NHL Reviews 2007: Final Chapter

Welcome to the final chapter of our “NHL Reviews” series where we outline and take a look at each team for this coming season. We’ve organized them in alphabetical order for this series, so part one featured Anaheim through Dallas, while part two looked at Detroit through the New York Rangers. We’ll wrap up with the final ten teams (Ottawa through Washington) in this piece, and here we go!

Ottawa Senators

Overview: Ottawa was pretty silent this off-season, as they were unable to re-sign Mike Comrie and top scoring defenseman Tom Preissing. They were able to acquire Shean Donovan from Boston for Peter Schaefer. They had to go to arbitration with Ray Emery, but he is back for another season and should help the Senators go deep into the playoffs.

Fantasy Stud: Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza. Heatley is fresh off of a 50 goal season, and Spezza recorded 87 points in just 67 games last year.

Sleeper Pick: Wade Redden seemed to be a little disappointing last season, but he should bounce back this season. 40-45 points isn’t out of the question.

Don’t Overrate: Chris Neil. He will put up a few points, but his main thing is PIM. There are plenty of players to fill that void.

Rookie To Watch: Josh Hennessey should get a chance to make the team this season and could reach 30 points. Look for him in deeper leagues only.

Line Projections:

L1: Dany Heatley – Jason Spezza – Daniel Alfredsson

L2: Antoine Vermette – Mike Fisher – Patrick Eaves

L3: Chris Kelly – Dean McAmmond – Chris Neil

L4: Shean Donovan – Josh Hennessey – Niko Dimitrakos/Brian McGrattan

DP1: Chris Phillips – Anton Volchenkov

DP2: Wade Redden – Andrej Meszaros

DP3: Joe Corvo – Christoph Schubert

G1: Ray Emery

G2: Martin Gerber

Prediction: 1st in the Northeast Division.

 
Philadelphia Flyers

Overview: Philadelphia had a busy off-season, as they signed Daniel Briere and acquired Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen, and Joffrey Lupul. The Flyers will be much improved this season and could challenge Los Angeles for biggest surprise this season.

Fantasy Stud: Daniel Briere will center the top line and should get 80 points this season.

Sleeper Pick: Joffrey Lupul is coming off a miserable season, but should rebound this year in Philly. He should get an opportunity to compete for top line right wing spot.

Don’t Overrate: Scott Hartnell has yet to reach his full potential.

Rookie To Watch: Even though he may not be considered a rookie anymore, I will say Scottie Upshall. Upshall was stuck in a talented Nashville team, but found himself getting some much needed ice time for the Flyers. He could be a decent pick this season.

Line Projections:

L1: Simon Gagne – Daniel Briere – Mike Knuble

L2: Scott Hartnell – Jeff Carter – Joffrey Lupul

L3: Scottie Upshall – Mike Richards – Sami Kapanen

L4: Ben Eager – R.J. Umberger – Stefan Ruzicka

DP1: Kimmo Timonen – Jason Smith

DP2: Denis Gauthier – Braydon Coburn

DP3: Derian Hatcher – Lasse Kukkonen

G1: Martin Biron

G2: Antero Niittymaki

Prediction: 3rd in Atlantic Division.

 
Phoenix Coyotes

Overview: Phoenix brought in a couple of goalies to give Mikael Tellqvist some competition. They signed David Aebischer and Alex Auld. I’d expect Aebischer to lead the way for the #1 job. The Coyotes also traded for Radim Vrbata in hopes he could reach his potential in the desert.

Fantasy Stud: Tough choice out of this group. Shane Doan looks like the top forward for the Coyotes, and should be good for about 60 points.

Sleeper Pick: None.

Don’t Overrate: Shane Doan has seen his production decrease over the past two seasons.

Rookie To Watch: Peter Mueller is going to be a star in this league and will be given plenty of ice time in Phoenix.

Line Projections:

L1: Steven Reinprecht – Peter Mueller – Shane Doan

L2: Fredrik Sjostrom – Mike York – Radim Vrbata

L3: Daniel Tjarnqvist – Mike Zigomanis – Bill Thomas

L4: Daniel Carcillo – Niko Kapanen – Josh Gratton

DP1: Keith Ballard – Ed Jovanovski

DP2: Zybenek Michalek – Nick Boynton

DP3: Matt Jones – Derek Morris

G1: David Aebischer

G2: Mikael Tellqvist/Alex Auld

Prediction: 5th in Pacific Division.

 
Pittsburgh Penguins

Overview: Pittsburgh brought in a couple of veterans in Petr Sykora and Darryl Sydor. Sykora should put up plenty of points this year, but Sydor will be mostly a mentor to the younger guys in the Penguin blue line. It will be a fun year now that Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal have a year of experience under their belts.

Fantasy Stud: As if there was any other choice, Sidney Crosby. I see no reason why Sid can’t lead the league in scoring once again.

Sleeper Pick: Although Petr Sykora has gotten a lot of people’s attention, he should still be considered a sleeper. He will play with Malkin or Crosby.

