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Well the summer certainly wasn't dull in the West, that's for sure. Big free
agent signings, coaching changes, and a few trades to keep things
interesting. All in all, a pretty eventful off-season. But it is on the ice
where a team's success is measured - unless you are a fantasy GM of course!
After all, you just want to know who to pick up as your sixth d-man in your
keeper league. Well look no further. We have put together our thoughts on
each team for the coming season, as well as some thoughts on who to pick -
and who to avoid!
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It’s taken the Mighty Ducks a long time to realize that they are not a
very good team. Last year was kind of indicative of where things have gone
for the Ducks over the past five years. Gone are the days of consecutive
sell-out crowds. It’s been
Paul Kariya and a showcase of young guys that are just not able to learn
on the job fast enough. You’d think with a wallet the size of Disney’s that
they’d be able to dip into the UFA market a lot earlier than this year to
try and improve the team – but hey, better late than never.
Adam Oates brings them the quintessential set-up guy that Kariya likely
has been craving since he became a Duck. Even at the age of 39, he’ll only
make the players around him better, and will be counted on to make the Ducks
flightless PP much improved.
Petr Sykora ’s acquisition from New Jersey also increases the talent
level of the team although you’d hope it wasn’t at the expense of losing
Oleg Tverdovsky. The Ducks will be better as blossoming netminder
Jean-Sebastien Giguere is given the reign to run with. New coach
Mike Babcock is a rough and tumble sort that will ensure his team plays
with a lot of passion and toughness. The Ducks may not make the playoffs,
but at least they will be more entertaining.
Locks: Kariya, Oates and Sykora. Kariya looks poised for a big year.
Mind you we thought the tandem of
Jeff Friesen and Kariya was going to create some havoc, but ex-coach,
now Ducks GM,
Bryan Murray realized his team’s defence was brutal, and thus stressed
limiting forays into the offensive zone. Sykora gets a new lease on life in
the much more open Western Conference. He should land a comfy 60 points.
Avoid:
German Titov. No wonder the Ducks haven’t dipped their webbed feet into
the UFA market since being saddled with the albatross that is Titov. If
someone drafts him, feel free to openly and publicly taunt and ridicule the
selection.
Sleeper:
Mike Leclerc. Potentially the #1 right winger with Kariya and Oates if
they decide to try and spread out the scoring a bit by pairing Sykora with
Steve Rucchin. Just now 25 and had the quietest 20 goals in the league
last year.
Question Mark: Just how healthy is
Steve Rucchin. After missing the vast majority of last year with a
multitude of ailments, Rucchin looks to be better, but just how much better
is anyone’s guess. He may get Sykora as a linemate…he may not.
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Stars
management wasn’t kidding when they said that they needed and wanted to
re-tool. Owner Tom Hicks (Mr. Money Bags to his fellow GMs), threw a few of
his bags around when the Stars signed Bill
Guerin, Scott
Young, Philippe
Boucher and the very under-rated Ulf
Dahlen. They also went out and got an offensive-minded head coach in Dave
Tippett. All of this is bad news for the rest of the NHL. Dallas will
return to the playoffs with a splash, and if new No.1 Marty
Turco repeats his numbers as a back-up over the whole season, Dallas
could be rivaling the Red Wings for first overall. Mike
Modano could be poised for a monster season.
Locks: Modano, Guerin, Sergei
Zubov and Pierre
Turgeon.
Avoid: Jason
Arnott (no natural position as Dallas tries him at right wing), Darryl
Sydor (arrival of Boucher may affect PP playing time).
Sleepers: Ulf
Dahlen. Had a huge year returning to the NHL, will play alongside Manny
Malhotra and Brenden
Morrow – could be very good and very under-rated. Ron
Tugnutt. Likely thought he had died and gone to hockey heaven when he
was acquired via a draft day trade from Columbus. If Turco falters, Tugger
could run with the ball…for a long time.
Question Mark: Is Turco the real deal? Great numbers in a back-up
role last year, but he didn’t play the big boys in the league. Tugnutt is
gonna get some minutes.
