A Crazy Stupid Early Post-Draft Power Rankings of the 2019-2020 NHL Season

By Kevin Mejia 

1. Tampa Bay Lightning – Most of the historic Lightning roster returns for another season.  Getting swept by a Columbus squad is not a great look, but head coach John Tortorella had them playing with an underdog state of mind.  Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy will have a career year going into the last year of his contract as an RFA.  Look for Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos to fiddle with their opponents in the regular season again.  Re-signing RFA center Brayden Point might be difficult this offseason but GM Julien BriseBois will get the job done.  Trading J.T. Miller to the Canucks is a great start to the offseason.  The core stays intact.  58-17–7.  123 Points.  First in the Atlantic.
2. Boston Bruins – Boston’s cup run came up one game short.  However, the Bruins sit well with most of the familiar faces returning.  The perfection line (David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, and Brad Marchand) will wreak havoc all over the NHL as the best line in hockey.  Trade deadline pickup Charlie Coyle played amazing in the playoffs and will look to continue his stellar play in a contract year for his hometown team.  Boston fans may drag goalie Tuukka Rask continually, but his play kept them in the playoffs, and he will have a great regular season again.  Look for GM of the Year Don Sweeney to lock up Danton Heinen, Brandon Carlo, and Boston native Charlie McAvoy.  49-24-9.  107 Points.  Second in the Atlantic. 
3. Vegas Golden Knights – The Knights got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs after a dream run last year.  Acquiring one of the best two-way forwards in the league in Mark Stone and extending him was not a mistake.  However, at the moment, the Golden Knights have $0 in cap space.  William Karlsson (re-signed at $5.9 million for 8 years) and friends had stand up years and deserve to get paid.  Newly anointed GM Kelly McCrimmon has his work cut out for him in only the franchise’s third year.  McCrimmon has moved head coach Gerard Gallant’s least used defenseman, Colin Miller, who makes a little under $4 million a year, which helps a bit with the cap crunch.  Vegas will get back to at least the 2nd round of the playoffs this year.  51-20-11.  113 Points.  First in the Pacific. 
4. St. Louis Blues – Play Gloria!  You just won the Stanley Cup!  Congrats St. Louis!  You probably want your team to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions and that is a reasonable expectation.  Interim head coach Craig Berube turned the ship around as this club sat last place in the league January 4th.  Berube coupled with goalie Jordan Binnington propelled the Blues to the playoffs.  Hometown hero Patrick Maroon might be on the move but staying in St. Louis with family might help the Blues immensely.  Sammy Blais and Joel Edmundson are RFAs that look to get pay raises, but GM Doug Armstrong will ink them to solid deals.  Did we mention that Ryan O’Reilly played the Western Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Finals with a cracked rib?  48-21-13.  109 Points.  First in the Central. 
5. Nashville Predators – Let’s be straight here.  Nashville’s first round exit to the Dallas Stars is beyond disappointing for the team.  A .905 save percent from goalie Pekka Rinne will not cut it in the playoffs if the team looks to be successful.  The offense will be challenged next season with the likely departures of trade deadline acquisitions Wayne Simmonds and Brian Boyle.  Filip Forsberg will have to carry the load once again while Kyle Turris and Ryan Johansen will need to step up and produce.  Being paid $6 million and $8 million respectively, the duo will need to put up better numbers for the team to do well this season.  After moving P.K. Subban for cap space, the Preds look to sign Matt Duchene, which would give Nashville a look of Duchene, Johansen, Turris, and Nick Bonino down the middle.  47-25-10.  104 Points.  Second in the Central. 
6. Washington Capitals – This season did not matter.  Coming off the cup win killed any and all demons for Ovi and Co.  However, a well fought 7 game series with the Carolina Hurricanes has set the standards for this upcoming season for the Caps.  A conference final is most likely expected out of this team as the core is only getting older by the minute.  A new look Radko Gudas might serve this team well as the role of enforcer is not only on top line Tom Wilson anymore.  Look for Wilson to have a breakout season this year.  Young guns Jakub Vrána and Christian Djoos will likely re–sign as RFAs but Brett Connolly (UFA) might see himself out.  Look for Nick Jensen to play great as a second pair defenseman with newfound partner Dmitry Orlov.  Braden Holtby will be Braden Holtby.  No need to panic in D.C.  50-25-7.  107 Points.  First in the Metro.    
