Inside The Penalty Box 09.11.06: Three Key Goaltenders Get New Deals
Posted by Neil Borenstein on 09.11.2006
Three teams lock up key pieces to their goaltending with multi-year deals, and we take a look at some more fantasy hockey!
As we get closer to the opening of National Hockey League training camps, and the season is set to start in less than a month, it is important to make sure all key pieces of one's team are under contract so they do not miss a beat with the rest of the team. And while some big name players like Brian Gionta and Simon Gagne remain without deals, as discussed in the column two weeks ago titled Simon Gagne and Brian Gionta Still Without Contracts (creative, huh?), other teams like the Buffalo Sabres, Atlanta Thrashers and Anaheim Ducks have locked down important members of their goaltending core for the next few seasons.
Before I go into those moves, however, it's time to check the Feedback Machine, and check out what Mike had to say about that very column spoken of above about Gionta and Gagne:
Hey, I enjoyed your column very much...just had a few points I disagreed with being a Devils fan.
I think you went a little overboard calling the Colin White signing ridiculous. He is basically the Devils shut down defenseman and goes up against the other teams top offensive units. 3 million is a bit much, but it was needed. You don't want to lose Daneyko, Stevens and White within a couple of years.
Resigning Gomez was a MUST for the fact that we didn't want to lose him for nothing. I doubt he will be with the team for the season, but we couldn't lose a player like Gomez, at his age coming off that type of career year, for nothing. I'm not saying we can keep him, or that we should, but we have to get something if we are going to lose him anyway.
And with Elias you had to make that deal. I believe it was a little long, but for that price it was worth it. I truly believe he could have got 8 million from a team like the Leafs or even the Rangers. He is basically the heart and soul of our offense (and possibly the team since the roll we went on when he came back) and the team would have a very rough couple of years without him. He is going to be the captain and franchise player for us. Well him and Marty. So that signing had to happen.
As for Mogilny and Malakhov. Lou is on his own there. Mogilny I thought was a smart move, if you look at his points total with the team it wasn't that bad (making too much money though). I heard he was an issue in the locker room, which is why he was sent down. I believe him, with a healthy Elias, is a more than suitable 2nd line option with PP potential. (I don't think 25 goals 55 points is out of the question) I believe the signings of Almo, McGillis, and Malakhov were basically impulse moves to replace losing Neidermayer and Elias. Not very bright, but at least it was done for a reason.
That's all, I am new to the 411mania sports section (usually read wrestling) and I look forward to reading more of your stuff.
- Mike
Mike, you bring up some very good points.
First, however, my thing with Colin White is that for as much of a key a shutdown defenseman is to a team, and I don't deny that, an $18-million deal over six years is way too much for him. I do feel the per year salary is exorbitant, and you cannot in any way, shape or form give somebody who can, to a degree, be replaced very easily that kind of deal. This is especially true when the Devils have always been in salary cap problems since this system was implemented last summer with the new collective bargaining agreement. Length of the contract is troublesome just as much as the money. And when somebody like Keith Carney, who has a much better and longer reputation in the NHL, is earning less money in a two-year, $4.2 million deal with Minnesota, it just makes little sense to me why White is deserving of the contract he received. Did I go a bit nuts saying I wasn't sure he was even worth $1 million? Perhaps.
Your point on Scott Gomez is very well put, though. It makes little sense to just let him go without getting anything in return. The only problem I see, however, is that I'm not so confident the Devils are going to trade him and his $5 million salary away. Holding onto him is really not an option, and I'm just not so sure Lou is ready to let him go. But yes, it serves no purpose to let a player of Gomez' caliber walk without getting anything in return.
The Patrick Elias deal may have been necessary, but was it necessary to give him a seven-year deal? Long-term deals like that are not going to work in the new NHL, and he's going to be to be 35-years old by the time he enters the sixth year of this deal. Now, it's entirely possible he could still possess his offensive prowess and rack up 70-90 points in the final two years of his deal. But as players age, sometimes their ability to produce diminishes. By then, maybe younger blood will be the backbone of the Devils' offense. And if Elias slows down somewhat and doesn't produce at such a high level, taking a back seat to youth, the Devils will still be taking a $6 million cap hit for those two seasons just like the first five of the deal. Will that matter so much in five years when the salary cap will likely be higher and a renewal of the current CBA or the making of a totally new CBA is necessary? Maybe not. Am I being a bit dramatic by not recognizing that the next five years of the deal should pay off? Possibly. But part of this new NHL is thinking about the future, and being somewhat conservative in the process. I agree, when he was an $8 million a year player on the open market, $6 million on average a season is a steal. But length is what bothers me more than anything else on this deal, and the Devils have proven to be a team that only thinks about the upcoming season and none of the ones beyond it.
