It's possible that it comes in the form of Jesperi Kotkaniemi or Martin Necas, but the duo combined for just 26 goals last season.
That second line is currently where Carolina has the biggest hole to fill when it comes to scoring depth.
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On top of that, the Hurricanes also lost second-line center Vincent Trocheck to the Rangers in free agency. While that sounds great on paper, Pacioretty suffered a torn Achilles just weeks after joining the Hurricanes and will miss the majority of the 2022-23 season. The franchise went out and added a pair of veteran pieces in the form of star winger Max Pacioretty and star defenseman Brent Burns. Following a second round elimination at the hands of the New York Rangers, the Hurricanes pushed their chips to the center of the table. The Carolina Hurricanes were expected to make a deep Stanley Cup playoff run during the 2021-22 campaign, but an injury to goaltender Frederik Andersen leading up to the postseason derailed those hopes. Maybe one of these two options end up shining bright for the Maple Leafs this season, but right now, it's a huge question mark for a franchise that has Stanley Cup aspirations. 906 save percentage with the Ottawa Senators. Meanwhile, Murray also wasn't spectacular as he put together a 5-12-2 record to go along with a 3.05 goals-against-average and a. 896 save percentage during the 2021-22 season. Samsonov had a 23-12-5 record paired with a 3.02 goals-against-average and a. Both are now looking for a fresh start and the Maple Leafs are hoping to capture lightning in a bottle with at least one of them. At one time, Samsonov was believed to be the goaltender of the future for the Washington Capitals while Matt Murray was thought to be the franchise netminder for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Following Campbell's departure, the team signed Ilya Samsonov and acquired Matt Murray from the Ottawa Senators to help fill the void in net. In the offseason, Jack Campbell left town to sign with the Edmonton Oilers. One of Toronto's main issues was its goaltending play. But even with that kind of success, the season could be classified as somewhat of a failure considering that Florida was swept by the Lightning in the second round.
The Florida Panthers dominated the NHL landscape during the 2021-22 regular season as they captured the Presidents' trophy with a league-best 122 points. It just may be a little bit more difficult than it has been in previous years. With that in mind, a Stanley Cup run is never out of the question. Obviously, this is still a team that features star forwards like Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, a 2022 Norris Trophy finalist in Victor Hedman, and one of the sport's top goaltenders in Andrei Vasilevskiy. Now, Tampa Bay does have the likes of Ian Cole, Haydn Fleury and Phillippe Myers on its roster to replace McDonagh, but it's hard to imagine any of those three having the impact that McDonagh did on the blue line. The Lightning also were forced to trade veteran defenseman Ryan McDonagh to the Nashville Predators in order to shed salary. Palat has been one of the more steady secondary offensive producers for the Lightning throughout their dynamic three-year Cup runs. One of which was let winger Ondrej Palat walk in free agency and cash in on a big pay day with the New Jersey Devils. Over the summer, the Lightning were up against the salary cap, so the team was forced to make some extremely tough decisions. This is a franchise that has relied on its veterans time and time again, but could age finally catch up with them? It's entirely within the realm of possiblities. But it's quite possible that Tampa Bay takes a step back during the 2022-23 season.įirst of all, the Lightning will enter the upcoming season as the third-oldest team in all of the NHL. The Lightning have been the standard bearer in the Eastern Conference for the past three seasons. Atlantic Division Lightning's path to Final is harder Here's a breakdown of the eastern divisions as we enter the 2022-23 campaign. The Lightning certainly are still one of the top teams that the East has to offer, but the conference may be deeper than it's been in quite some time with several teams making key improvements. The Eastern Conference juggernauts were dethroned by the Colorado Avalanche this past June. The 2022-23 NHL season will get underway in a few days, and it comes a ton of intrigue.įor the first time in three seasons, the Tampa Bay Lightning aren't the reigning Stanley Cup champions.
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