2016 Pool Projections: Washington

Another year older, but does that mean the Washington Capitals are another year wiser?

The team made a lot of positive strides in the 2015 season, so many, I had them as my playoff bracket winner, in all honesty.  Unfortunately, that New York Rangers team was able to put the Capitals over their knee and offer them a quick lesson on how to play some playoff hockey.  Sure, the Rangers didn't make it to the Finals either, but they did make it further.

Playoff success is about the only thing standing between Alex Ovechkin and his rightful place among the conversation in the all-time greats, even though he'll have plenty of support, without a Cup ring.

Nevertheless, the Capitals should be fully expected to bounce back from that Conference Semi-Finals defeat to the Rangers, they've applied a little more scoring in some areas, they've added a guy who is the most clutch player of our generation and they have a goalie that can work a whole bunch of minutes and play exceptionally well doing so.

As a poolie, I'm pretty excited about the Capitals and I think you probably should be as well.

Player	Pos	15/16 Proj	Rookie
Braden Holtby	G	95
Alex Ovechkin	F	80
Nicklas Backstrom	F	80
T.J. Oshie	F	60
John Carlson	D	60
Evgeny Kuznetsov	F	55
Marcus Johansson	F	45
Justin Williams	F	40
Matt Niskanen	D	30
Andre Burakovsky	F	25
Karl Alzner	D	20
Jay Beagle	F	20
Brooks Laich	F	20
Jason Chimera	F	20
Brooks Orpik	D	20
Tom Wilson	F	15
Ryan Stanton	D	10
Michael Latta	F	10
Justin Peters	G	10
Nate Schmidt	D	10
Dimitri Orlov	D	10
Zach Sill	F	5
Liam O'Brien	F	5	Y
Philipp Grubauer	G	5
Taylor Chorney	D	5

Table last updated on August 10th

Most Intriguing or Breakout Player

It didn't appear that the Capitals even blinked, when Mike Green headed to unrestricted free agency and even less so, when the Detroit Red Wings signed him to a new deal.

Of course they didn't... they have John Carlson.  A more well-rounded defenseman, who put up 55 points last season and with the added responsibility of being the team's top offensive defenseman, he'll definitely be leaned upon to do that job and he'll succeed with flying colours this season.

Carlson finished 6th among defenders in scoring and really didn't emerge as one of "those guys" in the spotlight, thanks to bigger fish on the same team.  This could very well be his time and a good time to jump on a low stock value.

First Round Picks

The Capitals have three players over the 80-point mark on my projection list, which should have them safely in the conversation for the 1st round of the pool draft.  Braden Holtby is a lock, due to how hot the goalies have been in recent years, while Alex Ovechkin is a lock, because he is who he is.  Last season, Nicklas Backstrom dropped down into the 2nd round and potentially could fall down again, despite his projection, thanks to the goalie rush.

Other Pool Worthy Forwards

Four more forwards really jump out as being pool-worthy on the projections list, as the newly-acquired T.J. Oshie heads the list, followed by improved performances from Evgeny Kuznetsov and Marcus Johansson, while Justin Williams, another big playoff pick-up, rounds out the list.  The Capitals are going to bank on their top six being hard to stop, while the bottom six will be around, trying to be hard to grind through.  The Capitals should be a popular team this year, mostly because they have a little bit more flash and dash in their lineup, compared to last year.

Other Pool Worthy Defense

Beyond Carlson, this defense is going to work on their own zone with a little more determination, but thankfully, they have enough players in the top six forwards, that can take the puck off their stick and quickly turn it into a transition goal.  Matt Niskanen should have a decent year that way, while Karl Alzner and Brooks Orpik are going to be great in their own end, which will lead to those transition points.

Goaltending Situation

Just before the playoffs had ended, the Capitals had re-signed Philipp Grubauer to a new deal, giving him a 2-year deal, which was a one-way deal for both years, making the questions, what happens with Justin Peters and would either goalie be pool-worthy with the job?  I'm leaning towards Peters today, but with how many minutes their number one, and the second-best player in the pool last year, Braden Holtby, eats, there shouldn't be enough to make the Peters-Grubauer situation into a poolie nightmare.

Possible Entries Into the Rookie Race

The time is arguably now for the Capitals, so it will have to take a gargantuan effort for a rookie to come in and crack this lineup, I'm thinking.  At this point before camp even starts, I'm not seeing a great deal of rookies that should push through to the lineup.  Not to say that they won't, it does seem rather unlikely though.

Team To Pick From Late?

There's enough 20-25 point players on my projection list, which could be worth a gamble at the end of the pool draft.  Brooks Laich and Jason Chimera could very well be 30-point players, with a great enough effort, but their two-way game will be what propels this team to greater things.  The Caps should be able to make a good offensive argument for some of these guys to be late round bargains, so choose your depth wisely.

