How Warsaw Stayed Relevant After Losing Two of Their Best Defensemen

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How Warsaw Stayed Relevant After Losing Two of Their Best Defensemen

 

Warsaw defenseman Hari Sing Nalwa, seen as a monster by his teammates and fans, had been counted on to lead the charge in past seasons. Travish DeGroot was a drive for the defensive side, seen as a the Hulk for his defensive game. Losing such an integral parts of the team would have easily left Warsaw scrambling to fill their defensive roles in the lineup. Luckily, the new Warsaw General Manager was able to find an adequate replacement through trade and free agency. Despite the loss of such important players, Warsaw is still managing to stay relevant in the European conference and remain in contention for a spot in the playoffs. How did they do it?

 

The loss in the off-season 

 

It's never a good feeling when you lose two players in free agency, but when it's one of your star defenseman, it can be devastating. For the Warsaw Predators, this was their reality this off-season after losing two of their best defensemen to free agency. In DeGroot's and Nalwa's last season with the team, they scored a combined 145 points while providing an excellent defensive presence as well. They were missed by many and the team certainly did not look to be the same defensively or offensively on paper. But then the season started, and things changed...

 

The strong regular season start

 

Warsaw had an amazing start to the season with a 14-5-1 record. This offensive fortune on Warsaw has really pushed them over the edge, but at the same time, it’s come back to bite them hard. With a lack of defensive presence on the team after losing them in free agency, Wumbo's (the goaltenders) numbers has gone out of wack. In the previous seasons the goaltender was able to put up amazing numbers, but the defense this season is poor, so the team has relied on offensive production to out produce the opponent. Despite all this, Warsaw does not seem too worried about their playoffs spot as they are currently sitting in fourth place with 31 points. The offensive defensemen lost were not needed to help these stats, so putting more depth players for depth on the team helped out graciously.

 

The possible playoff outcome

 

It is hard to predict whether Warsaw actually makes the playoffs, but they look promising. They have a deep and talented roster, with the team averaging about 4 goals a game, above all other teams, there should not be too much worry about this teams playoff potential. The team has been playing well lately, with the highest goals for in the league for one team with 79, and one of the top three best goal differential numbers. There is hope that the team will be able to maintain this consistency until the playoffs. They have lost two key players from season 84's championship winning team and even last seasons cup run, Nalwa and DeGroot. With these losses it is unclear how well the team will do in the playoffs without them, but the season shows they were not needed. Hopefully Warsaw can meet Nalwa and DeGroot in the playoffs to stop them and show them what they could be winning if they stayed.