GM: Steve Yung
Coach: Michel Therrien
Last season: 9th overall. In playoffs, defeated Prague, then lost to Lisbon
Ins and Outs
(Season 12 to Season 13)
In: Carey Price (free agent), Kjetil Martinsen (free agent), Evgeny Solomonov (free agent), Derek Ryan (free agent), Denis Gribko (free agent), Brandon Hagel (draft); Brendan Perlini (free agent), Jamie McGinn (free agent), Ryan Spooner (free agent), Reilly Smith (free agent), Bobby Butler (free agent), Eduard Zakharchenko (free agent)
Out: Loui Eriksson (retired); Philipp Grubauer (bought out), Kris Letang (free agent), Giulio Scandella (trade); Kris Versteeg (bought out); Bryan Little (bought out), Erik Gustafsson (bought out), Derick Brassard (bought out), Zach Parise (bought out), Keith Yandle (bought out), Gabriel Dumont (bought out), Dominik Simon (bought out), Luke Glendenning (bought out), Sergei Plotnikov (bought out), Ben Bishop (bought out), Patrick Russell (trade); Korbinian Holzer (retired); Jack Skille (retired), Derek Grant (free agent), Bobby Farnham (bought out), Michael Chaput (bought out), Anthony Peluso (bought out)
Potential Lineup
Evgeny Solomonov/Claude Giroux/Derek Ryan
Kjetil Martinsen/Kyle Turris/Ryan Spooner
Sam Gagner/Jamie McGinn/Brendan Perlini
Brandon Hagel/Bobby Butler/Mats Zuccarello
Ken Kuusk/Erik Karlsson
Travis Hamonic/Ivan Provorov
Denis Gribko/Samuel Girard
Carey Price/Tanner Jaillet
Three Questions
1. What should I do with the Paris jersey I bought last season? Chances are, if it had a name and number on the back, it’s no good anymore. Most of the team vanished in the off season when new GM Steve Yung came through the dressing room with his fancy new contract-buying-out machine. If you purchased a Giroux 28 jersey, a Kuusk 8, or a handful more, you’re in luck because they are still on the team. But if you picked up a Grubauer 31, like so many did last season, you are probably going to have to shell out some bucks for a new jersey unless your grandmother is good enough at sewing to change the name and numbers. In fact, if she can change Grubauer to Price somehow, you won’t need to change the number. So why did the new GM release half the team? It was a bold and excellent move, truth be told. The Rouge Eiffels have been a super power in the EURO League for more than a decade. But with a core of players that is reaching – reached in some cases – the end of their careers, the party is over. Coming into Season 13, it was almost as if you have to be at least 30 years old to even get on this team. They had to have led the league in total career birthdays. Of the 20 forwards, 15 were over 30 and 7 of those are 35 or older. On defense, five were 33 or older and three of those were 36 or older. It was pretty obvious that that group was on its last leg. If they could put one more magical season together, they had a chance to win Paris its second EURO Cup. The odds were better, however, for a drop in the standings and the start of a massive rebuild. Yung pushed the hands on the clock forward and started the remaking of the team when he took over.
2. After these guys introduce themselves to each other, how will they play? Only 3 of the 12 expected starting forwards were in the Paris lineup last season. We’re not going to count Sam Gagner because he only played in 10 games. How this group of strangers will perform together is a mystery. The new Rouge Eiffels forwards definitely like to pass the puck. Nine are considered playmakers by Websim. Generally, they are finesse players and a few of them should have a nice touch around the opposition net. Getting a nice couple of powerplay units shouldn’t be too difficult for Coach Michel Therrien, but not many of these forwards are built for penalty killing. Derek Ryan brings some grit and Jamie McGinn likes to hit but the rest of the crew are like the artists you see painting scenes in along the Seine. They like to make beautiful plays. They would rather go around you than through you. And that’s also good because the Rouge Eiffels were the second-most penalized team in the league last season. They shouldn’t be high on that list this season. What will help the forwards most are the defensemen behind them. Erik Karlsson and Ken Kuusk love to get into the play and skate the puck up ice. The forwards will just have to remember to stay onsides while the D are lugging it up ice.
3. Paris has always had great defense. Do they still? Carey Price in goal at age 36? We’ll see. Paris fans were spoiled for a decade because Tuukka Rask and lately Philipp Grubauer were shutting teams down, in part because the defensemen in front of them were so good. Last season, Grubauer was paid $6.2 million to do his thing and Price’s price saves the team about $3 million this season. Last season in Minsk, Price posted good numbers (2.80 GAA and 89.7 save percentage) but he IS 36 years old, as we’ve said. Young Tanner Jaillet, a former first-round pick, will be there when Price tires. In front of the goalies is a very good set of defensemen still, even though Kris Letang is no longer there. Ken Kuusk and Travis Hamonic were part of Paris’ Season 2 EURO Cup win and they are still back there 11 years later. Add Erik Karlsson and Ivan Provorov and that’s as good a defense foundation as you will see. The three older guys never seem to get worse. Karlsson came in a trade four seasons ago and he looks like he can continue his all-star caliber play for a while. Provorov grew up in the system. The Russian doesn’t have a great shot from the point but he is excellent with the puck and good at getting into passing and shooting lanes. Management may try to repeat the Provorov experiment with youngster Sam Girard, who has tremendous speed and slick puck skills. He will need to step up his defensive play and gain experience if he hopes to get into the top pairing.
Rose’s Focus
“Paris is Claude Giroux’s fourth franchise in the league and it has been his most successful one personally. I am interested to see if that will continue because I don’t have faith in his new linemates, whoever they are. I am going to invite Coach Michel Therrien over for kielbasa and golabki and see what he thinks of moving Erik Karlsson and Ken Kuusk onto Giroux’s wings. Twice in the last four seasons Giroux has scored more than 110 points and the other two times, he scored at least 90. At 35, he should shy away from contact a little more, but he is quick, skilled and wily. I’ll also tell Therrien he might want to throttle down Giroux’s minutes to keep him healthier in the long run. Yeah, I think I’ll do that. I’m pretty smart, I guess. Maybe I should talk to that nice young man Steve Yung about coaching the team.”
