#4 - Project Hollywood
John Tavares
This is a coming of age story. When ZD came into the league in 2008 he took over a team that had some parts but looked to be heading no where fast. He quickly made the decision to rebuild the team which ment trading some of the existing big name players like Hossa and Miller which wasn't easy to do. He new it would mean a few years of being a non-playoff team and at $50 a season it wasn't an easy decision. Fast forward to 2012, ZD has already made the playoffs, built a strong core of keepers led by Johnny T, added a co-gm in Nidetz, and now is ranked forth in the preseason rankings. Congrats kid, you took a team and completely re-built it into a legit playoff team.
Now that this team has paid their dues, it's time to take the next step and win some money this year. This team is very capable of finishing top three and maybe even win the cup. We all know about Tavares, or so we think. I believe we will see him start clicking at a 90+ point pace (with a chance at 100) moving forward. He is a great centerpiece for this team. The Duche has had his struggles but remember he dealt with injuries. Now that he's back up and running don't forget about him. Then he goes out and adds Calder Trophy winner Gabriel (Great Name) Landeskog in the 2011 draft and we haven't even gotten to James "The Realest of Deals" Neal, and Marian Hossa. This team is built to win and win they will.
In this years draft, ZD and Nidetz decided on taking Teddy Purcell in the 1st round who could end up being a keeper at the end of the year as it looks like he'll line up next to Stamkos. Pro-Ho also picked up Brian Campbell on D who I think is pretty underrated as he finished 2nd in defensive scoring last year behind Erik Karlsson. Their goalie situation is just looking great too, they are solid all the way down (if you know what I mean ;). Jimmy Howard has now established himself as the guy on one of the best teams in the league year after year. Ondrej Pavelec seems so have a ton of raw talent and we all know #Jestareblowingupthisyear (make the shirts Johniya!!) so he will benefit from having a good team in fornt of him. Lastly Lindback now gets a chance at becoming a number one as he was moved to Tampa this offseason. This team is set to do some damage.
When it comes to the rankings for this team, the highest they were voted was 2nd and the lowest was 9th. Many GM had this team 3rd on their list though (5). My guess is this team will make the semis's this year and will def have a chance at their first TOFHL Cup.
Finally we get to the top 3 next week, The money spots! How much are you making?
- The Commish