NHL 13 -- Five Teams Significantly Changed by the Lockout - Wiggy's Blog

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NHL 13 -- Five Teams Significantly Changed by the Lockout Stuck

Posted on January 17, 2013 at 05:24 PM.

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As hockey fans gear up for the strange 48-game season that's about to take place, GMs and coaches are scrambling to piece together line-ups from the slew of injuries, buyouts, reassignments, waiver claims and trades. When EA updates their rosters at the start of this new "season," several teams are going to look a lot different than they did just a few months ago.

Honestly, every team has had to do some pretty serious reshuffling and triage, but the five listed below are pegged to look the most different when they take to the real (and virtual) rinks.

1) Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver looks to be a changed team this year, with several key pieces of their line-up having been lost to injury and other players being not likely to suit up for the first game of the new season.

Ryan Kesler is still injured from off-season surgery, so that leaves a big void on the Canucks' second line. Just the same, David Booth, a reasonable 20-goal scorer, is injured for another four to six weeks, leaving yet another hole to be filled. On defence, the Canucks have added depth in Jim Vandermeer and Cam Barker, as well as stability with Jason Garrison in a likely top-four spot. Keith Ballard may be bought out or traded before the season as well.

Of course, the biggest mystery is Roberto Luongo and the fact that his days could be numbered. If he were to go, a new back-up goalie would be needed, and the Canucks would have several new assets coming on board.

2) Toronto Maple Leafs

With Brian Burke recently getting axed as GM, Toronto looks to have change happening in the board room and on the ice. The changes begin in goal, where the rumblings of Roberto Luongo could mean big changes for the Leafs. If that happens, they'll be losing key assets off their team, requiring offense from elsewhere. They'll have to rely on James Reimer and Ben Scrivens in goal otherwise, and they'll be getting a fresh start this year.

The Leafs have also gained James van Riemsdyk at the expense of Luke Schenn, and they also lost Matthew Lobardi and Colby Armstrong, two big pieces of the Burke era. As well as a few other depth moves, the Leafs are likely still looking to add something to their team, and that could be a forward (ie. Mayson Raymond) as part of a Luongo deal. Finally, top prospect Jake Gardiner will have to battle through his concussion to help the Leafs this year.

3) Carolina Hurricanes

The 'Canes have been looking for change, and they have made some fairly significant moves in the off-season. In the absence of the injured Tuomo Ruutu (the more talented but less entertaining of the Ruutu brothers), the Hurricanes have picked up Jordan Staal and Alexander Semin. Adding another Staal brother to the mix instantly makes Carolina a more potent team, and Semin's offensive ability (if he shows up) also makes that first line -- and by trickle-down, the second line -- a lot different and more explosive.

The 'Canes have also bolstered the back-end, with key signings in Marc-Andre Gragnani (a solid depth guy) and top-four candidate Joe Corvo, a guy who just can't stay away from Carolina, as this is his third stint with the team.

Carolina only lost a few pieces in the off-season, including a bit of depth on defense, most notably with the departure of Bryan Allen.

4) Dallas Stars

The Dallas Stars have certainly made lots of changes, but it's hard to say if it's for the better. On the one hand, getting rid of Sheldon Souray (who is 36 years old and still makes bank) is probably a good thing, as is the removal of the two Adams, Pardy and Burish, who are totally replaceable players.

The main move at centre is that they've added Derek Roy, who is younger than the departing Mike Ribeiro, but it's debatable if he's actually a better player. The loss of Steve Ott via trade will probably hurt them as well, especially if Cody Eakin can't live up to his WHL promise.

Most amusingly, the Stars also gained 80 years of NHL experience by acquiring Ray Whitney and Jaromir Jagr, two ageless wonders who just seem to keep piling up the points. If those guys can go out there and get 50 points each without breaking a hip, I'd say Dallas made a good choice.

5) Tampa Bay Lightning

Anders Lindback will be the starting goalie for Tampa Bay, and the 24-year-old netminder will get a chance to outshine the paltry selection of young and old that TB had in the crease last season. He'll probably be able to to change their fortunes somewhat, but he certainly can't do it all on his own.

To help with this, Tampa Bay got dramatically better on defense by shedding Bruno Gervais and replacing him with Sami Salo and Matt Carle. The addition of Carle instantly makes the bolts a much different team -- and much better -- and Salo's experience, barring injuries, can help the team as well.

Tampa Bay also added some depth to their third and fourth lines with the acquisition of Benoit Pouliout and B.J. Crombeen.

Comments

# 1 gsize19 @ Jan 21

If the Toronto Maple Leafs would make Dallas Eakins their head coach, they would be a yearly playoff team... Sure I am biased, I am a friend of Dallas's but look at his track record with the Marlies, and what they have done this year. Eakins is a proven winner behind the bench!!!