First home game will be October 1st against the Lightning
https://bsky.app/profile/notprnhl.bsky.social/post/3mqovh6dzbo2r
When they do open I’m hoping Smithead and at least one of Beaudin and Greentree are in the lineup. I don’t like the Pettersson trade for the simple fact he is an impediment with Smits who is hopefully on a trajectory befitting his many accolades. If Smits is close to advertised he should be second pair by Christmas at the latest. And he and Durzi have a lot of interlocking talents to make a good pair.
Will be interesting to see where Laba’s game is. A line of Laba , Kartye and Cuylle could be a hell of a line. But could Beaudin unseat Laba, stay tuned.
I think it's pretty unlikely Smits make the opening night line-up, part of the usual problem of having waiver eligible guys who could get claimed and potentially losing your depth early on (which has happened to Drury twice on defense already). I suspect he's more likely to try and keep as many guys to start the season, which means the exempt guys like Smits are going to be very hard pressed to make an impression in just 4 preseason games.
I think Beaudoin has a shot, but same problem. The guy I think he challenges is Veleno, who is no Sam Carrick, and could certainly be a veteran casualty. I'd be surprised if Greentree makes the jump quickly, the wing position is crowded too, and already someone like Rempe or Raddysh is likely to be waived, or one or both of Chmelar and Sykora start in Hartford (each are exempt for one more season).
For me personally I'm interested to see who makes an impression, and whether the changes in Hartford will bring results. I like the hiring of Leach down there, and they appear to have a lot of depth. Curious to see what they have in Aidan Thompson and Jacob Battaglia too...lower expectations, but you never know.