Teemu Selanne - Signs New 1-year Deal with Ducks

After watching video of Teemu Selanne's golf game, it's easy to see why he is staying active in the NHL. In a humorous clip posted on the Anaheim Ducks' website Friday, a frustrated Selanne is seen throwing his golf bag in the water, then swimming after it to retrieve a cell phone. He calls Ducks general manager Bob Murray to let him know he is returning to the team for the 2013-14 season, his 21st in the NHL. According to the Orange County (Calif.) Register, Selanne signed a one-year, $2 million contract.

In the video, Selanne said, "I'm coming back. This is it. This is my final one. I think it's good for people to know it will be the last one, I haven't said that officially before, and it will be easier for me to take advantage of every day and enjoy. I think it's good for everybody, my family too. They've asked questions over the years, and now it's a very clear situation. "I had a good meeting with Bruce and I'm very happy with how it turned out. He was very open. I wanted to know how I would fit in his roster, and he said he was expecting a lot from me. Those were good things, and that was the final thing I wanted to hear. … I never wanted to get any promises because I know the coach can't really do that. Obviously, we have a great group of guys. Getting those guys in, I didn't want a situation where we pushed them in no matter what happened. It's a competitive situation and everyone has to earn their ice time and power play. I know I can do it. I just needed to be on the same page with the coach. That's what happened. I'm very happy about that. "I have high expectations about myself. I haven't had any numbers, but I know how well I can play. I don't think anybody can have more expectations for myself than myself. I want to be a big part of it, otherwise I wouldn't have even considered to keep playing. Hopefully the biggest thing for me is staying healthy. That will give me the chance to succeed."

"It's great to have Teemu back. He clearly still has passion for the game and can't wait to get started," GM Bob Murray said in a statement. "We are so pleased that Teemu will end his career where he belongs."

Selanne, 43 in July, had 12 goals and 12 assists in 46 games last season, and enters 2013-14 with 675 goals and 1,430 points in 1,387 NHL games. He's 11th all-time in goals, six behind No. 10 Jaromir Jagr and 15 behind No. 9 Mario Lemieux. Selanne is 15th all-time in points, 37 behind No. 14 Stan Mikita. Known as "The Finnish Flash," Selanne has represented his country five times in the Winter Olympics and expressed a desire to make a sixth appearance on that stage for Finland at the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.

"That's also a big bonus for the next season," Selanne said. "This could be my sixth Olympics, which I'm very proud of. We have a Finnish coach (Erkka Westerlund) who will pick the team, but that's my goal for sure."

The Ducks won the Pacific Division and returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2012-13, but the Detroit Red Wings defeated them in seven games in the first round. Anaheim lost three games in overtime, and Game 7, 3-2 at home.

"If we had gone to the Finals or close, you just leave everything out there, and it would have been a different case," Selanne said. "I really felt, like everybody else in our locker room, that there is unfinished business and we have a better team than this. We have so many good things going on right now, and we know we can do better, and that's a main reason why I'm here. I'm still very hungry to win again. We have a good team and a lot of good things going here. If we had a bad team and bad season, it would be an easy situation to just say, 'Thanks for everything,' and go on. But I felt we can do better and I can do better, and everybody can do better. There's unfinished business for sure."

Win or lose this season, Selanne said his time in the NHL will be complete. "There is no handbook about how you're going to feel when you retire. I've never gotten the feeling that I'm done and this is enough. I'm just waiting for my body and my mind to say, 'I'm done. I've been able to enjoy this game so much that even on the tough nights and days, I still enjoy it. It's going to end somewhere, and I decided now for my family and everybody that it's going to be my last season. That's fair for everybody. But I haven't yet had a moment where I felt, 'This is it.'

Minnesota Wild - Unveil New Road Jersey

Nino Niederreiter and Stephane Veilleux were the models as the Minnesota Wild unveiled a new white road jersey for the upcoming season Sunday at a public event held at the Minnesota State Fair's FAN Central building. The new road jersey follows the more classic design style of the red home jersey unveiled in 2003 and the green alternate jersey unveiled in 2009. It keeps the primary Wild logo at the center of the sweater and features "Iron Range Red" numbers and collar, including Minnesota Wild text hidden on the inside of the collar. Additional features are forest green lettering, a traditional lace-up collar in forest green and the Wild circle crest as a shoulder patch. There are forest green stripes on the arms and waist of the jersey, as well as on the new white socks. Minnesota will debut the new white jerseys in its first preseason road game against the Winnipeg Jets on Sept. 19.

"It was important for our organization to maintain the primary Wild mark on the new road sweater," John Maher, the Wild's vice president of brand marketing, said in a statement. "We feel the theme of the white jersey fits well into our family of jerseys and wanted this sweater to have a unique look instead of being a reverse of our existing red and green jerseys."

Corey Crawford - Signs new 6-year Hawks Deal

 

It has been such a great summer for Corey Crawford that he could hardly be blamed if he didn't want it to end. Crawford began the day he earned celebrating with the Stanley Cup in his hometown by agreeing to a six-year contract extension Monday with the Chicago Blackhawks. The deal, which begins when his current pact expires after the 2013-14 season, is reportedly worth $36 million. Crawford began the 2012-13 with people outside the organization questioning his viability as a No. 1 goalie for a contending team and finished it with a superlative performance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs en route to winning a championship. The 28-year-old Crawford went 19-5-5 for the Blackhawks during the regular season with a .926 save percentage and a 1.94 goals against average, and then got even better during the playoffs. He posted a .932 save percentage and a 1.84 GAA as Chicago claimed the Stanley Cup for the second time in four seasons. When the Blackhawks won their first championship in 49 years in 2010, starting goaltender Antti Niemi was one of several casualties of the club being close to the salary cap ceiling, and it allowed Crawford the chance to become the No. 1 guy. He had a strong rookie season, particularly near the end as the defending champs squeezed into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Western Conference. After a .917 save percentage and 2.30 GAA as a rookie, he slipped in his sophomore campaign. Crawford still had a 30-17-7 record, but also a .903 save percentage and 2.72 GAA, and the Blackhawks bowed out in the first round of the playoffs for a second straight season. He responded with a very good regular season, and a fantastic postseason in 2012-13, and is now the undisputed No. 1 goalie in the Windy City. He's also a candidate to make the Canadian team for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Crawford spent a few days last week in Calgary with the other Olympic hopefuls at Canada's orientation camp.

"I want to be in Chicago for my whole career and this is amazing to be able to do this and get this deal done." -- Corey Crawford

For Bowman and the Blackhawks, they can add Crawford to the growing list of core players on the roster with long-term contracts. There are six players, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Bryan Bickel, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Crawford, under contract for at least the next three seasons. Niklas Hjalmarsson is the only key figure from the 2013 title team that will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane will need new contracts the following summer. For Crawford, he had the opportunity to spend Labor Day, the unofficial last day of Summer, with the Cup and celebrating his new contract. He also recently got engaged, and spent the aforementioned time at Canada's Olympic camp.

