Training camp preview: Eastern Conference
Welcome to your pre-season guide to all the changes, expectations and predictions. Comes complete with a Burning Question and a Smart-Ass Answer
Ah, training camp. That time of year when NHL teams play a bunch of meaningless pre-season games to determine lineups that are already basically set. It’s pretty much three weeks of hot death, but a necessary evil to endure before the real games begin.
With that in mind, here’s where each Eastern Conference team stands going into camp, which starts for most NHL teams Wednesday with medicals before they hit the ice for the first time on Thursday. The Western Conference preview comes tomorrow.
BOSTON BRUINS
In With the New: Nick Foligno, LW; Derek Forbort, D; Erik Haula, C; Tomas Nosek, C; Linus Ullmark, G.
Out With the Old: Jaroslav Halak, G; Ondrej Kase, RW; David Krejci, C; Sean Kuraly, C; Jeremy Lauzon, D; Nick Ritchie, LW.PTOs: None.Rookie to Watch: The Bruins are loaded with veterans up front, but Jack Studnicka has been a steady contributor at the AHL level for the past couple of seasons. But it will tough for him to land a spot at center after the Bruins went out and got Haula and Nosek in the off-season.
Burning Question: How will the Bruins handle the prospect of life after Tuukka Rask?Smart-Ass Answer: The possibility of Rask, who will miss at least the first half of the season, being out will be welcomed news by a lot of people who seem to blame Rask for everything. Those people are boneheads.
BUFFALO SABRES
In With the New: Craig Anderson, G; Will Butcher, D; Aaron Dell, G; Robert Hagg, D; John Hayden, C; Mark Pysyk, D.
Out With the Old: Will Borgen, D; Jake McCabe, D; Tobias Reider, RW; Sam Reinhart, C; Rasmus Ristolainen, D; Riley Sheahan, C; Linus Ullmark, G.
Not under Contract: Rasmus Dahlin, D.
PTOs: None.
Rookie to Watch: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is third on the depth chart, but it wouldn’t take much for him to move up to No. 1. The question is whether or not the Sabres want to throw their top goaltending prospect into this tire fire.
Burning Question: Will the Sabres ever trade disgruntled center Jack Eichel and if they do, what can they hope to get for him?
Smart-Ass Answer: GM Kevyn Adams is trying to deal a disgruntled guy with a serious back injury who wants to have a procedure that has never been performed on an NHL player. Good luck with that.
Hockey Unfiltered with Ken Campbell is a reader-supported platform. Both free and paid subscriptions are available. Those who want to support my work are encouraged to take out a paid subscription.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
In With the New: Frederik Andersen, G; Ethan Bear, D; Ian Cole, D; Tony DeAngelo, D; Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C/W; Josh Leivo, RW; Antti Raanta, G; Brendan Smith, D; Derek Stepan, C.
Out With the Old: Dougie Hamilton, D; Warren Foegele, LW; Morgan Geekie, C; Jani Hakanpaa, D; Brock McGinn, LW; Petr Mrazek, G; Alex Nedeljkovic, G; Cedric Paquette, C; James Reimer, G.
PTOs: None.
Rookie to Watch: Jack Drury, son of Ted and nephew of Chris, left Harvard last season when the Ivy League teams cancelled their seasons and got some valuable pro experience in Switzerland. Whether he has enough to land a spot on the roster or go to the minors, where he’d play a ton, remains to be seen.
Burning Question: Were the Hurricanes out for revenge when they signed Kotkaniemi to his one-year, $6 million offer sheet?
Smart-Ass Answer: They say they weren’t. Which makes the entire thing completely inconceivable.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
In With the New: Jake Bean, D; Adam Boqvist, D; Sean Kuraly, C; Jakub Voracek, RW.
Out With the Old: Cam Atkinson, RW; Michael Del Zotto, D; Mikhail Grigorenko, LW; Seth Jones, D; Stefan Matteau, LW.|
PTOs: None.
Rookie to Watch: Yegor Chinakhov, the guy nobody had ever even heard of prior to the Blue Jackets drafting him in 2020, is signed and had a very good season in the KHL in 2020-21.
Burning Question: How will the Blue Jackets do with Brad Larsen replacing John Tortorella behind the bench?
Smart-Ass Answer: Not certain, but Tortorella thinks these (expletive) bums will (expletive) the bed and will prove to be a (expletive) embarrassment to the (expletive) league. (Expletive.)
DETROIT RED WINGS
In With the New: Nick Leddy, D; Alex Nedeljkovic, G; Jordan Oesterle, D; Pius Suter, C.
