Back to their Roots

EVERETT SILVERTIPS

2012-13 record: 25-40-3-4 (Lost to Portland in Conference quarterfinals)

The Everett Silvertips sloughed their way through yet another season in which a head coach was replaced mid-season, their top player was lost to injury in November, and yet, they somehow took the eventual Ed Chynoweth champion Portland Winterhawks to six games in the opening round of the playoffs.  So, to that end, the Silvertips went back to their roots and hired the team's first head coach in their existence in Kevin Constantine.  His presence won't help a dreadful offense, which was ranked last in the league with 172, but it should help cut the goal differential by a few goals, as they were tied for second worst in the league in that category (-96 goal differential).  A consistent Austin Lotz will go a long way in helping that number, and one certainly thinks Constantine's system will benefit Lotz more than any other player.  After all, Everett's success against Portland in the playoffs would not have been possible without Lotz, who was clearly the team's best player in the playoffs.  Without Ryan Murray for much of the season, Mirco Mueller stepped up and became the best player on the team for much of the season.  Murray would have made the jump to the NHL after the lockout was over if not for the injury, so having Mueller emerge as a top blue liner will only help come next season.  Ryan Harrison, Connor Cox, and Landon Oslanski graduated after last season, with Oslanski being the team's second leading scorer last season.  Waltteri Hopponen and Ivan Nikolishin were taken in the Import Draft, yet it remains unclear if the Silvertips will be able to keep both, as Mueller is likely to return to the team this coming season.

Prediction: 9th in the West

Everett has made the playoffs every year in their existence, but even with Constantine returning, the offense remains as much of a black hole as it has for much of their existence.  That means the Silvertips will most likely be struggling for the eighth spot in the Western Conference once again, and with Vancouver a year older, it will be fight for the Silvertips to make it eleven in a row.