10 NHL Teams That Should Already Be Looking to Make Changes in 2016-17
Anyone with a hand hovering over a panic button in the parity-laced NHL should relax a little. It's early. With injuries, new faces in new places, starting-gun slumps or a lack of cohesion brought on by the World Cup of Hockey-shortened preseason, many of the league's 30 clubs are off to less than stellar starts in the 2016-17 season.
The Dallas Stars are struggling to score goals, but is it any surprise given the team's top two stars, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, spent the offseason recovering from injuries? Add to that the early losses they've suffered with Patrick Sharp, Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky, and it's almost a miracle they find themselves at .500 in the points percentage.
In their case, some time to heal ought to be all they need as long as the goaltending from Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi holds up over the course of the season.
Others will need to make some moves to improve, whether it's a promotion from the American Hockey League, more ice time for other players or a trade to fill a significant hole that was left unplugged in the offseason.
With that in mind, here are 10 teams—one third of the NHL's franchises—that could or should be looking to make moves early in the 2016-17 campaign.
Vancouver Canucks
1 of 10
The Problem: After winning four games straight to start the season, the Vancouver Canucks have dropped four in a row, scoring just five goals in that span and being shut out in two straight contests. They are last in the league with 1.75 goals scored per game.
In-House Solution: They brought in winger Loui Eriksson as a free agent to help support the Sedin twins on the scoring front. So far, Eriksson has no goals to show. Youngsters Sven Baertschi and Jake Virtanen also haven't hit the back of the net as of yet. They need to generate more shots and ideally get some offensive contributions from the back end—eight defensemen have combined for a total eight points.
Other Options: The team has been getting strong goaltending from both Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom and may be able to peddle one of them for some more secondary scoring.
Columbus Blue Jackets
2 of 10
The Problem: Ahead of their late-night outburst against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, things had been pretty miserable for the Columbus Blue Jackets. Of the many problems that led them to a 2-3-1 start was a serious lack of ability to score at even strength. The league's top power play, at 38.5 per cent before Friday's action, has not made the difference in the win column.
In-House Solution: Former 30-goal scorers Brandon Saad, Scott Hartnell, Nick Foligno and Boone Jenner netted three five-on-five goals in total in the first six contests before Saad added a pair on Friday. Jackets head coach John Tortorella has demoted prospect Oliver Bjorkstrand but might want to call him back up for another shot. He has mixed up his lines with little success and has little else to work with. It's a relatively young group, especially on defense, and it needs time to grow.
Other Options: Stellar goaltending from Sergei Bobrovsky has saved them so far, but if the Jackets consider Tortorella a short-term placeholder, they might want to part ways with the coach sooner rather than later. He's an old-school coach, and their possession numbers, according to Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com, are among the worst in the NHL.
Toronto Maple Leafs
3 of 10
The Problem: Goaltender Frederik Andersen's debut as the starting goaltender of the rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs has not gone as planned. He has won two of six starts and has an ugly 3.91 goals-against average and .866 save percentage. As a recent Toronto Star headline on a Kevin McGran article suggested, the frenzied Toronto media is already trying to figure out what's wrong with Andersen.
In-House Solution: Time to allow Andersen to adapt to a different environment and team will be essential, with head coach Mike Babcock's support critical in avoiding a complete destruction of the goalie's confidence. The Leafs could allow backup Jhonas Enroth to play more often, but he is not the goalie of the future, and the team has time to help Andersen out of his hole. Improved play from a large group of young players prone to mistakes would also help.
Other Options: Considering the Leafs parted ways with first- and second-round draft picks and signed Andersen to a five-year deal worth $25 million, pride will likely prevent them from looking at bringing in competition for the top spot. However, they might want to invest in a good sport psychologist to get through the sideshow in Toronto.
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Philadelphia Flyers
4 of 10
The Problem: Goaltending always seems to be a problem for the Philadelphia Flyers, and this season so far has been no exception. Although Steve Mason was great down the stretch as the Flyers forced their way into the postseason just a few months back and Michal Neuvirth was a playoff hero of sorts when he took over, the tandem is stinking early this season.
In-House Solution: Mason's terrible numbers (3.15 GAA and .886 save percentage) are only brighter in comparison to Neuvirth's (4.46 GAA and .845 save percentage), with the former getting most of the action. If they plan to ride the hot glove, they need one of them to heat up—and quickly. Neuvirth should get a few more starts as they go forward.
Other Options: Trading for a goalie likely won't be possible since the ones seemingly most available play for Eastern Conference rivals. They may want to look for some veteran stability and defensive reliability on the blue line, where the majority of their talented young players suiting up lean more toward the offensive side of the game.
Boston Bruins
5 of 10
The Problem: The Boston Bruins have a terrible power play, among the worst in the NHL so far this season, clicking at 8.3 per cent. And it's reflecting in the standings for a team that has missed the playoffs the past two years and has failed in filling its biggest need: another top-tier defenseman. The Bruins started with three wins in their first seven games, with a league-worst goal differential of minus-six.
In-House Solution: Torey Krug is the team's top defenseman on the point with the man advantage, logging an average of more than three minutes of power-play time per game. Meanwhile, Zdeno Chara is averaging a career-low 30 seconds. Krug is disappointing so far, with no points on the season, so the team needs that to change in a hurry. The Bruins could also offer the veteran Chara a chance to spark it.
Other Options: Even if Krug returns to form as a power-play quarterback, the Bruins need to add another high-end defenseman who can put up some points, whether that's on the power play or not. They'd be wise to keep tabs on the Anaheim Ducks situation after just signing Hampus Lindholm in the event they look to move someone like Cam Fowler.