Don’t Overrate: With the emergence of youngster Ryan Whitney, Sergei Gonchar could see a decrese in his role.

Rookie To Watch: Kristofer Letang spent part of last season with the Pens and played pretty well. He should stick with the team all year.

Line Projections:

L1: Erik Christiansen – Sidney Crosby – Petr Sykora

L2: Gary Roberts – Evgeni Malkin – Mark Recchi

L3: Ryan Malone – Jordan Staal – Colby Armstrong

L4: Jarkko Ruutu – Maxime Talbot – Georges Laraque

DP1: Ryan Whitney – Sergei Gonchar

DP2: Darryl Sydor – Brooks Oprik

DP3: Mark Eaton – Kristofer Letang

G1: Marc-Andre Fleury

G2: Dany Sabourin

Prediction: 2nd in Atlantic Division.

 
San Jose Sharks

Overview: With the excellent play of Evgeni Nabokov last season, the Sharks management decided to unload Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell to Toronto. San Jose is a quality team, and they should do well depending on the play of their youngsters like Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Joe Pavelski, and Matt Carle.

Fantasy Stud: Joe Thornton could easily put up 80 assists this season, and should eclipse the 100 point mark.

Sleeper Pick: Last season, Steve Bernier was sent down to the AHL. The season prior, he was a solid player. He should line up on the 2nd line with Patrick Marleau.

Don’t Overrate: Jonathan Cheechoo. He had notched 50 goals two seasons ago, but failed to reach 40 goals this past season.

Rookie To Watch: Joe Pavelski got the call last season and managed 28 points in limited ice time. He should see an increased role this season.

Line Projections:

L1: Milan Michalek – Joe Thornton – Jonathan Cheechoo

L2: Ryane Clowe – Patrick Marleau – Steve Bernier

L3: Patrick Rissmiller – Joe Pavelski – Mike Grier

L4: Devin Setoguchi – Marcel Goc – Curtis Brown

DP1: Kyle McLaren – Matt Carle

DP2: Craig Rivet – Marc-Edouard Vlasic

DP3: Christian Ehrhoff – Doug Murray

G1: Evgeni Nabokov

G2: Thomas Greiss/Dmitri Patzold

Prediction: 2nd in Pacific Division.

 
St. Louis Blues

Overview: St. Louis signed a top notch left winger in Paul Kariya, and also traded for Hannu Toivonen from Boston. The Blues also brought back Keith Tkachuk to help them out. St. Louis has a solid offense, but their defense may lack.

Fantasy Stud: Paul Kariya. He should be good for at least 75 points playing on the top line for the Blues. Also watch for Keith Tkachuk and Lee Stempniak.

Sleeper Pick: Lee Stempniak. This Dartmouth alum has the tools to put up some lofty numbers this season. Also may consider Manny Legace, whom TheHammer wrote a sleeper article on previously.

Don’t Overrate: It’s looking like Keith Tkachuk will be on the 2nd line this season, and he hasn’t put up the points he once did. His PIM are also down a bit.

Rookie To Watch: Erik Johnson has the tools to be a solid player, but he was less than stellar as a freshman at Minnesota last year though.

Line Projections:

L1: Paul Kariya – Keith Tkachuk – Lee Stempniak

L2: Martin Rucinsky – Doug Weight – Brad Boyes

L3: Petr Cajanek – Jay McClement – David Backes

L4: Ryan Johnson/D.J. King – Dan Hinote – Jamal Mayers

DP1: Eric Brewer – Jay McKee

DP2: Barrett Jackman – Erik Johnson

DP3: Christian Backman – Bryce Salvador

G1: Manny Legace

G2: Hannu Toivonen

Prediction: 4th in Central Division.

 
Tampa Bay Lightning

Overview: Tampa Bay didn’t do much to improve their team over the off-season. They acquired Bryce Lampman from the Rangers, but he won’t have much fantasy value. Unless Johan Holmqvist or Marc Denis can post some respectable stats, Tampa Bay will be in the cellar.

Fantasy Stud: Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. These two were awesome last season and I see no reason for that to stop. Lecavalier is in his prime now.

Sleeper Pick: Michel Ouellet could have a shot to play on the top line with Lecavalier and St. Louis, and that alone could give him 60 points.

Don’t Overrate: Marc Denis and Johan Holmqvist. Both of these goalies put up horrendous numbers and without any defensive upgrade, I’d expect that to continue.

Rookie To Watch: If Denis or Holmqvist falter, Karri Ramo could step in and play some games.

Line Projections:

L1: Vaclav Prospal – Vincent Lecavalier – Martin St. Louis

L2: Ryan Craig – Brad Richards – Michel Ouellet

L3: Jan Hlavac – Chris Gratton – Jason Ward

L4: Andre Roy – Tim Taylor – Nick Tarnasky

DP1: Filip Kuba – Dan Boyle

DP2: Shane O’Brien – Paul Ranger

DP3: David Schneider – Brad Lukowich

G1: Johan Holmqvist

G2: Marc Denis/Karri Ramo

Prediction: 5th in Southeast Division.

