Calgary Flames
Must-haves: Jarome Iginla, Dion Phaneuf, Jay Bouwmeester, Olli Jokinen, Miikka Kiprusoff
Contributors:
Daymond Langkow, Rene Bourque, Craig Conroy
Sleepers:
David Moss, Dustin Boyd
Specialists: Curtis Glencross, Cory Sarich, Nigel Dawes, Mark Giordano, Robyn Regehr, Anton Stralman, Brandon Prust, Jamie Lundmark, Brandon Prust, Adam Pardy, Curtis McElhinney, Eric Nystrom, Fredrik Sjostrom, Brian McGrattan
Offseason
analysis: The two biggest offseason headlines for the Flames were
the addition of Bouwmeester and head coach Brent Sutter, who left his
post with the Devils to be closer to home. It's good news for Sutter,
who goes from one contender to another. We saw a surprising offensive
outburst from the Devils in 2008-09 and some would argue Calgary has
even better skaters than New Jersey. Sutter likes a tight defensive
game, but he also knows how to capitalize on the rush. Bouwmeester could
pair with Phaneuf to make one of the best defensive pairings in the NHL.
Losing Mike Cammalleri, the Flames'
leading goal scorer last season, is going to sting, but they still have
Iginla and Jokinen on the top line. Two real sleepers in the equation
are Moss and Boyd. Both players have the skill to be factors in the NHL,
but Calgary is still waiting for their breakout runs. Another key
element is getting Bourque back to full strength. He posted a
career-high 21 goals in '08-09 and proved to be an effective scorer
before going down late in the season with a serious ankle injury. If
healthy, Bourque could jump on the team's top scoring line in place of
Cammalleri. We also know Fantasy owners are itching to see how 2007
first-round pick Mikael Backlund
performs in camp. He is going to get a long look, but if Backlund is not
ready, Calgary will not rush him to the NHL and hurt his development.
Colorado Avalanche
Must-haves: Milan Hejduk, Paul Stastny
Contributors: John-Michael Liles, Kyle Quincey, Wojtek Wolski
Sleepers: Craig Anderson,
Tom Preissing, T.J. Hensick, Brett Clark, Chris Stewart, Matt Duchene, T.J. Galiardi
Specialists: Peter Budaj, Marek Svatos, Cody McLeod, Ruslan Salei, David Koci, David Jones, Scott Hannan, Darcy Tucker
Offseason
analysis: The Avalanche really cleaned house after an abysmal
2008-09 campaign. It wasn't so much an overhaul of player personnel as
much as the coaching staff and front office. Replacing Tony Granato
behind the bench is former AHL coach Joe Sacco. It could definitely be a
smooth transition for the Avalanche since a lot of their younger talent
played for Sacco at Lake Erie (AHL). Part of the reason Sacco was
promoted was because of how he developed talent in the minors. Sacco is
keeping the Avs' game plan close to the vest, but in the minors his
teams were lauded for their dogged persistence and ability to create
offense from their defense. While Colorado is celebrating the dawn of a
new era, it is also a somber time for the Avs as they said goodbye to
longtime captain Joe Sakic, who retired
after 20 seasons. However, his absence definitely opens the door for
some new faces to emerge. Stastny, who has endured two straight
injury-plagued seasons, is now the team's unquestioned No. 1 center.
Sakic's departure also creates an opportunity for AHL standout Hensick
and possibly a roster spot for Duchene, who was taken third in the 2009
NHL draft. Colorado traded winger Ryan Smyth
to Los Angeles and let fan favorite Ian Laperriere
head to Philly, but while they lost some talent up front, they bolstered
their blue line in the Smyth trade. Colorado added Quincey and Preissing
in the trade, and if everyone is healthy, Colorado's strength heading
into the season will be their blue line, as they have a solid seven-man
rotation. The goalie situation also got a minor makeover. Anderson was
brought in from Florida to supplant Budaj, who will now pull backup
duty. This is Anderson's first run as a full-time NHL goalie, but he has
the full support of the Colorado front office.
Edmonton Oilers
Must-haves: Sheldon Souray, Ales Hemsky, Lubomir Visnovsky
Contributors:
Nikolai Khabibulin, Tom Gilbert, Shawn Horcoff, Denis Grebeshkov, Dustin Penner, Andrew Cogliano
Sleepers: Patrick O'Sullivan, Sam Gagner, Jeff Drouin-Deslaurie, Jordan Eberle
Specialists:
Ethan Moreau, Robert Nilsson, Zack Stortini, Steve Staios, Gilbert Brule, Ladislav Smid, Fernando Pisani, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Steve Macintyre, Jean-Francois Jacques, Jason Strudwick
Offseason
analysis: The trade that didn't happen was probably Edmonton's
biggest offseason development. The Oilers were set to acquire Senators
winger Dany Heatley in exchange for
Cogliano, Penner and Smid, but the former All-Star blocked the deal.
Edmonton persisted for a few more weeks before finally pulling the trade
off the table. They were upset the deal couldn't be finalized, but are
ready to move on with what they have. Edmonton doesn't have a bad stable
of players for first-year coach Pat Quinn to work with. The Oilers'
biggest acquisition was signing Khabibulin to a four-year contract.
However, Edmonton really needs to develop Drouin-Deslaurie and Devan Dubnyk quickly since the 36-year-old Khabibulin has played more
than 55 games just once in the last five seasons. It might not have
seemed like a huge deal, but re-signing Grebeshkov for a year keeps
intact a pretty good blue line that features Souray, Gilbert and
Visnovsky, who is working his way back from a serious shoulder injury.