7. Toronto Maple Leafs – KAWHI!!!! THE SHOT!!! CHIPS WITH THE DIP!!!!  Wait a minute… this isn’t a crazy stupid early post draft power ranking of the NBA.  Anyways, the city of Toronto is high off their last championship with the Raptors and want MORE.  The city is hungry and so is the young core of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner (?).  Speaking of Marner, GM Kyle Dubas will have a tough situation with Marner being an RFA this offseason.  The deal looks to be big, but the Leafs have little wiggle room to work with.  Re-signing Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson keeps the Leafs top 6 in good shape, however defenseman Nikita Zaitsev might be moved (rumors ciruculating about a trade to Ottawa for Senators right handed defenseman Cody Ceci) to free up cap space.  The departure of locker room leader Patrick Marleau was a necessity which frees up $6.25 million for the RFAs.  Mitch Marner isn’t going anywhere.  Look for a regression on the defensive side of the puck as Jake Gardiner will leave, creating a large hole to fill for a young defenseman from the AHL.  Boston is waiting.  47-26-9.  103 Points.  Third in the Atlantic.         
8. Dallas Stars – When the owner calls you out, you play better.  Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin look to avoid criticism this season as they put it all on the line in double overtime of a game 7 in the second round this past season.  Roope Hintz had a huge coming out party these past playoffs with 5 goals and 3 assists in 13 games.  Look for him to have a huge year centering Benn and Alexander Radulov.  Tyler Seguin will man the first line with Jason Dickinson and potentially Mats Zuccarello, who is due for a new contract this offseason.  Ben Bishop played Vezina caliber goaltending this past season and will need to repeat that performance for the Stars to do well this season.  Look for Miro Heiskanen to take a step in his second season.  45-25-12.  102 Points.  Third in the Central.   
9. San Jose Sharks – The Sharks got the calls.  Game 7 versus Vegas, a 5-minute major that lead to 4 goals.  Game 7 versus Colorado, an offside call that drastically affected the outcome of the game.  Game 3 versus St. Louis, a missed hand pass in the offensive zone won the Sharks the game.  Luckily, the Sharks’ luck ran out there.  We all know what St. Louis did.  But hey, you re–signed Erik Karlsson to an 8-year deal which will likely hurt the Sharks within 3 years, but hey, they are in a win now state of mind.  If Martin Jones can play above his regular season save percent of .896 this Sharks team is an instant contender.  However, GM Doug Wilson has a bit of work to do with only 7 forwards under contract this season.  As great GMs do, Doug will work wonders this offseason and retain most of the forwards that are free agents.  Just let Martin Jones be above a .910 save percent and this season will go great.  51-26-5.  107 Points.  Second in the Pacific.
10. Pittsburgh Penguins – PHIL KESSEL IS A TWO STANLEY CUP CHAMPION…  and he is out the door to Arizona for Alex Galchenyuk, a prospect, and most valuably, cap space.  Trading Olli Määttä for another young forward for Sidney Crosby to develop was a great move.  However, it could’ve been Jack Johnson headed out of town which would have helped the Pens make some amazing moves this offseason.  Heavy and slow defenseman Johnson and Erik Gudbranson will weigh the Pens down a bit, but if Kris Letang can stay healthy enough, the d core should stack up well with any average team.  Having Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on your team makes you instant contenders.  49-28–5.  103 Points.  Second in the Metro. 
11. Carolina Hurricanes – A bunch of jerks!  NHL fans flocked to the Hurricanes’ storm surge as this team put it all together this season.  Being swept by Boston in the conference finals isn’t the best look, however, this is a very young team.  Sebastian Aho and Brock McGinn look to sign long, team friendly extensions in Raleigh this offseason as they are both RFAs.  One of the best groups of defenseman lead by Dougie Hamilton and Jacob Slavin will look to have another great year.  Look for Hayden Fleury and Jake Bean to get playing time as Brett Pesce or Justin Faulk may be on the move for an elite young forward.  The Patrick Marleau trade has turned into a buyout, which forces the Carolina cap situation into a bit of a jam, however, a first rounder out of the trade seems to be worth it.  The goaltending tandem of Petr Mrázek and Curtis McElhinney may not return, but whoever does come in this season must stand out and play well in front of this shot suppressing team.  45-26-11.  101 Points.  Third in the Metro. 
