The top seed in the East has struggled through two seven game series against the eighth and seventh seeds, while the bottom seed in the West has dispatched the top two seeds in nine total games.
The New Jersey Devils, not usually involved in high stakes deals, got themselves one of the most prolific goal scorers of the last decade in Ilya Kovalchuk.
RealGM Search
If you are a regular reader of RealGM, you will remember the Be A GM series that has run on our other pages.
It is time to unveil the first NHL version of Be A GM, where we ask you to tell us: If you could pick one player, 29-years-old or younger, to build a franchise around for the next ten seasons, who would you choose?
In keeping with the 32-team bracket that would usually have one player from every team plus two Wild Card selections; we are instead representing 28 teams with four Wild Card choices (Drew Doughty, Patrick Kane, Evgeni Malkin, Jeff Skinner -- apologies to Taylor Hall and Ryan Getzlaf, the final cuts).
In my humble opinion, there are two NHL teams that lack a player who has established themselves as a bona-fide franchise cornerstone: Calgary and Florida.
Both teams have some quality players, but they are are not under 29-years-old (Calgary) and they are prospects who have yet to establish themselves as someone who would be a #1 forward or #1 defenseman on any team (Florida).
Matchups are arranged mostly by division, while alternating conferences.
See below for when each poll will run on, and what the matchup will be. Remember, you are making your choice for a franchise player for the next ten seasons beginning now.
Please bookmark this page, as it will be constantly updated with results and matchups. Thanks and enjoy!
