GM: Ben Stuller
Coach: John Stevens
Last season: 7th overall. In playoffs, lost to Copenhagen
Ins and Outs
(Season 13 to Season 14)
In: Jake Gardiner (free agent), Derek Forbort (free agent), Sidney Crosby (waivers), Milan Lucic (free agent), Carl Hagelin (free agent), Brad Marchand (waivers), Matt Benning (waivers), Matthew Knies (draft), Stanislav Svozil (draft), Danil Chayka (draft),
Out: Nikita Zaitsev (free agent), Derek Stepan (free agent), Mattias Sjogren (free agent), Milan Lucic (free agent), Jakub Vrana (free agent), Andrew Ladd (retired), T.J. Brennan (free agent), Anton Khudobin (retired), Vlad Mamestnikov (free agent), Tomas Vincour (free agent), Ilya Lyubushkin (free agent),
Potential Lineup
Steven Stamkos/Sergei Mozyakin/Patrik Laine
Artemy Panarin/Nicklas Backstrom/Mikhail Grigorenko
MIlan Lucic/Dylan Cozens/Carl Hagelin
Lucas Raymond/Jason Dickinson/Drake Batherson
Shayne Gostisbehere/John Klingberg
Jake Gardiner/Derek Forbort
Philip Larsen/Matt Benning
Simoen Varlamov/Alex Stalock
Three Questions
1. Is this season a new start in more than one way for the franchise? Yes. Not only did the team leave St. Petersburg for The Netherlands as part of league sanctions against Russia, but a grand total of 20 players’ contracts expired in the off season, including 14 forwards. That meant the team could restructure through free agency if they wanted to. But any building will have to be around five key members of the team who still have at least a year left on contracts totaling about $39 million. Shayne Gostisbehere and John Klingberg are both at their peaks and excellent top 2 defenseman. Up front, Sergei Mozyakin and Patrick Laine – and maybe Steven Stamkos – will power the top line. Mozyakin, 31, has scored over 90 points in each of the last four seasons. Stamkos is 34, which isn’t ancient, but his numbers have dwindled noticeably in recent seasons. And Laine? Rose will tell you about him a little later on. The question for Coach John Stevens is does he want to put his three best eggs in one basket or place one in the Line 2 basket with Artemy Panarin? Actually, Stevens’ egg carton has some empty spaces in it at the moment. With only 21 players on the roster and only 5 defenseman, General Manager Ben Stuller still has some egg shopping to do. The salary cap is not a concern; he can use some of the $22 million he lugged out of Russia in the move. UPDATE: Amsterdam has since re-signed Milan Lucic and Nicklas Backstrom, and signed Mikhail Grigorenko, Carl Hagelin, Jake Gardiner and Derek Forbort.
2. Who will lead this team into the future? Thanks to some shrewd prospect drafting by General Manager Ben Stuller, Amsterdam fans can feel comfortable looking into the future when it’s possible they will be cheering a line consisting of Dylan Cozens centering Lucas Raymond and Drake Batherson. And on defense, Slovak Martin Fehervary had a nice NHL debut and he looks like a future fixture in the lineup for the Dutch team. There might be some anxiousness in goal, however. Amsterdam goes into this season with two 36-year-olds guarding the net. Simeon Varlamov and Alex Stalock are running out of gas, although Varlamov had one of his better seasons in Season 13. With only prospect Tyler Parsons in the system, Stuller will have to get creative and/or lucky for a long-term solution there.
3. Where will they struggle? The first hurdle this team faces is introducing EURO League hockey to Amsterdam, a city with plenty of other things for people to spend their extra money on for fun. The next thing to work on will be getting to the salary floor. Amsterdam has to spend $11 million to get there, so look for trade offers, waiver pickups and free agent signings centered around Holland. Then there is quality to consider. The team has a beautiful starting 6 players, but after that, there is a drop-off. Getting young players experience looks to be a priority for this team, so patience is going to be needed if you are an Amsterdam fan. Amsterdam, when it was St. Petersburg, was one of the better offensive teams in the league last season. We don’t see that being the case this season unless some significant changes are made to the roster soon. UPDATE: Amsterdam has since re-signed Milan Lucic and Nicklas Backstrom, and signed Mikhail Grigorenko, Carl Hagelin, Jake Gardiner and Derek Forbort.
Rose’s Focus
“Patrik Laine was always a good scorer. Everyone knows that. After putting together four seasons of 34-38 goals, he blossomed into a 48-goal scorer last year. I have a rosebush. The rose is my favorite flower for obvious reasons. My rosebush was doing OK for years and then one spring it blossomed with about twice as many flowers as before. I had to do a lot of work on it, but it was beautiful so I didn’t mind. The very next spring, I was wondering if it would be big and full again and guess what? It was even bigger. I was overjoyed. It’s for that reason I think Laine will score even more goals this season. I calculate – based on my rosebush – about 70 to 75 goals.”
