Top 10 NHL Players Entering 2010-11 on the Hot Seat
All professional athletes face a great deal of pressure to perform at the highest level, because that's what they're paid to do. Athletes face pressure to both replicate past successes and redeem themselves for falling short of expectations the previous season. In the NHL, while the likes of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Sidney Crosby have enjoyed great success in the last year, fellow superstars like Alexander Ovechkin, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin Havlat had disappointing seasons. Now as we look ahead to the 2010-11 season, there are a number of players skating with the weight of lofty expectations on their shoulders. With that being said, here are the top ten NHL players who enter the 2010-11 NHL season on the 'hot seat'.
10. Christopher Higgins- Florida Panthers
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Now a Florida Panther, Higgins won't have the same kind of pressure from the rabid fan bases in New York, Montreal and Calgary. Higgins once appeared to be a promising young goal scorer, posting three straight seasons with 22 or more goals and breaking the 50 point barrier in 2007-08. However, after notching just 20 goals combined in his last two seasons, Higgins finds himself wearing his fourth different jersey in less than 18 months.
After an abysmal 2009-10 campaign that saw him score just 8 goals, Higgins needs to produce this season. Florida signed him at a low risk $1.6 million for the season, but he may be out of an NHL job if he doesn't rediscover the scoring touch that once made him a budding lamplighter in Montreal.
9. Marty Turco- Chicago Blackhawks
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At age 35, Turco doesn't have many more chances at a Stanley Cup, and won't get any better opportunity than this season with the reigning champion Blackhawks. Turco's last two seasons have been mediocre, and he essentially played himself out of Dallas while they missed the playoffs this past year.
Turco was not the hot commodity on the free agency market that some thought he would be, and eventually settled for the one year, $1.2 million deal from Chicago after Antii Niemi exceeded the 'Hawks price range. If he wants another contract as a starter in the NHL after this season, he needs to pick his game up from where it was a year ago.
8. Martin Havlat- Minnesota Wild
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Martin Havlat is one of the game's most exciting talents when healthy, and Minnesota recognized that by signing him to a 6 year, $30 million deal in the summer of 2009. Alongside Mikko Koivu, Havlat was supposed to flourish in Minnesota's decidedly more offensive style of play under new coach Todd Richards. However, what followed was Havlat's worst offensive output in a full season since 2001-02, as he lit the lamp just 18 times and notched 54 points.
Minnesota is a team that spends very conservatively, and Havlat was essentially signed to replace departing superstar Marian Gaborik. This contract is going to look very bad, very soon if Havlat doesn't start to score at the rate he once did.
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7. Joe Thornton- San Jose Sharks
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Poor Joe Thornton. He has another outstanding regular season, finishing top ten in scoring, and collected an Olympic Gold Medal in February as a member of Team Canada. Unfortunately, it was the same old story for Jumbo Joe and the Sharks in the playoffs, as they were bounced by Chicago in the Western Conference Finals in four games. Thornton lead his team deeper into the playoffs than ever before, but still has yet to dominate in the playoffs like he does in the postseason.
If this year's edition of the Sharks is going to buck the trend of playoff shortcomings, Joe Thornton will have to be a much bigger force. For Thornton to be considered among the best to ever play, all that is missing from his mantlepiece is a Stanley Cup.
6. Mike Green- Washington Capitals
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Mike Green has become one of the game's most electrifying players, and the most dynamic offensive defenseman in the league. Green has a flare for the dramatic in the regular season, earning himself the nickname of "Game Over" Green among Washington Capital faithful.
However, Green has been less of a game breaker in the playoffs, as he has just 4 goals over the course of the Capitals' last three postseasons. Green has averaged over 25 goals and 70 points over the last two NHL campaigns, and the Capitals need that play to carry over to the playoffs if they are to advance deep into the postseason.
A year ago, many predicted Green would secure a spot on Team Canada for the 2010 Olympics, but his playoff woes and sometimes spotty defensive play lead to GM Steve Yzerman leaving him off the team. Though Green was elected to his second consecutive NHL First All-Star Team in June, he needs to improve his play in the postseason and in his defensive end in order to silence his critics.
5. Nikolai Zherdev- Philadelphia Flyers
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Nikolai Zherdev came into the NHL as a highly touted prospect, drafted 4th overall by Columbus in 2003. Since then, Zherdev has developed a reputation as a soft, enigmatic forward who disappears when the play gets physical. After a breakout sophomore season that saw him score 27 goals and 54 points in 2005-06, Zherdev has yet to match or better that goal total, and has reached 60 points just once. For a player who possesses as much raw skill and skating ability as Zherdev does, he has yet to even scratch the surface of his potential as a hockey player.
He ran out his welcome after four seasons in Columbus, and after failing to register a point in their 7 game opening round loss to the Washington Capitals in 2009, he did the same in New York. Then, after signing in Russia for 2009-10, he virtually played his way off of the Russian Olympic Team.
