GM: Steve Stringer
Coach: Andrew Brunette
Last season: 5th overall. In playoffs, defeated Minsk; defeated Belfast; lost to Copenhagen
Ins and Outs
(Season 14 to Season 15)
In: Thomas Powell (free agent), Radako Gudas (free agent), Beau Bennett (free agent), Zach Whitecloud (free agent), Martin Ruzicka (free agent), Devon Toews (free agent), Danis Zaripov (waivers), Thomas Spelling (free agent),
Out: Brandon Saad (free agent), Calvin Thurkauf (free agent), Jonas Holos (free agent), Curtis Lazar (free agent), Mackenzie Blackwood (free agent), Alexander Wennberg (free agent), Blake Coleman (free agent), Calvin De Haas (free agent), Robert Hagg (trade), Nikolay Goldobin (free agent), Dalton Prout (free agent),
Potential Lineup
Elias Pettersson/Matt Duchene/William Nylander
Nazim Kadri/Jonathan Huberdeau/Thomas Powell
Pierre-Luc Dubois/Cody Eakin/Tomas Zaborsky
Alexis Lafreniere/Danis Zaripov/Kaapo Kakko
Hampus Lindholm/Zach Bogosian
Nick Leddy/Travis Hamonic
Alexandre Carrier/Olli Malmivaara
Alex Nedeljkovic/Rudy Rigoni
Three Questions
1. What are the Guinness Chuggers missing? If Dublin would have won one more game last season, they would have made the Cup Finals against Berlin. Instead, Copenhagen avoided 4 straight losses, beat Dublin 4-2 in Game 7 of the Northern Conference championship series, and marched to another Cup win, their third. Whatever it is that would have given Dublin the extra push they needed last season, they probably didn’t gain it over the off season. Veteran Thomas Powell is in town to replace Brandon Saad, but that was not an obvious improvement. If you look at their OV ratings, the Guinness Chuggers lost 4 points in that exchange. Danis Zaripov was a good addition to the team, and he will be charged with mentoring wingers Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere while that trio is out for their shifts. Dublin is going to need the natural improvement of its young core if they want to go all the way this year. But with that strong young core, the team should be perched high enough in the standings to challenge for many years to come.
2. How has Dublin handled its recent success? A couple seasons ago, Dublin was the big beneficiary of their last place finish the season before. Not only did they get a superb draft pick in goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, but they were also able to get first choice on Belfast’s waived superstars and they claimed them all. Instantly they were contenders. The fans in Ireland have to be joyous to have all their former Northern Irish foes pushing for them, instead of against them the last two seasons. This season, the worm has turned a bit and the now-mighty Chuggers are facing a salary cap puzzle of their own. When the off season began, they had five roster holes to fill with about $7 million max spending available. That’s not a lot to work with, but GM Steve Stringer has managed to fill his roster with 13 skaters who have OV ratings of 80 or higher. And don’t forget: he has what could be his prize acquisition, the bright young Nedeljkovic, who is starting his third year in the league with an average of 41 wins per season and a save percentage of 90.2.
3. How is the defense corps holding up? Last season, the team finished the year with six defensemen who were 30 years old or older. Hampus Lindholm, Zach Bogosian, Nick Leddy and Travis Hamonic were solid. They have 12 all-star game appearances between them. Lindholm had his best season by far and a lot of credit for that has to go to his partner, Bogosian. Together they were +50, a plateau only 6 players in the league were able to reach. Bogosian has become the plus-minus god, with seasons of +76, +51 and +50 the last three seasons with Helsinki and Dublin. GM Steve Stringer has saddled up his horses again and is charging into the season on their backs. But Bogosian, Harmonic and Leddy are at or near 35 years old. The question is will their backs – or their other body parts – hold out for another year? Their attributes took the natural dip that comes with age and they aren’t going to be able to move players from in front of the net or win board battles like they used to be able to. But on paper, Dublin has one of the strongest top 4s in the EURO League.
Rose’s Focus
“Pass the word along to my boss Chuck Massaro, if you will, that I think I’m grossly underpaid. I do a lot more than he does and yet, somehow, he makes more money than I do. And I’ll still never understand why the third member of the management group – Sepp Blatter – seems to make more than the other two combined. I think Nick Leddy probably knows how I feel. He is one of eight Dublin starters on the last years of their current contracts who will be asking General Manager Steve Stringer for more cashola next year. Steve’s smarter and nicer than Chuck, so they stand a better chance of getting a pay raise than I do, but look at Leddy. He is 34 now; he’s put in 14 battle-filled years already in this league and he seems to be getting better with age. I hope I didn’t jinx him, but look at what’s done lately. Last year, his 35 assists were the most he’s ever had in a season. In the last four seasons, with Moscow, Oslo and last year in his debut in Dublin, he has scored 40 or more points three times. His plus/minus over that period is +21 which is one of the better 4-year stretches in his career that doesn’t include the +27 year he had in Season 6. This year, he’ll play fewer minutes on a pairing with another veteran, Paris legend Travis Hamonic, who is a year older at 35. Hamonic was traded to Paris near the end of Season 2 and he wound up winning the Cup. Leddy has never won one. He and I both deserve better. ”