Unsigned Players and Salary Cap

Curtis Glencross and Tim Gleason highlight an unrestricted group of players, still unsigned from the Capitals last season, who are in need of new homes.  Both players should bring enough veteran presence to make a small impact on a new team, but the cap numbers are really working against them this year.

The Capitals should be working to fill one more forward spot and then keeping a good deal of cap space under the ceiling for the rest of the ceiling.  With one or two roster spots still open, the Capitals still have $2.8 million to spend, according to my table.  They're not in the market, as they head down the stretch to camp, so it will be interesting to see who makes the leap up and who gets left behind.

2016 Pool Projections: Winnipeg

There may be no better team in the NHL at playing the lunch pail bunch or blue collar gang, like the Winnipeg Jets.  This group is a great collective of players that can do more than one thing well, but no one is absolutely outstanding or worthy of NHL voting honours.  They're just there and they're finally winning more games.

Management preached patience to their fans, upon their arrival from Atlanta and now everyone is getting rewarded for showing up every night, filling up the MTS Centre, with playoff hockey.  Sure, an opening round exit to the Anaheim Ducks doesn't seem all that great, but it is part of the baby steps that this franchise needed to take, in order to be viable again in the NHL.

The 2016 season shows a lot of promise on paper, as they'll be able to add some dynamic young talent to their roster and they'll be able to turn over some more of those roster spots to the capable youth that they are developing these days.  A sign of a very strong franchise-to-be.

As a poolie, looking upon the projections below, I am thinking that I will be pretty happy to pick a Jets player, maybe two, in the middle-to-end rounds of the draft, as they may not jump off the player list in front of you at the draft, but they'll probably turn themselves into good bargain picks by season's end.

Player	Pos	15/16 Proj	Rookie
Andrew Ladd	F	65
Blake Wheeler	F	60
Bryan Little	F	55
Mark Scheifele	F	55
Nikolaj Ehlers	F	55	Y
Ondrej Pavelec	G	50
Dustin Byfuglien	D	50
Michael Hutchinson	G	45
Drew Stafford	F	45
Mathieu Perreault	F	40
Tobias Enstrom	D	35
Jacob Trouba	D	35
Tyler Myers	D	30
Adam Lowry	F	25
Alex Burmistrov	F	25
Nicolas Petan	F	20	Y
Chris Thorburn	F	15
Matt Fraser	F	15
Matt Halischuk	F	15
Adam Pardy	D	15
Mark Stuart	D	10
Jay Harrison	D	10
Paul Postma	D	10
Anthony Peluso	F	5
Ben Chiarot	D	5
Grant Clitsome	D	5
Andrew MacWilliam	D	5	Y

Table updated on August 10th

Most Intriguing or Breakout Player

A solid sophomore season is an oddity in the NHL, but Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele had a pretty good one in 2015, improving upon his rookie total of 34 points in 63 games to 49 points in all 82 games. This kid is going to be a huge piece of the Jets offense in 2016 and the 7th overall pick in 2011 might have some justification before too long.

I don't think 55 points is necessarily a ceiling for the 22-year old, but I do think it's a pretty fair guideline.  At that projection, you couldn't be too sad if he was 5 points either way and you'd be pretty pleased, if he truly broke out, like he seems to be capable of.  Some solid additions to their top six could be the tipping point to how far he can go this year.

First Round Picks

Now, I'm not suggesting that Scheifele is going to be opening round material this Fall, so don't get too far ahead and I'm also not suggesting that anyone else is really going to be opening round material either.  The goaltending is a bit of a toss up to me still, although Ondrej Pavelec did run with the ball for most of crunch time, the start of the year makes him a wild card.

Other Pool Worthy Forwards

Andrew Ladd wears the 'C' on his chest and leads this team in so many ways, including the projections for the forwards, as he comes in at a solid 65 points, which should put him in as a solid 3rd round pick, maybe higher in a deeper pool.  Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Drew Stafford and Mathieu Perreault all round out the veterans, who should be looked upon for points this year, while the aforementioned Mark Scheifele should be a good pick as well.

Other Pool Worthy Defense

We should all know by now, just how talented this Jets defense is, especially in the offensive end.  Dustin Byfuglien and Tobias Enstrom has been anchoring this defense for a while now, they hit a home run drafting Jacob Trouba and the acquisition of Tyler Myers, gives them a pool worthy top four, which will compete with any other defense in the league.  Byfuglien and Enstrom will continue to lead the way, but I wouldn't be too surprised if either Trouba or Myers came and nipped on their heels in the scoring department.

Goaltending Situation

Further to the goaltending point above, Ondrej Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson split quite a bit of time last season, before the Jets really got serious about trying to make the playoffs.  I know Pavelec has his supporters, but I would consider myself one of his cynics, since he has really yet to dazzle.  Right now, I see Pavelec taking the better part of the split, but Hutchinson's numbers is a testament to the 'anything can happen at the start the season' mentality.

