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Season Preview 2018-19
It’s our XL-sized Season Preview edition, featuring full-page break downs for all 31 clubs; our top 25 by position rankings, and features on Sidney Crosby, Patrik Laine, Seth Jones, Tom Wilson, Clayton Keller, Jeff Skinner, Ryan Suter and more. Plus, we remember Stan Mikita.
COACHES TO KEEP AN EYE ON
DOMINIQUE DUCHARME MONTREAL CANADIENS He has won a Memorial Cup with Halifax and a gold medal at the world juniors with Team Canada. Now Ducharme, 45, has his first NHL post as an assistant coach with the Canadiens. Montreal also hired Joel Bouchard to head AHL Laval. Both men are great talents with bright futures. SHELDON KEEFE TORONTO MARLIES His teams play with skill and pace, and his Toronto Marlies have an AHL title to show for it. Keefe, 37, is buddies with Leafs GM Kyle Dubas, but Toronto has Mike Babcock behind the bench. Babcock’s assistant D.J. Smith is another young coach who’s already attracting interest elsewhere. PASCAL VINCENT MANITOBA MOOSE The Winnipeg Jets utilized a lot of their top young talents last season, leaving the AHL’s Moose a little threadbare. Nevertheless, Vincent was able to bring…
5. CAROLINA HURRICANES
STANLEY CUP ODDS | 37/1 BEST-CASE SCENARIO Carolina was largely sunk by goaltending and defense last year and changes have been made in both departments. Petr Mrazek may be streaky, but if he can bring the good parts of his game to the Hurricanes, it will push Scott Darling while also netting the team some valuable wins. On defense, Dougie Hamilton is an immediate upgrade on Noah Hanifin (long-term is a matter of debate) and adding him to a core that includes Jaccob Slavin, Brett Pesce and Justin Faulk makes the blueline better. Up front, the Canes are led by the young and talented Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen, as well as two-way threat Jordan Staal. If center Martin Necas can crack the roster and do damage, Carolina has another scoring-line option down…
1. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
STANLEY CUP ODDS | 7/1 BEST-CASE SCENARIO Anything less than the Stanley Cup will be considered a lost season for the Tampa Bay Lightning. And there’s a good reason for that. This team, both on paper and on the ice, has what it takes to win it all. And the fact the Lightning are walking a fine line when it comes to the salary cap, this may be the year to go all-in for it. Tampa didn’t make a single significant addition in the off-season to a group that was eliminated in the East final and was shut out in the last two games of that series by the eventual Cup champion Washington Capitals. But the Bolts are loaded at every position. they have a potential Hart Trophy winner and NHL scoring leader…
2. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
STANLEY CUP ODDS | 10/1 BEST-CASE SCENARIO The addition of John Tavares, the most coveted free agent in NHL history, to a group of already lethal forwards was a game-changer. It pushes the Maple Leafs closer to winning a Stanley Cup than they’ve been since George Armstrong carried it off the ice in 1967. Consider Nazem Kadri scored a career-high 32 goals a second straight season, and he’s the third-line center. That is some kind of depth down the middle. The Leafs also have a promising group of prospects, many of whom led the AHL Toronto Marlies to a Calder Cup, which means plenty of competition for roster spots as well as injury insurance. Toronto’s defense corps also has skill, but is a little deficient on the defensive side of the puck. But…
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