2018-19 Division Review - Central Division
Moderator: SharksGM
2018-19 Division Review - Central Division
Greetings everyone! And welcome to the central division review. Over the coming days I'll be doing a state of the franchise for each team alphabetically in the division. This initial post will be introducing you to my methodology in obtaining the scores so you understand where I am coming from so questions are kept to a minimum.
Scoring will be out of 10 and be relative to the predicted usage. Ex: A player with 1st line talent playing on the 3rd line is gonna get a 10/10, and a 3rd liner playing on the 2nd will get a 3/10. I'm also going to be lenient towards switching line 1 vs line 2, etc.
10 = Best of the Best
6 = Average ability for usage
3 = 1 Level below (backup as starter or 2nd line center as 1st line center)
0 = Several levels below
One thing you will notice in my rankings is the "Pos Rank" column, or "Positional Rankings". I calculate a value similar to OVE for each player. Don't take this value all too seriously, its just a simple value to help gauge where they generally fall alongside their peers (Goalies/Defenders/Wngers/Centers) in terms of best ability. This kind of rankings tends to favour players who have specialized abilities rather than general across the board good stats (ex: A HAG player with 99 HI and 99 SR will be viewed very favourably) so keep that in mind. This kind of rankings also doesn't give information as to the difference between say a 2nd and 3rd liner is so I will be using my own personal judgement .
Scoring will be out of 10 and be relative to the predicted usage. Ex: A player with 1st line talent playing on the 3rd line is gonna get a 10/10, and a 3rd liner playing on the 2nd will get a 3/10. I'm also going to be lenient towards switching line 1 vs line 2, etc.
10 = Best of the Best
6 = Average ability for usage
3 = 1 Level below (backup as starter or 2nd line center as 1st line center)
0 = Several levels below
One thing you will notice in my rankings is the "Pos Rank" column, or "Positional Rankings". I calculate a value similar to OVE for each player. Don't take this value all too seriously, its just a simple value to help gauge where they generally fall alongside their peers (Goalies/Defenders/Wngers/Centers) in terms of best ability. This kind of rankings tends to favour players who have specialized abilities rather than general across the board good stats (ex: A HAG player with 99 HI and 99 SR will be viewed very favourably) so keep that in mind. This kind of rankings also doesn't give information as to the difference between say a 2nd and 3rd liner is so I will be using my own personal judgement .
Re: 2018-19 Division Review - Central Division
Chicago Blackhawks
Free Agency Aquisitions
Maxim Berezin (D)
Joe Pavelski (W/C)
Mark Stuart (D)
Jarret Stoll (C)
Logan MacMillan (W)
Ben Bishop (G)
Chris Vande Velde (C/W)..in Pittsburgh?
Main Off-season Moves
Ovechkin for Kempe + Eberle
Analysis: In a cap neutral trade the Blackhawks pick up one of the, if not the, best wingers in the game for a top 6 HAG center and top 6 PP centre. Its a win now move given the ages of the players involved, and defeinelty a win in the short term.
Roster
HAG1: Vanek - Beach - Ovechkin
PP1: Kostitsy - Krejci - Tarasenko
HAG2: Pavelski - Stoll - Keil
PP2: MacMillan - Zajac - Eller
HAG1: Ranger - Weber
PP1: Girardi - Berezin
HAG2: Stuart - Sauve
Ben Bishop
Bernhard Starkbaum
Player Attributes
Goalies
Defense
Forward
Player Ratings
Ben Bishop: 4/10
Bernhard Starkbaum: 0/10
Shea Weber: 10/10 - One of the best defenders in the game with the production to back that up, and signed to a great contract (oh the irony)
Paul Ranger: 4 /10 - I have his general ability ranked lower than Stuart but he's been able to produce decently so I'm going to give him the nod for the 1st pairing.
Dan Girardi: 5/10 - Ranked as a 3rd pairing guy in my rankings, but has produced despite a lack of specialization. He is still below what I have ranked as a 2nd pairing guy, but certainly doesn't appear to produce as bad as a 3rd pairing guy.
Maxim Berezin: 3/10 - Another guy who's abilities are generally lacking in the defensive end (Girardi). On some teams he's produced well while others his lack of defensive abilities has resulted in less than favourable GF/GA ratios. Likely an underrated 3rd pairing option.
Mark Stuart: 7/10 - His hitting ability and consistency drive him up the rankings, but the guy has failed to produce constantly at the NHL level so I have him filling out the 3rd pairing as a steady presence.
Yann Sauve: 0/10 - His production isn't there, and my rankings have him as an AHLer. He's out of his depth.
Alexander Ovechkin: 10/10 - Generational talent until he retires.
Vladimir Tarasenko: 10/10 - Is ovechkin without hitting ability.
David Krejci: 7/10 - Isn't your ideal center given the lack of faceoff ability but has everything else you could want.
Andrei Kostitsyn: 10/10 Jesus he has a lot of good wingers with 94+ shot.
Thomas Vanek: 8/10 - More an overage 1st line winger, but given his 99 HI I'll give him a bit of a boost.