Out With the Old: Jonathan Bernier, G; Dennis Cholowski, D; Christian Djoos, D; Valtteri Filppula, C; Luke Glendening, C; Darren Helm, RW; Frans Neilsen, RW; Richard Panik, RW.
PTOs: Bobby Ryan, LW.
Rookie to Watch: Defenseman Moritz Seider will almost certainly be a serious candidate for the Calder Trophy. He was the Swedish League’s rookie of the year last season and was named the top defenseman and an all-star at the World Championship.
Burning Question: How much longer will the honeymoon last between the Red Wings’ fan base and GM Steve Yzerman?
Smart-Ass Answer: As long as Steve Yzerman says it will, that’s how long. Now be quiet and stop asking such silly questions.
FLORIDA PANTHERS
In With the New: Sam Reinhart, RW; Joe Thornton, RW.
Out With the Old: Chris Dreidger, G; Nikita Gusev, LW; Anton Stralman, D; Alexander Wennberg, C; Keith Yandle.
PTOs: None.
Rookie to Watch: Center Anton Lundell will get a chance to be the Panthers’ third-line center, but if the $10 million Sergei Bobrovsky falters, again, don’t count out the possibility of Spencer Knight taking the ball and running with it.
Burning Question: When will the Panthers finally break through and become a serious Stanley Cup contender?
Smart-Ass Answer: When the aforementioned $10 million man finally shows up.
MONTREAL CANADIENS
In With the New: Christian Dvorak, C; Mike Hoffman, LW; Cedric Paquette, C; Mathieu Perreault, LW; David Savard, D; Chris Wideman, D.
Out With the Old: Phillip Danault, C; Michael Frolik; RW; Erik Gustafsson, D; Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C; Jon Merrill, D; Corey Perry, RW; Eric Staal, C; Tomas Tatar, LW.
PTOs: None.
Rookie to Watch: Cole Caufield showed during the playoffs that he’s ready to survive and thrive in the best league in the world. He’s the early frontrunner for the Calder Trophy.
Burning Question: How good will Dvorak be in Montreal?
Smart-Ass Answer: Well, if you believe the hype surrounding him when he was dealt to the Canadiens for a first- and second-round pick, somewhere between Bryan Trottier and Joe Sakic sounds about right.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
In With the New: Jonathan Bernier, G; Ryan Graves, D; Dougie Hamilton, D; Tomas Tatar, LW.
Out With the Old: Nathan Bastian, RW: Will Butcher, D; Aaron Dell, G; Nick Merkley, RW; Ryan Murray, D; Matt Tennyson, D.
PTOs: Frederik Gauthier, D; Mark Jankowski, LW; Jimmy Vesey, LW.
Rookie to Watch: Alexander Holtz, a young right winger with an NHL shot, is envisioned long-term as a high-scoring running mate for Jack Hughes. Whether or not that happens this season will be determined in training camp.
Burning Question: Does New Jersey have good museums? Asking for a friend named Dougie Hamilton.
Smart-Ass Answer: Yeah, tons of ’em. It has the Grammy Museum right in the Prudential Center. But Hamilton will be too busy shoving it up his critics’ rears to have much time to go to museums.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
In With the New: Zdeno Chara, D; Richard Panik, RW; Zach Parise, LW.
Out With the Old: Michael Dal Colle, LW; Jordan Eberle, RW; Andrew Ladd, C;Â Nick Leddy, D; Travis Zajac, C.
Not under Contract: Kieffer Bellows, LW.
PTOs: None.
Rookie to Watch: Sebastian Aho, the Swedish defenseman and not the Finnish center, has a chance to crack a veteran-laden blueline.
Burning Question: Will the Islanders be a more exciting team to watch in their new arena this season.
Smart-Ass Answer: Lou Lamoriello is their GM and Barry Trotz is their coach. Bwahahahaha!
NEW YORK RANGERS
In With the New: Sammy Blais, LW; Barclay Goodrow, RW; Patrik Nemeth, D;Â Ryan Reaves, RW; Jarred Tinordi, D.
Out With the Old: Colin Blackwell, RW; Pavel Buchnevich, RW; Tony DeAngelo, D; Phil Di Giuseppe, D; Jack Johnson, D; Brendan Smith, D.
PTOs: None.
Rookie to Watch: Even though he played 20 games with the Rangers last season, Vitali Kravtsov still qualifies as a rookie in 2021-22. He only had two goals, but the Rangers are expecting a lot more offense from him in the long-term.
Burning Question: With the acquisition of Ryan Reaves, have the Rangers solved their Tom Wilson problem?
Smart-Ass Answer: Possibly, but now they have a Ryan Reaves problem.