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Let’s review: sign Brett
Hull, Luc
Robitaille and Dominek Hasek; Chris
Chelios sells his soul to regain Norris trophy form; look to be really
scared only in Vancouver series (and only momentarily); win the Cup, as
expected. The transition to Dave
Lewis from Scotty
Bowman should be fairly seamless. Lewis is a Bowman disciple, although
no one could jerk a players’ chain like Scotty (Keenan tries but…). We
are sure Brendan
Shanahan and Luc
Robitaille helped Scotty pack. Without their heart and soul leader, the
Wings will not be quite so dominent. Then again, the loss of Yzerman opens
the door for more minutes, and
Sergei Fedorov, Pavel
Datsyuk and Jason
Williams could benefit. The Wings reloaded between the pipes in Curtis
Joseph (an actual upgrade in our opinion) while they still have the best
d-man on the planet in
Nicklas Lidstrom. Dallas will compete for first in the
league this year, but if Cujo regains his form, he could be the deciding
factor.
Locks: Lidstrom, Federov and Shanahan.
Avoid:
Boyd Devereaux and Tomas
Holmstrom – neither of those guys will contribute enough for you to
select them. Come the playoffs, Holmstrom’s in our top ten.
Sleeper: Jason
Williams. Knows the system, but never got a chance with Scotty. Will
likely get one with Lewis.
Question Mark: Can the aged Wings recover from a long cup-wining season in time to remain dominant in
its defense this year. Can Datsyuk
replace the loss of offense from Steve Yzerman?
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If Peter
Forsberg is not the best all-around player in the league, then we
don’t know who is. He can skate, pass, get off a quick shot, loom large in
the corners, and is as gritty as they come when the chips are down. Colorado
really missed him, and a full season of Forsberg is just the tonic the
Avalanche need. Sub-par seasons from Milan
Hejduk, Alex
Tanguay, Chris
Drury and Joe
Sakic are not likely to be repeated – at least not all at the same
time. Roy seems to be getting better with age (if that’s possible), but
it's tough to forget his gaffs in the Detroit series. Question marks abound
regarding the Avs defense as
Greg De Vries' development, although terrific, is not enough to replace
Bourque and/or
Darius Kasparaitis. Rob
Blake is still a stud, but it’d be nice for him to stay healthy, at
least for one whole season. We know Pierre
Lacroix is not finished tinkering with his team, and come playoff time,
he’ll have them ready once again.
Locks: Forsberg, Sakic, Blake and Hejduk.
Avoid:
Radim Vrbata (may not have nearly as much ice time this year)
and Martin
Skoula (needs to take the opportunity by the horns – do not
over-value).
Sleeper: Love
Steven Reinprecht – just not sure how much ice time
he’ll see, but he may play on the left side with Forsberg.
Question Mark: Who is gonna play defense outside of DeVries, Blake
and Foote?
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Quietly, the LA Kings have
been building a very good hockey team. Better contributions from secondary
scoring guys (i.e. Cliff
Ronning,
Bryan Smolinski, and
Lubomir Visnovsky) would have made the playoff
disappointment easier to stomach. The Kings forwards are tough, play
aggressively and play Coach Murray’s system to a “T”. Defense is led
by seriously under-rated Mattias
Norstrom, re-born Mathieu
Schneider, steady Aaron
Miller and surprising Jaroslav
Modry. If Visnovsky rediscovers his scoring ability, the Kings may have best
d-corps in the conference. Big unit of Zigmund
Palffy, Jason
Allison and Adam
Deadmarsh was deadly in 2nd half. If the three of them stay healthy,
Kings will go deep in the playoffs.
Locks: Allison, Palffy. Allison looks to be turning into the next Adam
Oates. A full season will likely mean only more points, particularly on
the PP. If Palffy can stay healthy, he may flirt with 40 goals – but that
is a big if.
Avoid:
Steve Heinze and Smolinski. Heinze was the Kings big free
agent singing last off-season, and became a free agent bust during the
regular season. He can’t play defense and that doesn’t fly on this team.
Smolinski scored 2 goals after the All-Star break. He should be better than
that, but he just looks like a shadow of his former self. Don’t
over-value.
