GM: Mark Stefanski
Coach: Paul Maurice
Last season: 11th overall. In playoffs, lost to Oslo.
Ins and Outs
(Season 12 to Season 13)
In: Michael Del Zotto (free agent), Mark Garside (free agent), Jacon Bryson (Season 13 draft), Kevin Lankinen (Season 13 draft), Logan Stanley (Season 7 draft)
Out: Milan Lucic (free agent), Jamie McGinn (free agent), Mikael Granlund (free agent), Zac Rinaldo (free agent),
Potential Lineup
Jake Guentzel/Dominik Lakatos/Alexander Radulov
Reto Suri/Nardo Nagtzaam/Mikko Rantanen
Andrew Shaw/Casey Cizikas/Olivier Roland
Tyson Jost/Mark Garside/Martin Necas
Michael Del Zotto/Brenden Dillon
Luke Schenn/Daniel Fernholm
Will Butcher/Marc-Andre Bourdon
Martin Jones/Kevin Lankinen
Three Questions
1. How different will London play this season? Not too much differently because there wasn’t much turnover on the roster. GM Mark Stefanski inherited a team built to send a message for future encounters. By that, we mean these guys are the kind of players who are intent on knocking players off their feet, into the boards, into the bench and onto the ice. London has its share of fighters. But with the signing of veteran defender Michael Del Zotto, a free agent from Minsk, Stefanski sent Mikhail Pashnin to the farm club and started a reset of the direction and philosophy of the team. The acquisition of Del Zotto, 33, could move the team up the standings all by itself because he adds so many things the team needed: puck moving ability, experience and smarts, and offensive talent in the other team’s end. The team’s defensive statistics could also get better with Del Zotto, but they can’t get too much better. London ranked 6th best in shots against and 6th best in goals against with Martin Jones as the main goalie. Their real question marks come at the other end of the ice. Last season, London had no trouble generating shots, but they didn’t score enough. They were 5th in the league in shots at 31.33 per game, but only 20th in goals per game. That’s tough to explain. Maybe they weren’t taking the puck in deep often enough, maybe they weren’t driving the net enough or maybe they were just unlucky and they’ll score a lot more this year.
2. Is this the year Lakatos wins another trophy? Center Dominik Lakatos came into the league with tons of fanfare because he has tons of talent. He easily won the Top Rookie Trophy after scoring 82 points. The elusive Czech scored 98, 76 and 93 points in his next three seasons and he’s just 22 years old. A scoring title seems inevitable for him, maybe as early as this season if natural goal scorer Jake Guentzel gets moved up to Lakatos’ line. Already used to playing with Lakatos is Russian Alexander Radulov who is at his peak at 31 and one of the league’s very fastest skaters. Radulov loves to hold onto the puck and create plays. Only once in his 11 seasons has Radulov had a negative turnover ratio. He definitely needs to work on his temper and discipline because he has been taking too many dumb penalties lately, and when he does that, Lakatos has to sit on the bench for a couple minutes. No coach is going to appreciate seeing Lakatos sitting on the bench when he could be skating.
3. What will EURO fans be surprised to know about London? Dominik Lakatos, Alexander Radulov, Jake Guentzel, Martin Jones and Michael Del Zotto will get much of the media and scouts’ attention this season because they will make spectacular plays and saves. But someday, people are going to realize how well-balanced the London squad is. They should be a very good passing team, which might explain the high shot counts they manage to get. Will Butcher on the bottom defense pairing is different, but as a group, London loves to hit. People knew that though. They led the league in penalty minutes in Season 12. What people may not know is that all six defensemen can all skate well and most can pass and shoot better than you thought they could. Up front, London could use more size, but overall this group can play both ends of the rink with aplomb. No game against London will be an easy out in any way, shape or form.
Rose’s Focus
“I’m trying to figure out Olivier Roland. What is he? Besides a mystery. Is his first name his last name, and vice versa? That was the rumor a few years back. Is he French or Belgian? On the ice, I can’t tell what kind of player he is. He’s big and strong, but sometimes he plays like he’s my size. And age. He scored 25 points one year and 78 the next while he was with Belfast. In Oslo, he scored 26 but then he doubled that total the next season in London. How does he keep doing that? Is he a second-liner? A fourth-liner? Will he get bumped out of the lineup entirely by T.J. Oshie or James Neal? Or will he be Dominik Lakatos’ best friend on the top line? Roland, or Olivier, or whoever he is gives me a headache. I’m going to go lay down.”
