NHL Preseason: 20 Questions

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NHL preseason is just around the corner, with many questions needing answers for each club. Today we’d like to ask 20 burning questions that

SHOULD

be answered before opening night.

Some of these answers may take 9 games to begin the season to figure out, but regardless these are questions we’ll have answers to sooner than later.

1. Which players offered pro-tryout contracts will walk out of training camp/preseason with a contract?

G Jonas Gustavsson (BOS)           D Ryan Wilson (CAL)           F Sergei Kostitsyn (CAL)
F James Sheppard (CLB)              F Daniel Paille (CHI)            D Michael Rozsival (CHI)
D Lubomir Visnovsky (CHI) F Jack Skille (COL)                D Andrej Meszaros (COL)
F Steve Bernier (NYI)                    F Tom Sestito (PIT)               F Devin Setoguchi (TOR)
F Curtis Glencross (TOR)             F Brad Boyes (TOR)              F Derek Roy (WAS)

2. Who opens the season alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry?

Potential Candidates: Jakub Silfverberg, Patrick Maroon, Carl Hagelin, or Nick Ritchie

3. Will the Arizona Coyotes keep their third overall pick, Dylan Strome for the entire season? Will he get a 9 game stint to begin the season? Or will he be sent back to junior?

4. Can Boston Bruins D Torey Krug step up and fill the void left by Dougie Hamilton’s departure in the offseason?

5. Will the Carolina Hurricanes keep their fifth overall pick, D Noah Hanifan? Carolina has a recent history with playing highly drafted young rookies.

6. Where will KHL transfer F Artemi Panerin fit into the Chicago Blackhawks depth chart? Is he a top 6 forward or bottom 6 forward?

7. Backup Goaltending Battles

COL – Reto Berra vs. Calvin Pickard MON – Dustin Tokarski vs. Mike Condon
PIT – Jeff Zatkoff vs. Matt Murray WAS – Justin Peters vs. Philipp Grubauer

8. Who will open the season as starting goalie? Because even tandems tend to favor one guy

CAR – Eddie Lack vs. Cam Ward DAL – Kari Lehtonen vs. Antti Niemi
DET – Petr Mrazek vs. Jimmy Howard OTT – Craig Anderson vs. Andrew Hammond

9. Which top organizational prospects will begin the year with the big club?

F Anthony Mantha DET           D Darnell Nurse EDM           D Griffin Reinhart EDM
F Leon Draisaitl EDM               F Valentin Zykov LA             D Jarred Tinordi MON
D Ryan Pulock NYI                   F Nikolay Goldobin SJ           D Slater Koekkoek TB
F William Nylander TOR         D Josh Morrissey WPG         F Joel Armia WPG

10. Will sixth overall pick F Pavel Zacha make a very thin New Jersey Devils roster?

Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Pavel Zacha after being selected as the number six overall pick to the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

He has the NHL size, so he largely controls his own fate by his play.

11. Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman has made it pretty clear he’s looking for a solution to the Steven Stamkos situation prior to opening night. Makes sense, teams don’t want that type of distraction.

12. Who starts on the top line with the New York Islanders alongside John Tavares and next year’s pending UFA Kyle Okposo?

Potential Candidates: Ryan Strome, Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, or Brock Nelson (when re-signed)

13. Can seventh overall pick D Ivan Provorov crack a Philadelphia Flyers blue-line that has been starving for elite talent for a while now? Will the Flyers send back the scouts proclaimed most NHL ready d-man heading into the draft?

14. Who will occupy the 5-6 spots on the St.Louis Blues back-end?

Andre Benoit and Chris Butler are likely the favourites heading into pre-season. Can one of Petteri Lindbohm, Robert Bortuzzo, Peter Harrold, Joel Edmundson, or Tommy Vannelli emerge?

15. Who will fill the void on the Blues roster left by C Jori Lehtera who is expected to miss the beginning of the season?

Potential Candidates: F Robby Fabbri, F Ivan Barbashev, F Ty Rattie, or F Danny Kristo

16. What will the Toronto Maple Leafs top 6 look like this year?

The only real locks are James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri, and Joffrey Lupul (if he can stay healthy). Players like P.A Parenteau, Shawn Matthias, Peter Holland, Richard Panik, Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov, Daniel Winnik, and William Nylander are the leading candidates.

17. Which Vancouver Canucks RW will open the season alongside the Sedin twins?

Feb 24, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Vancouver Canucks center Henrik Sedin (33) and Canucks left wing Daniel Sedin (22) skate during the third period of the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports

Last season, time was split between Radim Vrbata and Alex Burrows. The only newcomer that may challenge for the spot is Jake Virtanen. Highly unlikely they throw a rookie into that scenario.

18. Teams searching for a better powerplay this season

Buffalo 13.4% (30th) – Roster overhaul at all positions could make for a stronger PP
Toronto 15.9% (27th) – No more P.Kessel to hold the puck for extended periods of wasted time
NY Rangers 16.8% (21st) – Healthy Lundqvist. Stellar back-end. A few new offensive weapons.

19. Teams searching for a better penalty kill this season

Buffalo 75.1% (30th) – Energetic youth, upgrade in goal.
Edmonton 76.7% (29th) – This is the year everything starts to move in the right direction
Arizona 76.7 (28th) – Some new additions, but Mike Smith has to be better

20. Some teams are looking for more discipline this season? Nothing hurts more than spending a large chunk of time killing penalties.

Pittsburgh 1123 PIM (30th) – After watching nearly 450 PIM from last season walk in free agency (half was Steve Downie’s 238 PIM), it’s likely we could see a major turnaround for the Pens.

Winnipeg 1068 PIM (29th) – Most of the guys who accumulate the PIMs for the Jets are highly dependable players. Guys like Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, and Blake Wheeler play with a gritty edge that can sometimes land you in the sin bin. The Jets will need to find a way to stay out of the box more this season.

Buffalo 853 PIM (23rd) – So much pure skill being thrown into the roster this season, is likely to end in fewer PIMs. You’ve still got some gritty players in Marcus Foligno and Zach Bogosian who could accumulate some time in the box though.

Next: 5 Questions Facing the Buffalo Sabres?

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