Fantasy Hockey Post Mortem

June 2, 2008 5:00am CDT

Washington Capitals (43-31-8), 3rd place

FORWARDS

One the year's most compelling stories was the rise of the Washington Capitals. The Caps became the Cinderella of the regular season ball on the backs of new coach Bruce Boudreau, a couple of notable contributions from some youngsters, and, of course, Alexander Ovechkin.

Both irrepressible and seemingly unstoppable, the likable young Russian forward's season was truly one for the record books. By scoring 65 goals, he set the single-season mark for goals by a left winger and became the first player in more than a decade to pierce the 60-goal threshold. Ovechkin's 112 points was also tops in the league (beating out fellow countryman Evgeni Malkin by six), nothing less than an astonishing feat considering the next best player on the Caps, Niklas Backstrom, managed just 69 points. Ovechkin pushed his team into the playoffs, claimed the Art Ross and Rocket Richard trophies - and he did it all almost single-handedly. Truly a bona fide superstar.

As mentioned, Niklas Backstrom was the next best point-getter for Washington this year, with a bulk of his points coming in assists (55), primarily due to a move onto Ovechkin's line mid-way through the season after the injury to Michael Nylander. Backstrom improved as the year progressed and was actually one of the team's better players in the playoffs, despite his youth and inexperience. A finalist for the Calder trophy as the season's best freshman, expect Backstrom to build on his rookie stats next year, assuming he gets to center Ovechkin at even-strength again.

Only Viktor Kozlov, Alexander Semin and Brooks Laich managed notable offensive numbers otherwise. Kozlov's stats (16g-38a-54pst) were right in line with his career norms, although his 16 goals were probably a bit of a disappointment considering the 25 he managed on an inferior Islanders team the previous season. Semin missed a lot of time due to injury but still garnered 26 goals in just 63 games. The burgeoning young sniper is a high percentage shooter (around 15%) and deadly on the power-play. While he still has holes in his game, particularly on the defensive side, Semin could potentially be a 40-goal scorer at some point in the near future, assuming he can stay healthy.

For his part, Laich was the only other 20-goal scorer for Washington, totaling 21 in what was a career season for the checking centerman. Laich's offensive step forward was propelled by injuries (Nylander, Chris Clark) resulting in more time on the power-play, as well as an unprecedented jump in shooting percentage (6.7% in 06-07 to 17.2% in 07-08!) meaning the chances of him sustaining those gains next year are very slim.

DEFENSEMEN

Another significant factor in the Capitals move from the Eastern Conference basement was the sudden explosion of young defender Mike Green. In his sophomore season, Green took a giant leap forward from his rookie campaign in which he managed just two goals and 12 points in 70 games. Gifted more ice time (especially with the man advantage) by coach Boudreau, Green blossomed into one of the best offensive defensemen in the league this year, setting the benchmark for rearguards with 18 goals and coming in third on his own squad with 56 points. Green is fleet-of-foot with a howitzer of a shot and is likely to be fixture on the Washington blueline for a long-time. While it's doubtful he will repeat those numbers again next year, expect him to get prime minutes on a power-play featuring Ovechkin, Backstrom, Nylander and Semin; meaning he probably won't regress too much, either.

GOALIES

Elder statesman Olaf Kolzig struggled to provide the Capitals with even middling goaltending for a majority of the season. His 2.91 GAA and 0.892 SV% put him in the bottom-third of the league for goaltenders. This is the second straight year Kolzig has been worse than average and chances are his time in the league is drawing to a close.

As a result, Cristobel Huet was acquired at the deadline from the Montreal Canadiens for a Capitals second-round pick. The move paid immediate dividends, as Huet won 11 of the 13 games, a span in which he put up outstanding numbers (1.63 GAA, 0.936 SV% with two shutouts). Arguably it was the Huet acquisition that put Washington over the hump late in the season and ensured a Southeast division title and playoff berth. Expect management to do everything they can to re-sign the French puck-stopper, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

FANTASY MVP: Alexander Ovechkin

FANTASY BUST: Michael Nylander


Pittsburgh Penguins (47-27-8), 2nd place

FORWARDS

The Pittsburgh Penguins have arrived a few years ahead of schedule.

