Weber a Winner in Arbitration

Generally speaking, when a team and a player go to arbitration, there is usually a gap that needed to be closed, in terms of salary figures.  Well, the Nashville Predators and defenseman Shea Weber didn't have a gap to close, rather a chasm to jump over.   The Predators reportedly came into the meeting with a desired salary number of $4.5 million, while their number one defender came with a desired number of $8.5 million, according to a number of Twitter sources.  A difference of $4 million is an awful long way to jump and let's just say... the Predators didn't make it.

The final arbitration award came down on Wednesday afternoon... 1-year, $7.5 million.  The largest arbitration award ever given in NHL history.  Weber came away with a windfall and now the questions will follow... how long will Weber last with the Predators and will the team want to sign him long-term or what will this do for the negotiations for Ryan Suter and Pekka Rinne next Summer?

Is Weber worth the windfall?  Well, in 2011, the 25-year old defenseman finished the year ranked 10th among all defensemen in scoring, picking up 16 goals and 32 assists in all 82 games, earning a Norris Trophy finalist nod and helping the Predators to their first appearance in the Conference Semi-Finals in the Spring.

A lot of prognostications and guesses had Weber in the $6 to $7 million range, the lower end possibly being closer to market value, in terms of scoring, but he must have had some real good points going into arbitration, because he scored big time with this decision.

Forwards	Defense	Goalies
Sergei Kostitsyn	Shea Weber	Pekka Rinne
Martin Erat	Ryan Suter	Anders Lindback
Patric Hornqvist	Kevin Klein
David Legwand	Francis Bouillon
Mike Fisher	Brett Lebda
Niclas Bergfors
Colin Wilson
Jordin Tootoo
Nick Spaling
Jerred Smithson
Blake Geoffrion

The addition of Weber to the team table means that the Predators have jumped up the salary cap ladder, nearing the salary cap floor with only a few spots to fill.  The $7.5 million hit now brings the team's projected cap hit for the 2012 season to $47.6 million, with still a couple of defensemen to secure their spots and likely a couple more forwards as well.  With the cap floor down at $48.3 million, making up $700,000 would only take two players at minimum wage, so four would make them safe.

I did have a couple of names added to the Predators' projected top six defensemen earlier this week, but neither Jonathan Blum or Tyler Sloan qualified for this table, which needs at least 41 games or a fairly certain spot on the team to make it.  I would imagine that Blum is close, but I wouldn't say it is for sure... yet.

Sharks Add Colin White

It didn't take long for Colin White to find some new work. The 33-year old defenseman has landed in the tank in San Jose, signing a 1-year deal with the Sharks for a reported $1 million. White, who was bought out by the New Jersey Devils earlier in the week, became an unrestricted free agent and his defensive and physical capabilities were highly-sought after, not to mention some Stanley Cup rings and experience.

In 2011 with the Devils, White had 6 assists in 69 games, which didn't figure to be much for the fantasy pools, but his rugged play may help the team with an extra win or two here or there, which looks good for either Niemi or Niittymaki.

Forwards	Defense	Goalies
Patrick Marleau	Dan Boyle	Antti Niemi
Joe Thornton	Brent Burns	Antero Niittymaki
Joe Pavelski	Jason Demers
Ryane Clowe	Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Martin Havlat	Jim Vandermeer
Logan Couture	Doug Murray
Michal Handzus	Colin White
Torrey Mitchell
Jamie McGinn

It has been a little while since we've seen a projected team roster for the Sharks, so I thought I would post one today.

The Sharks have made some significant changes and they look like they could be a much tougher team to play against in the 2012 season, keeping a good portion of their scoring punch intact.  White should do a great job making the Sharks tougher to play against, especially with guys like Vandermeer or Murray possibly lining up with him.

With White on the books for the 2012 season and all the other changes in place above, the Sharks have a projected annual cap hit of $57.7 million for 17 players (nine forwards, seven defense and two goalies) and two buyouts.  This leaves the team to fill upwards of four forward spots in their line-up, possibly filling out the bottom six with some of their home-grown talent.

Blackhawks Extend Sharp

It was said to be a priority to get Patrick Sharp signed on for the long-term in Chicago and on Wednesday afternoon, it was announced that they have done just that. The team and player have agreed upon a 5-year contract extension, which begins in the 2013 season and runs through the 2017 season, posting an annual cap hit of $5.9 million per year ($29.5 million in total).  Sharp, 29, was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2012 season, but the team made sure that was not going to happen.

