Frozen Pucks

July 7, 2008 9:00pm CDT

Frozen Pucks, Part I

Frozen Pucks, Part II


KRISTIAN HUSELIUS: 4 years, $19 millions, Columbus Blue Jackets
It's no secret that Huselius had his issues with Mike Keenan in Calgary, and, in fact, it was probably one of the main reasons he decided to leave for greener pastures in Columbus.

Huselius is a speedy left winger who scored 34 goals with 77 points in 2006-07, It was a breakout campaign considering he scored only 30 times in the two seasons previous. He was well on his way to a similar season last year with 17 goals and 39 points in his first 40 games before he suffered a late season slowdown that resulted in a grand total of eight goals over his last 41 games. He finished the year with 25 goals, 41 assists and 66 points. Though those numbers obviously represent a slight drop off, he was still ninth in the league in points from the left wing. He will likely skate on the team's second scoring line, with a chance to match his production of the previous two seasons in Columbus.


ANDREW BRUNETTE: 3 years, $7 million, Minnesota Wild
Brunette, an unrestricted free-agent, left the Avs to return to his former team in Minnesota. "Andrew is a consistent offensive performer and an excellent teammate who helped create the culture of our team," Wild general manager Doug Risebrough said on TSN. "We are better, on the ice and in the dressing room, with him back."

Brunette is a solid scoring forward who hasn't missed a single game over the past three seasons, during which time he scored 70 goals and 205 points. The highlight of those three seasons was 2006-07, when he scored a career-high 27 times for a career-best 83 points. While he is unlikely to return to that level, he has scored 50 or more points six of the past eight seasons, only missing out in 2002-03 and 2003-2004, when he tallied 46 and 49 points, respectively. Brunette should get plenty of power-play time, and with defenses focused on Marian Gaborik, he could be a valuable contributor on that unit.


DARCY TUCKER: 2 years, $4.5 million, Colorado Avalanche
Tucker was signed to replace Andrew Brunette, whom we just touched on. Her brings a very similar skill set to the table, albeit one that includes a bit more grit. After being bought out of the final three years on his contract in Toronto, Tucker will have a bigger than normal chip on his shoulder as he seeks to reestablish his worth at the NHL level.

Tucker recorded three straight 20-goal seasons for the Leafs before falling to 18 markers last season. He began the year with only six goals and 11 points in 43 games, an atrocious pace for such a talented skater. He picked things up down the stretch with 12 goals in his last 29 games, including six scores with the man advantage. Tucker slumped to just seven power-play goals after notching 33 the previous two seasons, but skating with a bevy of talented Avs skaters should give him a chance to return to double digits, especially since he will basically be asked to take the place of Brunette in front of the net on the power-play. Toss in the likelihood of 100 PIM, and he could be a nice value play.


CORY STILLMAN: 3 years, $10.6 million, Florida Panthers
Stillman signed a three-year deal with the Panthers to join his sixth team in eight years. Florida hopes he can help to make up for the loss of leading scorer Olli Jokinen, who was moved to the Coyotes in a draft-day deal

Because he is often injured and frequently changing teams, not many people realize just how talented a scorer that Stillman is. Since the start of the 2002 season, he is the ninth-leading point scorer at the left wing position with 315 points, and he is fourth in assists per game at 0.61 (Alex Tanguay - 0.64, Paul Kariya - 0.62 and Dany Heatley 0.61). Stillman has also scored at least 10 PP goals in three of the last four seasons and he will be given ample playing time with his new club. Too bad he won't be able to skate with Jokinen, but he should still be able to put up plenty of points as a top-six forward, just like he always does.


RYAN MALONE: 5 years, $31.5 million, Tampa Bay Lightning
In four NHL seasons, Malone has averaged 22 goals a season, with a high of 27 last season skating with the likes of Sidney Crosby in Pittsburgh. However, he sought a big money contract and in so doing ended up signing with a team that is overhauling its roster, which includes bringing in new head coach (Barry Melrose).

Malone will likely end up on the Bolts' second line, possibly skating with #1 pick Steve Stamkos. With the man advantage, it wouldn't be at all surprising to see the skilled big body of Malone end up on the #1 power-play unit, and if he does, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis could send plenty of passes Malone's way in what could turn out to be his first 30-goal season in Tampa.


MICHAEL RYDER: 3 years, $12 million, Boston Bruins
Ryder will be reunited with old coach Claude Julien in Boston, the fourth time he will have played under the coach dating back to the QMJHL, as he attempts to return to being the offensive force he has been in the past after last season's dismal production (14 goals and 31 points).

Ryder's production was down last season the result of ineffective play, reduced ice-time and his relocation to the fourth line in Montreal. All of this resulted in the two time 30-goal scorer in 2005-06 producing at roughly half the pace (his 31 point total was also nearly half of his average of 59 points the previous three seasons). Ryder, who averaged 15 PP goals the previous three years, feel to just one last season in a completely lost year. However, a move to Boston to skate on a line with Marc Savard, who is second in the NHL with 206 assists the past three years, should once again make Ryder relevant.


OWEN NOLAN: 2 years, $5.5 million, Minnesota Wild
Owen Nolan is no longer the power forward he once was, but he is a fantastic addition to any club given his grit and leadership. Over the past two seasons after recovering from an injured knee, Nolan has scored 16 goals twice while averaging 63 PIM. Nolan will bring some needed leadership to the Wild in the wake of their loss of Brian Rolston, and he could see some time on the power-play. However, at this point of his career he is best suited for a checking line where the offense he chips in is seen as a nice bonus. In deep leagues he might be worth a look, but it had better be a pretty deep league.


TODD BERTUZZI: 1 year, $1.95 million, Calgary Flames
Big Bert was signed to replace the physical presence the team lost when Owen Nolan went to the Wild. Bertuzzi, who was bought out of the second year of a two year deal with the Ducks, moves on to his fourth team in three years after a long and distinguished run in Vancouver (1999-2006). Bertuzzi has been hampered by a herniated disk is his back and concussion related issues, which limited him to 83 games the past two years, during which time he scored 17 goals and 34 assists with 116 PIM. If he can score 50 points with 100 PIM this season for Iron Mike, he will make a nice end-game grab at the left wing position, but make sure you don't reach on the once great power forward who is no longer the player he once was.


TY CONKLIN: 1 year, $750,000, Detroit Red Wings
Conklin emerged from fantasy purgatory last season to have a tremendous run for the Penguins when their starter, Marc-Andre Fleury, was injured. All told, Conklin was 18-8-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .923 save percentage for the Eastern Conference champs, which makes his move to the Cup champion Red Wings a bit ironic. Conklin will replace the retired Dominik Hasek as the backup to Chris Osgood, who is coming off one of the best seasons of his successful career (27-9-4, 2.09 GAA, .914 SV%). Osgood wasn't great in 2005-06, with merely a .901 save percentage, so if you roster Osgood, make sure you grab Conklin late as a backup.