Part 1: A Festive Wish for Every Eastern NHL Team
Between blockbuster trades, weird injuries, young superstars, a rising cap, Olympic roster speculation, and everything in between, there is no shortage of major storylines in the NHL this season.
As we settle into holiday-mode over the next couple of weeks, it’s a great time to take a look at where each team is at and what’s on their wish list.
As the opening piece of a two-part series, here is a look at the Eastern Conference:
Atlantic Division
Tampa Bay Lightning (18-11-3, 1st place): Brayden Point to play like he hasn’t already made Team Canada
The Lightning have been unreal to start the year (like usual), but Point’s play has been uninspired at best. He’s playing in some bad luck, but his shot attempts and offensive chances generated are way down year-over-year. Hopefully this is just a blip that he’ll play through.
Detroit Red Wings (18-12-3, 2nd place): 5-on-5 improvement
Detroit’s special teams are both in the top half of the league, but they’re leaky at even-strength, especially when their top guys are off the ice. They need a system change or to acquire a two-way bottom-sixer to tighten things up and solidify their playoff hopes.
Montreal Canadiens (17-11-4, 3rd place): A goalie to grab the reins
The Habs need one of Montembault, Dobes or Fowler to step up and deliver. This year is a huge opportunity for Montreal to take the next step in its rebuild, but they won’t go anywhere with sub-.900 performances. Poor goaltending is a killer for any (Connor McDavid-less) team with hopes of a deep run.
Florida Panthers (16-13-2, 5th place): A healthy Matt Tkachuk (and Barkov)
Ageless wonder Brad Marchand has been shouldering the load all year for the short-handed Panthers. If they want to have a realistic chance at a third straight cup, they desperately need an injection of offense and leadership from Matthew Tkachuk to propel them into the playoffs to be joined by a mended Alexander Barkov.
Boston Bruins (19-14-0, 4th place, 2nd wildcard spot): A Top 6 winger
The Bruins have impressed this year, but their highest scoring winger after Pastrnak & Geekie has 14 points (tie between Jeannot & Arvidsson). They’ll need to look for an upgrade to their forward corps before the deadline.
Toronto Maple Leafs (14-12-5, 6th place): Marner-less Auston Matthews to show that he’s still a superstar
Matthews’ production has trended down over the past couple of seasons, and this year has felt particularly slow. The last thing the Leafs need now is for the local media to start asking whether they got rid of the wrong guy in the offseason. He needs a patented goal scoring streak soon to keep the fans off his back.
Ottawa Senators (14-13-4, 7th place): To kill a penalty
With a 69.8% PK, the Sens are in trouble whenever they go to the box. This starts with Linus Ullmark, who has had a really tough year, but the entire unit is in shambles. A disciplined system and better execution are required immediately if the Senators have any hopes at building on last season’s success.
Buffalo Sabres (14-14-4, 8th place): Competence from Kekalainen
Having last made the playoffs in 2011, it’s hard to imagine a fanbase who has it worse. Though the Atlantic is tight, the post-season doesn’t feel like a realistic goal. Best case scenario, newly named GM Jarmo Kekalainen can turn some of his valuable UFAs (like Tuch) into pieces they can use to build around their young core.
Metropolitan Division
Carolina Hurricanes (21-9-2, 1st place): A superstar
Leading the division is nothing new for Carolina, but they need a difference maker if they want to win a cup. They’ve been in on big names recently (Rantanen, Marner, Hughes), so they’re clearly looking to make a high-caliber add, but they haven’t delivered yet. Look for them to make some noise at the deadline.
NY Islanders (19-11-3, 2nd place): A Calder Trophy
Matthew Schaefer has been a revelation. What a player. With strong goaltending and a good supporting cast, the playoffs look likely for Patrick Roy’s Islanders. A Calder trophy though? Less of a lock with some incredible goaltending from the Wild’s Jesper Wallstedt.
Philadelphia Flyers (16-9-6, 4th place, 1st wildcard): For Michkov and Tocchet to make up
Michkov’s ice time has dropped this season and there seems to be some friction between him and new head coach Rick Tocchet. What’s odd is that he seems to be playing better than last year. His goal differential is up and he is attempting more shots. However, his team generates less high danger chances with him on the ice. Maybe Tocchet wants him to share the puck a bit more. Either way, it’s in Philly’s best interests for the two to work on their relationship!
Pittsburgh Penguins (14-8-9, 5th place): A rejuvenated Stuart Skinner
After an impressive start to the season, the Penguins have come back to earth a bit. They’ve blown multi-goal leads two games in a row, and have had trouble defending much of the year. They’ll now look to their newest acquisition, Stuart Skinner, to help right the ship. Their first game with him in net? Against his old team, the Oilers. Appointment TV.
New Jersey Devils (18-14-1, 6th place): Their health
Jack Hughes, Simon Nemec, Timo Meier, Brett Pesce, Arseny Grisyuk, the list goes on... The Devils were off to a strong start, but have since been derailed as a good chunk of their roster has faced injuries both on and off the ice. Having some stability back in their line up in the new year is their biggest need.
NY Rangers (16-13-4, 7th place): More goals
A team with Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox and JT Miller, should not be 28th in goals per game. Although aging, there is way too much talent on this team to be in the same neighbourhood as the lottery hopeful Calgary Flames in this area of the game. The Rangers need to see more production out of their top-end guys.
Columbus Blue Jackets (13-13-6, 8th place): Kent Johnson to break his slump
Johnson had a major breakout last season with 57 points in 68 games. In 31 games to date, he only has 8 points, a massive step back. Will the former top-5 pick be able to rediscover his scoring touch or was last year just a flash in the pan?
From a new GM in Buffalo to a big trade out of Pittsburgh, the Eastern Conference has been anything but quiet this December. Whether it’s the gift of health, a better penalty kill, or for a scoring slump to be broken, every team will be holding out hope for their wishes to come true over the holiday season.
Stay Tuned
Next, we head West! Check back later this week to see what the Central and Pacific Divisions are hoping for on their wish lists.