Thanks for e-mail, Mike, and I do hope you keep coming back to the 411 sports section. Your readership is greatly appreciated!
Goalies Getting Paid
The most important player of any NHL team can easily be considered the goaltender. They may not be the highest-paid position in the sport, but they have the ability to make or a break a game, especially come playoff time. For two teams, they recently got their starters locked up on multi-year deals. And another team managed to get one of their netminders currently in a tandem with somebody else under contract for the next two seasons.
Ryan Miller signs with the Buffalo Sabres on a 3-year, $8 million contract
While the Buffalo Sabres continue to fiddle around with the career of Martin Biron, they knew they had to get their rookie sensation from last season under contract, as he is their number one goalie. On Friday, the Sabres locked up their prized netminder for the next three years with an $8 million contact, which will pay him $2 million next season, $2.5 million for the 2007-2008 season and $3.5 million in 2008-2009.
"Ryan was very clear that he was very concerned about being ready for training camp," said Miller's agent Mike Liut. "He didn't want a prolonged situation affecting the team. And that says a lot about Ryan Miller." {Credit: TSN.ca}
Miller, 26, came out of nowhere last season to rack up 30 wins in 48 regular season games played. Miller was drafted in the fifth round of the 1999 draft by the Sabres, and though he spent some time switching between the NHL and AHL, he mostly played in the Sabres' farm system, thus lending to the ideal that it's better to season some players rather than just thrust them into the pressure-filled atmosphere of the NHL.
He earned $501,600 last season, and along with finishing with a 30-14-3 record, he also had a 2.60 GAA and .914 SV%, as well as one shutout.
Miller was a huge reason for the Sabres' tremendous season, which finished them in second place of the Northeast Division and fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings. And since playoffs were not exactly common territory for the Sabres the past few season, finishing with such an impressive point total of 110 points was a sign that things were going in the right direction for the organization.
Once in the playoffs, the Sabres managed to make it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, and Miller was huge part of that. They missed out on making the Stanley Cup Finals by only one game, losing out to the eventual Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes. But Miller finished with a postseason record of 11-7 in 18 games with a 2.56 GAA and .908 SV%.
I don't think there is any denying Miller's talent and his place as the starter of the Sabres. He will be a cornerstone at that position for a while, and if he plays like he did last season, the money he is making per season is pretty much a steal.
But, at the same time, I don't really like what the Sabres are doing with Biron, who has openly mentioned he wants to be traded.
I understand why the Sabres don't want to trade Biron. He is a starter in his own right, and to have a 1-2 combination of Miller and Biron makes them one of the most formidable goaltending tandems in the NHL. But it just simply isn't fair to Biron, who deserves a shot at playing a more significant amount of games on another team.
But as for Miller, the team did what it had to do to get their starter under contract before training camp, which is very important, and we'll get to see whether or not it was just rookie luck for Miller and he'll go into a sophomore slump, or if he truly is one of the best this league has to offer between the pipes.
Kari Lehtonen signs with the Atlanta Thrashers on a 2-year, $3.7 million contract
The Atlanta Thrashers are not the luckiest team when it comes to goaltending, considering the massive amount of injuries they went through last season, including those of Kari Lehtonen and Mike Dunham. In the end, however, the Thrashers still have one of the hottest up and coming netminders between the pipes with their first round, second overall selection in 2002.
Lehtonen's true time to shine was supposed to be last season, and he was a big part of my prediction early on that the Thrashers would be Stanley Cup Champions. But as I just noted, injuries forced him to miss a good portion of the season, and he didn't really have his opportunity to backstop the Thrashers to greatness.
But now with money that will pay him $3.7 million over the next two seasons - $1.5 million next season and $2.2 million in 2007-2008 – and a clean, injury-free, slate, Lehtonen, 22, will have the opportunity to provide crucial goaltending for the Thrashers from day one.
