Team: 2020-21 Custom Team

Initial Creation Date: May 12, 2021

Published: May 13, 2021

Salary Cap Mode: Basic

Carolina vs Nashville - It looks like all injuries will recover so that will not be a factor in this series. For star players, the Canes have Aho, Svechnikov, Teravainen and with his performance this year, even Trochek. Having 4 star players is wicked good and you can’t ask for more. Aho, Svech and Teravainen have shown the ability to perform in the playoffs but Trochek simply doesn’t have the experience to make a call. I have no reservations but time will tell. Secondary scorers are Necas, Staal, Nino and Foegele. They’ve all shown an ability to perform in the playoffs, albeit inconsistently. Foegele has even been able to elevate. If all goes well, they are 8 deep up front. The 4th line of whoever Brind Amour should chose of Paquette, Geekie, Lorentz, Fast, McGinn and Martinook is an abnormally skilled group of players for a 4th line. Any of these guys could slot into the 9 spot up front. They aren’t overly tough but they are skilled. Overall, they have a great group of stars, are 8 deep and have a very skilled 4th line. Another thing about this team that you can’t underestimate is that they have basically 6 lines of effective NHLers. If you aren’t performing there’s someone who will. That’s an underestimated advantage. In the way of stars, Nashville has Forsberg. That’s it. And he’s a pretty low end star. He can perform in playoffs so no worries there. For secondary scoring they have Jarnkrok, Granlund, Arvidsson, Tolvanen, Johansen, Haula, Kunin and Duchene. Even though they have 9 competent NHL forwards, Carolina has an astronomically better 8. Foegele is the #8 in Carolina and he’d 5ish here. Along with this, only Arvidsson, prime Johansen and Duchene (playing with Panarin) have ever put together strong playoff performances. I’d expect only Arvidsson and maybe Kunin to perform this time around. Not pretty so far. They have 4 4th line players in Cousins, Sissons, Grimaldi and Trenin. Skilled 4th line group like Carolinas but lacks the selection. Overall they have a weak star group, are 9 deep but it’s not a very good 9, have a skilled 4th line that is worse than Carolinas and have a bunch of players I don’t think will bring it in the playoffs. Carolina takes it by a mile up front. On D, they two elite #1s in Hamilton and Slavin. Hamilton is one of the best all around d-men and Slavin is the premier shutdown defenceman of the NHL IMO. It doesn’t stop there either. Pesce is a very high end #2 playing 3 and Skjei is a great top 4. Gardener and Bean are both good top 4 options as well and they both play third pair. This d-core is nearly perfect. In playoffs, Hamilton, Slavin, Pesce and Skjei have done great in the past. Bean has no experience but Gardiner has developed a habit of single handedly losing a series. This won’t happen here as he is the #6 but not the best playoff performer historically. Overall this defensive core has elite high end talent, an elite top 4 and one of the best third pairs in the NHL if Gardiner can remain competent. Nashville has two high end #1s in Ellis and Josi. Josi being the 2nd best defense men in the NHL IMO. Ekholm is a top pair guy as well and Fabbro probably is as well. They have 4 top pair quality guys. All with the exception of Fabbro have had excellent playoff performances. The third pair isn’t too impressive though. Overall their top 4 may be the best league wide but the bottom pair leaves a lot to be desired. Overall the top 4s are pretty equal with a slight advantage to Nashville but Carolinas entire defensive core is better as a whole. In net Nashville has a Vezina contender in Saros while Carolina has a few options. They could either start Nedeljkovic, Reiner or Mrazek. I wouldn’t start Reiner so it’s dealers choice on Nedeljkovic or Mrazek. My choice being Nedeljkovic. He lead the league in save percentage and goals against average of goalies who played 20 or more games. If they start Nedeljkovic, Nashville still has a slight advantage in net but Nedeljkovic has the ability to steal any game. On special teams Carolina has 2nd best PP league wide and the 3rd best PK. Nashville has the 24th PP and the 29th PK. Carolina will dominate in special teams. The only thing Nashville has going is a hot streak right now and Juuse Saros. Carolina has way better forwards, better defense men, is better defensively, might be slightly tougher and dominates on special teams. Goalie isn’t too much worse either. Carolina in 5




Florida vs Tampa Bay - Obviously Florida is without Ekblad, but Bennett and Hornqvist are expected back so that’s good news. Kucherov, Stamkos, Palat, Hedman and McDonagh should all return, Hedman being at less than 100% with an injury that will require surgery and that will allow Tampa to circumvent the salary cap for one more year. Goodrow is expected to remain out. For star players, Tampa has Huberdeau and Barkov. Not a lot of stars, but some of the best. Both are top 5 at their position for my money. Despite lack of experience I expect both stars to be fine in the playoffs. For secondary scoring, they have Wennberg, Verhaege, Hornqvist, Vatrano, Gusev and Bennett. This makes them 8 deep. Owen Tippett could fill the 9th spot in the top 9 effectively as well. The 4th line in this team isn’t great but it’s decent. Overall the forward group has two great stars, good depth, is good defensively and will likely be hard to play against especially with some tremendous playoff performers throughout the lineup. Tampa has Point, Kucherov and Stamkos for stars. A better group than Florida’s if Stamkos can stay healthy. Palat may even be a star with his performance this season. All 4 can perform in the playoffs and know how to win. For secondary scoring they have Gourde, Coleman, Cirelli, Killorn and Johnson. This makes them 9 deep and 10 deep if Goodrow comes back. Joseph and Maroon aren’t too bad either. This team has nearly endless amounts of terrific NHL players. The 4th line is a 3rd line on most teams. Maroon is the perfect 4th liner. Experience, toughness, skill. This forward group has it all. They have elite stars, elite depth, know how to win, are good defensively. Tampa has the far better forward group and Florida’s isn’t even too bad. On D, Florida has a great #1 in Weegar, a #2 in Yandle although he can’t play defence and two reliable 4s in Stralman and Nutivaara. The third pair of Gudas and Forsling is an effective third pair. Hard to play against. They’ll get the job done. Overall it’s a decent defensive group but it’s not great. Just average past Weegar. On the Tampa side, Hedman is the best d-man in the NHL and Sergachev is a future #1 if he isn’t already. Hedman may not be 100% though. He’ll probably be a middle of the road #1. I think Weegar will be the better d-man but Hedman will still be effective. McDonagh is a rock solid top pair guy and Cernak is a perfect #4. The Rutta-Schenn third pair is pretty solid as well. Overall, they have one elite defense men even though he may not be playing elite, they have 2 other top pair d-men, a great 4 and a solid 3rd pair. Tampa has the far better defensive core. In net, Vasilevskiy is significantly better than Driedger. I don’t feel like I need to explain myself. On special teams Florida has the 15th ranked PP and the 17th ranked PK. Shockingly mediocre. Tampa has the 8th ranked PP and the 4th ranked PK. Tampa will dominate on special teams. Tampa is just an all around better team. Tampa in 5.


Carolina vs Tampa Bay - Not gonna recap every aspect of the roster. Tampa has a better group of stars, better top 9, Carolina has better team depth, Tampa has better defensive forwards, Tampa is tougher, Carolina has better elite defense men, an equal top 4 and a better defensive corps. Tampa has the better goalie. Kucherov and Stamkos coming back will make Tampa’s PP better so the special teams is basically equal. Both teams had fast series and are rested but Carolina has home ice. All those factors considered, Tampa is still the better team and Carolinas advantages arent very large. Tampa in 6