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G.M. Mike O'Connell put himself on the hot seat by trading G John Grahante last January, allowing Jeff Hackett to leave as a free agent and then signing 32-year-old Felix Potvin , who was shaky last year....

Expect big seasons from F's Joe Thornton , Glen Murray and Sergei Samsonov , but after that trio there is a falloff in scoring....

In contrast to the overly intense nature of former coach Robbie Ftorek , new coach Mike Sullivan 's easygoing manner has been a big hit with the players.