GM: Chuck Massaro (only GM in team’s history)

Coach: Bruce Boudreau

Last season: 11th overall

Ins and Outs

(Season 3 to Season 4)

Out: None

In: Zemgus Girgensens (draft), Nick Ritchie (draft), Erik  Haula (draft)

In Place

(Key players signed past Season 4)

Tyler Myers, D; Zdeno Chara, D; Marian Hossa, RW; Christian Ehrhoff, D

Three Questions

1. Who will stop the puck? Bratislava entrusted the job to Craig Anderson for the last three seasons, hoping team defense would make up for any deficiencies in goal, but that plan hasn’t worked. Fans believe Massaro must acquire a better goalie if the Eagles are to challenge for the Cup.

2. Did Zdeno die? The captain’s play fell off a cliff last season. His point production was less than half of what it was the year before, he uncharacteristically gave away more pucks than he took, and he was down in all areas. Is he too old at 37 to bring his game up or will the slide continue … at almost $7 million per season for the next two years?

3. Will lines solidify this year? Massaro loves almost all of his forwards and the same cast of characters may play together again in Season 4. But coach Bruce Boudreau has constantly mixed and matched players, rarely settling on one line for a sustained period. That pattern has gone on for most of the team’s existence. One would think Toews, Hossa and Ennis would be the top line, but Boudreau isn’t thrilled with their chemistry and hasn’t found even one combination he likes.

History

Season                 Place        PTS        PP %      PK %      SPG        SAPG     GPG     GAPG    PIM

Season 3              11          91          15.4        83.8        30.82     26.94     3.51        3.35                11.12

Season 2              6          101         18.3        82.7        31.43     26.76     3.57        3.28                11.67

Season 1              8          95          16.4        81.0        30.17     29.01     3.45        3.22                9.22

Top Draft picks

Season 1: Jonathan Toews, C, current age 26. Games played: 229; points: 285; +55

Season 2: Milan Gulas, C, age 26. GP 155, Pts 67, +27

Season 3: Michael Stone, D, age 23. GP 1, Pts 0, even

Season 4: Zemgus Girgensens, C, age 19

Trade History

Season 1 (picks without years listed are from initial draft)

Traded Round 5 pick (used to draft Kimo Timonen) to Bern for Round 8 pick (Martin Erat) 2013 Round 1 (Weiyang Zhang) and 2013 Round 2 pick (Leonardo Genoni)

Traded Round 8 pick (David Desharnais) and Round 19 pick (Greg Zanon) to Geneva for Round 17 pick (Tomas Kopecky) and 2014 Round 1 pick (Michael Stone)

Traded 2013 Round 2 pick (Oleg Podyedonostsev) to Milan for Round 20 pick (David Steckel)

Traded David Steckel to Edinburgh for Round 21 pick (David Moss)

Season 2

Traded Lee Stempniak and 2014 Rd 3 (Steve Olesky) to Paris for Philip Larsen