2011/12 NHL Preview - Northwest Division

We've covered the Central and the Pacific, so today we round out the Western Conference with a preview of the Northwest.

CALGARY FLAMES

Projected depth chart / lines:

Alex Tanguay - Olli Jokinen - Jarome Iginla

Rene Bourque - Brendan Morrison - Curtis Glencross

Niklas Hagman - Mikael Backlund - Lee Stempniak

David Moss - Matthew Stajan - Tom Kostopoulos

Jay Bouwmeester - Mark Giordano

Cory Sarich - Scott Hannan

Anton Babchuk - Chris Butler

Miikka Kiprusoff

Henrik Karlsson

Traditionally, the Flames had been criticized for leaning too much on a single line - that of captain Jarome Iginla - to produce the vast majority of their offense. Well, quietly, Calgary has amassed an extremely deep group of talented forwards with 10 guys who easily have 40+ point potential (this is not to say they will hit that mark, of course...). Mikael Backlund looks poised for a breakout year at age 22, and the recent addition of Lee Stempniak ensures he'll have two offensively inclined wingers to play with. Rene Bourque and Curtis Glencross both had 2010-11 campaigns that cemented their credentials as top 6 wingers, and while many mocked the club's "experiments" of last off-season bringing in Olli Jokinen, Alex Tanguay, and Brendan Morrison, all produced well above expectations with successful years they will look to build on.

To make room for all the new talent up front, the Flames had to do a bit of gutting of what was arguably the league's best defense. Jay Bouwmeester has not lived up to the hype since being acquired from the Florida Panthers, but fortunately Mark Giordano has been a pleasant surprise in picking up some of the offense-from-the-blueline slack. In fact, Giordano looks to be a much better pick for your fantasy hockey drafts than the bigger name Bouwmeester. For the bargain basement price of $1,000,000, Scott Hannan was a great signing to round out the group; those of you who have read this site regularly know that I was a major advocate of the Habs picking him up for added depth.

It's no secret who Calgary's man in net will be, but Miikka Kiprusoff's game has shown kinks as he's aged (now 34). While his numbers haven't been poor, three of his last four seasons have seen GAAs above 2.60 and save percentages below .910, so it will be something to watch. Henrik Karlsson proved to be an adequate back-up after joining the Flames straight out of the Swedish Elite League last year, but at age 27 already, it is unclear whether he'll ever be more than that.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Bubble playoff team.

COLORADO AVALANCHE

Projected depth chart / lines:

Peter Mueller - Paul Stastny - Milan Hejduk

Gabriel Landeskog - Matt Duchene - David Jones

Brandon Yip - Kevin Porter - Ryan O'Reilly

Chuck Kobasew - Jay McClement - Cody McLeod

Erik Johnson - Jan Hejda

Kyle Quincey - Ryan O'Byrne

Matt Hunwick - Shane O'Brien

Semyon Varlamov

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Over the past year, the Avs have made a number of controversial deals which critics were quite vocal about. This trend continued into the summer with the dealing of a couple of high draft picks to the Washington Capitals for young goaltender Semyon Varlamov whose days in that organization seemed numbered at best to begin with. Certainly there will be a lot of pressure on the 23 year old former first round selection, who set a career high in games played at the NHL level last season... but it was still just 27! In fact, Varlamov's career high for games at the AMERICAN LEAGUE level is also just 27, so despite good numbers wherever he has played, he is not yet a proven NHL #1 and represents another intriguing storyline for the upcoming season.

Varlamov will need to be on his game for the Avalanche to make any noise as, though the team has a stocked cupboard of young talent, their offense remains shallow and inexperienced. At times during the last 2 seasons, Brandon Yip, Ryan O'Reilly, and/or David Jones have emerged from nowhere as pleasant surprises, but their inexperience makes it tough to predict how they will perform in 2011-12. The lack of top end talent means we should see Gabriel Landeskog's NHL debut this year as a compliment to young stars Paul Stastny and/or Matt Duchene, making him one of the top options for a rookie in your pool.

