GM: Stephen R
Coach: John Tortorella
Last season: 15th overall. In playoffs, lost to Lisbon.
Ins and Outs
(Season 12 to Season 13)
In: Anders Lee (free agent); P.K. Subban (trade), Kevin Shattenkirk (trade), Michael Stone (trade), Emerson Etem (waivers), Andre Burakovsky (free agent), Adin Hill (free agent), Zack Smith (free agent), Jared McCann (free agent), Keegan Kolesar (free agent), Connor Clifton (free agent),
Out: Artemy Panarin ( ), Marcus Foligno (free agent), Ville Vahalahti (free agent), Danis Zaripov (free agent), Mattias Backman (free agent), Patrick Wiercioch ( ), Robin Grossman (trade), Ryan Murphy (free agent), Marcel Hossa (free agent),
Potential Lineup
Anders Lee/Logan Couture/Evgeny Dadonov
Andre Burakovsky/Ryan O’Reilly/Yanni Gourde
Emerson Etem/Marcus Kruger/Gareth Roberts
Jared McCann/Zack Smith/Zach Aston-Reese
Justin Schultz/P.K. Subban
Kevin Shattenkirk/Esa Lindell
Erik Cernak/Michael Stone
Petr Mrazek/Peter Thome
Three Questions
1. What is the biggest change in Greece this year? Aside from the fact wildfires have destroyed a lot of the trees in Greece – that’s pretty big – the biggest change would be along the blueline. General Manager Stephen R used trades to remake the defensemen, adding veterans P.K. Subban, Kevin Shattenkirk and Michael Stone to work with Justin Schultz, Esa Lindell and Erik Cernak. Gone are Patrick Wiercioch, Robin Grossman and Mattias Backman. Those three had a combined plus/minus rating last season of -41, while the three still on the team were a combined +6. The six players who will start for Athens on the blueline won’t do a lot of checking, but they generally have good size and they really know how to play their positions. Great hockey sense as a group. Schultz, a great puck-mover, and Shattenkirk will be expected to bring the offense, and everyone except Schultz will be told to stay in front of the net, worry about defense, play it safe and clear it down ice anytime the opposition has players in the Gods zone. Derrick Pouliot, Ryan Lindgren and Derek Forbort are in the minors, waiting to be used as injury fill-ins or as permanent replacements if things are going poorly for some of their teammates. In short, Stephen R and Athens have a nice collection of Dmen.
2. What can you tell from the team stats? We can tell the Gods gave up the fifth fewest number of shots per game in the league, which is really good. Even so, they ranked 19th in goals against. That tells you the Petes – goalies Petr Mrazek and Peter Thome – let their team down often in Season 12. Mrazek ranked 24th in save percentage (88.0) among EURO goalies and Thome’s save average was a horrendous 84.4 in 20 games. Both goalies are young and should be better this season. The Gods were above average in the offensive team categories. We can also tell you they were the fifth-most penalized team in the league. That’s probably not that good. You don’t want to be soft, but you don’t want to play a man down more than your opponents have to. Expect them to stay in the top 5 and maybe the top 2 because in the off season, Athens acquired dynamic defenseman P.K. Subban. Quick quiz: Guess who the league’s all-time penalty minute leader is? Subban is 333 penalty minutes ahead of second-place Brad Marchand. He will go over the 2,000 career penalty minutes mark this season. But he is still a defenseman who can contribute with strong defensive play while scoring 50 points for you.
3. How good are the forwards? The Gods’ forwards will not be fun to play against. Prepare your players for frustration when in Greece. Not many teams can throw two formidable centers at you every game, but the Gods can. Logan Couture and Ryan O’Reilly have appeared in 6 and 3 all-star games, respectively and they will be on the ice 45 minutes per game when you play them. They both refuse to get tired during a game and they also refuse to let opponents get comfortable with the puck. Mega-offense isn’t their game, although O’Reilly once scored 100 points and Couture did it 4 times. Getting control of play and pressuring defensemen is what they do best. And then there’s Yanni Gourde, being a pest and distracting. Anders Lee is a horse. Be sure to plant your feet when you try to move him from in front of your goal. Evgenii Dadonov is super shifty and might be one of the league’s most underrated offensive players. Emerson Etem was out of the league in Season 11 but he returned to post his best stats in 10 years. The question remains, will Athens be able to put these good parts together and have them work like a machine? They will need that to happen to move into the playoffs and then past Round 1.
Rose’s Focus
“I’m looking at these guys in practice and I notice two players who don’t seem to fit the Athens mold. Don’t look at me like I’m weird. I was at their practice because I had to get GM Stephen R to sign some paperwork. Any who, all the Gods forwards can skate well. They are fast and look to be in excellent physical condition. They also seem to be good defensive players and they all have excellent hockey sense … except for Gareth Roberts and newcomer Jared McCann. Roberts is a stocky Irishman who will stand up for his teammates in a fight and he will probably play on the third line. McCann is the fastest forward on the team and he can handle a puck. He will start on the fourth line. Roberts and McCann just don’t seem to fit. Like that skirt I bought in Hamburg in 2003. Both are good, and I like them, but I’ll be curious to see how they lines work.”