 

 

Mikhail Grabovski

 
When the Toronto Maple Leafs bought out the contract of center Mikhail Grabovski on July 4, the Washington Capitals were immediately identified by media outlets as a possible suitor. The Capitals weren't going to re-sign Mike Ribeiro, so they were going to be short a second-line center. They weren't going to be able to commit to a big contract, so while other top free agents found new homes, the Capitals waited. Fifty days after Grabovski became a free agent, he signed a one-year, $3 million pact with the Capitals. After not making any moves early, Washington might have landed the best value on the market. Grabovski could start on the second line for Washington, which likely means skating with Martin Erat and Troy Brouwer. Grabovski may see time with Alex Ovechkin, because though Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom have been together for years, they've also been split up for short spells on several occasions. The Capitals likely were going to start the season with Brooks Laich as their No. 2 center, but he can now move to the third line and the team no longer has a potential issue with depth down the middle. For about as long as Backstrom has been the Capitals' No. 1 center, finding someone to slot behind him has vacillated between a short-term answer and a serious concern. If Grabovski plays well, he might command a contract like the one Ribeiro signed with the Phoenix Coyotes (four years, $22 million). Grabovski became a focal point for the advanced-statistics community after his production found on the back of a hockey card lagged in 2012-13. He was Toronto's best forward for several seasons in the advanced puck-possession stats and was among the best last season despite facing tougher competition and starting more shifts in the defensive zone, two things that naturally make it tougher to produce points (he finished with 16 in 48 games). NHL teams are typically secretive about what types of advanced statistics they use, and McPhee is among the most reticent when it comes to offering up information, regardless of the sensitivity of the topic. It is safe to say the Capitals were willing to look past a drop in goals and assists and recognize that Grabovski could be an impact player for them.

 

Metropolitan - New Rivals

Carolina - It was a tale of two seasons in 2012-13 for the Carolina Hurricanes. It opened strong, with Carolina starting 8-4-1 and bolting to the top of the Southeast Division on Feb. 24. The Hurricanes were in first place when they arrived for a game against the Florida Panthers on March 3. Carolina led 3-0 8:56 into the second period, when goaltender Cam Ward left with a lower-body injury that later was diagnosed as a third-degree sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Ward didn't need surgery, but with a recovery time expected to be 6-8 weeks, his regular season was over. In theory, the Hurricanes' season also ended that night. They held on for a 3-2 victory against the Panthers, but won seven times the rest of the season, going 7-17-3 to finish 13th in the Eastern Conference, 15 points behind the Washington Capitals in the division. Ward wasn't the only player sidelined due to injury. Backup goalie Dan Ellis and defensemen Joni Pitkanen and Justin Faulk were among those who missed time late in the season, all of which contributed to the late-season slide. However, the injured players, including captain Eric Staal, who sustained a knee injury at the 2013 IIHF World Championship, are expected to be fully healthy before the 2013-14 NHL season begins. With those players returning, combined with offseason changes, Muller is positive his team can pick up where it left off in early March. Part of his optimism comes from the changes to the team's blue line, where Andrej Sekera was acquired in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres and free agent Mike Komisarek signed a one-year contract after being bought out by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Komisarek is a big variable in the Hurricanes' new defensive equation. He never lived up to the five-year contract he signed with the Maple Leafs in the summer of 2009 and was placed on waivers and sent to the American Hockey League after playing four games last season with the Maple Leafs. The team used one of its compliance buyouts to terminate the one year left on his contract. Muller has history with Komisarek going back to their time together with the Montreal Canadiens, when Komisarek was establishing himself as one of the better stay-at-home defensemen in the League and Muller was an assistant coach. Komisarek can help improve the team's penalty kill, which was 28th in the League last season and hasn't ranked above the bottom-third since the 2009-10 season. The power play was 27th in the League last season, but help for that aspect of the game also could come from the blue line in the form of 2011 first-round pick Ryan Murphy. The 11th pick of the draft proved to be an offensive dynamo in four seasons of junior hockey with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League. Injuries forced the Hurricanes to bring him to the NHL as an emergency recall for four games last season, and though he didn't score a point, he averaged 21:03 of ice time. One place Muller isn't worried about, at even strength or on the power play, is his team's offensive production. The top line of Eric Staal centering right wing Alexander Semin and left wing Jiri Tlusty proved to be among the best in the League, combining for 54 goals. Muller said the trio reminded him of a line he watched during his playing days. The key, however, will be finding complementary pieces to play behind them. There are options, with Jordan Staal, Jeff Skinner, Tuomo Ruutu and 2013 top draft pick Elias Lindholm all candidates to serve as secondary scorers. As far as filling a second-line spot alongside Staal and Ruutu, Muller said that will be part of the competition of training camp, the coach's first since being hired Nov. 28, 2011, where a number of spots will be available for those willing to seize the opportunity.

The Carolina Hurricanes spent big last summer, bringing in Jordan Staal and Alexander Semin, but still missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth straight season and for the sixth time in seven seasons since winning the Stanley Cup in 2006. A combination of injuries and poor play can be blamed for last season's rough run, when the Hurricanes plummeted from the top of the Southeast Division at the beginning of March to 13th in the Eastern Conference when the season ended. On March 3 the Hurricanes defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2, but lost Cam Ward 8:56 into the second period with what was diagnosed as a third-degree sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his left knee. He missed the remainder of the season, and with him went any hope of a playoff spot; the Hurricanes won seven of their final 27 games. Ward is 29 but played at least 68 games in four of five seasons prior to 2012-13, putting a lot of wear and tear on his body. Anton Khudobin, who went 9-4-1 in 14 games last season with the Boston Bruins, was brought in as the backup, but coach Kirk Muller said he expects Ward to be healthy when the season starts and to be hungry to disprove any doubters. Last season, through injuries and poor play, the Hurricanes had 12 defensemen play at least one game, tied for the second-most in the League; four played at least 40 games. That inconsistency showed in the results: The Hurricanes allowed the second-most non-shootout goals last season (151) and had the second-worst goals-against average (3.31). GM Jim Rutherford made some changes on the back end, trading for Andrej Sekera and signing free agent Mike Komisarek. Joe Corvo, who led the team's defensemen in scoring, was not re-signed, and a few others were not asked back. Ryan Murphy, a 2011 first-round pick who got into four games last season, likely will play a prominent role this season, and other younger players, among them Michal Jordan, Austin Levi, Danny Biega and Tommi Kivisto, could earn playing time with strong training camps. When the Hurricanes opened the 2012-13 season, Muller opted to flank franchise center Eric Staal with Jiri Tlusty on the left wing and newcomer Semin on the right. The result was a trio that combined for 54 goals (42.5 percent of the team's total) and 135 points. Assuming the knee injury Staal sustained during the 2013 IIHF World Championship heals and he's ready to play opening night, that line should return intact to start the 2013-14 season. But can it have the same magical touch? Staal, if healthy, easily could be in the 30-goal, 75-point range, and Semin averaged 31 goals per season in six seasons with the Washington Capitals before joining the Hurricanes. Tlusty could be the wild card. The 25-year-old set career-highs last season with 23 goals and 38 points playing all 48 games. That production prorated to 82 games is 39 goals and 65 points; can Tlusty hit those marks when teams have a season's worth of video to draw from and are focused on shutting down his line? Muller said he believes so and compared his top line to the line of Mike Modano, Brett Hull and Jere Lehtinen, which he played with as a member of the Dallas Stars. The Hurricanes were 27th on the power play last season (14.6 percent) and 28th on the penalty kill (77.6). It's become an annual problem in Carolina; the power play hasn't ranked above the bottom-third in the League since the 2008-09 season, when it was 19th, and the shorthanded unit has killed off better than 81 percent of opposition power plays once (81.2, 2010-11) since the 2008-09 season. The power play could be where Murphy makes the biggest impact. The offensively gifted defenseman could be the missing ingredient on the point, getting pucks through to the team's talented forwards in good scoring position. The penalty kill could benefit from having two full-time healthy pairs on the back end. Last season Faulk and Gleason played the majority of the minutes; having Komisarek, Sekera and a healthy Pitkanen would ease some of their burden. Muller will enter his third season with the Hurricanes, but this fall will mark his first full training camp. Though he certainly has had time since his arrival in November 2011 to get his team playing the way he wants it, having a full training camp to reinforce his systems could be vital to improving. Rutherford didn't need to watch Elias Lindholm long at the team's prospect camp to make a strong determination on the future of the team's 2013 first-round pick (No. 5). The 6-foot-1, 192-pound forward had 30 points in 48 games with Brynas in the Swedish Hockey League last season and is lauded for his versatility and two-way abilities. But can he showcase his full skill set in the NHL at 18 years old?

