The outlook for Y21 is bright with a number of new acquisitions and improvement by the club's young stars. The lines to start the year look like this:
Zidane/Belanger/Korolev This line was last year's big line. Look for improvement from the two youngsters: Belanger and Korolev. With their improvement Zidane should have a better year.
McCarty/Cooper/Prochazka This line features a new player in the form of Brian McCarty. Prochazka and Cooper both had great years last year and the addition of McCarty should strike fear into the hearts of the opposition.
Richards/Johnson/Latvinorov This line is almost all new. A sore point last year, the third line has been completely revamped this offseason. Richards moves from line two to line three, Johnson will have the centre spot without battling Ma, and Latvinorov will provide veteran leadership and good defence. Sergei was added recently from the Fury in a deal that has not yet been announced.
Daniels/Bobiviscot/Arvedsson Although the fourth line will feature Zidane and Belanger much of the time, these three players all bring something to the team. Bobiviscot has been around a while, Daniels is good defensively, and Arvedsson is very tough.
The defence to start the year will look like this, although there may be some trades that change things:
Smith/Klaiovich/Fitzpatrick/Janssens/Rautescu/Yuiso These six guys will be the backbone on the blueline. Should any of them falter, defence is a spot where the organization is incredibly deep. Key role players include Mills, Nakota, and St-Laurent.