Seattle Dragons: A Draftless* 32nd Team Expansion

[PFellah]

2019 Entry Draft

CENTRAL SCOUTING TOP 10

1. LW Leonardo Little (USA) -- 6'1", 192 SNP
2. D Ross BenDahan (Norway) – 6’5”, 212 DFD
3. RW Angelo Wesley (USA) – 6’0”, 189 ???
4. C Preston Clements (USA) – 5’11”, 183 ???
5. RW Esa Korpikari (Finland) – 6’3”, 211 PWF
6. C Kirby Dach (Canada) – 6’2”, 179 PWF
7. D Matti Hahl (Finland) – 6’4”, 205 DFD
8. D Vojtech Lintner (Czech Republic) – 6’4”, 214 DFD
9. C Raphael Lavoie (Canada) – 6’4”, 187 PWF
10. RW Jaime Hull (USA) – 6’4”, 215 PWF

SEATTLE DRAGONS PICKS (INITIAL)
Round 1, Pick 11
Round 2, Pick 43
Round 2, Pick 57 (from CHI)
Round 3, Pick 75
Round 3, Pick 79 (from StL)
Round 4, Pick 104 (from ANA)
Round 4, Pick 107
Round 4, Pick 111 (from StL)
Round 4, Pick 128 (from SJ)
Round 5, Pick 139
Round 5, Pick 157 (from CBJ)
Round 6, Pick 185 (from CHI)
Round 7, pick 193 (from BUF)
Round 7, Pick 203

PRE-DRAFT THOUGHTS/STRATEGY
As a general philosophy, 14 picks is probably too many. I don’t want a huge glut of talent coming through all at once, so I might want to look at either a) packaging picks to get better picks early or b) maybe moving some picks to future years.

Looking at the draft board, I’ve got a two Gems identified – one of them is Kirby Dach, a fairly obvious lottery pick. The other is C Valentin Nussbaumer, a TWF who Central has in the mid-40s. Dach is definitely the real deal; Nussbaumer is a bit more iffy because his gem-osity taps out at Top 6, not Elite.

Dach is a tough call. He’s likely to be very good, but I could stay at 11 and probably still get someone nearly as good – Peyton Krebs or Ryan Suzuki would be the most likely candidates; there’s also a guy named Jackson Danner who the scouts compare favorably to Evgeny Kuznetsov.
I think I’d be able to get Nussbaumer at his slot with one of my 2nds (or maybe with a small kicker to move up), since he’s rated in the 40s by Central Scouting.

The other guy I’m generally looking at in the early rounds is OFD Anttoni Honka. My (imperfect) scouting has him as a Franchise guy; even if he drops down to Elite or Top 4, he’d still be a useful guy. Also, he profiles as an OFD, which I always like. Central has him around 36, so again, might need to put some picks together to move up.

And then of course, there’s always Kappo Kaako, sitting at 35 in Central Scouting. This one’s a little meta-gamey since, technically my scouts don’t really have good data on him, and think he’s “just” a Top 6 guy. But hey, every once in a while the front office overrules the scouts. Maybe our GM saw some YouTube videos and fell in love with him.

TRADES
As the draft starts to unfold, it looks like the price to move up into Kirby Dach range is getting too high – my #11 and a 2nd-rounder doesn’t even make the bars anywhere close to matching. For grins, I start adding picks until the bars are sort of equal, and it looks like 11, 43, and 57 MIGHT get it done. Gem or not, I’m not sure Dach is worth that much. I think I’ll just take someone at slot (Peyton Krebs probably the leading candidate) and focus on moving up into the late 1st/early 2nd to work on Honka and Kaako.

As I start to work the phones. I play around with straight pick deals, but those don’t seem to be coming together. On the other hand there might be some room to maneuver when it comes to players, and I eventually cut my first deal.

TRADE: Seattle trades D Jack Johnson, C Riley Sheahan, and a 3rd-round pick (#79 overall) to Montreal for their 1st round pick (#26 overall).

OK, not the deluge of extra picks I envisioned, but it gets me one pick in the Honka-Kakko range. Now let’s try to put another one together.
It seems like contenders are more willing to part with picks in exchange for present needs, so I start poking that concept with a stick, and come up with another deal.

TRADE: Seattle trades RW Leo Komarov, Chicago’s 2nd round pick (#57 overall), St. Louis’s 4th round pick (#111 overall) and San Jose’s 4th round pick (#128 overall) to Los Angeles for the Kings’ first-round pick (#28) overall.

This is closer to the “overwhelm them with picks” model I envisioned -- three picks and a player to move up. I felt like Komarov was on his way to being expendable anyway with Svechnikov established, Kapanen getting another shot, and a decent crop of free agents at the position. So Komarov plus picks gets me in position to take Honka AND Kaako. And I still have a 2nd-rounder left to go after that Nussbaumber kid.

