I will be rating each team on three different areas which of course are goalies, defensemen and forward. The ratings are from 1 to 10. The rating consists of his personal ability and his importance to the team. This means that a player who scores way more points might get the same rating as someone who does not. There are two categories that i will rate: Every position as whole and then every single player. I will also put in the lines that i think/hope they will play next season. Then last i will give a grade to the whole team.
Los Angeles Kings
Goalies
Jonathan Quick: Quick had a really good season with the Kings. He put up a career high season in SV%. He is 25 years old and already a top goalie. Kings have a solid goalie for nearly two decades. Rating: 9
Jonathan Bernier: Bernier is a tough challenger for Quick. He is a couple of years younger and played really well this year. He was the eleventh overall pick in 06 draft which is really high for a goalie. Rating: 8
Kings have one top goalie and one who promises to be even better. One day LA will be too small for both of them, before that they have two really good goalies. Overall rating: 9
Defensemen
Rob Scuderi: Scuderi is a good defensive d-man. He does not get much points, but he usually has a positive +/- ratio and low penalty minutes. Rating: 8
Willie Mitchell: Much like Scuderi, Mitchell is good in defensive aspects and is really good when paired with Doughty or Johnson who are more offensive minded defenders. Rating: 8
Alec Martinez: Martinez was a bottom pair defender and without any changes to the defensive core he will probably be one still. Rating: 7
Jack Johnson: After Doughty Johnson is the most important defender in the team. He plays well in both ends of the ice and is a huge asset on the power play. Rating: 9
Matt Greene: Big defender who excels in physical game. Greene is also a relatively known fighter and due to that fact he has high penalty minutes. Useful in other roles than fighter as well. Rating: 8
Davis Drewiske: Drewiske has the unfortunate role of being the seventh defensman in the roster. He is not bad and will hopefully find his place in the opening night roster one day. Rating: 7
Drew Doughty: One of the best defenders in the entire sport. His output decreased by 19 points from last season, but he is still among the top 30 scoring d-men. He forms one of the best power play pairs with Jack Johnson. Rating: 10
Kings have one of the best defenses in the entire league. They allowed 198 goals which is 6th least in the league. With offensive assets like Doughty and Johnson the defense can also seriously aid the offense. Overall Defense Rating: 9
Forwards
Justin Williams: Williams is really good and with Richards and Penner or Gagne on the other wing he should be able to amass a really nice amount of points. Rating: 8
Kevin Westgarth: Westgarth is another fighter with the Kings squad. He plays very little minutes and mainly when someone has tackled fellow teammate in a punishable way. Rating: 7
Jarret Stoll: Stoll has been steady contributor, but with Richards acquisition will probably eat his ice time. Stoll will probably get wingers who are not as good as the ones he has played so far. Still he has an amazing slap shot and he is a good player for the power play. Rating: 8
Brad Richardson: Richardson has been a solid bottom-6 forward. He does not get too much ice and he was thirteenth in average ice time in LA forwards. He is a decent player and i have learned to like his style of play. Rating: 7
Mike Richards: Ex-flyers captain will bring points somewhere between 60-80 with him to LA. He can provide leadership and really good playing ability, but if the rumors about his partying are true, LA is not probably the best place for him. Sensational hockey player nonetheless. Rating: 9
Dustin Penner: Big left winger should bring a solid power forward presence to second line. He did not start that well, but hopefully Richards can aid him back to the route of scoring points. Rating: 8
Scott Parse: Parse only played in five games, but still managed to grab four points. He missed the start of the season and had time to play in only five games before undergoing a hip surgery. Rating: 7
Trevor Lewis: Lewis had his first nearly full season in the NHL going from 6 games to 72 this season. He grabbed 3 goals and 10 assists as a bottom line forward. Rating: 7
Anze Kopitar: He is the franchise forward in LA. He is a very talented young man. Sometimes people forget that he is only 23 years old. He can lead the Kings first line for a decade if he says healthy. Rating: 10
Simon Gagne: Gagne has been a godlike scorer during his time in Philly, but he did not get the best out of himself in Tampa. Perhaps a reunion with former team mate Mike Richards will get him back on track... Has the potential to score nearly 50 goals and since he is "only" 31 he still has some years left. Rating: 9
Colin Fraser: Fraser will bring a bottom line presence to the team. He does not excel in any aspect, but neither is he bad at any. Rating: 7
Kyle Clifford: Big left winger is still young and will have to settle for a bottom line role. He has potential waiting to be unfold, but it is still some years away. Rating: 7
Dustin Brown: The captain of Kings. He might stay in the shadow of Anze Kopitar or Drew Doughty, but he is an exemplary captain. He does not give up, he checks more than anyone in the team and he is good in both scoring and assisting. Rating: 10
Kings really added some really nice players to their forward lines. Richards and Gagne are world class players and can wipe out any team single-handed. They have two really good lines and still their two bottom lines have some really good players with some future potential. Rating: 9
Lines
Penner-Kopitar-Brown
Gagne-Richards-Williams
Clifford-Stoll-Parse
Richardson-Fraser-Lewis
Doughty-Mitchell
Johnson-Scuderi
Greene-Martinez
Quick
As a whole Los Angeles has a team that has credible chances for success. They are a real contender for the first time in years, this time they have a team that should make it beyond the first playoff round. Overall rating: 9
Key factors:
+Two world class lines
+Two good goalies
+Solid players from first to last
-Expectations are high and so is the pressure
tiistai 23. elokuuta 2011
lauantai 20. elokuuta 2011
Florida squad analysis
I will be rating each team on three different areas which of course are goalies, defensemen and forward. The ratings are from 1 to 10. The rating consists of his personal ability and his importance to the team. This means that a player who scores way more points might get the same rating as someone who does not. There are two categories that i will rate: Every position as whole and then every single player. I will also put in the lines that i think/hope they will play next season. Then last i will give a grade to the whole team.
Florida Panthers
Goalies
Jose Theodore: Theodore is a good goalie, but was a back up last year so it might take a few minutes to get back to being a starter. He is old, but as a goalie he still has some years left. In, my opinion not a NHL level starter anymore. Rating: 7
Scott Clemmensen: Clemmensen is much like Theodore. Solid as back up, but not good enough for a starting role. He has been putting up good numbers and if he can keep it up he should serve well. There will be more time available than during Vokouns era. Rating: 7
Florida has two goalies that I think are more suitable for back up roles. Since their defense is not exactly rock solid I anticipate hard times for the two. Overall Rating: 7
Defensemen
Nolan Yonkman: He is more suitable for the AHL, where he has spent most of his career has been in the NHL on four occasions, but has never played more than 40 games a season. Rating: 7
Mike Weaver: Weaver was a top pair defender last season and played a good season. He was the only defender who played over 30 games and had a positive +/- ratio with +1. Rating: 8
Dmitry Kulikov: He has been improving and there is no reason why he should stop now. He is developing into a fine defenseman. Led Panthers defense in points with 26. Rating: 8
Ed Jovanovski: Jovanovski brings veteran presence to the Panthers blue line. He is good in offensive and defensive duties and handles them well. Good acquisition by the Panthers. Rating: 9
Jason Garrison: Garrison led all panthers in average ice time with over 22 minutes a game. He was really important last year and will probably be even more important this year. Rating: 8
Keaton Ellerby: Decent defender who fight for the last opening night spot with Nolan Yonkman.