Sleeper:
Jaroslav Bednar and Eric
Belanger. Bednar was a big time goal scorer in the minors, and at the
age of 25 he needs to make an impact this year. If Smolinski falters,
Belanger is ready to assume a greater role on Kings. He plays bigger than he
is, has good speed and works very hard. 50 points is possible if he gets a
chance on the 2nd line.
Question Mark:
Felix Potvin gets his numbers while still turning
Kings’ fans hair white. Confidence is key.
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Talk about your surprise
teams. No one expected the desert dogs to make the playoffs, and then to
have their coach, Bob
Francis win the Jack
Adams trophy for Coach of the Year – c’mon…’cept maybe for the
over-achieving members of this team. Francis was a genius in terms of the
high tempo system that he employed, and, of course, Sean
Burke was unbelievable. This year the ‘Yotes are strengthened with the
addition of scoring right winger Tony
Amonte. Daniel
Briere looks to be the real thing, and Daymond
Langkow looks like the great two-way player he was in junior. That said,
there won’t be the “surprise” factor with their opposition around the
league, so expect a bit of a falling back to earth for Phoenix. Brian
Boucher is another solid addition just in case Burke falters.
Locks: Amonte and Daniel
Briere. Amonte is capable of 35 goals, and being revitalized and happy,
he should meet that level. Briere is a talented goal scorer, and if he was 4
inches taller, he’d be a top 5 selection in any pool. Should continue to
get better following last year's strong season.
Avoid:
Claude Lemieux and Brian
Savage. Lemieux is a Gretzky guy, and he is still in the desert because
of his influence on his young team – but his offense during the regular
season is just not there. Savage is the NHL’s Mr. October – scores in
every game in October (or so it seems) and then right after Halloween he
morphs into “Stone-hands”.
Sleeper:
Ladislav Nagy. Nothing in the first half, and then second
line-duty after the All-Star break and boom: points. Nagy is just 23 and has
great wheels and a bit of reckless abandon. He’ll likely stay up in the
top 6 forwards, and that makes him a good sleeper.
Question Mark: Can Sean
Burke stay healthy for three years in a row?
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It was a tale of two seasons last year. Early on it looked
like the Canucks believed their own press clippings from the past season:
“young, improving, hard working team." They started the season with a thud rather than
a bang but managed to
finish strong and get into the post-season. This season appears to be no
different, and likely will be even more of a challenge with the loss of Andrew
Cassels and Scott
LaChance to free agency. That said, the Canucks do have a young talented
team, and Markus
Naslund and Todd
Bertuzzi are the real McCoys. Opportunities abound for someone to take
the 2nd line center position, and the team will need that to happen in order for Naslund and Bertuzzi to post similar numbers. Still a question mark is
whether Dan
Cloutier has recovered from his gaff goal in the playoffs.
Locks: Naslund, Bertuzzi and Ed
Jovanovski. One has to wonder whether “Bert” can repeat last
year’s totals, but Naslund does not present the same concerns. Jovanovski
was on pace to become a Norris trophy candidate last season, but some minor
bumps and bruises took their toll in the 2nd half and his output waned. He
should only get better this year.
Avoid:
Trevor Linden and
Mattias Ohlund. Linden was once a solid 60 point guy but those days are
long gone. He’s still a good player, but just no longer able to post fantasy
draftable numbers. This year won't be any different, even he makes it as the
2nd line center. Ohlund is not, and will never be, a 50 point guy. Draft him
for 30 points, just don’t expect more than that.
Sleeper:
Artem Chubarov. While
Henrik Sedin or
Harold Druken look to have the inside track on the No.2 pivot job,
Chubarov played very well last year and was about as snake bitten in terms
of hitting posts as any player we’ve ever seen.
Question Mark: Who is gonna be the No. 2 center, and will they
perform.
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The Oilers were a Jekyll and
Hyde team – they played very well against the big teams (Leafs, Rangers, Red
Wings and Stars), but were woeful against teams in their own division. The
loss of Ryan
Smyth didn’t help – and there was no help from anyone other than Mike
Comrie, Smyth and Anson
Carter.