Possible Entries Into the Rookie Race

The Jets definitely have some potential in this 2016 season, as their top prospect heading into the show will be Nikolaj Ehlers, who I have right in the thick of the rookie scoring race.  I think he gets drafted at the beginning of October, while there could be some supporting cast adds, if Nic Petan gets a full-time job or they need some goaltending help from Connor Hellebuyck.

Team To Pick From Late?

I like this team's depth and the mentality of the team, even in the bottom six, as they scratch and claw their way for everything they get.  I'm not quite sure what to make of Alex Burmistrov coming back from the KHL, but as you can see from the projection, he'll be a fringe player at best, in my mind.  He could excel, but it just doesn't seem very likely, given the track record of the Europeans going and coming back.

Unsigned Players and Salary Cap

The Jets are still somewhat of a budget team, since they don't really have the building size to bump themselves up a notch or two, but I'm sure, if they were right in that playoff mix, they'll drop some bones on the team at the deadline.  With a couple roster spots left open to the rookies, the Jets, by my count, have 20 players on their projected roster, leaving $15.1 million in cap space for the remainder of the season.

With the better part of their free agents taken care of early, there were no real concerns with the Jets and their salary cap situation.

Handing Out Camp Invites (Aug 14)

We're still over a month away from training camps being opened, but the camp invites are starting to trickle through.  On Friday, the Penguins agreed to give 41-year old defender, Sergei Gonchar, one last look (or kick at the can).  Gonchar had 14 points in 48 games with the Canadiens last season, not quite making it to the pool worthy list, but if he can crack the Pens roster as the seventh defender, he at least has a shot to become relevant again.

There are certainly no guarantees about his usefulness or his health, coming into training camp, so I wouldn't be terribly excited about what he could bring to the table.  Can't fault the guy for trying though, finishing on a high note is very appealing.

Retirement Beckons Salo

A wrist injury has forced veteran defenseman Sami Salo to call it quits after 15 NHL seasons.

Salo's injury kept him out of the 2015 season completely, so his last string of games came in the 2014 season, where he ranked 110th among all defensemen with 17 points in 71 games.

Throughout his career, if he wasn't injured (a member of the 2010 class of the Injury Prone List), he was a force from the point, unleashing a booming point shot.  If he had healthy seasons, he would be in the top 75 defensemen in pool scoring, generally, and even if he did get hurt in the year, he would still hover around the top 100.

Remarkably, for how good he was when he was healthy, Salo never featured on a money-winning team in the hockey pools, dating back to the 2008 season.

Hagelin Inks With the Ducks

The Anaheim Ducks cleared up the last bit of restricted free agent business on Friday, as they announced the signing of forward Carl Hagelin, who they acquired from the New York Rangers earlier in the Summer, giving him a 4-year deal, worth $16 million.

The speedy forward was a cap casualty in the Big Apple, as he was looking for a sizable deal, like this $4 million per season agreement, something the Rangers couldn't afford this season, as they're snuggled right up to the cap ceiling.

Last season with the Rangers, Hagelin was a contributing member of the team, picking up 17 goals and 35 points in all 82 games, which ranked him 225th overall in pool scoring, 155th among all forwards.

Hagelin was a very consistent player for the Rangers, both in the regular season and the playoffs and was a key contributor on the penalty kill as well.

With the Ducks, he'll be in somewhat of the same role, as he was with the Rangers and that should net him around the same amount of points, in the 35-point range.  Anaheim will definitely benefit from his speed and should give this team a good lift, not like they need it, as they were a very hard & fast team to play against last year.

The only way that Hagelin sees any gains this year is if he gets a boost in the depth chart and a little bit more ice-time.  You would imagine that he will come into camp as a 3rd line winger, but you just never know who he is going to mesh with.  If all goes well, he could be a reasonable sleeper in the hockey pools.

2015 Draft Class Signings (Aug 11)

Let's take another top draft pick off the board of not being signed, as the number six overall pick in this past June's Entry Draft, Pavel Zacha, signed with the New Jersey Devils to the maximum 3-year entry-level deal.  His cap hit before bonuses will be $925,000, assuming he makes the team in October.

The Devils are definitely one of those teams that are in need of an influx of new blood in their roster and between Zacha and John Quenneville, their 2014 1st round pick, they might be able to source out some new blood before too long.  Zacha is a 6'3", 210 lbs. kid, already holding on to an NHL-sized frame, who has some reasonable offensive upside to his game.

I might want to throw some points in the projection column for these guys, given that, at this point, the Devils only have nine forwards on their projected roster.

Off-Season Surgeries (Aug 10)

The St. Louis Blues announced on Monday, that forward Jori Lehtera underwent ankle surgery on August 4th, repairing damage done late last season, after blocking a Duncan Keith slap shot.  Lehtera was hoping to have the injury heal in the rest he got in the off-season, but after returning to the ice for some Summer skating training, the injury was still present and nagging his workouts.

