle there is opportunity for others to step up and hopefully it is done by committee and we see a team who hold each other accountable. Markstrom has the ability to be the best goalie in the division and if that is the case this will be a tough team to beat night in and night out. The added beef and grit through the lineup will make this an extremely hard team to play against and hopefully gives the skill guys confidence and space to make plays.
I really hate this offseason. Picks were spent on short term bit players, a 30 year old middle 6 winger was given a 6 year term at top 6 money. No one was really brought in to replace Gio in the top 4 and the one guy they got cost a 3rd and they are walking him right to free agency. The very unproven backup may or make not work but is a risky play. Top players were not re-signed and the core up front was not altered and the top 4 forwards from last year remain the same.
With all the negativity of the offseason I still believe this team underachieved last year and were better than what we saw. I expect a battle for a playoff spot at a minimum but I wouldn’t be surprised if they were a top team as well
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