GM: Dennis Sullo
Coach: Mike Sullivan
Last season: 20th overall. Did not make the playoffs
Ins and Outs
(Season 14 to Season 15)
In: Connor Brown (free agent), Mark Scheifele (free agent), Martin Fehervary (trade), Jacob Middleton (free agent), Filip Sveningsson (waivers), Jacob Bryson (free agent), Alexander Volkov (trade), Michael Pezzetta (free agent), Eric Ciccolini (free agent), Denis Bakala (free agent)
Out: Patrice Bergeron (retired), John Gibson (free agent), Jacob Trouba (trade), Ryan Strome (trade), Justin Faulk (trade), Neal Pionk (trade), Anthony Duclair (free agent), Teuvo Teravainen (free agent), Oskar Lindblom (trade), Brayden Schenn (free agent), Andrew Mangiapane (free agent)
Potential Lineup
Alexander Polunin/Brayden Point/Connor Brown
Jake Debrusk/Joel Eriksson Ek/Filip Sveningsson
Alexander Nylander/Mark Scheifele/Kieran Brown
Alexander Volkov/Barrett Hayton/Conor Garland
Charlie McAvoy/Quinn Hughes
Martin Fehervary/Rasmus Andersson
Mikey Anderson/Jacob Bryson
Vitek Vanecek/Ilya Samsonov
Three Questions
1. How will Zurich fans cope without Patrice Bergeron? The face of the franchise – Patrice Bergeron – retired this off season and that triggered a major makeover in Zurich. The first player ever drafted by the franchise (21st overall in the league’s initial draft) played all 1,085 of his games in a Lions sweater. Early in his career, he narrowly missed 100 points twice (97 and 99 points) and he scored 30 or more goals five straight seasons. Everyone knows Bergeron was great on faceoffs and was a great defensive forward. In his career, he took the puck away from opponents 1,522 times and he only turned it over 1,318 times for a turnover ratio of +204. Unfortunately, he and the Lions didn’t do well in playoffs. They made the extra season 7 times but bowed out 6 times in the first round. In Season 4, they eliminated Bern for their lone series win before being bounced by Paris.
2. What is the makeover we’ve heard about? Zurich get a lot younger very quickly. In return for draft picks, Zurich traded away Jacob Trouba, Ryan Strome and Justin Faulk and agreed to carry more than $12 million of their salaries this season. Longtime starting goalie John Gibson was allowed to leave via free agency and Neal Pionk and Oskar Lindblom also were moved in trades. Also leaving in free agency were starting forwards Anthony Duclair, Teuvo Teravainen and Brayden Schenn. That’s a lot of dudes. Today, the team looks to be a little behind the curve on talent with a group of players almost all 27 years old or younger … but they have a healthy hunk of cap space if they need it. If the organization is able to keep this group together when most of them turn 30, you’re looking at 14 or more PO ratings of 80 or higher four or five years from now. That will get you places.
3. What kind of team will the Lions be? We looked over the team stats from last season and found out the Season 14 Zurich team was a little below average in almost all areas. But they weren’t really bad anywhere. It’s possible the thing they lacked the most was good luck. As we’ve stated, the Lions are a young team. They have a few offensive standouts like Alexander Polunin, Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy, but we see them more as a potentially strong defensive team with good defensive players at both forward and defense. That collective trait could really help young goalies Ilya Samsonov and Vitek Vanecek. They both show signs of having good save percentages and a team defense would help a lot. One thing the Lions seem to be missing – at least on the pro team – is toughness. They won’t do a lot of hitting and they won’t spend much time in the penalty box, which is great, but hockey can be tough sometimes.
Rose’s Focus
“If there is an award for the Most Confusing Team, then I’m voting for the Zurich Lions. I’m the one who registers all the players in the league in our headquarters in Vienna, and I’ve had to start over at least three times with this team. Thanks so much, Dennis Sullo for making my days hell. The general manager apparently built his team based on names and not things like statistics or ability. He is treating this lineup like a poker hand. He has three left wings named Alexander. Three! I fully expect him to trade Jake Debrusk for Alexander Ovechkin any day now so he can have four of a kind at LW. On the right wing, he has a pair of Browns (Connor and Kieran) and a pair of Connors, although one of them (Conor Garland) lost an n somewhere. Hey Dennis, there are three more Browns out there that you forgot about. J.T., Logan and Patrick Brown are still available. You could have more Browns than Cleveland. I know that’s one of your season goals. Sullo also has a center named Ivan Ivan. That’s the guy’s name! You don’t know how many erasers I’ve gone through for this stupid team. But the fun isn’t restricted to the forwards. No siree Bob. On defense, Sullo has an Anderson and an Andersson, to go along with two Jacobs (Bryson and Middleton). Sorry, but I’m flustered. And then I see that on the farm club’s defense, he has a Mete and a Mayo. Are we making sandwiches or hockey teams here?”
