GM: Carl Choiniere
Coach: Todd Reirden
Last season: 2nd overall; in playoffs, beat London, lost to Belfast
Ins and Outs
(Season 12 to Season 13)
In: Mattias Backman (trade), Cale Tanaka (free agent), Nick Spaling (free agent),
Out: Henrik Lundquist (retired), Kevin Shattenkirk (trade); Michael Stone (trade); Vladimir Tarasenko (free agent), Martin Ruzicka (free agent), Henrik Haapala (free agent), Brayden McNabb (free agent), Marc Staal (free agent),
Potential Lineup
Tomas Hertl/Tyler Seguin/Niklas Danielsson
Chris Kreider/Connor McDavid/Gabriel Bourque
Dillon Dube/Nick Spaling/Kevin Labanc
Cale Tanaka/Frederik Gauthier/J.T. Compher
Viktor Antipin/Zach Werenski
Nick Leddy/Jacob Moverare
Mattias Backman/Moritz Wirth
Matt Murrray/Cal Petersen
Three Questions
1. Will they win it all this season? No team had momentum the second half of last season like the Outlaws did. The fact Belfast stopped them in their tracks in the second round of the playoffs was pretty amazing. Oslo finished just a mere point behind Helsinki in the overall standings and they left no doubt that the Outlaws are done being pushed around the league. They’ll be running most teams over from now on. They were the second stingiest defense in the EURO League last year and they were 4th in goal scoring. The fact they were the least penalized team in history helped those averages, to be sure, but there is no doubt Oslo’s defense and goalie are great. The team needs the forwards to play as well as they did last year. Mostly, they need Tyler Seguin and Connor McDavid to stay healthy. If the bottom two lines can at least hold their own throughout the season, Oslo has a really good shot at the Cup. Those two lines though, they could bring the team down. It would have been nice to fit Michael Keranen onto the third line, but the salary cap wouldn’t bend enough to allow it. The team took an unexpected gut shot in the pre-season when Coach Paul MacLean decided to leave and sign with the Dublin, where they have Guinness beer. Todd Reirden takes the reins this season and unfortunately, observers think the Outlaws took a step down in the coaching department.
2. Where are they strongest? Coming into this season, Oslo had five defensemen with OV ratings of 70 to 75 on the farm club. They could all play on other teams but they won’t skate much if at all in Norway this season. That includes Ty Smith, who is going to be excellent someday. It would be wonderful if Coach Todd Reirden could get Smith some experience, but who do you sit? The top four are two of the best pairings in the league, regardless of how they line up for the next game. Zach Werenski has no weak spots and Jacob Moverare is very similar but a notch below. Shot-blocking specialist Viktor Antipin, veteran Nick Leddy and Mattias Backman lack muscle, but that’s it; they are solid everywhere else. And 6th defenseman Moritz Wirth lacks experience and is slow compared to his five defense teammates, but he’s going to hold his own, especially while handing and passing the puck. As a group, the Oslo defense corps is a real force.
3. Will Matt Murray maintain his excellence? Let’s look at what Matt Murray has done in this league so far. When he took over the crease in Oslo, he was standing in a shooting gallery. The only two goalies in history who had to make more than 2,000 saves in back-to-back seasons were Murray and his predecessor in Oslo, Simeon Varlamov. Murray managed to keep his save percentage above 89.5 for his first four seasons. Last year, his fifth season, the excellent team play took the pressure off him. His saves were down by 200 from his rookie campaign. One would think a goalie who was used to constant pressure would lose focus when there were lulls in the action around him. But it was just the opposite for Murray. His concentration seemed to improve and save percentage shot up to 91.9. Murray, whose win-loss record was 21-45 as rookie, was now putting together a 56-15 record with 8 shutouts. That’s almost as many shutouts as he had in the previous four seasons combined. The Canadian netminder who has been through the ringer is just 27 now and he is under contract for two more seasons. Oslo should feel very safe between the pipes.
Rose’s Focus
“I hope the rest of you are smart enough to appreciate Tyler Seguin, because I know I am. Maybe having young superstar of the future Connor McDavid on the depth chart has pushed Seguin, now 31, to greater heights, but whatever the reason, he has scored 93 goals the last two seasons. His Season 11 totals of 50 goals and 69 assists were enough to convince the league to vote him as Player of the Year. Last year, he scored 43 goals and had 65 assists, which is almost as good as the season before. He was third in the league in shots on goal each of the last two seasons. Seguin doesn’t take penalties, is good defensively and has become a team leader. I don’t see Tomas Hertl and Niklas Danielsson as the kind of wings who can elevate their center to such lofty totals. Therefore, I conclude that Seguin is really, really good.”
