With the trade deadline Monday, expect some key players to move within the next 24 hours, and with that means a few shifts in power. The Blue Jackets, now with Ryan Dzingel and Matt Duchene, look like playoff locks, and if they win the division it wouldn't be all that surprising. That also means the Senators have a lot of minutes to go around, and younger players may take priority. Here's a pre-trade deadline rundown of which teams will have to re-organize.
Ottawa Senators
If we're operating under the assumption that Mark Stone is traded, the Sens basically have to replace an entire first line from within the organization. They won't be able to replace the quality, but someone has to take the minutes. On the power play, that will be Brady Tkachuk, Chris Tierney, Colin White and Mikkel Boedker, with rookies Logan Brown, Drake Batherson and maybe Filip Chlapik also coming into the picture. In Saturday's loss to the Jackets, all except Chlapik played more than three minutes in four power plays.
Excluding Stone, Tierney is now the team's highest-scoring forward with just six goals, having never led his team in scoring since minor midgets. That means Tkachuk presents the most upside, followed by White, a first-round pick who is now pencilled in as their No. 1 center next season. However, the most intriguing piece is Batherson, a possible gem the Sens unearthed in the fourth round who has scored 49 points in 41
With the trade deadline Monday, expect some key players to move within the next 24 hours, and with that means a few shifts in power. The Blue Jackets, now with Ryan Dzingel and Matt Duchene, look like playoff locks, and if they win the division it wouldn't be all that surprising. That also means the Senators have a lot of minutes to go around, and younger players may take priority. Here's a pre-trade deadline rundown of which teams will have to re-organize.
Ottawa Senators
If we're operating under the assumption that Mark Stone is traded, the Sens basically have to replace an entire first line from within the organization. They won't be able to replace the quality, but someone has to take the minutes. On the power play, that will be Brady Tkachuk, Chris Tierney, Colin White and Mikkel Boedker, with rookies Logan Brown, Drake Batherson and maybe Filip Chlapik also coming into the picture. In Saturday's loss to the Jackets, all except Chlapik played more than three minutes in four power plays.
Excluding Stone, Tierney is now the team's highest-scoring forward with just six goals, having never led his team in scoring since minor midgets. That means Tkachuk presents the most upside, followed by White, a first-round pick who is now pencilled in as their No. 1 center next season. However, the most intriguing piece is Batherson, a possible gem the Sens unearthed in the fourth round who has scored 49 points in 41 games in the AHL (also as a rookie) and also looks like a bona fide top-line scorer. The question is how much ice time Guy Boucher is willing to give him.
New York Rangers
The performances of three players will be closely watched once the Rangers are done stripping the team of its veterans: Brett Howden, Filip Chytil and Lias Andersson. Along with Mika Zibanejad, the Rangers have a really strong core of young forwards they can commit to for the future, and they haven't been shy about plugging young players into the lineup in recent seasons. Howden is a two-way, middle-six center, but Andersson and Chytil definitely have more offensive upside.
Once Kevin Hayes is moved, and if Chris Kreider follows suit, perhaps it'll open the door for the rookies to get some power-play time. David Quinn doesn't trust the two rookies yet, but I'm not convinced Vladislav Namestnikov or Ryan Strome are better options and that they're any better as models of consistency. The Rangers' minor-league team is not in playoff contention so the young players likely will stay in the NHL and play more challenging games.
Dallas Stars
I'm not convinced adding Mats Zuccarello will change the Stars' playoff prospects, still at most the third-best team in their division and still not a sure bet to beat the Blues, Avalanche or Wild in a seven-game series. The addition of a dependable scoring winger like Zucc means Jim Montgomery can put the Benn-Seguin-Radulov line back again and also have a dependable scorer on their second line, but it's certain he'll try at least a few combos to see what works best. I do suspect, however, that this will be the last time we'll see Jason Spezza in the top six.
The pecking order will be difficult to work out because so many of their players can be so inconsistent game-to-game, but Zucc has been amazing the last two months with 23 points in 21 games, and you don't become the heart and soul of the Rangers without showing up every night. The hope is that Zucc can light up a sometimes D.O.A. Stars lineup and improve a power play that has ranked 16th, 19th and 20th the last three seasons. The Stars have used John Klingberg and Miro Heiskanen on their top unit, but the Rangers' 13th-ranked power play ran a four-forward set with Zucc, so the Stars may experiment with that, and if they do, I suspect Heiskanen will then quarterback the second unit.
Arizona Coyotes
Christian Dvorak, who was fifth on the team in scoring last season, is on a rehab assignment in the AHL and expected to make his season debut sooner than later. It's unlikely he'll go right back to averaging 16 minutes a game like he did last season, but he's a far better option than Jordan Weal or not-nearly-as-good-anymore Derek Stepan. Much has been made about how resilient the Coyotes are, but the reality is that they wouldn't have a chance if the West was so weak, and even if they make the playoffs, they *might* win one game in the first round.
Alex Galchenyuk has really picked it up with 16 points in 22 games, so he's the better bet to finish the season as their top scorer, but also keep an eye on Lawson Crouse, the 11th overall pick from 2015 who was basically gifted to them by the Panthers to dump Dave Bolland's contract, and has now scored three points in every month and seen his ice time steadily climb from 8:43 to a season-high 20:34 against the Leafs last Saturday and 16:46 most recently against the Canucks.
Other notes:
Charlie Coyle, Bruins
He scored in the shootout to keep the Bruins alive in his debut, playing on the third line. He's a great fit in that spot, and played roughly the same number of minutes he was getting with the Wild. His numbers might get a boost from better linemates but his offensive upside is about 20 goals.
Madison Bowey, Filip Zadina, Red Wings
Bowey is going to be a coveted asset, a 6-foot-2 right-shot defenseman who can skate, hit and score. He couldn't crack the Caps lineup with John Carlson and Matt Niskanen, but with the Red Wings he may blossom into a top-four defenseman. Top pick Filip Zadina was called up and will play Sunday, skating on the third line with Luke Glendening and veteran sniper Thomas Vanek.
Ryan Donato, Wild
Donato is definitely a more skilled player for Coyle, and already he had three assists in two games for the Wild. This likely will continue with the Wild looking for scoring depth and the history of the Bruins trading young players is … regrettable.