On the blueline, Colorado paid a hefty price to acquire Erik Johnson last season, so they will expect a lot out of him in leading a group that leaves much to be desired. Still, he represents a building block on D that they severely lacked and should be a cornerstone to the team the organization is trying to put together - something that can't really be said about any of the other 5 starters, despite the fresh four year deal handed to Jan Hejda.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Out of the playoffs.

EDMONTON OILERS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Taylor Hall - Shawn Horcoff - Ales Hemsky

Ryan Smyth - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Jordan Eberle

Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson - Eric Belanger - Linus Omark

Ryan Jones - Sam Gagner - Ben Eager

Ryan Whitney - Tom Gilbert

Andy Sutton - Ladislav Smid

Theo Peckham - Cam Barker

Devan Dubnyk

Nikolai Khabibulin

The Oilers' offense looks perhaps scarier than the Pittsburgh Penguins team when Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal were all just breaking into the league. Four lines deep, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins should make his NHL debut, adding to Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, Magnuss Paajarvi-Svensson, and more... a veritable "who's who" of top NHL prospects. This summer's addition of Ryan Smyth will bring a sound veteran presence to the locker room and on the ice, and will shelter some more inexperienced rookies from some difficult minutes.

But offense hasn't been this team's true problem. Their defensive and goaltending situations have not been addressed for the short term, and could be what keeps the club out of the post-season. Ryan Whitney and Tom Gilbert are mobile, two-way blueliners that any team would be happy with, but there is a big drop-off after them. Theo Peckham was a nice find last season as a tough guy on the back end who could slot in as an everyday player, but the club still desperately needs to improve its top 4 in order to reach "contender" status.

The situation in goal is even more precarious, with Nikolai Khabibulin's legal issues raising almost as many concerns as his deteriorating play with his age (38) and health. Devan Dubnyk showed some of the potential that many once saw in him last season, posting solid numbers and undoubtedly positioning him to push Khabibulin for ice time. The Oilers added depth by bringing former Canadien Yan Danis back from Russia, though if Khabibulin can play, he may start out in the AHL.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Bubble playoff team.

MINNESOTA WILD

Projected depth chart / lines:

Dany Heatley - Mikko Koivu - Devin Setoguchi

Pierre-Marc Bouchard - Matt Cullen - Guillaume Latendresse

Kyle Brodziak - Eric Nystrom - Cal Clutterbuck

Casey Wellman - Darrell Powe - Colton Gilles

Marek Zidlicky - Nick Schultz

Greg Zanon - Chay Genoway

Mike Lundin - Clayton Stoner

Niklas Backstrom

Josh Harding

The Wild shook up their offense this summer thanks to a couple of trades with the San Jose Sharks, and now present a very respectable top 6. Look for a strong year from ex-Hab Guillaume Latendresse as he returns from injuries that sidelined him most of last season. If Dany Heatley is to be believed, he should be highly motivated to bounce back from a career-worst points-per-game season that saw him finish with just 64 in 80 contests. Given that he may have some skilled new linemates, snatch up center Mikko Koivu quickly in your pools, as he should get back above the 70 point mark. Still, the offense is thin outside of two lines (and even those have some question marks).

The Wild's defense ranks in the lower half of the league, but one interesting player to watch will be NCAA signing Chay Genoway. Never drafted because of his size (5'9", 165 lbs), the 24 year old finished his college career on a high note with an over a point-per-game season, leading to an NHL bidding war for his services.

In goal, Niklas Backstrom has shown he can be a top 5 or 8 'tender in the league when he's on his game, but Josh Harding has also shown he may be ready for starting duties. With Harding a pending UFA next summer, look for the club to try to upgrade the back-end at some point with a deal.

YourCanadiens Verdict: Out of the playoffs.

VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Projected depth chart / lines:

Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Alexandre Burrows

Mason Raymond - Ryan Kesler - Mikael Samuelsson

Chris Higgins - Manny Malhotra - Marco Sturm

Jannik Hansen - Cody Hodgson - Maxim Lapierre

Dan Hamhuis - Kevin Bieksa

Alexander Elder - Sami Salo

Keith Ballard - Andrew Alberts

Roberto Luongo

Corey Schneider

There was lots of criticism up and down the Canucks roster after the team came oh so close to winning their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, but failed to close the deal. It is hard to argue with the regular season numbers of Daniel and Henrik Sedin, but many question their ability to win the big game come post-season. With three straight seasons above the 25 goal mark, Alex Burrows has proven that his success was no fluke, and the Canucks will be very happy to bolster their offense through the return of a healthy Mikael Samuelsson. The team managed to retain trade deadline acquisitions Chris Higgins and Maxim Lapierre, both of whom played large roles in the playoff run, but there were no real significant acquisitions (no offense intended to Marco Sturm, but he appears to be on the downside of his career).

