SEVEN TEAMS, SEVEN BIG QUESTIONS ENTERING CAMP
Every Canadian NHL club is opening 2017-18 with lineup dilemmas to solve
Who will be Connor McDavid’s new linemate? Can Mike Smith be a No. 1 goalie? Can Jonathan Drouin be a No. 1 centre and can Thomas Chabot be the next Erik Karlsson?
With training camps opening around the league Thursday, here are seven burning questions facing the seven Canadian teams:
CALGARY
Will Smith find his footing? No one is anticipating Mike Smith will have to battle Eddie Lack for the No. 1 goaltending job. Then again, no one expected Brian Elliott would temporarily lose the net to Chad Johnson at this time last season. The Flames will be looking for Smith, acquired from Arizona, to provide assurances that he can rebound from a tough season and be the starter Calgary needs him to be. If he can’t, Lack might be more than a backup.
EDMONTON
Who will be McDavid’s winger? Playing on a line with Connor McDavid turned Pat Maroon into a 27-goal scorer (he previously never had more than 12) and propelled Leon Draisaitl into the top 10 in scoring. But with Draisaitl getting a chance to centre his own line, last year’s Art Ross Trophy winner is looking for a new running mate. Will it be Ryan Strome, acquired from the Islanders? Fourth-overall pick Jesse Puljujarvi? Or can someone else, such as Jussi Jokinen or Drake Caggiula, win the most coveted spot in hockey?
MONTREAL
Can Drouin play centre? When the Canadiens traded their top defence prospect to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Drouin, it added more pressure to a Quebec-born forward who was finally starting to find his game. That pressure was likely amplified in the last few days when head coach Claude Julien and general manager Marc Bergevin made it clear that Drouin — and not Alex Galchenyuk — would open training camp at centre. Forget that Drouin is only 22 years old and still developing. He’s now being asked to play a position he hasn’t played since junior. And he has to do it in Montreal? Zut alors!
O T TAWA
Can Chabot fill in for Karlsson? Thomas Chabot is not the next Erik Karlsson. He isn’t even his body double. But with Karlsson expected to miss time while recovering from surgery, the rookie defenceman will get a chance to show whether he belongs among the team’s top four. It’s a lot to ask of a 20-year-old who has played just one NHL game. But after winning MVP at the world juniors and being named top defenceman in the Quebec junior league, expectations are sky-high for the early Calder Trophy candidate.
TORONTO
How will the forward pieces fit? When the Maple Leafs acquired Patrick Marleau as a free agent, it gave the team a proven 2530 goal scorer. But it also gave them yet another winger. We assume Marleau, William Nylander, Mitch Marner, James van Riemsdyk and Connor Brown are locked in as top-nine forwards, but we don’t know who’s playing with who and whether Zach Hyman or Leo Komarov will be relegated to the fourth line. And with so many forwards on the team, will minor-leaguers Kasperi Kapanen and Josh Leivo be able to push someone like Matt Martin out of a job?
VANCOUVER
Will Jake Virtanen benefit from Travis Green? It was a difficult — some would call it rock bottom — year for Canucks prospect Jake Virtanen last season. After failing to score a goal in the NHL, he was demoted to the AHL, where he struggled even more, scoring nine goals and 19 points in 65 games. The positive? He played for Travis Green, who became a fan of the 21-year-old’s resilience and who now happens to be the head coach of the Canucks. That could help. But first, Virtanen has to show he belongs in the NHL.
WINNIPEG
Will Winnipeg inject more youth? Jacob Trouba is not sitting out, Tyler Myers is healthy and head coach Paul Maurice and GM Kevin Cheveldayoff both have extensions. About the only question now is whether one or more of Kyle Connor, Jack Roslovic and Brendan Lemieux can win jobs at training camp. Of the three prospects, Connor seemingly has the best chance after making the team out of camp last year and appearing in 20 games. But that doesn’t mean Roslovic or Lemieux won’t steal a job from a veteran like Matt Hendricks.
Forget that Drouin is only 22 years old and still developing. He’s now being asked to play a position he hasn’t played since junior.