GM: Dennis Sullo
Coach: Bruce Cassidy
Last season: 18th overall. Did not make the playoffs
Ins and Outs
(Season 15 to Season 16)
In: Jonathan Huberdeau (free agent), Mark Stone (free agent), Stuart Skinner (draft), Morgan Rielly (trade), Jonathan Drouin (free agent), Vince Dunn (free agent), Tanner Jeannot (trade), Jordan Greenway (trade)
Out: Martin Fehervary (trade), Sami Vatanen (free agent), Rasmus Andersson (free agent), Filip Sveningsson (free agent), Conor Garland (free agent), Ivan Barbashev (free agent), Alexander Nylander (free agent), Stanislav Vrhel (trade), Alexander Lundman (trade)
Potential Lineup
Alexander Polunin/Jonathan Huberdeau/Mark Stone
Jonathan Drouin/Brayden Point/Kieran Brown
Jake Debrusk/Joel Eriksson Ek/Connor Brown
Jordan Greenway/Barrett Hayton/Tanner Jeannot
Charlie McAvoy/Quinn Hughes
Morgan Rielly/Vince Dunn
Mikey Anderson/Jacob Middleton
Stuart Skinner/Vitek Vanecek
A Question
What moves were made in the off-season? Zurich GM Dennis Sullo did really well in the off-season in three different ways. Drafting Stuart Skinner gives the club three promising assets in that one position of goalie. Time will determine whether Skinner, Vitek Vanecek or Ilya Samsonov can claim and maintain the top starter position, but some teams don’t have any promising goalies in that age range. Zurich has three. At worst, Sullo has one or two pieces of trade bait. And speaking of trades, he sent promising defenseman Martin Fehervary to his homeland in Slovakia along with two young forwards in exchange for size and toughness in Tanner Jeannot and Jordan Greenway, as well as a steady offensive defenseman in Morgan Rielly. Then, in free agency, Mark Stone, Jonathan Drouin, Jonathan Huberdeau and Vince Dunn all joined the Lions pride. It shapes up to be a balanced team with three excellent forward lines (their third line should dominate other teams’ third line), several puck-moving defensemen and two or three guys who will drop the gloves anytime you please. We’re especially interested in seeing how marksman Alexander Polunin does with veteran playmakers Huberdeau and Stone setting him up. It’s possible, though, that with two dynamic defensemen on the ice with them most of the time, some of Polunin’s goal chances will go to all-star Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy. In any event, Zurich fans should expect to see many more goals this season.
Rose’s Focus
“I’m a little perturbed at my co-workers in league headquarters, so guess what? It’s secret divulging time. How many of you know that your precious commissioner takes a 90- to 120-minute break every morning in his private bathroom? What is that all about? And I know what Sepp Blatter’s salary is because I handle the books, and somehow he can afford luxury items that add up to 50 times his salary. Sometimes, he doesn’t even show up for work. The truth that you folks don’t know is that I really run the show. Every day, I see the commissioner looking aimlessly round the office and I get him back to his duties. All he has to do is sign a few papers and shake a few hands, but without me, that would not get done. If you are looking for the real leader of the league, look at my face. That’s her. Leadership is important in all aspects of our league, even in the dressing room before games and between periods. A competitive fire starts with a competitive spark and I worry that Zurich will fall flat in that area. New coach Bruce Cassidy is well-regarded in all areas and he should really help the team boost its specialty team results. But his ability to motivate his players is supposedly very poor. The players’ leadership group – Joel Eriksson Ek, Mark Stone and Morgan Rielly – includes well-respected men, but I doubt they have the ability to get really passionate about the team and then transfer that passion onto their teammates. One person with great leadership skills could help this team a lot. I would volunteer to spend some of my evening hours with these young men in the Zurich locker room before and after games. All they have to do is ask.”