Vancouver's defense - despite being ravaged by injuries all year long - was amongst the league's best last year, and they still present a formidable group despite the loss of Christian Ehrhoff. Other than the eternal question of Sami Salo's health, the other one to watch will be how the team handles Keith Ballard. Considered a steal of an acquisition when he was brought over from the Florida Panthers, Ballard began last season with injury issues and never regained his form. He fought for ice time on the club's blueline and was even often a healthy scratch. With 4 years remaining on his deal at $4.2M per season, the team will have to do what they can to extract the best value out of him starting this year.

I don't think it's time for Vancouver to push the panic button on Roberto Luongo's post-season struggles, as he did put up several big money performances. Still, he has not yet shown himself to be a big game goalie, and those who point to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics forget that he was quite poor in the gold medal game, and Team Canada won almost in spite of his play. The question becomes, with Corey Schneider's emergence as a solid NHL netminder, how will the club split games? This is certainly still Luongo's team, but perhaps we will see a larger role for his back-up in 2011/12.

YourCanadiens Verdict: (Regular Season) Conference contender.

Thanks for reading. Tomorrow we switch over to the Eastern Conference and hit the Southeast Division!

Around the League: Top 5 Trades of the Summer

Previously, we looked at players we felt were the best value signings of the summer. Today we look at the other transactions that have occurred, namely trades, to try to identify the deals that will most help one or both of the involved teams this season and beyond.

With a thin UFA crop, hockey fans were spoiled with a significant number of high profile deals which began right before draft weekend. Here are 5 of the biggest.

5) The San Jose Sharks trade forward Dany Heatley to the Minnesota Wild for winger Martin Havlat.

This marks the third trade in Dany Heatley's 9 season NHL career, and each has been a significant blockbuster. To some, these players have been heading in opposite directions of late; in Heatley's case, coming off his worst season since 2003-04, while Havlat seems to have put the biggest knock on him - injury concerns - to rest for now, with 78, 73, and 81 games played over the past 3 seasons respectively. With two seasons of over 100 points, Heatley brings more star power to the table, but he has always benefited from highly skilled linemates, showing he may be more of a complimentary than core player. Havlat, on the other hand, has shown the ability to create offense on his own, and while he has seldom reached the 1 point-per-game mark, plays a more intense, hardnosed game than Heatley. The deal has potential to be good for both sides, with a change of scenery sometimes bringing out the best in a player. For now, though, since Havlat's cap hit is $2.5M less than Heatley's, which allowed the Sharks to sign Brent Burns (see lower down the list) to a lengthy extension, we'll score San Jose as the winner. The club was also facing Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dan Boyle, and Heatley all hitting the UFA market at the same time in 3 years, so they've hedged their bets by swapping for Havlat who has 4 years remaining on his deal.

4) The Philadelphia Flyers trade center Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jakub Voracek and the Blue Jackets' 1st and 3rd round picks in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.

We'll come right out and say it: love this trade for the Flyers. Absolutely no disrespect intended to Jeff Carter, who is a tremendous hockey player and provides more offensive depth to try to get Columbus over that post-season hump. But in all honesty, it wouldn't be a huge surprise of Jakub Voracek's year-end point total is close to that of Carter's (though with fewer goals of course). Add in that Philadelphia added a top prospect to their stable in Sean Couturier, and had the money to fix their biggest weakness - goaltending - in signing Ilya Bryzgalov, and this trade appears to be a homerun. It will be interesting to monitor Carter's performance with the Jackets, who are clearly trying to shift to a "win now" mentality, having only made the playoffs once and never having won a playoff series. He doesn't seem like a natural fit to play with star Rick Nash, as both have sniping shoot-first mentalities, so the intent was perhaps to bring some scoring balance to a traditionally one-line team. It's a risky move for the club, however, with Carter's contract not ending until the year 2022 (no, that's not a typo).

