Just a little update now that the second round is over
Detroit will have Washington’s first rounder #22 in the Draft
Columbus will have Toronto’s first rounder #23 and Tampa’s first rounder #28-31 in the Draft
New Jersey will have New York’s first rounder #28-31 in the Draft
Today we have the Penguins, Capitals, Blues, and Wild
1ST Round Elimination EAST and West
1st Pittsburgh Penguins 0 37-16-3 77 29 34 196-156+40
2nd Washington Capitals 0 36-15-5 77 29 33 191-163+38
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3rd Minnesota Wild 0 35-16-5 75 27 34 181-160+21
4th St.Louis Blues 0 27-20-9 63 19 25 169-170-1
Washington Capitals
Washington left the first round losing in five games to the Bruins after finishing second in the East with a record of 36-15-5, and finishing 10.5 games above .500 and does not have a first round pick at the draft. On the goalies Ilya Samsonov is their starting goalie of the future and will need a new contract as he is a pending RFA and their other young goalie Vitek Vanacek I think is a very good possibility that the Kraken will select him in the draft expansion leaving Washington without a backup. They should try to get a older goalie to be Samsonov’s backup either if it is through Trade or Free Agency. On the defensive side they are pretty much as good as they are going to get right now. If they can keep their defensive core intact past the expansion draft then I do not foresee very much movement. With Chara being a UFA or retiring they could look to Free Agency to try and get a depth defensemen. One other thing I think they could do on defense is have one or two of their young guys play like Martin Fehervary, Alex Alexeyev or Lucas Johansen. And on Offense they could shake up their roster as their have been rumors about Washington trading Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov has not been the most productive this year and there is a possibility that he is moved and I think it will happen especially with Lars Eller who could take second line role and Connor McMichael who is a good prospect could take third line center and having kids like McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre playing next year I think will give them a chance to get past the first round next year.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh left the first round losing in six games to the Islanders after finishing first in the East with a record of 37-16-3, and finishing 10.5 games above .500 does not have a first round draft pick at the draft. On the Goaltending the Penguins left the playoffs and a lot of people blamed goaltending so how far does Pittsburgh takes it. Tristan Jarry is a fine goalie and I personally do not think that the Penguins will trade Jarry however I could see them get a better backup than DeSmith. DeSmith has a okay season but if Pittsburgh can get a older backup either in Trade or Free Agency they could be better. On the Defense they could tweak a few things that might make the Defense better. The Penguins have four defensemen who can start this season on the left where as on the right side after Cody Ceci leaves for Free Agency they will only have a couple. To make room for young 2017 1RD pick Pierre Oliver Joseph on the Left Side moving either Mike Matheson or Marcus Pettersson via the Trade Market for a Right side defensemen should get there defence upgrade. And on the offense I don’t see many changes. Now the Kraken in all fairness will select a middle six forward from the Penguins but Pittsburgh has incredible depth. Sam Poulin a recent first round pick should get some playing time in the top 9 next year most likely filling in for whoever the Kraken take. And getting one or two physical Forwards either in Free Agency or via trade to play on the fourth line and bring som physicality would go a long way to helping Pittsburgh past the first round.
Minnesota Wild
Minnesota surprised everyone by taking Vegas to seven game but ended up losing the series after finishing third in the West this year with a record of 35-16-5 and finishing 10.5 points above .500 and have both the #22 and #25 (Pittsburgh’s) round draft pick at the draft. On the Goaltending there is nothing to discuss. Cam Talbot and Kaapo Kahkonen are Minnesota’s goalies going into next year after Talbot caused problems for Vegas in the first round series while Kahkonen is the future goalie of the Wild. The only Problem is both are eligible to be selected by Seattle in the expansion draft and only one can be protected so using whatever means to make sure the Kraken don’t select the exposed goalie would be a priority. On the Defense they have a problem going into the expansion draft with their Defense. With Spurgeon, Suter, and Brodin having NMC’s they all have to be protected in the expansion draft that would leave great top 4 defensemen Matt Dumba exposed so to avoid this I think they should trade Dumba before the expansion draft and use good rookie Calen Addison as a top 4 defensemen. Also they should either resign Ian Cole who is a pending UFA or look to Free Agency or Trade to find a veteran 3rd D pair defensemen. And on Offense their biggest need is a top line center. All Centers who did play this year Marcus Johansson, Nick Bonino, and Nick Bjugstad are all UFA’s and Minnesota needs new Centers. Marco Rossi And Matthew Boldy should each have a chance at being Center for the Wild Next they were both first round choices of the Wild the last two years. Maybe getting one or two fourth line wingers via Free Agency or Trade would be good for them. One last thing that could improve their chances for next year and that is acquiring a top line Center. Using Dumba to Trade for a Top line Center as there are a couple places who have been rumoured to be selling a top line Center and if they can make a trade with one of those teams they would be a better team.
St.Louis Blues
St.Louis left the first round after being swept or losing in four games to the Avalanche after just making the playoffs finishing Fourth in the West with a record of 27-20-9 and finished 3.5 games above .500 and will have the #17 overall pick at the draft. On the Goalies I would probably not touch anything as they have a cup winning starter and a good young backup. Binnington signed a six year six million dollar deal during the season to stay with the Blues. As for the backup Ville Husso had a good season serving as the backup and will probably be backup again next year, one other possibility for backup would be Joel Hofer who is one of the top goalie prospects in the league. On Defense their isn’t much changes I predict for the Blues D-Line. Their top six defenders are quite a great bunch but I do see a couple changes. Vince Dunn is a pending RFA and has been rumoured to be on the trade block and I do think that the Blues trade him as they have young guys coming up and Dunn is a solid defensemen. Also young guys like Walman, Mikkola, and Perunovich all who are left side defensemen should get a chance to have a consistent role with the team. And on offense they have a lot of work to do. Robert Thomas, Jordan Kyrou, Zach Sanford, and Ivan Barbashev are all key parts of the team and are all RFA’s and will need new Contracts as will Jayden Schwartz who is a UFA and I think a deal gets done between the two teams. With the departures of Hoffman and Bozak via Free Agency most likely I think Klim Kostin a 2017 1RD pick will get a chance to play as a top 9 forward ans possibly they get a cheap forward if they trade Dunn and and if St.Louis is able to get younger they should have a better chance of making the playoffs and getting past the first round.
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