Season 5 profile: Zurich Lions

GM: Dennis Sullo (4th GM in team’s history)

Coach: Peter Laviolette (replaced Paul MacLean after Season 4)

Last season: 9th overall

Ins and Outs (Season 4 to Season 5)

Out: Patrick Kane (trade), Martin Thornberg (trade), Tim Connolly (free agent), Blake Comeau (free agent), Dale Weise (waivers), Joni Pitkanen (waivers)

In: Jakub Voracek (trade), Nathan Beaulieu (trade), Devan Dubnyk (trade), Alexander Weiss (draft), Sandro Zurkirchen (draft), Jack Dougherty (draft), Michael Keranen (draft), Maxim Noreau (draft)

In Place (Key players signed past Season 5)

Patrice Bergeron, C; Jacob Trouba, D; Jakub Voracek, RW; Drew Stafford, RW; Janne Niskala, D

Three Questions

1. Are the Lions trying to achieve more balance? Yes, the trades of Alexander Radulov and Patrick Kane are clear signals that Zurich is trying to improve its defense corps at the expense of dynamic forwards, but make no mistake: they will still be firing pucks at opposing goals with extreme velocity. Ilya Kovalchuk led the EURO League in goal scoring last year with 49 and there is little reason to think he won’t be among the league’s top sharpshooters again this year. And speaking of “sharp” shooters, Patrick Sharp won’t suffer too much from the departure of Radulov and Kane because General Manager Dennis Sullo has deftly filled the second line with playmakers Jakub Voracek and Jussi Jokinen. The latter isn’t blessed with great offensive skills, but Sharp’s keen shooting ability plays right into Jokinen’s strength. So Zurich has evolved from being a team with just two Grade A lines to a team with a little better defense and a Grade A and Grade A- line.

2. Is the defense corps too young? Dan Hamhuis is in his fifth season with Zurich. He is 33 now and the most experienced defenseman on the team. Jake Trouba and Tyson Barrie are loaded with potential but are a ways away from their best years. Hamhuis’ advice and guidance will help them get their faster. Marc Staal and Janne Niskala are almost to their prime years and will be very important players for Zurich this season. Niskala is good at getting the puck out of his own zone and he’s great at blocking shots. He might be one of the more underrated defensemen in the EURO. Staal displays great character and the two of them will be looking to be plus players for the fourth straight season. One thing the Zurich defense corps won’t be lacking is conditioning. Their top five are in great shape and easily capable of playing hard for a full 60 or 65 minutes each game.

3. Can they win the division? In Season 1, Zurich was considered the little brother to the other Swiss teams. Geneva and Bern were gigantic bullies back then. Little bro has grown up. Zurich should challenge Berlin for the Schloder Division title this year and at least a top 2 seed in the playoffs. How can they get there? (Everyone’s head turns toward Roberto Luongo.) It’s put up or shut up time for the goalie who is now 36 years old. Luongo was great with Copenhagen but always wore the Scarlet N, which stood for Not Quite Good Enough. His first season with Zurich following a trade saw his save percentage dip from the low 90s to just under 90 percent. Coach Peter Laviolette will have to be masterful at handling the Canadian goalie, pushing him but not overworking him. That makes newly-acquired Devan Dubnyk, Luongo’s backup, a very important man in Zurich. If Dubnyk can gain the coach’s confidence, Luongo can get the rest he requires and the team will get the wins it needs.