12. New York Islanders – I love a good story as much as anyone, but this one might be coming to a close.  As good as Robin Lehner and Thomas Greiss were last season, there is no way that they will replicate those numbers again.  The offense will struggle a bit, but Matthew Barzal will likely foot a good chunk of the load.  Anders Lee is a UFA and Islanders fans cannot take another captain leaving.  PAY THE MAN LOU.  The defense will play great again under defensive minded head coach Barry Trotz, as the Isles will let in a few more goals than last year, but a top 10 finish in the league in goals against awaits the Isles.  43-28-11.  97 Points.  Fourth in the Metro.      
13. Florida Panthers – Most of you are thinking, why are the Panthers this high?  New head coach Joel Quenneville is a huge reason to do with that, but also the massive amount of cap space they have in a state that is quite player friendly and nice in the winter.  This cap space could potentially be spent on ex-Chicago Blackhawk Artemi Panarin and UFA Sergei Bobrovsky.  With those two on their way in after a great end to the season with Columbus, they are both due for raises as they are top 5 players at their positions, respectively.  If Aaron Ekblad is moved out, a forward in return would bolster the Panthers mightily.  Aleksander Barkov is still the most underrated player in the game, as a top 3 two way forward in this league.  Pairing up with Evgeni Dadonov and Jonathan Huberdeau, the Florida offense will be just fine if they land the Bread Man and use him in a second line role with Vinny Trocheck.  If Florida lands the two big fish, look out for a deadly team.  44-26-12.  100 Points.  Fourth in the Atlantic.   
14. Winnipeg Jets – It seems really disappointing to put the Jets this low.  With Jacob Trouba out the door, GM Kevin Cheveldayoff will have to focus his efforts on re–signing an inconsistent yet elite goal scorer in Patrik Laine and solid first line winger Kyle Connor.  Tyler Meyers (UFA) will also likely be out the door and potentially Nik Ehlers.  Ehlers chronically underperformed in the playoffs the past two years as he only put up 7 assists (2017-2018) and 0 points (2018-2019) after wonderful regular seasons.  Connor Hellebuyck will need to play better than a .913 save percent to help the Jets fly this year.  Sami Niku and Josh Morrissey will look to have great contract years.  Mark Scheifele is criminally underpaid.  46-29-7.  99 Points.  Fourth in the Central.    
15. Calgary Flames – An amazing regular season was followed up with an awful 5 game series versus the Colorado Avalanche.  Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabe Landeskog lit up the Flames for 19 points combined in 5 games (where they didn’t even score in game 1).  Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, and Matthew Tkachuk put up a combined 6 points in the 5-game series.  That is absolutely inexcusable.  Johnny Hockey cannot deal 1 point in 5 games of a playoff series, he is better than that.  Now as both Sam Bennett and Tkachuk are RFAs, the Flames will have to move some pieces around to create some cap space.  Rumors have been flying around defenseman T.J. Brodie and Travis Hamonic, two key cogs in the Calgary defense.  With Mark Giordano only getting older by the minute, this Flames team needs to win now.  The goalie situation is unsettling with Mike Smith a UFA and Dave Rittich a RFA.  GM Brad Treliving has his work cut out this offseason.  43-28-11.  97 Points.  Third in the Pacific. 
16. Colorado Avalanche – Well, a combined 35 points in 12 postseason games for MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Landeskog isn’t too terrible.  Goaltender Philipp Grubauer stood on his head last season, with a .917 save percent in the regular season while turning it up a notch in the playoffs to a .925.  With 7 RFAs to re–sign this offseason, including Mikko Rantanen and Nikita Zadorov, GM Joe Sakic will have a less than ideal time this summer.  Rantanen’s contract may be a hefty one near $10 million, but the Colorado cap is prepared for this big offseason.  Colorado used the number 4 pick (acquired in the Matt Duchene trade) in the draft to pick up defenseman Bowen Byram, an elite two-way defenseman out of Vancouver in the WHL.  Joe Sakic really killed the Matt Duchene trade.  A full season of Cale Makar will be a wonder to watch.  This will be a fun and exciting team to watch this upcoming year.  45-29-8.  98 Points.  Fifth in the Central.     
