Millers off-season Preview

 

Coming off a shocking end to the season that saw the Millers win 8 of the final 10 games of the regular season and the first 2 games of their playoff series as the number 8 seed one might think the Millers are on the verge of an upswing. Real (NHL) life is cruel, and injury woes and poor performances by several of the core players have tempered expectations going into the 2021-22 season. What follows is a summation of the team’s off-season moves, free agency decisions, the draft and how the current roster shapes up.

 

Trades

To date Georgetown has made just one trade.

Nick Schmaltz to Capeside for Mikael Granlund and prospect Gage Gocalves.

Schmaltz did a fantastic job as the 2^nd line RW and 1^st unit PP member but was caught in a numbers crunch as he’s spent the entirety of this NHL season as Center and the Millers prefer some defensive and face-off ability from their pivots, neither of which Schmaltz provides. With Larkin, Hayes, Gourde and Kotkaniemi entrenched down the middle and unlikely to be rated as wingers, Schmaltz was the odd man out. Enter Capeside, in need of a 2^nd line Center. Granlund returns to Georgetown, where he began last season skating on the Larkin line before being dealt away to Amos for a couple of prospects. This time around Granlund is expected to play as a middle 6 winger, opposite either Vrana or Farabee. Granlund will also be killing penalties and supporting the power play. Goncalves is a hard-working, quick and physical forward prospect. He’s seen as a complementary player at the highest level, willing to do the dirty work but skilled enough to hold his own in the top 9.

Free Agency

Georgetown has 4 pending Unrestricted Free Agents: Blake Comeau, Michael del Zotto, Bobby Ryan and Wayne Simmonds. Comeau did yeoman’s work after his acquisition, stabilizing the 2^nd line and the PK. He’s unlikely to be re-signed as Georgetown has younger wingers they want to look at. Ryan and Simmonds were acquired after hot starts with the Millers hopeful of one emerging as a bottom 6 scorer and PP asset. Both ended up injured and tailed-off their early scoring pace and are long-shots to return. Del Zotto has the best chance to come back, despite the relative depth of the Millers blueline. MDZ played up and down the lineup, showing decent chemistry with Shea Theodore in a run on the top pair, and anchoring a revolving cast of teammates on the 3^rd unit. His re-sign price would be close to $5 million which is pricey for a 3^rd pairing rearguard but the Millers have cash to spare.

The Restricted Free Agents are Christina Djoos, Kevin Hayes, Drake Caggiula, Jordan Martinook, Jake McCabe, Marcus Nutivaara, Lucas Wallmark and Casey DeSmith. Hayes is a no-brainer to be extended, possibly for the maximum amount of years. Martinook is versatile and solid defensively and is expected to return. McCabe was acquired to give more bite to the D unit and did well paired with Theodore. He suffered a devastating knee injury during the NHL season and it’s unknown how much he’ll be able to contribute next season but the club likes him and will likely give him a one year contract and monitor his rehab. DeSmith will be extended and will compete with Jonathan Bernier for the backup goalie job. Wallmark did a fine job as the 3^rd line Center, showing some really good chemistry with Jakub Vrana, but he’s performed poorly in the NHL and the Center depth makes him expendable. Caggiula brought a spark after his acquisition but hasn’t produced in the NHL and will be replaced by younger, cheaper options on the 4^th line. Nutivaara and Djoos are both offensive-minded Dmen with deficiencies in their own zone. Djoos is younger and cheaper and thus more likely to return as a depth defender on a one- year contract. 

 

The Draft

Their late season run took the Millers out of the lottery and they will pick 7^th overall. The club has 7 other picks in the draft, the earliest coming in the 4^th round, and have announced a willingness to deal those picks for prospects, cash or 2022 picks.

 

The Current Roster

Assuming no UFA re-sign and the RFAs returning are Hayes, Martinook, DeSmith and McCabe, this is the early version of the Millers depth chart:

(* denotes rookie)

LW-C-RW

Fabbri-Larkin-Fast

Granlund-Hayes-Farabee

Vrana-Gourde-Foegele

Texier-Kotkaniemi-Martinook

Wagner, Grundstrom, Maltsev*

 

D

Theodore-Miller*

Leddy-Skjei

Smith*-Anderson*

McCabe, Stecher

 

G

Binnington

Bernier

DeSmith

Hogberg