Sometimes, all a player needs to take his game up a notch is a change of scenery. New teammates, new coaching staff, new city, anything that changes a player's environment. Moving out from a city where you do not perform anymore is usually a good omen for players. Here's a list of four NHLers that will benefit the most from their new homes, per Scott Lewis of Sportsnet.ca.
- Mike Green, Detroit Red Wings: Mike Green will not score 30 goals this year, but he will help Detroit's power play and try to bring it on top of the NHL. Likely paired with Danny DeKeyser on the second set of defenceman, Green and DeKeyser will bring a good amount of offense to the Red Wings' gourd of forwards. DeKeyser, who is really good defensively, will benefit offensively from Green's arrival. At a team high plus/minus 22, DeKeyser has the potential to help Green's d-zone gaffes. Look for Green to play around 20 minutes per-game.
- Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh Penguins: Phil Kessel has been doing one thing since the beginning of his career; score goals. Look for him to score more goals in Pittsburgh. Despite having great numbers in term of goals scored, Kessel never benefited from a real first line center. In Pittsburgh, he might play with two of the best in the business.; Malkin and Crosby. Scoring only 25 goals last season in Toronto, Kessel could double that number as early as next year in a white, black and gold uniform. Pick him early in your fantasy draft, the guy is going to score a ton of goals.
- Milan Lucic, L.A Kings: Already a big, skilled and though team to play against, the Kings have added Lucic to their line-up. Great! They will be more than what they already are, a darn good hockey team. Lucie will add to the secondary scoring in L.A, taking a lot of pressure of his shoulders. With the Kings, Milan will only have to focus on having fun, play the game the way he knows how to play it. In a town were mediation coverage is lesser than in Boston, the power-forward should have a great year, he has too much pride to play like he did last season.
- Alexander Semin, Montreal Canadiens: Did Semin play hockey last year? I think nobody knew he was still in the NHL. His season was so terrible, I am sure he earned the nickname Casper, because he was like a ghost on the ice. Semin will have to answer to other ghosts, the one surrounding the Montreal Canadiens' organization, and they will help him. Since Pacioretty is the man in town, Semin, who was sign to a small $1.1M for a year, could see less ice-time against opposing top D-pairing. Playing less minutes should also help Semin to produce more, especially in Montreal, where he will be asked to fuel the power play. He will have a good bounce back season, he might develop a good symbiotic relationship with young star forward, Alex Galchenyuk.
In the events that one of those player does not have a good bounce back season, apart from Semin and the Montreal Canadiens, look for the fans to point fingers at their organization's management team, because each player came at somewhat of a big prize to their new home.