Columbus - For a team that has made the Stanley Cup Playoffs just once since entering the NHL in 2000, there's an awful lot of optimism surrounding the Columbus Blue Jackets as they prepare for their first season in the new Metropolitan Division of the realigned Eastern Conference. It's amazing what a fast finish can do. The Blue Jackets came up just short of the playoffs last season. They tied the Minnesota Wild for eighth place in the Western Conference, but lost on a tiebreaker (Columbus had 19 non-shootout victories, three fewer than Minnesota). Most of their 55 points came during the last two months of the 48-game schedule, Columbus went 20-5-3 after February after a 4-12-4 start. The biggest reason for the turnaround and the optimism surrounding the team was the performance of Bobrovsky, acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers last summer. The 24-year-old Russian got his chance after Steve Mason continued to struggle, and played well enough to earn the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender, finishing with a 21-11-6 record, a 2.00 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage. He was at his best in the final weeks of the season, going 8-1-0 in his final nine starts, while allowing 15 goals. Winning the Vezina obviously was a big achievement for Bobrovsky, but Richards feels it also was a big deal for the organization. The Blue Jackets signed Bobrovsky to a two-year contract this summer, and he'll have to prove he can carry the load for a full 82-game season; the only backup goaltender in the organization with any NHL experience is 30-year-old journeyman Curtis McElhinney, who spent last season playing for the Blue Jackets' American Hockey League affiliate, the Springfield Falcons. He is 19-26-4 with a 3.10 GAA in 69 NHL games with four teams. Center Brandon Dubinsky, starting his second season in Columbus, has no doubt that Bobrovsky can match his breakout season. The Bobrovsky signing was one of two major moves for the Blue Jackets this summer. The other was bringing in veteran forward Nathan Horton, a Stanley Cup winner with the Boston Bruins in 2011. Horton was second on the team during 2013 postseason with 19 points and led all players with a plus-20 rating, signed a seven-year, $37.1 million contract with the Blue Jackets on July 5. He won't be ready for the start of the season after undergoing offseason shoulder surgery, but he and late-season acquisition Marian Gaborik will give the Blue Jackets a 1-2 punch on right wing. Horton said one reason he came to the Blue Jackets, a team not previously regarded as a likely destination for top free agents, was the perception that the team is moving forward under president of hockey operations John Davidson, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen and Richards. The Blue Jackets hope that Gaborik's every-other-year trend carries through to 2013-14. In each of the past six seasons beginning with an odd number, he's scored 40 goals and finished with at least 76 points and a plus-15 rating. Gaborik had three goals and eight points in 12 games after coming from the New York Rangers at the NHL Trade Deadline, but he's scored 30 or more goals seven times and gives the Blue Jackets the kind of home-run hitter they lost when Rick Nash was dealt to the Rangers last summer. Gaborik is one of five ex-Rangers on the roster. Defenseman Tim Erixon and centers Anisimov and Dubinsky arrived last summer in the trade that sent Nash, the franchise's all-time scoring leader, to New York. Veteran defenseman Fedor Tyutin has spent the past five seasons with the Blue Jackets.

You can't get much closer to the Stanley Cup Playoffs than the Columbus Blue Jackets did last season. A surge during the final two months of the regular season enabled the Blue Jackets to finish with 55 points in 48 games, the same number as the Minnesota Wild. But the Wild's 22 non-shootout victories were three more than Columbus' 19, giving Minnesota the final playoff berth in the Western Conference. Realignment has moved Columbus to the newly formed Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, meaning that the Blue Jackets will be spending a lot less time in airplanes this season. Columbus' season took off at the start of March when coach Todd Richards made Sergei Bobrovsky his No. 1 goaltender. The Blue Jackets went 20-5-3 from March 1 to the end of the season largely because of Bobrovsky's brilliance. He finished the season with a 21-11-6 record, a 2.00 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage, good enough to earn him the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. General manager Jarmo Kekalainen signed Bobrovsky to a two-year deal this summer, meaning that the 24-year-old Russian will have to continue to excel to get a long-term contract. The Blue Jackets have no one ready to step in should Bobrovsky falter, so if he can't come close to last season's performance, their playoff hopes will vanish quickly. Marian Gaborik, a three-time 40-goal scorer, came to Columbus from the New York Rangers at the NHL Trade Deadline after struggling to recover from offseason shoulder surgery. He also was not a favorite of (since-departed) coach John Tortorella. Gaborik had three goals and eight points with his new team, capping a disappointing season that saw him finish with 12 goals and 27 points before undergoing abdominal surgery. The good news for the Blue Jackets is that Gaborik has had an on-year, off-year career since 2007-08 -- and this would project to be an "on" season. Beginning in 2007-08, Gaborik has alternated 40-goal seasons with seasons in which he's battled injuries and inconsistency. A 40-goal season from Gaborik, who's in the last season of a five-year contract, would go a long way toward pushing Columbus into the playoffs. Nathan Horton probably surprised a lot of people when he opted to sign a seven-year free-agent deal with Columbus, a team that never has been a prime destination in free agency. The good news is he brings a winning background (he was part of Boston's 2011 championship team and had 19 points in 22 playoff games for the Bruins last spring), good size and scoring ability. The bad news is he needed offseason shoulder surgery and may not be back until December. On a team not overflowing with skill up front, the Blue Jackets need Horton in the lineup sooner rather than later. The Blue Jackets took Ryan Murray, a defenseman with the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League, with the second pick in the 2012 NHL Draft and were hoping he'd be able to step right into the lineup. The lockout meant that Murray began the season back in the WHL, and any hopes that he'd join the Blue Jackets were ended when he injured his shoulder in November and underwent season-ending surgery. He was cleared for contact prior to development camp and showed quick hands and good awareness on the ice. The Blue Jackets are hoping he'll be ready to grab a spot on the blue line. When Columbus selected Ryan Johansen with the fourth pick of the 2010 NHL Draft; the hope was he'd be the No. 1 center they've never had. They're still waiting. Johansen played perhaps the best hockey of his NHL career down the stretch last season, but he wasn't a big offensive threat (five goals and 12 points in 40 games). Nor was he impressive when he was sent to Springfield to help the Blue Jackets' AHL team after the NHL season concluded. Columbus needs Johansen to contribute a lot more offensively if it hopes to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Moving from the Central Division of the Western Conference to the new Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference will cut down on travel (about 6,000 miles less than 2011-12) and means all but 14 games will be played in the Eastern time zone. But it also means battling a division that had four playoff teams in 2012-13, not including the improved Philadelphia Flyers and Carolina Hurricanes, as well as the 2012 Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils and the Atlantic Division looks even stronger. With only three guaranteed playoff berths in each division, the Blue Jackets figure to have a tough task making the postseason for the second time since entering the NHL in 2000. Tyutin and Jack Johnson, a February 2012 acquisition from the Los Angeles Kings, formed a solid pairing down the stretch on a defense that could get a boost from the arrival of Ryan Murray, the second player taken in the 2012 NHL Draft. A shoulder injury that required surgery derailed his hopes of making the team as an 18-year-old, but he says he's completely healthy now and eager to show what he can do. The Blue Jackets will need big seasons from Gaborik and Horton after finishing 24th in offense last season. Mark Letestu led the Blue Jackets with 13 goals, and Anisimov was the only other full-time Blue Jacket still on the roster to reach double figures. Richards said he feels the additions of Gaborik and Horton should give the Blue Jackets enough of a boost to push them into the top eight in the East. The late-season surge has enthused the Blue Jackets' fan base, which never has seen their team win a playoff game. Richards said he can feel the excitement as well, but one of his jobs is to make sure expectations aren't too large for a team whose only playoff appearance was 2009.