The surgery is thought to be a success and his recovery time is in the 6-to-8 weeks range, which would put him back on the ice around the start of the regular season, likely missing out on a week, two or possibly three, depending on when he is able to get back on the ice.  With the season two months away, everything is going to be very close.

You may want to take this into account, when you're eventually doing your projections for the season.

Ducks Lock Up Silfverberg

The Anaheim Ducks signed one of their key restricted free agents on Friday afternoon, giving Jakob Silfverberg a brand new 4-year deal, worth $15 million.

The cap-flexible Ducks get a pretty good deal out of the 24-year old Swedish winger, an annual cap hit of $3.75 million per year, giving him some term and decent money at the same time.

Last season, Silfverberg was good for 13 goals and 39 points in 81 games for the Ducks, playing a very important role on a team, which dominated the Western Conference, thanks to their two-way physical play, Silfverberg included.  In terms of rankings, the two-way winger was 134th among all forwards in scoring and he should prove to play a prominent role in this year's draft.

There is improvement on the horizon for this youngster, as the team around him has gotten a little bit faster and a little grittier, so he should be able to continue his maturation process with another great season.

He'll likely float along between the 2nd and 3rd lines of the team, possibly playing with guys like Ryan Kesler and/or Chris Stewart and there is plenty of natural talent in Silfverberg's game to compliment those two.  I'm currently projecting Silfverberg in the 45-to-50 point range this year.

Fringe Signings (Aug 6)

An interesting signing from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday afternoon, as they shored up the forward group with the addition of Matt Cullen, signing him to a 1-year, $800,000 deal.

The unrestricted free agent spent the 2015 season with the Nashville Predators, finishing with 7 goals and 25 points in 62 games.  Cullen's season was injury-plagued, missing time on four separate occasions, landing on the injured reserve twice.

Cullen's role on the team may be somewhat limited, thanks to the depth above him in the chart, plus his age (38), but he should be able to play a pretty good role on this team, with plenty of experience in hand.  Cullen does have a Cup ring with the 2006 Hurricanes, which should make for a really good add this off-season.

Recent Contract Extensions (Aug 4)

The Vancouver Canucks have shown a whole lot of faith in their latest acquisition, forward Brandon Sutter, as they signed him to a 5-year contract extension on Tuesday, only a week after acquiring him from the Pittsburgh Penguins.  The deal is reportedly worth $21.875 million, which works out to an annual cap hit of $4.375 million.

If you didn't click on the link for the trade, you wouldn't have found out there that in the 2015 season, Sutter scored 21 goals and 33 points in 80 games for the Penguins, ranking him just inside of the pool worthiness in the rankings.

A Guide to the Injury Prone for 2015

The injury prone list makes another appearance this year and it is a very important list, as it has proven to be a pretty good tool, when looking at players that you might want to avoid for your hockey pool team or at the very least, assume some risk, if you decide to add him to your roster.

Much like a lot of things in a hockey pool, luck plays a huge part of what you're going to get in a hockey season, but if you can identify those players that have a history of getting hurt, there is a good chance that they will get hurt again.  When players are hurt, there is absolutely no way they will be able to get you any points.

When I do my player rankings for scoring, I prefer to sort players by their games played or minutes played in a descending order, because it is far more important to have players that give you a chance for points, more so than it is than their points scoring ratio.  Rarely does that really come into play, but I think it makes a difference.

Here is one that possibly should have been added to the list years ago, but quietly hid away from the list for a while, until now.  Montreal forward Max Pacioretty, the 36th best player in hockey pool points last year, is expected to miss training camp and possibly the opening week of the 2016 season, thanks to a knee injury he suffered in training, back in July.  The injury was expected to keep him out for 12 weeks and when you combine that with numerous little injuries here and there, can he really be trusted on your hockey pool team?

There may not be a great dent on his regular season points with this particular injury, because there is a chance he could suit up on opening night and not miss a game, but the argument does present itself... how will missing training camp affect the start of his season?  Most of these players are in such great shape as it is, training camp isn't quite what it used to be and the only thing Pacioretty may miss is his timing.

In doing some research for the Rumour Mill blog, it dawned on me that Kyle Okposo has been missing from this list of players that can't seem to play a full season.  The 2015 season was marred by an upper-body injury, which cost him 22 games, while a lower-body injury cost him 10 games in the 2014 season.  To be fair, he played a full shortened season in 2013, getting all 48 games, but does that really count?  2012 had a few games missed, while a shoulder injury in 2011 cost him 44 games.  Maybe in total, he'll be a guy that can play a short season, but the rigors of the full 82-game schedule are a bit much, perhaps?

