GM: Bryan Camara
Coach: Barry Trotz
Last season: 6th overall. In playoffs, defeated Madrid; defeated Paris; lost to Berlin
Ins and Outs
(Season 13 to Season 14)
In: Brock McGinn (free agent); Mikhail Pashnin (waivers), Sven Baertschi (waivers), Artjoms Lapiks (free agent), Vladislav Saiko (free agent)
Out: Alexander Ovechkin (free agent), Sean Monahan (free agent), Michael Matheson (free agent),
Potential Lineup
Max Domi/John Tavares/Anthony Mantha
Jonathan Drouin/Mat Barzal/Dmitrij Jaskin
Brock McGinn/Radek Faksa/Tobias Rieder
Max Jones/Trevor Zegras/Emil Bemstrom
Sami Vatanen/Cam Fowler
John Marino/Cody Ceci
Brandon Montour/Mikhail Pashnin
Juuse Saros/Jordan Binnington
Three Questions
1. How are they set for goalies? Lisbon seems to have an excellent tandem in place with Juuse Saros and Jordan Binnington. With many teams, you hope to catch them when they have to play their backup against you. But Lisbon can count on having an accomplished goalie in all 82 games this season. And next season, too, because both are under contract through Season 15. Saros had the starter role and he played in 14 playoff games, and he won twice as many games as he lost over those 71 games. His save percentage went from 90 in the regular season to 91.7 in the playoffs. Binnington didn’t start any playoff games, but in his 28 regular season games, he won more than he lost, had a 88.8 save percentage and 1 shutout. Once he gains more experience points he should get a little better.
2. Who will play with Tavares and Domi? Max Domi scored 40 goals and struck up a good partnership with legend John Tavares last season. Both men were driving forces on offense and both came within a few points of the 100-point mark. At 5-on-5 and on the PP, they played with Anthony Mantha on their right wing. Mantha, a 7-year veteran at age 29, needs to step it up a bit. A great shooter, he only scored 18 goals with Tavares and Domi. He scored 23 the year before. He adds size to the line, but he is and will always be a couple steps behind his speedy linemates. Dmitrij Jaskin played well on the second line, with 25 goals and 57 points and we wouldn’t be surprised to see Coach Barry Trotz give him a tryout on the top line. If not, Jaskin remains on the second line with Jonathan Drouin and Mathew Barzal, who is an assist master and the heir apparent to Tavares on the top line.
3. How are their defensemen? One thing Lisbon can do is skate your pants off. Throughout the lineup, there is speed and stamina. And on the blueline, while there isn’t much size and strength, there is talent. Five of the six starters have OV ratings of 80 or higher. They were a big reason the team did well last season at limiting shots on goal from their opponents (8th in the league). Coach Barry Trotz can mix and match as much as he wants on the blueline because the top five are all fairly similar. John Marino and Brandon Montour are the youngest of the group and the best bet to stay with the team long term. The main question mark is Mikhail Pashnin. The 32-year-old Russian is one of the best at defense in the group, and he will be needed for the penalty kill, but will he be available? Pashnin will be in the penalty box 150 minutes or more this year because he just loves to fight.
Rose’s Focus
“How can you not focus on someone who seems to defy age? Someone who has risen to the top of a group of people and stayed there through guile and talent in the face of challenges from younger talent? No, I’m not talking about me. I’m talking about John Tavares. He is 34 this season and he scored 97 points last year. His point totals have actually gone up the last two seasons. The all-time leading EURO scorer has always played top line minutes, has always put more than 200 shots on goal and has scored more than 75 points in 11 of his 13 seasons. Will he slow down? Ever? I’d like to see him have another great year – several great years in fact – to show people that gray hair is just number.”
