For better or worse: NHL 2019-20

The NHL season officially starts tonight! I am really excited about that prospect, however, I don't know if I'm going to get to see it due to my health problems affecting my schedule...woke me up at 11:30 PM last night, so making it to the 8PM Banner ceremony seems unlikely.

But I've been thinking a lot about the upcoming season, and decided I would do something I don't normally do...an opinion post. I'm going to give my opinion on whether or not each team got better or worse since last season. I have been monitoring the transactions over the course of the summer, as I usually do, but that's not a guarantee I didn't forget something or miss something, so let's hope I don't say something stupid by mistake, hah. Of course, I will use cards to illustrate each team, because this still is a card blog, even if I've been going on about cars more lately.

The Anaheim Ducks didn't really bring in any major names, in fact, I don't recall anyone signing with them. They did cut long time centerpiece Corey Perry, though. So I'm going to say they got worse.

The Coyotes undoubtedly got better, bringing in Phil Kessel from the Pens via trade. They had to give up Alex Galchenyuk to get him, but I think it's going to make the Coyotes a fringe playoff team. What they really need is to avoid injury; they have been hardest hit with injuries over the past couple years than any team that I can think of.

The Boston Bruins didn't make any real changes of note, Lateral. However, since they were coming off a game 7 Stanley Cup Finals performance, not really sure a change was needed.

Did the Sabres get better? Who knows? They've been mired in mediocrity since I discovered the sport, despite having Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner and others. I would say they got a little better, but not by much. I would be surprised if they make the playoffs. They did get nice new one-year uniforms to celebrate their 50th anniversary though.

I would say Calgary got a little better- they brought in Cam Talbot to battle with David Rittich for top goalie spot, while Mike Smith has moved on...they made a player for player swap with cross-province rival Edmonton, but I don't know how that will play out yet. After quietly having the best record in the West last year, I will be very curious to see how they fare this year.

I think the Canes got worse...they lost a couple players to free agency, Justin Williams kinda-sorta retired, and they traded Justin Faulk away. They are still going to be a contender, but it's going to be tougher for them I think.

I think the Hawks got better, mostly due to the fact that they somehow managed to get Robin Lehner in free agency. If Corey Crawford is fully healthy, they have two #1 goalie options.

The Avs knocked off the Flames in the first round of the playoffs last year as a Wild Card...and then they went and got better. This is a team to watch this year, I expect them to be in the thick of the playoff race all year long. Cale Makar is going to challenge for the Calder trophy, I think.

Oof. Nobody had a worse off-season than the Blue Jackets. Sure, they got Gustav Nyquist. But they lost Sergei Bobrovsky, Matt Duchene, Ryan Dzingel and, perhaps most importantly, Artemi Panarin. Coming off the elation of sweeping the Lightning in the first round for the first ever playoff series victory in franchise history, this coming season is likely going to be a year of frustration.

The Stars I think got better...they were in double overtime of game 7 and almost knocked off the Champions in last year's playoffs, then they added two wiley veterans in Joe Pavelski and Corey Perry...both of whom have been around for a while, but still have something in the tank. A lot of people are saying the Stars are title contenders...I don't see that myself, but time will tell.

I feel like the Red Wings stayed pretty neutral, which is not good as they were not very good last year. They have some star talent in the pipeline, but they are going to struggle again this year.

No one knows what the Oilers are doing...including the Oilers. McDavid is arguably the best player in the sport right now, and Leon Draisaitl actually outscored him last year...but the Oilers tactic appears to be "hope those two can do everything" for another year...and McDavid is coming off a blown out knee. They brought in Mike Smith as a free agent, and traded for James Neal, who struggled mightily last year in Calgary, so bad that the Flames got rid of him after year one of a 5-year deal. If they DO make the playoffs, it'll be because they have two great players who are MVP caliber. Lateral, neutral offseason.

The Panthers got better...they brought in Sergei Bobrovsky. They also got Coach Q. They are going to be improved this season. Biggest surprise of the offseason to me is that Roberto Luongo retired.

The Kings were one of the worst teams in the league last year statistically...and didn't really do anything about it. They got a new coach. Lateral.

The Wild got better, because they brought in Mats Zuccarello, my favorite skater in the league. I'm going to have to support the team for the next 5 years because he is on there. I don't expect them to make the playoffs though.

The Canadiens didn't really make any huge moves, but they had a pretty good team last year. They were in a tight battle with the Blue Jackets for the final Wild Card and only lost out on the last day. I expect them to be slightly better this year, although mostly due to internal growth, not transactionally. Carey Price staying healthy would be what they need the most.

I think the Preds got worse. They traded away P.K. Subban, and replaced him with Matt Duchene. Not to take anything away from Duchene, but I just think P.K. brings more to the table as one of the top defenseman in the league.

The Devils had the best offseason of any team. They won the lottery and got Jack Hughes...then they traded for P.K. Subban and got Wayne Simmonds in free agency...plus, former MVP Taylor Hall will be back this season after missing most of 2018-19 with injury. This team is going to be exceptionally better than last year.