SEATTLE DRAGONS PICKS

• 1-11-11 – LW Peyton Krebs (18, Canada) – 6’0”, 173 PLY – a fully scouted Elite. I very briefly considered trading down -- either just a few slots, or go to the low 1st as a Honka/Kaako pick -- but didn't feel like doing the work.
• 1-26-26 (from MTL) – D Anttoni Honka (18, Finland) -- 5’10”, 177 OFD – my scout only has him at 2 of 4 pips, but Franchise talent level. Even if he drops a little, he could still be a find.
• 1-28-28 (from LA) – RW Kappo Kaako (18, Finland) – 6'2", 189 TWF – I admit it’s a little meta-gamey, since my scouts don’t really like him that much (only Top 6 and not even fully scouted). But actually, most of the guys nearby either don’t even have THAT much ceiling, or I’d have to reach for an Elite from either further down the draft.
• 2-11-43 – C Valentin Nussbaumer(18, Switzerland) – 5’11” 167 TWF – only showing Top 6, but was tagged as a Gem.
• 3-11-75 – D Thomas Harley (17, USA) – 6’3” 179 OFD – it was either a poorly scouted Top 4 D or a well-scouted Top 9 forward. Decided to go with the upside.
• 4-8-104 (from ANA) – C Jesper Blomstrand (18, Sweden) – 6'1", 186 PLY – poorly scouted but showing Elite.
• 4-11-107 – LW Erik Marsh (18, USA) – 6’0” 204 PWF – kinda small for a power forward, but he’s showing Elite and well-scouted. Also jumped from the 150s to 120 since the last Central Scouting report, so he’s trending upwards.
• 5-11-139 – C Johan Sodergran (19, Sweden) – 6’2” 201 SNP – OK, it’s my third center in this draft, but it was either that or a right wing who was both small (5’9”) and slow (“foot speed” listed as a weakness).
• 5-29-157 (from CBJ) – G Mika Kerman (18, Finland) – 6’4”, 202 HYB – haven’t taken a goalie yet, so let’s grab one of those. Big frame, two ticks of Elite scouting.
• 6-25-185 (from CHI) – RW Reid Forbes (18, USA) – 6’2”, 196 SNP – probably could’ve gotten him in the 7th, but all the stuff near slot was AHL garbage or unscouted.
• 7-1-193 (from BUF) – C Frank Hilpert (17, Germany) – 6’2” 194 TWF – Yeah, four centers. But he’s the last Elite guy on my board.
• 7-11-203 – D Glen Stewart (18, USA) – 6’3”, 200 TWD – haven’t taken a defenseman in a while, so might as well try for a lottery ticket here.

So I got 14 picks down to 12. Still more than I would've liked, and I have to admit I was getting bored picking the last couple guys. Realistically, I'm hoping the top 4 become useful players, and if I can get one or two lottery tickets out of the other 8, I'll be happy.

[PFellah]

2019 Free Agency


RE-SIGN PHASE
Let’s look at who’s up for deals:

• UFAs: LW Matt Moulson ($5M), RW Jannik Hansen ($2M), C Jay Beagle ($1.8M), RW Jarome Iginla ($1.35M), D Fredrik Claesson ($900k), LW Brandon Pirri ($875k), RW Devin Setoguchi ($725k)
• RFAs: LW Jacob de la Rose ($1.05M), C Alan Quine ($850), D Duncan Siemens ($775k) D Hardy Haman Aktell ($700k), RW J.C. Lipon ($700k), D Jordan Subban ($700k), G Chris Driedger ($700k)

For the UFAs… it may be callous but I'm going to let ‘em all walk. Beagle was a useful 4th-line center and penalty killer, and I have sentimental attachment to Iginla, but I don’t want to tie up money and roster slots at this point. If plans changed and I wanted to bring them back as depth signings later, I feel like they’d probably still be there. I might throw Pirri an offer as a respect move just because he was our leading scorer in the minors last year, but even then, I wouldn’t spend a lot of time negotiating. Hansen's roster spot probably goes to Kasperi Kapanen, and Moulson was literally acquired just to reach the salary floor -- the definition of expendable.

The RFAs are more of a mixed bag. There’s a chance de la Rose fits in my bottom six plans, so he gets an actual offer. (A lot depends on whether Peyton Krebs is playable as a rookie.) I’m going to let Siemens and Lipon walk – not good enough crack the roster now, too old to have prospect buzz. The rest get tenders for now: Aktell is young enough (20) to still be sort of prospecty, Quine was my second leading scorer, Driedger was a solid backup in the minors, and I like having a Subban on the roster even if it’s not the “right” Subban.

On the last day of re-sign, all four tenders sign.

OPEN FREE AGENCY
First, let's take a look at the depth chart and see what our needs are (beyond prospect fishing and organizational depth, of course):

CENTER: Tyler Bozak (81), Riley Nash (81), and Derek Grant (78) return. Ideally, I'd like two guys here, pushing Nash and Bozak to bottom-six and Grant to a depth role. If something goes wrong and Grant is my 4th-line center... I can live with it, but it's not ideal. Market: Tyler Seguin is the best guy available, but he’s asking WAY too much at $11M a year. More affordable options include Logan Couture, Adam Henrique, and Derick Brassard. I could even take another look at Paul Stastny, who passed on our offer last year.

LEFT WING: Technically full – Perron (84), Grabner (81), Cammalleri (79), and de la Rose (76) – but a) I’d push the stack down for the right free agent and b) another slot might be needed if Krebs is good enough to crack the roster as a rookie. Cammalleri played RW a lot for me; might just do that again this year which would ease the logjam some. Let's assume I'm adding at least one guy here. Market: Oops. Somehow Columbus dug around in the couch cushions and found the money to keep Panarin. The best choices here would be Anders Lee or Jeff Skinner. The reach pick here is Joonas Donskoi. On one hand, showing Elite talent, on the other, only 81 OVR – but not fully scouted on either. One of those has to be wrong. (Or possibly both.)

RIGHT WING: Svechnikov (84) and Kapanen (78) are returnees, plus Brian Gibbons (78) as a depth guy. Right now, my gut reaction is to just add one free agent and make de la Rose or Cammalleri the 4th-line RW. The only real wrinkle is figuring out who will be linemates. Kap probably needs to be Top 6 to progress, but putting Svech or a major free agent on the third line is... weird. Market: Blake Wheeler is the cream of the crop. Jordan Eberle or Gustav Nyquist would also be decent fits.

DEFENSE: Here’s where we need to do some work. Returnees are Green (82), Sustr (81), Morrow (78), and Folin (78), and I consider Folin to be more of a depth piece. So we need a MINIMUM of two signings, and three would be better. Market: Tyler Myers, Calvin de Haan, Anton Stralman are probably the top pieces available. Adam McQuaid a half-step below that. There’s a second tier of guys like Dan Girardi and Michael Del Zotto who… I wouldn’t want them to be my best acquisitions, but if I get two good guys, I can settle for a lesser player for the third-pair, but it would still be an upgrade on Folin.