Last season, without much mention of any injury prone status, Okposo's stock was quite high, as he went in the 3rd round of the draft.  It will be interesting to see where he lands this year, seeing as though he is still with the Islanders, after a rumour-filled off-season.

The three out of the last four seasons for Mark Giordano have been marred by some long-term injuries. The only season that wasn't, was the 2013 shortened season, where he managed to play 47 of 48 games that year. Otherwise, it was a leg injury in the 2012 season that cost him 21 games, a lower-body injury in the 2014 season that cost him 18 games and then the bicep tear in the 2015 season, which had him sidelined for the last 21 regular season games and then the entire playoff run.  He did manage to play 82 games in a season, but the last time he was able to do that was in 2011.

I would have to agree with those who were clamoring for a Norris Trophy nomination, before he was hurt this year, but it does appear that now that his role has increased with the Flames, Giordano does come with a fair bit of risk.  His torn bicep should be healed and ready to go for October 7th, but where will he fit in the hockey pool draft?

There are always going to be players that are missed when producing this list year over year and a good example of this is goaltender Steve Mason, who isn't a stranger to seeing the team therapist or doctor to look at something that is nagging at him.  In the 2015 season, Mason missed a total of 18 games on the shelf, dealing with a back injury and a couple of times with a knee injury in the New Year.  Mason still had an okay year with the Flyers, ranking 148th overall in pool scoring with 18 wins and 45 points.

The Flyers don't have a great deal of depth in goal, so they will be relying heavily on Mason to have another strong year, but I would be tempering my expectations with him, not exactly giving him the benefit of the doubt and likely making him one of the last few NHL starters I would consider for my hockey pool team.

The last four seasons have been more misses than hits for Nashville Predators centre Mike Fisher, thanks to a myriad of little injuries here and there.  In the 2015 season, a notable Achilles tendon injury kept him from the start of the season, missing out on the first 21 games of the year and then missing out on a couple more games at the end of the year and a few in the playoffs.  The last time he had played 82 games was in the 2011 season, the year he was dealt to Nashville from Ottawa and since then it has been an off-and-on relationship with him and the Predators lineup.

Despite the injuries, Fisher still finished 188th overall in pool scoring and was an adequate Waiver Draft pick-up in the year, taken in the second Waiver Draft of the year and picking up 14 points in the last nine weeks of the season.

I think there is a lot to like about Taylor Hall's game, but his recklessness is what costs him in the end. There has been plenty of resistance, in my own pondering, to putting him on this list, but another year, where he's missed 29 games and it lands him here and now he moves into the next draft season as a discounted superstar.  Hall definitely has the potential to be a 90-point player in the NHL, but he would have to play in all 82 games to get there, a feat he has never accomplished.  Hall's best season out of his five was 2014, where he played in 75 games and picked up 80 points.

With a new look overall to the Oilers in the coming season, it will be very interesting to see where Hall fits in and whether or not his game is a little less reckless, since he isn't the poster boy in town anymore.

I could have sworn that James Wisniewski was added to this list already, but it wasn't the case.  In fairness, his 2015 season was tempered by a coach's decision to be a healthy scratch, after moving from Columbus to Anaheim at the trade deadline.  The 31-year old rearguard did miss eight games to three different injuries during the year, so he doesn't get off scot-free in this occasion.  There were seven games missed in 2014, 18 games missed in 2013 to injury and 26 games in 2012 were lost.  Overall, he hasn't been terribly lucky, which is really tough, because he can be quite effective on the scoresheet and in your hockey pool team, but he just has to play.

Since he wasn't getting much of a chance in Anaheim, it seemed logical that the Ducks would eventually move Wisniewski to greener (or more active) pastures and that's just what they did in the deal that moved him to Carolina.  This move won't take care of his injury prone status, but it should help his playing time, as their blueline remains thin.  He's still a risky pick, but could be a bargain, if you pick him up late.

Two goalies added to the list in one year? That's unheard of.  Ottawa's Craig Anderson hits the list with a fairly substantial list of injuries to his name, how he hasn't made the list before is a head-scratcher as well.  In the 2015 season, Anderson missed 19 games to a bruised hand, missing 14 games through February and then missing another five games after possibly coming back a little too soon, perhaps?  Anderson has a record of missing games in his career, a few games here, a handful there and a bunch over there, so he should come with some kind of a warning for hockey poolies.  It also doesn't help that his 2015 season came with the least amount of points in recent memory, 34 points in 35 appearances on the ice.

The Senators goaltending is still being debated about, even after the departure of Robin Lehner to Buffalo.  Anderson's name has been on the list of available keepers through trade, especially since the Senators are now quite high on Andrew Hammond.  Anderson's usefulness as a veteran will help his club, but if a team runs into injury trouble, they might come knocking on Ottawa's door, looking for another injury prone concern.