While Horcoff is a do-it-all center for Edmonton, he had a pretty
disappointing offensive campaign in 2008-09 coming off a shoulder issue
of his own. Horcoff flashed point-per-game potential in 2007-08 and
perhaps a legendary coach like Quinn can once again bring the best out
of him. Two players to watch are O'Sullivan and Eberle. O'Sullivan
missed training camp last season while a holdout with the Kings and
never found his groove, even after being traded to Edmonton at the
deadline. O'Sullivan has 20-goal, 50-point potential. Eberle, Edmonton's
2008 first-round pick, is pretty much assured a spot out of training
camp. He is too young to play in the AHL and too advanced to be sent
back to junior hockey. Eberle definitely wants to follow in the steps of
Hemsky and Gagner, who both had success as first-year players after
making the jump from the junior ranks.
Minnesota Wild
Must-haves: Martin Havlat, Niklas Backstrom, Marek Zidlicky, Mikko Koivu, Brent Burns
Contributors:
Andrew Brunette, Antti Miettinen
Sleepers: Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Owen Nolan, Benoit Pouliot, James Sheppard, Kyle Brodziak
Specialists: Josh Harding, Kim Johnsson, Eric Belanger, Cal Clutterbuck, Colton Gillies, Shane Hnidy, Wade Dubielewicz, Greg Zanon, Nick Schultz, John Scott, Derek Boogaard, Craig Weller
Offseason
analysis: Even though the Wild reached 40 wins and were mere points
away from making the playoffs, they opted for a major front office
overhaul. They said goodbye to the only coach they knew since entering
league play in 2000-01 -- Jacques Lemaire -- and welcomed in Todd
Richards, who takes on his first NHL head coaching gig. Also, longtime
general manager Doug Risebrough was replaced by Chuck Fletcher.
Minnesota and Fantasy owners should get excited about the change since
Lemaire takes with him his dull style of defensive hockey. Fletcher and
Richards have preached a more up-tempo style of play, but alas, it was
not enough to keep the Wild's all-time leading scorer in Marian Gaborik from fleeing to the Rangers. Still, Minnesota picked up
a capable replacement in Havlat, who is coming off a career season with
the Blackhawks. He will take Gaborik's spot on the top line. Richards
has opted to move Bouchard back to center since his experiment at right
wing didn't go as planned in 2008-09. Another important development for
the Wild is the health of Burns, who spent a great deal of time on
injured reserve last year. Burns says he is recovered from a concussion
that ended his '08-09 campaign, and he is expected to be a key catalyst
in Minnesota's new offense. Although it seemed like a minor trade, the
Wild's addition of Brodziak is huge. He used to play for Richards in the
minors and is quite familiar with his style. It could be an easy
transition and could end up paying major dividends for the Wild and
Fantasy owners. Two players to watch in camp are Pouliot and Sheppard.
Both are former high-end first rounders that never seemed to impress
Lemaire or adapt to his defensive system. Perhaps Richards will be the
guy who gets the most out of both skaters.
Vancouver Canucks
Must-haves: Daniel Sedin, Kevin Bieksa, Henrik Sedin, Roberto Luongo
Contributors: Christian Ehrhoff, Pavol Demitra, Alexandre Burrows
Sleepers: Mathieu Schneider, Alexander Edler, Ryan Kesler, Mikael Samuelsson, Sami Salo, Steve Bernier, Cody Hodgson
Specialists: Shane O'Brien, Willie Mitchell, Andrew Raycroft, Kyle Wellwood, Mason Raymond, Cory Schneider, Jannik Hansen, Darcy Hordichuk, Brad Lukowich, Ryan Johnson, Rick Rypien
Offseason analysis: Vancouver did a very good
job of addressing a weakness they felt they had -- their blue line.
After losing Mattias Ohlund to Tampa Bay
in the offseason, Vancouver spent weeks trying to find a capable
replacement and ended up with two -- Ehrhoff and Schneider. They pretty
much got Ehrhoff for nothing in a trade with San Jose and even got a
little added insurance with Lukowich. However, Schneider could end up
being a steal for both the Canucks and Fantasy owners. He is a solid
offensive blueliner that always seems to perform better on a contender,
which the Canucks are. Schneider definitely has serious Fantasy
potential, as long as he is healthy. The re-signing of the Sedin twins
was also important because now the team keeps their two best offensive
players, both of whom are quite familiar with Alain Vigneault's system.
Luongo landed a 12-year extension in early September, but don't worry
about him resting on his laurels. He is hungry for a Stanley Cup and
even wants to help Team Canada win gold in the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Vancouver let Jason LaBarbera leave for
Phoenix in the offseason and replaced him with the struggling Raycroft.
It's not a big deal because Schneider is still in the system just in
case Raycroft proves inadequate. Vancouver could have to start the
season with Demitra on injured reserve as he recovers from offseason
shoulder surgery. He doesn't seem to be the 30-goal scorer Vancouver
envisioned when they signed him last summer, but he still serves his
purpose as a top-six forward. Two more players of interest to Fantasy
owners are Samuelsson and Hodgson. Samuelsson is a free-agent addition
from Detroit. There have been some whispers that Samuelsson could play
on the top line with the Sedin twins, an area of concern for Vancouver
the last few seasons. As for Hodgson, the 19-year-old rookie is all but
assured a spot on the roster. The 2008 first-round pick projects as a
future top-six skater and is excellent at both ends of the ice.
Do you have a question for our Fantasy staff? You can e-mail us at DMFantasyPucks@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Fantasy Pucks in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state.
