An NHL Expansion Story: Deep in the Heart of Texas

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[SeattleBattleCat]

Big franchise building year in the draft, nice work. Here's to Ballard & Mayorov becoming the new faces of the Huskies.

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In three seasons, the Houston Huskies have qualified every year for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, been the Central Division and Western Conference Champions twice, earned the President’s Trophy for finishing the regular season with the best record, and winning the Stanley Cup in their inaugural season. This team has accomplished more in only three seasons than some teams have done in 42 years (ahem, St Louis). Their worst season (last season), the Huskies were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Now we are getting ready to start the 2021-2022 season and how do they stack against the rest of the league?

Prior to the trade deadline last season, the Huskies decided to send out a number on “rentals”, trading a number of big names, to include fan favorite Joe Thornton, Defenseman Mark Giordano, and Goalie Thomas Greiss for draft picks. Surprisingly, after making these major changes, the team went out and would pass four teams ahead of them to get the President’s Trophy. However, their lack of depth would show in the playoffs and would bow out in six games.

After one of the more successful drafts in the NHL, Huskies’ GM AW would perform a significant retooling. Allowing some familiar names to walk, such as Right Winger Martin Frk and Defenseman Brian Strait, there was a major push in free agency, grabbing a number of quality players, to include Center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Defenseman Hampus Lindholm, and Goalie Malcolm Subban. This elevated the team into an immediate Stanley Cup contender and one of the top five teams in the NHL. However, the team does have some issues:

The team has some players that are well beyond their prime, yet still have contracts with significant term. Right Winger Joe Pavelski, a key in the Huskies’ Stanley Cup victory, has rapidly declined in the subsequent two years. At 37 years old, Pavelski’s contract still has three years remaining at $5.55M per year. With the signing of Anthony Duclair and Jakob Silfverberg passing him in the depth chart, this is far too much to pay for what is basically a third line winger. Of course, the question is how you get rid of a contract that is such an albatross.

This contract and others like it will have far reaching consequences. 21 year old phenomenon AJ Likens will require a new contract at the end of this upcoming season and most pundits believe he will pull a contract somewhere between $8-$10 Million per seasons. If you take all the contracts coming off the books, Houston will have slightly over $6 Million in cap space next season if no one is resigned. Although Likens falls behind All Star Nico Hischier in the depth charts, loosing Likens will result in the dismantling of what is arguably the best center lineup in the NHL.

Another weakness is defensive depth. Although the top six are respectable (especially with Lindholm), the quality dips rapidly after that. With the club allowing Defensemen Simon Despres and Tucker Poolman to walk this summer, the team will be very vulnerable to injury on the blue line. We saw cracks last season with the Huskies being on of the top ten teams in goals against, this has only become more acute with both of these players leaving the club.



However, it is not all doom and gloom. Far from it. As I mentioned earlier, this team is considered on of the five teams in the NHL that can be considered true contenders. Although they may have lost Thornton and Giordano, they retain their key youngsters like Nico Hirschier and AJ Likens, as well as key veterans like Artemi Panarin, Anders Lee, Kevin Shattenkirk, Patrick Maroon, and Sergei Bobrovski. Add the new signings, this team will definitely challenge again this year. Furthermore, add the new depth that was gained this year in prospects, this team should be competitive for years. However, with the significant changes, it may take a few games into the season to see the new crew gel.

Predication in the Central Division: It can be argued that six of the eight teams in the division are legitimate contenders. However, Houston still stands out against the other contenders. But this is the Central Division where anything is possible. Logic tells me that Houston finishes first. Reality tells me they will either be third or fighting for a wild card.

Prediction for the Stanley Cup: Houston is a good team. Houston is a great team. But Houston is not the ultimate team. Only three other teams (Winnipeg Jets, Buffalo Sabres, and Philadelphia Flyers) are peers to Houston. However, with the Jets in the same division, as well as four other potential contenders, whoever comes out of the Central, and ultimately the Western Conference, will be very bloodied prior to meeting a relatively unmolested Eastern Conference rival. With the Eastern Conference being the weaker conference, I have to believe that the team that comes out of that conference will ultimately win the cup.

But I hope I am wrong…

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