Can a move to Buffalo, NY prove to be what the doctor ordered for Evander Kane and his inability to play a full NHL season?  Kane's personal best is 74 games in the 2012 season in Winnipeg, where he was able to score 30 goals, but otherwise, his numbers have been less than stellar.  A couple of lower-body injuries and then shoulder surgery limited his play in the 2015 season, not to mention that suspension as well.  All of these have led to more questions than answers about what Kane can bring to an NHL club, which is too bad for a player that was taken with the 4th overall pick in 2009.

Kane was a 5th round pick in last year's draft and I can't see him being any higher than that, especially after a season like 2015.  There will be some renewed hope in his game and being removed from the Canadian market microscope could help his cause as well.  I would still be somewhat weary of what he brings to the table this year.

It's been a few seasons since Montreal forward PA Parenteau played in at least 80 games, but he is another player that hasn't been fortunate enough to play in a full 82-game schedule either. The last three years, two in Colorado and one in Montreal, have not been kind to the 32-year old veteran, as knee problems have been at the root of his health concerns, including an MCL tear in 2014.  Parenteau was a huge help to the Avalanche that year, helping the kids with some veteran presence, but he still wasn't able to be a full season player and it wouldn't surprise me if his health was one of the reasons why the Avs let him walk to Montreal.

I would be very cautious here, even though he won't really pop up on your list right away, thanks to those injury-riddled numbers he had.  You may want to keep your 2016 projections low for the draft and possibly explore his abilities later on in the year, possibly as a Waiver Draft pick-up.

When you have speed to burn, like Michael Grabner, you would think that the rest of the league would have a hard time catching you, let alone getting a chance to injure you.  In his five seasons on Long Island, the slick skating Austrian has gone from missing a few games per season to having more and more periods of time on the shelf.  He can score at some reasonable clips, including 37 points in 45 games during the shortened 2013 season, but a concussion in the 2014 season and hernia surgery in the 2015 season are only two reasons why he has missed some significant time in recent years.

There's very little question that this kid can fly on the ice, he also shows some flashes of some skill on the rush, but his increasing time in the infirmary has me concerned and very weary on wanting to take him, especially late, as a potential sleeper.  You want someone who is going to be playing more nights, in order to be a good sleeper and Grabner hasn't shown that in a little while.

Earlier in the Summer, it was announced that Pittsburgh Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis was given the green light to come back from the blood clot issue he had in his lungs, which was great news.  He will be on special blood thinners, which has been determined, will be enough to let him continue his NHL career, but it does raise a lot of concerns for the betting public, like us poolies.  Dupuis, over his last couple of seasons, when you take into account a major knee injury as well, hasn't been very lucky, but has been fairly fortunate in his career, as a whole.  It is what they've done for us lately and going forward, there are concerns, so he takes a spot on the list, something to be aware of, when it comes time to draft.

Dupuis' knee injury did force the hockey pool to look over him at the initial draft in September last season, but he was thought to be a bit of a diamond in the rough, when the preseason Waiver Draft came along, as he was snapped up as an injury replacement before the regular season came along.  It will be interesting to see where he fits in this September.

Players Added in Years Past

Now, it's part of the post, where I'll go over some of the previously inducted members of the club, see how their 2015 went, possibly offering a little bit more insight going forward.  We'll head down the list, according to their pool points last years, ranking their importance.

Tops on the list is Sidney Crosby, who finished 11th in pool scoring, thanks to the year of the goalie.  Last season, he was able to play in 77 of 82 games, as he was caught by the mumps invasion for a few games and then lost a couple more games to minor knocks later on in the season.  He continues to carry risk, especially when it comes to concussions, even though it was the 2012 season, when he last missed time to the head injury.

Dallas number one keeper, Kari Lehtonen, was next on the list, finishing 14th in pool scoring in 2015, and he missed a total of eight games to injury, including three games to a minor concussion of his own.  Being on this list should be enough reason for the Stars to have acquired the rights and signed Antti Niemi from the Sharks.

Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin comes in 3rd on the list, despite playing only 69 games in 2015, yet still finishing 31st in pool scoring.  Lower-body injuries (the same or different, who knows?) starting at the end of January was what led to the All-Star Russian to miss his 13 games in the year, his longest stretch being six games from the middle of March.  Malkin hasn't played an 82-game season since 2009.

It wasn't a bad year for Alex Steen of the St. Louis Blues, as he only missed eight games in total in 2015, suffering a couple of lower-body injuries of his own in the year, his longest stretch out was six games closer to the end of the regular season.  Steen finished 51st in pool scoring, with 24 goals and 64 points.

Will the addition of Connor McDavid make this a little dicier for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who is on the injury prone list?  Nugent-Hopkins missed another six games in 2015, which isn't terrible, by any stretch of the imagination, but the $6 million centre has only played 80 games once in his career and could likely use a big year to finally get his career back on track.

