- - -
GET ONE AND RELAX
W SO GAA SPCT
Tim Thomas BOS 36, 7, 2.22, .927
Henrik Lundqvist NYR 37, 7, 2.30, .921
Pekka Rinne NSH 35, 7, 2.26, .918
Tomas Vokoun WAS 33, 6, 2.41, .919
Roberto Luongo VAN 39 , 6, 2.32, .917
Ryan Miller BUF 36, 6, 2.40, .918
Antti Niemi SJ 36, 7, 2.35, .916
Corey Crawford CHI 36, 5, 2.34, .918
Jonathan Quick LA 35, 4, 2.33, .915
Ilya Bryzgalov PHL 36, 5, 2.39, .916
Carey Price MON 35 , 5, 2.46, .916
Jimmy Howard DET 37, 5, 2.49, .912
WILL HAVE THEIR UPS AND DOWNS
W SO GAA SPCT
Martin Brodeur NJ 31, 5, 2.35, .910
Jonas Hiller ANA 28, 4, 2.56, .918
Jaroslav Halak STL 33, 6, 2.46, .911
Cam Ward CAR 34, 4, 2.55, .915
Marc-Andre Fleury PIT 36, 4, 2.48, .913
Miikka Kiprusoff CAL 35, 4, 2.60, .906
Dwayne Roloson TB 29, 4, 2.61, .913
James Reimer TOR 28, 4, 2.62, .912
Kari Lehtonen DAL 30, 4, 2.70, .912
Niklas Backstrom MIN 26, 4, 2.66, .912
Craig Anderson OTT 27, 3, 2.68, .911
Semyon Varlamov COL 22, 4, 2.63, .915
PRAY THE DAMAGE ISN'T TOO BAD
W SO GAA SPCT
Mike Smith PHX 27, 3, 2.75, .905
Steve Mason CLB 29, 6, 2.79, .906
Evgeni Nabokov NYI 25, 2, 2.66, .907
Jose Theodore FLA 24, 3, 2.81, .909
Ondrej Pavelec WPG 24, 4, 2.76, .910
Devan Dubnyk EDM 19, 2, 2.91, .908
BEST BACKUP GAMBLES
- Cory Schneider VAN
- Anders Lindback NSH
- Tuukka Rask BOS
- Jonathan Bernier LA
- Johan Hedberg NJ
- Michal Neuvirth WAS
- Antero Niittymaki SJ
- Jacob Markstrom FLA
- - -
DEFENCE
If you are in a points-only pool, there is probably no reason to rush out and grab a defenceman early. Take away last season's top four point-producing rearguards--Lubomir Visnovsky (68 points), Nick Lidstrom (62), Keith Yandle (59) and Dustin Byfuglien (53)--and you were left with two dozen defencemen between 40 and 51 points--a difference not large enough to justify passing on a 65-point forward to grab one. The top of the list looks crowded too with any of the top six capable of emerging with the most points. Once again, the rankings are in order of points. Green arrows up project a plus-10 or better, or 70+ penalty minutes. Red arrows down denote a probable minus ranking.
(Projections for the 2011/2012)
G APTS+/-PIM
Keith Yandle PHX 14, 41, 55
Coyotes trying to dial back his attacking instincts slightly.
Lubomir Visnovsky ANA 13, 42, 55
High-powered Ducks power-play makes him an easy choice.
Kris Letang PIT 12, 42, 54
The earlier Sid returns, the higher he moves on up the list.
Mike Green WAS 15, 38, 53
Injuries and a re-focus on defence cost his owners dearly
Dan Boyle SJ 10, 42, 52
Has six consecutive 50-point seasons behind him.
Nicklas Lidstrom DET 12, 39, 51
Third in entire NHL with 39 power-play points last year.
Shea Weber NSH 16, 34, 50
Owners would like to see him get a little nastier.
Tobias Enstrom WPG 9, 40, 49
Great puck skills, but lack of size makes him an injury risk.
Duncan Keith CHI 10, 39, 49
That Norris Trophy season was a one-and-done.
Zdeno Chara BOS 14, 34, 48
Maybe the best all-around defence pick available.
Dustin Byfuglien WPG 17, 30, 47
Shoots hard, hits harder. NHL defence goals leader with 20.
Mark Streit NYI 11, 36, 47
Erring on the side of caution after he missed all of last year.
Drew Doughty LA 12, 34, 46
Expect a slow start after his lengthy holdout.
Alex Goligoski DAL 13, 33, 46
Power-play QB had 15 points in 23 games after trade from Pens.
John Carlson WAS 10, 35, 45
Could eventualy supplant Green as the power-play QB.
Cam Fowler ANA 12, 32, 45
Gruesome minus-25 rating can only get better, right?
Christian Ehrhoff BUF 12, 33, 45
Ex-Canuck should take over as the power-play's new point ma
Erik Karlsson OTT 12, 32, 44
An outstanding pick if you don't have to worry about plus-minus.
P.K. Subban MON 13, 31, 44
Never a dull moment when he's on the ice.
Alexander Edler VAN 10, 34, 44
More power-play time available with Ehrhoff gone.
James Wisniewski CLB 11, 33, 44
Hard-shooting newcomer suspended for first eight games.
Dion Phaneuf TOR 12, 31, 43
Strong second half last season fuelling some optimism.
Brent Burns SJ 12, 30, 42
Dependent on power-play time he gets with new team.
Andrei Markov MON 12, 29, 41
Recovery from November ACL surgery has been bumpy
Brent Seabrook CHI 8, 33, 41
PIM and plus-minus potential make him a sneaky good late pick
Chris Pronger PHIL 7, 32, 39
Slow comeback from May back surgery won't help.
JUST THE POINTS
(Points in parentheses)
- Alex Pietrangelo STL (43)
- Ryan Whitney EDM (42)
- Mark Giordano CGY (42)
- Ryan Suter NSH (41)
- Tomas Kaberle CAR (41)
- John-Michael Liles TOR (40)
- Marek Zidlicky MIN (40)*
- Jack Johnson LA (40)*
- Brian Campbell FLA (39)
NEED PLUS-MINUS?
- Matt Carle PHIL (38)
- Niklas Kronvall DET(36)
- Kevin Bieksa VAN (34)
- Jason Demers SJ (28)
- Dan Hamhuis VAN (27)
- NEED PENALTY MINUTES?
- Stephane Robidas DAL (32)
- Victor Hedman TB (31)
- Travis Hamonic ISL (30)
- Jay Bouwmeester CGY (28)
END GAME SLEEPERS
- Kevin Shattenkirk STL (42)
- Zach Bogosian WPG (30)*
- Michael Del Zotto NYR (30)*
- David Runblad OTT (25)*
- Sheldon Souray DAL (20)*
- Bryan McCabe F/A
* -- Minus-rating advisory
