PLAYERS TO WATCH
Boldy – Guerin believes Boldy had 50 goals-50 assists ability,
and Boldy came through with a career-high 42 goals last sea-
son in 76 games. He's becoming a true superstar, and his high-
light-reel, clutch goal in the Olympic gold medal game was
another example. It'll be interesting how often he plays with
Kaprizov at even-strength. The problem with loading up that
line is it creates less balance in the top-six. But if Shabanov or
Brink don't pan out there, the Wild may have no choice. It'll
also be interesting to see how Johansson's loss affects Boldy
because he loved playing with the smart, strong-skating vet-
eran. But Boldy should have a big year.
Hughes – The former Vancouver Canucks captain scored
53 points in 48 games with Minnesota—a 93-point pace if he
maintained it over this coming season's 84-game schedule—
before adding 15 points in 11 playoff games. He also had at
least one assist in every game of the Olympics and scored the
overtime winner in the quarterfinals against Sweden. Hughes
hit the 92-point mark in 2023-24 with the Canucks, so 100
wouldn't be an unprecedented leap, especially considering so
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