17. Montreal Canadiens – Carey Price’s pricey contract enters its second year of eight at $10.5 million per year.  Carey is currently 31 years old.  Pray his body holds up Montreal.  Jesperi Kotkaniemi looks to take big leaps in his second full season.  Victor Mete is looking like a great young defenseman; however, he does not have the best of luck when it comes to scoring.  Look for that to correct itself this season.  At age 33, Shea Weber is still playing hockey and hopefully can lead the young squad to the playoffs.  With Charles Hudon, Artturi Lehkonen, and Joel Armia pending RFAs, GM Marc Bergevin will have a go with $10 million in cap space.  Look for Marc to make a big move to bolster the roster even further this offseason.  Montreal is a player indeed, folks.  44-30-8 93 Points.  Fifth in the Atlantic. 
18. Arizona Coyotes – PHIL KESSEL IS AN ARIZONA COYOTE!!  Get excited Yotes fans, as the team finished last season going 4-4-2 in their last 10 games to place 4 points outside of the playoffs.  Phil Kessel put up 82 points in 82 games last season, which surely help the dry Coyotes offense.  A fully healthy Antti Raanta will benefit the Coyotes immensely as they had Darcy Kuemper start 55 games along with Adin Hill starting 13 of his own.  Antti Raanta looks to better the goalie situation in Glendale.  Jakob Chychrun looks to play a full season as he has been hit with the injury bug early in his career, missing time in all three of his seasons.  If he can stay healthy, look for this group of defensemen to play extremely well as it is one of the most underrated in the entire league.  Lawson Crouse will look to live up to his potential as a star in this league after only putting up 25 points in 81 games last season.  Leading scorer Clayton Keller will continue to play hot hockey for the team in the desert.  Hopefully they don’t get relocated.  41-33-11.  93 Points.  Fourth in the Pacific. 
19. Columbus Blue Jackets – A great postseason will be followed by misery.  You swept one of the best teams in the history of the game, but your two most important players are likely leaving.  Trying to lock up Matt Duchene long term will be huge this offseason for GM Jarmo Kekalainen, who traded away the entire future this past trade deadline.  The Blue Jackets only had two picks at the draft, their own third rounder and Calgary’s seventh round pick.  Joonas Korpisalo will need to step into his own this season as he will be taking the starting reigns as Sergei Bobrovosky looks to get out of town.  With $31 million in cap space, the Blue Jackets are not totally done for, but they will need to address the defense’s RFAs in Zach Werenski and Ryan Murray.  Look for a healthy Alex Wennberg to put up well more than his career best of 13 goals in the regular season as he goes into the season coming off a 2-goal campaign.  Head coach John Tortorella will have his hands full this season.  42-33-7.  91 Points.  Fifth in the Metro. 
20. Philadelphia Flyers – Philly is already making moves this offseason after trading for two defensemen in Matt Niskanen and Justin Braun.  These deals might backfire a bit as the Flyers have to re–sign Ivan Provorov and Travis Sanheim, two young studs on the blueline.  Retaining salary on Radko Gudas is a bit of a mystery, but the Flyers really want to sure up the defense with a couple of veterans.  New Flyer Kevin Hayes will have to prove his worth at $7.1 million a year for the next 7 years.  Carter Hart will continue to play great after an eventful rookie season where he posted a .917 save percent in a hectic 31 starts for the Flyers.  Look for young gun Nolan Patrick to have a breakthrough year as he enters his last year of his entry level contract.  Only putting up 61 points in 145 games isn’t the best look for someone who was drafted with the number 2 overall pick in 2017.  Captain Claude Giroux will lead the way for the Broad Street Bullies.  Having 3 previous head coaches on the coaching staff is an interesting approach with Alan Vigneault (head coach), Mike Yeo (assistant), and Michel Therrien (assistant).  39-35-8.  86 Points.  Sixth in the Metro.   
