GM: Isaac Schwartz
Coach: Paul MacLean
Last season: 9th overall. In playoffs, defeated Helsinki; lost to Copenhagen
Ins and Outs
(Season 14 to Season 15)
In: Tomas Hertl (trade), Timo Meier (trade), Andrew Hammond (free agent), Marek Hrbas (waivers), Frederik Gauthier (trade), Robert Hagg (trade), Riley Stillman (free agent), Parker Kelly (free agent),
Out: Martin Necas (trade), Loic Lamperier (free agent), Marc-Andre Bourdon (retired), Casey Cizikas (waivers), Will Butcher (trade), Brenden Dillon (free agent), Lawson Crouse (free agent), Mason Marchment (free agent), Mark Garside (free agent), Andrew Shaw (free agent), Mauro Neurauter (trade), Jacob Bryson (free agent), Siim Liivik (free agent), James Neal (free agent), Kevin Lankinen (free agent)
Potential Lineup
Tomas Hertl/Dominik Lakatos/Mikko Rantanen
Alexander Radulov/Nardo Nagtzaam/Reto Suri
Rasmus Asplund/Timo Meier/Danton Heinen
Parker Kelly/Frederik Gauthier/William Von Barnekow
Michael Del Zotto/Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Gregory Beron/Ryan Lindgren
Marek Hrbas/Logan Stanley
Martin Jones/Andrew Hammond
Three Questions
1. Is London up to stay in the standings? Season 14 was a great one for the English. London hopped up 10 spots in the standings to 9th, upset Helsinki in the first round of the playoffs, and then bowed out to the eventual champs in Copenhagen. Can they crawl up even further? That depends mainly on their all-stars Martin Jones and Michael Del Zotto. We think it’s a given that Dominik Lakatos will be a handful for opposing teams so we’re not including him in the “if” part. But if Jones and Del Zotto – and maybe a few others – can repeat their outstanding performances, London can make more noise in Season 15. London had the second-stingiest defense and the best penalty-killing team in the league last year. Jones was dominant in goal and won three individual trophies – including Best Goalie – with his 91.6 save percentage and 2.46 goals against average. Del Zotto led the team’s defensemen in every statistical category except penalty minutes and game-winning goals. He’s 35 now but his attributes look like those of most top defensemen. Del Zotto should be a key player for London.
2. How is the new GM working out? You don’t have to spend too much time analyzing the London roster to see that new General Manager Isaac Schwartz has already made tweaks that make the team better. Getting Andrew Hammond as the backup to superstar Martin Jones is a great move. Neither is a durable guy anymore so having two proven veterans back there is a great luxury. Jones and Hammond should be able to at least keep London in every single game. Forward Dominik Lakatos is only 24 and already a major force in the league. Making him captain will help him develop even more, which bodes well for the future of the team. And trading for Tomas Hertl to play with Lakatos should net the team a lot of extra goals and hopefully, additional wins. Hertl has been lucky enough to play with Tyler Seguin and Connor McDavid the last few years in Oslo, so he should know how to work with players like Lakatos, who has MVP potential. The next step with Lakatos is to lock him into a long-term contract ASAP.
3. How close is London H.C. to the salary cap? London is right up to the line when it comes to the league salary cap. New coach Paul MacLean would love to have Tyson Jost and Robert Hagg in the lineup rather than in the press box, but their salaries won’t fit into this puzzle. That’s the way it goes coach. London has to be careful when players get hurt because they will be in danger of losing good players to the waiver wire. Looking ahead a little, they will be in an entirely different predicament next season, when Dominik Lakatos and Mikko Rantanen’s agents will demand huge raises and the two top defensemen (Michael Del Zotto and Oliver Ekman-Larsson) as well as three important forwards all become unrestricted free agents.
Rose’s Focus
“When Queen Elizabeth died and Charles became king, one of the first thing he did – secretly of course – was to address the problem of there not being enough goals coming off London H.C. hockey sticks. Of the top 13 teams in the league, Charles’ favorite team scored the fewest times. Suddenly, we saw people leave the team, including likeable general manager Mark Stefanski and coach Paul Maurice. Paul MacLean is in charge of the bench now and he ranks high among EURO coaches when it comes to offensive schemes. Charles’ theory is that with a little better offense, one of the league’s best defensive teams might catapult up the standings. He convinced new General Manager Isaac Schwartz to trade for Tomas Hertl, who scored 41 times last season. If Hertl can repeat that production and King Charles’ plan works, I just might move to England and vote for Charles when he runs for re-election.”