Sharp's current deal, which he signed in 2008, has a $3.9 million cap hit, so his raise is rather substantial.

In the 2011 season, Sharp finished 37th overall in pool scoring, 22nd among all forwards, 4th on the team, with 71 points (34 goals and 37 assists) in 74 games with the Blackhawks.  His value as a top six forward is immense, as he plays an excellent two-way game for Chicago and he has been tabbed as one of the team's core players.

When the deal becomes active, Sharp will be one of six players on the team that has a cap hit of over $5 million per season, the others being Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith.  It would be safe to say that they are the core of this Blackhawks team and they will be together for at least the next four seasons.

Zherdev Heads Home

In the 2011 season, Nikolai Zherdev returned from the KHL to play with the Philadelphia Flyers and his impact with the club was next to nothing, not really posting good numbers for his projected talent level.  Zherdev finished with 22 points (16 goals and 6 assists) in only 56 games, ending up as a regular in the press box as a healthy scratch through the year and missing a couple of games to a groin injury.  Adding all of that up, Zherdev headed to unrestricted free agency and did not get the kind of offers he was hoping for, so he is on his way back to Russia to play in the KHL again.

Reports out on Twitter on Wednesday suggest that he did receive some interest in the NHL, but the dollar figures were not to his liking, so he is on his way home.  Since there was some interest, I wouldn't necessarily count another return to the NHL out for Zherdev, but he'll likely have to take that pay cut to play in North America.

Comeau Re-Signs on the Island

The New York Islanders avoided arbitration with forward Blake Comeau this week by signing the restricted free agent forward to a 1-year, $2.5 million deal on Tuesday night.  Comeau was the last of the scheduled arbitration hearings, but the team and the player closed whatever gap they had before heading to the hearing on Wednesday.

In 2011, Comeau finished 108th in scoring among forwards with 24 goals and 22 assists in 77 games with the Islanders, as his game slowly begins to pick up some steam from year to year.

If Comeau continues to improve on his scoring production, which he has seen a steady improvement over the past few seasons, the Islanders may really be able to start piecing a couple more wins together, bringing the team out of the Eastern Conference basement and into the playoff picture.

Perron to Start Season on the Shelf

A meeting between Blues management and David Perron has come to the conclusion that the 23-year old forward will start the season away from the ice and on the shelf.

Perron has been dealing with a major concussion and all of its symptoms since the beginning of November, which limited his 2011 sesaon to only 10 games, where he scored 5 goals and added 2 assists.

The Blues think that Perron should be able to return to the ice at some point this season, but at this point, there are no guarantees.  With a major concussion like this, the first thing that has to be taken care of is his overall health, which may put his NHL career in jeopardy.

Nevertheless, you may want to scratch him from your fantasy draft list, especially since concussions can come back and bite a player.

Kesler Undergoes Hip Surgery

The Vancouver Canucks announced on Tuesday afternoon that forward Ryan Kesler had undergone successful hip labral surgery, which is expected to keep the Selke Trophy winner out for 10-to-12 weeks.

Worst case scenario, the 12 weeks, would put Kesler back in action around October 25th, which would mean he would miss the first three weeks of the season, give or take a few days.  Kesler had reportedly had this surgery once before and he was on the better side of the projected return dates, so we might be able to take that into consideration, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

Kesler finished 30th in pool scoring in 2011 with 73 points in 82 games, which will now take a small discount in projections for the 2012 season.  If Kesler returns on the 25th against the Oilers, he will have only have missed eight games, which should be your adjustment going into the pool, possibly discounting by 6-to-12 points overall, counting in some rust shaking games.

Devils Buyout Hunter and White

On Monday, the New Jersey Devils placed newly-acquired forward Trent Hunter and veteran defenseman Colin White on unconditional waivers with the purpose of buying out the remainder of their contracts.  On Tuesday, the process was completed, as both players cleared waivers and were handed their walking papers and a portion of the remaining years on their deals, opening up cap space for the Devils going forward in the 2012 season.

Hunter, acquired in the deal that sent Brian Rolston to Long Island, looked like he could be a good fit in the team's bottom six on paper, but that obviously didn't seem to be the case for Devils management, who likely had the intention of buying him out since the day of the deal, making the extra cap space for Rolston leaving that much better.