21. New Jersey Devils – You just got Jack Hughes with the number one overall pick in the draft!  But Taylor Hall doesn’t want to talk about an extension this offseason…  GM Ray Shero just added P.K. Subban which is huge for a struggling blueline in New Jersey.  Subban’s presence will help re–sign Taylor Hall sooner or later.  Being centered by Jack Hughes and playing with Nico Hischier, the triple H line might become one of the best in the league.  Goalkeeper Mackenzie Blackwood looks to take over the starting job, as Cory Schneider has not been as advertised the past couple of seasons.  Ray Shero will have an easy time re–signing key RFAs Will Butcher (D), Pavel Zacha (C), and Stefan Noeson (LW/RW).  Jack Hughes will look to steal the Calder from his brother Quinn.  36–36-10.  82 Points.  Seventh in the Metro. 
22. Minnesota Wild – So close yet so far to acquiring local legend Phil Kessel.  That move would have made the scoring of the Wild go crazy.  GM Paul Fenton has $21 million to re–sign RFAs Kevin Fiala. Joel Erkisson Ek, and Pontus Aberg and make moves to sure up the defense as Minnesota looks to return to the playoffs.  The Victor Rask for Nino Niederreiter trade absolutely blew up for the Wild.  Nino put up 30 points in 36 games for the Carolina Hurricanes while Rask only managed 3 points in 23 games.  A huge mistake as Rask makes $4 million for the next 3 seasons.  Goalie Devan Dubnyk will likely walk the line around a .915 save percent this season.  If he puts his best foot forward and gets above the mark, the Wild could potentially make a run for Mikko Koivu’s likely last season in the NHL.  Zach Parise and Ryan Suter look to lead the squad back to the promise land.  41-36-5.  87 Points. Sixth in the Central. 
23. New York Rangers – New York, New York.  With the number two overall pick in this year’s draft, the Rangers added Finnish phenom Kaapo Kakko who will make an immediate impact on the organization as a whole.  GM Jeff Gorton has done an excellent job helping rebuild the team since they announced a rebuild back in February of 2018.  Gorton will have a bit of a tough time re–signing newly acquired RFA Jacob Trouba, but Trouba will likely re–sign in NYC.  Only giving up Neal Pionk and a first for Trouba’s rights will work out very well for the Rags.  Look for Brett Howden, Lias Andersson, and Filip Chytil to lead the Rangers’ young squad.  Veteran goalie Henrik Lundqvist will look to anchor this team and keep them in the season as long as he can as he looks for his first Stanley Cup.  The rebuild is going well.  Get excited Rangers fans.  35-35–9.  79 Points.  Eighth in the Metro. 
24. Chicago Blackhawks – Not quite sure what to make of the Blackhawks anymore.  A team that had won 3 Stanley Cups in 6 years has quickly fallen off but still has great players on the team.  Alex DeBrincat put up a huge 41 goal season after an outstanding 28 goal rookie season.  DeBrincat was an absolute steal in his draft going in the second round.  Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews look to help this young roster along with defensive stalwarts Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith.  GM Stan Bowman will likely put an interesting offseason together, as he started a bit early by acquiring Olli Määtä from the Penguins.  Goalie Corey Crawford looks for better health this season and a bit of a push on his .908 save percent.  39–35–8. 86 Points.  Seventh in the Central. 
25. Vancouver Canucks – GM Jim Benning has put together one of my favorite rosters in the entire league through the draft.  He needs to put down his phone on July 1st this year.  Adding J.T. Miller at the draft was a great move.  However, Jay Beagle and Antoine Roussel were not the best signings last offseason.  Re–signing Brock Boeser is his biggest job this offseason, and Benning will put a solid offer on the table that Boeser will gladly take.  Calder winning center Elias Pettersson is becoming a star in this league as he will take a step forward for the Canucks this year.  Watching Boeser, Pettersson, and Quinn Hughes play 3 on 3 overtime for the Canucks is a treat that I hope fans around the league watch.  Those three will lead the Canucks in a fun season that helps develop the locker room culture and the kids themselves.  Head coach Travis Green has a fun job. 40-38-4 84 Points.  Fifth in the Pacific. 
26. Buffalo Sabres – Congrats! You re–signed Jeff Skinner… to an 8 year deal worth $9 million a season… not sure if he’s worth that much but you have to pay goal scoring talent, which you hope he can replicate this year with Evan Rodrigues (who are you?) centering his line.  Skinner should look to get more playing time with the youthful captain Jack Eichel who is out to prove he is one of the best young centers in the game.  Goalkeeper Carter Hutton will look to rebound after a porous first season in Buffalo, while Linus Ullmark needs to be re–signed for the foreseeable future as a 25-year-old.  Look for former first overall pick Ramus Dahlin to make strides in his second season in the league. 31-38-13.  75 Points.  Sixth in the Atlantic. 
