I think this off-season is better than last seasons and the team is better, at least compared to last years version. Defence and goal prevention should in theory be better with Tanev and Stolarz signed and Woll taking the reigns. Goal scoring however is still going to be an issue.
I don't think our goaltending is worse. I think it's about the same if not at least a little bit better depending on how you feel about Woll and how his health will turn out. Stolarz is solid but he hasn't played a lot of games in a season, but no goalie on the UFA market was a bonafide starter. I'm fine with what they've done there and the bet made on Woll. Murray is a fine veteran third-stringer.
On the backend we'll need OEL to continue to have his renaissance and need Liljegren to be a consistent puck-mover instead of a sporadic one. Rielly-Tanev will be a great pairing. McCabe is a true top 4D and if Benoit can continue to improve his play I think our defence should be better than last year. Hakanpaa is good depth.
Up front Tavares will likely lose another step which means our centre situation after Matthews is still dire. I don't like that Kampf and Jarnkrok are still here but we're basically stuck with Kampf and Jarnkrok at least provides defensive value despite being completely useless offensively in the playoffs. We'll need Knies to take another step and Robertson too (f*** his trade demand). If McMann can continue his upward trajectory we shouldn't miss Bertuzzi too much on the left side. Like that Domi is still here, ambivalent on Marner. Don't think a trade is going to materialize, just have to play out the year I suppose.
Regardless, Matthews, Nylander, Tavares, and Marner are what they are in the playoffs. Matthews and Nylander will perform well but not at their regular season levels, Tavares is too old and slow to be any real threat, and Mitch will get his early series and empty calorie points before disappearing. It's imperative that our young players step up to score and that our powerplay doesn't fade and falter heading into the playoffs. I think there's enough added to mitigate the expected scoring drop-off from our core guys but we'll see how the season plays out. Here's hoping the likes of Knies, Robertson, Dewar, Holmberg, Liljegren, Benoit, and Woll can advance as players.
