Players Who Have Something To Prove!

Entering the 2006-07 season there are always players who have something to prove for various reasons. For instance Todd Bertuzzi still has some doubters, Bertuzzi was the main name that sent Roberto Luongo (arguably one of the best goalies in the league) to Vancouver, and as a result the Panthers probably expects him to be one of the best forwards in the NHL next season to prove that the Panthers got good value for trading their best player. Anyways here are my top 5 NHL players with something to prove next season, not to the media and the fans but mainly to themselves, their team, and other players in the league.

1. Ed Belfour – Belfour’s situation is really a matter of proving he can still play in the NHL at the ripe old age of 41. His biggest hurdle to overcome will be his constant back injuries which forced him to miss 19 games last year, and probably affected his play somewhat. But this year he did pass the medical exam, and his stint this year with the Florida Panthers could very well be his last season if he does not improve on his .892 save% last season along with his unimpressive 3.29 GAA. The Panthers do not expect him to replace Roberto Luongo and does not have nearly the same pressure he had playing in a hockey city like Toronto, but he will still have to battle young goaltender Alex Auld for the number 1 spot. One thing on Belfour’s side is that he thrives after coming off of sub-par seasons. Before signing with Dallas in the summer of 1997, Belfour was coming off of one of the worst years of his career. His record was 14-24-6 in a split season with Chicago and San Jose. Next season Belfour came back as strong as ever, sporting a .916 save% along with an amazing 1.88 GAA. His strong play helped Dallas to their first ever Presidents Trophy (given to the team with the league’s best record during the regular season). One year later he was magnificent in helping the Dallas Stars win their first ever Stanley Cup. After a disastrous 2001-02 season, Dallas decided to let Belfour test the free agent market and replace him with Marty Turco. Belfour was signed by the Leafs during the offseason, a team in desperate need of goaltending after losing their top goalie, Curtis Joseph, and Belfour did an exceptional job replacing him. He turned in a career-high .922 save %, and finished with 37-20-5 record, and was a candidate for the Vezina Trophy (for best goalie of the year). He followed that season up with another great one, in which he was named team MVP. Now he has a chance to respond with a young team in Florida, with a lot of offensive talent, but not the greatest defensive players, and will probably be facing 30+ shots a night. Panthers have a lot of young talent, and could sneak into the playoffs if Belfour can put up the numbers we are used to seeing.

2. Jeremy Roenick – Roenick without a doubt had his worst season ever last year (J.R. would probably admit it you himself) with the Los Angeles Kings, who looked like a threat to win the Pacific early on but injuries ultimately took them completely out of contention in the end. Roenick said one of the main reasons he was struggling last year was that his skates were not sharpened probably with the Kings like they were with his previous NHL teams. Some may think it is a lame excuse, but when asked about it in interviews about it being the “dog ate my homework” excuse, he took it pretty offensively. However, bringing up the past is not in his agenda , Roenick is dedicating himself during the offseason to get back to the dominant player he used to be, and wants to prove all his critics wrong , and show he is not at all washed up. Roenick is waking up at 5:30am 6 days a week to get back into shape with his physical trainer, and I think has made the right choice in going back to a city that will fully embrace him in Phoenix. I have always been a big fan of Roenick’s (mainly for his on-ice play), and it should be interesting to see him play under Wayne Gretzky. Phoenix definitely has the talent level to surprise a lot of people next year, and considering the injuries they were dealt last year I was pretty impressed with the games I watched them play. They are however missing a good voice in the dressing room, and that is what Roenick can provide along with his play on the ice. Although Roenick wants to put up good individual numbers, his ultimate goal is to finally win a Stanley Cup, so if he can help the Coyotes become a contender, I think he will be successful in proving all his critics wrong.

3. Eric Lindros - well Lindros had an alright season by his standards for the Leafs last year, that is when he actually played. When the Leafs best player, Mats Sundin, went out with an injury in the first game of the season Lindros came in and took over...then of course like usual, he got injured. Lindros only ended up playing in 33 games, and racked up a decent 22 points. Lindros still is motivated to do more, but first he has to prove he can stay healthy. The positive that he can take out of last year was that it was his wrist that landed him on the injury list and not a concussion problem. Lindros will have a big role on the Dallas Stars, taking over Jason Arnott's role on the 2nd line, and could be critical in giving the Stars a much needed offensive punch. If Lindros has another injury-filled season, his career could finally come to an end, but with a player as talented as him it seems like he may have nine lives or something.

4. Sean Avery - I was really surprised that the Los Angeles Kings re-signed him. But again, despite his off-ice dilemmas, he did his job pretty well on the ice. I always thought of him as just an agitator who gets under the opposing team's skin, but last year he showed he could provide some offence too, and I was also impressed with how hard he hustles out there. He had an impressive 39 points in 75 games (and only say impressive because he's a checking line forward). Although he did not intentionally try to, he did end up taking attention away from his team at times (and I mean when the King were playing well) with his remarks off the ice. Avery needs to has to keep some of his emotions under control off-the ice and learn from the mistakes he made last year. If avery could do that then maybe people will stop seeign him as more than just a young punk with a big mouth.

5. Cristobal Huet - This is a guy the Habs obviously have a lot of faith in, it gave them the confidence to go ahead and trade former MVP, Jose Theodore. Huet was definitely the main reason Montreal made the playoffs. He finished the year with a solid 2.20 GAA, and a .929 save%, only question is can he do this for 50+ games during the regular season? Huet showed he can do it when it counts in the playoffs, don't really care if the Canes came back from a 2-0 deficit in the series, Huet was still pretty solid and gave the Habs a chance to win in every game. His play kind of reminded me of how Mikka Kiprusoff came to the Flames during the 2003-04 season, and unexpectedly turned into one of the best goalies in the NHL. In 2005-06 Kipper proved it was no fluke, as he captured the Vezina trophy, and led Calgary to its first division title in over a decade. Hopefully Huet can do the same for the Habs.