27. Detroit Red Wings – Look for a fun young seas- wait a minute, this team looks decently old on paper.  The d core lead by Trevor Daley and Jonathan Ericsson (who are both 35) looks to take a step back this season as it will be brutal to watch the Wings in their own zone.  When they have the puck, which won’t be often, look for Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi, and Evgeny Svechnikov to be critical pieces for the offense.  A full season of Filip Zadina putting pucks in nets will be very fun to watch as he will torch most of the Atlantic division who passed on him in last year’s draft.  Goaltender Jimmy Howard might be decent again one day, after posting a .909 save percent last season, which he looks to rebound from.  At 35 years old, he looks to be in decline.  30-40-12.  72 Points.  Seventh in the Atlantic. 
28. Edmonton Oilers – So you kicked Peter Chiarelli out finally, and Keith Gretzky replaced him for a bit before GM Ken Holland came in.  Ken Holland looks to clean house as Edmonton has a bit of a boy’s club issue.  Decisions from ownership are key, but they should be relatively hands-off when it comes to drafting and free agency.  The pressure of winning in Edmonton is immense and Ken will know how to handle it.  He’ll manage the bad contracts of Milan Lucic and Kris Russell in due time.  However, priority number two after moving those contracts is getting some wingers for Connor McDavid to play with.  Leon Draisaitl should be centering the second line; however, head coach Dave Tippett refuses to split the pair of Draisaitl and McDavid.  Draisaitl can carry the weight of the line, and with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as your third line center, you might have one of the best one-two-three punches down the middle in the league.  Look for Edmonton to acquire a Leaf forward in exchange for picks and cap space.  Just get someone good for Connor to play with, he should not be factoring in on 50.7% of their goals.  34-37-11.  79 Points.  Sixth in the Pacific. 
29. Anaheim Ducks – Putting it lightly, John Gibson carried the Ducks last season.  What once was a strong d core has become slow and porous, as Cam Fowler, Hampus Lindholm, and Josh Manson cannot carry the load alone.  Gibson’s .917 save percent may seem a bit average, but just consider how many of those chances were in high danger scoring areas.  Buying out Corey Perry was an interesting move to help fluctuate the cap situation.  Signing some pieces on the back end will be GM Bob Murray’s main focus this offseason as the Ducks look to rebuild.  Look for Troy Terry, Max Jones, and Sam Steel to play a bit as the future develops for the Ducks.  31-37-14.  78 Points.  Seventh in the Pacific. 
30. L.A. Kings – The Kings are one step away from being the worst team in the league.  Poor asset management has led to some terrible contracts being dealt out.  Ilya Kovalchuck might be on the move as the 36-year-old looks to the east coast for a fresh start after posting 34 points in 64 games.  The old Russian forward needs to stay healthy in order to be a bright spot for the Kings.  Goalie Jonathan Quick has lost a stride in his game and still has 4 years left on his contract.  The majority of this Kings roster is composed of older players, which seems to be a bad trend as speed and skill have been emphasized in the game lately.  This is not 2013 anymore L.A.  28-41-13.  69 Points.  Eighth in the Pacific. 
31. Ottawa Senators – Your owner never knows when to keep his mouth shut and might want to relocate the team.  That situation is not even hockey but has so much to do with the downfall of the Senators.  After getting fleeced by Shark’s GM Doug Wilson in trades for Erik Karlsson and Mike Hoffman (flipped to Florida), Pierre Dorion will need to step up as GM and make smarter moves.  He did a great job acquiring young stud defenseman Erik Brännström in the Mark Stone trade.  Moving Matt Duchene and Ryan Dzingel was the right move and Dorion did an alright job in those trades.  However, Cody Ceci is an RFA in a d core that could really use him.  Look for Thomas Chabot to take a big leap as a top defenseman in the league.  One can only hope he plays as well as he did his rookie season.  25-45-12.  62 Points.  Eighth in the Atlantic.