Travis Zajac: 10/10 - If Krejci is moved over to wing, Zajac can step in on that 2nd line and not look out of place.
Joe Pavelski: 6/10 - Is borderline 1st line material, but will likely need to be used as a HAGer when he lack high end HI capabilities.
Logan MacMillan: 10/10 - Could setp up in the lineup if needed.
Kyle Beach: 3/10 - He''s the only reasonable option for that top HAG unit, but I don't think his constiancy does him any good. Looking at his production he doesn't quite produce like a top line guy either and could hold that line back. The alternative though is having a sub 75 HI guy running your HAG line.
Jarret Stoll: 6/10 - General all around ok dude, nothing special.
Bernhard Keil: 6/10 - Ditto to above, perfect fill in for the bottom 6 with all the expensive contracts.
Lars Eller: 5/10 - Not necessarily a great NHL center but can fill in on the wing just fine.
Roster Scores
Goalie Rating: 3/10. Ben Bishop is a great backup given his level of constancy but doesn't have the oompf to be a starter in this league. Starting 3/4 of the games he shouldn't kill the team by any means, but Starkbaum doesn't help them in terms of providing support.
Defense Rating: 5/10. There are some good pieces here, but attributee wise a lot of them leave a lot to be desired. With that said I think a Girardi - Berezin pairing could surprise. The defence isn't good, but it is certainly not terrible (thanks Weber for saving it).
Forward Rating: 8.5/10 - Great winger depth, and some great superstar power. A simple upgrade at top HAG C would probably cement the team at a nice 5/7.
Best Prospects
Goaltending: None
Defense: None
Forward: Jack Drury (53rd OA in 2018) - Not dynamic offensively but has some great defensive attributes which should result in him being a decent NZT #3/4 center with a role on the PK.
Conclusions
You look at their forward group and can understand how they got to the conference finals. I'm not sure who their goalie was previously but with Holtby in net you could see why they wouldn't make it further than that this year. This coming season could be a turning point and if Chicago isn't high in the standings I wouldn't be surprised if Berny decided to blow it up given the lack of a pipeline and picks and a core that is in their early/mid 30s.
Free Agency Aquisitions
Maxim Berezin (D)
Joe Pavelski (W/C)
Mark Stuart (D)
Jarret Stoll (C)
Logan MacMillan (W)
Ben Bishop (G)
Chris Vande Velde (C/W)..in Pittsburgh?
Main Off-season Moves
Ovechkin for Kempe + Eberle
Code: Select all
Name H W Pos Apos Salary Y FI SH PL ST CH PO HI SK EN PE FA LE SR POT CON Pos Rank
Alexander Ovechkin 74 212 RW LW $8,400,000 2 39 99 88 90 87 74 87 91 96 66 83 73 80 91 86 1.00
Jordan Eberle 70 173 RW C $5,400,000 4 41 97 94 81 71 77 57 81 75 75 82 54 81 81 73 2.23
Adrian Kempe 74 187 C LW $3,560,000 3 69 89 72 74 82 71 79 78 71 79 85 70 74 75 87 2.47
Roster
HAG1: Vanek - Beach - Ovechkin
PP1: Kostitsy - Krejci - Tarasenko
HAG2: Pavelski - Stoll - Keil
PP2: MacMillan - Zajac - Eller
HAG1: Ranger - Weber
PP1: Girardi - Berezin
HAG2: Stuart - Sauve
Ben Bishop
Bernhard Starkbaum
Player Attributes
Goalies
Code: Select all
Name H W Pos Apos Salary Y FI SH PL ST CH PO HI SK EN PE FA LE SR POT CON Pos Rank
Ben Bishop 77 205 G None $900,000 2 46 74 74 74 74 74 74 74 77 76 76 62 74 74 88 2.13
Bernhard Starkbaum 73 196 G None $544,000 1 42 69 70 70 70 69 70 69 69 85 70 79 69 68 86 3.80
Code: Select all
Name H W Pos Apos Salary Y FI SH PL ST CH PO HI SK EN PE FA LE SR POT CON Pos Rank
Shea Weber 75 208 D None $5,680,000 3 56 86 92 68 82 87 85 87 80 62 88 66 84 87 80 1.02
Mark Stuart 74 212 D None $1,200,000 1 40 61 54 60 76 77 99 75 55 59 71 76 78 76 84 1.83
Paul Ranger 75 215 D None $3,520,000 1 47 70 65 65 78 78 99 74 80 64 78 70 78 78 68 2.43
Dan Girardi 74 205 D None $2,150,000 1 57 59 87 55 76 76 75 76 94 63 77 71 76 76 74 3.70
Maxim Berezin 75 206 D None $1,000,000 1 40 59 86 70 70 69 75 69 76 84 62 59 70 68 78 4.65
Yann Sauve 75 220 D None $600,000 2 51 40 40 46 76 70 93 76 82 61 77 55 76 76 67 5.83
Code: Select all
Pos Name H W Pos Apos Salary Y FI SH PL ST CH PO HI SK EN PE FA LE SR POT CON Pos Rank
W Alexander Ovechkin 74 212 RW LW $8,400,000 2 39 99 88 90 87 74 87 91 96 66 83 73 80 91 86 1.00
