I had a lot of great response as well as feedback in regards to the last article, which I appreciate. Byron Dafoe (3750) was one omission I made, in part since his health has been in question the last couple of years. But he did finish strong last year, and should be worthwhile if he returns to the form of a couple of years ago. As far as the other goalies were concerned, I did take Fred Brathwaite cutting into Brent Johnson's time into consideration. St. Louis’ backup always gets a lot of time, especially early in the season. And yes, Brathwaite is a veteran who has done well in a starting role in the past. My view is that if Johnson sees 60% of the starts or more and the team is as successful as in the recent past, that he will be good to go. As far as Trevor Kidd/Roberto Luongo is concerned, yes Kidd is starting caliber, but Luongo finally starting emerging in the latter stage of the season. If Luongo can get out of the gate fast this year he should be fine. And I agree Patrick Roy will be spelled often this year, but you see that more with every team for it is such a long season. Many coaches tinker with the lineup with an eye towards March, April, and the playoffs, and tend to use the early season for experimentation. Another greybeard that I’m not as high on is Ed Belfour, who’s good for one bizarre meltdown a year. Another off-the-ice escapade and I think Dallas will start looking at the future between the pipes.
But like I said before, there is almost no other position in any sport as volatile as goaltender. Almost every starter is only a few shaky outings away from having the backup breathing down his neck. Which is why I tend to focus on the position so much. No doubt a month into the season we’ll be paying attention to some more netminders emerging from absolutely nowhere.
This time around we take a look at the center position. Last year managing that position became relatively easy when Mario Lemieux came out of retirement, allowing most teams to plug in one of the games all-time greats at the unlisted salary of 1500. That allowed the budget for teams to employ more expensive players, including Mario’s sidekick Jaromir Jagr.
Although there is no Mario's waiting to come out of retirement this team, there are several European imports coming (or returning) to the National League this year. Most of these players are not listed by CDM, and will make for nice bargains - especially for those who know about them and have them on rosters from the beginning. Pay special attention to this while going through the centers, wingers, and defensemen.
Best wishes for a speed recovery go out to Saku Koivu, who unfortunately has been shelved for the season after being diagnosed with cancer. Even though he ended up injured on a yearly basis, he would had been a star bargain at a discount price who if nothing else would have bought some time until other bargains could be identified. Also it must be noted that centers and wingers are often interchangeable, and this list will just be going by who CDM has listed at center.
RECOMMENDED PLAYERS
Peter Forsberg (5230) COL – The epitome of Buy Low, Sell High. The past two seasons has seen Peter be a mild disappointment, in part due to being second fiddle to Joe Sakic, who enjoyed an MVP caliber season in 00-01’. This time it’s Peter who’s ready to peak, so look for 100+ points to go along with a +30, making him an essential.
Doug Weight (4040) STL – If you liked him in Edmonton, you’ll be off the wall for him now – and for good reason. Last years stats (25G/65A/+12) would have been good playing for any time. Look for the assists and +/- to go through the roof with the likes of Keith Tkachuk alongside.
Jason Allison (3950) BOS – Darkhorse candidate to win scoring title. Potted an amazing 95 points last year, the only downer being the –8 rating. If that just got above zero he becomes a great value.
Alexei Yashin (3920) NYI – THN projects him for 96 points this year. As low as the team around him improves and he doesn’t become a minus machine he should be a asset for your team.
Eric Lindros (4000) NYR – Definitely this years wildcard. If he doesn’t get concussed the second he hits the ice, he should be a worthwhile gamble since he’s landed with one of the league’s best offensive team. Look for 100 point potential plus some bonus penalty minutes.
Vincent Damphousse (3290) SJ – Been a point a game guy since being exiled out of Montreal a few years back. Teemu Selanne joins Owen Nolan as linemates this year, so expect the assist totals to go through the roof.
Radek Bonk (3570) OTT – Bonkster really hit the skids in the second half, mostly because Yashin became the first line center. This year Bonk gets reunited with Hossa and Arvedson. The threesome was money the few times they were together last year, especially in the +/- department where Bonk finished with a +27.
Jeremy Roenick (4770) PHI – Out of excuses now that he’s with one of the league’s best teams. Look for +/- to go through the roof, not to mention the occasional PIM’s.
Joe Thornton (3840) BOS – Prospects would be better if he wasn’t stuck behind Allison. As it is look for 1 point and 1.5 PIM per game. +/- is the only issue.
Robert Lang (3600) PIT – 80 points and a +20 in 00-01’. Even without Jagr there are still plenty of big guns around this unsung performer.
POTENTIAL BARGAINS
Vincent LeCavalier (2130) TB – Development thus far points to achieving the point a game level this year. If the team somehow improves maybe he’ll quit being a minus machine and be a nice bargain.
David Legwand (1440) NSH – Still only 21, should reach the 60 point level while breaking even w/the +/-.
Jiri Dopita (1500 – unlisted) PHL – Knowing about these kind of players really gives informed owners a jump on the competition. In short, Dopita is a 31-year old star caliber player who had to this point elected to play in his native Czech Republic. Now that the Flyers managed to trade for his rights, Dopita has finally decided to make the jump across the pond. If he can manage to land on one of the top two lines he will be huge.
Jozef Stumpel (2880) LA – Injury prone but money when paired with Palffy. Point a game the past two years along with a +23 and +20 while only playing 63 and 57 games respectively.
Patrick Marleau (2550) SJ – Still only 22, has played 243 out of a possible 246 games while potting 45, 40, and 52 points. Look for the scoring to improve this year.
PERHAPS TOO PRICEY
Mario Lemieux (5760) PIT – Betting against Mario is usually not a good idea, even when the salary gets jacked up this high. Some people are predicting a scoring title even though Mario only plans on playing 60-65 games. My stat projections are as follows…Mario averaged 1.75 pts per game last year, losing Jagr and turning 36 will probably knock that down to a still outstanding 1.5. Multiply that by 60 and you have a 90 pt season, add a +20 to that and Mario may still be worth every penny.
Joe Sakic (5980) COL– Has been simply sick the past three years, with PPG’s of 1.32, 1.35, 1.44 along with a +23, +30, +45. Not to mention playing in all 82 games last year, making him on the average worth more than 2 points per game. At age 32, you could look for a slight dropoff.
Pierre Turgeon (4350) DAL - Was a two point a game player as recently as two years ago (66 points, +30 in 52 games). Unfortunately Pierre has landed with the defensive minded Stars, not to mention that he’ll be manning the second line (behind Modano). The system will cut into the stats.
Sergei Fedorov (3950) DET – What Kournikova means when talking about “fantasy sports” (sorry had to get that in). Seriously, his stats are never spectacular – which run about a point a game along with a slightly disappointing +/- (+9, +8, +12 the past three years). And Detroit’s scoring gets divided too many ways.
Mike Modano (5040) DAL – Point totals the past five years have been between 81 and 84. What hasn’t been consistent is is the +/-, +26 last year and +29 in ‘98-’99 but an even zero in ‘99-’00. Even if he gets back into the +20’s, will still not be as good a value as Forsberg.
Mats Sundin (4800) TOR – Consistent performer good for 80 points along with a +20.