As we feel out the bugs in this year’s hockey edition of Treasure Hunting, we are always open to trying new things. For the first week, we continued along the path of last year’s columnist, Hale Pulsifer, and profiled two of the NHL’s up-and-coming star players, Erik Johnson and Jonathan Toews. While player profiles such as those will continue to be an integral part of this column (and also part of a fantasy owner’s game-plan), Treasure Hunting will take on a little more diverse look this season, and several new features will be introduced throughout the season. One of those features will be called “The Over/Under” where we will take a look at the overachievers and underachievers in NHL play. There are tons of places you can go to get the scoop on “who’s hot” and “who’s not,” but at Treasure Hunting, we will try to go beyond the obvious. We’ll tell you who’s hot and who’s not, but we’ll also tell you who is likely to stay that way and who isn’t.
First, however, we will take a look at how our picks from last week turned out.
Erik Johnson, STL- Johnson started the season just how we predicted he would—on fire. In his first two NHL games, Johnson skated away with two points—a goal and an assist—including a game-winning power-play goal against the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 6. It certainly looked like a promising start to the 19-year-old’s NHL career, and a promising start to this column (and hence, my credibility), but since then a hairline ankle fracture has kept the young defender out of the lineup after he suffered the injury blocking a shot against the Phoenix Coyotes on opening night. Johnson, being the warrior that he is, practically begged Blues’ management to let him play anyway, but St. Louis is taking no chances with their prized rookie’s health. Look for Johnson to return to action within the next week or two, and if you have him, DON’T drop him.
Jonathan Toews, CHI- Toews, another prominent Calder Trophy favorite, also spent some time on the bench with an injury at the start of the season, which translates into an ominous trend for my inaugural picks. Dispelling for a second the notion that I may be the grim-reaper of hockey writers, Toews has actually had a pretty good start to his NHL career. After recovering from a broken finger he suffered in training camp, Toews has scored a point in each of his first four NHL games, with a goal and three assists. With Martin Havlat out of the lineup for an extended period of time, Toews will get even more opportunities to shine, especially on the Hawks’ power play. The only downside is that Toews, listed as a center in most leagues, doesn’t take an optimal amount of faceoffs on a Chicago team that is loaded with centers.
The Over
Niklas Hagman, DAL (5 goals, 2 assists, -3, 8 PIM) – On a Dallas team that lacks scoring of virtually any type, Hagman has come out of the woodwork to be the team’s early surprise leader in points. Getting some power-play and penalty killing time has helped bolster Hagman’s stats, but the big winger does not have a history of being a prolific scorer. In fact, now in his sixth NHL season, he has yet to score over 30 points in any single year. A breakout season is possible, of course, but not likely in this case. Even if Hagman was suddenly blessed with bundles of natural talent, he’s got no one to feed him the puck. Don’t sell the farm for this guy.
John Madden, NJ (4 goals, 2 assists, +1, 6 PIM) – Known typically throughout his career as a defensive specialist, Madden has turned on the offensive jets early this season with a trifecta of multiple-point games. Madden is getting second-unit power-play time, which could help bolster his offensive totals some this year, but his regular linemates are still Jay Pandolfo and David Clarkson—two guys not primarily known for their playmaking or scoring abilities. Still, with the new “I’ve-seen-the-light” Brian Sutter offence in New Jersey, anything can happen.
Pascal Leclaire, CLB (2-1, .942 SV%, 1.67 GAA, 2 shutouts) – After posting two shutouts in his first two games, the masses were scrambling to pick up Leclaire, supposedly the next goaltending prodigy in the NHL. While it may be true that Leclaire has a future as a quality NHL netminder, the future is not now, at least in this case. The Blue Jackets still have a distance to go as a team before there should be any serious talk of fantasy value among Columbus’ netminders. The Jackets still must determine from where Leclaire is going to get goal support, and their defence is still shaky at best. It also should be taken into consideration that Leclaire’s shutouts came against a road-weary Anaheim Ducks team and a Phoenix Coyotes team that can’t score anyhow.
The Under
Jonathan Cheechoo, SJ (1 goal, 1 assist, even, 6 PIM) – It doesn’t get much easier than playing on a line with Joe Thornton. Yet somehow, through six games, Cheechoo has only registered one goal and one assist. Reports early in the offseason had him recovering from a double-hernia, so that may have something to do with his lack of production, but the more likely scenario points to just another classic slump. Cheechoo is still an all-world scorer, and he still plays with arguably the best playmaker in the game, so he should snap out of it sometime soon.
Slava Kozlov, ATL (1 goal, 1 assist, -3, 0 PIM) – It might be more appropriate to put the entire Atlanta Thrashers team on the “Under” list, but for now, Kozlov is the most obvious choice. While more-acclaimed teammate Marian Hossa has also failed to put up numbers, Hossa has been battling an injury, whereas Kozlov just plain isn’t getting the job done. Given a tryout as the team’s No. 1 center, ex-coach Bob Hartley determined that Kozlov was better suited for the wing, meaning he doesn’t take faceoffs. Kozlov had just started to cement himself as a legitimate elite player the past few seasons after being just average early in his career. While the Thrashers perhaps don’t have the depth it will take to make the playoffs, they definitely can’t stay as bad as they’ve been, and the rebirth of the team’s star players is bound to happen sooner or later.
Brendan Shanahan, NYR (0 goals, 1 assist, even, 6 PIM) – It’s difficult to know what to make of the Rangers’ stumble out of the gate, especially in light of their pre-season rankings. New York has had issues with overpaying superstars in the past, and perhaps this is another case of too many stars and not enough leaders. Shanahan, however, has had a long reputation as a great leader both on the ice and in the dressing room, and it would be difficult to imagine his presence being a hindrance. A hockey player’s hockey player, Shanahan’s intangibles still make him one of the most feared power forwards in the league. One has to wonder if his age is catching up to him, but it’s hard to think he’d go from 29 goals and 62 points one year to a complete bust the next.
Questions or comments, email Mike at mikestechschulte@sportsgrumblings.com.