W Vladimir Tarasenko 72 197 RW LW $3,400,000 3 36 99 87 93 83 73 64 90 92 76 92 55 76 91 60 1.23
W David Krejci 71 176 LW C $6,520,000 4 30 99 91 82 82 77 58 78 83 78 71 64 84 82 72 1.23
W Andrei Kostitsyn 72 205 LW RW $5,440,000 3 30 98 79 83 74 83 75 83 92 72 82 64 78 83 67 1.33
C Travis Zajac 74 205 C RW $5,040,000 6 43 73 94 75 75 75 76 75 76 80 91 69 75 75 83 2.23
W Thomas Vanek 74 208 RW LW $5,200,000 5 40 98 71 81 69 78 99 81 57 77 82 59 77 81 71 1.58
W Joe Pavelski 71 194 LW C $1,600,000 1 29 75 99 76 73 76 67 76 71 74 77 64 76 76 73 2.08
W Logan MacMillan 73 184 LW C $1,000,000 1 39 94 53 75 75 75 68 75 71 75 65 58 71 75 76 2.72
C Jarret Stoll 73 209 C RW $600,000 1 35 75 70 75 75 75 70 75 74 65 88 77 76 75 77 4.30
C Kyle Beach 75 180 C RW $4,000,000 6 68 69 89 77 77 81 89 70 76 51 85 58 78 84 60 5.03
C Lars Eller 73 200 RW C $600,000 1 56 72 75 78 73 83 63 72 78 73 84 56 75 83 70 5.03
W Bernhard Keil 72 200 RW LW $480,000 3 40 71 84 73 73 73 66 73 69 61 74 56 73 73 76 3.67
Ben Bishop: 4/10
Bernhard Starkbaum: 0/10
Shea Weber: 10/10 - One of the best defenders in the game with the production to back that up, and signed to a great contract (oh the irony)
Paul Ranger: 4 /10 - I have his general ability ranked lower than Stuart but he's been able to produce decently so I'm going to give him the nod for the 1st pairing.
Dan Girardi: 5/10 - Ranked as a 3rd pairing guy in my rankings, but has produced despite a lack of specialization. He is still below what I have ranked as a 2nd pairing guy, but certainly doesn't appear to produce as bad as a 3rd pairing guy.
Maxim Berezin: 3/10 - Another guy who's abilities are generally lacking in the defensive end (Girardi). On some teams he's produced well while others his lack of defensive abilities has resulted in less than favourable GF/GA ratios. Likely an underrated 3rd pairing option.
Mark Stuart: 7/10 - His hitting ability and consistency drive him up the rankings, but the guy has failed to produce constantly at the NHL level so I have him filling out the 3rd pairing as a steady presence.
Yann Sauve: 0/10 - His production isn't there, and my rankings have him as an AHLer. He's out of his depth.
Alexander Ovechkin: 10/10 - Generational talent until he retires.
Vladimir Tarasenko: 10/10 - Is ovechkin without hitting ability.
David Krejci: 7/10 - Isn't your ideal center given the lack of faceoff ability but has everything else you could want.
Andrei Kostitsyn: 10/10 Jesus he has a lot of good wingers with 94+ shot.
Thomas Vanek: 8/10 - More an overage 1st line winger, but given his 99 HI I'll give him a bit of a boost.
Travis Zajac: 10/10 - If Krejci is moved over to wing, Zajac can step in on that 2nd line and not look out of place.
Joe Pavelski: 6/10 - Is borderline 1st line material, but will likely need to be used as a HAGer when he lack high end HI capabilities.
Logan MacMillan: 10/10 - Could setp up in the lineup if needed.
Kyle Beach: 3/10 - He''s the only reasonable option for that top HAG unit, but I don't think his constiancy does him any good. Looking at his production he doesn't quite produce like a top line guy either and could hold that line back. The alternative though is having a sub 75 HI guy running your HAG line.
Jarret Stoll: 6/10 - General all around ok dude, nothing special.
Bernhard Keil: 6/10 - Ditto to above, perfect fill in for the bottom 6 with all the expensive contracts.
Lars Eller: 5/10 - Not necessarily a great NHL center but can fill in on the wing just fine.
Roster Scores
Goalie Rating: 3/10. Ben Bishop is a great backup given his level of constancy but doesn't have the oompf to be a starter in this league. Starting 3/4 of the games he shouldn't kill the team by any means, but Starkbaum doesn't help them in terms of providing support.
Defense Rating: 5/10. There are some good pieces here, but attributee wise a lot of them leave a lot to be desired. With that said I think a Girardi - Berezin pairing could surprise. The defence isn't good, but it is certainly not terrible (thanks Weber for saving it).
Forward Rating: 8.5/10 - Great winger depth, and some great superstar power. A simple upgrade at top HAG C would probably cement the team at a nice 5/7.
