Fire on Ice

02/03/2010 1:24 AM -  Evan Reynar

 

 

Niklas Hagman, LW/RW, CGY (56GP-20g-13a-33pts, with a (-3) and 148 shots)

Matt Stajan, C, CGY (56GP-16g-25a-41pts, with a (-4) and 13 pp points)

The recent shakeup in Calgary will surely lead to some interesting new line combinations, and for the moment it looks like Hagman and Stajan will skate with Jarome Iginla on the Flames’ top line. On paper this might not look like a huge boost from what they were working with a week ago, but this is actually the closest thing the Flames have put together as far as a true top line in quite a while. Most of the great top lines have at least one winger that can snipe, a power forward type of guy on the other wing, and a centerman that can just straight-up dish. While Hagman and Stajan aren’t exactly elite players, at least the Flames have put together some elements that can compliment each other, and these guys are going to get a chance to build that chemistry. It should be noted that it’s looking very likely that yet another major deal is in the works that could involve an elite player coming to the Flames…stay tuned.

Jason Blake, LW, ANA (57GP-10g-16a-26pts, with a (-4) and 172 shots)

With all the players moving around the last two days, Blake is perhaps the most overlooked as far as the value he could bring to his new team. Maybe he’s overpaid, but he still gets a ton of pucks on net, and he was doing that without much help in Toronto. Playing on the second line in Anaheim with Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne should give the Ducks one of the more dynamic second looks in the league. Blake should also get a decent amount of power-play time. He was on the ice for just under two minutes of the six minutes Anaheim had on the power play Monday against Florida.

David Booth, LW, FLO (11GP-2g-2a-4pts, with a (-6) and 46 shots)

Also overlooked on Sunday was the return of Booth from the devastating blindside hit by Mike Richards that saw Booth miss 45 games with a major concussion. Booth notched an assist in his first game back against the Islanders, but it’s his scoring touch that the Panthers are hoping he can reclaim. He was averaging over four shots on goal per game before he got hurt, and if he can return to that pace he should continue to get the solid goal totals he started posting last season. Be warned though that there could be some streakiness if he’s still feeling the effects of post-concussion syndrome.

Keith Yandle, D, PHO (56GP-10g-19a-29pts, with a +10 and 41 PIMs)

Yandle is going on almost two seasons now with solid all-round play from the backend. He seems to be continually improving on both sides of the puck, becoming a mainstay on the power-play while complimenting it with a very respectable +10 rating. He has four goals (two on the power play) and an assist in his last four games for a Coyotes team that isn’t going away.

Brian Elliott, G, OTT (30GP-14W-11L-3OTL, with a 2.67 GAA and .903 SV%)

We mentioned Mike Brodeur last week as a solid pick-up after he started his NHL career with three brilliant starts in the wake of Pascal Leclaire’s broken cheek bone, but Brodeur is having a tough time stealing starts away from the more experienced Elliott. With Leclaire slated to miss a month of action and the rest of the Sens’ squad relatively healthy you can expect some more quality starts from this goalie tandem. Elliott gets the nod for now with his experience and a four-game win streak in which he’s let in a measly five goals.

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