Bottom pair material. Rating: 7
Brian Campbell: He had a couple of spectacular season, but right now he is just one of the most overpaid players in the entire sport. He is not bad, but not worth the 7,1 million annual salary he currently receives. Rating: 7
Florida´s defense is not anywhere near the best ones in the national hockey league, but it should get through the worst. I know that the average rating is higher than my overall rating but, Rating: 7
Forwards
Stephen Weiss: Perhaps the single most important player in the Panthers squad. He is gifted and plays higher average minutes than most defensmen in the squad. He will be an old face among many new so hopefully he will take the role of a leader and lead the Panthers to a brighter future. Rating: 9
Kris Versteeg: Florida is the fourth team for Versteeg within two years. He is a very talented player and hopefully he will find a new home in Florida. Rating: 8
Scottie Upshall: Upshall brings some scoring ability, coming off a career high 22 goal season. He is a good right winger who should be able to establish himself as a top-6 forward. Rating: 8
Scott Timmins: Timmins is still young and learning on his level, but will most likely only receive
NHL games if someone is injured. Still a kid. Rating: 6
Jack Skille: Skille is one of those who had a bright future, but was never really able to leap to the NHL level. He is not spoiled with age so he still may have a breakthrough season. Rating: 7
Mike Santorelli: Santorelli had a really good year in Florida and will probably keep his role as number 2 center. He scored 20 goals and added 21 assists which is really well. Rating: 8
Michal Repik: Young Czech has been getting more responsibility every year, but i think he will not this year since the acquisition of nine new players. Rating: 7
Shawn Matthias: Decent bottom line froward who does not particularly excel in any aspect of the game. Still decent bottom liner. Rating: 7
Tomas Kopecky: Kopecky doubled his last years output with the Blackhawks last year. If he can keep on contributing he will be a really good acquisition. Kopecky might get a bigger role in the weaker Panthers squad than he previously had in Chicago. Rating: 8
Tim Kennedy: Small left winger has not been able to breakthrough to the NHL and he threatens to be one of those eternal promises. Rating: 7
Bracken Kearns: Kearns has never played in the NHL so i really have no idea what so ever about him. His statistics in the AHL are decent, but sine i never have actually seen him play. Rating: -
Marcel Goc: Goc has been putting up some nice number as a bottom line forward. He is good player and has potential to play in a bigger role. Rating: 8
Tomas Fleischmann: Put up some really impressive performances in the short period he played with the Avs last season before being diagnosed with pulmonary emboli. He is really good and when healthy will be a huge asset for the Panthers. Rating: 8
Evgeny Dadonov: He played fairly well, but does not seem to be the wonderkid Florida needs to advance to the next level. He will most likely develop into a good bottom 6 forward. Rating: 7
Matt Bradley: He is a good checking/bottom line winger, who is not exactly a huge offensive threat, but he has been quite high in hits with the Capitals squad, considering his small average ice time. Rating: 7
David Booth: Booth has an impressive career high of 31 goals, which he recorder 08-09 season. He is has been one of the most important players for the Panthers with Stephen Weiss. Really important for the Panthers. Rating: 9
Sean Bergenheim: Played sensationally during the post-season, but has never been that good during the regular seasons. If he can play regularly like he did during the post-season he will be an amazing capture by the Panthers. Rating: 8
Florida has a squad filled with decent players, but superstars are conspicuous by their absence. Floridas forward department is better than last year, but like their defense their offense is much weaker from the best squads in the league. Overall Rating: 8
Lines
Booth-Weiss-Versteeg
Fleischmann-Santorelli-Upshall
Bergenheim-Goc-Kopecky
Dadonov-Matthias-Bradley
Garrison-Weaver
Jovanvoski-Campbell
Kulikov-Ellerby
Theodore
Florida improved from last year, but this still looks like an empty post-season for the Panthers. Their squad has the potential to fight for the two last playoff spots so i will give them overall Rating: 8
Key factors:
+Some good acquisitions
+They spent some money which is a good thing
-They are quite weak on goalie department
-Drastic changes, hopefully they will blend in well
If anyone has friends, neighbors, co-workers or relative who you think would enjoy reading my blog i would really appreciate if you would tell them about my blog. Easiest way to find this is through twitter or by googling NHL_Blogger which will lead you to twitter which has links to my texts. Thank you in advance.
Florida Panthers
Goalies
Jose Theodore: Theodore is a good goalie, but was a back up last year so it might take a few minutes to get back to being a starter. He is old, but as a goalie he still has some years left. In, my opinion not a NHL level starter anymore. Rating: 7
Scott Clemmensen: Clemmensen is much like Theodore. Solid as back up, but not good enough for a starting role. He has been putting up good numbers and if he can keep it up he should serve well. There will be more time available than during Vokouns era. Rating: 7
Florida has two goalies that I think are more suitable for back up roles. Since their defense is not exactly rock solid I anticipate hard times for the two. Overall Rating: 7
Defensemen
Nolan Yonkman: He is more suitable for the AHL, where he has spent most of his career has been in the NHL on four occasions, but has never played more than 40 games a season. Rating: 7
Mike Weaver: Weaver was a top pair defender last season and played a good season. He was the only defender who played over 30 games and had a positive +/- ratio with +1. Rating: 8
Dmitry Kulikov: He has been improving and there is no reason why he should stop now. He is developing into a fine defenseman. Led Panthers defense in points with 26. Rating: 8
Ed Jovanovski: Jovanovski brings veteran presence to the Panthers blue line. He is good in offensive and defensive duties and handles them well. Good acquisition by the Panthers. Rating: 9
Jason Garrison: Garrison led all panthers in average ice time with over 22 minutes a game. He was really important last year and will probably be even more important this year. Rating: 8
Keaton Ellerby: Decent defender who fight for the last opening night spot with Nolan Yonkman.