GOALIES: We’re actually set here. Lehner (83) and Johnson (81) are both under contract for another season. (Unless I wanted to make a play for an upgrade, but then I'd have Lehner as a $4M backup.) Though the presence of Sergei Bobrovsky at least makes me stop and think for a second. But no… I can’t do that.

JULY 1
Supposedly I have about $33M to spend, so I can’t climb the ladder for everyone. First batch of offers go out: Logan Couture, Derick Brassard, Anders Lee, Gustav Nyquist, Tyler Myers, Calvin de Haan, Nathan Beaulieu, and Jesper Boqvist (a 20-year-old with Top 6 potential for 900k – might help bridge the gap until some of my home-grown guys are ready. Some at their offer, some I went a little lower just to feel them out. That’s showing as $31.6M at the moment. Couture might be a pain because he wants 7 years. Let’s let those percolate a few days and see what happens.

JULY 3
Boqvist signs. Not a key piece, but OK, whatever.

JULY 5
Nathan Beaulieu signs (2 years/$2M). Myers, Nyquist reject but still in play. Calvin de Haan gets away for a second straight year, re-signing with the Islanders. Brassard signs with the Blues.

New offers: Nyquist and Myers were both lowballs, so I’ll come back with their terms. In Myers’ case, since he’s in the prime of his career, I’ll jump him up a few 100k. At center, it’s a little humiliating since he turned us down last year, but I’m going to try Paul Stastny as a replacement for Brassard. For Calvin de Haan, Anton Stralman.

JULY 6
Anders Lee signs with Philly, Couture with Ottawa. AND it looks like Adam Henrique signed with Phoenix. Glass half empty: this is NOT going as well as I’d hoped. Glass half full: if I get the guys that are left – Stastny, Nyquist, Myers – and add another piece or two it can still be a net improvement on last year. Jeff Skinner will get Anders Lee’s money, but at center, I’m in a bit of a bind, as what’s left isn’t a LOT better than Derek Grant. I think I’m going to go with Chandler Stephenson – he’s a sideways move from Grant, but he’s at least young and still has some growth potential.

JULY 8
Stastny rejects. Decide to pull a Bozak and overload him on money, but a short deal. My dilemma now is that Blake Wheeler is sitting out there with no bids, and I could afford him. Do I spend the money to spend the money, or do I just let other pieces settle a little first?

JULY 9
Another rough day at the office. Stralman rejects and chooses Philly. Myers, Nyquist and Skinner reject but are still in play, so I re-offer on all. I decide to get in on Jamie Oleksiak to replace Stralman.

JULY 10
The lesser fish – Oleksiak (2 years @ 2M) and Stephenson (2 yrs @ 1.6M) sign. So I’ve got a bunch of secondary guys; now I just have the core of my team hanging in the wind, NBD.

JULY 12
Skinner goes to Vancouver. Stastny rejects, but still in play. I give Stastny his 5 years, which I’d been trying to avoid. I decide to start Blake Wheeler with a lowball offer (6.5 against the 8+ he’s asking) just to see what happens.

JULY 13
Tyler Myers rejects but still in play. Time to offer him the kitchen sink. Nyquist signs with Colorado, so I guess I’m in on Wheeler for real now. (I wish you could raise an existing offer – I’d love to up my offer to Wheeler now that he’s my main target.) At this point, I’m also going to put a bid in for Yanni Gourde at left wing. He’s at a decent price, and he’d at least represent a bottom six upgrade.

JULY 16
Paul Stastny accepts – five years at 3.5M. It’ll be annoying when he’s 37 or 38, but we’ll figure that out later. For now, it gets me a center, and a playmaker to boot.

JULY 17
Tyler Myers signs: six years, $5.2M: a little pricy, but I can live with it since he’s a mid-career defenseman who supposedly has Elite talent. Wheeler rejects but is still in play, so I’m going to stop screwing around – I’ll blow him out on money ($9M, over the $8.3 he wants) but shorten the years from 6 to 3. Also Gourde signs – 2 years at 3.225M.

While I’m waiting for Wheeler to (hopefully sign), time for a little kinda-prospect fishing. Offers go out to D Kyle Wood (23, Top 4 DFD), LW A.J. Greer (22, Top 9 TWF), and LW Brendan Lemieux (23, Top 9 PWF). I also formerly offer last year’s second-round C Ty Dellandrea a contract. While poking the lists for prospect types, I notice Sergei Bobrovsky is also still unsigned. JUST SAYIN’.

JULY 21
Wheeler rejects. I decide to give him his six years (oh God, he’ll be 38 at the end of this deal), but drop the money to 7.5M. The good news is he has no other offers at the moment.

JULY 24
Lemieux and Wood sign. I’ve got a bit of a glut at LW in the minors now. Whatever… figure it out later.

JULY 27
Wheeler rejects. Now he’s looking for a one year deal at 9.9M. I’m actually thinking that may be a good play. I have the cap to spend now, and if Kapanen doesn’t progress, I can talk long-term deal with Wheeler next off-season. Just for grins I make it an even $10M.

At this point, I also decide to go in on Bobrovsky. I’ve got to spend the money somewhere, and having one of the best goalies in the game would certainly be a boost. If I land him, I’d probably have to look at trading Lehner, because $4M for a backup is kind of painful, but we’ll figure that out if Bob signs.

AUGUST 1
Blake Wheeler signs. One-year rental, we’ll figure him out later. Bobrovsky rejects, but we’re still talking, and now he’s also receptive to a 1-year deal.

AUGUST 6
Bobrobsky accepts – 1 year at $8M. So basically we’ve got $18M in rental players on the books, and we now have a $4M backup goalie. Still, it’s adding elite talent.

