Owner: Sophia Rousseau, CEO, ELITE Models (Top Model agency in Paris)
Farm Club: Paris Francais Volants
GM: Donald Lockhart (3rd GM in team’s history)
Coach: Michel Therrien (replaced Randy Cunneyworth after Season 2)
Last season: 3rd overall (In playoffs, defeated Bern, lost to Berlin)
Ins and Outs (Season 11 to Season 12)
Out: T.J. Oshie (free agent), Rasmus Andersson (waivers), Marius Holtet (free agent), Steve Oleksy (free agent), Mathieu Perreault (free agent), Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (free agent), Brandon Tanev (free agent), Frederick Gaudreau (free agent)
In: Thatcher Demko (previous draft), Ilya Samsonov (previous draft), Korbinian Holzer (free agent), Mario Ferraro (previous draft), Mason Appleton (previous draft), Patrick Russell (free agent)
In Place (Key players signed past Season 12)
Claude Giroux, C; Kyle Turris, C; Erik Karlsson, D; Ken Kuusk, D; Ivan Provorov, D
Three Questions
1. Where was Philipp Grubauer all this time? The 6-1 German goalie emerged from the shadows in Season 11 as a 12-foot-tall, fire-breathing monster, intimidating all shooters and making some skate home crying for their mothers. His 9.20 save percentage and 2.30 goals against average were easily the best in the league and if he didn’t win the Best Goalie trophy, there would have been chaos in the streets and a formal inquest. It makes you wonder how the Paris team would have done if Tuuka Rask had left earlier, not that Rask wasn’t also a spectacular goalie. But with Rask firmly planted in Paris’ goal, Grubauer never got a chance to show what he could do. He appeared in fewer than 17 games for 6 seasons and 31 in another as Rask’s backup. He is 30 now so EURO shooters will be facing this beast while he’s in the prime of his career.
2. What has been the secret of Paris’ success over the years? As salary cap difficulties continue to peel away the Rouge Eiffels, we can see where the team’s strength lies. Longtime headline-getters Tuukka Rask, Evgeny Malkin, Corey Perry, Joffrey Lupul and Alexander Semin have all left, but still, plenty of gamblers had their money on Paris to win the Season 11 Cup as they rose to No. 3 overall. One area of the team has remained constant over the years. The Rouge Eiffels’ blueline corps has always been super strong. Paris drafted for defense early in its history, taking Alex Pietrangelo with its top pick in Season 1, and Ken Kuusk with its top pick in Season 2. Three goalies and defenseman Ivan Provorov were the team’s top picks in the next four drafts. Much of the team’s success over the first decade boils down to the four names that were on the ice the most on the blueline: Kris Letang, Ken Kuusk, Travis Hamonic and Pietrangelo/Erik Karlsson (they were traded for each other). Paris fans just love those guys. Letang is on the final year of his contract, and they hope there is a way he can stay with the team longer, but even if they part ways after this year, Provorov will be a great replacement. Paris’ salary cap problems are currently hurting the team because they are over the league salary cap and Kuusk is getting suspended each game. It would really help them if they could get their best player on the ice.
3. Is the powerplay a weakness? Apparently so. Paris has been in the league’s top 10 for 10 straight seasons and in the Top 5 for 8 of those years. Last season’s powerplay efficiency rate was the franchise’s worst ever, and that includes the year they finished 19th in the league standings. They ranked 20th in the EURO in PP percentage last season. Why did it drop so? We’re not sure. The GM changed, but the coach didn’t. Michel Therrien was in charge from Season 3 to Season 11. Perhaps it was a trade that sent Evgeny Malkin and Alex Pietrangelo to Belfast. Obviously those are talented offensive players to lose, but they were replaced in the trade by Claude Giroux and Erik Karlsson. Not exactly slouches. Belfast’s PP efficiency rose from 9th in the league to 3rd, so maybe Malkin and Pietrangelo are better with the man advantage than anyone realized. Whatever the reason, Paris will want to get that special teams number up this season. It will be difficult to do that. The salary cap has cost them their top Season 11 PP goal scorer Marius Holtet and their 4th-best, T.J. Oshie.