Philadelphia, searching for a cheap replacement for Simon Gagne, took a chance on Zherdev, inking him to a 1 year, $2 million deal. If his numbers, and reputation for being a head case don't improve, he'll be back in Russia this time next year.
4. Roberto Luongo- Vancouver Canucks
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After leading Team Canada to the Gold Medal in a thrilling overtime win over the American squad in his home arena, some thought that Luongo had rid himself of his tendency to buckle under pressure. That notion was quickly dispelled in the Western Conference Semifinals, as Dustin Byfuglien and the Chicago Blackhawks terrorized the Vancouver netminder, and eliminated the Canucks for the second straight year.
For the first time in Luongo's career, he has an elite offensive team in front of him. Vancouver boasts league MVP and scoring champion Henrik Sedin, his twin Daniel and a host of fleet-footed forwards to put the puck in the net at the offensive end of the rink, and a solid defensive core to support Luongo in their own end. The Canucks didn't lose to Chicago because they weren't able to score, they lost because they failed to contain the 'Hawks offense, and Luongo played less than spectacularly. If Vancouver is to conquer its postseason demons and win the first Stanley Cup in franchise history, their road to victory will more than likely run through Chicago.
3. Vincent Lecavalier- Tampa Bay Lightning
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Vincent Lecavalier's career with the Lightning has been full of peaks and valleys. He reached the top of the hockey world in 2004, winning the Stanley Cup with the 'Bolts, and the World Cup with Team Canada, collecting Tournament MVP honors along the way. Since then, his Lightning have plummeted to the bottom of the NHL standings and back. They appear poised to find their way back to the postseason with a stable of talented forwards lead by Rocket Richard winner Steven Stamkos, Martin St. Louis, Lecavalier and newly acquired Simon Gagne, but need Lecavalier to be the player he was two years ago.
In 2007-08, Lecavalier put up 92 points, following the '07 season when he was third in league scoring with 108 points. Since then Lecavalier has has seasons of 67 and 70 points, while playing his way off of GM Steve Yzerman (who, by the way is now Tampa Bay's GM) and Team Canada's radar for the Olympics. Currently entering the third season of an 11-year, $85 million contract, Lecavalier needs to rebound. Less than 30 goals and 75 points isn't enough for a forward who was once considered a franchise player. It seems that though Vinny is just 30 years old, Tampa Bay is ushering in an era in which Steven Stamkos is the face of the organization. If Lecavalier doesn't bounce back this season, Tampa Bay will face a tough decision with regards to what they should do with their captain.
2. Alexander Ovechkin- Washington Capitals
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Alexander Ovechkin has been regarded as one of the two best players in the NHL for the past few seasons, but will remain a step below his counterpart, Sidney Crosby, until his brilliance extends beyond the regular season. 'Ovie has scored at a level that few others have, posting 50 goal seasons in 4 of his first 5 years, winning two Hart Trophies as the league's most valuable player along the way. He also propelled the Washington Capitals franchise from obscurity to one of the league's marquee teams, leading them to three straight division championships.
Although Ovechkin's accomplishments are unmatched in the regular season, he has fallen short in the clutch, and has yet to reach the summit of the hockey world. His top-ranked Capitals bowed out in 7 games in the opening round of the playoffs for the second time in three years, and his Russian squad at the Olympics was a major disappointment. The most troubling part of many of these defeats is how Sidney Crosby's teams are often on the winning side. In game seven of the 2009 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Crosby had 3 points and the Penguins blew the Capitals out on home ice 6-2. In the Olympic Quarterfinals, Ovechkin was completely neutralized by the Canadian defense and Russia was demolished 7-3.
Alexander Ovechkin will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest offensive players in hockey history, but for him to be truly compared to Crosby and considered the game's best player, he needs to produce when it matters most. The heat is on for coach Bruce Boudreau, Ovechkin and the rest of the Capitals, as their time to win is now.
1. Carey Price- Montreal Canadiens
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The 2010 offseason presented a difficult issue for the Montreal Canadiens, as they struggled to decide which goalie to essentially crown their starting netminder, and which to trade. Jaroslav Halak, the hero of the 'Habs miraculous upsets over Washington and Pittsburgh, was dealt to St. Louis for prospects, and Carey Price was given the keys to the franchise.
Price has shown great promise at times, earning himself a birth in the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal and leading the 'Habs to the Semifinals in 2007-08, but has struggled over the course of the last 18 months. The bright lights and attention of Montreal have had their impact on him, as he has admitted to be discouraged sometimes due to the constant criticism of the media and fans, but vows to reward the franchise for believing in him as the No. 1 goaltender.
The Canadiens' management was ridiculed for their choice of Price over Halak, and if Price falters, both he and the club will look terrible. Price lost his starting job to Halak last year, and got shelled by Boston in the playoffs the year before, so it's now time for him to prove that he can handle the workload and pressure that goes with being a starting goalie in the NHL.
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