Bottom pair material. Rating: 7
Brian Campbell: He had a couple of spectacular season, but right now he is just one of the most overpaid players in the entire sport. He is not bad, but not worth the 7,1 million annual salary he currently receives. Rating: 7
Florida´s defense is not anywhere near the best ones in the national hockey league, but it should get through the worst. I know that the average rating is higher than my overall rating but, Rating: 7
Forwards
Stephen Weiss: Perhaps the single most important player in the Panthers squad. He is gifted and plays higher average minutes than most defensmen in the squad. He will be an old face among many new so hopefully he will take the role of a leader and lead the Panthers to a brighter future. Rating: 9
Kris Versteeg: Florida is the fourth team for Versteeg within two years. He is a very talented player and hopefully he will find a new home in Florida. Rating: 8
Scottie Upshall: Upshall brings some scoring ability, coming off a career high 22 goal season. He is a good right winger who should be able to establish himself as a top-6 forward. Rating: 8
Scott Timmins: Timmins is still young and learning on his level, but will most likely only receive
NHL games if someone is injured. Still a kid. Rating: 6
Jack Skille: Skille is one of those who had a bright future, but was never really able to leap to the NHL level. He is not spoiled with age so he still may have a breakthrough season. Rating: 7
Mike Santorelli: Santorelli had a really good year in Florida and will probably keep his role as number 2 center. He scored 20 goals and added 21 assists which is really well. Rating: 8
Michal Repik: Young Czech has been getting more responsibility every year, but i think he will not this year since the acquisition of nine new players. Rating: 7
Shawn Matthias: Decent bottom line froward who does not particularly excel in any aspect of the game. Still decent bottom liner. Rating: 7
Tomas Kopecky: Kopecky doubled his last years output with the Blackhawks last year. If he can keep on contributing he will be a really good acquisition. Kopecky might get a bigger role in the weaker Panthers squad than he previously had in Chicago. Rating: 8
Tim Kennedy: Small left winger has not been able to breakthrough to the NHL and he threatens to be one of those eternal promises. Rating: 7
Bracken Kearns: Kearns has never played in the NHL so i really have no idea what so ever about him. His statistics in the AHL are decent, but sine i never have actually seen him play. Rating: -
Marcel Goc: Goc has been putting up some nice number as a bottom line forward. He is good player and has potential to play in a bigger role. Rating: 8
Tomas Fleischmann: Put up some really impressive performances in the short period he played with the Avs last season before being diagnosed with pulmonary emboli. He is really good and when healthy will be a huge asset for the Panthers. Rating: 8
Evgeny Dadonov: He played fairly well, but does not seem to be the wonderkid Florida needs to advance to the next level. He will most likely develop into a good bottom 6 forward. Rating: 7
Matt Bradley: He is a good checking/bottom line winger, who is not exactly a huge offensive threat, but he has been quite high in hits with the Capitals squad, considering his small average ice time. Rating: 7
David Booth: Booth has an impressive career high of 31 goals, which he recorder 08-09 season. He is has been one of the most important players for the Panthers with Stephen Weiss. Really important for the Panthers. Rating: 9
Sean Bergenheim: Played sensationally during the post-season, but has never been that good during the regular seasons. If he can play regularly like he did during the post-season he will be an amazing capture by the Panthers. Rating: 8
Florida has a squad filled with decent players, but superstars are conspicuous by their absence. Floridas forward department is better than last year, but like their defense their offense is much weaker from the best squads in the league. Overall Rating: 8
Lines
Booth-Weiss-Versteeg
Fleischmann-Santorelli-Upshall
Bergenheim-Goc-Kopecky
Dadonov-Matthias-Bradley
Garrison-Weaver
Jovanvoski-Campbell
Kulikov-Ellerby
Theodore
Florida improved from last year, but this still looks like an empty post-season for the Panthers. Their squad has the potential to fight for the two last playoff spots so i will give them overall Rating: 8
Key factors:
+Some good acquisitions
+They spent some money which is a good thing
-They are quite weak on goalie department
-Drastic changes, hopefully they will blend in well
If anyone has friends, neighbors, co-workers or relative who you think would enjoy reading my blog i would really appreciate if you would tell them about my blog. Easiest way to find this is through twitter or by googling NHL_Blogger which will lead you to twitter which has links to my texts. Thank you in advance.
tiistai 16. elokuuta 2011
Edmonton squad analysis
I will be rating each team on three different areas which of course are goalies, defensemen and forward. The ratings are from 1 to 10. The rating consists of his personal ability and his importance to the team. This means that a player who scores way more points might get the same rating as someone who does not. There are two categories that i will rate: Every position as whole and then every single player. I will also put in the lines that i think/hope they will play next season. Then last i will give a grade to the whole team.
Edmonton Oilers
Goalies
Nikolai Khabibulin: Started as the starting goalie, but did not enjoy much success, as he only won 10 games out of 47. Will be backup this year. His best years are behind him. Rating: 7
Devan Dubnyk: He played really well and fairly got the starting role. Put up impressive numbers in the team that allowed second most goals and finished last in the entire league. If Devan can keep on playing like he did Edmonton will have one thing less to worry about. Rating: 8
If Devan Dubnyk can keep up his good work or perhaps even improve Edmonton will have a solid goalie for a decade. Khabibulin is still decent backup, but he will have to be replace in the coming years due to his age. For goalies rating: 8
Defensemen
Ryan Whitney: Whitney is a really good defender, who unfortunately missed most of the last season due to an ankle injury. Hopefully he will be back in top shape to lead the Edmonton blue line next year. Rating: 9
Andy Sutton: Sutton brings some considerable size to the Oilers defense. He is good in physical play and you can be sure that the league does not include many players that are bigger than him. Good acquisition, though i would have preferred Kurtis Foster. Rating: 8
Ladislav Smid: Smid is a decent player, but i think that been drafted 9th overall brings a lot of expectations and he perhaps has not been as good as, at least, i hoped he might be. Still a relatively young player who has not been playing in exactly winning franchise, so far. Rating: 8
Theo Peckham: Another young player who played quite well last year. He should make the opening night roster again this year. If he can keep on improving he should have a bright future ahead. Rating: 7
Tom Gilbert: Gilbert has missed only 3 games in the last four season, all of them last year. Gilbert has been one of the most important players in Edmonton the last years and should keep his role as a top 2 defender. Really good in both ways. Rating: 9
Cam Barker: Another high drafter defender ( 3rd overall on 2004). Played one really good season with the Blackhawks, but threatens to be a one-hit-wonder. If he can find that level again he will be a top acquisition. Rating: 8
I really like the Edmonton defense. There is a lot of potential in it just waiting to unfold. It will still take some time for Edmonton to be a serious challenger for the Stanley Cup, but when they are ready these players will be there. For defense i will give rating: 8
Forwards
Ryan Smyth: Bringing back a player like Smyth was a really impressive move by the Oilers. Not only is he a long serving player for the franchise, but he also brings veteran presence to otherwise so young team. Who knows perhaps he will teach those kid a trick or two. Rating: 9