Best Prospects
Goaltending: None
Defense: None
Forward: Jack Drury (53rd OA in 2018) - Not dynamic offensively but has some great defensive attributes which should result in him being a decent NZT #3/4 center with a role on the PK.
Conclusions
You look at their forward group and can understand how they got to the conference finals. I'm not sure who their goalie was previously but with Holtby in net you could see why they wouldn't make it further than that this year. This coming season could be a turning point and if Chicago isn't high in the standings I wouldn't be surprised if Berny decided to blow it up given the lack of a pipeline and picks and a core that is in their early/mid 30s.
Last edited by DevilsGM on Wed Sep 26, 2018 9:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Re: 2018-19 Division Review - Central Division
Detroit Redwings
Free Agency Aquisitions
Alex Tanguay
Shawn Horcoff
Rene Sweete
David Steckel (D)
Cam Ward (G)
Main Off-season Moves
2nd out, Demko & Fischer in.
Analysis: In a cap neutral trade the Blackhawks pick up one of the, if not the, best wingers in the game for a top 6 HAG center and top 6 PP centre. Its a win now move given the ages of the players involved, and defeinelty a win in the short term.
Roster
PP1: Nicklas Bäckström - Jonathan Toews - Scott Glennie
PP2: Pierre-Marc Bouchard - Ryan Spooner - Alex Tanguay
HAG1: Guillaume Latendresse - Shawn Horcoff - Taylor Beck
PP3: Sven Baertschi - Joey Hishon - Michal Repík
PP1: Drew Doughty - Mike Green
PP2: Ian Cole - Tim Erixon
HAG1: Erik Gudbranson - David Fischer
Cam Ward
Thatcher Demko
Player Attributes
Goalies
Defense
Forward
Player Ratings
Cam Ward: 6/10 - A blue-collar goalie.
Thatcher Demko: 9/10 - Solid backup who can step up if there is an injruy.
Drew Doughty: 10/10 - Top of the line defenseman, what do you want from me.
Mike Green: 9/10 - If you want offense, he's got offense. Not bad defensewise eitehr.
Erik Gudbranson: 10/10 - If they can secure enough talent to put up a top 6 HAG line then Gudbranson will anchor it.
Ian Cole: 6/10 - Rounds out the top 4 decently well.
Tim Erixon: 4/10 - Playing above his station but nothing they can do without more HAG talent.
David Fischer: 4/10 - Is an NHLer, meh performance on 3rd pairings.
Jonathan Toews: 7/10 - Similar situation to Krejci in Chicago. Would lprefer him on the wing, but lacking center depth pushes him to center.
Nicklas Bäckström: 7/10 - Top line center. Would prefer more shooting ability from a winger, but I could you could flip Toews backstrom and have better synergy if you wished.
Ryan Spooner: 4/10 - My algorithms don't like him, and he hasn't really produced.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard: 10/10 - The guy does nothing but produce. Is a perfect fit for the 2nd line putting up near a point a game most seasons.
Scott Glennie: 2/10 - his shot is tantellizing, should be a powerplay specialist but hasn't really produced. Not really any other option.
Alex Tanguay: 6/10 - Can do everything well except hit, so good match for passing plays unit. Has played well everywhere not named Arizona.
Sven Baertschi: 8/10 - Lesser version of Tanguay
Shawn Horcoff: 0/10 - Is playing center HAG because there is literally nobody better for it. He's not only out of his depths tacticially but he barely looks like NHL center material to me and hsould be on the wing.
Taylor Beck: 6/10 - Should help solidify the HAG line. He produces well but takes a lot of penalties.
Michal Repík: 6/10 - OK depth.
Joey Hishon: 3/10 - Another guy who is skilled enough for the NHL just not at center in my opinion
Guillaume Latendresse: 4/10 - Good hitter, but little scoring potential.
Roster Scores
Goalie Rating: 7/10 - Solid all around goaltending.
Defense Rating: 7.5/10 - Great talent at the top. Missing 1 HAG top 4 option.
Forward Rating: 4/10 - There is some great talent at the top for the passing plays unit but missing a top 6 HAG unit really cuts their rating deep.
Best Prospects
Goaltending: Thatcher Demko (Aquired from Kings)
Defense: Adam Boqvist (Selected 18th OA in 2018) - Top pairing passing plays dman.
Forward: None
Conclusions
I think they are definetly a playoff team, but without a HAG unit it is hard to label them as a contender. Their aging core also isn't about to make leaps and bounds and they don't have much coming in the way of prospects that they dont' have already. Some serious moves or tanking will be required to become a serious contender.
Free Agency Aquisitions
Alex Tanguay
Shawn Horcoff
Rene Sweete
David Steckel (D)
Cam Ward (G)
Main Off-season Moves
2nd out, Demko & Fischer in.
