A new owner, new city and an organizational profile that leaves the door open for strategic decision making on the team building front. The possibility that this team resembles the Coyotes of recent seasons seems remote.
Roster Ruminations: Calgary Flames – April 2024
When Brad Treliving and the Calgary Flames decided to part ways following the 2022-2023 season, it opened the door for former fan favorite Craig Conroy to move to the big chair. Conroy stepped into a tenuous situation, with the team having just fallen flat in the first season of the post Gaudreau/Tkachuk era and he inherited a roster with seven notable pending UFAs.
Roster Ruminations: Nashville Predators – April 2024
The Predators have been one of the more intriguing success stories of the 2023-2024 season. Former Preds player Andrew Brunnette returned to the Music City as head coach last summer and he’s led a plucky young group to a wildcard playoff berth. It looks like a similar story could play out next season based on the current model projection as the Predators are projected to be roughly league average again.
Roster Ruminations: Vegas Golden Knights – April 2024
The Vegas Golden Knights burst onto the NHL scene in 2017-2018, going all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. They’re very close to clinching their sixth playoff berth in seven seasons and won their first Stanley Cup last June. The Golden Knights have operated differently too, building their contending roster through less conventional means.
Roster Ruminations: Tampa Bay Lightning – April 2024
The Tampa Bay Lightning are the closest we’ve seen to a dynasty in the salary cap era. Back to back Stanley Cups and a Stanley Cup Finals loss away from a three-peat, they Lightning went on a dominant run for a few seasons. Cracks are starting to show, however, with a first round loss to the Maple Leafs last spring and a likely wild card berth on tap this season. How long can the Lightning hang on as a contender?
Roster Ruminations: Pittsburgh Penguins – April 2024
The possibility that the Penguins are ready to throw in the towel on the Crosby era just yet seems remote, however. It seems much more likely that they’ll continue to try to add pieces around the core to give the Crosby group one more shot at a long playoff run. The trio is not as dominant as they were at their peak, but they are still very impactful players. Crosby remains as one of the NHL’s best all-around 5v5 forwards and Malkin and Letang can still have a large influence on a game as well.
Roster Ruminations: Seattle Kraken – April 2024
The Kraken have been building through the draft since they rose from the deep and it’s their young prospects that will drive the long term competitiveness of the team. Matty Beniers and Shane Wright are the headliners and there are plenty more exciting prospects developing in the Kraken system. Ryker Evans and Tye Kartye have started to make their mark in the NHL this season already. This cohort still has plenty of room to develop before it peaks and it would behoove the Kraken to find a few more roster spots for their youngsters next season.
Roster Ruminations: St Louis Blues – April 2024
The Blues roster is not all doom and gloom though. Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou provided the youthful exuberance for the Blues’ cup run and they’re now full fledged stars in their prime. They are at the front edge of a cohort just starting to reach it’s prime and it’s time for the Blues to fully transition the leading roles on the NHL roster to this group.
Roster Ruminations: Detroit Red Wings – April 2024
It’s been 5 years since Steve Yzerman was named GM of the Detroit Red Wings. Fans have been very patient with the ‘Yzerplan’ over that time, trusting that their former captain’s direction would bring them back into contention. The Red Wings stood pat at the deadline this year and are finally in a fight for their playoff lives down the stretch. Is this season’s relative success the tip of the iceberg?
Roster Ruminations: New York Islanders – April 2024
The Islanders cap sheet doesn’t leave much flexibility to change course. They have a large contingent locked up on long term deals that sees over 40% of their cap space committed into the the 2028-2029 season. Most of the current roster is already under contract for next season and they have less than 10% of their cap space remaining to improve the roster for the 2024-2025 season.