Magnus Paajarvi: Paajarvi had a really good rookie season. He also played really well in the World Championships in Bratislava and was the only Swdish player who scored in the final. He has a really bright future ahead of him. Rating: 8
Linus Omark: Another Swedish player who had a really impressive first season in the NHL. dazzled many with his shootout moves. Added a good amount of points for a lower line Oiler. Rating: 8
Ryan Jones: Important bottom line player. Was thirteenth in average ice time, but third in goals
in Edmonton offense. Good player, but with super promising youngster will eat his ice time even more next year. Rating: 8
Darcy Hordichuk: Hordichuk brings a literal fighting spirit to the game. Bottom line tough guy or perhaps an avenger... Good in his role, but does not contribute in anything else than penalty minutes. Rating: 7
Shawn Horcoff: Horcoff will start his eleventh season with the Oilers. He is the captain of the team and should keep his role as number one center. Very important to the team. Rating: 9
Ales Hemsky: He was nominated to the all-star game, but was not able to attend due to a concussion. Soon after he got a shoulder injury and missed the reminder of the season. He is still a very good player and will claim the first line right winger spot. Rating: 9
Taylor Hall: This is the player that Edmonton is building around. He will probably lead the league one day with fellow first round first pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. His future is written in the stars. Rating: 10
Sam Gagner: Another top prospect in the Oilers squad. He has lot of potential and with the Oilers finally heading to the playoffs instead of the first draft position he will hopefully break all his career high statistics. Rating: 8
Jordan Eberle: Another highly talented prospect in the Oilers squad. He will hopefully be the right winger of the second line. Hopefully he will also rewrite his current career high statistics, he has the potential to do that. Rating: 8
Ben Eager: Eager brings some checking ability and a lot of penalty minutes with him to Edmonton. Solid bottom line checker type. Rating: 7
Gilbert Brule: The former 6th overall pick has not been able to stand up to his expectations and only got 9 points in 41 games. Edmonton tried to trade him to Kings, but he never got there as Colin Fraser was traded on his position. Brule will most likely send Brule to their AHL affiliate if he regains match fitness. Rating: 7
Eric Belanger: Belanger was probably added to play on Brule´s position as a bottom line center. Lot depends on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and his readiness for the NHL. Belanger is a good center who can help the Oilers significantly. Rating: 8
I know that many people will ask why Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was not on the list, but like i said earlier i only analyse that players that are listed on the teams own website on main roster. To the offense, Edmonton has a group of players who have more potential than ability at the moment, but that will change in the following years. Edmonton will be on the verge of playoff line, but this year might still be hard. Future is bright. Rating: 8
Lines
Smyth-Horcoff-Hemsky
Hall-Gagner-Eberle
Paajarvi-Nugent Hopkins-Omark
Eager-Belanger-Jones
Whitney-Gilbert
Smid-Barker
Sutton-Peckham
Dubnyk
Every position got 8 this time so that will be the overall rating, but to all the Oilers fans your team has a potential 10 offense and 9 defense and goalie, just wait. Rating: 8
Key factors:
+They found what seems to be a good goalie
+Some really good player
-Still more potential than actual ability
Edmonton Oilers
Goalies
Nikolai Khabibulin: Started as the starting goalie, but did not enjoy much success, as he only won 10 games out of 47. Will be backup this year. His best years are behind him. Rating: 7
Devan Dubnyk: He played really well and fairly got the starting role. Put up impressive numbers in the team that allowed second most goals and finished last in the entire league. If Devan can keep on playing like he did Edmonton will have one thing less to worry about. Rating: 8
If Devan Dubnyk can keep up his good work or perhaps even improve Edmonton will have a solid goalie for a decade. Khabibulin is still decent backup, but he will have to be replace in the coming years due to his age. For goalies rating: 8
Defensemen
Ryan Whitney: Whitney is a really good defender, who unfortunately missed most of the last season due to an ankle injury. Hopefully he will be back in top shape to lead the Edmonton blue line next year. Rating: 9
Andy Sutton: Sutton brings some considerable size to the Oilers defense. He is good in physical play and you can be sure that the league does not include many players that are bigger than him. Good acquisition, though i would have preferred Kurtis Foster. Rating: 8
Ladislav Smid: Smid is a decent player, but i think that been drafted 9th overall brings a lot of expectations and he perhaps has not been as good as, at least, i hoped he might be. Still a relatively young player who has not been playing in exactly winning franchise, so far. Rating: 8
Theo Peckham: Another young player who played quite well last year. He should make the opening night roster again this year. If he can keep on improving he should have a bright future ahead. Rating: 7
Tom Gilbert: Gilbert has missed only 3 games in the last four season, all of them last year. Gilbert has been one of the most important players in Edmonton the last years and should keep his role as a top 2 defender. Really good in both ways. Rating: 9
Cam Barker: Another high drafter defender ( 3rd overall on 2004). Played one really good season with the Blackhawks, but threatens to be a one-hit-wonder. If he can find that level again he will be a top acquisition. Rating: 8
I really like the Edmonton defense. There is a lot of potential in it just waiting to unfold. It will still take some time for Edmonton to be a serious challenger for the Stanley Cup, but when they are ready these players will be there. For defense i will give rating: 8
Forwards
Ryan Smyth: Bringing back a player like Smyth was a really impressive move by the Oilers. Not only is he a long serving player for the franchise, but he also brings veteran presence to otherwise so young team. Who knows perhaps he will teach those kid a trick or two. Rating: 9
Magnus Paajarvi: Paajarvi had a really good rookie season. He also played really well in the World Championships in Bratislava and was the only Swdish player who scored in the final. He has a really bright future ahead of him. Rating: 8
Linus Omark: Another Swedish player who had a really impressive first season in the NHL. dazzled many with his shootout moves. Added a good amount of points for a lower line Oiler. Rating: 8
Ryan Jones: Important bottom line player. Was thirteenth in average ice time, but third in goals
in Edmonton offense. Good player, but with super promising youngster will eat his ice time even more next year. Rating: 8
Darcy Hordichuk: Hordichuk brings a literal fighting spirit to the game. Bottom line tough guy or perhaps an avenger... Good in his role, but does not contribute in anything else than penalty minutes. Rating: 7
Shawn Horcoff: Horcoff will start his eleventh season with the Oilers. He is the captain of the team and should keep his role as number one center. Very important to the team. Rating: 9
Ales Hemsky: He was nominated to the all-star game, but was not able to attend due to a concussion. Soon after he got a shoulder injury and missed the reminder of the season. He is still a very good player and will claim the first line right winger spot. Rating: 9
Taylor Hall: This is the player that Edmonton is building around. He will probably lead the league one day with fellow first round first pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. His future is written in the stars. Rating: 10
Sam Gagner: Another top prospect in the Oilers squad. He has lot of potential and with the Oilers finally heading to the playoffs instead of the first draft position he will hopefully break all his career high statistics. Rating: 8
Jordan Eberle: Another highly talented prospect in the Oilers squad. He will hopefully be the right winger of the second line. Hopefully he will also rewrite his current career high statistics, he has the potential to do that. Rating: 8
