Boston Bruins
Must-haves: Zdeno Chara, Marc Savard, Patrice Bergeron
Contributors:
Dennis Wideman, Marco Sturm, Tim Thomas, Manny Fernandez, Michael Ryder, Phil Kessel
Sleepers: David Krejci,
Milan Lucic, Petteri Nokelainen, Tuukka Rask
Wannabes:
P.J. Axelsson, Peter Schaefer
Offseason analysis: The Bruins were pretty
quiet this offseason with Ryder the only big-money acquisition and two
Glens departing (Murray and Metropolit) the only real Fantasy-worthy
departures. The goaltending situation is still a question mark, but you
have to think Fernandez will get a shot to prove his health and form are
back to 100 percent.
Buffalo Sabres
Must-haves: Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Derek Roy, Ryan Miller
Contributors: Jaroslav Spacek, Craig Rivet, Maxim Afinogenov, Jochen Hecht
Sleepers:
Andrej Sekera, Drew Stafford, Daniel Paille
Wannabes:
Paul Gaustad, Adam Mair
Offseason analysis: The Sabres really haven't
recovered from losing Daniel Briere, Chris Drury and Brian Campbell in
2007, and they didn't really add much firepower during this offseason.
Rivet was a nice addition, but he's probably only good for 30-35 points
a season, which makes him a No. 3 Fantasy defenseman at best.
Montreal Canadiens
Must-haves: Andrei Markov, Alexei Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec, Alex Tanguay, Carey Price
Contributors:
Saku Koivu, Andrei Kostitsyn, Roman Hamrlik, Christopher Higgins
Sleepers: Sergei Kostitsyn
Wannabes: Mike Komisarek, Guillaume Latendresse,
Francis Bouillon
Offseason analysis:
The Habs brought in Georges Laraque to
provide a nasty streak in 2008/09, but the former Penguin doesn't bring
much offensive potential and is only worth looking at in leagues that
reward bad behavior. Someone who will be relied upon for points,
however, is Tanguay, who came over from Calgary in a trade. While his
points total slipped to 58 last season, he is capable of getting over 70
points easily.
Ottawa Senators
Must-haves: Jason Spezza, Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley,
Contributors:
Robert Lang, Martin Gerber, Filip Kuba, Mike Fisher
Sleepers: Nick Foligno
Wannabes:
Jarkko Ruutu, Shean Donovan
Offseason analysis: After a disappointing
season, the Senators trimmed a lot of excess fat in the summer as they
got rid of D Mike Commodore, G Ray Emery, LW Cory Stillman, RW Brian McGrattan, D Wade Redden and D Andrej Meszaros. While Ruutu is a nice addition, he has never had more
than 17 points in a season and has no Fantasy value.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Must-haves: Tomas Kaberle, Nik Antropov
Contributors: Pavel Kubina, Vesa Toskala, Jason Blake, Niklas Hagman
Sleepers:
Jeff Finger, Nikolai Kulemin
Wannabes: Dominic Moore,
Boyd Devereaux
Offseason analysis:
After yet another dismal season, the Leafs got rid of G Andrew Raycroft RW Darcy Tucker, C Kyle Wellwood during the summer and brought in Hagman, high-priced D Jeff Finger, C Ryan Hollweg and RW
Jamal Mayer. There is potential for improvement, but it won't come easy.
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