GM: Chris Lee (3rd GM in team’s history)
Coach: Dave Hakstol ( replaced Claude Julien after Season 6, who replaced Peter Laviolette after Season 3)
Last season: 24th overall, out of the playoffs
Ins and Outs
(Season 6 to Season 7)
Out: P-A Parenteau (free agent ), Gilbert Brule (free agent ) , Curtis Glencross (free agent ), Marc-Andre Gragnani (free agent)
In: Shayne Gostisbehere (draft), Jordan Martinook (draft), Mattias Janmark (draft)
In Place
(Key players signed past Season 7)
Tyler Seguin, C; Connor McDavid, C; Semyon Varlamov, G; Viktor Antipin, D; Shayne Gostisbehere, D
Three Questions
1. What was that sound we heard in Norway late last season? Was that applause? Yes it was. After two straight last-place seasons, the Outlaws got some footing in the second half of the season and just missed climbing out of the basement by a point. The appearance of Connor McDavid on the scene had a lot to do with the improvement, as did the play of Season 5 first overall draft pick Viktor Antipin, who led the league in blocked shots at age 20. Mikhail Grabovski and David Jones did a nice job for Coach Claude Julien, generating the fifth- and sixth-most shots on the team despite limited ice time. The Outlaws’ offense improved a little from the previous year, but it’s defensive work got a little worse. That has to be a focus for GM Chris Lee and Coach Claude Julien.
2. Shouldn’t the Outlaws get better with 3 top picks? Finishing near the bottom three years in a row has its advantages. Just ask the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Outlaws have McDavid, Antipin and now Shayne Gostisbehere to build around. McDavid, who entered his NHL career injured, was the second pick in the Season 6 draft behind Mark Stone of Bern. The injury didn’t hurt McDavid’s Websim attributes as much as some feared and he has a 92 PO rating, resulting in a secure payoff for Lee’s gamble. Add Tyler Seguin, Tomas Hertl and Morgan Rielly to the three big draft picks and that’s a very sound foundation for a team that should be getting into the playoffs in the next 2 or 3 seasons, perhaps even this season.
3. Where might they struggle? The top 12 forwards are all capable skaters, although Tyler Kennedy might be playing above his pay grade as the top right wing alongside Tyler Seguin and Zach Parise. And poor Devante Smith-Pelly will be playing under the microscope this year because a lot is expected of him for various reasons. For one, he starts as the second line right wing next to offensive-minded Connor McDavid and Tomas Hertl. Smith-Pelly, who was named assistant captain of this team, will forever be linked to a trade made just before the draft. Oslo moved down two spots – from 2 to 4 – and picked up Smith-Pelly in the exchange. If the 25-year-old plays poorly and Patrick Laine, who was taken with Oslo’s original pick, lights it up in his rookie season with the Winnipeg Jets, fans will look at the trade with disdain, even though they picked Shayne Gostisbehere with pick 4. The defense is anchored by three young stars in Antipin, Gostisbehere and Morgan Rielly, who are all between 20 and 23 years of age. The Outlaws might get dinged this season due to the lack of experience on the back line. But the forwards are sound.
History
Season Place PTS PP % PK % SPG SAPG GPG GAPG PIM
Season 6 24 54 17.5 78.3 25.51 35.61 2.50 3.90 8.54
Season 5 24 41 10.9 78.5 23.34 34.59 2.22 3.83 8.71
Season 4 24 47 17.9 72.3 25.56 35.09 2.50 4.05 11.59
Season 3 21 75 16.2 83.4 27.82 33.43 3.07 3.66 12.21
Season 2 13 91 19.0 84.1 29.43 29.89 3.43 3.13 14.78
Season 1 10 93 17.6 80.8 31.83 29.71 3.66 3.35 10.80
Top Draft picks
Season 1: Shea Weber, D, current age 32. Games played: 486; points: 334; +131
Season 2: Fredrik Norrena, G, age 37. GP 71, Save Pct. 88.8
Season 3: Elias Lindholm, C, age 23. GP 56, Pts 9, -15
Season 4: Tomas Hertl, LW, age 23. GP 218, Pts 128, -72
Season 5: Viktor Antipin, D, age 20. GP 164, Pts 36, -52
Season 6: Connor McDavid, C, 19.GP 42, Points 39, -15
Season 7: Shayne Gostisbehere, D, age 22
Trade History
Season 1 (picks without years listed are from initial draft)
Traded Round 5 pick (used to draft Andrew Ladd) and Round 7 pick (Alex Goligoski) toCopenhagen for Round 3 pick (Jimmy Howard)
Traded Round 4 pick (Radim Vrbata) and Round 6 pick (Johan Franzen) to Bern for Daniel Sedin and Round 12 pick (Max Talbot)
Traded Round 17 pick (Zac Rinaldo) and 2013 Round 1 pick (Alex Galchenyuk) to Minsk for Round 8 pick
Traded Round 8 pick (Andrej Meszaros) and Round 12 pick (Boyd Gordon) to Copenhagen for Alexandre Burrows
Traded Justin Williams to Geneva for Matt D’Agostini, 2014 Round 2 pick (Andrei Loktionov) and $250,000
Traded 2014 Round 3 pick (Samuel Morin) to Milan for Dustin Penner
Season 2
Traded Thomas Vanek to Prague for P-A Parenteau
Traded Mark Giordano to Stockholm for Mark Fayne and 2014 Round 3 pick (Guillaume Latendresse)
Season 3
Traded Jimmy Howard to Berlin for Semyon Varlamov and Jarkko Immonen
Traded Pavel Datsyuk and Shea Weber to London for Tyler Seguin and Luca Sbisa
Traded Ryan Suter to Gothenburg for Morgan Rielly, Eric Gelinas and 2017 Round 2 pick (Brayden McNabb)
Season 4
Traded 2016 Round 3 pick (traded later to Stockholm – Ryan Gunderson) to Helsinki for Wojtek Wolski
Season 5
Season 6
After Season 6 started: Signed Devan Dubnyk (free agent)
Season 7
Traded 2018 Round 1 pick (Patrik Laine) to St. Petersburg for Devante Smith-Pelly and 2018 Round 1 pick (Shayne Gostisbehere)