 

Washington - The ability for Adam Oates to succeed as a first-time coach with the Washington Capitals always likely was to hinge on his relationship with Alex Ovechkin and the other star players on the roster. Oates arrived with a detailed plan because he is a coach who is all about the details, just as he was as a Hall of Fame player. His ability to execute that plan was hindered at first because of the shortened training camp after the lockout. It wasn't without some adversity, but Oates found harmony with Ovechkin and the Capitals in his first season. The early returns were not great. The team slogged to a 2-8-1 start, and Ovechkin and the other top players weren't producing. McPhee knew patience was required, but this is an organization and a fan base that has known only success in the regular season for the past half-decade. Part of Oates' plan was to move Ovechkin, a two-time NHL MVP, from his natural position at left wing to the other side of the ice. Former Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau had done this a couple of times in brief spurts, but Oates wanted to make it a permanent switch. It took a while, but eventually Ovechkin not only figured out his new position but thrived, scoring goals and dominating games consistently like he hadn't in the previous two seasons. The Capitals started to turn things around as well. Oates helped everyone on the power play, and it converted 26.8 percent of the extra-man chances by the end of the season. Ovechkin led the League in goals and became a three-time MVP. Nicklas Backstrom finished third in the League in assists and had 48 points in 48 games. Almost quietly, Mike Green led defensemen in goals playing 35 games. The second pivotal point for McPhee started with another loss. Washington went to play the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he felt his team played its best game of the season to that point in a 2-1 loss. From there, the Capitals went to play the Winnipeg Jets in two critical games. The Capitals finished the regular season with a 15-2-2 flurry to win the Southeast Division, but the Stanley Cup Playoffs left the club with an all-too-familiar ending. The New York Rangers knocked the third-seeded Capitals out in the first round, finishing them with a 5-0 victory at Verizon Center in Game 7. The second half of the postseason remains an elusive place for these Capitals, who have won three playoff series in six years and lost a Game 7 on home ice four times in that span. Now there is renewed optimism in Washington. Oates will have a full training camp for the first time, and the players will be more comfortable with his system and his teachings. Erat and Laich combined to play 18 games for the Capitals in 2012-13, and their returns, along with the addition of free-agent center Mikhail Grabovski, give the team a formidable forward group (though restricted free agent Marcus Johansson needs a contract). The biggest question in the lineup is, can the Capitals find a competent top-four defenseman from a group that includes Dmitry Orlov, Jack Hillen and John Erskine? The top three of Green, John Carlson and Karl Alzner is a strength, as is the goaltending, with Braden Holtby entrenched as No. 1 and Michal Neuvirth a capable backup. Washington is moving to a new division (Metropolitan) with some old rivals, but the expectations remain the same: Compete for a division title then figure out a way to navigate an extended stay in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time with this core group of players. Oates was well-liked in this city as a player, but he'd be revered if he becomes the coach who led this franchise to its first Stanley Cup.

For an organization that has built a roster it expects to contend for the Stanley Cup every year, the past couple seasons have been a little rocky compared to the previous four for the Washington Capitals. There was a pair of coaching changes, but Adam Oates drew rave reviews from his players and his bosses in his first season and appears to have provided stability moving forward. The top stars on the team had dips in production but rebounded in a big way the second half of 2012-13. The Capitals won a fifth division title in six seasons but lost another Game 7 on home ice. It was a quiet offseason, but given the way Washington played in the second half and the free-agent addition of Mikhail Grabovski, the Capitals expect to be back in the hunt for a high seed in the Eastern Conference and another chance to finally break through in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Capitals finished the first half with a pair of lopsided losses at home to the New York Islanders and New York Rangers. At that point the Capitals were 10-13-1, an improvement after a 2-8-1 start. They lost three of five to start the second half but finished with a 15-2-2 run and rallied from nine points down to win the Southeast Division. The schedule softened, their top players got hot, other teams in the division faltered; all of it combined for a remarkable surge. Washington is moving to a tougher division (the new Metropolitan) but will open training camp with a better roster than it had in January. The Capitals will have their first full training camp with Oates, and there could be a built-in, impact, late-season addition (more on that later). The Capitals performed at a 71-point pace in the first half of 2012-13 and at a 123-point clip in the second half. The middle is a 99-point team, and somewhere slightly higher than that might be the right range for this season. After two consecutive seasons of diminishing returns, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green each rebounded in a big way in 2012-13. Ovechkin won his third Hart Trophy, Backstrom finished third in the League in assists, and Green led defensemen in goals for the fourth time in six seasons. Alexander Semin is no longer around, but the other three the team once marketed as "Young Guns" are all grown up and were back among the best at their position. This Washington team could be better defensively and have more consistent goaltending than some of the high-flying editions from a few years ago. If Ovechkin, Green and Backstrom remain among the elite offensive producers, this group of Capitals won't need a late-season surge just to get into the playoffs. Green, John Carlson and Karl Alzner are a strong top three. The problem for the Capitals last season was the chasm between them and the bottom three, regardless of who was in the lineup. There are several candidates to earn the No. 4 role, which likely means playing in a pair with Carlson. John Erskine was there a lot last season. Dmitry Orlov had injury issues but has the most upside. Another possibility is Jack Hillen, who missed about half the season because of injury but was around for the big run to the finish. Backstrom and Grabovski are set in the middle of the top two lines, and there are options for No. 3. The most likely candidates are Mathieu Perreault and Brooks Laich, but which one it is might be decided by someone else. That would be Tom Wilson, the 16th pick in the 2012 NHL Draft who could force his way onto the team with a strong training camp. If Wilson makes the team, he probably will slot in as one of the wings for the third line. Laich will be on that line, either as a wing or the center. Eric Fehr is likely to be there too, so Wilson's arrival could push Perrault down the depth chart. The short answer to this is probably, yes it will. That could be misleading because the Capitals finished the 2012-13 season with a power-play proficiency rate of 26.8 percent. Not only was that tops in the NHL, it was the best figure in more than a decade. Over the course of a full season, it will tougher to replicate that prowess. Oates earned a reputation as a power-play technician before he got the Washington job, so it won't be a surprise if the Capitals remain an elite team with the extra man. A healthy Martin Erat and Grabovski should make up for the departure of Mike Ribeiro, who signed with the Phoenix Coyotes. Evgeny Kuznetsov is one of the best players in the world who won't be at an NHL training camp. He was Washington's first-round pick in 2010 (No. 26), and the Capitals want the center in their lineup as soon as possible. They thought it was going to be two years after they drafted him, but this will be season No. 4 for Kuznetsov in the Kontinental Hockey League since then. His KHL contract is up at the end of its season and that could mean it's time for him to come to North America. The 21-year-old is a dynamic offensive player. The Capitals have a deep group of forwards, but they will make room for him when he's ready.

