GM: Guybrush Threepwood
Coach: Adam Oates
Last season: 5th overall. In playoffs, defeated Milan; defeated Bern; defeated Lisbon; defeated Helsinki to become Cup champions
Ins and Outs
(Season 13 to Season 14)
In: Tyler Toffoli (free agent), Jake Virtanen (free agent), Luke Evangelista (draft), Cross Hanas (draft), Colton Dach (draft)
Out: Jan Kovar (free agent), Nikolai Kulemin (retired), Brian Gibbons (retired), Roman Lyubimov (free agent), Michael Bournival (free agent), Kurtis MacDermid (free agent),
Potential Lineup
Eliezer Sherbatov/Ryan Nugent-Hopkins/Vadim Shipachyov
Artturi Lehkonen/Aleksander Barkov/Tyler Toffoli
Travis Konecny/Erik Forssell/Ryan Hartman
Brendan Leipsic/Gaetan Haas/Jake Virtanen
Staffan Kronwall/Morgan Rielly
Kris Letang/Roger Karrer
Filip Hornek/Dante Fabbro
Calvin Pickard/Jonas Johansson
Three Questions
1. Can they win 3 in a row? The little Smurfs have been the big bullies of the Southern Conference for the last 5 years and as we’ve said in the past, once you make it to the Finals against the team surviving the tough battles in the Northern Conference anything can happen. Berlin can win a third Cup in a row for sure. In their own conference, Paris has built up this year, Lisbon hinted at the notion they could win the South title last season, and the three Swiss teams are moving up the ladder. But Berlin remains strong. Their powerful nucleus of players like Calvin Pickard, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Vadim Shipachyov, Morgan Reilly and Staffan Kronwall have all hit and passed the 30-years mark in their lives, but they are still considered to be at their peak. The next line of reinforcements (Aleksander Barkov, Erik Forrssell, Filip Hronek and Roger Karrer) are still in their 20s. Berlin looks like an efficiently engineered Mercedes engine that keeps performing at a high level.
2. What are the Smurfs’ biggest obstacle? First off, they drink too much. They all smell like stale beer and their faces – with slitty eyes and cracked skin – are perfect pictures of the effects of abuse. The fact they keep winning is dangerous to all other teams, because they might want to start copying Berlin’s methods. The next thing you know, everyone will be thinking that partying, smooching with girls and having fun all the time is a good way to live life. Another problem they face is the league salary cap. When Season 13 turned into Season 14, Berlin was tight to the limit. They had $5.4 million in cap space with 3 forwards yet to sign. One was second-line star Jan Kovar, who earned $6.9 million last season. The Czech publically voiced his displeasure with GM Guybrush Threepwood and left. Canadian Tyler Toffoli replaces Kovar at less than half the cost. But Toffoli is coming to Berlin from Bratislava and Zurich, two organizations that stressed training, discipline, professional conduct and community service. Not many believe he will easily adapt to a team that acts more like a band of drunken pirates than a team of professional athletes.
3. What is this team’s secret? It’s not a great mystery, really. The Smurfs have a good goalie, who plays behind a solid defense corps that plays behind forward lines filled with ability. Great teams need depth and with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Aleksander Barkov and Erik Forssell at center, Berlin certainly has that. And they have high-octane wingers like Vadim Shipachyov and Eliezer Sherbatov posing real threats every time they are on the ice. But we think the defense is where the team’s real strength comes from. Staffan Kronwall and Morgan Rielly have to be just hated by the teams they play against because they can do everything well. Kronwall is tough, hits hard, plays great defense and then he has the nerve to score in the neighborhood of 14 goals and 50 points every season. Rielly is a quieter clone. He doesn’t sit in the penalty box as often as Kronwall, but he scores, blocks shots, steals pucks and hits at a very high rate. Kris Letang is 37 this year but he played a big role in the Smurfs’ Cup last season. Having won it in Season 2 with Paris, it was also his second Cup. He missed 9 games last season and fans should expect him to miss more this season, but they will be glad to see the skillful Canadian out there trying to repeat his +38 season from a year ago. Below him on the depth chart are two 79 OV players (Filip Hronek and Roger Karrer) and Dante Fabbro, a youngster who has played every game during Berlin’s two Cup-winning seasons.
Rose’s Focus
“When Anders Lee left Berlin between Seasons 12 and 13, I thought the Smurfs would not win a second Cup. I was right, regardless of what actually happened. Arturri Lehkonen did not play as well as Lee had the season before in the LW spot on the second line. That, in my opinion, is why Berlin didn’t win the Cup last season. What? Oh posh! You believe what you want to believe and I’ll believe what I want. Lehkonen scored 46 points, but he didn’t do a lot of hitting or shooting. Lee scored 68 points for Berlin two years in a row and was much, much better than Lehkonen all over the ice. The flimsy Finn will cost Berlin yet another title this season. Again. ”
