These 10 players are all X-factors for their teams this season, and their performances will be scrutinized.
Pressure is uncomfortable but it’s something every top athlete has to embrace, or at the very least, not crumble under. You know who usually feels the most heat in hockey? Top stars who are paid boatloads of money and teams with ambitions to win the Stanley Cup. You know who usually doesn’t face as much pressure? Depth players who aren’t filling a big role or making nearly as much money and teams expected to finish at the bottom of the standings.
Of course, management has also brought in good players like and , but the forward group is starting to look thin once you get past the stars. Jeannot had just one goal and three assists in 20 regular-season games after the trade but that’s too early to draw conclusions, especially with the injury he sustained heading into the playoffs.