Early Returns: The 20 Best NHL Summer Acquisitions
The 2010-11 NHL season is still in its infancy, yet the early returns of some of summer’s biggest moves have led to huge early success. Who would’ve thought that Clarke MacArthur is among the league leaders in goals? Or that Chris Mason would become the featured goalie in Atlanta?
Sure, it is still too early to tell who will make the greatest impact, but this summer’s moves were still fast and furious. With that in mind, we’re going to take a look at the 20 best acquisitions from the NHL offseason.
In order to create this list, all rookies were exempt since they have no proven track record. And to solve the question right now, Ilya Kovalchuk is not an acquisition. Since he was playing with New Jersey last year, he wasn’t acquired this summer. Deal with it.
On to the countdown!
20. Dominic Moore, Tampa Bay Lightning
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Underrated doesn’t even begin to describe the contributions of Dominic Moore. While you could argue that his career numbers don’t merit much credit, I would argue to the contrary in regards to his impressive playmaking abilities.
After bouncing around the Eastern Conference for the better part of a decade to find his place, Moore found a lot of success in Toronto as well as in the playoffs last season in Montreal. He’s only ever had one 10-goal season, yet he’s already got four goals this year with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
On a roster that boasts having its top two centers be Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, Moore’s four goals is amongst the team’s best and he looks just as good as he did during the playoffs. The Lightning snagged him for a bargain, signing a two-year deal worth $1.1 million a year.
19. Jeff Halpern, Montreal Canadiens
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For the cash-strapped Montreal Canadiens, finding an affordable scorer with good mileage and leadership can be difficult. But with Jeff Halpern on the books this season for $600,000, the Habs have filled a very important void on the roster.
Halpern’s abilities as a checking-line center remain vital to the team, yet he’s still got his scoring touch and can be a threat in front of the net. In recent years, Halpern has had less responsibility delegated to him, yet there is nothing to say that he can’t score 20 goals and pot 20 assists this year.
For the value, that’s pretty good.
18. Alex Tanguay, Calgary Flames
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Fans simply shook their heads when Darryl Sutter’s solution to the Calgary Flames’ woes this offseason was the reintroduction of Alex Tanguay and Olli Jokinen. Though four teams have already lost faith in the latter, there’s no reason to believe that Tanguay will flounder in Calgary this time.
Tanguay had his best season in history with the Flames and can flirt with 30 goals this year easily. His value has been taken off the rails thanks to a wholly underwhelming season with the Lightning in 2009-10.
Tanguay has scored fewer goals each season since 2005-06, but he’s already on pace to hit 30 this year, a first in his career. If he and the Flames remain disappointing, it shouldn’t be hard to move his one-year, $1.7-million contract.
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17. Mike Modano, Detroit Red Wings
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It is hard to come up with any other way to describe it, but Mike Modano’s departure from the Dallas Stars and subsequent signing by the Detroit Red Wings is hell freezing over. But the Red Wings were brilliant in signing the former Dallas captain for one last run at the Cup.
Modano brings an incredible list of accomplishments and a Hall of Fame career to Hockeytown. He even scored on his first shot in a Detroit uniform, something the Red Wings hope to see plenty more of. He has over 500 goals and 1,300 points in his NHL career and yet is being paid less than $2 million to skate for the Cup this year.
16. Dustin Byfuglien, Atlanta Thrashers
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With the hectic offseason that was for the Chicago Blackhawks, this entire list might as well be a compilation of Chicago refugees. The first big name to go is the first we’ll touch on, that being playoff hero Dustin Byfuglien.
Known as something of a swing player who can play on both wings as well as defense, Byfuglien is a punishing young gun with a style still developing in the league. He plays big with his hits and often times, particularly last year, plays bigger with his shots.
Coming into Atlanta has allowed Byfuglien to grasp the spotlight and the Thrashers will likely be turning to him to lead sooner rather than later. He’s on the cusp of 20-30 goals and 50-60 points.
15. Dennis Wideman, Florida Panthers
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As the Panthers attempt total-and-complete reconstructive surgery on the franchise, they shipped out a leading scorer for a major-league defensemen who still hasn’t reached full potential. Dennis Wideman emerged in the past two seasons as a power-play quarterback and a great two-way player.
After a 50-point, plus-32 year, Wideman saw drastic dips in his numbers before being shipped to the Panthers. But Florida may well be the perfect destination for Wideman to breakout of the shadow cast from Zdeno Chara while also forming a defense around himself.