 
Toronto Maple Leafs

Overview: Toronto acquired Mark Bell and Vesa Toskala from San Jose to help their goaltending situation. Although Andrew Raycroft wasn’t that bad, Toskala should be an upgrade. The Leafs also signed left winger Jason Blake to help bolster their offense.

Fantasy Stud: Toronto has had up and down years, but the one constant among them has been Mats Sundin.

Sleeper Pick: If he can stay healthy, Kyle Wellwood could be a nice pick in most pools.

Don’t Overrate: Jason Blake. He is coming of his first ever 40 goal season … at age 35. Be cautious with Blake.

Rookie To Watch: Although he may not qualify as a rookie anymore, Carlo Coliacovo has to fulfill his potential at some point, right?

Line Projections:

L1: Jason Blake – Mats Sundin – Nik Antropov

L2: Alexei Ponikarovski – Kyle Wellwood – Darcy Tucker

L3: Alexander Steen – Matt Stajan – Jeremy Williams

L4: Chad Kilger – Johnny Pohl – Boyd Devereaux

DP1: Tomas Kaberle – Pavel Kubina

DP2: Bryan McCabe – Carlo Colaiacovo

DP3: Hal Gill – Steffan Kronwall

G1: Vesa Toskala

G2: Andrew Raycroft

Prediction: 3rd in Northeast Division.

 
Vancouver Canucks

Overview: Vancouver kept their same team from last season for the most part. The biggest acquisition was Curtis Sanford, who will serve as a capable backup to Roberto Luongo. The Sedin brothers will carry this offense and they will give whoever plays the right wing with them added value.

Fantasy Stud: Roberto Luongo. This guy will dominate every goalie category and that makes him my fantasy stud without a doubt. Henrik and Daniel Sedin are a distant 2nd and 3rd.

Sleeper Pick: Whoever plays right wing on the top line. Who that will be, I’m not completely sure yet. Taylor Pyatt seemed to work well to end the season, but Ryan Shannon could be someone to watch for.

Don’t Overrate: Markus Naslund. He’s still a quality player, but his offensive output has drastically decreased over the past couple of seasons. He has gone from 84 points to 60 from 03-04 to 06-07.

Rookie To Watch: Ryan Shannon has a load of talent and should get plenty of ice time. He may get to line up with the Sedin brothers.

Line Projections:

L1: Daniel Sedin – Henrik Sedin – Ryan Shannon

L2: Markus Naslund – Brendan Morrison – Taylor Pyatt

L3: Jeff Cowan – Ryan Kesler – Matt Cooke

L4: Alex Burrows – Byron Ritche – Trevor Linden

DP1: Mattias Ohlund – Kevin Bieksa

DP2: Willie Mitchell – Sami Salo

DP3: Lukas Krajicek – Aaron Miller

G1: Roberto Luongo

G2: Curtis Sanford

Prediction: 1st in the Northwest Division.

 
Washington Capitals

Overview: Washington should be a much improved team this season, and could compete for a playoff position. The Caps brought in Michael Nylander, Viktor Kozlov, and Tom Poti. Olaf Kolzig is always consistent, and should be able to keep Washington in a lot of games. They will need the Alexander’s, Ovechkin and Semin, to continue producing.

Fantasy Stud: Alexander Ovechkin. 50 goals this season isn’t out of the question. He will have Michael Nylander dishing him the puck this season, and that could be enough of a push to crack 50.

Sleeper Pick: Nicklas Backstrom should center Alexander Semin this season, and that could put him at 60 points.

Don’t Overrate: Brian Pothier. The Capitals brought in Tom Poti this off-season, and he will probably take over the role of number one defenseman, thus pushing Pothier down the depth chart.

Rookie To Watch: Nicklas Backstrom. Potential for 60 points this season.

Line Projections:

L1: Alexander Ovechkin – Michael Nylander – Chris Clark

L2: Alexander Semin – Nicklas Backstrom – Viktor Kozlov

L3: Matt Pettinger – Boyd Gordon – Matt Bradley

L4: Donald Brashear – Brian Sutherby – Eric Fehr

DP1: Brian Pothier – Tom Poti

DP2: Steve Eminger – Milan Jurcina

DP3: Shaone Morrison – Mike Green

G1: Olaf Kolzig

G2: Brent Johnson

Prediction: 2nd in Southeast Division.

 
This series was put together in a joint effort by two of our growing number of experts: Real_Deal_Ryan and Blades of Steel. Big thanks to them for helping everyone out and we hope you found this series entertaining and informative.

 

(18 votes, average: 3.94 out of 5)  Loading ... Questions or comments for Ryan? Post them in the Cafe Forums! Want to see your own fantasy wisdom published? Check out the Cafe's Pencil & Paper section!