The NHL took its show north of the border June 20-21 to Scotiabank Place, the home of the Senators, in Ottawa, Ontario. There they held the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. All 30 teams had their chance to improve the quality of their organization in quest for the Holy Grail -- the Stanley Cup.
However, the weekend wasn't all about burgeoning prospects. Some already established NHL stars changed sweaters and many transactions altered the Fantasy landscape.
The most earth-shattering news came when Florida dealt disgruntled center Olli Jokinen to the Coyotes in exchange for defensemen Nick Boynton, Keith Ballard and a second-round pick in '08. This is a good move for all parties involved. Phoenix gets the physical center Wayne Gretzky craves and Florida shores up its blue line.
Fantasy owners need to take notice now that Jokinen is in Phoenix. There is a lot of developing talent around -- Peter Mueller, Daniel Carcillo and Kyle Turris -- and Gretzky will have no problem making Jokinen a centerpiece on offense. Jokinen had only 71 points (34 goals) last season after totaling a career-high 91 in 2006-07. Moving to a contender in Phoenix takes Jokinen back up to being a No. 2 Fantasy forward after dropping to a third option in 2007-08.
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| Olli Jokinen's days in South Florida are over after a draft weekend deal. (US Presswire) |
Calgary was busy over the weekend, dealing star forward Alex Tanguay to Montreal and adding Michael Cammalleri from Los Angeles. Tanguay had a really disappointing season in 2007-08 with 58 points (18 goals). It was the third lowest output of his eight-year career. Tanguay got off to a slow start last season, and with the emergence of Kristian Huselius, his offensive chances were greatly reduced. Montreal will welcome the 6-1, 190-pound forward with open arms. They can't wait to pair him on a line with Saku Koivu or Tomas Plekanec. Still, it could be hard for Tanguay to achieve more than 70-80 points. He is still more of a No. 3 or No. 4 Fantasy forward.
Cammalleri hit the jackpot with the move to Calgary. Los Angeles is a young team and still might be a season or two away from contending. Not the case for Calgary. Cammalleri will likely join a line with Jarome Iginla and could be in for a career season. He posted a career-high 80 points two seasons ago and was headed in the right direction last season before a rib injury sidelined him from late November to early February. Fantasy owners will want to look at Cammalleri as a No. 3 or No. 4 Fantasy forward, but there is potential here for him to be much more next season.
It was a bad year for Chris Mason. After Nashville sent Tomas Vokoun to Florida prior to the start of 2007-08, the path was clear for Mason to be the No. 1 goalie. He struggled mightily and eventually Dan Ellis emerged as the organization's top goalie. That became crystal clear when Mason was traded to St. Louis before this year's draft. He will now serve as a backup to Manny Legace and drops all the way to being a No. 3 Fantasy goalie. Our congrats go out to the minor-league journeyman Ellis, but since Nashville has been quick to bail on goalies in recent seasons, we caution Fantasy owners that Ellis is at best a No. 2 Fantasy goalie heading into 2008-09.
The Senators made a stand over the weekend as they placed Ray Emery on waivers. A locker room cancer, GM Bryan Murray rid the organization of the troubled netminder and will put their faith in Martin Gerber. Some desperate NHL team could take a flier on Emery, who won 33 games in 2006-07, but when he was on the trade block, no one wanted him and the Senators were asking for peanuts. Don't be surprised if Emery has to play overseas to recoup his reputation.
A few other headlines from draft weekend were the Canadiens getting exclusive negotiating rights to Mats Sundin and Philadelphia trading R.J. Umberger to Columbus. Sundin might be an aging veteran, but showed last season with 78 points that he could still skate with the best. Sundin has managed 70-plus points for 12 straight seasons and thirteen is attainable no matter where the free agent lands.
As for Umberger, his time in Philly came to a close as the team chose the re-signing of Jeff Carter as a more pressing priority. Umberger had his best season as a professional in 2007-08, recording 50 points (13 goals, 37 assists) in 74 games. In the playoffs, Umberger led the Flyers in goals with 10 and was second in points with 15 in 17 games. We feel he could be a potential letdown candidate in 2008-09 since he was motivated last season by his next contract. Umberger is still more of a late-round Fantasy selection.
The Lightning made no attempt to hide who they coveted in this year's draft. With the first overall pick, they selected Steven Stamkos, the consensus top prospect. Tampa Bay is over the moon about the speedy, offensive-minded 18-year-old forward from suburban Toronto. The 6-0, 183-pound youngster produced 197 points (100 goals and 97 assists) in 124 games over two seasons with Sarnia of the Ontario Hockey League. He arrives in Tampa Bay 10 years after the team selected star Vincent Lecavalier with the No. 1 pick.
"I think that's the best situation for me to have, having a guy like Vincent Lecavalier," Stamkos said. "I'm putting the pressure on myself to make it to the NHL next year."
No need for Stamkos to try that hard. Tampa Bay already has him penciled in as their starting second-line center and now he gets the chance to make the kind of impact recent No. 1s made -- Patrick Kane (2007), Sidney Crosby (2005) and Alex Ovechkin (2004). Stamkos is one rookie all Fantasy owners should have on their draft boards.
The 2007 draft class had a few first-rounders create some buzz as rookies. Aside from Calder Trophy winner Kane, Oilers forward Sam Gagner (49 points) and Blues forward David Perron (27 points) were also emerging talents. But even in today's NHL, many of these draftees are projects. However, we could see a change with this latest class.
"The top four defensemen are all special and we knew we had to act," Maple Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher said after his team traded up from seventh to fifth to nab Western Hockey League defenseman Luke Schenn.
His selection came after three Ontario Hockey League defensemen went off the board -- Drew Doughty second to the Kings; Zach Bogosian third to the Thrashers; and Alex Pietrangelo fourth to the Blues. Doughty, Bogosian and Schenn could all be with their respective NHL teams after camp. Fantasy owners can't expect Nicklas Lidstrom production right away. These rookie defensemen are at best late-round Fantasy sleepers.
Long-term Fantasy owners will want to keep tabs on John Carlson. The Capitals took the North American born defenseman with the 27th pick in the first round. He was originally expected to suit up for the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, but decided to sign with the London Knights (OHL). Some notable London alums include Kane, Gagner, Sergei Kostitsyn, Corey Perry, Brendan Shanahan, Dennis Wideman and Daniel Girardi. Most of those players are forwards, but Carlson will receive superb tutelage and could be an impact Fantast player in 2009-10.
Other noteworthy draft selections were top-ranked European prospect Nikita Filatov to the Blue Jackets at No. 6; the Coyotes grabbed both Viktor Tikhonov (28th overall), the grandson of the Russian great by the same name, and Jared Staal (49th), the younger brother of NHLers Eric, Jordan and Marc; and David Toews, the younger brother of Chicago's Jonathan, was selected by the Islanders in the third round. These guys are also considered long-term projects and are unlikely to make an impact next season.
With free agency looming on July 1, this is just the beginning of a whirlwind summer.