I have the cap room that I don’t HAVE to move Lehner if I don’t want to, but I probably should – maybe firm up the center situation a little or pick up some draft picks. I poke around, and actually Detroit needs a goalie, and I’ve always liked Andreas Athanasiou. I play around with a few different permutations and come up with…

TRADE: Seattle trades G Robin Lehner, a 2020 4th-round pick (from MTL) and LW Taylor Leier to Detroit for C Andreas Athanasiou.

Lehner and a 4th (I had three 4th rounders from various deals) was close – Leier was the sweetener that got it over the top; since I just signed two LW pseudo-prospects who were younger than Leier, he seemed expendable. Athanasiou -- he's only showing 81 OVR, but he's young enough (24) that he's got room to improve.
At this point, I'm basically done with free agency. I might want a few more bodies in the minors to round out the roster and steal minutes from “extra” CPU players, but I’ll wait for camp to do that.

RECAP
SIGNED: RW Blake Wheeler (1 yr/10M), G Sergei Bobrovsky (1 yr/8M), Tyler Myers (6 yrs/5.2M), C Paul Stastny (5 yrs/3.5M), LW Yannick Gourde (2 yrs/3.225M), D Jamie Oleksiak (2 yrs/2.2M), D Nathan Beaulieu (2 yrs/2M), C Chandler Stephenson (2 yrs/1.6M), C Jesper Boqvist (3 yrs/925k), D Kyle Wood (1 yr/875k), LW A.J. Greer (1 yr/850k), LW Brendan Lemieux (1 yr/825k)

Well, it wasn’t the free agency season I thought I’d have, but when you come away with the best goalie (Bobrovsky), the best defenseman (Myers), and the best or second-best forward (Wheeler) on the market, you can’t get too vocal in your complaints. Yes, I would’ve liked a more well-rounded roster (the secondary guys are weaker than I’d hoped) and not thrilled that I have to do it all over again next year with my two biggest signings, but it’s definitely a better roster than the one we started last season with. And we’re still about $6M under the cap, so we would still have some room to add talent if anything became available as the season progresses.

[PFellah]

Free Agency 2019: Around The League

SIGNINGS OVER $1M/YEAR

• Anaheim: RW Jordan Eberle (85), G Carter Hutton (82), G Calvin Pickard (81), C Tom Pyatt (79)
• Arizona: C Adam Henrique (84), C Jay Beagle (79), D Kevin Gravel (76)
• Buffalo: D Madison Bowey (77)
• Calgary: LW Johan Larsson (82), RW Joel Armia (80), D Carl Gunnarsson (79), G Jon Gillies (78), RW Alex Chiasson (78)
• Carolina: LW Carl Hagelin (81), D Toby Enstrom (79), D Dan Hamhuis (79), D Dennis Seidenberg (79), C Sean Kuraly (78), LW Scott Wilson (78)
• Chicago: G Al Montoya (80), D Carl Dahlstrom (79)
• Colorado: RW Gustav Nyquist (83), G Ryan Miller (82), RW Justin Williams (82), D Jake Dotchin (75), C David Desharnais (??)
• Columbus: G Brian Elliott (82), RW Jannik Hansen (78), D Scott Harrington (77)
• Dallas: LW Michael Ferland (81), G Jaroslav Halak (80)
• Detroit: G Anton Khudobin (82), G Keith Kinkaid (81), C Ryan Dzingel (81), D Robert Bortuzzo (81), C Tomas Nosek (79), LW Nic Kerdiles (78)
• Florida: D Niklas Kronwall (81), D Deryk Engelland (80)
• Las Vegas: C Tyler Seguin (90), D Mark Stuart (81), G Curtis McElhinney (79)
• Montreal: D Jan Rutta (80), D Dan Girardi (80), D Jordie Benn (80), RW Jason Pominville (80), C Jason Spezza (79), C Tim Schaller (79), LW Patrick Sharp (79)
• Nashville: D Braydon Coburn (80), D Nick Jensen (78)
• New Jersey: G Steve Mason (81), D Adam McQuaid (81), C Marcus Kruger (76)
• New York Islanders: G Pekka Rinne (88), LW Rick Nash (82), D Calvin de Haan (81), D Cody Franson (78), D Ben Lovejoy (76)
• Ottawa: C Logan Couture (85), G Cam Talbot (83)
• Philadelphia: LW Anders Lee (85), D Anton Stralman (82)
• Pittsburgh: C Pierre Edouard-Bellemare (79)
• St. Louis: C Derick Brassard (84), LW Joonas Donskoi (81), C Tomas Plekanec (79)
• San Jose: C Brian Boyle (82), D Michal Kempny (80)
• Seattle: G Sergei Bobrovsky (93), RW Blake Wheeler (91), D Tyler Myers (83), C Paul Stastny (83), LW Yanni Gourde (82), D Jamie Oleksiak (81), D Nathan Beaulieu (79), C Chandler Stephenson (79)
• Vancouver: LW Jeff Skinner (85), LW Colin Wilson (80), D Slater Koekkoek (77)

NO MAJOR SIGNINGS: Boston, Edmonton, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Washington, Winnipeg

[PFellah]

Pre-Season 2019

POSTCARDS FROM TRAINING CAMP

Quote: Originally Posted by Tyler Bozak

It's a different environment this year. Last year wasn't BAD, but it was just a group of random guys, maybe a few people knew each other from other teams they played on, but it was kind of... distant, maybe? This year, we all have that history together, and it's a real locker room with its own feel and its own routines and its own jokes. And OK, we gotta bring a few new guys in like every team does, but it's normal now.

Quote: Originally Posted by Blake Wheeler

I was wearing 26 in Winnipeg, but Paul's got a special connection to that number because of his dad being a Hall of Famer who wore the same number; you kind of have to respect that. I wore 42 as a rookie when I first came up with Boston, so I figured I'd go back to that.

