Anaheim Ducks
Must-haves: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne, Bobby Ryan, Ryan Whitney
Contributors: Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Jonas Hiller, Saku Koivu, Joffrey Lupul, James Wisniewski
Sleepers: Steve Eminger, Andrew Ebbett, Luca Sbisa, Erik Christensen, Brian Salcido
Specialists: Nick Boynton, George Parros, Evgeny Artyukhin, Mike Brown, Ryan Carter, Sheldon Brookbank, Petteri Nokelainen, Steve McCarthy, Brett Festerling
Offseason analysis: The Ducks were
certainly busy this offseason. They put their plans on hold until
Niedermayer committed to playing for at least one more season. Once he
said he was coming back in 2009-10, it opened the floodgates. It started
with Anaheim trading defenseman Chris Pronger
to the Flyers for Lupul and Sbisa. Lupul is making his second stop in
Anaheim, but might have to play on the left side of the ice with Perry
and Selanne on the right side. Sbisa was the Flyers' 2008 first-round
pick and logged a little NHL-time last season before being sent back to
juniors. He is fighting for one of the last spots on the blue line with
Festerling, McCarthy and Salcido. Selanne also postponed retirement for
at least one more season and his return was a big reason why Koivu chose
to leave Montreal and sign with the Ducks for a season. He wanted to
play alongside his fellow Finnish countryman. Unfortunately, his
presence bumps Ebbett from being the team's second-line center, a role
he thrived in last season behind Getzlaf, who should be ready for the
season despite offseason hernia surgery. The Ducks added Toronto castoff
Pogge to give them a solid third-string goalie, but Anaheim remains in
the process of sorting out their starting situation between Giguere and
Hiller. It's definitely a messy situation for Fantasy owners since both
players have the ability to be starting goalies. Toughness shouldn't be
an issue for Anaheim after adding Artyukhin in a trade from Tampa Bay.
The checking-line forward already joins enforcers Parros, Brown and
Brookbank.
Dallas Stars
Must-haves: Mike Ribeiro, Marty Turco, Brad Richards
Contributors:
Loui Eriksson, Stephane Robidas, Steve Ott, Jere Lehtinen, Trevor Daley, Mike Modano
Sleepers: Brenden Morrow,
Matt Niskanen, Fabian Brunnstrom, James Neal, Ivan Vishnevskiy, Tom Wandell
Specialists:
Alex Auld, Krys Barch, Jeff Woywitka, Mark Fistric, Karlis Skrastins, Niklas Grossman, Brian Sutherby, Toby Petersen, Andrew Hutchinson
Offseason
analysis: Aside from replacing their co-general managers and head
coach, the Stars had a fairly quiet offseason. Joe Nieuwendyk is now running the personnel department and he has
chosen long-time head coach Marc Crawford to hopefully guide the Stars
back into the playoffs. It will be interesting to see how the veterans
respond to Crawford, who is sometimes very brash. But that's what
Nieuwendyk wanted. Crawford will have no problems holding players
accountable and letting them know who is in charge. It seems the players
are ready to buy into the system, as evidence with the veteran Modano
willing to postpone retirement for at least another year. The return of
Morrow from a torn ACL certainly changes the complexion of the left side
of the ice. In his absence last season, Eriksson led the team with 36
goals and Neal was second with 24. They both stand to lose scoring
chances with Morrow's return. Another key returnee from injury is
Richards, who played in a career-low 56 games due to a few hand/wrist
injuries last season. Keep tabs on Brunnstrom, who was inconsistent as a
rookie in 2008-09. At times he showed his brilliance, but did struggle
adapting to the NHL game after being the most-sought overseas import
last summer. The blue line lost a key component in the offseason when
Sergei Zubov chose to play in the KHL (Russia). Despite the fact Zubov
was limited the last two seasons due to injury, his puck-moving
abilities were sorely missed and that trend will continue in 2009-10
unless someone steps up. That's why the 21-year-old Vishnevskiy could
land a roster spot out of training camp. He has solid offensive skills
for a blueliner and could be the guy that helps pick up the slack for
his departed countryman. The situation in net remains pretty much the
same with Turco as the starter, but Dallas did pull off a sweet deal to
bring Auld, who spent last year bouncing in-and-out of the lineup in
Ottawa. Auld played for Crawford in Vancouver and will be around to help
spell Turco, who was flat out exhausted by the end of last season after
playing a career-high 74 times.
