Game 1 is finally upon us.
We knew it was going to be a tough offseason. We didn’t anticipate hiring a new GM but Don Waddell left and Eric Tulsky was promoted. The Canes cap situation was going to preclude re-signing everyone. In the end, Drury, Jarvis, Slavin and Necas re-signed. The first 3 were no doubters, the last was a bit of a surprise, with rumors swirling around him all summer, right up until he signed his new contract. Guentzel, Teravainen, Skjei and a Pesce all headed for bigger paydays. The Canes thought they had a deal in place to re-sign Guentzel only for it to fall apart at the last minute and he was dealt for a 3rd rounder to the…Lightning. With those 4 out, the Canes brought in forwards Jack Roslovic, William Carrier, Eric Robinson and Tyson Jost and dmen Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere after a season with Detroit. Roslovic has slotted onto Aho’s line, Carrier replaced injured Jesper Fast on Staal’s line and Robinson is on the 4th line. Jost was waived and sent to Chicago. Walker and Ghost have paired together on D. In camp, Felix Unger Sorum, Bradly Nadeau and Jackson Blake all battled for a sport, ultimately won by Blake. He's been skating on the 4th line with Drury and Robinson. Most of the know-it-alls have the Canes in the playoffs and in the top 3 in the Metro. There was some improvement behind them, the Devils may have solved their goalie problems and should challenge with the Canes and Rangers for the division.
After 2 straight Cups and a 3rd appearance in the Finals, the Lightning have made 2 straight first round exits. The Lightning said goodbye to longtime captain Steven Stamkos, he departed for Nashville. They also lost Anthony Duclair and Tyler Motte to free agency. They made a surprise trade, sending Mikael Sergachev to Utah for JJ Moser, Conor Geekie and 2 picks. They signed Cam Atkinson in free agency and re-signed Victor Hedman. And they still have Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy. Guentzel has been banged up but practiced yesterday. They should still make the playoffs, the Atlantic is pretty top-heavy. Are any of Buffalo, Ottawa, Detroit or Montreal capable of surpassing them? Maybe, but probably not.
Black jerseys tonight. ESPN+ for TV.
We knew it was going to be a tough offseason. We didn’t anticipate hiring a new GM but Don Waddell left and Eric Tulsky was promoted. The Canes cap situation was going to preclude re-signing everyone. In the end, Drury, Jarvis, Slavin and Necas re-signed. The first 3 were no doubters, the last was a bit of a surprise, with rumors swirling around him all summer, right up until he signed his new contract. Guentzel, Teravainen, Skjei and a Pesce all headed for bigger paydays. The Canes thought they had a deal in place to re-sign Guentzel only for it to fall apart at the last minute and he was dealt for a 3rd rounder to the…Lightning. With those 4 out, the Canes brought in forwards Jack Roslovic, William Carrier, Eric Robinson and Tyson Jost and dmen Sean Walker and Shayne Gostisbehere after a season with Detroit. Roslovic has slotted onto Aho’s line, Carrier replaced injured Jesper Fast on Staal’s line and Robinson is on the 4th line. Jost was waived and sent to Chicago. Walker and Ghost have paired together on D. In camp, Felix Unger Sorum, Bradly Nadeau and Jackson Blake all battled for a sport, ultimately won by Blake. He's been skating on the 4th line with Drury and Robinson. Most of the know-it-alls have the Canes in the playoffs and in the top 3 in the Metro. There was some improvement behind them, the Devils may have solved their goalie problems and should challenge with the Canes and Rangers for the division.
After 2 straight Cups and a 3rd appearance in the Finals, the Lightning have made 2 straight first round exits. The Lightning said goodbye to longtime captain Steven Stamkos, he departed for Nashville. They also lost Anthony Duclair and Tyler Motte to free agency. They made a surprise trade, sending Mikael Sergachev to Utah for JJ Moser, Conor Geekie and 2 picks. They signed Cam Atkinson in free agency and re-signed Victor Hedman. And they still have Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy. Guentzel has been banged up but practiced yesterday. They should still make the playoffs, the Atlantic is pretty top-heavy. Are any of Buffalo, Ottawa, Detroit or Montreal capable of surpassing them? Maybe, but probably not.
Black jerseys tonight. ESPN+ for TV.