Quote: Originally Posted by Andreas Athanasiou

72 was my number in Detroit, but it's cool... Bob was here first, even if it was only by a couple days. Besides I figure you want to keep your starting goalie happy. So I just went back to then number I wore in juniors (22).

Quote: Originally Posted by Kasperi Kapanen

Last year was disappointing. One of the best things about an expansion situation is that every job is up for grabs, and I didn't do enough to take advantage. But I feel like I did good work in the minors and it's a new chance this year. I'm not getting sent back down again.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mike Green

It was a bit of a revolving door on defense last year, with all the moves the team was making. You kind of accept that's going to happen with a new team, where they're trying to figure out what works and what doesn't, but it can be a little difficult having to get used to playing with new guys multiple times. Hopefully this year will bring a little more stability and we can settle in with the guys we're going to battle with.

Quote: Originally Posted by Wheeler, continued

I don't want the media or the fans to read too much into the fact that I signed a one-year deal. Some people are gonna look at it and say "oh, he's all about the money" but it wasn't really that... it just reached a point where it felt right to just push pause on a multi-year deal and just get on the ice for this season. I'm not opposed to a long-term deal if things go well here, but I also don't want people to view it as some act of betrayal if I decide I want to test the market again next year, either. But for the next 82 games, this team gets 100% of Blake Wheeler, and then we'll figure that other stuff out when the time is appropriate.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mike Cammalleri

Last year we had a bunch of older guys, but this year, I kinda stand out like a sore thumb. I suppose I could be self-conscious about it or look over my shoulder, but I'd rather just go out and play my game, and if some kid is going to take my job, I'm at least going to make him really earn it.

GAME RESULTS


9/25 at Anaheim -- 5-3 W
Phil DiGiuseppe ends up being the hero of the first pre-season game "scoring" both the tying goal (an own-goal by Anaheim's Josh Manson, but it was DiGiuseppe's shot that created the rebound he knocked in) and an empty-netter late for insurance. Tyler Bozak scored the game-winner on a goal that went to the booth for video review.

9/27 vs Edmonton -- 3-1 L
It's a low-shooting defensive affair (Seattle wins the shots battle 24-21), but Edmonton has a big second period to make a 1-0 lead a 3-1 lead.

9/29 at Los Angeles -- 3-0 L
Elvis Merzlikins gets the start and the Kings put up single goals in each of the three periods, while Seattle can't solve Jonathan Quick on 36 shots.

10/1 vs Las Vegas -- 5-2 L
Seattle draws first blood on a Brendan Lemieux tally, but Vegas chases Merzlkins from the net in the 2nd and continues the onslaught against Niklas Rubin. Rookie center Vyacheslav Zaytsev ends up with a hat trick, and Nikolay Kulemin also notches a pair.

10/3 vs Calgary -- 5-1 W
Paul Statsny gets the game off to a good start with a pair of first period goals. Andrei Svechnikov, Riley Nash, and Yanni Gourde put the game out of reach.

10/5 at San Jose -- 6-2 L
It's "just" pre-season, but it's also the defending Stanley Cup champs. Unfortunately, the champs jump all over poor Chad Johnson. The only bright spot in an otherwise dreary game is that Andrei Svechnikov got both Seattle goals.

10/7 vs Vancouver -- 5-2 L
Are we going to play any defense at all? This one is more of a close game that gets out of hand in the third, as Vancouver held one-goal leads for the first 40. For the second straight game, the consolation prize is one individual performance -- this time, it's Kasperi Kapanen scoring both times.

FINAL RECORD: 2-5-0

PROSPECT REPORT


The bad news: #1 pick Peyton Krebs isn't ready for prime time. Only 58 OVR, so he'll need a year in the minors. I wasn't counting on him anyway, but still.

The good news: I'm showing FOUR elite talents -- Kakko, Krebs, Honka, and Erik Marsh are all showing as Elite. Marsh is actually showing at 70 OVR, so I'm actually going to go ahead and offer him a contract and start him at Tacoma. I don't know what an Elite Enforcer gets you, but I guess we'll see.

LINES/OPENING DAY ROSTER

FORWARD LINES

• 57 David Perron - 26 Paul Stastny - 33 Blake Wheeler
• 37 Yanni Gourde - 71 Andreas Athanasiou - 16 Andrei Svechnikov
• 41 Michael Grabner - 43 Tyler Bozak - 24 Kasperi Kapanen
• 32 Jacob de la Rose - 20 Riley Nash - 13 Mike Cammalleri
• 38 Derek Grant, 18 Chandler Stephenson as depth forwards

I may play around with line combos for the first few weeks of the season, particularly mixing up the right wings, but it's going to look something like that. I'm also kicking around letting Chandler Stephenson play out of position on RW instead of Cammalleri.

DEFENSE PAIRS

• 56 Tyler Myers - 25 Mike Green
• 6 Jamie Oleksiak - 62 Andrej Sustr
• 82 Nathan Beaulieu - 70 Joe Morrow
• 5 Christian Folin as depth defenseman

GOALTENDERS

• 72 Sergei Bobrovsky
• 31 Chad Johnson

CAPTAINS: David Perron (C), Mike Green (A), Riley Nash (A). Thought about giving Nash's "A" to someone else now that he's on the 4th line, but can't really decide who I'd give it to, so it can stay with him for now.

FINAL SIGNINGS: Sign a few more bodies to keep CPU players from getting too many reps. Maybe they develop into interesting trade bait or something. All 1-year, two-way deals at 700k: D Alexandre Carrier, LW Pierre Engvall, RW Gabriel Gagne, C Miska Siikonen,

[PFellah]

October 2019: Somebody Hit The Snooze Bar


Kasperi Kapanen gets 2019 off to a good start with a game-winning goal with 52 seconds left. Too bad the rest of the month didn't go nearly so well..