 

Sean Couturier

Sean Couturier's first two NHL seasons could not have been more different. The question facing the Philadelphia Flyers and their 20-year-old center as he enters his third is which version is closest to the real thing. Couturier, selected by the Flyers with the eighth pick of the 2011 NHL Draft, made the team as an 18-year-old. By the end of the season, he had developed into their best defensive center, capable of playing against the opposition's top players. The best example came in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when Couturier blanketed and frequently frustrated Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin, holding that season's Art Ross Trophy winner to eight points in six games in the teams' first-round series, with three of those points in one game. Couturier had four points in 11 playoff games, became the first rookie since 1945 to have a hat trick in a postseason game, and was a plus-2. That followed a regular season when he scored 13 goals and had 27 points in 77 games, along with a plus-18 rating that was second on the team. Heading into last season, the belief was Couturier was ready for an increase from the 14:08 of ice time he earned as a rookie and that he had earned time on the power play. Couturier's ice time increased to 15:53 per game, but his production sputtered. He scored two goals in his first six games, then didn't score again for more than two months. He finished with four goals, 15 points and a minus-8 rating in 46 games. Opinions on what happened varied. Some blamed it on the lockout; Couturier started the season with the Flyers' American Hockey League team, the Adirondack Phantoms, where he had 28 points in 31 games and received premium ice time. But when the NHL season started, Couturier was shifted back to a somewhat lesser role and never adapted. The change didn't help Couturier; the harder he worked to find an offensive spark, the more his game struggled. In addition to his lack of offense, his defensive play slipped and his success rate on faceoffs dropped from 47.0 percent to 43.9. With Vincent Lecavalier's arrival in free agency, it's likely Couturier will be pushed back into a third-line, defensive-oriented role similar to his rookie season. However, he still will be expected to help supply offense, certainly more than he did last season. And it's not like he's a stranger to the offensive zone, as he had back-to-back 90-point seasons in his final two seasons of junior hockey.

 

Metropolitan Division - Old Rivals

New Jersey - What a whirlwind of an offseason it has been for New Jersey Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello. After all the player shuffling that took place in a span of 24 days beginning June 30, there was the ownership takeover earlier this month. It was enough to make anyone's head spin. It began at the 2013 NHL Draft at Prudential Center, when Lamoriello acquired goalie Cory Schneider from the Vancouver Canucks and drafted goalie Anthony Brodeur, the eldest son of Martin Brodeur, in the seventh round (No. 208). Lamoriello re-signed veteran forward Patrik Elias to a three-year contract July 4, but one day later lost power forward and fan favorite David Clarkson via free agency to the Toronto Maple Leafs. That loss was offset by the signing of free-agent forwards Ryane Clowe, Michael Ryder and Rostislav Olesz. But the bombshell hit six days after Clarkson left, when right wing Ilya Kovalchuk announced his retirement from the NHL after 10 seasons. Kovalchuk left the remaining 12 years and $77 million of his contract on the table. To alleviate some of that offensive burden, Lamoriello signed veteran right wing Jaromir Jagr to a one-year contract July 23. Jagr, 41, has proven he still has the work ethic and determination to be a big contributor in the League. He ranks 34th in NHL history in games played (1,391), 10th in goals (681), 12th in assists (1,007) and eighth in points (1,688). His career spans 19 seasons with six teams, five from the Eastern Conference. Lamoriello is hoping Jagr will be able to fill a hole on right wing in the Devils lineup. Whether that means he's skating among the top six with Czech countryman Elias, or is given a bottom-six role alongside Andrei Loktionov, remains to be seen. The additions certainly give Devils coach Peter DeBoer a much bigger team than the one that failed to overcome injuries and finished 11th in the Eastern Conference, seven points out of a Stanley Cup Playoff spot. The Devils failed to reach the playoffs for the second time in three seasons even though they had a conference-best 8-1-3 start. The big question is whether there's enough on the roster to overcome the deficiencies that plagued the team in 2012-13. For instance, players who needed to step up when Brodeur and Kovalchuk were sidelined by injuries never answered the bell. The team was 3-10 in overtime, including 2-7 in the shootout, after going 12-4 in shootouts in 2011-12. The penalty-killing unit, tops in 2011-12 when it allowed 27 goals in 82 games, plummeted to 16th allowing 32 goals in 48 games. Another area of concern is the work ethic when falling behind; the Devils were 5-18-6 when allowing the opening goal in 2012-13. When the Devils reached the 2012 Stanley Cup Final, it won 16 regular-season games after allowing the first goal, the sixth-best total in the League. The Devils averaged 2.29 goals per game to rank 28th last season. When Kovalchuk missed 11 games with a shoulder injury, the team managed 19 goals, including one each from Elias, Travis Zajac and Adam Henrique. New Jersey will enter 2013-14 with the same defensive unit that yielded 2.54 goals per game to rank 13th in the League. That group includes captain Bryce Salvador, Andy Greene, Adam Larsson, Marek Zidlicky, Anton Volchenkov, Mark Fayne and Peter Harrold. DeBoer will have new assistant coach Mike Foligno to work with this season following the departure of Matt Shaw, who left to become coach of the Dubuque Fighting Saints of the United States Hockey League. DeBoer knew Foligno from coaching against him in the Ontario Hockey League, when the latter was with the Sudbury Wolves and DeBoer with the Kitchener Rangers. Shaw ran the power play, but it remains to be seen if Foligno will be given that responsibility. The offseason maneuvering wasn't solely limited to the roster. Joshua Harris and David Blitzer completed their purchase of the Devils from outgoing chairman and managing partner Jeffrey Vanderbeek on Aug. 15.


After failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in three years, it was an adventurous offseason for the New Jersey Devils. All the additions and subtractions have left many wondering what will happen in 2013-14. There isn't a player on the roster capable of doing what Ilya Kovalchuk was able to on a nightly basis. Kovalchuk, 30, had 417 goals and 816 points in 816 regular-season NHL games and had his streak of nine-straight 30-goal seasons snapped by the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. Lamoriello added forwards Jaromir Jagr, Michael Ryder, Ryane Clowe and Rostislav Olesz during free agency to alleviate the offensive burden. There's also a very good chance one or more of the organization's top prospects, Stefan Matteau, Harri Pesonen or Reid Boucher, will spend considerable time in the NHL. DeBoer acknowledged that Kovalchuk leaving was a big loss. He had 11 goals and was second on the team with 36 points last season, and his average ice time of 24:44 per game topped NHL forwards. Martin Brodeur is the team's starting goalie, and barring injury will be between the pipes opening night, Oct. 3 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. There's no question, however, Cory Schneider will receive his fair share of minutes throughout the season. The Devils didn't trade away the ninth pick of the 2013 NHL Draft for Schneider to play only a handful of games. Don't be surprised if Schneider gets as much as 45 percent of the starts, or about 36 games. When the 27-year-old Massachusetts native played a career-high 33 games with the Vancouver Canucks in 2011-12, he finished with career bests in wins (20), goals-against average (1.96) and save percentage (.937). The realization is that Schneider knows he's going to be the man in short order; Brodeur is 41 and signed only through this season. DeBoer has been very patient with the 20-year-old defenseman during his first two seasons in the League. The coach has  allowed Adam Larsson to play alongside many of the veterans, including Andy Greene, and at times opted to have him watch from the stands as a healthy scratch. The fact Lamoriello traded veteran Henrik Tallinder means DeBoer might be willing to loosen the reins a little bit. There were several moments last season when Larsson exhibited the ability scouts were drooling over prior to the 2011 NHL Draft, when he was the No. 4 pick. He was using his body effectively, was able to make smart decisions at the point, and was generating some quality chances. He averaged 18:06 of ice time and saw more action in penalty-killing situations than on the power play, something that could change in 2013-14. The expectation is that Larsson establishes career highs across the board as a regular in the lineup this season. As a rookie in 2011-12, he had two goals and 18 points in 65 games. He had six assists and a plus-4 rating in 37 games in 2012-13. Jaromir Jagr has been able to contribute in each of his stops since returning to the NHL for the 2011-12 season, so there's no reason to think it will change now that he's with the Devils. The Devils were 28th in the NHL in goals scored and 21st in power-play percentage in 2012-13, so even at 41, the likely Hall of Fame right wing should be able to contribute in some fashion. He played 34 games for HC Kladno in the Czech Republic during the work stoppage, then played 45 with the Dallas Stars and Boston Bruins, scoring 16 goals and 35 points. He had 10 assists in 22 playoff games with the Bruins. Jagr was a big influence on many of the young players with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2011-12, his first season back in the NHL after three in Europe, when he had 19 goals and 54 points. He was equally valuable to the Stars and Bruins. The Devils struggled when Kovalchuk sustained his shoulder injury against the Florida Panthers on March 23. The team lost 10 of the 11 games he missed (1-6-4) to fall out of a playoff position. During his absence, the Devils scored 19 goals, and Patrik Elias, Travis Zajac, Adam Henrique and David Clarkson mustered one apiece. Though there is a bit more of burden placed on the shoulders of that next tier of offensive players, there's no question the Devils need a collaborative effort, something that didn't happen when Kovalchuk was out of the lineup. The Devils will need their offensive catalysts to drive the team this year, which means Elias, Zajac and Henrique must step up, and newcomers Jagr, Ryder and Clowe must come through. Prior to Clowe's injury-riddled 2012-13 season with the San Jose Sharks and New York Rangers, he was good for 17-plus goals and 45-plus points during the four previous seasons. Lamoriello certainly expects the Devils to return to the postseason and challenge for the Cup. New Jersey will compete in the new Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, along with the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. The top three finishers in the division are assured a playoff berth, and though that presents a challenge, Lamoriello said he is happy with the roster he built for 2013-14.

 

NY Islanders - When Garth Snow became general manager of the New York Islanders in July 2006, he inherited a veteran club with little help on the horizon. The Islanders made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Snow's first season. He acquired Ryan Smyth, Richard Zednik and Marc-Andre Bergeron to help them get there, but New York was eliminated in the first round by the Buffalo Sabres. After free agents Smyth and Jason Blake decided to leave town that summer, Snow changed course. With an outdated building and a budget smaller than the big-market clubs', Snow set out to rebuild the Islanders from the ground up. It's been a slow, methodical, sometimes painful process. The Islanders possessed a lottery pick at the NHL Draft every year from 2008-12 and used the No. 1 selection in 2009 on John Tavares, who is now the face of the franchise. They waited patiently to see if goaltender Rick DiPietro could stay healthy and regain the form he showed shortly after signing that historic 15-year, $67.5 million contract. All the while, owner Charles Wang was trying to secure a new arena to replace Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, which opened in 1972. Things finally started to turn around for the Islanders at the start of last season. Wang never got the building he wanted in Nassau County, but the franchise announced it would move to Barclays Center in Brooklyn in the fall of 2015. A few months after the announcement, the Islanders found themselves in the playoffs for the first time in six years. They lost in the opening round in a competitive six-game series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a defeat the Islanders have been thinking about all summer. Should New York achieve that goal, it will do so without DiPietro. The No. 1 selection in the 2000 NHL Draft, who had a 4.09 goals-against average and .855 save percentage in three games last season before being waived and demoted to the American Hockey League, was bought out by the Islanders on July 3. He will be paid $1.5 million annually for the next 16 years. Evgeni Nabokov returns as the No. 1 goaltender after signing a one-year contract July 5. Nabokov, 38, struggled during the playoffs (4.44 GAA, .842 save percentage), but his solid play during the regular season (23-11-7, 2.50 GAA, .910 save percentage) helped New York end its postseason drought. He will be backed up by 23-year-old Kevin Poulin, who may see more playing time in an attempt to keep Nabokov fresh should the team return to the playoffs. The Islanders will have a similar cast this season, with the biggest exception the departure of defenseman Mark Streit. Captain the past two seasons, Streit was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in June after failing to reach a new deal with New York. A new captain hasn't been named, but Tavares is the logical and most popular pick. He likely will be appointed during training camp. Forward Cal Clutterbuck arrives from the Minnesota Wild after being acquired by the Islanders in a trade for Nino Niederreiter at this year's draft. Clutterbuck struggled offensively last season (10 points in 42 games) but finished in the top 10 in the League with 155 hits. Joining him in New York is Pierre-Marc Bouchard, a candidate to play right wing on the top line alongside Tavares and Matt Moulson. Bouchard, who signed a one-year contract July 5, had 20 points (eight goals) in 43 games for the Wild last season. New York also signed 27-year-old center Peter Regin from the Ottawa Senators for depth. Two key pieces of the Islanders' rebuild were re-signed to long-term contracts this summer. Left wing Josh Bailey, who had 11 goals in 38 games last season, signed a five-year contract worth $16.5 million. Travis Hamonic, who has emerged as one of the better young defensemen in the League, signed for seven years, $27 million. Bailey (No. 9) and Hamonic (No. 53) were drafted by the Islanders in 2008. Streit's departure leaves a hole on the blue line, which the Islanders will attempt to fill internally. They are encouraged by the play of waiver-wire acquisitions Brian Strait and Thomas Hickey and could turn to Matt Donovan, a fourth-round pick (No. 96) in 2008 who had 93 points during the past two seasons for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in the AHL. New York used its first-round selection at this year's draft on defenseman Ryan Pulock, whose slap shot has been clocked at more than 100 mph. Pulock likely will return to the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Western Hockey League for more seasoning. Griffin Reinhart, the club's first-round pick (No. 4) in 2012, will compete for a roster spot, but he is 19 years old. Calvin de Haan, another first-round pick (No. 12 in 2009), is in the mix, but he could need some time in Bridgeport after a shoulder injury limited him to three AHL games last season. Training camp also will determine the fate of 2011 first-round pick (No. 5) Ryan Strome. The gifted forward could be ready to make the jump to the NHL after he had 94 points (34 goals) in 53 games in his final season of junior hockey with the Niagara IceDogs in the Ontario Hockey League. Projected as a top-six forward, Strome would join a mix that includes Tavares, Moulson (a three-time 30-goal scorer), Bailey, two-way center Frans Nielsen and power forward Kyle Okposo, who made a name for himself in the playoffs after struggling through the regular season. That puts speedy wing Michael Grabner on the third line. Grabner had 16 goals in 45 games last season and is a breakaway threat every time he's on the ice. He could be joined by Clutterbuck and rookie Brock Nelson, who is competing for a roster spot after scoring 25 goals for Bridgeport last season. The fourth line of Casey Cizikas, Matt Martin and Colin McDonald provides the Islanders with balance throughout the lineup and the ability to get under the opposition's skin.


