A lot has been shaken up in the National Hockey League this postseason, and with less than 30 days until the first puck drop of the season, we must find out who has the best chance of hoisting the Stanley Cup Trophy in 2015.
The reigning Stanley Cup Champion Los Angeles Kings took a $4.8 million cap hit to sign winger Marian Gaborik to a seven-year, $34 million deal. This is a great fit for the Kings and will make them harder to handle next year with their new acquisition. Gaborik is an intense, high productivity winger who can snipe a goal on any goalie from just about anywhere past the blue line. Working alongside center Anze Kopitar on the Kings’ first line should cause some serious trouble for the rest of the league. Watch for both players to net more than 50 points this season, putting the Kings right in the mix come May.
Gaborik wasn’t the only winger to get a big deal this offseason. Michael Cammalleri signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the New Jersey Devils. Leaving a franchise in decline with the Calgary Flames, Cammalleri should be excited and ready to get after it in New Jersey. The addition of Cammalleri to the Devils should help out the teams’ offense significantly. Cammalleri is a speedy, aggressive forward and should fit well in the mix with Travis Zajac and Patrik Elias. He is a playmaker who has the ability to create a play to get a shot on net even in the heaviest amounts of defensive traffic.
Matt Moulson signed an identical deal with the Buffalo Sabres this offseason. This move improves the Sabres roster; however, they’re likely to be a rather uncompetitive team this year. The Sabres have been outsourcing their talent for the past few years, losing Jason Pominville, Steve Ott, and others during that span. Moulson is a grinder, a guy that can make a difference in late game situations. The Sabres may be more productive offensively, but I don’t see the move affecting their overall chance at the trophy.
When Matt Niskanen left the Penguins via free agency, they knew they needed to get a new top defender to run the show in Pittsburgh. They found that in Christian Ehrhoff, another former Buffalo Sabre. Ehrhoff has a high hockey I.Q. and one of the deadliest slap shots in the league. He’s mobile for his size, and never afraid to use his frame to block shots on goal. Ehrhoff should fit right in to Pittsburgh’s defensive schemes and have no problem improving his production from his years in Buffalo.
The most notable free agency pick-up, which will have the biggest effect on this coming season, is the St. Louis Blues acquisition of Paul Stastny. Stastny has been in the league for a long time, and he’s a quality veteran player. Likely, he’s exactly what the Blues have been missing when it comes to postseason play. The Blues were in need of a veteran who knows what it takes to win close games in playoff scenarios. He’ll add quality depth to the Blues offensive lines and be a great puck facilitator for younger guys like Vladimir Tarasenko. Consider this move as the finalization of the Blues run for the Stanley Cup.
In six games, I predict that the St. Louis Blues will defeat the Boston Bruins and hoist the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.