10/14 vs Dallas (0-0-0) – 5-3 W
New season, new roster, new alternate jersey (black pops a little more). Seattle gets off to a bit of a slow start as Dallas opens up a 2-1 lead after two periods, with Paul Stastny getting the lone goal for the Dragons. But the Dragons come roaring back to start the third, with Stastny scoring his second and Tyler Myers putting them in front. Devin Shore ties things up with about seven to play, setting up a tense finish. But Kasperi Kapanen becomes the hero of Opening Night, jamming home a Michael Grabner rebound with 52 seconds left, and then he adds an empty netter seconds later.
GOALS: SEA – Stastny 1, Stastny 2, Kapanen 1, Kapanen 2. DAL – Janmark 1, Johns 1, Shore 1.

10/15 vs Pittsburgh (2-0-0) – 3-0 L
Seattle’s offense takes the night off, while the Pens score individual goals in each period. Matt Murray only has to face 19 shots to collect the shutout.
GOALS: SEA – NONE. PIT – Aston-Reese 1, Guentzel 1, Crosby 1.

10/17 vs New York Islanders (2-1-0) – 4-3 L
Seattle does a good job digging out of a 3-0 hole but Anthony Beauvillier breaks a 3-3 tie with 2:25 remaining to give the Isles the victory.
GOALS: SEA – Myers 2, Grabner 1, Bozak 1. NYI – Tavares 4, Stafford 1, Nelson 2, Beauvillier 2.

10/20 vs New York Rangers (3-1-0) – 2-1 L
The Metro Division continues to have our number. Seattle strikes first on Kasperi Kapanen’s third goal of the season, but the Rangers score a pair in the second, and a scoreless third closes things out.
GOALS: SEA – Kapanen 3. NYR – Belesky 1, Fast 3.

10/22 at Calgary (3-1-1) – 3-2 L
Seattle jumps out to a 2-1 lead over the Flames, and for two periods, it looks like the Metro mojo might be broken. But Calgary scores twice in about a minute in the third period to send the Dragons to their 4th straight loss.
GOALS: SEA – Wheeler 1, Beaulieu 1. CGY – Frolik 2, Chiasson 2, Monahan 2.

10/23 vs New Jersey (1-3-1) – 2-0 L
Chad Johnson gets the start since it’s back-to-back games, but the result is the same. Another loss to the Metro, and another shutout. Nico Hischier and Kyle Palmeiri score the goals for the Devils; Steve Mason stops 26 pucks for the shutout.
GOALS: SEA – NONE. NJ – Hischier 1, Palmeiri 1.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mike Green

It's good to have an elite goaltender, but it's not fair to ask him to be perfect. We've got to give him better effort on defense and we've got to put more pucks in the net.

10/26 at San Jose (4-1-1) – 5-4 W
For a while it looked like the story of the game was going to be Seattle blowing a 4-0 3rd period lead, as San Jose scored goals at 4:32, 7:59, 8:27, and 13:02 of the final frame, and had a power play with about five minutes to play. But then Seattle caught a break, as Yanni Gourde put a throwaway shot on net, but Brent Burns turned the attempted cover-up into a game-winning own-goal. Ugly, but we’ll take the two points.
GOALS: SEA – Stastny 3, Morrow 1, Stastny 4, Gourde 1, Gourde 2. SJ – Kane 1, Labanc 3, Winnik 2, Pavelski 4.

Quote: Originally Posted by Tyler Bozak

We got lucky. Blowing a four-goal lead is absolutely unacceptable and humiliating, but we got a break and they bailed us out. It's nice that the offense showed up tonight, but we have to play a complete 60 minute game.

10/29 at Florida (3-3-1) – 3-1 L
Back to our low-scoring losing ways. Florida outshoots the Dragons 37-22 and Jonathan Huberdeau breaks a 1-1 tie with 5:10 remaining, and Mark Pysyk adds an empty-netter in the final minute.
GOALS: SEA – Bozak 2. FLA – Barkov 3, Huberdeau 1, Pysyk 1.

10/30 vs Columbus (3-4-1) – 7-6 W (SO)
Bobrovsky returns to his old stomping grounds, but Chad Johnson gets the start against Joonas Korpisalo. The resulting game is a wild ride, as a sedate 3-3 affair turns into a 6-6 barnburner in the 3rd. Seattle scores twice in the final five minutes to force overtime, and then Blake Wheeler nails things down in the shootout. Columbus’ Alex Wennberg scores a hat trick in the losing effort.
GOALS: SEA – Stastny 5, Athanasiou 1, Bozak 3, Wheeler 2, Kapanen 4, Gourde 3, Wheeler SOW. CBJ – Wennberg 2, Dubois 2, Jones 2, Panarin 1, Wennberg 3, Wennberg 4.

Quote: Originally Posted by Blake Wheeler

As much as we've struggled to put the puck in the net, t's good to see we can get out there and score in bunches. Now we just need to put that sort of offensive effort together with cleaner play in our own end. Yeah, our record isn't where we want it to be, but a game like tonight shows us that the pieces for success are there.

MONTHLY SUMMARY

STANDINGS REPORT

• MONTH: 3-6-0.
• YEAR-TO-DATE: 3-6-0, 6 points
• DIVISION: 7th at 3-6-0. Edmonton starting off 0-7-2 is the only thing keeping us out of the cellar.
• CONFERENCE: 14th in the conference. Edmonton in last place, Nashville also behind us at 2-6-1.
  

