Frozen Pucks

July 21, 2008 6:10pm CDT

Did you know...that Jonathan Toews was recently named the third-youngest captain in NHL history? Only two other players, superstars Sidney Crosby of the Penguins and Vincent Lecavalier of the Lightning, were younger than Toews, who was named captain at 20 years, 79 days (Crosby was 19 years, 297 days while Lecavalier was 19 years, 330 days). "Jonathan deserves this honour," said Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon. "He is a tremendous individual and a wonderful leader on and off the ice. He has experience in captaining teams from his world junior appearances and guys follow his lead in our locker room." Toews becomes the 34th captain for the Blackhawks after a rookie season of 24 goals and 54 points in just 64 games on the ice.

Did you know...that in every season since 1991-92, Mats Sundin has totaled at least 70 points per season (other than the strike shortened 1994-95 season when he had 47 points in 47 games)? Moreover, since the 1991 season, Sundin is fourth in the NHL in goals (532), fifth in assists (730) and third in points (1,262). As of this writing he still remains unsigned for the 2008 season. He has stated he will wait until late July or early August to make a decision about whether or not he will return to the NHL, but it is clear that he still has game left and could be counted on for near point-per-game production in the upcoming season if he returns.

Did you know...that even though Ryan Miller signed a huge deal to backstop the Sabres (five years, $31.25 million), that he really didn't have that big of a fantasy season in 2007-08? Miller was just 23rd in GAA (2.64), 29th in GAA (.906) and he was just one of 29 goalies with at least three shutouts. Sure, he was tied for third in games played (76), third in saves (1,907) and sixth in wins (36), but his other numbers really mark him as an average keeper. Add it all up and Miller is a solid, but unspectacular fantasy starter who seems to be getting by more on name recognition than the numbers.

Did you know...Tomas Vokoun led the NHL in saves last season with 2,033? Of course, he also faced the most shots in the league, as well (2,213). Despite facing all that rubber, Vokoun still managed a .919 save percentage, good enough for 11th in the league. Toss in the 30 wins, and Vokoun was extremely valuable last year, especially in leagues that counted saves. With a modicum of improvement by the Panthers defense in front of him, Vokoun could be a top-five goalie this coming season.

Did you know...that Simon Gagne is fifth in the NHL since the start of the 2005-06 with an average of 0.55 goals per game (95 in 173 games)? Too bad he has dealt with so many injuries or more people would recognize just how strong a performer he has been of late for the Flyers. At a rate of 0.55 goals per season, 82 games of full health would result in 46 goals for the Flyers winger.

Did you know...that Joe Thornton leads the NHL in assists the past three years with 255 in 245 games (an average of 1.04 per game)? Only one other NHLer has 200 assists in that time and that is Marc Savard with 206 assists (0.87 per game). To put those 255 assists of Thornton into perspective, only 12 NHLers have even 255 points the past three seasons. By the way, Thornton also leads the NHL with 335 points in that time (Alex Ovechkin is the only other skater with over 300-points, he has 310).

Did you know...that the goal-scoring leader amongst defensemen the past three years is Flames' stalwart Dion Phaneuf, who has 54 goals? OK, you may have known that one, but care to offer a guess which two blue liners are tied for second with 44 goals? Try Zdeno Chara and Mathieu Schneider. Give yourself a pat on the back if you knew that. Speaking of goals from the backend, which defensemen leads the way with an average of 0.23 goals per game? How about Sheldon Souray, who has 41 tallies in 182 games.

Did you know...that Nicklas Lidstrom leads all blue liners since the start of the 2005-06 season with a +101 (teammate Pavel Datsyuk leads the league with a +103)? OK, maybe you knew that one, but care to venture a guess on which blue liners fill out the top five? Mathieu Schneider (+67), Tom Preissing (+51), Wade Redden (+47) and Michal Rozsival (+45).

Did you know...that Miikka Kiprusoff is clearly slipping? If you hadn't noticed, you haven't been paying much attention. Just look at his numbers the past three years for the Flames keeper.

Wins: 42, 40, 39
GAA: 2.07, 2.46, 2.69
SV%: .923, .917, .906
Shutouts: 10, 7, 2

Still, Kipper is second in wins (135), sixth in GAA (2.41), seventh in SV% (.915) and second in shutouts (19) the past three years. He isn't worth a top-five overall pick, probably not even a top-15 pick, but that doesn't mean he is someone you should shy away from.

Did you know...that Roberto Luongo is the runaway leader in saves the past three years with 6,134 (no other goalie has more than 5,850 saves - Martin Brodeur)? Luongo has also faced the most shots in the league, 6,686, once again just ahead of Brodeur (6,376). Luongo is actually second to Brodeur in games played (224 to 228). One other category Luongo leads in is loses, as he has 81 of those, eight more than Olaf Kolzig, who is second with 73.

Did you know...that Brad Boyes scored 43 goals last season, more than all but four other NHL skaters (Henrik Zetterberg tied Boyes with 43)? What makes those 43 goals so surprising for Boyes is the fact that he scored all of 43 goals in his first 164 games, meaning that Boyes literally doubled his scoring pace in 2007-08 for the Blues. Boyes also scored 11 power-play goals, more than double the nine he had scored previously.

Did you know...that Jason Spezza has recorded at least 87 points in each of the past three seasons even though he has skated in as many as 70-games only once? Here are his totals the past three years:

90 points in 68 games
87 points in 67 games
92 points in 76 games
Total: 269 points in 211 games

Spezza averaged 1.27 points per game the past three years, which equates to an average of 104 points per 82 games on the ice. If he stays healthy long enough to be on the ice for 80 games this season, we could reasonably expect Spezza to produce his first triple-digit campaign.