Tampa Bay forward Ryan Callahan helped his side to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, but in the regular season, he still missed five games, thanks to a lower-body injury, which put him on the Injured Reserve at the start of the season.  Otherwise, it was a pretty good year for the rough and tumble veteran.  2009 was Callahan's last season of 80 or more games, playing in 81 for the Rangers.

Pittsburgh defenseman Kristopher Letang comes with a boat load of risk, but with that risk comes a ton of reward, if he can stay healthy.  In 2015, Letang missed 13 regular season games and all five playoff games for the team, the last portion of the season lost to a concussion.  Unfortunately, the stroke that Letang suffered in 2014 will linger for us poolies, but you know someone will take that risk and it will be that risk that defines their season.

If a player was ever moving closer and closer to coming off the list, which I believe is impossible, but fun to contemplate, Montreal defenseman Andrei Markov appears to be that guy.  Markov missed one game in 2015, not due to the injury, the same in 2014, played the entire shortened season in 2013, but his status has been awarded to him in years previous.  I would say that you could tread a bit more confidently with the veteran, but injury prone status will always be there.

The first full 82-game season on the list comes in at 115th in overall scoring, as Toronto centre Tyler Bozak played the whole year with the Leafs, his first full season since 2011.  He may be a little less risky than some for injury reasons, but he's still a risk, being in Toronto and all.

An injury prone favourite, Los Angeles' Marian Gaborik, missed 13 games in the 2015 regular season, thanks to two upper-body injuries for 12 games and an illness cost him the other game.  The 33-year old Slovak has been so up and down in his career, having actually played 82 games in a season back with the Rangers in 2012.  There doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to the number of games he plays or misses, but he does come with significant risk, not to mention some lower projected totals on a lower scoring Kings team.

Last Summer, Loui Eriksson was added to the list, thanks to a concussion-filled 2014 season.  Concussions are not necessarily the same as being injury prone, but I only have one list and Eriksson made it on that merit.  His 2015 season was fairly solid, missing a game due to a bruised hand, so he still played in 81 games.  Concussions are definitely flags that go up for players that get picked in the pool and I think he still carries a risk.

Another entry from 2009, St. Louis forward Paul Stastny didn't get his first season with his new team off to a great start, missing eight games to a sprained shoulder in the first couple weeks, but did manage to come back and play the rest of the season.  Stastny has yet to play a full season since he was added to the list, missing games here and there, hardly able to be relied upon to play a full 82-game schedule.  Adjust accordingly.

Defenseman Mike Green is on his way to Detroit, after spending many years with the Washington Capitals and he takes his injury prone status with him.  In the 2015 season, Green was on the shelf four times, once for seven games with an upper-body injury and the rest were just nights off, for a total of 10 games out.  He has put together back-to-back seasons of 70+ games, but you're likely going to want 80+ games out of your players, so you get more points, so it remains a concern.

Next up on the list, New Jersey's Mike Cammalleri, who was added to the list last Summer, he missed another 14 games in the 2015 season, thanks to a jaw injury, an upper-body injury, a lower-body injury and then he was sick in March.  He was still good for 27 goals on the season for the Devils, but he could have been a 30+ guy in the year, if he didn't miss time.  He seems to be a risk to miss a little bit of time, each year and should be drafted as such.

Also added last year, Winnipeg's Mathieu Perreault, who was added after a rough year in Anaheim and he continued to suffer some injuries with his new team, the Jets.  Perreault had a couple of upper-body injuries in November and January, then missed 16 games to a leg injury in February & March.  The 27-year old centre has never played a full season in the NHL in the better part of six years.

Free agent forward Erik Cole had a poor finish to the 2015 season, as an upper-body injury forced him from the last 10 regular season games and cost him the Red Wings' opening round of the playoffs.  Cole has had some good years of health, since being added to the list in 2008, but the 36-year old is getting up there in years and despite a good season between Dallas/Detroit, he continues to have the warning about being injury prone.

Nashville scoring winger James Neal didn't have the scoring numbers last season and he also missed some more time, due to injury, in 2015.  A lower-body injury and an upper-body injury in the New Year cost Neal 14 games combined and he also missed a game, due to illness, in the year as well.  Since the Predators are not the offensive juggernaut of some of his previous teams, his risk is doubled up.

The Dallas Stars signed up an injury prone favourite last Summer, Ales Hemsky, and he repaid them with a very good, relatively healthy year, playing in 76 games.  In February, Hemsky missed a few games to a lower-body injury, but otherwise was on point for the Stars.  He still remains a high risk player and his scoring has declined in recent years, as he snuck on the pool worthy part of this list with 32 points.

The last of the pool worthy forwards on the list is Carolina's Jeff Skinner, who has some blazing speed to his name, but he also takes a lot of knocks.  The beginning of the 2015 season got off to a rocky start, as a concussion sidelined him for four games and he also missed a game to an illness.  Concussion problems are something to really stay away from, if you can, even if the player plays through the season after the fact.