TEAM LEADERS

• POINTS: Stastny 7, Bozak 6, Gourde 5, Wheeler 5, Kapanen 4, Grabner 4, Green 4, Perron 4
• GOALS: Stastny 5, Kapanen 4, Gourde 3, Bozak 3, Wheeler 2, Myers 2
• ASSISTS: Green 4, Perron 4, Wheeler 3, Granber 3, Bozak 3, Svechnikov 3
• PLUS-MINUS: Bozak 4, Grabner 3, Beaulieu 0, Stephenson -1, 10 guys at -2

ON THE FARM
Tacoma is off to a hot start at 8-1-0. Beau Bennett leads the way with 13 points (4 goals, 9 assists); no real standouts other than that – pretty even contribution across the roster. Chris Driedger and Elvis Merzlikins have spit starts fairly evenly and both have been solid.

[PFellah]

October 2019: Around The League


STANDINGS


Not going to over-analyze too much yet.

LEAGUE LEADERS


Uncharacteristically, a lot of backups made the cut early on. I assume that will wash out later.

CALDER WATCH


This year's #1 overall, Leonardo Little, getting out of the gate fast for Arizona. In general, mostly pedigree prospects -- all 1st-rounders and one 2nd-rounder. There are too many goalies who played in at least 3 games, so not even gonna do that.

[PFellah]

November 2019: Getting Back On Track


Paul Stastny puts the finishing touch on a three-goal comeback against the defending Pacific champs.

11/1 vs Ottawa (7-1-1) – 5-2 W
Good start to the month for once. Seattle rolls out to a 2-0 lead but Ottawa gets them both back by the end of the first period. But it’s all Seattle from there – Jacob de la Rose gets the game-winner and Blake Wheeler and David Perron provide insurance.
GOALS: SEA – Nash 1, Wheeler 3, de la Rose 1, Wheeler 4, Perron 1. OTT – Pageau 1, Karlsson 3.

11/4 vs Buffalo (5-2-3) – 2-1 L
Despite out-shooting the Sabres 36-26, Seattle loses their grip on a 1-1 tie with 1:40 left in regulation. Richard Panik scores the game-winner.
GOALS: SEA – Stephenson 1. BUF – O’Reilly 5, Panik 2.

11/6 at Anaheim (5-6-1) – 4-2 W
This time it’s the Dragons who come storming back in the third period. Mike Green scores twice in the span of a minute to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead, and then Riley Nash provides the cherry on top.
GOALS: SEA – Stastny 6, Green 1, Green 2, Nash 2. ANA – Lindholm 1, Getzlaf 4.

11/7 vs Los Angeles (3-8-2) – 4-3 W
At the end of two periods, the visiting Kings hold a 2-0 lead and it’s starting to feel like it’s not the home team’s night – a feeling that’s only reinforced when Anze Kopitar scores his second goal 33 seconds after Andrei Svechnikov finally gets the Dragons on the board at the start of the 3rd. But Seattle gets three goals late to sneak past the defending divisional champs, with Paul Stastny using a screen on a 1-on-2 wrister to win the game with 28 seconds to play.
GOALS: SEA – Svechnikov 1, Athanasiou 2, Kapanen 5, Stastny 7. LA – Kopitar 3, Kempe 2, Kopitar 4.

11/10 vs Toronto (4-9-1) – 3-2 W (OT)
And Seattle is back at .500 (7-7-0), though it takes overtime to decide it. Toronto erases a 2-0 Seattle lead on goals by Zach Hyman and Auston Matthews, but in extra time, it’s Tyler Myers coming up big. After being held without a goal all year, Svechnikov tallies in back-to-back games. The only bad news: Andreas Athanasiou out with an injury.
GOALS: SEA – Perron 2, Svechnikov 2, Myers 3. TOR – Hyman 2, Matthews 2.

11/11 vs Winnipeg (9-5-1) – 3-2 W
Svechnikov continues his hot streak with a pair of goals, and the Dragons hold off a late charge by the Jets. Identical 32-shot totals for both teams.
GOALS: SEA – Svechnikov 3, Stastny 8, Svechnikov 4. WPG – Laine 5, Appleton 2.

Quote: Originally Posted by David Perron

It's good to see Stretch finding that next gear and finding the net. And that's not to blame him for where we are in the standings, but the fact that he hadn't had a goal until this week... it's certainly a symptom of how we're playing as a whole. To see him start to roll is a good sign for all of us.

Between games, Montreal places D Karl Alzner on waivers (80 OVR, 31 years old). He’d probably be an upgrade to the third pair (maybe even slot second and push Oleksiak down) but with three years left at $4.625M, don’t think I want to assume the contract.

11/14 at Washington (9-5-2) – 3-0 W
After a one-year slump, looks like the Caps are good again. Washington scores three first-period goals and that’s it for scoring for both teams. Braden Holtby stops 25 shots for the shutout.
GOALS: SEA – NONE. WSH – Kuznetsov 2, Smith-Pelly 2, Ovechkin 11.

11/16 at Edmonton (1-13-2) – 3-0 W
It’s the Bob and Svech Show. Sergie Bobrovsky stops 36 shots, Andrei Svechnikov scores a pair, and Andrej Sustr adds an empty-netter in the final minute. The only down note is that Tyler Bozak left the game with an injury.
GOALS: SEA – Svechnikov 5, Svechnikov 6, Sustr 1. EDM – NONE.

We’re in a bit of a bind on injuries. Bozak is down for about a week, Athanasiou is out until December 10th, and Yanni Gourde is out for a few days. I could call someone up from the minors, but for now, it’s just one game, so I guess Joe Morrow is going to play wing for one game.

Quote: Originally Posted by Joe Morrow

Nah, it's not scary. If anything all of us defensemen want to sneak up and join the play, now I get to do it for real for a game. It'll be fun, and then I'll go back to my day job when some guys get healthy.

11/18 at Tampa Bay (14-3-1) – 6-3 L
From one extreme to the other: 1-13-2, followed by 14-3-1. It was actually a fairly close game most of the way, but Tampa scores two goals six seconds apart with about three minutes left to pull away.
GOALS: SEA – Grabner 2, Stephenson 2, Nash 3. TB – Palat 7, Killorn 3, Killorn 4, Point 4, Stamkos 8, Sergachev 6.

