Brian Burke Should Consider Bergenheim as an Option

10 goals, 13 assists and a plus-one rating over 63 games, while averaging only 14 minutes of ice-time per contest.

These are the stats line for Sean Bergenheim of the New York Islanders, who’s slated to go to arbitration and possibly leave the circus that is Long Island.

A decent scoring winger who only makes $800,000 per season doesn’t sound too bad to me.

Though he isn’t huge, coming in at 5’10″, Bergenheim is strong and physical at 205 pounds. Placing third on the Islanders for hits with 116, Bergenheim will chase down pucks and make opposing defenders look over their shoulders.

A startlingly good stat for Bergenheim is his takeaway to giveaway ratio. 57 takeaways compared to only 16 giveaways. Unreal.

Clearly the Islanders aren’t using this guy to his full potential and may decide to let him walk this summer. Burke can step in and give this guy a real chance, and I think it’s something he should at least take a gander at.

The question is the price; how much will Bergenheim cost for another team looking to acquire him? At his current rate, I’d expect him to want a raise to $1-1.4 million dollars per season. Not too unreasonable.

What did say you?

Is this guy just another name to add to the Leafs' watch-list?

A player like Bergenheim certainly can’t hurt. At only 26-years-old, he has plenty of room to improve with great coaching and a decent shot at playing solid minutes. Also, any help to the struggling Leafs penalty kill would be a breath of fresh air indeed.

Bergenheim has run into injury problems in the past, which could throw up caution flags for any dealings with him as a free agent. Though at a good price, he might be worth taking a chance on.

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