He has still got a lot of upside and confidence in his shot left to develop.
14. P.A. Parenteau, New York Islanders
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This one is going to sting for Rangers fans across the globe. P.A. Parenteau was wallowing away between the minors and pros all last season. Though he appeared to be a dynamic scorer with breakout potential, Parenteau was never given a serious look from the Rangers and shown the door in favor of signings like Derek Boogaard.
So Parenteau took his talents to Long Island, and now is one of the Islanders’ top-six forwards. He lit up the minors over the past three seasons and really has the speed and hands to be a 40-goal scorer. The Isles are a team in need of great scoring from their youth, and Parenteau is already showing to be fully capable, averaging a point a game thus far.
He signed for $600K and could see a big pay raise next season at this blistering pace.
13. Kris Versteeg, Toronto Maple Leafs
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Say hello to our next Chicago castaway, Kris Versteeg. The former Calder front-runner spent the majority of last year as a key contributor in the Blackhawks organization, and now has the opportunity to explode playing for the surprising Toronto Maple Leafs.
Though he has got a playing style more akin of a defensive forward, Versteeg is a natural scorer at the NHL level, posting consecutive 20-goal seasons to start his career. He’s among the league’s best penalty-killers and is a breakaway threat while out there.
12. Marty Turco, Chicago Blackhawks
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In the ongoing saga of the Chicago fire sale of 2010, the Blackhawks headed to arbitration with their net minder Antti Niemi. After solid play throughout the second half of the season and playoffs, Niemi was crucial in Chicago’s Stanley Cup victory.
But the Blackhawks didn’t intend on paying him too much money, and walked away from his salary arbitration hearing in favor of an established veteran at half the price. Enter Marty Turco.
Turco is, believe it or not, one of the best goalies to ever play the game. His numbers are among the top 50 in NHL history and he’s still playing with a big chip on his shoulder: never having won a Stanley Cup. To say that Turco could make or break the Blackhawks might be a stretch, but he will certainly be vital to their success this year.
11. Chris Mason, Atlanta Thrashers
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When the Atlanta Thrashers made their half-dozen moves this offseason, they decided to wave goodbye to goalie Johan Hedberg in favor of youngster Ondrej Pavelec and their new signing, Chris Mason.
While Mason already had a proven track record of getting two fledgling teams to the playoffs, he was expected not to be the featured back but rather split time with Pavelec. Then, in a terribly bizarre turn of events, Pavelec collapsed just minutes into the season opener, leaving the team to Mason for the time being.
Mason is capable of winning 25-35 games a season and is quite consistent while doing it. Though he’s nothing stellar, he also won’t lose too many games because of poor play.
10. Jordan Leopold, Buffalo Sabres
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In an offseason ripe with defensive free agents, Jordan Leopold was still struggling to find a team that would keep him for an extended period. Leopold may have found the answer after signing a three-year, $9-million deal with the Buffalo Sabres.
Leopold’s offensive performance has always been under what was expected, yet as he receives more time on the Buffalo power play he’s showing more ability to score. In his two best seasons, Leopold scored 11 and nine goals respectively. Those years were spent as the go-to-guy on the power play and now he’s back in that position with the Sabres.
Though he isn’t exactly great value, he could end up being well worth the price of admission for a team close to deep playoff competition.
9. Dan Hamhuis, Vancouver Canucks
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He was the most talked about free agent defenseman this offseason, so when Dan Hamhuis decided to sign with the Vancouver Cancuks, fans almost immediately pointed to this being the tipping point that puts Vancouver in the title hunt.
Hamhuis is a spectacular shutdown defenseman with big skills in the corners and bigger skills blocking off the net. Hamhuis wasn’t signed for any particular offensive assets nor was he picked for his power-play efficiency.
Hamhuis is simply a defensive defenseman at the top of his game, able to keep a big play off the board.
8. Alexander Frolov, New York Rangers
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Every year, the New York Rangers are put up to the challenge of answering their scoring woes as a team. When Marian Gaborik potted 42 goals last season, the rest of the team failed to come anywhere close. So in the offseason, while most were observing lower-level New York signings, the Rangers swooped in on a major fallout from the West Coast.