History
Season Place PTS PP % PK % SPG SAPG GPG GAPG PIM
Season 1 19 72 22.8 79.8 27.65 33.06 3.07 3.68 9.09
Season 2 3 (Cup) 104 20.6 81.5 31.40 31.22 3.67 3.34 12.57
Season 3 1 116 18.0 84.5 33.88 27.52 4.09 2.93 13.85
Season 4 2 113 21.3 81.1 34.10 29.32 4.16 3.07 12.23
Season 5 4 111 21.3 85.6 34.59 27.26 4.10 2.88 10.93
Season 6 2 123 21.4 81.3 33.12 27.17 4.15 2.67 11.24
Season 7 5 108 18.5 85.9 32.55 28.16 3.93 2.89 12.39
Season 8 8 98 21.5 82.1 31.00 30.76 3.76 3.21 13.32
Season 9 10 95 22.5 81.9 31.87 29.12 3.57 3.09 12.27
Season 10 2 121 23.0 84.0 31.54 28.91 3.84 2.78 12.23
Season 11 3 113 16.3 85.2 33.50 28.63 3.33 2.45 8.93
Top Draft picks
Season 1: Alex Pietrangelo, D, current age 32. Games played: 834; points: 621; +346
Season 2: Ken Kuusk, D, age 28. GP 763, Pts 357, +224
Season 3: Viktor Fasth, G, age 38. GP 89, Save Pct. 88.8 RETIRED
Season 4: Philipp Grubauer, G, age 30. GP 190, Save Pct. 90.1
Season 5: Brandon Halverson, G, age 25.
Season 6: Ivan Provorov, D, age 24. GP 321, Points 64, +29
Season 7: Radek Faksa, LW, age 26. GP 385, Points 83, +1
Season 8: Aaron Dell, G, age 31. GP 18, Save Pct. 90.9
Season 9: Tanner Jaillet, G, age 22. GP 12; Save Pct. 88.5
Season 10: Samuel Girard, D, age 21.
Season 11: Rasmus Andersson, D, age 23. GP 76; Points 16; +9
Season 12: Dylan Holloway, C, age 19.
Trade History
Season 1 (picks without years listed are from initial draft)
Traded Round 3 pick (used to draft Dustin Byfuglien), Round 20 pick (Jonathan Bernier), and Round 26 pick (Jeff Woywitka)to Milan for Round 6 pick (used to draft David Perron), Round 21 pick (Mike Green) and 2013 Round 1 pick (Ossi Vaananen)
Traded Round 7 pick (Dennis Wideman) to Geneva for Round 15 pick (Ryan Ellis), Round 25 pick (Ben Lovejoy) and 2013 Round 1 pick (Jason Krog)
Traded Adrian Aucoin to Bern for Round 13 pick (Dmitri Orlov), Round 19 pick (Carlo Colaiacovo) and 2014 Round 1 pick (traded later) (Jake Muzzin)
Season 2
Traded 2014 Round 3 pick (Thomas Hickey) to Stockholm for Ryan Clowe
Traded Dmitri Orlov and 2014 Round 1 pick (Jake Muzzin) to Stockholm for Travis Hamonic
Traded Derek Brassard, T.J. Brodie and Ryan Ellis to Stockholm for Josef Vasicek
Traded Jaden Schwartz and 2014 Round 1 pick (Peter Mueller) to Stockholm for Miko Koivu
Traded Philip Larsen to Bratislava for Lee Stempniak and 2014 Round 3 pick (Steve Oleksy)
Season 3
Traded Mike Green to Stockholm for Jordan Caron
Season 4
Traded Viktor Fasth to Stockholm for 2018 Round 3 pick (Nick Merkley)
Season 5
After start of Season 5
Claimed Mike Ribeiro (waivers)
Claimed Nick Palmieri (waivers)
Claimed Jordan Caron (waivers)
Traded Andre Burakovsky to Copenhagen for Nathan Gerbe and 2017 Round 2 pick (Madrid’s) (Ilya Samsonov)
Season 6
Traded Jared McCann to Copenhagen for 2017 Round 1 pick (Athens’) (Ivan Provorov)
Traded Mikko Koivu, 2017 Round 2 pick (Mirco Mueller) and 2017 Round 3 pick (Vladislav Namestnikov) to Stockholm for Mike Richards
Traded 2018 Round 1 pick (Jake McCabe), Craig Paquette, Jordan Caron and Colton Gillies to Copenhagen for Dave Bolland, Benoit Pouliot, Martin Erat and 2018 Round 2 pick (Radek Faksa)
After Season 6 started:
Signed Sergei Zinovjev (free agent), Lauri Korpikoski (free agent), Ryan Clowe (free agent), Michael Ryder (free agent), Alex Tanguay (free agent); claimed Steve Olesky (waivers); claimed Colton Gillies (waivers) then lost Gillies (waivers); lost Nathan Gerbe (waivers)
Season 7
After season started: Signed Tom Wandell (free agent), signed Matt Frattin (free agent), claimed Damien Brunner (waivers); lost Radek Faksa (waivers)
Season 8
Season 9
Season 10:
Traded Alex Pietrangelo and Evgeny Malkin to Belfast for Erik Karlsson, Claude Giroux, 2023 Round 3 pick (Albin Eriksson) and 2024 Round 3 pick
Season 11:
Season 12
