Had some time to think and process all the moves from yesterday. Some preliminary thoughts:
The ES scoring potential of the forward group is amazing. I don't quite understand how we were able to pick up Heinen and Sherwood given some of the stupid money that was handed out yesterday. While the term on DeBrusk scares me, his ES scoring profile, along with his style of play, fits the mold of what Tocchet wants out of his forward group. There's 11 guys on this roster who put up pro-rated 30 ES points/82 last season in similar minutes to what they'd expect to play this season - that is absurd.
On the flipside, they're taking a gamble on DeBrusk being able to play PP1, a unit that's struggled since Kuzmenko left (his ability to make the right play to let the other 4 do their thing was severely underrated). He has filled the bumper role in Boston, but often on PP2. He also doesn't strike me as a guy who's going to be cerebral enough to play the fluid/positionless style Tocchet is pushing for in that 1st unit. Will be interesting to see how Tocchet adapts to his personel here.
I'm not sure what in the world is going on with the bottom 4. For all the scoring upside we have at ES, it could be severely stunted by a lack of a secondary puckmover. You could split Hughes and Hronek, but sacrificing your elite pairing because you wanted Forbert/Vinny over a Brannstrom is...interesting. My guess is they see its not working 10-15 games into the season and flip a 3rd-5th round pick in exchange for this kind of player (similar to what happened with Big Z), or make a waiver wire claim.
The upside of those acquisitions is that the PK should continue to improve. People forget that even with the upgrades last season, it wasn't until the halfway point that we really got out of the bottom 10 in the league. The forward acquisitions are equally as important as the ones on d here - we really shouldn't be seeing JT Miller play significant PK time like he was at the beginning of last year.
As of right now I think the team should be fighting for 2nd/3rd in the division. Edmonton is in the last year of their Bouchard/Drai sweetheart deal window, and barring a hangover/hoard of injuries (very possible given the type of player they acquired and how much hockey the played this year) looks like the team to beat in the division with their savvy winger acquisitions. Vegas should be healthier next season, but the rest of the division looks to have taken a big step back.
Would not be surprised to see Hoglander dangled with picks/prospects at the deadline for a big-time forward or dman acquisition to push the team deeper into contender status.
