SEASON 6 PROFILE: STOCKHOLM EAGLES

City stockholm

GM: Michael Sauer (third GM in team’s history)

Coach: Mike Johnston (replaced Bob Hartley after Season 4)(Hartley replaced Claude Noel after Season 3)

Last season: 19th overall, out of playoffs

Ins and Outs (Season 5 to Season 6)

Out: Jeff Carter (trade – later signed as free agent), Mike Richards (trade), Mikko Koivu (trade), Pavel Datsyuk (trade), Karl Alzner (trade), Mike Green (free agent), Marcus Foligno (trade), Sean Monahan (trade), Craig Smith (trade), Jindrich Barak (trade), Cody Ceci (trade), Colin Greening (waivers), Jason Demers (free agent), Benn Ferriero (free agent), Viktor Fasth (free agent)

In: Jeff Carter (free agent), Keith Yandle (free agent), Eric Staal (trade), Jack Eichel (trade), Charlie Coyle (trade), Luke Adam (trade), Erik Ersberg (trade), Adam Lowry (trade), Steve Chalmers (trade), John Klingberg (draft), Denis Gurianov (draft), Daniel Sprong (draft), Mirco Mueller (draft), Vladislav Namestnikov (draft), Linden Vey (draft)

In Place

(Key players signed past Season 6)

Bobby Ryan, LW; Eric Staal, C; Brendan Gallagher, RW; Braden Holtby, G; Zach Bogosian, D; Olli Maatta, D

Three Questions

1. When will the Eagles take off? When you look at the PO (Potential) column on Stockholm’s roster, it is truly impressive. Beginning at the bottom with goalie Braden Holtby (90) and his backup Erik Ersberg (81), up through the defense with 4, maybe 5, blueliners who will be in the 80s in a few years, to a forward crew with 11 potential superstar-level players (we’re counting Jack Eichel in that group), the future looks incredibly bright in Sweden’s capital city. But several things have to go right for General Manager Michael Sauer and the Eagles in order for all members of the Budding Superstars group to perform together on the same stage. The team has to keep on eye – and an expense check – on player development. It would be great if veterans like Eric Staal and Keith Yandle are still able to play at a high level when their younger teammates fully mature as players, but that might not happen. Even if the elder statesmen on the team leave for one reason or another, the club should still be a powerhouse. Sauer’s biggest challenge will be in contract math. For example, Ryan Johansen plays for a little more than a million dollars a year right now. He will warrant a few extra million per year very soon. Right now, Olli Maatta and John Klingberg play for a combined total of $1.6 million. Several seasons down the line, Sauer will be facing some budget balancing challenges.

2. So what about this season? Eric Staal, Bobby Ryan and Brendan Gallagher make up the top line at the moment, while Jeff Carter, Marcus Johansson and Derick Brassard play on the second line. Those two lines can hang with anyone. On defense, Keith Yandle, Zach Bogosian and Cam Fowler are all currently Websim superstars and not every team can say they start three 82OV or better players on the blueline. And Bradon Holtby is in goal most nights. Stockholm should be able to climb the standings immediately and make the playoffs, we think, even though the team finished 6th from the bottom in goals per game and 4th from the bottom in goals allowed last season. The powerplay and penalty killing were not good and the pressure will be on Coach Mike Johnston to get those numbers higher this season.

3. Why did Sauer make so many off-season moves? Eagles fans want the future to get here soon, and Sauer seemed to want to give the team some traction as it works its way up the standings. Staal, Yandle were brought in, Carter’s signing rights were traded away but he returned after not signing with Copenhagen, and all three of them have experience and leadership skills that should help the young team. Still, Brendan Gallagher wears the “C” and Cam Fowler and Ryan Johansen wear the “A”s right now. But one suspects all the trading and roster flipping in Stockholm had more to do with dissatisfaction in Season 5 results than in leadership building. Good players like Pavel Datsyuk, Mike Richards, Mike Green, Karl Alzner, Sean Monahan, Marcus Foligno and others were all victims of the Sauer Ax and the remaining players know that. To stay with a promising team, these Eagles will have to start producing immediately.