Ben Eager: Eager brings some checking ability and a lot of penalty minutes with him to Edmonton. Solid bottom line checker type. Rating: 7
Gilbert Brule: The former 6th overall pick has not been able to stand up to his expectations and only got 9 points in 41 games. Edmonton tried to trade him to Kings, but he never got there as Colin Fraser was traded on his position. Brule will most likely send Brule to their AHL affiliate if he regains match fitness. Rating: 7
Eric Belanger: Belanger was probably added to play on Brule´s position as a bottom line center. Lot depends on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and his readiness for the NHL. Belanger is a good center who can help the Oilers significantly. Rating: 8
I know that many people will ask why Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was not on the list, but like i said earlier i only analyse that players that are listed on the teams own website on main roster. To the offense, Edmonton has a group of players who have more potential than ability at the moment, but that will change in the following years. Edmonton will be on the verge of playoff line, but this year might still be hard. Future is bright. Rating: 8
Lines
Smyth-Horcoff-Hemsky
Hall-Gagner-Eberle
Paajarvi-Nugent Hopkins-Omark
Eager-Belanger-Jones
Whitney-Gilbert
Smid-Barker
Sutton-Peckham
Dubnyk
Every position got 8 this time so that will be the overall rating, but to all the Oilers fans your team has a potential 10 offense and 9 defense and goalie, just wait. Rating: 8
Key factors:
+They found what seems to be a good goalie
+Some really good player
-Still more potential than actual ability
lauantai 13. elokuuta 2011
Detroit squad analysis
I will be rating each team on three different areas which of course are goalies, defensemen and forward. The ratings are from 1 to 10. The rating consists of his personal ability and his importance to the team. This means that a player who scores way more points might get the same rating as someone who does not. There are two categories that i will rate: Every position as whole and then every single player. I will also put in the lines that i think/hope they will play next season. Then last i will give a grade to the whole team.
Detroit Red Wings
Goalies
Jimmy Howard: Howard is a good goalie, but not among the best in the league. It can be questioned whether his good stats are due to his personal abilities or the strength of the lineup in front of him. One thing is for sure and it is the fact that he is not an elite goaltender. Rating: 8
Ty Conklin: Served as backup in St. Louis and will keep his role as backup in Detroit. Was a natural acquisition after the retirement of Chris Osgood, since the Red Wings and Conklin have worked together earlier. Rating: 7
Howard will keep on putting impressive statistics, due to the fact that Detroit´s defense is really good. Conklin should handle the starts he get well and so there should be no problems in the goalie departement. Rating: 8
Defensemen
Ian White: Good player who should fill the gap left by Brian Rafalski´s retirement. Good in both ends of the ice. Will fit well to the strong Detroit blueline. Rating: 9
Brad Stuart: Much like White a really good player in both ends of the ice and much. Stuart has a career high of over 40 points in a single season which shows that he is a true offensive asset. Rating: 8
Nicklas Lidtrom: He has represented Detroit for 19 season. Detroit has made it to the playoffs every single year he has played in the team. Coincidence? I don´t think so. Lidstrom posted 62 points last season at the age of 41. He has scored over 1100 points during his career, something that most forwards never even come close. He is a divine player and a leader. I just wonder how Detroit what Detroit will do when he retires... Rating: 10
Niklas Kronwall: Kronwall is much like Lidstrom. He has never played anywhere else than Detroit, he is a really good player in defensive and offensive aspects of the game and he is Swedish. A really good player. Rating: 9
Jakub Kindl:Kindl got an opportunity to prove himself and he played well, but sadly he is part of arguably the best defense in the entire league and he will find it hard t find playing time. Rating: 7
Jonathan Ericsson: A good player, but not as good as his salary allows people to except. He will have to improve, otherwise Kindl and new acquisition Exelby will gladly take his spot. Rating: 8
Mike Commodore: Also a really good player, but unlike other Detroit players he mainly excels in defensive play.
A really good defensive line-up. I still struggle to understand how Detroit managed to concede 7h most goals in the entire league last season still having a goalie with solid statistics. Good team with some NHL capable players still in reserve so admirable depth also. Rating: 9
Forwards
Henrik Zetterberg: Fantastic left winger who can split any defense with his passes or just shoot since he has a nice wrist shot as well. Has gathered 555 points in 586 points in games which is really impressive. Forms one of the most intimidating offensive pairs with Pavel Datsyuk. Rating: 10
Jan Mursak: Young left winger played 19 games and scored one goal in them. Mursak is 23 and is a former 6th tound pick so expectations on him are not exactly sky high. Rating: 6
Drew Miller: Really good bottom line player. Added points on a quite nice pace considering the minutes he plays. Little off-topic, but Drew Miller is the brothr of Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller. Rating: 8
Jiri Hudler: Gifted center played point per game pace in Russian KHL, but did not get to the same speed in the NHL. Hudler is a really good player and hopefully will be better next year. Last year was, at least for me, slightly disappointing. Rating: 7
Tomas Holmstrom: An aging Swedish player who has played his whole career in Detroit... Not a rarity at the moment. Holmstrom is a good player and has been a loyal servant to Red Wings, there are not many years on his career left. Rating: 8
Darren Helm: Has been improving a lot during the couple of last seasons and hopefully will keep on doing so. He is an incredible penalty kill center and a bottom 6 forward. If he can still improve his output in points i see no reason why he could not be a top 6 forward in the future. Rating: 8
Johan Franzen: Franze is a really big player who is, perhaps one of the best players in front of the goal. He creates a good mask fort he goalie who will have hard time seeing where the puck is coming from. Also Franze is a gifted scorer proven by his 28 goals last season, most in the entire Red Wings squad. Rating: 9
Valtteri Filppula: Filppula is a good center for the second or third line. He is not an outstanding deker like Datsyuk or a quality playmaker like Zetterberg, but he plays well in both directions and rarely gives up on ice. Rating: 8
Cory Emmerton: The youngster appeared in a couple of games last season, but really is not going to play much more this year if the Red Wings squad stays healthy. Rating: 6
Patrick Eaves: Bottom line right winger. Has been a solid 10+ goal scorer per season which is quite well for a small role player. Rating: 8
Pavel Datsyuk: One of the best players in the league. His stick handling skills are are incredible and if there is a player who is bond to make the highlight reel this is him. He is an admirable player with his skills and behavior on and off the ice. Even with really high scoring years he is always one of the frontrunners to receive the Frank J. Selke Trophy which is given to the forward who demonsetates most skill in defensive aspects of the game, in Datsyuk mainly takeaways. Rating: 10
Danny Cleary: Cleary had a career high season in goals and points at the age of 32. If he can keep up last seasons pace he will be a very valuable asset as he finished second in scoring in Red Wings squad with 26 goals. Rating: 8
Todd Bertuzzi: Once a near 100 point scorer is still a good player, but like so many others he is getting old. Has scored 44 or 45 points in three last season so i would except something similar next year. Rating: 8
Justin Abdelkader: Bottom line winger, but good as one. Abledkader had the best +/- out of the Red Wings forwads with 15. Good player and highly undervalued in my opinion. Rating: 8