Last season, he was able to play in 38 games later on in the year, and went 20-15 with a 2.94 GAA and .906 SV% with two shutouts.
He is a solid netminder, and he needs to remain healthy for the Thrashers to do anything this season. With Johan Hedberg as his backup, his mind can be at ease a bit, but Lehtonen still has to be the cornerstone of the Thrashers' goaltending core.
Ilya Bryzgalov signs with the Anaheim Ducks on a 2-year, $2.36 million contract
With Jean-Sebastien Giguere unable to repeat his excellence of the 2002-2003 season and postseason, it is incredibly important that the Ducks lock up their other option in net – Ilya Bryzgalov.
Bryzgalov signed on for two years, and will make $1 million next season and $1,362,500 million in 2007-2007 for a total of around $2.36 million.
Bryzgalov really shined during the playoffs, where he took over for Giguere. During the postseason, he backstopped the Ducks as they eliminated the Colorado Avalanche and Calgary Flames. He played a total of 11 games, and was the 2006 postseason leader in GAA with a 1.46 mark, SV% with a .944 mark and shutouts with three. Those three shutouts were consecutive and formed the second-longest shutout streak in playoff history at 249 minutes and 15 seconds.
For a while this offseason, Bryzgalov really figured he was the number one goalie, to which general manager Brian Burke felt he got the wrong impression. Clearly, there is going to be a goalie controversy over at The Pond, and it's likely only going to be settled with either Bryzgalov or Giguere getting traded. And with this re-signing, it's likely that Giguere and his $3.99 million salary will be the first to go if Burke chooses to deal one of his two prominent netminders.
Regardless, however, Bryzgalov is a goalie on the up-and-up, and even during the regular season, he showed signs of being able to take over a team. He was one of the better backups in the NHL, and posted similar statistics to Giguere over the course of the season. Bryzgalov finished with a 13-12-1 record in 31 games played, and had one shutout, a .910 SV% and a 2.51 GAA. Those numbers are pretty good, and he's spent plenty of time in the Ducks' system since being drafted in the second round by Anaheim in the 2000 draft to be worthy of a shot at grabbing permanent starting duties.
A little look at some fantasy hockey … Part Two
Last week, we covered fantasy goaltenders. In this edition, the second week of my look at the upcoming fantasy hockey season, I will rank the top five defensemen, and then throw in some honorable mentions and sleepers.
Defensemen
1. Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks- Scott Niedermayer managed to have his best statistical year last season during his first year with the Anaheim Ducks, and he benefited greatly by moving to that system after playing his entire career in New Jersey. He played a full 82-game schedule, and managed a career-high of 63 points between 13 goals and 50 assists (also a career-high). He also visited the box for 96 penalty minutes and had 36 total power play points. He is one of the smartest offensive defensemen in the league, and I think having Chris Pronger on the same team as him will benefit his stats a lot more than it will Pronger. In the end, I think Niedermayer will have less PIM, but will increase his offensive output with higher goal, assist and point totals. You're looking at a mid-to-late second rounder in Niedermayer in fantasy drafts.
2. Wade Redden, Ottawa Senators- Even while missing 17 games last season, Wade Redden still managed to come up with career-highs in assists (40), points (50) and power play points (30). Redden is a very gifted blue liner, and though his PIMs are not very high, he will still visit the box around 60-70 minutes per season. Now that Zdeno Chara is gone, he is the man, plain and simple, no questions asked, in the defensive end of the Ottawa Senators' roster. The Senators brought in some offensively minded d-men during the offseason in Tom Preissing and, to a degree, Joe Corvo. Despite the extra weapons, however, I still feel Redden will raise his point totals from last season, as long as he can remain healthy. Plus, we're talking about a defenseman who also ranked tied for first across the entire league with a +35 rating, showing his defensive ability on the ice as well. Redden should go off the board at in the third or fourth round of fantasy drafts.
3. Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings- Nicklas Lidstrom will in all probability be the first defenseman selected in fantasy drafts, and that should come more often in the second round, but sometimes in the first. He led defensemen in points (80) and assists (64) last season, as well as a whopping 50 points on the power play. He also had a +20 rating and 50 penalty minutes. But, as exciting a season Lidstrom may have had last year, culminating with a Norris Trophy, he can also just as easily have a 55-65 point season. And while that's still great production, tossing away a second round pick, or even a first round pick in some cases, is probably not the best idea. Be smart and let somebody else take that risk. He's still a solid producer, and I think he can have another season with over 70-points, but there's more than enough reasoning to be cautious.
