Season 5 profile: Oslo Outlaws

GM: Chris Lee (3rd GM in team’s history)

Coach: Claude Julien (replaced Peter Laviolette after Season 3)

Last season: 24th overall

Ins and Outs

(Season 4 to Season 5)

Out: Luca Sbisa (free agent), Mike Cammalleri (free agent), Wojtek Wolski (free agent), David Petrasek (free agent)

In: Andrei Markov (free agent), David Jones (waivers), Andrew Shaw (waivers), Viktor Antipin (draft), Robert Rooba (draft)

In Place

(Key players signed past Season 5)

Tyler Seguin, C; Elias Lindholm, C; Tomas Hertl, RW; Semyon Varlamov, G; Viktor Antipin, D; Morgan Rielly, D

Three Questions

1. How can the Outlaws escape the basement? Oslo fans didn’t appreciate what happened to their team last season, but like fans of the NHL Buffalo Sabres, they will have to endure more pain. Oslo could have trouble climbing the Northern Conference standings again this season. The team got a little better on defense after free agency when Andrei Markov joined the team, even though Luca Sbisa left. Markov doesn’t have too many seasons left in him, but paired with Eric Gelinas, that means the points in the offensive zone are in good hands, especially on the power play. Overall, the defense corps is young and improving and looks like a good foundation for the team’s future. Mark Fayne and Matt Irwin make up the second pairing and the duo is even-keeled and steady. Coach Claude Julien will be less tense when they take their turns at the back. More on the third pairing of D-men shortly.

2. Who are their brightest stars? When the Outlaws visit a city, fans from the opposing team will crane their necks to get a good look at Oslo’s 5th and 6th defensemen. For the last couple of years, Tyler Seguin has drawn a lot of media attention. Morgan Rielly and Viktor Antipin are about to give Sequin a break, because all eyes will be on the young defensemen who are the two best assets in the Oslo system. Antipin, 18, was the first pick in the draft this year. He looks to have all the tools to be an excellent defensive defenseman with some extra accessories attached. He has a good work rate, skates extremely well and can handle the puck fairly well. His best years are a decade away but he has already generated a lot of excitement throughout Norway. Rielly will get hits and assists, but he’s not strong along the boards nor in front of his own net. The more experience he gains, the more he’ll be able to compensate for those deficiencies. In the end, he will be a top pairing defenseman.

3. What’s the story with the forwards? Oslo has a mix of young and old forwards. Tyler Seguin, Tomas Hertl, Robert Rooba and Hampus Lindholm are a big part of the team’s long-term future. Clever Matt D’Agostini, P-A Parenteau, Guillaume Latendresse and Curtis Glencross probably aren’t. But they will all be working together this year. Julien’s task will be to figure out who works well with whom. More accurately, who can get the puck to Sequin and also convert his goal-mouth passes. Tyler Kennedy was the team’s second leading goal scorer last year and is a two-time 20-goal scorer. He has dibs on Seguin’s right wing. Hertl is inexperienced and fragile, but he is a natural goal scorer. D’Agostini was quite underrated last season. He was the team’s third-leading scorer and one of its best defensive players. Keep an eye on him.