The last defenseman on the pool worthy portion of this list is Buffalo's Zach Bogosian, who made the move from the Jets to the Sabres during the season and missed some time with both teams in the year.  In Winnipeg, he missed time with a lower-body injury, costing him 14 games and then with Buffalo, he missed another six games, also with a lower-body injury.  He should be primed up for some big minutes in Buffalo this season, but will he play all the games?

There are a few more names worth noting and not forgetting about.  The forwards include Arizona's Martin Hanzal, Buffalo's David Legwand, Calgary's Mikael Backlund, Detroit's Johan Franzen, Montreal's Lars Eller & Alex Semin, Philadelphia's Vincent Lecavalier and Toronto's Joffrey Lupul.  On defense, Anaheim's Kevin Bieksa and free agents Sergei Gonchar, Eric Brewer and Anton Volchenkov should all be noted.

Sens Win in New Hoffman Deal

Another arbitration decision came down on Monday, as the Ottawa Senators and forward Mike Hoffman had their decision revealed, a 1-year deal, worth $2 million.

Hoffman, 25, still had his rookie status in the 2015 season, had arbitration rights and elected to use them for a new deal, but he didn't come nearly as close as his desired $3.4 million, rather the arbitrator sided more with the team, which owent in offering $1.7 million.

In his first full season with the club, Hoffman finished with 27 goals and 48 points in 79 games, which was good enough for 120th overall in pool scoring, 83rd among all forwards.

In the 2014 season, he did make 25 appearances, scoring 3 goals and 6 points for the club, so he was able to make that step up, once he saw his full-time promotion.

Given that it took so long for Hoffman to break into the league with the Senators, I don't think he should be in line for the traditional sophomore slump that we see on a fairly regular basis.  He'll go into this season a little bit more mature and he does have the potential for a 30-goal season.

The Senators didn't make any big splashes this Summer, so they will be relying heavily on their youth movement to carry them, possibly into the playoffs.  Hoffman, along with Mark Stone and Curtis Lazar, they'll be the key components to the team's top six and how they do, will likely determine how well the team does overall.

Leafs Forced to Pay Bernier

The Toronto Maple Leafs couldn't get a deal done with their number one goaltender, as they had to go through their club-elected arbitration hearing and the decision came down on Sunday, which the team had to commit to. The arbitrator ruled that Jonathan Bernier was worth a 2-year, $8.3 million deal, which came out much closer to what the player was looking for, than what the team was looking to pay for him.

The $4.15 million cap hit for Bernier is very reasonable for a starting goaltender in the league and wasn't too far from the $5.1 million he was reportedly looking for.

The Leafs finished 15th out of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference, which meant that there was not a lot of wins to be had for Bernier and company.  The 27-year old keeper finished 26th among all goalies in pool scoring, ending up with 21 wins, 2 shutouts and an assist for 47 points.

I won't say that the season for the Leafs can be blamed on Bernier, but he certainly couldn't do enough to stop the bleeding at times, which can be very frustrating.

The 2016 season doesn't project to be a very good one for the Maple Leafs, as their turnover both upstairs and at ice-level will bring some serious growing pains.  That's not to say that this team won't win any games, they'll likely pull a few games out of the fire, but it will be another frustrating year, as they try and find their way.

Currently, I have Bernier projecting for a few less points in the 2016 season, but only a few.  I think he's a quality goaltender and he'll stand out from time to time and he should be able to give some confidence to the team in front of him.  Just don't count on him for a huge season.

Caps & Johansson Sign On the Decision

On Friday, the Washington Capitals came to terms with restricted free agent forward Marcus Johansson, signing him to a 1-year deal, reportedly worth $3.75 million.

Johansson was the last of the restricted free agents that the Capitals were to take care of in this off-season and they had to do so via an arbitration hearing last week.  The decision hit pretty well the middle between where the two sides were asking, so it appears to have worked out for both sides.

Last season, Johansson played pretty well for the Capitals, scoring 20 goals and 47 points in all 82 games for the club, which ranked him 128th overall in pool scoring, 90th among all forwards.

The 24-year old Swede has now played in five seasons in Washington and he has become a very productive and reliable winger for the team and they'll need to see some improved numbers from a guy like him, if they are going to go over the hump and be an Eastern Conference contender.

Saying that, the Capitals have made some improvements to their roster in this offseason, adding T.J. Oshie via trade and signing Justin Williams, bolstering their offense up front.  There should be a few more options for assists for Johansson in the coming year, but I'm not necessarily convinced that his numbers will go up, quite yet.

For now, I think the early projections are going to be around where he was last season and we'll keep a close eye on him, come training camp.  Where he lines up and who he plays with will be a big part of whether or not his numbers will increase or not.