Trent Hunter buyout from CapGeek.com
2011-12: $666,667
2012-13: $666,667
2013-14: $666,667
2014-15: $666,667

A career New Jersey Devils defenseman, White has seen some of the best years in the swamp and wallowed through some of the worst years, including the 2011 season, but that didn't seem to save his relationship for the 2012 season, as they have now cut him loose.

Colin White buyout from CapGeek.com
2011-12: $1,000,000
2012-13: $1,000,000

Before these buyouts went down, the Devils were holding on to 20 players (13 forwards, five defense, two goalies) and two buyouts already on the books for a projected cap hit of $56.8 million. Take down a forward and a defenseman, add two more buyouts, and the team's projected cap hit for the 2012 season will be $53.4 million, a savings of $3.4 million.

Nabokov Willing to Play

A positive turn of events for the New York Islanders on Monday, as it was announced that goaltender Evgeni Nabokov would indeed play for the team in the 2012 season, if the team so chooses to keep him on board for the regular season.

Nabokov played a good portion of the 2011 season in the KHL, but ended up being released from his deal and became an NHL-eligible unrestricted free agent midway through the year.  In January, the free agent goaltender signed with the Detroit Red Wings, hoping to give a very strong team an extra boost for a playoff run.  Unfortunately for the Red Wings, any player that has played in Europe during the same regular season that he is signed in has to clear waivers to be eligible to play for that team.  As we all know, Nabokov did not clear those initial waivers, claimed by the Islanders the very next day.

An interesting article posted today had Nabokov quoted as saying that he was nowhere near ready to join the Red Wings as soon as he was signed on, not having skated and/or played in well over a month, saying that the Wings were prepared to wait for him to prepare, to give the Central Division club some more depth in net.  Since the Islanders had claimed him, they were not going to head towards the playoffs and it was going to be fruitless for him to get into shape for only a small period of the season.

With that all said and done, Nabokov will prepare for the 2012 season with the Islanders, still on the 1-year, $570,000 deal he signed with the Red Wings, which carries over due to him not playing in 2011.  The interesting thought will be where Nabokov fits in or whether or not the Islanders will keep the goaltender for the coming year.  Nabokov should be able to attract some good trade offers with teams that may need some goaltending, the Islanders may look seriously at that, since they still have a franchise goaltender (in theory) with Rick DiPietro.

I think we'll all keep a close eye on this situation, this could have some serious pool implications, especially if he can win the starting job here.

Projected Top Six Defenses

I've got some time this afternoon, I thought I would have a look at the current projections for top six defensemen in the league, just for shits and giggles. I was curious, thought I would look at a number of elements and compare by division. The elements that I've decided to look at are scoring, experience (age), future potential, size and cap value (descending order).  The only non-measurable element that I have of the five is potential, but in my mind, that takes what their youth looks like in this top six and ranks it objectively (if possible).

To qualify for the projected top six, the players do have to be signed, which does leave a few names out in the cold, but this is by no means scientific.  It's just a comparison, giving myself (and whoever decides to read this) an idea about what's going on.

Andy Greene	Andrew MacDonald	Dan Girardi	Matt Carle	Kris Letang
Henrik Tallinder	Travis Hamonic	Marc Staal	Kimmo Timonen	Paul Martin
Mark Fayne	Milan Jurcina	Micheal Sauer	Andrej Meszaros	Zbynek Michalek
Anton Volchenkov	Mark Eaton	Michael Del Zotto	Chris Pronger	Ben Lovejoy
Matt Corrente	Mike Mottau	Ryan McDonagh	Braydon Coburn	Brooks Orpik
Adam Larsson	Mark Streit	Steve Eminger	Andreas Lilja	Matt Niskanen

2011 Scoring: PHI, PIT, NYR, NYI, NJD
Experience: PHI, NYI, PIT, NJD, NYR
Potential: NYR, NJD, NYI, PIT, PHI
Size: PHI, NYR, NYI, NJD, PIT
Cap Value: PHI, PIT, NJD, NYR, NYI

The projected top six defense corps in the Atlantic Division looks fairly dominated by the Flyers, as they have some great scoring numbers from last season, all kinds of experience from top to bottom, massive size and inevitably, cost the most.  The Penguins do have plenty of offense in their six, not to mention some decent experience and they cashed in last Summer, which would suggest that they have a shot at doing some great things.  The Rangers are the wild card of the five, to me, as Del Zotto and McDonagh have the potential to really put their six into the spotlight.  They might not have the experience, but they have the potential to lift their scoring to great heights, all for a reasonable cap hit.