Detroit has a really good offense, with some of the best players in the entire league to solid bottom line perfomers. Their offense is well balanced and every single line they have poses a threat to the opposition defense. Rating: 9
Lines
Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Franzen
Holmstrom-Hudler-Cleary
Miller-Filppula-Bertuzzi
Abdelkader-Helm-Eaves
Lidstrom-Kronwall
Stuart-White
Ericsson-Commodore
Howard
Detroit is still a very good team, but they have entered the retirement spree. Osgood, Rafalski and Draper decided to hang the skates now and Lidstrom, Holmstrom, Bertuzzi or Conklin don´t have too many years on top of the game or even in it. Still Red Wings should enjoy what they have now. Overall Rating: 9
Key factors
+Some outstanding players
+Solid from top to bottom
-Howard is not a world class goalie
-Old team
Detroit Red Wings
Goalies
Jimmy Howard: Howard is a good goalie, but not among the best in the league. It can be questioned whether his good stats are due to his personal abilities or the strength of the lineup in front of him. One thing is for sure and it is the fact that he is not an elite goaltender. Rating: 8
Ty Conklin: Served as backup in St. Louis and will keep his role as backup in Detroit. Was a natural acquisition after the retirement of Chris Osgood, since the Red Wings and Conklin have worked together earlier. Rating: 7
Howard will keep on putting impressive statistics, due to the fact that Detroit´s defense is really good. Conklin should handle the starts he get well and so there should be no problems in the goalie departement. Rating: 8
Defensemen
Ian White: Good player who should fill the gap left by Brian Rafalski´s retirement. Good in both ends of the ice. Will fit well to the strong Detroit blueline. Rating: 9
Brad Stuart: Much like White a really good player in both ends of the ice and much. Stuart has a career high of over 40 points in a single season which shows that he is a true offensive asset. Rating: 8
Nicklas Lidtrom: He has represented Detroit for 19 season. Detroit has made it to the playoffs every single year he has played in the team. Coincidence? I don´t think so. Lidstrom posted 62 points last season at the age of 41. He has scored over 1100 points during his career, something that most forwards never even come close. He is a divine player and a leader. I just wonder how Detroit what Detroit will do when he retires... Rating: 10
Niklas Kronwall: Kronwall is much like Lidstrom. He has never played anywhere else than Detroit, he is a really good player in defensive and offensive aspects of the game and he is Swedish. A really good player. Rating: 9
Jakub Kindl:Kindl got an opportunity to prove himself and he played well, but sadly he is part of arguably the best defense in the entire league and he will find it hard t find playing time. Rating: 7
Jonathan Ericsson: A good player, but not as good as his salary allows people to except. He will have to improve, otherwise Kindl and new acquisition Exelby will gladly take his spot. Rating: 8
Mike Commodore: Also a really good player, but unlike other Detroit players he mainly excels in defensive play.
A really good defensive line-up. I still struggle to understand how Detroit managed to concede 7h most goals in the entire league last season still having a goalie with solid statistics. Good team with some NHL capable players still in reserve so admirable depth also. Rating: 9
Forwards
Henrik Zetterberg: Fantastic left winger who can split any defense with his passes or just shoot since he has a nice wrist shot as well. Has gathered 555 points in 586 points in games which is really impressive. Forms one of the most intimidating offensive pairs with Pavel Datsyuk. Rating: 10
Jan Mursak: Young left winger played 19 games and scored one goal in them. Mursak is 23 and is a former 6th tound pick so expectations on him are not exactly sky high. Rating: 6
Drew Miller: Really good bottom line player. Added points on a quite nice pace considering the minutes he plays. Little off-topic, but Drew Miller is the brothr of Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller. Rating: 8
Jiri Hudler: Gifted center played point per game pace in Russian KHL, but did not get to the same speed in the NHL. Hudler is a really good player and hopefully will be better next year. Last year was, at least for me, slightly disappointing. Rating: 7
Tomas Holmstrom: An aging Swedish player who has played his whole career in Detroit... Not a rarity at the moment. Holmstrom is a good player and has been a loyal servant to Red Wings, there are not many years on his career left. Rating: 8
Darren Helm: Has been improving a lot during the couple of last seasons and hopefully will keep on doing so. He is an incredible penalty kill center and a bottom 6 forward. If he can still improve his output in points i see no reason why he could not be a top 6 forward in the future. Rating: 8
Johan Franzen: Franze is a really big player who is, perhaps one of the best players in front of the goal. He creates a good mask fort he goalie who will have hard time seeing where the puck is coming from. Also Franze is a gifted scorer proven by his 28 goals last season, most in the entire Red Wings squad. Rating: 9
Valtteri Filppula: Filppula is a good center for the second or third line. He is not an outstanding deker like Datsyuk or a quality playmaker like Zetterberg, but he plays well in both directions and rarely gives up on ice. Rating: 8
Cory Emmerton: The youngster appeared in a couple of games last season, but really is not going to play much more this year if the Red Wings squad stays healthy. Rating: 6
Patrick Eaves: Bottom line right winger. Has been a solid 10+ goal scorer per season which is quite well for a small role player. Rating: 8
Pavel Datsyuk: One of the best players in the league. His stick handling skills are are incredible and if there is a player who is bond to make the highlight reel this is him. He is an admirable player with his skills and behavior on and off the ice. Even with really high scoring years he is always one of the frontrunners to receive the Frank J. Selke Trophy which is given to the forward who demonsetates most skill in defensive aspects of the game, in Datsyuk mainly takeaways. Rating: 10
Danny Cleary: Cleary had a career high season in goals and points at the age of 32. If he can keep up last seasons pace he will be a very valuable asset as he finished second in scoring in Red Wings squad with 26 goals. Rating: 8
Todd Bertuzzi: Once a near 100 point scorer is still a good player, but like so many others he is getting old. Has scored 44 or 45 points in three last season so i would except something similar next year. Rating: 8
Justin Abdelkader: Bottom line winger, but good as one. Abledkader had the best +/- out of the Red Wings forwads with 15. Good player and highly undervalued in my opinion. Rating: 8
Detroit has a really good offense, with some of the best players in the entire league to solid bottom line perfomers. Their offense is well balanced and every single line they have poses a threat to the opposition defense. Rating: 9
Lines
Zetterberg-Datsyuk-Franzen
Holmstrom-Hudler-Cleary
Miller-Filppula-Bertuzzi
Abdelkader-Helm-Eaves
Lidstrom-Kronwall
Stuart-White
Ericsson-Commodore
Howard
Detroit is still a very good team, but they have entered the retirement spree. Osgood, Rafalski and Draper decided to hang the skates now and Lidstrom, Holmstrom, Bertuzzi or Conklin don´t have too many years on top of the game or even in it. Still Red Wings should enjoy what they have now. Overall Rating: 9
Key factors
+Some outstanding players
+Solid from top to bottom
-Howard is not a world class goalie
-Old team
torstai 11. elokuuta 2011
Dallas squad analysis
I will be rating each team on three different areas which of course are goalies, defensemen and forward. The ratings are from 1 to 10. The rating consists of his personal ability and his importance to the team. This means that a player who scores way more points might get the same rating as someone who does not. There are two categories that i will rate: Every position as whole and then every single player. I will also put in the lines that i think/hope they will play next season. Then last i will give a grade to the whole team.
