Todd Cordell
The Vegas Golden Knights.
Though the Golden Knights didn't score goals like Tampa Bay, Calgary or Toronto last season, they did rank 2nd in scoring chances and 3rd in expected goals. They were impressively dangerous considering Paul Stastny only played 50 games, Max Pacioretty played 66, and they had Mark Stone around for fewer than 20 post-deadline. Next season they *should* get more from Stastny and Pacioretty, and having a full year of Stone is massive. If they can find a way to get Nikita Gusev signed, their top-9 could looking something like this:
Marchessault - Karlsson - Smith Pacioretty - Stastny - Stone Gusev - Glass - Tuch
That's an insane mixture of speed, goal scoring prowess, dynamic playmaking, and two-way ability. I'm not sure there's a team in the NHL that could take on Vegas without serious concern about one of those lines seriously exploiting a matchup.
James Tanner The Toronto Maple Leafs have the best forward group by so much that it's hardly fair.
Auston Matthews is the league's second or third highest point per minute player, while John Tavares just missed out on a 50 goal 100 point season.
Their third best forward had 94 points, and their fourth best - Nylander - is statistically superior to him at 5v5.
I am not sure another team in the league can boast of numbers 5-6-7 on their depth chart being Johnsson (a p/60 worthy of a first line) Kapanen (second fastest skater in the NHL after McDavid and Alexander Kefoot, someone who was said by those deep into the statistical analysis to be worthy of a Selke.
Also their bottom six includes strong, cheap, effective players like Moore, Hyman, Shore, Spezza.
Objectively speaking, no team is even close to the Leafs forwards.
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