GM: Steve Yung
Coach: Michel Therrien
Last season: 8th overall. In playoffs, defeated Zurich; lost to Lisbon
Ins and Outs
(Season 13 to Season 14)
In: Evander Kane (free agent), Andrey Bykov (free agent), Anders Lee (free agent), Chris Kreider (free agent), Chris Driedger (free agent), Adam Larsson (free agent), Jake Muzzin (free agent), Alexander Toryanik (free agent), Isak Posch (draft), Ryan McCleary (draft), John Fusco (draft), Baptiste Bruche (draft)
Out: Ivan Provorov (trade), Travis Hamonic (free agent), Evgeny Solomonov (free agent), Danis Zaripov (waivers), Tomas Nosek (free agent), Bobby Butler (retired), Kevin Dallman (free agent), Jamie McGinn (free agent), Bud Holloway (free agent), Brayden McNabb (free agent), Gabriel Dumont (free agent), Dominic Toninato (free agent),
Potential Lineup
Jamie Benn/Claude Giroux/Evander Kane
Chris Kreider/Derek Ryan/Andrey Bykov
Anders Lee/Kjetil Martinsen/Ryan Spooner
Brandon Hagel/Alexander Toryanik/Emerson Etem
Ken Kuusk/Adam Larsson
Jake Muzzin/Erik Karlsson
Denis Gribko/Samuel Girard
Chris Driedger/Tanner Jaillet
Three Questions
1. Paris still does well. Why? The Rouge Eiffels always had a stockpile of talent and a great city to play in, but in recent years, the former stars of the team were falling off the roster, mainly because they were getting too old to compete. It would be reasonable to expect a drop in the standings from the Paris team. But the management team led by General Manager Steve Yung and Coach Michel Therrien had the Eiffels challenging Berlin for the conference title late into the season. Yung proved he had an eye for hidden talent last season. The world was frankly underwhelmed when he acquired cast-offs Evgeny Solomonov, Derek Ryan, Ryan Spooner and Kjetil Martinsen and had them play big roles on the team’s forward lines. The decisions that raised eyebrows at first, ended up dropping jaws. All four scored 54 points or more (Ryan scored 70) and the new forwards could rightfully take much of the credit for the team’s good showing. This season, Yung is rolling in the heavy artillery. He and his city had no trouble coaxing half a team of good players to join them for the Season 14 ride that now looks like it could go all the way to the top of the mountain. Joining the Rouge Eiffels this year are accomplished forwards Evander Kane, Andrey Bykov, Chris Kreider and Anders Lee; defensemen Adam Larsson and Jake Muzzin; and second-year goalie Chris Driedger, who started for Bern last season.
2. Any statistics that stand out and hit you like a frying pan in the face? Oh yeah. Scan the Paris players’ plus-minus ratings from last season. Go ahead. Lots of decent double-digit ratings … nice … a few negatives … what else? … BOING!!! Ken Kuusk was way better than everyone else at +44. That tied him for third in the league. It also indicates he’s a very important Parisian right now. Look further. His turnover ratio was +31, he scored 51 points from his position on defense and he was 13th in the league in blocking shots. Kuusk, from Estonia, has made the all-star game the last three seasons. He is 30 years old, earning $9.6 million per year for 3 years and Paris fans are thrilled about that. He generally played alongside Erik Karlsson, who is a flat-out legend in this league. But Karlsson is going to have to fade at some point and at age 34, that time could be very soon. He is also under contract for big, big bucks ($9 million) for two more seasons.
3. Where will we see improvements this season? Paris was 7th best in the league at scoring goals and 6th best at preventing them. With the additions the team made through free agency, it’s very possible they will go up on both lists. Evander Kane scored 33 goals last season, while Andrey Bykov, Anders Lee and Chris Kreider averaged 20 each. But Kreider and Bykov might not have to worry about scoring goals because their centerman is Derek Ryan; the same Derek Ryan who exploded with points like a glorious fireworks display once he arrived in France. In his previous 8 seasons, Ryan managed to top 40 points once. With the Rouge Eiffels, he doubled his career high in goals to reach 36 and he scored 70 points. Paris also looks like they will have a dangerous third line with Anders Lee (39 points last season), Kjetil Martinsen (54) and Ryan Spooner (60). With Ken Kuusk and Erik Karlsson helping get the offense up ice, this team has the firepower to challenge Berlin for the top spot in the South and they could be a top 5 team in scoring too.
Rose’s Focus
“Here is a old, crinkly $50 bill. I will bet you the line of Claude Giroux centering Jamie Benn and Evander Kane will not be great for 82 games this season. Wanna bet me? Giroux is clever and is now working with two of the very best wingers in the league. They don’t bang defensemen into the boards or forecheck like they used to, but they can dangle (That’s modern hockey talk. You’ll learn it) and snipe (see previous parenthetical comment) as well as anyone. That line will be awesome. But if those three manage to stay together for 82 games, then I’m not the prettiest girl in the office. Here’s what my eagle eyes caught: Giroux … durability rating 68. Kane …. DUR rating 66. Benn … just 48. If you are Troy Terry or Yushi Nakayashiki, who are the top wings on the farm club which is conveniently also in Paris, then you should keep your good stick handy because you will get called up often this year.”
