Doesn't sound too bad.
What happened to Beaudin does sound bad. Out indefinitely with a wrist injury and allegedly going to a specialist later this week. Powers had an update if you're a subscriber to the Athletic...
If Crawford finds his old form, I think this season is going to be a lot more fun than the last few.
Not calling a Cup run, but I think a playoff berth with the potential of an entertaining playoff series or two are not out of the question.
He's not going anywhere.
He can still be a serviceable D-man if they shelter him on the third pairing and give him more favorable matchups. But they've got him and Manning handling the bulk of defensive zone draws and that seems like a bad idea.
I'm intrigued by Blake Hillman a bit. Seems the closest to the defensive defenseman prototype that Hjammer was. Very small sample size so I'm not making any assertions. Just want to see more.
But I'm with you on the overall pessimistic outlook for the upcoming season. Seems like the only route...
A minus-29 rating is terrible, yes. Let's not act like the guy in net behind Keith did him any favors this season, though. I still maintain Keith can be OK in your Top 4. No longer the shutdown guy he used to be, unfortunately.
No guarantees on Saad, of course. But one rough season after five...
I'm always more on the optimistic side of things, but I still believe this group has another Cup run left. They have a Kane and a Crawford (let's just assum ehe's going to be healthy for argument's sake), which puts them ahead of the majority of NHL teams.
I think the forward group is very...