A lot of tough guys moved around with the opening of free agency. Based on these moves and the likelihood of who may actually get playing time, which teams does everyone anticipate being in the running for the NHL's toughest?
Looking at last year's finalists:
New York Rangers: The Rangers "lost"
John Scott, though he was barely a part of the team. The departure of
Brandon Prust was filled in with the signing of
Arron Asham.
Micheal Haley was added as well. Could the blueshirts roll out
Michael Rupp, with Asham, Haley and
Stu Bickel? That could keep them atop toughness votings.
Boston Bruins: Pretty much stayed the same in toughness. No significant moves.
Philadelphia Flyers:Right now they are down one forward. After traded away
James van Riemsdyk and losing Jaromir Jagr to the
Dallas Stars, the team has added one forward,
Ruslan Fedotenko. Though none of the three are fighters, the extra spot could mean more playing time for
Tom Sestito, who the Flyers re-signed, or
Jody Shelley.
Zac Rinaldo likely has his spot on the fourth line intact after being the only Flyers player to have a pair of balls in their Game 5 loss to the
New Jersey Devils.
Ottawa Senators: Went from having one of the league's best 1-2-3's with
Matt Carkner,
Chris Neil and
Zenon Konopka, to having just
Chris Neil (and possibly a
Francis Lessard callup?)
Anaheim Ducks: Lost
George Parros, gained
Brad Staubitz.
New York Islanders: Made up for the loss of
Micheal Haley by adding two top-ten heavyweights in
Matt Carkner and
Eric Boulton. There is a chance both could play, since Carkner is a defenseman and Boulton is a forward. However, with
Trevor Gillies being relagated to the AHL last season, there is a good chance the organization may only use one. Carkner would be more likely.
Minnesota Wild: Added
Zenon Konopka to ride shotgun with
Matt Kassian. Suddenly a good 1-2 combination.
New Jersey Devils: Lost
Eric Boulton, gained
Krys Barch.
Florida Panthers: Lost
Krys Barch, gained
George Parros
Montreal Canadiens: Lost Staubitz, gained Prust.
I think our top 5 next year will be, NYR, BOS, NYI, PHI, and either NJ or MIN.
Let me know if I've missed anything.
*Also, I'm not including Montreal here to say they're going to be tough, I just tried to note the most major moves.