Code: Select all
Name H W Pos Apos Salary Y FI SH PL ST CH PO HI SK EN PE FA LE SR POT CON Pos Rank
Thatcher Demko 76 192 G None $1,450,000 1 40 77 76 76 78 78 78 76 84 84 77 56 69 76 80 2.13
David Fischer 75 190 D None $1,960,000 1 40 40 46 47 76 76 99 67 77 67 78 52 76 76 81 3.70
Roster
PP1: Nicklas Bäckström - Jonathan Toews - Scott Glennie
PP2: Pierre-Marc Bouchard - Ryan Spooner - Alex Tanguay
HAG1: Guillaume Latendresse - Shawn Horcoff - Taylor Beck
PP3: Sven Baertschi - Joey Hishon - Michal Repík
PP1: Drew Doughty - Mike Green
PP2: Ian Cole - Tim Erixon
HAG1: Erik Gudbranson - David Fischer
Cam Ward
Thatcher Demko
Player Attributes
Goalies
Code: Select all
Name H W Pos Apos Salary Y FI SH PL ST CH PO HI SK EN PE FA LE SR POT CON Pos Rank
Cam Ward 73 200 G None $1,600,000 1 40 81 81 81 80 80 82 80 88 79 81 71 80 80 74 1.63
Thatcher Demko 76 192 G None $1,450,000 1 40 77 76 76 78 78 78 76 84 84 77 56 69 76 80 2.13
Code: Select all
Name H W Pos Apos Salary Y FI SH PL ST CH PO HI SK EN PE FA LE SR POT CON Pos Rank
Drew Doughty 73 219 D None $6,120,000 4 45 80 80 71 88 88 71 88 82 68 99 55 83 88 78 1.10
Mike Green 73 198 D None $7,150,000 4 37 97 89 83 79 75 71 83 86 66 77 61 80 88 75 1.32
Erik Gudbranson 75 215 D None $4,640,000 6 43 65 70 65 90 85 94 74 67 70 39 61 81 81 76 1.32
Ian Cole 73 215 D None $2,640,000 4 40 65 96 56 76 76 69 76 70 62 77 64 76 76 75 2.72
Tim Erixon 74 190 D None $860,000 1 52 63 63 64 76 72 73 78 91 71 79 56 78 78 80 3.18
David Fischer 75 190 D None $1,960,000 1 40 40 46 47 76 76 99 67 77 67 78 52 76 76 81 3.70
Code: Select all
True Pos Name H W Pos Apos Salary Y FI SH PL ST CH PO HI SK EN PE FA LE SR POT CON Pos Rank
W Jonathan Toews 73 195 LW C $6,200,000 6 30 99 89 83 68 78 63 82 74 72 74 74 82 83 86 1.10
W Nicklas Bäckström 73 210 LW C $4,320,000 1 79 67 99 82 78 73 66 82 73 72 69 60 78 82 77 1.58
C Ryan Spooner 69 164 C LW $1,250,000 2 42 81 67 79 78 76 57 76 80 84 99 54 81 81 70 3.87
W Pierre-Marc Bouchard 70 172 LW RW $4,680,000 2 41 83 96 82 66 79 58 82 89 80 77 60 70 82 65 2.38
W Scott Glennie 73 177 RW C $2,000,000 4 46 98 61 80 63 72 49 81 71 75 77 52 75 81 71 2.72
W Alex Tanguay 73 190 RW LW $600,000 1 25 68 78 80 79 81 52 82 82 82 64 82 79 80 75 2.72
W Sven Baertschi 70 175 LW RW $1,920,000 1 54 77 76 76 76 72 54 73 81 72 73 53 76 76 77 3.67
C Shawn Horcoff 73 202 C LW $600,000 2 34 70 69 66 74 77 63 81 98 72 85 84 78 76 75 5.57
W Taylor Beck 74 205 RW LW $2,800,000 2 71 99 61 74 60 67 84 63 84 70 64 55 74 74 76 3.67
W Michal Repík 71 175 LW RW $800,000 1 59 68 83 79 63 77 56 77 79 70 63 52 78 78 72 3.67
C Joey Hishon 71 168 C LW $800,000 4 39 68 67 78 84 80 55 78 69 74 79 60 69 78 70 6.00
W Guillaume Latendresse 74 229 RW LW $1,800,000 3 81 65 67 74 74 73 99 61 79 67 75 61 74 74 64 4.80
Cam Ward: 6/10 - A blue-collar goalie.
Thatcher Demko: 9/10 - Solid backup who can step up if there is an injruy.
Drew Doughty: 10/10 - Top of the line defenseman, what do you want from me.
Mike Green: 9/10 - If you want offense, he's got offense. Not bad defensewise eitehr.
Erik Gudbranson: 10/10 - If they can secure enough talent to put up a top 6 HAG line then Gudbranson will anchor it.
Ian Cole: 6/10 - Rounds out the top 4 decently well.
Tim Erixon: 4/10 - Playing above his station but nothing they can do without more HAG talent.
David Fischer: 4/10 - Is an NHLer, meh performance on 3rd pairings.
Jonathan Toews: 7/10 - Similar situation to Krejci in Chicago. Would lprefer him on the wing, but lacking center depth pushes him to center.
Nicklas Bäckström: 7/10 - Top line center. Would prefer more shooting ability from a winger, but I could you could flip Toews backstrom and have better synergy if you wished.
Ryan Spooner: 4/10 - My algorithms don't like him, and he hasn't really produced.