Dallas Stars
Goalies
Kari Lehtonen: Top 5 in starts for goalies in the entire league. That tells aal there is to know about his importance to Dallas. He has been great for them and he will not be the one to blame if Dallas fails to make the playoffs again this year. Rating: 9
Andrew Raycroft: Decent backup who will probably play less than 20 games if Lehtonen stays fit. Recorded even two shutouts in the 19 games he participated in during last season. Rating: 7
Lehtonen is a top goalie and Raycroft good backup. Dallas can rely on both if needed and so they should do well. Lehtonen still has many years left so hopefully he will prove to be a loyal servant of the Dallas Stars. Rating: 9
Defensemen
Sheldon Souray: Sheldon spent last year in the AHL, but he still has one of the best power play blue liners in the sport. I have a very high opinion on him, but i did not get to see his games last year so hopefully he has remained as the man i know. Rating: 8
Stephane Robidas: Played very high minutes last season and probably will keep on doing so. A really good player. Should still be a top 4 defender, even though he is getting older. Rating: 9
Adam Pardy: Was acquired from Flames. He will struggle to make the opening night squad and is a bottom line defenseman at best. Rating: 7
Nicklas Grossman: Top4 defenseman in Dallas. Should from the second pair with Daley or Goligoski. Hopefully with Daley... Rating: 8
Alex Goligoski: Recorded 15 points in 23 games after joining the Stars which is incredibly well for a defender. Finished as 15 best scoring defender with 46 points leaving behind players like Duncan Keith, Zdeno Chara and Drew Doughty. A world class player by that standard. Rating: 10
Mark Fistric: Good player who still has some issues to work on. Other candidate to play with the AHL affiliate. I hope he could just play a full season and show that he is a really good player. Rating: 7
Trevor Daley: Will probably play in the second pair in defense. Good player and really important to the defensive core. Ratng: 8
I really like the defensive core that Dallas has. No "bad" players only evenly sure players with, in my opinion, one of the best defenseman in the game. Rating: 9
Forwards
Tom Wandell: Bottom 6 player. Not outstanding in any aspect, but not bad either. Perhaps a "promotion" coming after the departure of Richards, though i can not see him as a top 6 forward... Rating: 7
Michael Ryder: Ryder was a truly impressive, but also a needed acquisition. After the departure of Langenbrunner thay really lacked a top 6 right winger. Even now if they want two good lines they will have to misplace Eriksson, Benn or Morrow. Anyways i really like Ryder and he brings scoring ability to the Stars squad. Rating: 9
Mike Ribeiro: Perhaps the successor of Richards. Ribeiro is a really good player, but not nearly as good as Richards... Though that is an unfair assessment due to the fact that there is a very small group of players who are on the same level of Richards. Rating: 9
Toby Petersen: Much like Wandell, Petersen is a decent bottom 6 forward who is not bad put has not been able to add much points to his tally. Rating: 7
Steve Ott: A good player, but with the ability Dallas has on their left wing he does not stand much of a chance to play that position on top lines. Good on physical aspects and unlike Petersen and Wandell he is able to add some points as well. Rating: 8
Brenden Morrow: The captain of Dallas stars, also the only player in the entire squad who scored over 30 goals. He amassed 33 goals which puts him in top 20 goal scores on the past season. A really good player in that standard. I could also imagine him being a good "locker room player" so his importance to the team can not be stressed enough. Rating: 10
Eric Godard: An aggressive player, but like so any others of the kind not good at scoring or gathering points. Good at what he does though. Rating: 8
Vernon Fiddler: He is the player acquired to replace Richards departure. Of course Dallas is not expecting him to be the number one center or score massive amounts of points, but i do not think he is suited to be a top 6 forward. Might bring a physical presence, but not too much danger otherwise. Rating: 7
Loui Erikkson: The swede had a really impressive season with the stars and was awarded with a position in the all-star game to go with a Lady Bing trophy nomination, though he did not take the award home. Still a very impressive player. Rating: 9
Radek Dvorak: Brings some skating ability and might be a good penalty killer, but is not the superstar right winger that Dallas lacks. Is getting quite old, but will probably prove to be a good acqusition by the stars. Rating: 7
Jake Dowell: Dowell is a decent center who recorded a career high season in almost every statistic last year. 21 points in 79 games should put him in the contest of the third line center spot. Rating: 7
Adam Burish: A good grinder with impressive physical aspects. Got a career high in goals with 8 last season which is not bad for a grinding bottom line winger. Rating: 8
Jamie Benn: I firmly believe he has potential to be really good. He improve his output from 41 to 56 even though he played 13 games less than on his rookie season. Really promising young player. Rating: 9
Krystofer Barch: Barch is a hard hitting fighter and so he plays little minutes in fact he only averaged 5:13 minutes a game when team leading Richards averaged over 21 minutes and even bottom line center Petersen averaged over 0 minutes. Rating: 7
Dallas would desperately need a top 6 capable center since only Ribeiro in their squad is one. That bring me to the conclusion that Dallas only has one really good line and sadly that is not enough. Hopefully they will get the ownership things settled and get back on track as a potentially winning franchise since this year they are not one. Rating: 8
Lines
Eriksson-Ribeiro-Morrow
Benn-Fiddler-Ryder
Ott-Petersen-Dvorak
Godard-Wandell-Burish
Gologoski-Robidas
Grossman-Daley
Souray-Fistric
Lehtonen
Dallas is a good team in defensive aspect, but if they want to be an offensive threat they will have to overload the two first lines and that is not a good thing on a really long season. There are glimmer of hope, but sadly they can not be leaned on. Rating: 8
Key factors:
+Good defensive core
+Good goaltender
-No depth on center
-lacks offensive ability
Dallas Stars
Goalies
