Apologize for the delay, but I keep hearing the Canadiens are working VERY hard to land Matt Duchene...I was expecting by now to have more for you, but I will update if news breaks this evening/tomorrow morning...
#5 Ottawa Senators
On the ice…
The Senators were a success by all measurements last season and there are really no reasons they shouldn’t be able to once again challenge teams again on a night in/night out basis. Unless Erik Karlsson misses a lot of time…Karlsson is perhaps the Most Valuable Player for his team in the NHL…It's between him and Carey Price.
Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman have to be better than they were at times last year for this team to be a playoff team again…and Kyle Turris needs to battle every night on a consistent basis…and of course Bobby Ryan has to be as good as he was in the playoffs last year in the regular season…
The Anderson/Condon Duo will be spectacular again…but this division is getting tougher and tougher…
Potential Surprises…. * Logan Brown shouldn’t be a surprise but just how good he could be is almost limitless. * The Sens left Chris Wideman exposed, and Vegas went for Methot. Wideman may make the loss of Methot not quite as hard to take. * I like Dzingel more than most…
In the rumor mill…
If Turris doesn’t get extended and the Sens aren’t in the playoffs he is potential rental that could land a ton…
Best Case Scenario: The Sens continue to over perform and finish in 3rd and back into the playoffs..25% Worst Case: The Sens don’t get quite the good fortune of last year and fall to 6th…30% Most Likely: The Sens continue to fight and are right in the thick of things in a division where all the teams are within a few points of each other…
Crazy Prediction… Erik Karlsson WINS the MVP.
Coming up later tonight #4. Tomorrow morning early, #3, #2, and #1...