Five NHL Players Who May Surprise Us Next Season

Faiz-Ali Virji by Correspondent Written on July 30, 2009

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DENVER - MARCH 19:  Dustin Penner #27 of the Edmonton Oilers looks to redirect the puck as goaltender Peter Budaj #31 of the Colorado Avalanche makes a kick save during NHL action at the Pepsi Center on March 19, 2009 in Denver, Colorado.  (Photo by Doug
Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

Every season, there are always those players who everyone writes off, saying that they are done because they had a bad season or whatnot. Sometimes they are right, and those players just never seem to get their game back.

Many times, however, fans are left eating a big helping of crow at the end of the season.

Here are five players who I think will bounce back next season and have great years.

Scott Gomez, Montreal Canadiens

NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 28:  Scott Gomez #19 of the New York Rangers looks on against the Colorado Avalanche during the game on February 28, 2009 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.  (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Gomez has been taking lots of flak since he signed a seven-year, $51.5 million contract with the Rangers on July 1, 2007. With a cap hit of $7.357 million, fans in New York were expecting more than the 70- and 58-point seasons he put up while there.

After his trade to Montreal, message boards were alive with people laughing at how Rangers GM Glen Sather fleeced Bob Gainey.

While Gomez has broken 20 goals and 80 points only once in his career, playing with two goal scorers in Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta should give him a boost, especially since he is a playmaker and his best season came while he was playing with Gionta in New Jersey.

Prediction: 25G 60A 85P

Dustin Penner, Edmonton Oilers

DETROIT - FEBRUARY 07: Dustin Penner #27 of the Edmonton Oilers tries to control the puck during the third period while playing the Detroit Red Wings on February 7, 2009 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.  (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Ever since signing the $21.25 million offer sheet with the Edmonton Oilers, people have said that Penner is massively overpaid and will never live up to his contract.

In his first year with Edmonton, Penner had a pretty good season, scoring 23 goals and a career-high 47 points.

Last year, however, Penner was in Craig MacTavish's doghouse for the majority of the season. As a result, he jumped lines very often, spending time with the third line for the first quarter of the season and only managing 17 goals and 37 points.

The Oilers have new coaches this year in Pat Quinn and Tom Renney, which means a fresh start for Penner. If he spends the season getting a decent amount of power play time (where he is most effective) while playing a top six role, Penner could finally live up to his contract.

Prediction: 28G 30A 58P

Brian Gionta, Montreal Canadiens

NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 11:  Brian Gionta #14 of the New Jersey Devils skates against the Carolina Hurricanes at the Prudential Center on April 11, 2009 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Hurricanes 3-2.  (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

As mentioned earlier, Gionta has been reunited with center Scott Gomez on the Montreal Canadiens, although at a steep price of $5 million a season.

He has only scored more than 25 goals once in his career—the last season he played with Gomez—where he scored a whopping 48 goals. Since then, however, he has scored 25, 22, and 20 goals. Not bad, but not worth $5 million.

If Gionta can find that old scoring touch and score 35-40 goals, the contract isn't so bad. We will see just how much of an effect Gomez has on Gionta's game.

Prediction: 37G 42A 79P

Cristobal Huet, Chicago Blackhawks

CHICAGO - MAY 22:  Goalie Cristobal Huet #38 of the Chicago Blackhawks tends goal against the Detroit Red Wings during Game Three of the Western Conference Championship Round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 22, 2009 at the United Center in Chicago

After losing the starting job to Nikolai Khabibulin last year, Huet looked like a very average goaltender. Having never played more than 52 games in a season, and never winning a playoff series, he can't be the goalie to take the Blackhawks to the next level...can he?

Huet has only had two seasons where his save percentage has been under 0.910: his sophomore season, where he played almost four times as many games as the year before, and last year. Otherwise, he has never had it below 0.916, a very respectable number.

The only question people should be asking about Huet is whether he can play at least 50 games in a season and be a true starter. If Huet has any pride, he will probably want to show the whole NHL that he can. He could very well play like Khabibulin did last season.

Prediction: 55GP 25W 2.45GAA 0.915SV%

Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins

RALEIGH, NC - MAY 12:  Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins moves the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes during Game Six of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Round of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs on May 12, 2009 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North

After taking a nasty hit from Philadelphia's Randy Jones in 2007-08, Bergeron missed the rest of the season. He came back in 2008 and scored only eight goals and 39 points. Those are underwhelming numbers for a player like Bergeron, who scored 70 points or more in his first two seasons after the lockout.

This drop in points was probably due to him having some rust after not playing a whole season, as well as the loss of line mate Marco Sturm to injury after only 19 games.

A full season with Sturm and on a powerhouse (literally) Bruins team, Bergeron should come back with another stellar season.

Prediction: 25G 40A 65P

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written on July 30, 2009 Preview/Prediction

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