The salamehockey.com site administrators, over the course the next few weeks, will be taking a look at each team’s roster and analyzing the likely scenarios for keepers and re-signs for the upcoming 2011-2012 season.
TEAM: RED MENACE
GENERAL MANAGER: DEREK GROSSI
FORWARDS
KEEPERS
1. Paul Stastny, Avalanche – the talented Paul Stastny is an excellent playmaking center with good vision, hands and above all else, excellent hockey IQ. Often compared to his father, he has a proven track record after having scored 70 pts or more in 3 of his five seasons in Colorado, with the remaining two under that mark due to injuries and a change in team direction. With the sudden changes that came in 2011, Stastny will likely continue to provide a 1-2 punch down the middle with Matt Duchene, and is capable of posting 75-85 pts in a full season. Only 25 years of age, he will likely begin to step up his production if he can find decent chemistry with a strong scoring winger, at which point, 90 pts is in reach.
2. Ales Hemsky, Oilers – while performing at nearly or at a point per game pace, Hemsky continues to have significant difficulty staying healthy since 2005 when he posted a career-best 77 pts in 81 games. With the rise of young talent around him, the talented winger, if healthy, can produce 70-80 pts in 70 or so games, but needs to keep that consistency if he plans on remaining a key element to the Oilers forward corps into the future. At 27, he is now in his prime and is capable of hitting his best numbers once more.
3. Andy McDonald, Blues – Since posting an excellent 78 pts in Anaheim centering Teemu Selanne, McDonald has struggled to replicate his performance over a full season with the Blues. Having averaged 58 games played in his last 4 seasons, he is a definite injury risk, but manages to produce nevertheless as a top line center. With the continued development of the young core in St. Louis, McDonald may figure more into a leadership role going forward, but still has the offensive skill to put up 60-70 pts in a full season.
4. Jakub Voracek, Blue Jackets – there is a rare breed of NHL talent that appears every 5-6 years that can deliver no matter what the situation. Those players become generational talents while the majority of highly-rated prospects need three major ingredients to succeed: talent, opportunity, and a good supporting cast. Voracek has the talent, but has not been able to build on so far pretty modest production because of a dire need for the Columbus organization – a talented defender who can move the puck up the ice. All the Jackets forwards have the innate talent to produce at an elite level, but will continue to be stifled because of this need. Voracek is no exception, however no one should be forgetting him quite so soon – the young winger is only 21, and was once projected to become a top line winger with excellent vision, size and strength. There have been flashes of brilliance and other segments of total disappearance. With the right team, Jake can break out, but it will take time. An improvement is to be expected in the coming year, with anywhere from 50-60 pts being achievable, and much more (70-80) being a possibility once things are set in motion.
5. Jason Pominville, Sabres – Pominville has hit 80 pts before in his career, but that performance screams one-year peak rather than a true indication of what’s to come. The picture of consistency for the Sabres missed some time to injury for the first time since joining the NHL, but continues to score at a 60+ pace. Expect more of the same, with some competition from healthy youngsters who are on the brink of breaking out in Buffalo.
6. Wojtek Wolski, Rangers – with an 18 game, 18 pt performance with the Coyotes to end 2010, Wolski looked like he was on his way to finally living up to his potential as a solid top six winger. But after a less than stellar start to the 2011 season, Wolski would be dealt to the Rangerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrs. At 25, there is still a lot of time left for him to become the scorer he was once pegged to become, but time is quickly running out for the inconsistent winger. Expect 45-60 pts depending on where he plays.
7. Kyle Turris, Coyotes – Turris was simply brought along too quickly in what seemed like a no-fail decision in 2008 to put the young forward with the big club full-time. Stunting his development curve, Turris would have to be sent back to the AHL to hone his skills accordingly, as the young phenom who scored 121 pts in 53 games in junior has yet to deliver at the professional level. A peak performance with the San Antonio Rampage in 2010 of 63 pts in 76 games gave many people hope Turris could be a producer once more, and it is still possible that 21 year old delivers on his draft pedigree, and breaks out in 2011, 50 pts being in reach, with a ceiling in the 70s attainable in the long term.
RESIGNS
8. Olli Jokinen, Flames – the aging Finn has likely seen his best days pass him, as his Florida heyday of 91 pts would dictate, and while Jokinen’s performance in 2011 showed encouraging signs of a return to greatness, consistency still remains an issue at 32. While such a problem is usually okay for a 22 year old player, 32 year old players should be well into their prime and leading by example, which Jokinen is not doing anymore. Ever since his best season in 2006-2007, Jokinen has gradually declined and unless he can find the drive and fire back, he will continue to produce at this level.