Carolina Hurricanes a One Year wonder?

The Carolina Hurricanes made a lot of so called "NHL Experts" look foolish last year. Not only did anyone not consider them a Cup contender, but they also picked them to finish near the bottom of the basement in 2005-06. But one must wonder if the Hurricanes can continue their success next year, I am nopt saying last year was a fluke, because I can honestly say that they earned it 100% . They were very consistent all year, fit perfectly into the new NHL, and they managed to overcome the injury to one of their best scorign threats in Erik Cole. Only reason I ask why they might be a one year wonder is because the roster will not look the same in 2006-07, and they will have a lot of holes to fill if they plain on contending again next year.

Lost Players During the Offseason


1.Martin Gerber - Although Gerber may have been forgotten during their stanley Cup run, you can give him some credit for the Hurricanes season success. He started 60 games during the regular season, one of only 11 goalies to do so. He had a sparkling record of 38-14-9, and had a decent Save % of .906 in his first season as a starting goalie. After Cam Ward's performance in the playoffs though it was obvious that the Hurricanes had no intention of using Martin Gerber as a their number 1 goalie next year. In need of a new number 1 starter, the Ottawa Senators picked up Martin Gerber to help them contend for the top spot in the Eastern Conference next season.

2.Aaron Ward - One of the many unsung heroes on the Hurricanes' defensive line, Ward is a fearless competitor, and showed the heart of a lion as he relentlessly battled through injuries during the 2006 finals. He blocked shots, threw big hits, and got his team going with that all important first goal in game 7 of the finals. Ward decided to sign a 2-year contract with the New York Rangers during the offseason, and hopes to help them capture the Atlantic Division.

3.Doug Weight & Mark Recchi - Two players that GM Jim Rutherford felt were the final pieces to the Hurricanes Stanley Cup team, and were basically exceptional players playing on very sub-par NHL teams before being traded to Carolina. Both were expected to basically be rented to the Hurricanes for the playoff run, and that is what happened, as both players went back to the respective teams (St.Louis and Pittsburgh) during the offseason. Both Recchi and Weight played pretty well during the playoffs. After Weight took a costly penalty during OT in game 6 vs. Buffalo (in which Buffalo ended up capitalizing on) he promised his teammates he would respond big-time in game 7, and he came through on that promise. The Hurricanes were in desperate need of a quick goal to tie the score in the 3rd period of game 7. Weight took a great feed from Ray Whitneyto tie the game at 2 , and the Canes took control the rest of the way on route to an eventual 4-2 win. Recchi got his big goal in game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals on the road against Edmonton, where he scored the game-winner to put the Canes up 3-1 in the series. Both players were key parts of the teams power-play, and will be missed somewhat

4. Matt Cullen - This guy amazed me in every game I saw the Canes play. He is like a roadrunner on the ice, and is totally built for the new NHL. I usually criticize the Rangers for their signings, but this one happens to be a smart one. Cullen is better than his stats show, he can carry the puck into the offensive zone with ease, fight along the boards, and is very creative with the puck. He was also one of Carolina's best pointmen on their dangerous power-play during the post-season. He was also best player on the ice during game 7 of the Cup Finals in my opinion. I think the Canes are really going to miss this guy once the 2006-07 season starts rolling along.


Who Can Step Up?

That is the main question, the Hurricanes did not do too much to replace the players they lost during the offseason. They picked up veteran Scott Walker in a 3-way trade, but I don't think he will be able to have a huge impact next season. So it looks like the Canes will need to look to their top players, and young talent to pull through.

Hopefully Erik Cole will be back to the form he was last year before he was delivered that brutal hit from behind from Brooks Orpik and give Carolina a 40-goal season. Rod Brind'Amour has to be the dominant player he was last year, being a workhorse at both end of the ice, and being dependable key situations. A player that could have a big impact is 20-year old Andrew Ladd, a former first round pick in 2004, Andrew Ladd knows how to get physical with his size and strength. He will most likely see himself on the Canes third line, with increased ice-time Ladd might have a 20-goal season. Another player who could step up is winger Chad LaRose. Yea, he did not produce much offensively on Carolina's checking line, but his role on the team last season was not meant to be a goal scorer. LaRose was more of a penalty-killing/defensive forward. But believe it or not he was actually a very talented scorer in his junior days, and put up some good numbers with Carolina's farm team. If he gets the opportunity to get some playing time with some of Carolina's talented forwards he may start showing some of those great offensive instincts at the NHL level.

Another question mark for the Canes, is their goaltending. Can Cam Ward bring the same calmness and poise we saw in the playoffs to the 2006-07 regular season? I would not bet against it, but in case he does not I look for John Grahame (a pickup by the Hurricanes during the offseason to backup cam Ward) to rebound from a horrible season with the Tampa Bay Lightning. I expect Grahame to respond with a better season under Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette. I could sense that Ligthning coach John Tortorella, who ridiculously criticized the goalie in public on numerous occassions, negatively effected his on-ice performance.

Although the 2005-06 Carolina Hurricanes were a pleasure to watch, I cannot help but put a big question mark next to them on how they will do next season. I trust that NHL Executive of the Year, Jim Rutherford , did what is right for his team during the offseason, and I am sure Laviolette and captain Rod Brind'Amour will have the team focused on competing hard from day one of training camp. But there is no telling how well the voids will be filled in the lineups, and if the team chemistry will still be as strong as last season's was. I will be rooting for them in hopes of cementing them as legitimate contenders for the next decade, making the Southeast Division no longer a big joke.