We’re a month out from camp starting, but the vibes remain bad at the corner of Front and Nationwide. Adam Fantilli remains unsigned. Elvis Merzlikins just had shoulder surgery (though whether that’s good or bad may depend on your point of view). CBJ fans at The Athletic are among the least confident in the league when it comes to grading the front office.
So, let’s try to look at the positives: what are you looking forward to in the upcoming season? I’ll start:
Denton Mateychuk
I think he’s going to take yet another step forward, and finally starting getting some national recognition for what a solid player he is
Rick Bowness
While the talent level on the team did not obviously improve, I’m curious to see what impact a Bones training camp will have, as well as the addition of new assistants in Trent Vogelhuber and Don Granato. Can that create enough of a difference to push this group over the top into the playoffs? It has been a thin margin keeping them out the last couple of seasons.
Adam Fantilli
I wish the deal would get done already, but ultimately I’m not worried about this dragging on past the start of camp. As long as it gets done by then, we’re fine. And with Fantilli locked in, I expect another step forward in his progression as well. The points weren’t necessarily there last season, but he became a more well-rounded player overall. Combine that with a return to his 30 goal form and we’ll have a legit, young 1C.