Pierre-Marc Bouchard: 10/10 - The guy does nothing but produce. Is a perfect fit for the 2nd line putting up near a point a game most seasons.
Scott Glennie: 2/10 - his shot is tantellizing, should be a powerplay specialist but hasn't really produced. Not really any other option.
Alex Tanguay: 6/10 - Can do everything well except hit, so good match for passing plays unit. Has played well everywhere not named Arizona.
Sven Baertschi: 8/10 - Lesser version of Tanguay
Shawn Horcoff: 0/10 - Is playing center HAG because there is literally nobody better for it. He's not only out of his depths tacticially but he barely looks like NHL center material to me and hsould be on the wing.
Taylor Beck: 6/10 - Should help solidify the HAG line. He produces well but takes a lot of penalties.
Michal Repík: 6/10 - OK depth.
Joey Hishon: 3/10 - Another guy who is skilled enough for the NHL just not at center in my opinion
Guillaume Latendresse: 4/10 - Good hitter, but little scoring potential.
Roster Scores
Goalie Rating: 7/10 - Solid all around goaltending.
Defense Rating: 7.5/10 - Great talent at the top. Missing 1 HAG top 4 option.
Forward Rating: 4/10 - There is some great talent at the top for the passing plays unit but missing a top 6 HAG unit really cuts their rating deep.
Best Prospects
Goaltending: Thatcher Demko (Aquired from Kings)
Defense: Adam Boqvist (Selected 18th OA in 2018) - Top pairing passing plays dman.
Forward: None
Conclusions
I think they are definetly a playoff team, but without a HAG unit it is hard to label them as a contender. Their aging core also isn't about to make leaps and bounds and they don't have much coming in the way of prospects that they dont' have already. Some serious moves or tanking will be required to become a serious contender.
Re: 2018-19 Division Review - Central Division
Nashville Predators
Free Agency Aquisitions
Joachim Nermark
Main Off-season Moves
Trading away Ladd for Poehling & Pasternak
To make some capspace Nashville moved a good 2nd line HAG winger and was able to recoup a future middle 6 HAG center. I think he did good on this trade in getting Poehling back, as if he wanted to convert him to a winger in the future he could fill most of the hole that Ladd left behind.
*NOTE: Pos Rank2 is the rank when all players hit their full development
Roster
Jhonas Enroth
Jaroslav Halak
HAG1: Adam Larsson - Keith Yandle
PAP1: Robert Hagg - Kyle Copobianco
HAG2: Chris Summers - Carl Sneep
HAG1: Pavel Zacha - Brock Boeser - Colin White
PAP1: Mikael Salmivirta - Mitch Marner - Evgeni Kuznetsov
HAG2: Ryan Poehling - Steven Shipley - Jean-Francois Jacques
PAP2: Pavel Buchnevich - Joachim Nermark - Nathan Noel
Player Attributes
Goalies
Defense
Forward
Player Ratings
Jhonas Enroth - 5/10 Low end starter
Jaroslav Halak - 7/10 Low end starter in backup position. Feel free to reverse Enroth/Halak.
Adam Larsson: 10/10 - Top echilon of defenders attributewise. Larsson doesn't really have a weakness. Would be nice to see a better boxscore stats.
Keith Yandle: 5/10 - Stats go beyond his attributes. Would be better suited for 2nd pairing minutes still.
Robert Hagg: 3/10 - Will have to play above his weight class due to lack of other options.
Kyle Capobianco: 5/10 - I'm going to give him the benefits of the doubt, he's 21, and has 2nd pairing potential in my eyes and could get there very quickly.
Chris Summers: 5/10 - Is a 3rd pairing dman on the 3rd pairing
Carl Sneep: 5/10 - ditto
Pavel Zacha: 6/10 - Capable but lacks constancy. Could play center.
Brock Boeser: 6/10 - Supbar hitting for HAG line but he's the best top line talent availble for it.
Colin White: 6/10 - Tops off an offensively dynamic HAG line (although they are all rather weak)
Mikael Salmivirta: 6/10 - A bit overrated due to constancy rather than ability. Can produce at a decent level.
Mitchell Marner: 6/10 - Get that man a Gatorade.
Evgeny Kuznetsov: 8/10 - A top line winger playing the winger position for once.
Ryan Poehling: 4/10 - Lags behind the competition in terms of center ability but the only way to learn FA is to take faceoffs.
Steven Shipley: 8/10 - A HAG line is the only logical place for him, and love the depth to have him on the 3rd line.
Jean-Franįois Jacques: 6/10 - Attributewise he looks more like a 4th liner but the boxscore speaks volumes and he's been screaming goal celebrations for the last several years.
Pavel Buchnevich: 10/10 - Having him on the 4th line is a crime, Would probably switch with Salmvirta if I hadn't already written his rating out.
Joachim Nermark: 5/10 - Beutiful pickup. High end potential which Nashville may hope to help continue have him overdevelop throughout the year. He's done ok throughout his career so far despite a low consistancy, so we'll see if that continues with Nashville.