4. Rob Blake, Los Angeles Kings- Though he is getting older, I think Rob Blake is still one of the best fantasy options at the defensive position. He went back to the Los Angeles Kings during the offseason, and I think teaming up with another budding offensive blue liner in Lubomir Visnovsky will suit him very well. He doesn't really put up the massive amount of points other defensemen can, but he can give you 55-60 points in a season. He has 20 goal and 40 assists capability, as well as 25-30 power play point ability. Plus, he is one of the best offensive defensemen to get that reaches the penalty box often. He had 94 penalty minutes last season, but can reach the box for over 100. A lot of why I rank him at four is based on speculation, but I think the move back to LA will serve him well, and he should surprise with an impressive season. This veteran of the game will be off the board in the fifth or sixth round, and he is definitely worth it.
5. Sergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh Penguins- So last year's experiment in Pittsburgh with trying to produce the league's best power play didn't exactly work. And the lack of production early on by Sergei Gonchar didn't help very much. But as the season progressed, Gonchar managed to rack up points, and he finished eighth among defensemen in points with 58, 38 of which came on the man advantage. There can be no denying Gonchar's place in this league as one of the best offensive defensemen, and I think his season will fair better from start to finish this year. Am I saying he will reach career-highs in many categories? Likely not. I think passing 67 points is asking a bit much. But, I think he can get around there, probably finishing the year with around 60-65, with around 35-40 coming on the power play. He also hit the 100 PIM mark last year, which is very good, and you can definitely count on him for time in the box. The one place where he's going to hurt a fantasy team is in the +/- department, so don't expect a positive number in that department. If he's even remotely close to zero, then he did well. But otherwise, this should be a good year for Gonchar, and could be a steal in the late-third to mid-fourth rounds of a fantasy draft.
Honorable Mention:
Bryan McCabe, Toronto Maple Leafs- Bryan McCabe made a contract year pay off quite nicely last season with career-highs in goals (19), assists (49) and points (68). Toronto is turning into a more defensive team, even though they have three pretty good offensive blue liners in McCabe, Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina. I don't think he will hit that 68-point mark again, but I don't think around 55 points is out of the question. His 45 power play points were also tremendous, and he won't hit that mark again, but perhaps his can nail down 30-35 points on the man advantage. He will also fill the PIM stat and should produce modestly in the +/- department. He's a third rounder.
Chris Pronger, Anaheim Ducks- Chris Pronger can seemingly produce anywhere he goes, giving any team in the league a huge upgrade. That's what he now offers the Anaheim Ducks, and while giving Niedermayer the opportunity to be even better than he has been, Pronger should continue to prove his worth as well. Pronger should be good for around 55 points, and around 30 of that should come on the power play. He will likely visit the box often, and grab over 100 PIMs. Don't get confused though. Just because he is the best all around defenseman in the NHL doesn't mean he's the best fantasy option. But he does rank up there, and he should be a solid mid-second to early-third round pick.
Sleepers:
Ed Jovanovski, Phoenix Coyotes- People will forget about Ed Jovanovski, and he will be available for you to grab in later rounds. He has his caveats, mainly injuries. But Jovo has the ability to produce 45-50 points in a season. Playing in Phoenix with other defensemen around like Nick Boyton should provide him that opportunity. He is not an early round guy, but if you can grab him in the 10th to 11th round, I can think of a lot worse ways to spend that pick.
Jay Bouwmeester, Florida Panthers- With Jay Bouwmeester, you're looking at an assist-oriented defenseman. In his three-year career, he hasn't scored more than five goals in a season, and that came last year. But he also posted 41 assists last season, 16 of which came on the power play. He will still be available in the late rounds of the draft, and he's definitely worth a pickup since he should visit the penalty box pretty well. He's not a number one or number two defensemen, and ideally, you'd like him as a fourth defensemen on your team. But he is worth pickup for the season, and maybe he can come out and surprise some people with a bigger goal scoring touch from the point.
Be sure to come back next week, where it's time to look at the centers!
Send all comments, questions, suggestions and telephone numbers from the ladies to br7qbsteelers@yahoo.com.
Until next week, you have just been Inside The Penalty Box!