Gourde will be playable for the next game, so the immediate roster crisis is past.

11/20 at Montreal (9-6-3) – 4-2 W
Montreal strikes first against Chad Johnson, but Blake Wheeler scores twice and David Perron once in a 3-goal second to take the lead they’d hold the rest of the game.
GOALS: SEA – Wheeler 5, Perron 3, Wheeler 6, Nash 4. MTL – Pominville 4, Spezza 8.

Gourde is at full health, Bozak is playable, but now Chandler Stephenson joins Athanasiou on the shelf. Annoying, but Mike Cammalleri can step right in.

11/23 vs Carolina (8-8-4) – 5-3 L
Seattle strikes first and builds up a 2-1 lead after one period, but Carolina comes roaring back with three straight goals in the second period. Each team adds one more, and that’s your final score.
GOALS: SEA – Grant 1, Wheeler 7, Svechnikov 7. CAR – Wallmark 3, Hagelin 4, Rask 10, Aho 5, Foegele 1.

11/25 vs Vancouver (11-8-2) – 1-0 L
It’s the Battle of the Border! Colin Wilson beats Bobrovsky with 5:09 left in the first period, and that’s all either team will get. Thatcher Demko registers the shutout.
GOALS: SEA – NONE. VAN – Wilson 1.

11/27 at Nashville (9-11-1) – 2-0 L
Ugh. Shut out in back to back games. It’s scoreless through two, but then Filip Forsberg and Kyle Turris score in the third to hand Nashville the win. Jusse Saros only has to face 20 shots, but leaves with an injury, and backup Oscar Alsenfelt stops three more pucks to finish the shutout.
GOALS: SEA – NONE. NSH – Forsberg 8, Turris 5.

Quote: Originally Posted by Mike Cammalleri

It's frustrating. I think things have improved overall, so it's not maybe the big cause for concern it might have been if we were playing like we were at the start of the season, but two whole games without lighting the lamp... it's a little tough to swallow at any point in the season.

Everyone is healthy except Athanasiou at this point. Yay!

11/29 vs Detroit (10-9-3) – 3-2 W
It’s a quiet game through two, with an Andrej Sustr goal standing as the only scoring. Early in the third, Blake Wheeler and Jacob de la Rose score to widen the lead to three, but Detroit scores twice in the final six minutes to make it close again.
GOALS: SEA – Sustr 2, Wheeler 8, de la Rose 2. DET – Zetterberg 8, Kerdiles 3.

MONTHLY SUMMARY

STANDINGS REPORT

• MONTH: 8-6-0.
• YEAR-TO-DATE: 11-12-0, 22 points
• DIVISION: 6th place with 22 points. Full standings: Calgary 31, San Jose 30, Vegas 28, Vancouver 27, Anaheim 24, Seattle 22, Los Angeles 21, Edmonton 4. Yes, FOUR. That’s 1-20-2.
• CONFERENCE: 13th, but things are still fairly close. Top 8: CGY 31, SJ 30, STL 29, VGK 28, WPG 27, VAN 27, COL 26, CHI 26.
  

TEAM LEADERS

• POINTS: Stastny 18, Svechnikov 16, Wheeler 14, Gourde 11, Bozak 10
• GOALS: Stastny 8, Wheeler 8, Svechnikov 7, Kapanen 5, Nash 4
• ASSISTS: Stastny 10, Svechnikov 9, Gourde 8, Green 7, Bozak 7
• PLUS-MINUS: Grabner 7, Bozak 5, Stephenson 2, Morrow 1, Nash 1, Beaulieu 1, Cammalleri 1

ON THE FARM
Tacoma is off to another hot start at 16-3-4. They’re leading their division, and tied with Springfield for the best record in hockey. Beau Bennett continues to lead the team with 26 points, but he’s backed up by nine double digit scorers. (Seven goals from defenseman Jordan Subban probably stands out as the big surprise of the bunch.) In net, Elvis Merzlikins has reestablished himself as the starter (10-2-2, 3 shutouts, 2.12 GAA, .917 save percentage, though he and Driedger are both playing well.

In terms of our prospect development, the biggest news is we now have a fifth elite talent from this year’s draft class (Krebs, Kakko, Honka and the enforcer Marsh already showing Elite) – C Jesper Blomstrand (4th, 2019) is now showing fully scouted and Low Elite. In another bit of good news, goalie Mika Kerman (5th, 2019) has gone up from Fringe Starter to Starter potential after full scouting. D Ian Van Riemsdyk (3rd, 2018) has hit 65 OVR, so he’ll probably get a contract next year, but his potential is showing as 7th defenseman.

[PFellah]

November 2019: Around The League


STANDINGS


Still taking shape. The Atlantic is starting to separate into a "top 3" and "everyone else" division, but the rest of the races are still fairly tight. Specifically, nice to see the Caps back after a year of mediocrity. On the other hand, Edmonton. Poor Edmonton. (It seems to mostly be the goaltending -- I believe they've got two rookies carrying the load, and mostly failing.)

LEAGUE LEADERS


Mostly the guys you expect to see. The backup goalies that dominated the October stats have mostly given way to real starters. Kinda thought Bobrovsky would be doing better at this point, but still lots of season to go.

CALDER WATCH


OK, it would be kinda neat to have brothers win back-to-back Calders, so I'm in Evgeni Svechnikov's corner until further notice. (Heck, maybe try to trade for him at some point down the line...) Leonardo Little still the only representative of the Class of 2019. Amongst the goalies, you can see Edmonton's dilemma in vivid detail -- Skinner has been the primary goalie and is getting SHELLED. Wells is slightly more tolerable, but still not exactly dominating things.