GM: Martin Sayle
Coach: Ken Hitchcock
Last season: 1st overall. In playoffs, defeated Dublin; defeated Belfast; lost to Minsk.
Ins and Outs
(Season 16 to Season 17)
In: Alexander Aitken (replaces Johnny Gaudreau), Curtis Lazar (free agent), Brandon Carlo (trade), Michael Matheson (free agent), Tomas Jurco (free agent), Eliezer Sherbatov (free agent), Moritz Wirth (free agent), Derek Ryan (free agent), Tyler Ennis (free agent), Beau Bennett (free agent), Jakub Petruzalek (free agent)
Out: Johnny Gaudreau (deceased), Seth Jones (free agent), Cedric Paquette (waivers), Anthony Beauvillier (free agent), Ville Husso (free agent), Jakub Petruzalek (free agent), Zach Aston-Reese (free agent), Phil DiGiuseppe (free agent)
Potential Lineup
Alexander Aitken/Auston Matthews/Marko Dano
Boone Jenner/Anton Lundell/Curtis Lazar
Eliezer Sherbatov/Erik Forssell/Joakim Hillding
Alex Newhook/Michael McLeod/Nils Höglander
Jacob Trouba/K’Andre Miller
Dougie Hamilton/Nikita Voles
Alexander Weiss/Brandon Carlo
Jonas Korpisalo/Devon Levi
A Question
Are the Tridents retooling more than usual? Up in Denmark, Martin Sayle has constructed a Giant Win Producing Machine (GWPM) and once a year, he turns it off to clean and lubricate it, tighten some bolts and replace any parts that need to be replaced. Some years, he might discover that a second-line center has too much rust on it. Other years, he might find a goalie with a worn O-ring. But generally, the Tridents just need a tiny adjustment. Sometimes just adding one free agent did the trick. The results have been legendary. A top 4 finish in seven of the last nine seasons, plus a 6th place finish, a 9th place finish (gulp!) and … oh yeah, three EURO Cups. This off season, it seems Sayle is doing more hammering and drilling than usual. Season 16 was an instant replay of the year before for the Tridents. They were the best team in the league for most of last season but they seemed to run out of gas a couple strides from the finish line, getting beat in five games in the Northern Conference finals by Minsk. While Auston Matthews and his linemates will continue to be a mega force offensively, a new on-ice leadership team is in place with Erik Forssell as captain and newly-acquired Brandon Carlo and veteran Jacob Trouba as alternates. Eliezer Sherbatov was one of two left wings added to the squad and it appears he will play on Line 3 with Forssell, his former Berlin teammate. But the difference maker in this year’s machine should be Curtis Lazar on Line 2. He could be this year’s version of past Copenhagen heroes Brandon Dubinsky, Simon Hjalmarsson or Boone Jenner. The 31-year-old Lazar was signed for $3.3 million and in his career so far – with Stockholm and Dublin – he acted like stealing pucks away from opponents and getting his body in front of shots was his sole purpose in life. For the first decade of his time in the league, that’s pretty much all Lazar did. He only reached 30 points once. Then last season, out of nowhere, he scored 58 points. Sayle took note, went after him, and we’ll see him playing on a line with Jenner and Anton Lundell. He will also be the team’s top penalty killer with Forssell.
Rose’s Focus
“Erik Forssell is the most popular athlete in the world and the most respected player in the EURO League so it’s not a surprise that Coach Ken Hitchcock named him captain of the Tridents. When he was in Berlin, Forssell ate some cookies I made for Guybrush Threepwood and the center got very ill. It turns out there was arsenic in my cookies. I really have know idea how the poison got in that batch. I also have no idea why Guybrush didn’t eat them all up the moment they were delivered by the guy with the ski mask and black gloves. The Berlin GM usually keeps all team gifts for himself. Anyway, I would like to put those days behind me and I was hoping Erik would forget about it. Then Copenhagen GM Martin Sayle signed Eli Sherbatov, who was a teammate of Forssell’s in Berlin for six seasons. I guess Sherbatov reminded Erik of the incident when they reunited in training camp in Denmark. Not good for me, my lawyer tells me. But enough about Erik and me. How about Erik and Eli? Back together on the third line with similar qualities that include speed, drive, experience and puck skills. Forssell is better defensively, but Sherbatov can still snipe with the best of them. It looks like they will play with Joakim Hillding, who has put up at least 50 points in each of the last six seasons. Copenhagen always manages to get astounding production from its second and third lines and this year will be no different if the former Smurfs can stay healthy. Just don’t eat any coffee cakes that I send to your old boss. Oh …and, umm … enjoy the coffee cake, Guybrush.
