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Yearbook 2020-21
Get everything you need to know about the upcoming NHL season with THN's annual Yearbook! It's 188 pages packed with previews, predictions, features and stats. We've got stories on Tavares, Hischier, the NHL's best young D-men (Hughes, Heiskanen & Makar); plus our Top 50 players list, and our staple four-page previews for each of the 31 NHL teams, including positional analysis, predictions, depth charts, stats and Future Watch.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
THE WINDS OF change were already blowing before the Canucks blew away expectations with a memorable playoff performance inside the Edmonton pandemic bubble, because the off-season cap crunch was looming. The post-season run ended with a Game 7 loss to Vegas in Round 2, raising expectations for 2020-21. Dispatching the Wild, Blues and rallying from a 3-1 deficit against the Golden Knights was proof that 10 playoff newbies – including the electrifying Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes – weren’t spooked by added attention and expectations. They amassed 18 and 16 points, respectively, in 17 games to quicken the pulse of a hockey-mad market. The contracts of unproductive Loui Eriksson and Brandon Sutter, combined with Pettersson and Hughes a year away from huge pay increases, tempered the enthusiasm. Unable to meet the contract demands…
ST. LOUIS BLUES
A FIRST-ROUND EXIT is not what St. Louis had in mind when it thought about defending the 2019 Stanley Cup. But after leading the Western Conference at the pause in mid-March, that’s exactly what happened, when the Blues went 0-2-1 in round-robin play and then lost their opening-round series 4-2 to Vancouver. Now they must learn to live without captain Alex Pietrangelo, who signed a seven-year, $61.6 million contract with Vegas. General manager Doug Armstrong softened the blow by signing UFA defenseman Torey Krug to a seven-year, $45.5-million deal. The former Bruin has the seventh-most points of any defenseman (335) since 2013-14. But Pietrangelo will be missed, and without Vladimir Tarasenko, who underwent a third shoulder surgery this summer, the Blues have a lot of questions to answer after last season’s early…
MINNESOTA WILD
BILL GUERIN AND Dean Evason’s oft-repeated mantra before last summer’s return was, “Why not us?” The first-year GM and the coach soon discovered why not: the Wild weren’t good enough. In their seventh post-season in eight years, the Wild showed again they weren’t up to snuff with the top teams in the West. So, Guerin tore apart the roster in an unofficial rebuild. Departed: Mikko Koivu, Eric Staal, Devan Dubnyk, Luke Kunin, Ryan Donato and Alex Galchenyuk. Arriving: Kirill Kaprizov, Cam Talbot, Marcus Johansson, Nick Bonino, Nick Bjugstad and, potentially, rookie Marco Rossi. This could be a season of further transition. Six players are UFAs in 2021, so there should be more roster flexibility and cap space. Evason had the interim label removed after going 8-4-0, Kevin Fiala is blossoming, the top six…
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
THE DEVILS HELD a celebration in July 2019 featuring a drum line, cheering season-ticket holders and even a Ric Flair robe to welcome defenseman P.K. Subban. Never before had the franchise partied over winning the off-season, but after too many years of irrelevance, hopes were running high. Acquiring Subban, plus drafting Jack Hughes No. 1 overall, was supposed to elevate the Devils into contention. Instead, three of the franchise’s most influential people – GM Ray Shero, coach John Hynes and 2018 Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall – were jettisoned long before another disappointing season came to an end. Now, with Shero’s longtime lieutenant Tom Fitzgerald calling the shots as GM and veteran coach Lindy Ruff behind the bench, the Devils are hitting the reset button again. Fitzgerald is building for the long…
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