Tommy Salo remains a horse for the Oil and their defense is
getting better as Eric
Brewer is poised to become a premier defenseman while
Janne Niinimaa and Jason
Smith are already there. Make or break year for a few players:
Daniel Cleary, Dominic
Pittis, Josh
Green and Marty
Reasoner are definitely on the bubble. Jiri
Dopita and Mike
York will be counted on to produce from the 2nd line. They could form
the core of something very nice.
Locks: Comrie, Smyth and Carter. Mike
Comrie seemed to do it with mirrors last year. When watching an Oilers
game you could watch the whole thing, not really notice him and then voila
– he’d finish with three points. Comrie has just a ton of talent and
should benefit from a 100% healthy Smyth. Carter had a huge first half and
then disappeared in the 2nd. He should be more consistent. If he is, he’ll
get his points.
Avoid:
Daniel Cleary and Todd
Marchant. Cleary was a junior phenom, but just hasn’t been able to
translate that success to the NHL. He might get 20 goals if he can stay
healthy, but that's about his maximum impact. Marchant had a brutal year,
even by his standards. He’s a solid #3 center and excellent on the PK –
but that’s all folks.
Sleeper:
Mike Grier. Grier has the penchant for having a real solid
year followed by one that’s…well, less than stellar. Same goes this
time. Last year he had 8 goals after scoring 20 the year before that. He is
a good bet to have another solid season.
Question Mark: Jiri
Dopita. Is he the real deal, or is he an NHL bust? Remember, he’s 33.
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If the Flames could bottle
the success they had in the first two months of the season, they’d be
Stanley Cup champs every year. Turek played like Patrick
Roy,
Jarome Iginla was on fire (and stayed that way) and who knew Craig
Conroy was a No.1 center? But, alas, all good things came to an end and
it was another year of not making the playoffs for the Flames. Still,
strengths of this team include their young and very mobile defense. Rumors
have been rampant that the Flames may deal some of that strength for some goal
scoring in a Derek
Morris - for - Sergei
Samsonov swap with the Bruins. The key is
Toni Lydman. If he develops as
the Flames hope he does, Morris – and his soon to be restricted free
agency next year – could be on the move.
Locks: Iggy, Morris and Roman
Turek. Turek needs to play with more consistency and Morris needs to
ensure he is healthy and can stay that way.
Avoid:
Martin Gelinas and
Dean McAmmond. Always one of our favorite players, but man, Gelinas'
odometer is getting up there. McAmmond is just a slump away from finding the
press box.
Sleepers:
Jordan Leopold and
Chuck Kobasew. Leopold looks like the next
Phil Housley, at least in rookie camp. Kobesew set the pre-season on
fire last year, but didn’t sign a contract. He’s ready to go this year, and
the Flames need his scoring touch.
Question Mark: Which Marc
Savard will show up this year? Will it be the one from last season that
was out of shape and whined so much that he found his butt in the press box
to often, or is it the ‘00-‘01 version that came to camp ready to play
and had 65 points as a result? Tough to know.
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Darryl Sutter is coaching
the Sharks to win a Stanley Cup, but from a poolie standpoint – we hate
‘em. How else do you explain Sutter’s penchant for just rolling the
lines out (at least the top 3 lines), giving PP time to the likes of Mike
Ricci, Scott
Thornton and Niklas
Sundstrom and not taking the fetters off Teemu
Selanne and Patrick
Marleau to let them do what they do best: score goals. Playing a soft
trap with all that talent on their team simply drives us nuts! The Sharks
have been a project in the making for a little while now, and they gave the
Avalanche all they could handle in the playoffs last year. Evgeny
Nabokov was very solid,
but he's always a slump away from potentially losing his job. In addition,
the Sharks defense is just OK, the main weakness of this team. Adam
Graves was a nice addition, if not on the scoreboard then certainly in
the locker room. Time is running out on the Sharks window of opportunity,
and they know it.
Locks: Vincent
Damphousse, Owen
Nolan. Vinne ‘wet shack’ has turned into a poor man’s Adam
Oates. While not the swiftest of skaters, he certainly sees the ice very
well and is a PP machine. Nolan also looks to be turning into a pass first,
shoot later guy. Someone needs to remind him that he had 44 goals only two
seasons ago.