Despite their youth and some heavy injuries to pretty significant pieces, the Penguins made the leap into the ranks of league's elite teams this season. While many fantasy players probably chose Sidney Crosby first in their pools to start the year, it was actually the (also) supremely talented Evgeni Malkin that led the charge for the Pens this season. In just his second year in the league, the former second overall draft-pick scored 47 goals and 106 points, garnering accolades as a potential Hart trophy candidate. He bested his rookie point-total by more than 20 points and capably filled the void left by Crosby's injury mid-way through the year.

Although he missed almost 30 games thanks to a sprained ankle, Sid the Kid still managed 24 goals and an astonishing 72 points in just 53 games played, a point-per-game pace of 1.36 (bested only by Ovechkin's 1.37). That projects to about 111 points over a full season. Keep in mind both Malkin and Crosby are under contract for Pittsburgh next year and are barely beyond their teen years. The sky's the limit for these two stars; a frightening thought for their opponents.

Several other Penguins forwards had decent offensive seasons, including Peter Sykora and Ryan Malone. Sykora's 28 goals were the most he's managed since scoring 34 for Anaheim in 01-02 and his 63 points was his best total in nearly a decade. Of course, his jump in production had a lot to do with skating on Malkin's wing.

Ryan Malone also had a career year for the club, scoring 27 goals and 51 points. The big, rangy left-winger is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July, so the Pens will to have to decide how much they want to pay for his contributions. The organization is facing a budget crunch in the near future as Malkin, Jordan Staal and MA Fleury will soon be demanding significant raises. If Malone is unwilling to sign either a short-term or discounted contract, he'll likely be available on the free market come the offseason.

Probably the only real disappointment for Pittsburgh was the aforementioned Staal bother. Jordan had a horrendous season numbers-wise considering his excellent rookie campaign. In fact, the young centerman scored more goals as a rookie than he managed points as a sophomore (29 versus 28), which probably aggravated more than a few fantasy players this year.

Make no mistake, however, Staal is a young star in the making. His rookie goal total was had through an unsustainable shooting percentage (22.1%) and established some unrealistic expectations for the kid. Similarly his paltry 6.6% shooting rate this year is unrealistic (in the other direction) and should correct itself as Staal progresses and matures. While he isn't in the same league as guys like Malkin and Crosby, obviously, his skill level and pedigree are high, nonetheless, and point to better seasons for him in the future.

DEFENSEMEN

One of the more underrated defenders in the league, Sergei Gonchar was a significant presence on the back-end for his club this year. Gonchar's 65 points were amongst the league leaders for defensemen, marking the second straight year he's scored 60 or more points and the seventh time in eight seasons he's scored 50 or more. Gonchar also led his club in terms of even-strength, power-play and total ice-time per game and his +13 was the best of any Penguins blueliner. Although on the bad side of 30, Gonchar has shown no signs of slowing down (in fact, some argue he's improved during his time in Pittsburgh) and is a lock to best 60 points again next season.

While Gonchar continues to impress, young power-play specialist in-the-making Ryan Whitney took a bit of step back this season. After scoring 14 goals and 59 points in the previous season, Whitney garnered just 12 goals and 40 points this year (only two points better than his rookie total of 38). Although those numbers look somewhat disappointing relative to his previous totals, 12 goals and 40 points from a third-year rearguard is hardly chopped liver. Whitney is a former first-round draft pick and the real deal skill-wise. Expect him to bounce back in 08-09.

GOALIES

Ty Conklin's season will probably be forgotten in history once all is said and done. That's a shame, because the formerly maligned career backup was one of the primary reasons for the Pens' success. After MA Fleury was injured in a game against the Calgary Flames in December, Conklin stepped into the crease and took the reigns. He lost just eight of the 33 games he played this year and his 2.53 GAA and 0.923 SV% were better than a lot of higher paid and more celebrated starters. He essentially held the fort long enough for Fleury to recover, which is all that can be asked for a backup.

As for Fleury himself, the young goaltender finally began to deliver on the promise he showed as a Junior star and first overall pick. He won 18 of the 35 games he played, putting up some sparkling numbers of his own (2.33 GAA, 0.921 SV% with four shutouts). Prior to the recent defeat to the Detroit Red Wings in the playoffs, the last time Fleury had lost on Mellon arena ice was late November (due, in part, to his injury).

Fleury's numbers have steadily improved since he was thrust into the fire as a rookie four years ago: his GAA average has shrunk from 3.64 to 2.33 and his SV% has increased from 0.896 to 0.921. If the trend continues, he will be amongst the NHL's best in short order.

FANTASY MVP: Evgeni Malkin

FANTASY BUST: Jordan Staal