9. Cody Hodgson, Canucks – while its undeniable that Hodgson has great talent and will almost certainly become an NHLer, the big question is when and how big of an impact will he have on a team already so deep. Long-term, he projects as a top line center with two-way focus and excellent scoring potential, but his injuries to this point have been worrisome. Only time will tell if Hodgson becomes the second or third line center he has been groomed to become.
10. Colin Wilson, Predators – Wilson is a surprisingly mature center for his age, given his development through the US National Team and Collegiate systems, which are more well-known for delaying player development. Despite this, Wilson is an excellent candidate to assume a top six forward role on a Predators team in dire need of good and dependable offense.
11. Nazem Kadri, Maple Leafs – the development curve for Kadri has begun on a good note, with the young Canadian having scored 41 pts in 44 games for the Toronto Marlies in 2010-2011. He has top line potential and will likely make an impact at the NHL level in a few years.
DEFENSE
KEEPERS
1. Alexander Edler, Canucks – with a strong slapshot and excellent puck possession skills, Edler led the powerplay with Christian Ehrhoff for a good chunk of the 2011 season despite missing some time to injury. The Swede has excellent size and talent, and is a definitive threat for 40-50 pts on such a talented team.
2. Dennis Wideman, Capitals – while it remains unsure if Wideman becomes a fixture on the Capitals blue line, he has the talent to power a power play with good efficiency when he is healthy. Despite the obvious competition for the top PP spot in Mike Green and John Carlson, Wideman has the skill to put up 40 pts in the right system, has he has done before.
3. Matt Carle, Flyers – Carle has returned to his early career production totals in 2011, partly due to greater opportunity with significant injuries of note to major pieces in the Flyers’ blue line. He has the talent to exceed 40 pts on annual basis if he entrusted with offensive roles on the powerplay or as a puck mover.
RESIGNS
4. Jay Bouwmeester, Flames – while he is the picture of health, having played six straight 82 game seasons, Bouwmeester has failed to produce the numbers he put up with the Panthers, where he nearly eclipsed 40 pt seasons three times. With the emergence of Mark Giordano as the top gun on the point, and with Anton Babchuk’s shot to compete with, Jay-Bo’s performance will be limited and more of the same can be expected from the big two-way defender.
GOALTENDERS
KEEPER
1. Carey Price, Canadiens – If there was a young NHL player who needed to silence critics this season, it was Carey Price. And boy did he ever shut them down. 38 wins, 8 shutouts later, Price has taken the front seat of the Montreal Canadiens and become the driver of their success. Price will continue to be relied upon to be the workhorse for the Habs, and expecting 30-40 wins, and 5-10 shutouts as he enters his prime is reasonable.
RESIGNS
2. Tomas Vokoun, Panthers – Vokoun remains a solid number one option for any team seeking his talents in goal. His steady presence has kept Florida afloat in many games, despite the complete lack of offensive help he’s gotten over the years. In the right system (as we saw in his best years in Nashville), he can continue to produce wins and shutouts as he has in the past.
3. Jonathan Bernier, Kings – the highly touted ‘next one’ for the Kings and former first round pick, Bernier remains behind Jonathan Quick on the Kings depth chart, but has the talent and pedigree to start in goal for any team in the NHL. After ruling all levels of play throughout junior to the AHL, he is ready to step up and take over the starting spot, but will opportunity be awarded to him?
4. Rick DiPietro, Islanders – He remains the top Long Island starter (assuming Nabokov does not play) until he gets injured again. To give you an idea how bad it’s become, here goes a summary of his injuries: On March 13, 2007, DiPietro suffered a concussion. DiPietro underwent surgery in the 2007 off season to fix a torn labrum in his hip. On March 19, 2008, it was announced that DiPietro would miss the remainder of the 07-08 season because of surgery on his hip. On June 3, 2008, DiPietro would undergo knee surgery on the meniscus in his left knee. On November 1, it was announced DiPietro had undergone another knee surgery after injuring his meniscus. On January 20, 2009, Islanders General Manager Garth Snow announced that DiPietro would miss the rest of the 2008–09 NHL season due to post-arthroscopic surgical swelling in his right knee.
On February 13, 2010 he was listed as day-to-day with the flu, and less than a month later, swelling in his left-knee caused him to be listed on the Injured Reserve (IR) effective March 2, 2010 and did not return for the rest of the season. On December 21, 2010, he was placed on Injured Reserve due to knee swelling. On February 2, 2011, In his first game against the Penguins since his shootout win, DiPietro engaged in a rare “goalie fight” against Pittsburgh’s Brent Johnson in the final seconds of the game. Dipietro went down after Johnson landed a single blow to the face. Two days after the fight it was announced that DiPietro will be out 4–6 weeks with facial fractures and knee swelling. It is not known if the knee swelling was from the fight or another reason. Prognosis: I think he’s prone to injury, but one year, it will all work out. Buyer beware.
NEXT UP: ASSMAN