Nathan Noel: 6/10 - I'd like to see him on the HAG line but its full already so unless Shpley/Jacques and their 4M+ contracts get moved its tough seeing being used there.
Roster Scores
Goalie Rating: 6/10 - They have satisfactory goaltending all around.
Defense Rating: 5/10 - They have 1 star defender, but otherwise are relatively weak attribute wise.
Forward Rating: 6.5/10 - Has a lot of good pieces but the synergy between them seems to be absolute hell.
Best Prospects
Goaltending: Michael DiPietro - Potential Backup.
Defense: Kyle Copiobianco (Potential 2nd Pairing HAG), & Cam Dineen (Potential 2nd Pairing Passing Plays)
Forward: My cutoff for prospect was 23 and under. Marner, Boewser, White, Zacha, and Noel, all technically fit this description and are likely parts of their rosters this season, with all having top 6 potential or current ability. Poehline, Pastnark, and Wilkie I'd say also project to be top 9 forwards.
Conclusions
I view this as a bubble team, which is what they've been the last two years. My major issue is the lack of synergy upfront. I think if Nashville could flip one of Shipley/Jacques for a comparable defenseman the roster would mesh much better. They have enough depth to replace those guys internally witht Noel/Poehling.
Free Agency Aquisitions
Joachim Nermark
Main Off-season Moves
Trading away Ladd for Poehling & Pasternak
Code: Select all
Name H W Pos Apos Salary Y FI SH PL ST CH PO HI SK EN PE FA LE SR POT CON Pos Rank Pos Rank2
Ryan Poehling 74 185 C LW $1,400,000 2 48 77 70 72 74 75 82 75 69 74 74 63 55 72 81 5.57 3.27
Andrew Ladd 74 200 RW LW $5,040,000 5 60 99 55 74 72 74 89 74 62 68 64 63 74 74 80 2.08 2.38
David Pastrnak 72 167 RW LW $1,200,000 1 40 78 78 80 60 76 59 76 80 70 61 45 60 81 66 4.80 3.13
*NOTE: Pos Rank2 is the rank when all players hit their full development
Roster
Jhonas Enroth
Jaroslav Halak
HAG1: Adam Larsson - Keith Yandle
PAP1: Robert Hagg - Kyle Copobianco
HAG2: Chris Summers - Carl Sneep
HAG1: Pavel Zacha - Brock Boeser - Colin White
PAP1: Mikael Salmivirta - Mitch Marner - Evgeni Kuznetsov
HAG2: Ryan Poehling - Steven Shipley - Jean-Francois Jacques
PAP2: Pavel Buchnevich - Joachim Nermark - Nathan Noel
Player Attributes
Goalies
Code: Select all
Name H W Pos Apos Salary Y FI SH PL ST CH PO HI SK EN PE FA LE SR POT CON Pos Rank
Jhonas Enroth 71 174 G None $600,000 1 40 79 80 78 78 80 80 78 71 75 79 53 78 78 74 1.87
Jaroslav Halak 71 180 G None $800,000 1 36 79 80 78 78 80 78 76 82 76 78 58 79 78 76 1.87
Code: Select all
Name H W Pos Apos Salary Y FI SH PL ST CH PO HI SK EN PE FA LE SR POT CON Pos Rank
Adam Larsson 75 200 D None $7,200,000 6 67 83 80 79 85 84 88 84 99 85 90 51 80 83 88 1.02
Chris Summers 74 185 D None $2,700,000 1 38 39 54 46 83 76 99 76 66 66 77 52 76 76 80 2.72
Keith Yandle 74 195 D None $3,150,000 2 37 64 67 73 78 75 96 74 75 67 77 56 78 78 63 3.18
Carl Sneep 76 210 D None $2,360,000 1 40 63 63 78 78 73 99 78 60 67 79 58 78 78 60 3.18
Robert Hagg 74 193 D None $1,850,000 3 40 76 77 76 89 63 76 60 71 77 74 68 75 75 67 4.07
Kyle Capobianco 73 178 D None $1,350,000 3 40 79 72 78 69 71 80 82 79 62 75 51 78 88 58 4.65
Code: Select all
T.Pos Name H W Pos Apos Salary Y FI SH PL ST CH PO HI SK EN PE FA LE SR POT CON Pos Rank
W Mikael Salmivirta 72 179 C LW $1,000,000 1 42 77 80 69 72 84 68 87 76 75 70 54 72 75 86 1.58
C Mitchell Marner 71 164 C RW $4,400,000 4 32 81 91 88 79 87 58 90 81 68 77 62 56 82 71 2.47
W Brock Boeser 73 187 RW C $4,400,000 4 36 94 85 86 65 65 73 82 85 80 77 47 55 81 72 1.78
W Evgeny Kuznetsov 72 177 LW RW $5,300,000 2 42 88 99 80 86 67 68 92 77 74 84 66 73 83 61 1.78
C Colin White 72 183 C RW $3,400,000 4 42 79 86 87 67 72 76 87 83 71 80 64 71 83 69 3.87
C Pavel Zacha 75 210 LW C $3,900,000 4 35 87 83 82 75 80 81 92 78 60 78 59 75 83 59 3.87
W Pavel Buchnevich 73 161 LW C $1,450,000 3 44 74 86 78 68 72 71 79 86 52 49 40 74 78 75 2.72
W Steven Shipley 74 210 C LW $5,600,000 4 61 99 61 87 61 77 99 62 67 71 75 51 69 74 70 2.72
C Nathan Noel 74 170 C RW $3,250,000 4 71 79 78 81 73 72 81 78 87 72 88 62 51 75 72 4.30
C Ryan Poehling 74 185 C LW $1,400,000 2 48 77 70 72 74 75 82 75 69 74 74 63 55 72 81 5.57
C Joachim Nermark 73 187 LW C $750,000 1 62 78 77 78 80 79 64 75 78 68 78 64 82 91 61 5.57
W Jean-Franįois Jacques 76 217 RW LW $4,360,000 2 61 99 60 74 74 74 89 74 70 47 76 51 74 74 52 4.80
Jhonas Enroth - 5/10 Low end starter
Jaroslav Halak - 7/10 Low end starter in backup position. Feel free to reverse Enroth/Halak.