Snubbed by the Kings in favor of a possible Ilya Kovalchuk deal, Alexander Frolov had lost his place within the Los Angeles organization. Then, for a thrifty $3 million, Frolov headed to Broadway to play with the Rangers this season. Going from a second-to-third line player to an immediate top-line winger should guarantee that Frolov will renew his scoring passion this year.
Injuries to Gaborik, Chris Drury, and Vinny Prospal only further the opportunity for Frolov to control the ice.
7. Clarke MacArthur, Toronto Maple Leafs
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As the early returns from the first two weeks of the NHL season come in, perhaps no team is as surprised with their achievements more than the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs owe a lot of their success to clutch performances from their biggest talents, one of which has become Clarke MacArthur.
Signed for a nominal fee in the offseason, MacArthur is already at five goals in five games and looks to have greatly improved his skating and vision on the ice. He’s been rewarded with increased ice time on the power play as well as on his line.
In fact, the only flaw currently playing in for MacArthur is that he simply isn’t shooting as much as he could be. Despite five goals, he only has 13 shots thus far.
6. Andrew Ladd, Atlanta Thrashers
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He has always had trouble finding a home, yet Andrew Ladd hasn’t had trouble playing great hockey. In fact, Ladd is the kind of two-way scorer that the Chicago Blackhawks didn’t really want to give up, yet were forced to due to cap restrictions.
Ladd is back getting top-line minutes in Atlanta and already has five points in five games. For a former first round draft pick, he’s the definition of a bargain in Atlanta, making just $2.3 million for a potential point-a-game performance.
5. Matt Cullen, Minnesota Wild
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He has bounced around the league for the better part of his career, yet Matt Cullen still has some productivity left to exude now that he’s in Minnesota. Cullen, who won a Stanley Cup with the Carolina Hurricanes, has played consistent offensive hockey for the past five seasons and looks poised to keep up his 40-point years with the Wild.
But in Minnesota, with an ever-changing climate on players and management, Cullen is playing happier and better than he had over the years. He may actually threaten the 60 or 70-point levels this year and he’s a strong leader in a locker room lacking them.
In his first four games in Minnesota, Cullen has two goals and four assists despite being relegated to the second line behind Mikko Koivu.
4. Antti Niemi, San Jose Sharks
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We already went over the Niemi saga and salary arbitration from Chicago, so it was only a matter of time for Niemi to go somewhere. Last year’s Stanley Cup-winning goalie is getting paid only $2 million to play for a perennial Cup favorite.
San Jose’s move to acquire Niemi was not as talked about as it could’ve been. He went 26-7 during Chicago’s run last year in the regular season and was dynamic as the team inched closer to glory. The Sharks, who ended their love affair with Evgeni Nabokov, desperately need something to get them over the hump.
Niemi could well be the answer if he plays anything like he did last year.
3. Paul Martin, Pittsburgh Penguins
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When you miss 60 games in your contract year, you tend to fly under the radar as a free agent. The Pittsburgh Penguins’ best offseason acquisition was taken straight from within the division, and Paul Martin’s performance in his first seven games has been exceptional.
Martin is a strong, smart defender who has been given more responsibilities in Pittsburgh’s fast-paced offense. Playing with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin could help Martin reach his full offensive potential, as he’s already erasing the lingering memories of Sergei Gonchar.
And again, he was taken from New Jersey, which had to fill the void quickly and may still be weaker without him. A double whammy, if you will.
2. Jaroslav Halak, St. Louis Blues
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If you didn’t know his name last year, you certainly learned it in the playoffs. Jaroslav Halak, the wondrous goalie who took out playoff favorites Washington and Pittsburgh en route to an unlikely Eastern Conference Finals appearance, found himself a new home in the offseason.
The St. Louis Blues, a team already ripe with up-and-coming talents, traded for and then signed Halak to a deal that would make him the rock in their stable for years to come. Halak is really just that good and is about to show the entire West, including division rivals Detroit and Chicago, just how scary he can be.
1. Nathan Horton, Boston Bruins
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With all the things going on for the Boston Bruins, acquiring Nathan Horton may be the move that keeps the franchise afloat. A goalie battle between Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask, as well as the injuries to Marc Savard, have kept Boston from being taken seriously this season.
But Horton’s early play, with three goals and two assists in three games, is showing that he could finally be ready to be the superstar he was drafted to be. Horton has been the dynamic, driving force of the Bruins offense, which was among the league’s worst in scoring last year.
If he keeps this up, you can throw his name in the hat for Hart Trophy honors this season.
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