Zdeno Chara	Christian Ehrhoff	P.K. Subban	Erik Karlsson	John-Michael Liles
Joe Corvo	Tyler Myers	Jaroslav Spacek	Sergei Gonchar	Dion Phaneuf
Dennis Seidenberg	Jordan Leopold	Yannick Weber	Filip Kuba	Cody Franson
Johnny Boychuk	Andrej Sekera	Hal Gill	Chris Phillips	Carl Gunnarsson
Andrew Ference	Mike Weber	Josh Gorges	Mark Carkner	Mike Komisarek
Adam McQuaid	Robyn Regehr	Andrei Markov	Brian Lee	Keith Aulie

2011 Scoring: BUF, BOS, TOR, OTT, MTL
Experience: BOS, OTT, MTL, BUF, TOR
Potential: TOR, MTL, BUF, BOS, OTT
Size: BOS, TOR, BUF, OTT, MTL
Cap Value: TOR, BOS, MTL, BUF, OTT

The Northeast Division has a very good blueline battle on their hands, pretty well across the board.  The Sabres bought a lot of talent in the off-season, the Bruins swapped out some pieces, the Canadiens are still reeling from their injuries last year, the Leafs have the potential to start scoring back there, while the Sens are still growing into a new identity.  The Bruins and Sabres will lock up into some great battles, but the Canadiens could shoot past with a healthy Markov, while the Leafs can play the wild card, especially if Franson and Aulie turn up trumps with their potential.

Tomas Kaberle	Brian Campbell	Brett Clark	Dennis Wideman	Dustin Byfuglien
Joni Pitkanen	Dimitri Kulikov	Victor Hedman	John Carlson	Tobias Enstrom
Jamie McBain	Ed Jovanovski	Pavel Kubina	Roman Hamrlik	Ron Hainsey
Bryan Allen	Mike Weaver	Eric Brewer	Mike Green	Johnny Oduya
Tim Gleason	Keaton Ellerby	M-A Bergeron	Karl Alzner	Randy Jones
Jay Harrison	Erik Gudbranson	Mattias Ohlund	Jeff Schultz	Mark Stuart

2011 Scoring: WPG, WAS, CAR, FLA, TAM
Experience: TAM, WPG, CAR, FLA, WAS
Potential: WAS, FLA, WPG, TAM, CAR
Size: TAM, WAS, CAR, WPG, FLA
Cap Value: WPG, WAS, TAM, CAR, FLA

The Southeast Division hasn't necessarily been known for their defensive prowess, more so their offensive skills, in the past few seasons.  The Jets will come into the 2012 season, boasting a very offensive top six with Byfuglien and Enstrom leading the way.  Passed those two, the team may want to hold on for dear life.  The Capitals, with a healthy Green on their side, should move back up into the top spot in the blueline scoring this coming season, especially with the addition of Hamrlik to the side.  The Panthers are definitely the wild card of this division, adding players via trades and free agency, plus the potential of Gudbranson is currently off the charts.  Tampa is getting older, not so much savvier, while Carolina will play hard, but something is lacking, I can't quite put my finger on it now.

Brent Seabrook	James Wisniewski	Nicklas Lidstrom	Ryan Suter	Alex Pietrangelo
Duncan Keith	Fedor Tyutin	Niklas Kronwall	Kevin Klein	Kevin Shattenkirk
Steve Montador	Kris Russell	Ian White	Francis Bouillon	Carlo Colaiacovo
Sean O'Donnell	Grant Clitsome	Brad Stuart	Brett Lebda	Barret Jackman
Sami Lepisto	Radek Martinek	Jonathan Ericsson	Jonathan Blum	Roman Polak
Nik Hjalmarsson	Marc Methot	Mike Commodore	Tyler Sloan	Kent Huskins

2011 Scoring: DET, CHI, CBJ, STL, NAS
Experience: DET, CHI, NAS, CBJ, STL
Potential: STL, NAS, CBJ, DET, CHI
Size: CHI, CBJ, STL, DET, NAS
Cap Value: DET, CHI, CBJ, STL, NAS

