Matt Higgins, C (FA-Europe); Randy Robitaille, LW (FA-Atl); Ray Schultz, D (FA-Nas); Stephen Valiquette, G (FA-Edm)
The big question mark. Make that huge question mark. The departure of Chris Osgood last season left the door wide open for former first overall pick Rick DiPietro to take over, but there are still doubts as to whether he's ready.
So that means Garth Snow will receive most of the workload for now. The thing is, Snow isn't really a prototypical starter. A big netminder, who is known more for his big equipment than skill level, Snow has started more than 40 games a season just three times in his career. He gives up a lot of bad rebounds and is prone to an occasional bad goal.
If only the Isles' offence can put as much a scare in the opposition as its defence does. Besides Alexei Yashin, the forwards don't possess much pop and aren't really intimidating. It will be interesting to see if the Isles can finally find two wingers to play with Yashin on a consistent basis this year.
Michael Peca is the real leader of the team and one of the best two-way forwards in the game. They'll benefit greatly if he can stay healthy. Mark Parrish and Jason Blake need to contribute more on offence.
On defence, the Isles boast arguably the best top four blueliners in the league right now. When healthy, there's probably not another group that combines more skill and physical presence. The problem is that the foursome of Roman Hamrlik, Adrian Aucoin, Janne Niinimaa and Kenny Jonsson play too much. They need to find two other rearguards to take some pressure off them.
Sure, he has a tendency to disappear for long stretches in the schedule and more than one person has criticized his commitment, but Yashin is the best scoring bet for the Isles. He's very difficult to knock off the puck and has a wicked shot from the slot. He'll probably score at least 30 goals this year.