Kari Lehtonen: Top 5 in starts for goalies in the entire league. That tells aal there is to know about his importance to Dallas. He has been great for them and he will not be the one to blame if Dallas fails to make the playoffs again this year. Rating: 9
Andrew Raycroft: Decent backup who will probably play less than 20 games if Lehtonen stays fit. Recorded even two shutouts in the 19 games he participated in during last season. Rating: 7
Lehtonen is a top goalie and Raycroft good backup. Dallas can rely on both if needed and so they should do well. Lehtonen still has many years left so hopefully he will prove to be a loyal servant of the Dallas Stars. Rating: 9
Defensemen
Sheldon Souray: Sheldon spent last year in the AHL, but he still has one of the best power play blue liners in the sport. I have a very high opinion on him, but i did not get to see his games last year so hopefully he has remained as the man i know. Rating: 8
Stephane Robidas: Played very high minutes last season and probably will keep on doing so. A really good player. Should still be a top 4 defender, even though he is getting older. Rating: 9
Adam Pardy: Was acquired from Flames. He will struggle to make the opening night squad and is a bottom line defenseman at best. Rating: 7
Nicklas Grossman: Top4 defenseman in Dallas. Should from the second pair with Daley or Goligoski. Hopefully with Daley... Rating: 8
Alex Goligoski: Recorded 15 points in 23 games after joining the Stars which is incredibly well for a defender. Finished as 15 best scoring defender with 46 points leaving behind players like Duncan Keith, Zdeno Chara and Drew Doughty. A world class player by that standard. Rating: 10
Mark Fistric: Good player who still has some issues to work on. Other candidate to play with the AHL affiliate. I hope he could just play a full season and show that he is a really good player. Rating: 7
Trevor Daley: Will probably play in the second pair in defense. Good player and really important to the defensive core. Ratng: 8
I really like the defensive core that Dallas has. No "bad" players only evenly sure players with, in my opinion, one of the best defenseman in the game. Rating: 9
Forwards
Tom Wandell: Bottom 6 player. Not outstanding in any aspect, but not bad either. Perhaps a "promotion" coming after the departure of Richards, though i can not see him as a top 6 forward... Rating: 7
Michael Ryder: Ryder was a truly impressive, but also a needed acquisition. After the departure of Langenbrunner thay really lacked a top 6 right winger. Even now if they want two good lines they will have to misplace Eriksson, Benn or Morrow. Anyways i really like Ryder and he brings scoring ability to the Stars squad. Rating: 9
Mike Ribeiro: Perhaps the successor of Richards. Ribeiro is a really good player, but not nearly as good as Richards... Though that is an unfair assessment due to the fact that there is a very small group of players who are on the same level of Richards. Rating: 9
Toby Petersen: Much like Wandell, Petersen is a decent bottom 6 forward who is not bad put has not been able to add much points to his tally. Rating: 7
Steve Ott: A good player, but with the ability Dallas has on their left wing he does not stand much of a chance to play that position on top lines. Good on physical aspects and unlike Petersen and Wandell he is able to add some points as well. Rating: 8
Brenden Morrow: The captain of Dallas stars, also the only player in the entire squad who scored over 30 goals. He amassed 33 goals which puts him in top 20 goal scores on the past season. A really good player in that standard. I could also imagine him being a good "locker room player" so his importance to the team can not be stressed enough. Rating: 10
Eric Godard: An aggressive player, but like so any others of the kind not good at scoring or gathering points. Good at what he does though. Rating: 8
Vernon Fiddler: He is the player acquired to replace Richards departure. Of course Dallas is not expecting him to be the number one center or score massive amounts of points, but i do not think he is suited to be a top 6 forward. Might bring a physical presence, but not too much danger otherwise. Rating: 7
Loui Erikkson: The swede had a really impressive season with the stars and was awarded with a position in the all-star game to go with a Lady Bing trophy nomination, though he did not take the award home. Still a very impressive player. Rating: 9
Radek Dvorak: Brings some skating ability and might be a good penalty killer, but is not the superstar right winger that Dallas lacks. Is getting quite old, but will probably prove to be a good acqusition by the stars. Rating: 7
Jake Dowell: Dowell is a decent center who recorded a career high season in almost every statistic last year. 21 points in 79 games should put him in the contest of the third line center spot. Rating: 7
Adam Burish: A good grinder with impressive physical aspects. Got a career high in goals with 8 last season which is not bad for a grinding bottom line winger. Rating: 8
Jamie Benn: I firmly believe he has potential to be really good. He improve his output from 41 to 56 even though he played 13 games less than on his rookie season. Really promising young player. Rating: 9
Krystofer Barch: Barch is a hard hitting fighter and so he plays little minutes in fact he only averaged 5:13 minutes a game when team leading Richards averaged over 21 minutes and even bottom line center Petersen averaged over 0 minutes. Rating: 7
Dallas would desperately need a top 6 capable center since only Ribeiro in their squad is one. That bring me to the conclusion that Dallas only has one really good line and sadly that is not enough. Hopefully they will get the ownership things settled and get back on track as a potentially winning franchise since this year they are not one. Rating: 8
Lines
Eriksson-Ribeiro-Morrow
Benn-Fiddler-Ryder
Ott-Petersen-Dvorak
Godard-Wandell-Burish
Gologoski-Robidas
Grossman-Daley
Souray-Fistric
Lehtonen
Dallas is a good team in defensive aspect, but if they want to be an offensive threat they will have to overload the two first lines and that is not a good thing on a really long season. There are glimmer of hope, but sadly they can not be leaned on. Rating: 8
Key factors:
+Good defensive core
+Good goaltender
-No depth on center
-lacks offensive ability
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