The Islanders got worse, as they let Robin Lehner leave in free agency. They did get Semyon Varlamov to replace him, but age is starting to take it's toll on him; they are going to regret letting Lehner walk. They did better last year than I expected, by a wide margin, but I would not be surprised to see them struggle for a Wild Card slot.

My team! We made a big improvement...winning free agency, with Artemi Panarin choosing to come here. We also got Kaapo Kakko in the #2 slot in the draft, who is going to be competing with Jack Hughes and Cale Makar for Calder...and is likely to be an integral part of the Rangers' future. We also got Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox in trade, and brought over a couple of prospects from Europe/Russia. Even so, the Rangers management will probably continue to be not good, (IE, trading Zuccarello for magic beans) and it'll probably be another disappointing year. All that influx of talent, and pre-season was still a struggle. The team got better, but enough to be a contender? I don't know.

The Senators had a pretty terrible year last year...and probably will again this year. They didn't really do anything in the offseason, other than a new coach. (lateral) Anthony Duclair, who joined the team at least year's trade deadline, impressed me in the pre-season.

The Flyers got better in the offseason, adding Kevin Hayes and a few others, but most of their hopes lie on their own internal prospects getting better. Carter Hart will have the chance to be the regular goalie this year and that should help them in the future.

I don't think the Pens got any better...but did they get worse? I'm going with lateral. they took on Alex Galchenyuk but gave up Phil Kessel to get him. Statistically, it's a downgrade. But Kessel and the coach didn't get along and I've heard that caused issues. They still have Crosby and Evgeny Malkin so they cannot ever be counted out.

The Sharks got worse this year. They lost captain Joe Pavelsi in free agency, they also lost Joonas Donskoi. They didn't really bring in anyone to replace them...they couldn't due to the salary cap. They will still be contenders- especially if Erik Karlsson can stay healthy- but it will be tougher for them to get the job done.

The Blues won their first ever Stanley Cup last year, in a thrilling series over the Bruins. So you'd think they'd run the same team back to take another go at it, right? Well, not quite. They let Patrick Maroon walk in free agency, and they traded Joel Edmondson away for Justin Faulk. (who they signed to a 7-year extension). (lateral) The real storyline for the Blues is that Jordan Binnington goes into the season as the clearcut #1 goalie. A lot of the TV talk shows are discounting what he accomplished last year, saying he was 4th on the team's depth chart, which is true. I say that's a bunch of hooey, his being 4th on the depth chart was a scouting mistake, not a correct placement. If he can do what he did last year, for the entire season...the Blues could very well be chanting Gloria once more come June.

The Lightning came up one win short of the all-time best record last year...and then got swept in the first round of the playoffs. While they did lost some players in free agency, retirement and trade, they also added some, most notably Pat Maroon, to stay lateral or get slightly worse. I think they are going to come out firing on all cylinders to prove last year's playoffs were a fluke, not the season. Kucherov led the entire league in scoring last year, and could very well do so again this year. Even though I think they got slightly worse, they are still going to have one of the best records in the league.

The Maple Leafs had a LOT of roster change this offseason...but I think they got better. Despite a salary cap problem, they still managed to sign several players and trade for even more, without giving up any of their core pieces. Auston Matthews is the marquee player, but keep an eye on Mitch Marner. He's developing into a superstar. The Leafs have not hoisted the Stanley Cup since 1968...16 years before I was born. I feel like the team is close to changing that...

The Canucks got better...but it's not going to be enough to make them a playoff contender, I don't think. Come back in 3 to 5 years. Boeser, Elias Pettersson, Quinn Hughes...that's a good core to build around.

The Golden Knights regressed a little bit last year, but still expect to be in the thick of things come May and June this year. They traded off Erik Haula due to salary cap reasons, which was their only real transaction. The player they got back, Nicolas Roy, has already been sent down to the Chicago Wolves, so I guess by default they got worse. 

The Caps gave up a couple players, and got Radko Gudas in return...I'm going to say worse in that they gave up more players than they got...but as long as they have Ovechkin, they will be a contender. 

After collapsing near the end of the regular season last year, the Jets got worse in the offseason, losing all but one of their defensemen to trade, free agency, or possible retirement (Dustin Byfuglien is currently suspended by the team since he can't decide if he wants to play or retire). They still have a shot to be a decent team, but it all depends on Laine. He has the capability to be a superstar...but is very inconsistent. For example, he scored 18 goals in November...and no more than 4 in any other month last season. If he can start scoring goals regularly like he did in November, he will be an MVP candidate. Still, Laine is 3rd in goal scoring since he entered the league, and is still young and working on his game. All their top scorers are returning but this just feels like a team that's struggling to define itself, it's going to be an interesting year. 

So, with all that said, who do I think will win the championship? I can't really take anything like an accurate guess, hockey is just so unpredictable! The closest I'm willing to go is to say that they will wear blue...of course, half the league wears blue! Of course, Blues vs. Lightning would be an easy guess. We'll find out, starting in a couple hours...