Sharks are 400-1 to the the cup.... Im think of putting down a Benjamin and rolling the dice:
1. The kids!!!: calder quality seasons for Smith and Celly as they compete with each other and drive each other forward. In additon, Musty has a crazy good camp using his size and skill to earn his 9 game tryout. He then puts up 4 goals and 10 pts in those 9 games, and forces the sharks to keep him for the year. Mukh also has a solid camp and uses his experience against men in the KHL and last year's AHL all star to solidify the blueline and make a calder run himself. (I remember when pickles came to camp as a 19 year old in 2006, and just played so unexpected well that he made the team and ended up playing over 22 mins, putting up 26 pts, +13 placing him 3rd on the team D in scoring, 3rd on the D in minutes, and first in +/-. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the sharks had a top 3 defenseman).
2. Dyllandrea takes a big step forward. He had 28 pts in dallas as a 22 year old with ZERO pp time, so with significant ice time in SJ as a 3rd liner and a little 2nd unit pp time, he goes for 40+ pts.
3. Walman captains the PP and puts in 20g, 40+ pts (he had 11 goals at EV last year, so what can he do with #1 pp time?). Ceci and wennberg help the PK improve to be a top 10 unit (this is warsofsky's specialty, so it's very possible).
4. Blackwood was excellent in the first half last year despite getting totally shelled, and in a contract year, he plays his ass off and steals some games.
5. Depth: unlike last year when injuries forced us to play very weak guys, we are 15+ NHLers deep with Bordy, Gushkin, and Cardwell, along with Bystedt making a case for NHL games. We can absorb injuries far easier and are far deeper for that inevitable injury bug.
6. Wild card: Couture? does he come back? Unexpected leap forward from Thompson? Haltunnen leaps forward and takes his rightful place in Ovie's office? many years, something unexpected happens and a player not on the radar suddenly comes into focus. Cagnoni? Robins?
Just like that, we have a top 10 PP (with a D that can shoot), top 10 PK, four of the best rookies in the entire league (smith and celly are both in the top 5 for calder odds), three legit scoring lines, and solid goaltending
STL was dead last in the league on january 1, 2019. They had fired their coach. A rookie goalie comes in, puts up a 1.89 GAA, .927 save%, and suddenly, 6 months later, they were cup champs.
Crazier things have happened!