With just over a month before the NHL season begins, it is time to start analyzing the players and teams before we have to draft our own fantasy squads. So every Sunday for the next month I will be providing my own thoughts on the players I think will have a good season and some who could have a bad one. I thought I would start this analysis off with my list of the most over and under rated players in the league, by position. The over rated players could be players who are no longer finding the success they once did or get paid a lot more money than they should. The under rated players include players who play in smaller markets and still find success, or players who's play doesn't register in the stats column but still makes a difference on the ice. First off, my most over rated players in the NHL.
Forwards
Danny Heatley- Minnesota Wild
Jason Spezza- Ottawa Senators
Scott Gomez- Montreal Canadians
All three of these players have one thing in common; they have all played in large hockey markets and have not yet earned their reputation as top scoring threats. Heatley had a couple good seasons a while ago but, especially in last years playoffs, it was clear that the drive to win was not there when you watched him play. That lack of drive saw his point totals drop dramtically, and saw him get traded from the contender San Joes Sharks to the middle ground team in Minnesota. Spezza has been known as the top forward on the Senators for a while, but yet his name hasn't appeared anywhere near the top of the NHL scoring list. Perhaps Ottawa fans should just accept that Spezza would be better as a number two center without as much preasure on him, than the current top center spot he occupys. Gomez has long passed his prime, and his drive to win is also lacking from his play on the ice. But his big salary makes it hard for Montreal to move him or buy him out. This makes it harder for them to bring in players in who actually want to win because Gomez takes up so much cap space.
Defencemen
Tomas Kaberle- Carolina Hurricanes
James Wisnewski- Columbus Blue Jackets
These two over rated defencemen are on the list because they cannot play defence, and their offence isn't much better. Kaberle was brought to Boston from Toronto to improve their lowsy powerplay, but it soon became obvious that he would never shoot the puck, giving penalty killers an easy defence against him. Once he turned the puck over, however, Kaberle more often than not could not recover allowing the other team to get a good scoring chance. Wisnewski had a career year in Montreal last season, but that one season doesn't suddenly make him worth $5.5 million, which is what Columbus is paying him for the next six seasons. They over paid for a guy who cannot be a guarantee to be on his game every night and without support from other defencemen, he could very easily falter under the preasure.
Goaltender
Martin Brodeur- New Jersey Devils
By adding him to this list, I am not doubting Brodeur was good. I am just saying now that he is reaching the end of his career, it is hard to count in him to be your guy in net anymore, especially on a fantasy team. Considering that he has broken every gaoltender record there is to break, he should retire before his older body becomes seriously injured. His old style of play isn't nearly affective now as it once was, and if the skaters in New Jersey aren't going to score in front of him, it is hard to see them winning any more in the near future.
The Most Under Rated Players in the NHL
Forwards
Johan Franzen- Detroit Red WIngs
Loui Eriksson- Dallas Stars
Ryan Getzlaf- Anahiem Ducks
All three of these players are scoring machines, but they often can be found hidden behind bigger name players. Franzen scores goals like crazy, espcially during intense playoff situations. His big frame allows him to get close to the net, so although his goals aren't always highlight reel worthy, he still scores a lot of them. Eriksson surprised everyone by being picked to play in the All-Star game as many people hadn't even heard his name. His stats showed why he was there though when he picked up 27 goals and 73 points last season. Now that the joke that was the Brad Richards contract is over, Eriksson should be able to emerge as the go to guy for the Stars offence. Getzlaf has always had trouble getting recognized as an elite player because of all the late games he has to play in California. Like Franzen, he uses his big body to score goals and set up plays. If he hadn't been injured last season, he could have found himself near the top of the scoring race with teamate Corry Perry.
Defencemen
Keith Yandle- Phoniex Coyotes
Tobias Enstrom- Winnipeg Jets
Yandle started to get noticed by the media when a campaign to get him into the All-Star game began. He definatly deserved to be there but it is hard to notice a player who plays in one of the smallest markets in the league. Phoniex has found success the last couple of years largely becuase of Yandles amazing skating that allows him to lead a rush for a scoring chance, and then quickly return to his own end to stop the oppent on their own chace. Enstrom is not as flamboyant as teammate Dustin Byfuglien and therefore easily goes unnoticed. He can provide offence like Byfuglien but unlike his teammate, Enstrom can also defend well. Enstrom's strong two-way play goes unnoticed by a lot of people because most statistics don't track the style of play he prefers, but hopefully the new fans in Winnipeg give him the credit he deserves.
Goaltender
Tomas Vokoun- Washington Capitals
If it Vokoun hadn't played as well as he did in the past few season, the Florida Panthers would have drafted Steve Stamkos and Taylor Hall first overall. He stole many games for the offence starved Panthers and now he has an opportunity to win in Washington. Though he only took a $1.5 million for next season, he is worth a lot more. Expect him to be near the top of most goaltender statistics next season, as Washington is a team that is ready to win, unlike the Panthers who are rebuilding. Vokoun isn't given enough credit because Florida wasn't winning very much, but those losses were not due to Vokoun's lack of skill and drive to win; far from it.
So there you have it, my list of the most over rated and under rated players in the NHL. I encourage your feedback and your own opinions in the comments section below this post.
Now it's time for some quick thoughts. First I would like to encourage you to visit NHL.com and read their feature on the NHL redraft, especially if you like fantasy hockey like I do. Fifeteen writers from NHL.com got together and redrafted the league based on the draft order from last season and using next season's salary cap. It was a very intresting read and I cannot wait to see the fanatasy season play out on EA Sports NHL 12 simulation with the new teams. Which leads to my second point; the NHL 12 demo was released last week on the Playstation Network and Xbox Live Arcade. In short, the new game animations are amazingly realisitc with the skating being a lot more natural and the shots and saves look like the real world NHL shots and saves. I will have a full review of the game when it come out September 13 but I highly recommend trying out the demo before then.
As always you can contact me by commenting below this post or following me on Twitter via @jbenny15. I will be back next Sunday with another post as we slowly get closer to the next NHL season. Thank you for reading.
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