It’s been a year of change for the Boston Bruins since new management came in. The mandate was clear from the beginning to get younger and cheaper, and build for the future. The inherited roster contained a few aging stars, limited players in their prime, and no depth and no goaltending. The only remaining member on the Bruins’ Pro roster from the team a season ago is forward Brett Connolly.

Most of the focus has gone to strengthening the defense and goaltending. Cam Talbot will hold the fort for the next two seasons, while promising goaltenders Linus Ullmark and Alexandar Georgiev battle to be next in line (with 9 prospect goalies waiting in the wings). Overall, it represents a stark upgrade from a year ago when Boston only had minor leaguer Kristofers Gudlevskis under contract.

The defense is composed of a collection of young and still-developing veterans highlighted by Michael Matheson, Adam Pelech, Erik Gudbranson, and Alex Petrovic, as well as incoming prospects Ethan Bear and Christian Djoos. Danny DeKeyser provides some added depth and experience.

The forward group saw the departure of franchise forward Claude Giroux, and the trade return of Ryan Johansen and Alex Debrincat will be part of a future top-6 group. The current F group has more depth than last year’s version but lacks offensive punch and several players are playing larger roles than they’re used to.

The Bruins focus during free agency was to add overall depth to the system and targetted players who could fill bigger roles in future seasons. The only FA adds to the current Pro roster are #2C Mikko Koivu, #3C Martin Hanzal, and versatile winger Matt Calvert.

The other major event of the off-season was the Entry Draft, which gave the Bruins a chance to add to their future as the team stockpiled 28 picks and gave a lot of added depth to the system. The major addition from the draft was the trade of the #3 overall pick for 18-year old C Filip Chytil and D Matheson.

The 2018/19 GVFHL season will likely represent a transition year for the Bruins as they hope for continued improvement from younger players. Likely the team will improve a few spots from their 4th from the bottom finish of a year ago but still be far off from the playoff picture.

Pasadena, CA –

Just over a month after the departure of longtime Los Angeles General Manager Mika Laakso, Unrestricted Free Agency has come to a close and rosters, for the most part, are being finalized by their respective front offices. Laakso was known for favoring his countrymen, and when he tendered his resignation, GMs around the league expressed speculation about the continuation of a Finnish dynasty. The days following the appointment of his successor, Holden Kenne, indicated that there would be no change to the modus operandi. The following Finns have been added under Kenne’s tenure thus far:

Niko Mikkola

Saku Maenalanen

Lauri Pajuniemi

Julius Vahatalo

Miro Aaltonen

Antti Suomela

Antti Raanta

Markus Nutivaara

Kale Kossila

Janne Kuokkanen

Eetu Luostarainen

Artturi Lehkonen

In addition to these players, Los Angeles has these existing Finns:

Sebastian Aho

Sami Niku

Eeli Tolvanen

Markus Granlund

Otto Koivula

Olli Juolevi

Joni Ikonen

Jyrki Jokkipakka

Rasmus Kupari

Jonne Tammela

Ville Meskanen

Robin Salo

Otto Kivenmaki

Toni Utunen

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Oskari Laaksonen

Sebastian Repo

Patrik Virta

Juho Lammikko

The New York Islanders have built up a strong core of young players over the past 3 seasons, but have never made the playoffs.  After a promising start last season, the team fizzled out and finished 12th in a strong Eastern Conference.  This year the team has made some steps in the right direction and are poised to start knocking on the door for their first playoff birth.

Leading the way is franchise centre Connor McDavid.  Despite putting up a point per game thus far into his GVFHL career, the Islanders haven’t been strong enough around him to get the team to the next level.  This season, enter super rookie Matt Barzal.  He will centre the second line and give a great 1-2 punch that will surely rack up the points.  Down the middle is very deep for New York as Henrik Sedin and Alex Wennberg round out the four.  The wingers aren’t as high profile, but will still be able to score on all four lines. Corey Perry, Brendan Gallagher, Thomas Vanek, Tomas Hertl, Elias Lindholm, Mathieu Perreault, Alex Kerfoot, and Andre Burakovsky provide excellent depth up front to score whenever on the ice.

The blueline is strong in talent as well, with Seth Jones and Keith Yandle leading the way.  Dan Girardi, Justin Schultz, Roman Polak, and Derek Forbort round out a strong but not spectacular defensive core.  They just need to excel at what they do, which is keeping the puck away from their own net and the Islanders will have a great chance to win every night.

In goal, the team has King Henrik Lundqvist, one of the league’s best goaltenders over the past dozen or so years.  Due to his pending free agency, the Isles added Darcy Kuemper to provide a steady long term backup option, while also trading for goalie of the future Juuse Saros.  All 3 are pretty evenly rated, so whoever has the hot hand will play.

The East is a tough Conference to crack, but the Islanders patience may be finally paying off.