Avoid: Do not over-value Teemu
Selanne. He stayed with the Sharks this year by signing a new deal to
win a Cup, not to win the Rocket Richard trophy as the league’s top goal
scorer. Last year, his first full one under Sutter, Selanne appeared at
times as though he had never played the game before. He's used to having
ample ice time, and then he comes to the Sharks where he gets the tap like
everyone else. 40+ goals is a distant memory.
Sleeper: Jeff
Jillson. Played almost exclusively on the Sharks PP and
played well. Didn’t see the ice much after special teams and that hurts a
guy’s development. He’s not Ray
Bourque, but he is gifted offensively.
Question Mark: Patrick
Marleau and Brad
Stuart. Marleau needs to maintain his focus, desire, and drive in order
to assume his rightful place as a bona fide NHL superstar. He’s got all
the tools. Stuart has been with the Sharks for five years now, and Sharks
management is still waiting for him to turn into the offensive force he was
in junior. That said he is still only 22, and d-men take a bit longer to
come into their own – just ask Chris
Pronger and Ed
Jovanovski.
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What a turnaround last
year for the Blackhawks. From missing the playoffs two years ago to
establishing themselves firmly in the pack of post-season teams last year, the
Blackhawks have surprised. Coach Brian
Sutter had the majority of his players on board with his system and it
seemed to work, despite the Amonte-Wurtz feud (or circus). Losing Amonte
will hurt, as he was very popular with both fans and players. Signing Fleury
should reduce the scoring loss but the risk with Theo is significant – you
just never know if he might snap. An aging and slow defense could really use
newly acquired Nathan
Dempsey and young stud Steve
McCarthy to make the club on the blue-line this year. All that said, we
wouldn’t be surprised to see the Blackhawks fall back somewhat this year.
Locks: Alexei
Zhamnov, Eric
Daze, Steve
Sullivan and Michael
Nylander. “Archie” Zhamnov stayed healthy last
year and was Chicago’s best player at times. He seemed to avoid the annual
stint on the DL and played with some emotion and fire. He's always a little
risky, but seems to have done enough to get away from that moniker. Daze is
learning to use his size to his advantage. Should get 35 this season in his
sleep. Stevie Sullivan has just been everything the Hawks could hope for. His
size means he’ll prove his worth for a spot on the top two lines. Nylander...well three years in a row...the model of consistency has us convinced.
Avoid: Boris
Mironov. Seems like only yesterday that Bo Bo was a
dominant force behind the blueline, but that was three years ago. At 30, he
still has a lot to give, it just won’t be at the offensive end of the
rink.
Sleeper: Steve
McCarthy. Time for young Steve to step up and join the ranks. He’s
been flirting with sticking the last two years. If he comes to camp ready to
be physical, his offensive skills will kick–in eventually.
Question Mark: There are none bigger than Fleury. Which one will the
Hawks get? Yikes.
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We can only pray that this
may be the year that head coach Jacques
Lemaire opens up and lets his players play. Watching a Wild game is
often a good cure for insomnia with their constant use of the trap. That
said, they are making strides to put together a better offensive team, and
team management has said that they will “turn it loose” when they get
better talented players. The big off-season move was to sign crafty Cliff
Ronning. If he is anywhere near as successful as last years’ UFA signing
of Andrew
Brunette, then the Wild will actually score some goals. Marian
Gaborik is the real deal, and he is only 21 years old. With Ronning
feeding him nice passes on the PP, the Wild are going to be better. Their defense
is still very young but improving. More trap will follow, but
the top line of Ronning, Gaborik and Brunette should do some damage on the
PP.
Locks: Gaborik, Brunette and Ronning. Andrew
Brunette does nothing great, but a lot of little things very well. The
result is a good offensive hockey player.
Avoid: Jim
Dowd had one of those seasons he had back in college when
he was a Hobey Baker award finalist – lots of ice time in prime
situations. He’s No.2 behind Ronning now so be very, very careful.
Sleeper: Pascal
Dupuis. Tough on such a new team to find a sleeper,
but Dupuis isn’t too bad. Last year he made the most of his opportunity by
shoveling in 15 goals in 76 games. Just 23, Dupuis can fly and saw time on
the PK and a little on the PP.
