Seattle Kraken: 3 players from each Western Conference play-in series teams to watch
Connor Murphy, Chicago Blackhawks.
Chicago Blackhawks (12) vs. Edmonton Oilers (5)
These are two teams with suspect goaltending. When the season opened in November, Blackhawks fans would have been shocked to find their team in position to make 16-team Stanley Cup Playoffs, but here they are. Edmonton has too much firepower for young Chicago to handle. The only way the Oilers lose the series is if their goaltending totally collapses.
Chicago
Calvin de Haan, D – de Haan has been out since December with a shoulder injury. In his eight seasons of NHL hockey, he has posted a negative +/- only once. He’ll be 30 at draft time and can be the veteran leader of Seattle’s blueline group.
David Kampf, RW – After 179 NHL games, he is a fourth-line forward on a below-fringe playoff team.
Connor Murphy, D – While not quite as steady as his defensive partner, Murphy is two years younger and slightly cheaper. For the $700K difference, I’d rather have de Haan.
Edmonton
Zack Kassian, RW – He is a wild man on the ice. Kassian is better known for the bad penalties he takes than his talent. It’s too bad he couldn’t control himself better in his NHL career, he could have been a consistent 20 goal per year scorer.
Jujhar Khaira, LW – A bottom-six forward in Edmonton, maybe a new team would help.
James Neal, W – The 32-year-old is a streaky goal scorer on a big contract, $5.75M through 2023.
If you missed our 3 players to watch from each Eastern Conference play-in team, you can read it here.