The New York Islanders qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season for the first time since 2007, but their return was short-lived, eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in six games in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. With a talented, young core a year older and more experienced, the Islanders won't be satisfied with simply making the playoffs in 2013-14. Coach Jack Capuano returns for a third full season after guiding the team to a third-place finish (24-17-7) in the Atlantic Division. Garth Snow has been the general manager since July 2006 and, with the help of five straight lottery draft picks, has built one of the deeper prospect pools in the NHL. Some of those players had key roles in helping New York end its six-year playoff drought. But with success comes greater expectations. Led by superstar center John Tavares, the Islanders can't afford to take a step back in 2013-14. It's all but certain Tavares will be named the 14th captain in franchise history before the regular season begins. The Islanders have yet to make any announcement, but it's a foregone conclusion No. 91 will replace Mark Streit after the latter was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in June. The face of the franchise and a Hart Trophy finalist last season, Tavares leads by example on and off the ice. The 22-year-old is driven to be the best player on the ice every shift, and that rubs off on his teammates. New York's first-round draft choices in 2011 and 2012, Ryan Strome and Griffin Reinhart will be given an opportunity to make the NHL lineup. Strome, 20, had a brief taste of pro hockey last season when he had seven points (two goals) in 10 games for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League following the completion of his junior career. Likely pegged to play right wing (he is a natural center), Strome will return to Bridgeport should he not make the Islanders. Reinhart, 19, is a 6-foot-4, 202-pound defenseman whom the Islanders envision playing roughly 25 minutes per night for years to come. If he doesn't make the team this fall, he will play another season for the Edmonton Oil Kings in the Western Hockey League. Streit struggled at times in his own end of the ice last season, but his departure leaves a gaping hole in offensive production. The Islanders' power-play quarterback had 27 points (six goals) in 48 games, including 11 points with New York up a man. Lubomir Visnovsky will take on an increased role (especially on the power play), and 23-year-old Matt Donovan will get a long look in training camp after scoring 93 points during the past two seasons at Bridgeport. Evgeni Nabokov's solid regular-season numbers (23-11-7, 2.50 goals-against average, .910 save percentage) were instrumental in helping the Islanders return to the playoffs. However, the 38-year-old struggled in the postseason against the high-powered Penguins, allowing three or more goals in each of the six games. Nabokov appeared in 26 games during the final two months of the regular season, which may have played a role in his playoff performance. He's still unquestionably the No. 1 goaltender, but Capuano will have to find some playing time for Kevin Poulin so Nabokov can have gas left in the tank come playoff time. Inconsistency has plagued Kyle Okposo, the Islanders' first-round pick (No. 7) from 2006 for much of his time in New York. The power forward had four goals in 48 games during the regular season in 2012-13, but Islanders brass is hoping his performance in Game 2 against the Penguins proves to be the turning point of Okposo's career. His biggest moment in the NHL came that night, when he floored Matt Niskanen with a right hand in the second period and scored what proved to be the game-winning goal midway through the third. He scored two more goals in that series, giving everyone a glimpse of the player he can be when on top of his game. It's possible the 25-year-old opens the season skating on the top line with Tavares and Matt Moulson, a spot that will provide Okposo every opportunity to produce. Now that the Islanders have returned to the playoffs, they won't be surprising anyone in 2013-14, nor will they be taken lightly. Snow clearly believes the majority of pieces to contend are already in place, given his relatively quiet summer. The Islanders acquired right wing Cal Clutterbuck from the Minnesota Wild for 2010 first-round pick Nino Niederreiter at the NHL Draft, then signed forwards Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Peter Regin when free agency began July 5. Snow also re-signed core players Josh Bailey and Travis Hamonic to long-term contracts. With the majority of last season's team intact, it's up to Capuano and his staff to help the Islanders take the next step.

 

Philadelphia - Back in July, on the day the Philadelphia Flyers introduced their three biggest offseason signings, chairman Ed Snider was asked if his team was better with the additions of defenseman Mark Streit, goalie Ray Emery and center Vincent Lecavalier. There might be no question in the mind of the Flyers' founding father, but others might not be so sure. In the summer of 2011 the Flyers signed Ilya Bryzgalov to a nine-year, $51.5 million contract in the hope he could be the undisputed long-term answer to the never-ending goaltending question in Philadelphia. Instead, he turned out to be what general manager Paul Holmgren called a "costly mistake," and in June the Flyers used one of their compliance buyouts to terminate the final seven years of Bryzgalov's deal. They'll pay him more than $1.6 million not to play in Philadelphia this season, or about the same amount they'll pay Emery to split time in net with Steve Mason. Mason, acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets in April, was impressive in seven late-season games, going 4-2-0 with a 1.90 goals-against average and .944 save percentage. But that came after four mostly down seasons following his dazzling Calder Trophy-winning season in 2008-09. Emery, playing behind an elite defense with the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, went 17-1-0 in 21 games, and was third in the League with a 1.94 GAA. However, the last time Emery was a full-time starter was his first time in Philadelphia, the 2009-10 season. And when the 30-year-old looks at the defense now in front of him, he certainly won't see Duncan Keith or Brent Seabrook. Holmgren, who traded for Mason and signed Emery, said he was more than satisfied with what his team has in net. Streit has averaged 46 points the past six seasons he's been healthy (he sat out 2010-11 with a shoulder injury). However, he's 35, adding another veteran to a group that features one player younger than 27 in its projected top six: 23-year-old Luke Schenn. That position also was the most fragile on the team, with six defensemen ending the season on the injured list and 13 players skating at least one game, tied for the most in the NHL. It's a unit that could use some help. Braydon Coburn and Nicklas Grossmann, expected to be the top shut-down pair, combined for a minus-11 rating and had their seasons ended by injuries in late March. Andrej Meszaros had a slow start recovering from offseason back surgery, played 11 games and was done in late March because of a shoulder injury. The most productive member of the unit was 38-year-old Kimmo Timonen, who had 29 points in 45 games and gutted out more than a month with a broken foot before sitting out the final three games of the season. About the only benefit to the late-season rash of injuries that also claimed Kent Huskins (concussion) and Bruno Gervais (torn stomach muscle) was a chance to get prime NHL playing time for younger players Erik Gustafsson, Oliver Lauridsen and Brandon Manning. Lauridsen, at 6-foot-6, 220 pounds, is the most intriguing of the three. Though Streit's offensive ability is something the Flyers were missing, Lauridsen's size and physicality are something the Flyers haven't had on a consistent basis since Chris Pronger left the lineup in November 2011. Lauridsen had two goals in 15 NHL games (one more than he had in 59 games in the American Hockey League), 35 hits and 34 penalty minutes. The Flyers hope any issues they have on the back end will be more than compensated for with their offense. They had a deep group of forwards prior to signing Lecavalier to a five-year contract to upgrade the second-line center spot left open when Daniel Briere was bought out of his contract. It's likely Lecavalier will center a second line with wings Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds. The question is whether Lecavalier, 33, can keep pace with the up-tempo offensive attack preached by coach Peter Laviolette, and if he can stay in the lineup. He has played 65 games or fewer the past three seasons, and he missed nine games with a broken foot last season. Lecavalier said he feels strong and is excited to be a part of Laviolette's system. The top line will feature Claude Giroux, who should be recovered from August surgery to repair torn tendons in his right index finger sustained during a mishap at a golf outing, between Scott Hartnell and the breakout star from last season, Jakub Voracek. The 24-year-old had a career-best 22 goals and was second on the team with 46 points (Giroux had 48). The Flyers have solid depth on the lower lines. A third line of Couturier between Matt Read and Tye McGinn will be solid defensively and contribute offensively, especially if Couturier and Read can return to the level of their rookie seasons of 2011-12. A fourth line of Adam Hall, Maxime Talbot and Zac Rinaldo has the potential to create chaos in small doses.

