GM: Carl Choiniere
Coach: Andre Tourigny
Last season: 7th overall. In playoffs, lost to Copenhagen
Ins and Outs
(Season 17 to Season 18)
In: Tyson Foerster (trade), Olean Zellweger (trade) Ryan McLeod (waivers), Alex Formenton (trade), Nerius Alisauskas (trade), Sean Durzi (free agent), Brett Pesce (free agent), Denis Gribko (free agent), Nathan Bastian (free agent), Austin Wagner (free agent), Daniil Tarasov (free agent)
Out: Connor McDavid (trade), Matt Murray (trade), Alex Debrincat (trade), Viktor Antipin (trade), Jacob Moverare (trade), Stefan Ulmer (free agent), Teuvo Teravainen (free agent), Jaden Schwartz (free agent), Brenden Dillon (free agent), Radek Faksa (free agent), Matthew Highmore (free agent),
Potential Lineup
Calvin Thurkauf/Sam Bennett/Yegor Sharangovich
Cutter Gauthier/Ryan McLeod/Tyson Foerster
Alex Formenton/Ties Van Soest/Austin Wagner
Yegor Chinakhov/Mauro Neurauter/Nathan Bastian
Ty Smith/Zach Werenski
Sean Durzi/Nerius Alisauskas
Denis Gribko/Brett Pesce
Cayden Primeau/Daniil Tarasov
A Question
Did I hear you say the new coach is Andre Tourigny? This off-season, Oslo shook the EURO League like it’s rarely been shaken before, announcing a major rebuild and offering the very best players on the team for young players, prospects and draft picks. Olso’s biggest rivals in the Northern Conference took GM Carl Choiniere up on the offer and the rich got richer. Alex Debrincat and Matt Murray left first – to Copenhagen – and then it was the true jaw-dropper: Connor McDavid was off to Helsinki to play for the World Champion Jokerit. Slick defenseman Jacob Moverare followed him to Finland a little while later and winger Kyle Connor (obtained in one of those trades) was off to Minsk before he could unpack his suitcases. As free agency revved up in the second step, Choiniere told the league his Going Out of Business for a While Sale was still going on. Southern Conference contender Bratislava got in on it and ended up with shot blocking defenseman Viktor Antipin. That leaves superstar defenseman Zach Werenski, sniper Calvin Thurkauf, one-time league scoring champ Sam Bennett and 5-time all-star Nerius Alisauskas wondering what city they will be calling home the day after the trade deadline. All of them except Werenski have one-year, Type 3 contracts, making them tasty trade bait for teams that might find themselves clawing for good playoff seeds late in the season. Staying motivated will be tough for the Outlaws this season, especially since they know Choiniere tracked down Andre Tourigny to coach them this year. Websim ranks him as the 99th most qualified coach available, which would be great only if there were 500 teams in the league.
Rose’s Focus
“When a message came to my desk that Oslo star Connor McDavid had been traded to Helsinki, I was shocked, to put it mildly. I can admit something to you gentlemen since we are all good friends: I actually peed in my pants suit. A good amount. I was so embarrassed. I figured I would wait three hours until Commissioner Chuck Massaro and Director of Player Safety and Discipline Sepp Blatter left the office for the day and then mosey into the women’s room to mop up, so to speak. Sitting three hours in wet drawers was not something I relished. But then I looked up and saw that both men were asleep at their desks, so I stood up, fired my pants to the floor and scurried away. I wrapped a commemorative Season 11 All-Star Game flag around my waist, went home, changed and returned to the office. They were still asleep. Then, just like that, I saw that Jacob Moverare also was traded to Helsinki. I held it this time, much to the relief of the commemorative Season 12 All-Star Game flag. I also realized the Outlaws are trying a new tact and I’m pretty excited to see how they build around young stars Tyson Foerster, Cutter Gauthier, Dmitriy Simashev and their other young players. They will need more pieces, to be sure. And I will need to remember to put on adult diapers in the mornings from now on.”