Carolina Hurricanes
6 of 10
The Problem: The Carolina Hurricanes are near the bottom of the Eastern Conference with just two victories so far this season. This, despite an increase in goal scoring, thanks to strong starts from the likes of Jeff Skinner, Victor Rask, Lee Stempniak and Sebastian Aho up front and contributions from Justin Faulk and Noah Hanifin on the back end. Unfortunately, they can't keep the puck out of their own net.
In-House Solution: Goaltenders Cam Ward and Eddie Lack are splitting starts. Each of them has been extremely disappointing, with save percentages of .857 (Lack) and .872 (Ward) and goals-against averages of between 3.55 and 4.00. Charlotte Checkers netminders Michael Leighton and Alex Nedeljkovic aren't faring any better in the AHL, so the Hurricanes' best bet may be to just give the bulk of the work to Lack and hope he heats up with more starts.
Other Options: The defensive group is young, with Ron Hainsey the only blueliner over the age of 30. Five of the seven defensemen in the rotation are still under 25, including the 19-year-old Hanifin. While the team could explore bringing in a goaltender via trade, it might also consider another veteran on defense to help avoid major mistakes being made on the back end.
New York Islanders
7 of 10
The Problem: There are a few of last season's playoff teams disappointing so far, with the Dallas Stars and Nashville Predators among them. But none have been as mediocre in every area of the game than the New York Islanders. During a 3-5-0 start that has them second to last in the Eastern Conference standings, the Isles are 15th in average goals per game, 18th in goals against, 24th on the power play, 18th in shots per game and 17th in shots against.
In-House Solution: Free agent Andrew Ladd has been a big disappointment on the left side of center John Tavares, and the team seems to be feeling the sting of losing both Frans Nielsen as a shutdown pivot and Kyle Okposo as a sniper who could take some of the pressure off Tavares. They have young players such as Mathew Barzal on the roster already but could look to call up the talented Josh Ho-Sang or Michael Dal Colle from the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
Other Options: Any of the aforementioned young prospects would be attractive to other teams looking to make an early-season trade to improve the level of young talent on their rosters. It makes more sense to have patience and allow these guys to develop into great Islanders at their own pace.
Nashville Predators
8 of 10
The Problem: After an incredible postseason last year, including an opening-round upset over the Anaheim Ducks and taking Stanley Cup finalists the San Jose Sharks to seven games in the second, the Nashville Predators have been slow out of the gate this season at 2-4-1. Their defensive play has been spotty, as they've allowed the second-most shots against on average per game (33.9), perhaps in part because of the loss of former captain Shea Weber.
In-House Solution: Even with the departure of Weber, the trade brought back a pretty good player in P.K. Subban. The Preds still boast a great defensive group on paper. It's not performing up to snuff, however, with Subban and Roman Josi both at minus-six through the first five games. The top forwards are also failing in that area, with James Neal a team-high minus-seven and Filip Forsberg at minus-five. Improvement from the top players is the only in-house option outside of giving the bottom-six group of forwards more time.
Other Options: It's too late to renege on the deal that sent Weber to the Montreal Canadiens. It's also hard to imagine a deal for any defender who would crack the top four on a team this deep on the back end. Goaltender Pekka Rinne has been good outside of one awful game, so the Preds will likely have to ride out the slow start and hope they improve in a couple of areas—including the awful penalty kill.
Buffalo Sabres
9 of 10
The Problem: It's been a team effort for the Buffalo Sabres, with many different culprits leading to an abysmal start to the year. One win in their first six games has the Sabres at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Injuries to sophomore sensation Jack Eichel and power winger Evander Kane don't help for a team that is seriously struggling to score goals, with just 14 through a half-dozen contests this term.
In-House Solution: Getting healthy should help, especially the return of Eichel, who had 24 goals as a rookie last year. Veteran Matt Moulson has had a couple of decent games with added responsibility but hasn't been consistent. You know the team is in trouble when the 32-year-old Moulson and the 37-year-old captain Brian Gionta are two of the top three Sabres in goal scoring.
Other Options: Alexander Nylander is playing well in the AHL, and bringing the younger brother of young Toronto Maple Leafs star William Nylander might be a catalytic move for the Sabres. Of course, that's more of an in-house option because the Sabres already have him under contract. The alternative, though, would be to trade a significant prospect—such as Nylander—for someone who could immediately bolster the top-six forward group.
Arizona Coyotes
10 of 10
The Problem: The Arizona Coyotes are off to a 2-5 start to the season, dead last in the NHL with a goal differential of minus-eight and allowing the most goals against (4.29) and shots against (34.1) on average. The defensive play has been atrocious, and the goaltending is ranging from average to awful.
In-House Solution: The team is full of young players, but it's a veteran addition to the blue line who is the worst offender with a team-low minus-eight. That would be defenseman Alex Goligoski, their prized free-agent offseason signing. He was brought in to shore up the back end and provide some added offense but has thus far disappointed defensively. The team may give more time to the recently healthy Michael Stone and rookie Jakob Chychrun in an effort to balance the group.
Other Options: The Coyotes look to be a team that may benefit from one of the goaltenders who may be available at some point this season because of the impending expansion draft. Mike Smith hasn't been a reliable starter the past few years, and young Louis Domingue has been the worst of a bad group of goalies this year. Ben Bishop or Marc-Andre Fleury might help this team grow more quickly.
All stats via NHL.com unless otherwise noted.
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