It's been 38 years since Bernie Parent skated with the Stanley Cup, and more than 25 years since Ron Hextall won the Vezina Trophy. So it's been about that long that fans have been asking what the deal is with Philadelphia Flyers' goaltenders. Steve Mason, acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the NHL Trade Deadline, showed flashes of his Calder Trophy-winning form in seven late-season games, going 4-2-0 with a 1.90 goals-against average and .944 save percentage. To supplement Mason, the Flyers signed Ray Emery, who went 17-1-0 in 21 games with the Chicago Blackhawks last season, and was third in the League with a 1.94 GAA. After two seasons of Ilya Bryzgalov as the unquestioned starter, the Flyers enter this season with Mason and Emery on equal footing. The question, though, is will it work. Of the seven defensemen on last season's opening-night roster, only two were healthy at the end, Luke Schenn and Kurtis Foster. The Flyers had 13 players skate at least one game on defense, tied for the most in the League. They lost their most effective defensive pair 10 days apart in late March, when Nicklas Grossmann went out with a concussion and then Braydon Coburn followed him with a shoulder injury. Andrej Meszaros, who spent the lockout rehabilitating from back surgery, played 11 games before sustaining a season-ending shoulder injury. No. 1 defenseman Kimmo Timonen played more than a few weeks on a broken foot before it finally gave out on him with three games left. Kent Huskins (concussion) and Bruno Gervais (torn stomach muscle) also ended the season on the injured list. The injuries gave the Flyers a chance to look at some of their younger players, and while Erik Gustafsson, Oliver Lauridsen and Brandon Manning did well in extended playing time, shoring up the defense was a critical offseason goal for Holmgren. Whether they accomplished that remains to be seen. The only NHL-ready addition was Mark Streit, acquired from the New York Islanders and signed to a four-year contract before he hit free agency. Streit may have made the defense a bit more mobile, but at 35 he didn't make it any younger, or less injury-prone. Timonen is 38, and while Grossmann (28), Coburn (28) and Meszaros (27) aren't old, injuries and their physical styles of play have left them with a bit less tread on their tires. At 23, Schenn is the youngest of the expected top six. With questions in goal, the Flyers will need their defense to remain intact and productive to give Mason and Emery the best chance to be successful. Holmgren, though, is positive things will be fine on the back end. Jakub Voracek was a big offensive producer growing up in the Czech Republic and in his two seasons with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. However, prior to 2012-13 he never had found his scoring touch in the NHL, in three seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who selected him with the seventh pick of the 2007 NHL Draft, and one with the Flyers, his best output was 18 goals and 50 points. Last season, though, the departure of Jaromir Jagr opened a spot at right wing on Claude Giroux's line and Voracek took advantage, scoring a career-best 22 goals while playing all 48 games. He also had 46 points; pro-rated over an 82-game season, those totals would have been 37 goals and 78 points. The biggest difference for Voracek last season was his willingness to shoot, his 129 shots on goal were second on the team, and in an 82-game season projected to a career-best 220. Voracek might have caught some teams by surprise, but that won't happen this season. Can he fight through the extra attention to be productive again in 2013-14? For the Flyers to get back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he'll have to. As an 18-year-old rookie in 2011-12, Sean Couturier had 13 goals, 27 points and a plus-18 rating that was second on the team in 77 games. He was even better in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, becoming the youngest player since 1945 to have a hat trick when he scored three times in Game 2 of the first round against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He also played outstanding defensively, where he was tasked with covering Evgeni Malkin. He held that season's Art Ross Trophy winner to eight points in six games, but three points came in one game. The belief heading into last season was that Couturier was ready for an increase from the 14:08 of ice time he got per game as a rookie, including some time on the power play. While his ice time went up to 15:58 per game, though, his production plummeted. He had four goals and 15 points in 46 games, and was a minus-8. After scoring twice in his first six games, he went 27 games without a goal. So was last season a blip and Couturier will develop into a second-line center? Or is he more suited to a third-line role, where he can use his defensive abilities to chip in offensively? The addition of Vincent Lecavalier will push Couturier to a third-line role to start, but if he plays like he did as a rookie, he could earn a bump up the lineup. Speaking of the veteran center, he was nowhere near the Flyers' thought process until the Tampa Bay Lightning opted to use a compliance buyout to get out from the final seven years of Lecavalier's contract. The Flyers signed Lecavalier to a five-year, $22.5 million contract, with the expectation that he can center the second line, or shift to right wing on a line with Claude Giroux. But can Lecavalier keep up with the Flyers' up-tempo style of play? The 33-year-old hasn't played more than 65 games in a season since 2009-10, and has suffered from hand, wrist and foot injuries the last few seasons. He says he feels good now, though, and the Flyers expect to be stronger up the middle with Lecavalier's presence. Holmgren never has been a general manager willing to sit still. If he sees a problem or an issue, he does his best to solve it. He saw a need for a puck-moving defenseman, and found it in Streit. He needed to clear cap space, so he used a compliance buyout on Daniel Briere. He wanted to change course in goal, so he used his second compliance buyout on Bryzgalov and brought in Emery. He wanted to get bigger down the middle, and signed Lecavalier to a five-year deal. While those transactions filled needs, were they the right moves to get the Flyers back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs? That question won't be answered until April, but the people who made them certainly feel confident.