GM: Shalom Connell
Coach: Andrew Brunette
Last season: 6th overall. In playoffs, defeated Bratislava; defeated Lisbon; lost to Munich
Ins and Outs
(Season 18 to Season 19)
In: Cale Makar (trade), Yegor Sharangovich (trade), Ryan Strome (free agent), Peyton Krebs (trade), Noah Paixao (trade), Travis Dermott (trade), Gage Goncalves (trade), Tyler Kleven (trade), Nail Yakupov (trade), Zachary L’Heureaux (waivers), Mason Marchment (trade)
Out: Jaccob Slavin (trade), Morgan Rielly (trade), Wyatt Johnston (trade), Jack Quinn (trade), Jake Debrusk (trade), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (free agent), Andre Burakovsky (trade), Thomas Spelling (trade), Tomas Hyka (trade), Lukas Dostal (trade), Braden Schneider (trade), Nejc Kastelic (trade), Jonathan Drouin (trade), Adrian Kempe (trade), P.K. Subban (free agent), Zach Aston-Reese (free agent)
Potential Lineup
Nico Hischier/Anthony Cirelli/Sebastian Aho
Yegor Sharangovich/Brett Howden/Maxime Comtois
Mason Marchment/Dawson Mercer/Brendan Perlini
Zachary L’Heureux/Louis Boudon/Peyton Krebs
Rasmus Dahlin/Cale Makar
Thomas Harley/Travis Dermott
Alex Trivellato/Timothy Liljegren
Chris Driedger/Noah Paixao
A Question
Will the Bears roar again this year? Undoubtedly, Bern will again be among the top handful of clubs in the EURO League. It is General Manager Shalom Connell’s hope another round of off-season trades will mean an even better showing in Season 19. The most noteworthy acquisition is certainly Cale Makar, the slick skating, minute-munching defenseman from the arch rival Munich Red Bulls. Now Makar and Rasmus Dahlin will form what could be the most dangerous defense pairing in the league. Keep an eye on how well they control the puck once they get it and don’t be shocked if Bern’s shots per game average goes up from 7th-best, which they were last year. Another notable change is the promotion of Anthony Cirelli as the top line center. Nico Hischier has been moved to the left wing to get Cirelli into the unit that also features Sebastian Aho on the right side. Those three, with Dahlin and Makar, make up a group of five skaters will be an irrepressible threat for 20 or more minutes per game. And it looks like Brett Howden and Maxime Comtois will be reunited on line two. The forwards had great success together two years ago when Christian Fischer (now with Liverpool) was their linemate. Trade pickup Yegor Sharangovich looks to be their winger this time and he scored 50 or more points the last three season with Kosice and Oslo. While all the skaters will be busy early in the season trying to memorize their new teammates’ nicknames and jersey numbers, one constant will be behind them, focusing on keeping the puck out the Bears’ goal. Chris Driedger won 44 games for them last season and he posted a save percentage of 91.3. The Canadian goalie is 32 with 2 years remaining on his $6.5 million contract. Speaking of salaries, Bern is pretty tight to the cap, so injuries could be a roster problem this season for them.
Rose’s Focus
“Everyone hates the Berlin Smurfs – for obvious reasons. But Bern must be on the verge of adding all German teams and people to its hate list. I betcha they already have, in fact. In Season 18, for the second season in a row, the Munich Red Bulls eliminated the Bears from the playoffs, this time after Bern breezed into the conference finals with an 8-0 playoff record. That gut-wrenching outcome seemed to force Bern GM Shalom Connell into a new strategy: thievery. “If you can’t beat ’em, steal from ’em.” In the off season, he traded with the enemy to get Cale Makar into Switzerland, and he managed to get the Red Bulls to eat $5.1 million of his salary for the next three years. On the surface, it seems like a fleecing, but Munich’s GM is cagey one. What did Eugene Wilkinson see that no one other than me noticed? I noticed during the Red Bulls’ birthday party in my honor that Makar didn’t sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to me. He just stood there, silent. I also noticed that in the Cup Finals against Helsinki, Makar seemed to give up on his team. He was a ghost. In the four games, he was -4 with no points. The challenge now for Bern will be to make certain Makar plays for the team and not himself. And please get him to at least mouth the words at my next birthday party.”