Adam Larsson: 10/10 - Top echilon of defenders attributewise. Larsson doesn't really have a weakness. Would be nice to see a better boxscore stats.
Keith Yandle: 5/10 - Stats go beyond his attributes. Would be better suited for 2nd pairing minutes still.
Robert Hagg: 3/10 - Will have to play above his weight class due to lack of other options.
Kyle Capobianco: 5/10 - I'm going to give him the benefits of the doubt, he's 21, and has 2nd pairing potential in my eyes and could get there very quickly.
Chris Summers: 5/10 - Is a 3rd pairing dman on the 3rd pairing
Carl Sneep: 5/10 - ditto
Pavel Zacha: 6/10 - Capable but lacks constancy. Could play center.
Brock Boeser: 6/10 - Supbar hitting for HAG line but he's the best top line talent availble for it.
Colin White: 6/10 - Tops off an offensively dynamic HAG line (although they are all rather weak)
Mikael Salmivirta: 6/10 - A bit overrated due to constancy rather than ability. Can produce at a decent level.
Mitchell Marner: 6/10 - Get that man a Gatorade.
Evgeny Kuznetsov: 8/10 - A top line winger playing the winger position for once.
Ryan Poehling: 4/10 - Lags behind the competition in terms of center ability but the only way to learn FA is to take faceoffs.
Steven Shipley: 8/10 - A HAG line is the only logical place for him, and love the depth to have him on the 3rd line.
Jean-Franįois Jacques: 6/10 - Attributewise he looks more like a 4th liner but the boxscore speaks volumes and he's been screaming goal celebrations for the last several years.
Pavel Buchnevich: 10/10 - Having him on the 4th line is a crime, Would probably switch with Salmvirta if I hadn't already written his rating out.
Joachim Nermark: 5/10 - Beutiful pickup. High end potential which Nashville may hope to help continue have him overdevelop throughout the year. He's done ok throughout his career so far despite a low consistancy, so we'll see if that continues with Nashville.
Nathan Noel: 6/10 - I'd like to see him on the HAG line but its full already so unless Shpley/Jacques and their 4M+ contracts get moved its tough seeing being used there.
Roster Scores
Goalie Rating: 6/10 - They have satisfactory goaltending all around.
Defense Rating: 5/10 - They have 1 star defender, but otherwise are relatively weak attribute wise.
Forward Rating: 6.5/10 - Has a lot of good pieces but the synergy between them seems to be absolute hell.
Best Prospects
Goaltending: Michael DiPietro - Potential Backup.
Defense: Kyle Copiobianco (Potential 2nd Pairing HAG), & Cam Dineen (Potential 2nd Pairing Passing Plays)
Forward: My cutoff for prospect was 23 and under. Marner, Boewser, White, Zacha, and Noel, all technically fit this description and are likely parts of their rosters this season, with all having top 6 potential or current ability. Poehline, Pastnark, and Wilkie I'd say also project to be top 9 forwards.
Conclusions
I view this as a bubble team, which is what they've been the last two years. My major issue is the lack of synergy upfront. I think if Nashville could flip one of Shipley/Jacques for a comparable defenseman the roster would mesh much better. They have enough depth to replace those guys internally witht Noel/Poehling.
Re: 2018-19 Division Review - Central Division
Interesting pieces, man! Keep it up.
- Dallas Stars GM
- Posts: 2395
- Joined: Wed Jan 15, 2014 10:47 am
- Location: Slovakia
Re: 2018-19 Division Review - Central Division
So much fun reading it. You did a great job. We could do some articles on a monthly basis. I will do Atlantic tomorrow or on Saturday.
STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS 2020, 2022
- Bernyhawks
- Posts: 972
- Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2016 9:41 pm
Re: 2018-19 Division Review - Central Division
Always fun to have someone else’s thoughts on my team! Great read. And, no there will not be a blowout, this D will surprise and I will win my 3rd cup!!!