History

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

Season 5 19 74 15.0 75.6 28.6 32.28 2.82 3.59 10.27

Season 4 15 82 16.9 79.1 26.33 32.91 3.04 3.26 10.00

Season 3 24 57 14.5 77.8 25.77 32.01 2.65 3.76 11.02

Season 2 24 49 12.7 80.0 25.37 34.78 2.33 3.93 11.18

Season 1 11 93 21.5 80.4 32.61 30.01 3.48 3.28 9.01

Top Draft picks

Season 1: Cam Ward, G, current age 32. Games played: 341; Save Pct: 89.6

Season 2: Mattias Sjogren, LW, age 23. GP 246, Pts. 53, -23

Season 3: Brendan Gallagher, RW, age 23. GP 231, Pts. 144, -39

Season 4: Olli Maatta, D, age 21, GP 149, Pts. 40, -1

Season 5: Jindrich Barak, D, age 20.

Season 6: John Klingberg, D, 22.

Trade History

Seasons 2 and 3

Traded Kyle Okposo and 2014 Round 1 pick (gotten back later in a trade) (used to pick Brendan Gallagher) to Milan for Dustin Brown and 2014 Round 2 pick (Marcus Foligno)

Traded Cam Ward to Athens for Miikka Kiprusoff and Michal Neuvorth

Traded Josef Vasicek to Paris for Derek Brassard, Ryan Ellis and T.J. Brodie

Traded Miko Koivu to Paris for Jaden Schwartz and 2014 Round 1 pick (probably traded later (lost track))

Traded Loui Eriksson to Berlin for Mikko Lehtonen and 2014 Round 1 pick (Madrid’s) (Sean Monahan)

Traded Mark Fayne and 2014 Round 3 pick (Guillaume Latendresse) to Oslo for Mark Giordano

Traded Ryan Clowe to Paris for 2014 Round 3 pick (Thomas Hickey)

Traded Mark Giordano and Matthieu Garon to Copenhagen for Jonas Hiller and Darroll Powe

Traded Eric Staal to Gothenburg for Sam Gagner, 2014 Round 1 pick (later traded) (Jonathan Drouin) and 2015 Round 2 pick (?)

Traded Thomas Hickey to Milan for Magnus Johansson

Traded Rick Nash and 2015 Round 2 pick (Milan’s) (Jake Virtanen) to Madrid Jeff Carter, Ryan Johansen and 2015 Round 1 pick (later traded) (Tomas Hertl)

Traded Dustin Brown to Moscow for Marcus Johansson and James Van Riemsdyk

Traded Travis Hamonic to Paris for Dmitri Orlov and 2014 Round 1 pick (Bern’s) (Jake Muzzin)

Traded Magnus Johansson to Munich for Anton Babchuk

Traded Sam Gagner, Michal Neuvirth and 2015 Round 1 pick (Madrid’s) (later traded) (Tomas Hertl) to London for Braden Holtby

Traded Jordan Caron to Paris for Mike Green

Not sure of the exact trades but traded away Kyle Okposo, Mikko Lehtonen, Jaden Schwartz and 3 draft picks and received Rick Nash, Mike Richards, Dustin Brown and Kevin Bieksa in return.

Season 4

Traded James Van Riemsdyk and Jakub Petruzalek to Dublin for Bobby Ryan

Traded Shane Doan, Anton Babchuk and Corey Potter to Bern for Mike Cammalleri and Dalton Prout

Traded 2017 Round 3 pick to Minsk for 2015 Round 2 pick (?)

Traded 2018 Round 3 pick to Paris for Viktor Fasth

Traded T.J. Brodie to Copenhagen for Colin Greening

Traded Jonas Hiller to Madrid for Tomas Vokoun and 2015 Round 2 pick (Nikita Scherbak)

Season 5

Traded James Van Riemsdyk and Jakub Petruzalek to Dublin for Bobby Ryan

Traded Dmitri Orlov and Jake Muzzin to London for Zach Bogosian

Traded Nikita Scherbak to Helsinki for 2016 Round 2 pick and 2016 Round 3 pick (Oslo’s).

Season 6