3) The Washington Capitals trade goaltender Semyon Varlamov to the Colorado Avalanche for a 1st round pick in 2012 and a 2nd rounder in either 2012 or 2013.

The Colorado Avalanche faced public scrutiny this season for making some questionable deals, so certainly their general manager would be careful to manage perception this summer, right? Wrong. Yes, the Avs desperately needed to fix their goaltending situation for both the short and long terms. But why they chose to pin their hopes on a still mostly unproven 23 year old who is coming off an injury-plagued season is beyond me. Varlamov is a solid netminder, always putting up strong numbers when healthy. However, he has yet to play more than 27 games in a season, so it is premature to consider him a surefire top tier starter. With many reasonable and affordable names on the goalie UFA market this summer, the logical approach for Colorado would have been to get 2 of them under contract and see what happens, while drafting and developing a young talent of their own. But conventional the Avs are not, giving up what COULD be as high as a top 5 pick in next year's entry draft, plus an additional second rounder, to acquire Varlamov, before signing J.S. Giguere as a back-up / mentor to ease the young Russian into a starting role. If Varlamov stays healthy, fans of the Avalanche won't have to feel too bad about this trade as he could play in the league for many years, but Capitals fans had to feel down right dirty after hearing this news. With a log-jam in goal already due to the strong play of fellow young netminders Brayden Holtby and Michael Neuvirth, Varlamov appeared headed for the KHL, meaning Washington basically acquired two free draft picks for what was to be a rapidly depreciating asset. And as if that wasn't enough, the Caps were then able to sign an aging Tomas Vokoun to guard their goal for a year, and he remains one of the best in the league.

2) The Minnesota Wild trade rover (but really defenseman) Brent Burns and a 2nd round draft choice to the San Jose Sharks in return for Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle, and a 1st round selection.

Our last two deals rank at the top because we expect them to work out for both sides. Brent Burns is a highly underrated player who doesn't get enough press due to the league's "Eastern Conference bias." The Sharks' back-end was severely lacking after Dan Boyle, who just may hang up the skates at the end of the three years remaining on his contract, so for their team, Burns is a very important addition. Plus, from an asset management perspective, Burns' great shot and ability to take shifts as a winger (much like Dustin Byfuglien) means San Jose is likely not to notice the departure of Devin Setoguchi much. Clearly the team has been frustrated by their post-season failures, so a shuffling of the deck like this just may leave them with the right pieces in place to take a longer run at the Cup. For Minnesota, with Burns having been a pending UFA next summer, the club likely felt they wouldn't be able to re-sign him, and obtained quality younger assets in his place. They used the first rounder to select center Zack Phillips, and add Charlie Coyle, a first round pick in 2010, to their organization, essentially meaning that they picked up three 1sts for a player they might have lost for nothing in a year's time. The Wild need to hope that Setoguchi gets back to a production level like the 2008-09 season, where he topped the 30 goal mark and had 65 points, rather than the two seasons that followed of 36 and 41 points respectively.

1) The Philadelphia Flyers trade former captain Mike Richards to the Los Angeles Kings for prospect Brayden Schenn, forward Wayne Simmonds, and a 2nd round pick in 2012.

We love the moves the Kings made this summer, and while they paid a hefty price, they've acquired the kind of player you can build a hockey team around in Mike Richards. Along with Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Justin Williams, Simon Gagne, and Dustin Penner, Richards gives the Kings what might be the best all-around top 6 forward group in the league. Brayden Schenn will be a great player in the NHL, but how his offense will translate to the big league is still unknown. The Flyers are gambling a little in the short term, but created a bunch of cap space to complete theyother moves they wanted to make and added a surefire bluechipper to the system. Wayne Simmonds is no slouch either, a guy that many feel could eventually be a top 6 power forward, but with limited offensive production thus far, remains more of a tweener two-way third line type. In any case, all three players swapped in this move are expected to play significant roles on their teams for the upcoming season, and both clubs can be considered favourites to make noise come playoff time, which is why we consider this to be the move with the biggest impact this off-season.