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Northeast Division előzetes a rotoworld.com-tól.
With the free agent period winding down, each team's 2010-11 roster is beginning to take shape. Over the summer, Rotoworld will preview every team, starting with the Northeast Division:
BUFFALO SABRES
Roster Movement
The Sabres won the Northeast Division last season, but they were promptly exiled from the playoffs by the Boston Bruins. Despite their disappointing finish, the Buffalo Sabres decided to stay the course this summer.
They did part ways with veteran defenseman Toni Lydman and Henrik Tallinder but filled the void by inking Jordan Leopold to a three-year deal. Buffalo also signed unrestricted free agent Rob Niedermayer to a one-year contract. However, when the dust settles, their 2010-11 squad will look a lot like last season's team.
Projected Top Two Lines
Thomas Vanek-Derek Roy-Jason Pominville
Jochen Hecht-Tyler Ennis-Tim Connolly
Battle For Jobs
We're penciling in Ennis as the team's second line center, but there's still an outside chance that he'll fail to make the team. However, after being the AHL Rookie of the Year and recording nine points in 10 NHL games as well as a team-high four points in six playoff contests, Ennis is certainly worthy of a spot on the Sabres' second line. It helps that the Sabres lack the offensive depth to provide Ennis with much competition.
Beyond Ennis, the team won't have too many prospects battling for roster spots. Goaltender Jhonas Enroth is probably ready to play at the NHL level, but the Sabres' decision to re-sign Patrick Lalime to a one-year contract will force him to spend another season in the minors.
Key Injuries
Craig Rivet underwent surgery for a double labrum tear in May, but he might be ready in time for training camp. However, when assessing his fantasy value, we'd take into account the fact that he spent the entire summer recovering from an injury.
Player to Watch
As mentioned above, Tyler Ennis has a good shot of establishing himself as a top-six forward after a superb 2009-10 campaign. He's one of the Sabres' top prospects and he should be regarded as an early contender for the Calder Trophy.
OTTAWA SENATORS
Roster Movement
After the drama that surrounded Dany Heatley last summer, Senators fans would have probably settled for an uneventful 2010 off-season. They didn't get that but we doubt they'll complain about the results.
The summer didn't start out particularly well for the Senators. Rumors flew around about a possible Jason Spezza trade while the Senators bought out Jonathan Cheechoo, who was part of the one-sided Heatley trade. They also ended up losing defenseman Anton Volchenkov, but they made a big splash when they inked Sergei Gonchar to a three-year/$16.5 million deal. The Spezza rumors also ended up going nowhere and at this point it looks like their star center will be with Ottawa for the foreseeable future.
Projected Top Two Lines
Milan Michalek-Jason Spezza-Daniel Alfredsson
Nick Foligno-Mike Fisher-Alex Kovalev
Battle For Jobs
Michalek and Kovalev's holds on their top-six forward spots could be tenuous after their disappointing 2009-10 seasons. Chris Kelly and Peter Regin should battle Nick Foligno for the final top-six forward spot during training camp, but the two losers of that competition could end up replacing Michalek or Kovalev if one or both of them falters in October.
As far as prospects go, Roman Wick, Zach Smith, and Bobby Butler will all compete for spots on the Senators' opening day roster. Smith, in particular, is worth keeping an eye on, as he might spend 100-150 minutes in the sin bin if he plays regularly on the Senators' fourth line. He also has some offensive upside, but his potential probably won't be realized this season.
Key Injuries
Michalek and Kovalev were non-factors in the playoffs due to injuries, but they should be fine by the time the Senators' 2010-11 training camp starts.
Player To Watch
Alex Kovalev is always a gamble going into a season and those who rolled the dice on him in 2009-10 lost. He scored just 18 goals and 49 points in 77 games in his first season with the Senators. The addition of countryman Sergei Gonchar might help matters, but at the age of 37, he might not have another comeback in him. However, he still might end up rewarding an owner who takes a chance on him with a late round pick.
BOSTON BRUINS
Roster Movement
The Bruins hit the ground running, trading away Dennis Wideman and two draft picks for Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell. They also dealt away Vladimir Sobotka for defensive prospect David Warsofsky before the free agency period started. They had the second overall pick, thanks to the trade of Phil Kessel, and the Bruins used it to select Tyler Seguin.
The Bruins have since been pretty quiet, signing free agents Nathan McIver and Jeremy Reich to one-year deals while inking Mark Recchi and Daniel Paille to contract extensions. However, the Bruins might not be done. Although a deal seems unlikely at this point, they'd still probably like to trade away goaltender Tim Thomas. They're also likely to entertain offers for Marc Savard.
Projected Top Two Lines
Milan Lucic-Marc Savard-Nathan Horton
Mark Recchi-David Krejci-Tyler Seguin
Battle For Jobs
If the Bruins trade away Savard, then Tyler Seguin or Patrice Bergeron will probably move in as the team's second line center. As it is, Bergeron could end up challenging Krejci for the job, with the loser being relegated to the third line.
Mark Recchi is worthy of a spot on the Bruins' second line, but when Marco Sturm returns from a knee injury in mid-November, Recchi could be relegated to the third line. It's also possible that Seguin might end up on the third line or that the Bruins might end up sending him to the minors for another season rather than have him fight for playing time on a deep team.