Question Mark: Filip
Kuba. Will he ever be the No.1 rear-guard the
Wild desperately need? He’s 25 this year. Usually this is the time d-men
break-out, if that is their destiny.
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Some very bold
statements from Preds management have them promising to make the playoffs or
season ticket holders get part of their money back. Tall order indeed. Mind you, the Preds are getting better. A series of injuries to their better players down
the stretch had them on the outside looking in come playoff time. It will
take a significant team effort for the Preds to make the playoffs…but
never say never. The strength of this team is in goal and on defense. Now if
they could only get their forwards to pick up the pace.
Locks: Kimmo
Timonen, Andy
Delmore and Scott
Hartnell. Timonen is diminutive, but very solid – leads by example
both on and off the ice. Delmore used his heavy shot to the best of his
abilities on the Preds PP, and more will be expected this year. As for
Hartnell, tough to think a 20 year old may be a lock, but the pickings are a
little slim. Hartnell is getting better, but he is on the Preds...
Avoid: David
Legwand. Was supposed to be the team's go-to guy by now,
but he may just never be that kind of player. Average at best in all facets
except his speed, where he excels. So far, Legwand is just an OK NHLer.
Sleeper: Dan
Hamhuis. A born leader, great in both ends of the ice.
If he makes the team, he’ll advance quickly as the Preds need scoring from
the defense.
Question mark: Scott
Walker. Too bad that he had the year from hell
after the year from heaven. If he was healthy, his 00-01 stats may not be
too difficult to repeat, but he’s coming off concussion syndrome and you
just never know…!
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A team that appears destined
to look good in the regular season but have nothing in the playoffs. They
looked tired and weary in the post-season last year and the same cast is
back. A healthier (but he may never be 100%) Doug
Weight should really help, but Scott
Young is gone with no replacement on the horizon. No Chris
Pronger until Christmas means a lot of pressure on MacInnis and the
other guys on the blue-line. Tkachuk looks poised to have a big year, and
most under-rated forward Pavol
Demitra can get his points either at RW or Center – and on either
first or second line.
Locks: Keith
Tkachuk, Demitra and Al
MacInnis.
Avoid: Scott
Mellanby. Don’t be fooled by his playoff revival.
He’s getting up there.
Sleeper: Cory
Stillman. Had a brutal first half, but still reached 23
goals when it was all over. Lots is expected and he just might deliver –
huge.
Question Mark: Doug
Weight and Brent
Johnson. Depending on who you talk too, Doug
Weight is either; a) close to 100%, or b) may never be the same. Johnson
folded like a cheap tent during the pressure of the playoffs. We wonder how
long the Blues stick with him, with Byron
Dafoe hovering out there in UFA limbo.
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A winner in the UFA
sweepstakes this year, the addition of Andrew
Cassels, Scott
LaChance and Luke
Richardson should improve this team, particularly on defense. The Blue
Jackets followed up a great expansion year with a thud, finishing last or
close to it in almost all offensive and defensive categories. That said,
they are stocking a nice mix of young and older talent which should allow
them to improve (of course they really had only one way to go). Expect
more from C-Bus this year, just not a whole lot more.
Locks: Andrew
Cassels and Ray
Whitney. Cassels is either the No.1 center, or he’ll be the No.1A
center on the offence-starved Blue Jackets. When healthy he is almost a
point a game. If he’s reunited with old Whaler line-mate Geoff
Sanderson, the magic just might return. Whitney just keeps scoring.
Despite missing 15 games last year, he led the team in scoring by a mile.
He’ll do so again.
Avoid: Mike
Sillinger is a solid scorer, but his +/- almost makes him undraftable. Better as a center and that means he’s 3rd line unless he
moves to the wing. Either way – not so good.
Sleeper: Jaroslav
Spacek. He’s likely to fall very far in your
draft and that’s OK. Bounced around just a bit last year, but finished up
strong to end the season. Will QB the PP for Blue Jackets, which should be
better this season.
Question Mark: Marc
Denis and Rostislav
Klesla. For both the goalie and
the defenseman, it’s a question of whether they can rise to the challenge
and opportunity given them. Tough one, but we think they will.
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