OTTAWA SENATORS
In With the New: Michael Del Zotto, D; Nick Holden, D.
Out With the Old: Artem Anisimov, C; Evgenii Dadonov, RW; Ryan Dzingel, LW; Derek Stepan, C.
Not under Contract: Brady Tkachuk, LW.
PTOs: Tyler Ennis, RW.
Rookie to Watch: Defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker eschewed his senior year at the University of North Dakota to sign with the Senators and has a good chance of starting his pro career as a third-pairing defenseman with the big club.
Burning Question: After years of preaching patience, do the Senators have a chance to challenge for a playoff spot this season?
Smart-Ass Answer: With that defense corps and goaltending? Uh, no.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
In With the New: Cam Atkinson, RW; Ryan Ellis, D; Martin Jones, G; Rasmus Ristolainen, D; Nate Thompson, C; Keith Yandle, D.
Out With the Old: Brian Elliott, G; Robert Hagg, D; Philippe Myers, D; Shayne Gostisbehere, D; Nolan Patrick, C; Jakub Voracek, RW.
PTOs: None.
Rookie to Watch: After playing 20 games with the Flyers in 2019-20, left winger Morgan Frost was limited to just two last season after shoulder surgery. Defenseman Cam York, out of the University of Michigan, will get a long look in training camp.
Burning Question: Was Carter Hart’s sophomore season a one-off or do goalies actually go to Philadelphia to watch their careers die?
Smart-Ass Answer: Not sure, but if Hart isn’t dramatically better, the Flyers could have the worst goaltending tandem in the NHL this season. Martin Jones is the backup.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
In With the New: Danton Heinen, RW; Brock McGinn, LW; Dominik Simon, RW.
Out With the Old: Cody Ceci, D; Frederik Gaudreau, C; Mark Jankowski, C; Jared McCann, LW; Colton Sceviour, RW; Brandon Tanev, LW.
PTOs: Brian Boyle, C; Matt Bartkowski, D.
Rookie to Watch: The constant trading of first-round picks and prospects that will ultimately reduce this roster to rubble makes for slim pickings among rookie hopefuls. But one the Penguins managed to keep was 2019 first-round Samuel Poulin, who has put up very good numbers in junior hockey.
Burning Question: Will the Penguins be able to weather the storm without both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to start the season?
Smart-Ass Answer: Yes, because the Penguins always seem to find a way to be competitive. Brian Boyle, a 36-year-old who played only in the World Championship last season, will score 93 points.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
In With the New: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, C; Zach Bogosian, D; Brian Elliott, G; Corey Perry, RW.
Out with the Old: Blake Coleman, LW; Barclay Goodrow, RW; Yanni Gourde, C; Tyler Johnson, C; Curtis McElhinney, G; David Savard, D; Luke Schenn, D.
PTOs: None.
Rookie to Watch: Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. Left winger Alex Barre-Boulet is an undersized scorer the Lightning signed as a free agent out of junior hockey. He’ll get a good chance to stick as a fourth-liner.
Burning Question: Can the Lightning become the first team to win three straight Stanley Cups since the New York Islanders almost 40 years ago?
Smart-Ass Answer: That was four decades ago? Shut up.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
In With the New: Alex Biega, D; Michael Bunting, LW; David Kampf, C; Ondrej Kase, RW; Petr Mrazek, G; Nick Ritchie, RW.
Out With the Old: Frederik Andersen, G; Zach Bogosian, D; Nick Foligno, LW; Alex Galchenyuk, LW; Zach Hyman, LW; Martin Marincin, D; Riley Nash, C; Joe Thornton, C.
PTOs: Nikita Gusev, LW; Josh Ho-Sang, RW.
Rookie to Watch: Time is running out for Timothy Liljegren to crack this team’s defense corps.
Burning Question: Does the parade begin at the foot of Bay Street?
Smart-Ass Answer: What, you mean the one they’ll have to celebrate winning a playoff round?
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
In With the New: Matt Irwin, D.
Out With the Old: Craig Anderson, G; Zdeno Chara, D; Brenden Dillon, D; Michael Raffl, RW.
PTOs: None.
Rookie to Watch: After a three-year junior career, two World Junior Championships and a year in the American Hockey League, 2019 first-rounder Connor McMichael will try to crack a Capitals team that is loaded down the middle.
Burning Question: Will Alex Ovechkin keep up a pace this season that will give him a chance to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record?
Smart-Ass Answer: Probably, but it won’t be enough to keep this aging core from watching its Stanley Cup window slam shut in front of it.
I laughed out loud several times. Thank you.