The Red Wings and Blackhawks are really running away with this competition in the Central Division, especially with the arbitration hearing of Shea Weber to happen on Tuesday for the Predators. Even Weber's numbers won't help the Predators too much in some cases, except for possibly size and cap value.  The depth in Chicago and Detroit are hard to match in this division, while the Blues have all the potential in Pietrangelo and Shattenkirk on their side, not to mention a still-growing Polak.  The Jackets may have added some help, but Wisniewski can still be a bit wild, unsure if he'll really be able to help in Columbus, unless he gets some good help of his own.

Marc Giordano	Erik Johnson	Ryan Whitney	Marek Zidlicky	Alex Edler
Anton Babchuk	Jan Hejda	Tom Gilbert	Nick Schultz	Dan Hamhuis
Jay Bouwmeester	Ryan Wilson	Theo Peckham	Jared Spurgeon	Kevin Bieksa
Cory Sarich	Matt Hunwick	Ladislav Smid	Mike Lundin	Sami Salo
Chris Butler	Ryan O'Byrne	Cam Barker	Clayton Stoner	Keith Ballard
Brendan Mikkelson	Shane O'Brien	Jeff Petry	Greg Zanon	Aaron Rome

2011 Scoring: CAL, VAN, COL, EDM, MIN
Experience: VAN, MIN, CAL, COL, EDM
Potential: EDM, COL, CAL, MIN, VAN
Size: COL, EDM, VAN, CAL, MIN
Cap Value: VAN, CAL, EDM, COL, MIN

With the defense sorted top to bottom by their 2011 scoring numbers, this list from the Northwest Division looks somewhat misshapen.  This division should look a little bit more dominating, but the names and the order in which they appear doesn't look all that formidable.  The Flames ran away with scoring among their six, since their six stayed healthiest throughout the year, which helps, especially for fantasy pools.  The Canucks used 13 defensemen all year in 2011, plus they lost Christian Ehrhoff to free agency, which didn't help.  The Avalanche gained some serious size, but also took on some liabilities while they were at it.  The Oilers didn't add much to their blueline for the coming year, which could hurt, while the Wild look mediocre below Zidlicky.  The systems will be important in this division, as no one really seems too far ahead, unless four of the teams were ahead of Minnesota.

Lubomir Visnovsky	Alex Goligoski	Jack Johnson	Keith Yandle	Dan Boyle
Cam Fowler	Stephane Robidas	Alec Martinez	Adrian Aucoin	Brent Burns
Toni Lydman	Trevor Daley	Rob Scuderi	Michal Rozsival	Jason Demers
Kurtis Foster	Niklas Grossman	Matt Greene	Derek Morris	Marc-Edouard Vlasic
Francois Beauchemin	Adam Pardy	Willie Mitchell	David Schlemko	Jim Vandermeer
Luca Sbisa	Sheldon Souray	Davis Drewiske	Rostislav Klesla	Doug Murray

2011 Scoring: ANA, SAN, PHO, DAL, LOS
Experience: PHO, DAL, SAN, LOS, ANA
Potential: ANA, DAL, LOS, PHO, SAN
Size: LOS, SAN, PHO, DAL, ANA
Cap Value: PHO, SAN, ANA, LOS, DAL

There is a lot of blueline talent in the Pacific Division and we are still waiting for Drew Doughty to join this list for the Kings, as he is still an unsigned restricted free agent defenseman.  The Ducks are stacked with scoring, the Sharks are not too far behind, the Coyotes have lots of experience, the Kings are pretty big and the Stars could have a nice wild card with Souray in their line-up, come October.  With the addition (and subsequent extension) of Burns to the Sharks line-up for the coming year, I would say that they would have to have the most dangerous six defenders of the five teams, which could put them over the top when the playoffs roll around again.  They will be a ripe team to pick from for the hockey pools, I expect most of them to fly off the lists.

Top five teams in each measurement...
2011 Scoring: BUF, ANA, DET, SAN, CHI
Experience: DET, PHI, PHO, TAM, BOS
Potential: ANA, STL, NYR, WAS, FLA
Size: COL, EDM, TOR, CAL, BUF
Cap Value: PHI, DET, WPG, VAN, CHI