Second Sixes in the Northwest Division

Olli Jokinen	T.J. Galiardi	Ales Hemsky	Matt Cullen	Alex Burrows
Niklas Hagman	Ryan O'Reilly	Colin Fraser	Antti Miettinen	Mason Raymond
Daymond Langkow	Brandon Yip	Zach Stortini	Guillaume Latendresse	Mikael Samuelsson
Jay Bouwmeester	Ryan Wilson	Tom Gilbert	Brent Burns	Sami Salo
Robyn Regehr	Kyle Cumiskey	Sheldon Souray	Nick Schultz	Keith Ballard
Henrik Karlsson	Peter Budaj	Nikolai Khabibulin	Josh Harding	Cory Schneider

I don't think anyone is safe in this group of second sixes. Lots of concerns from left to right in this group, including injuries, legal problems and uncertainty. The Northwest Division, in terms of 2010 scoring, probably won't have the same outlook for the 2011 season at all.  Each team will have some changes in place, so there isn't anything terribly accurate here, it's just a snapshot of right now for some minor comparisons.

I would have to say my favourite second six of the bunch belongs to the Minnesota Wild, because they are healthy and probably the closest to the actual second six that we'll see at the start of the 2011 season.  All six players hold a lot of value to the club, even though they are not the biggest guns on the team.  Cullen was acquired through free agency this year and should provide good depth for the Wild down the middle, while Miettinen and Latendresse continue to plug away behind the scenes.  Burns should be a top two defenseman on the team, but had a bit of a down year in 2010.  Schultz is solid and good enough for some points with his minutes.  Harding is still waiting for his chance to really shine and will likely see the same amount of time as 2010.

Past the Wild, I really don't like much about the rest of the teams, but I'll kind of quickly go through them all here.

The Avalanche group listed is the only other team going into training camp with a healthy bunch.  The real difficulty with this group is their age and how it may or may not affect their play this season.  For a couple of these guys, they will be be battling the sophomore jinx, which usually has its way with players and generally doesn't make many exceptions.  If they can stay healthy and keep on playing together, they can battle through these potential problems, but it isn't a bet I would like to take.

The Flames are holding onto a significant injury in their six, as Daymond Langkow has a big question mark hanging over him with a bad neck injury, which he suffered last year.  No reports this Summer has him close to 100%, but there is a chance he could be ready to go for camp, despite long odds.  Otherwise, Jokinen will have to battle the boo-birds of Calgary, Karlsson will have to get to know his new teammates and the defense will have to step up and lead this team, starting with Bouwmeester having a bounceback season on the score sheet.  The injury will likely do the most damage to the team here.

The Canucks have some pretty good scoring numbers in their second six, but injuries to both Alex Burrows and Sami Salo will hurt their draft positions, likely taking Salo out of the mix, since he is out until Christmas.  Otherwise, new acquisition Keith Ballard looks pretty good as a draft pick, while minor-league standout Schneider will get his time backing up Luongo.

The Oilers group of second six has Khabibulin, who is dealing with a DUI charge in Arizona and is a question mark for the team until that gets decided.  Ales Hemsky is one of the most talented players on this table, but is a big injury concern.  Depth from 2010 numbers is a huge issue for the Oilers, as Zach Stortini is on this list as a goon.  Of course, the youth of this team will create a brand new look and shift some names around on this team, but for right now, the Oilers are definitely in rough shape. 

Minnesota, Colorado, Calgary, Vancouver and Edmonton is the order I would go with in this category, as you can see injuries are going to be problematic, along with some other issues.  This group could take a while to be drafted, even into the waiver drafts this coming year.