After playing in 20 games last season, Brad Marchand has a decent chance at cracking the Bruins' opening day roster as a bottom-six forward. Adam McQuaid also has an outside chance of making the team, but he's more likely to start the 2010-11 season in the AHL.
Key Injuries
As mentioned above, Marco Sturm isn't expected to be healthy for the start of the season after undergoing right knee surgery in May.
Player To Watch
Fantasy owners should also keep an eye on the Bruins' goaltending situation, and specifically Tuukka Rask. Although it's assumed that Rask will start the season as the Bruins' number one goaltender, Tim Thomas is just a year removed from winning the Vezina Trophy. Additionally, Steve Mason's disastrous sophomore season should be fresh in everyone's minds. It might not end up being such a bad thing that the Bruins have a solid veteran goaltender backing up Rask, even if they'd probably rather have the cap room.
MONTREAL CANADIENS
Roster Movement
After barely making the playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens surprised everyone by defeating the top seeded Washington Capitals in the first round and the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round. The single biggest reason Montreal managed to get to the Eastern Conference Finals was goaltender Jaroslav Halak, who had a 2.55 GAA and .923 save percentage in 18 playoff starts. In doing so he became a fan favorite, but that wasn't enough for Montreal to keep the restricted free agent.
Instead they traded him away to St. Louis for prospects Lars Eller and Ian Schultz. They did so to free up the cap space necessary to sign Carey Price, who also became a restricted free agent this summer. At the time of writing, Price still hasn't agreed to terms with the Canadiens, but a deal appears to be inevitable. The added cap space also gave Montreal the ability to sign Tomas Plekanec to a six-year, $30 million contract.
From there, the Canadiens went out and signed Alex Auld to serve as Price's backup. They also traded Sergei Kostitsyn to the Predators and acquired the rights to Dustin Boyd in the process, who they ended up signing to a one-year/$650,000 deal.
Projected Top Two Lines
Michael Cammalleri-Tomas Plekanec-Travis Moen
Brian Gionta-Scott Gomez-Andrei Kostitsyn
Battle For Jobs
After playing in seven games with the St. Louis Blues last season, Eller should make the team as a third or fourth line forward. Although we doubt he'll crack the top two lines this season, he certainly has that kind of potential. Ryan White will also be competing for a roster spot during the pre-season. He's worth keeping an eye on after recording 173 penalty minutes in 62 AHL games last season.
As far as defensemen go, P.K. Subban made a great impression during the Canadiens' postseason run and he should serve as a top-four defenseman this season.
Key Injuries
Andrei Markov might miss the first six to eight weeks of the 2010-11 season due to a knee injury.
Player To Watch
Carey Price is the obvious pick for this category. Price entered the NHL with a lot of fanfare and he certainly made a good first impression in 2007-08. However, over the past two seasons, Jaroslav Halak has simply outplayed him and that culminated in Price's benching during Montreal's 2010 playoff run. Now that Halak is gone, Price has been given another chance to prove that he's the starting goaltender Montreal thought he was when they selected him with the fifth overall pick in 2005. He certainly talented enough to be a top goaltender at the NHL level, but he has been plagued by inconsistency. He'll be facing a speculative Habs' Nation and media that aren't sure Montreal made the right choice when they chose him over Halak. If he struggles early on, things could get ugly in Montreal.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Roster Movement
Brian Burke has been nothing if not active since taking over as the Leafs General Manager. This off-season was no exception as the Leafs acquired Kris Versteeg and prospect Bill Sweatt from the Blackhawks for Viktor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis. Burke then signed winger Colby Armstrong to a three-year deal in the first day of the free agency period. The Leafs also added more toughness to their roster by the acquisition of Mike Brown and the signing of Joey Crabb.
At the time of writing, the Leafs haven't traded away defenseman Tomas Kaberle or acquired a top-tier center, although we wouldn't be surprised if one or both of those things end up happening.
Projected Top Two Lines
Nikolai Kulemin-Tyler Bozak-Phil Kessel
Luca Caputi-Nazem Kadri-Kris Versteeg
Battle For Jobs
After finishing last in the Eastern Conference in 2009-10, the Leafs should be open to giving prominent roster spots to talented but unproven players. However, they do have some options if Bozak, Caputi, or Kadri don't impress in training camp. Mikhail Grabovski is a decent second line center and he could end up replacing one of Bozak or Kadri. Additionally, while Colby Armstrong is ideally a third line right winger, he could end up on the Leafs' second line.
Jay Rosehill also has a chance to make the team and it doesn't hurt that he's capable of serving as both a defenseman and a winger.
Key Injuries
The Leafs are relatively healthy going into training camp.
Player to Watch
There are a lot of young players to keep an eye on here, but we're going to single out Tyler Bozak. After scoring eight goals and 27 points in 37 games last season, there's a good chance Bozak will end up centering a line that includes Phil Kessel. He doesn't have the same kind of offensive upside that Nazem Kadri has, but he could end up outscoring Kadri this season. We think a 50-60 point campaign is within Bozak's reach.
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