Georgetown went into the season expecting to compete for a Canosa Conference playoff spot in the 4 to 6 range, but ultimately ended up in the #3 slot, defeating Long Island in the 1st round before bowing out to Hamilton. The club finished 5th overall in the CCHL,so it is reasonable to say expectations were exceeded.
As expected, Braydon Schenn, Brock Boeser and Teuvo Teravainen carried the offense. Roman Josi and Dmitri Orlov were a solid 1st D pairing, and James Reimer was statistically a top 10 goalie. Radek Faksa established himself as a solid middle 6 Center and Brett Pesce came into his own as a shutdown Dman.
A couple of new faces the team brought in during the pre-season did not not work out and were eventually traded way. Chief among those was D Jeff Petry, Petry had 5 points and a horrendous -13 in 16 contests before being benched and ultimately traded to Dayton (and DAY later moved him to Siberia). Derek Ryan spent 18 games in Kentucky before being shipped to Victoria. Among the newcomers who lasted the season, Jay Beagle was in and out of the lineup all season and was not the PK asset the team needed him to be; Zach Parise played more (70 games) and scored less (21-23-44) than expected and was a 3rd liner throughout the stretch run and the playoffs. Luca Sbisa faired well in his 50 games but was inconsistent and eventually benched in the playoffs. Cody Eakin did not do much in 25 games but is expected to be re-signed as an RFA. Tobias Rieder got into 15 games and his contract will not be renewed. Ryan Miller ended up with a .906 save %, which would have been 7th in the league if he'd had enough games to qualify.
Several players were brought in during the season. The biggest names were Jakub Voracek and Dougie Hamilton, who provided some much needed offensive thump. Carl Hagelin was a great pickup, scoring 15 points in 29 games. Charlie Coyle was okay, not scoring as much as needed and not really finding his niche until being placed on the 3rd line - when acquired the club had hopes he could play a top 6 role. Matt Nieto was relatively inconsequential, not appearing at all in the playoffs. Troy Stecher did a fine job on the 3rd defensive pairing, alternating with Ben Chiarot. Brandon Dubinsky did wonders for the PK, and chipped in some surprising offense especially in the playoffs. Christian Fischer had a look as a bottom 6 and 2nd PP winger and did well enough to stay in the playoff lineup. Mattias Janmark filled in as needed but never showed the offense expected. Jordan Martinook was signed off the UFA scrap-heap early in the season and surprisingly carved out a role on the 4th line and PK.
Looking ahead, the Millers have 5 UFAs, including #1 G Reimer and top 9 forward Parise. Also unrestricted are Dubinsky, Hagelin, and Andrew Cogliano. Only Parise has a reasonable chance to be re-signed and it's unclear if the club wants to pay him over $14 million, even for 1 year.
RFAs include Chiarot, Jason Dickison, Eakin, Faksa, Hamilton, Janmark, Roman Josi, Brett Kulak, Pesce, and Sbisa. All but Sbisa have a reasonable chance to return.
Dickinson, Kulak, and Marcus Nutivaara were all acquired but never appeared during the season. It's conceivable Kulak and "Nuti" compete with Stecher and Chiarot (if re-signed) for 3rd pairing roles, and Dickinson could be on the 4th line and PK.
Incoming rookies include G Jordan Binnington, who is expected to start all 45 games he is eligible to play. Peter Cehlarik will be a reserve winger; Max Jones will likely spend the season in the minors with an eye towards a bigger role in 20-21; and Jesperi Kotkaniemi will play somewhere from the 2nd to the 4th line as the club looks to integrate last year's #1 draft pick.
GEO finished the season with a $93,000,000 payroll and will likely look to stay in that range next season, The club will most likely post a modest loss for the season, but has a pretty strong balance sheet overall.
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