[Emrith] Cole Caufield says aiming for a playoff spot next season is what the team are striving for: “that’s the goal… it’s a big mountain to climb, the mountain is still going to be there next year so nobody is giving up now and we’re going to keep pushing.”
by Tripacka
10 Comments
Mountain ✅
https://preview.redd.it/lev16aovbzsc1.jpeg?width=623&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=19a3bee9b6a616e05889dd2ea2c5f9dbf53f8a88
Love it. With some Kent magic this summer we should be fighting for a spot. Don’t think we’ll make it just yet but we shouldn’t be drafting too 10 for sure.
With Dach and Dvorak healthy I think there’s no reason to think this roster will not fight for a PO spot next season.
Playing meaningful games until the end of the year should be the goal. Maybe they make it, maybe they don’t. But it can’t be a bottom 10 season again.
Better not be a messed up way of asking for a trade
I’d say next year is the last year of the heavy pain, and where the core starts to take shape. We might not make the playoffs but hopefully we challenge for a spot.
Suzuki is a legit 1C. He’ll be 25 next year and entering his prime years. Hopefully Caufield can re-establish himself and become that 40+ goal scorer we know he can be. Slafkovsky is still young but he is on the path to becoming a consistent top-line point producer that can add a physical edge. Skies the limit for him.
On the second line we have Dach and Newhook. It’ll be interesting to see if Dach can come back from injury and pick up where he left off, and if Newhook can take the next step and cement himself in the top-6. I think we need one more piece for that second line. Maybe it’s Roy, who will likely start the season in the NHL, but he’ll need a year or two to fully break through. The draft might solve this problem too. I think there’s a good chance we end up trading one or both of our 1sts, but if we do pick in the top-ten, I hope we add a solid offensive winger.
In the bottom-six, Gallagher and Evans add good veteran leadership. Harvey-Pinard, Ylonen, and Pezzetta might be good pieces, but they’ll have to earn their spot. Heineman, Farrell, Kidney, Mesar, and Beck could be looking to crack the lineup at some point next year. I think Armia and Dvorak and, if possible, Anderson will be traded next year.
On D, a lot of the pieces are there and they just need to keep developing. Matheson is the veteran leadership, and Guhle, Xhekaj, Harris, Struble, Trudeau, Barron, Mailloux, Reinbacher are all competing for spots. Hutson, Engstrom, and Konyushkov are not far off either. Depending on if/when these guys cement their spots in the lineup will determine how long Savard and Kovacevic will be around.
In net, we’ve got a goalie that can be a starting goalie for now and the near future with Montembault, we’ve got a goalie that might be a starting goalie within a year or two with Primeau, we’ve got adobes in Laval who might be able to become an NHLer in a few years, and we’ve got a possible star goalie who’s about four or five years away in Fowler. We don’t necessarily have a superstar ready and waiting, but we’ve got some decent bets, and hopefully one pans out.
Anyways, the core is starting to take shape, but we have to hope for good development. Next year a lot of players will be asked to take the next step. Some will, some won’t. But the more that do, the more likely we will challenge for a playoff spot. We’re still a 3-5 years away from being a contender, if we do get there, but we have lots of promise in the system.
When your team’s top sniper references the playoffs as a mountain to scale you know you’re fucked
I think with 2 forwards acquired, one via trade and one through the draft, we can at least be as good as NYI, DET, WSH, PIT next year