Los Angeles Kings
Must-haves: Anze Kopitar, Alexander Frolov
Contributors: Ryan Smyth,
Dustin Brown, Jonathan Quick
Sleepers: Drew Doughty,
Jack Johnson, Justin Williams, Jonathan Bernier, Teddy Purcell, Oscar Moller, Thomas Hickey, Colten Teubert
Specialists:
Jarrett Stoll, Erik Ersberg, Matt Greene, Michal Handzus, Peter Harrold, Raitis Ivanans, Rob Scuderi, Brad Richardson, Wayne Simmonds, Sean O'Donnell
Offseason analysis: In one of the biggest
offseason trades, the Kings acquired Smyth from Colorado in exchange for
defensemen Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing. Aside from landing a potential 30-goal threat in
Smyth, the Kings cleared some room on their blue line for perhaps
first-round prospects Hickey and Teubert to make the jump to the NHL. As
for Smyth, it will be interesting to see how he fits into coach Terry
Murray's system. Murray preaches sound defense over offense, so the
trade could actually end up hurting Smyth's Fantasy appeal because he
might lack more scoring chances. The Kings helped soften the blow of
losing two blueliners by signing Stanley Cup champion Scuderi. His
Fantasy value won't increase, but he is going to be a great defensive
addition. The Jack Johnson saga ended when the first-round
disappointment re-signed for two years. It's not time to write off
Johnson just yet, especially if he now gets a full year to play
alongside Doughty, who is one of our favorite breakout Fantasy
candidates. Doughty was the Kings' top-logging defender in 2008-09 as a
rookie and we expect him to only get better. It was surprising the Kings
didn't make a move to sign a veteran goalie in the offseason, but the
team was very pleased with Quick's effort last season after he was
called up from the minors. If he fails, there is always Ersberg, who is
a former top overseas import, and the prospect Bernier, who showed late
last season in the minors that he might finally be ready for the big
time.
Phoenix Coyotes
Must-haves: Shane Doan, Ed Jovanovski, Ilya Bryzgalov
Contributors:
Adrian Aucoin, Mikkel Boedker
Sleepers: Peter Mueller, Keith Yandle, Kyle Turris, Matthew Lombardi, Radim Vrbata, Scottie Upshall, Al Montoya, Lauri Korpikoski, Petr Prucha, Kevin Porter, Brett MacLean, Sami Lepisto
Specialists:
Jason LaBarbera, Martin Hanzal, Zbynek Michalek, Jim Vandermeer, Viktor Tikhonov, Taylor Pyatt, Vernon Fiddler, Daniel Winnik, Kurt Sauer
Offseason
analysis: The biggest buzz in Phoenix has been whether or not the
team will remain in Arizona this season. A bankruptcy judge is trying to
decide whether or not to award the team to the NHL, which will keep the
struggling franchise in Arizona, or to billionaire Jim Balsillie, who
wants to move the team to Canada. All these legal proceedings haven't
sat well with coach Wayne Gretzky, who is MIA from training camp. The
Coyotes signed a lot of players this offseason but made no
earth-shattering moves. The biggest news was signing LaBarbera to keep
the backup goalie job warm until Montoya is ready for a permanent
recall, and adding Aucoin to a blue line that suffered in 2008-09 after
Phoenix traded away Nick Boynton and Keith Ballard. The blue-line rotation will likely feature Jovanovski,
Michalek, Aucoin, Vandermeer, Sauer and Yandle, but there could be some
opportunities throughout the season for Lepisto and Jonas Ahnelov to showcase their skills. Up front, Doan is still the
star scorer, but Phoenix really needs some secondary options. Lombardi
looked great after he was added at last season's trade deadline, as did
Upshall and Prucha. However, Phoenix really needs Mueller to get back on
track after an awful sophomore season. He appears headed back to his
natural position of center and also dropped 15 pounds in the offseason
to help with his conditioning. Vrbata is back with Phoenix after fleeing
the desert for a three-year deal with Tampa Bay last summer. It didn't
work out for Vrbata in Florida and he eventually left for the Czech
Republic, but vowed to return to the NHL. He has and is with the only
team that was willing to sign him. General manager Don Maloney feels
Vrbata will easily break 20 goals and 40 points this season. The Coyotes
are also counting on some of their younger talent to take the next step,
especially Turris after an extremely disappointing rookie season.
San Jose Sharks
Must-haves: Dan Boyle, Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Rob Blake, Evgeni Nabokov, Devin Setoguchi
Contributors:
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Ryane Clowe, Joe Pavelski
Sleepers:
Logan Couture, Torrey Mitchell
Specialists: Jody Shelley, Thomas Greiss, Kent Huskins, Douglas Murray, Brad Staubitz, Scott Nichol, Manny Malhotra, Jed Ortmeyer, Jamie McGinn, Joe Callahan, Derek Joslin
Offseason analysis: Depth is a huge concern
for the Sharks after a few offseason trades depleted their roster. The
first was moving defensemen Christian Ehrhoff
and Brad Lukowich to Vancouver for a few
prospects. The Sharks have five quality blueliners in Blake, Boyle,
Huskins, Murray and Vlasic, but are searching for more bodies. That
means Joslin and Callahan could both land on the roster. While adding
Heatley was a great move, San Jose gave up two quality NHL forwards in Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo.
While having Heatley, Thornton, Marleau, Setoguchi, Clowe and Pavelski
is a coach's dream, aside from those players San Jose doesn't have a lot
of other proven scorers. They are either checking-line skaters or
unproven minor leaguers or prospects. Even the late addition of Malhotra
basically boiled down to San Jose bringing in a NHL-worthy skater and
not necessarily adding an All-Star caliber scorer. The Sharks would love
for Couture, a 2007 first-round pick, to quickly adapt to the pro game
and perhaps be an impact rookie. The depth concerns don't stop at
forward or on defense. San Jose let veteran backup goalie Brian Boucher return to Philadelphia and have chosen to let Greiss,
who has just three games of NHL experience, back up Nabokov, who missed
time in 2008-09 due to injury. If Nabokov went down for any length of
time, San Jose could be in some serious trouble.
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.
