July 22, 2014

Michael Amato

2014-07-22

The Leafs signed David Booth to a one-year deal on Tuesday and we’ll have a writeup on the fantasy impact tomorrow morning. It sounds like it’s for just over $1 million, which is pretty low risk. He’ll provide some depth and could fit well on the third line.

The Leafs also hired Kyle Dubas, the 28-year-old now former GM of Sault Ste. Marie of the OHL, as an assistant general manager. Brendan Shanahan’s first real move to put his stamp on the roster.

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Antoine Roussel signed a four-year deal with the Dallas Stars on Tuesday and avoided arbitration in the process. He’s not a terrible depth fantasy option when you consider he had 14 goals to go along with more than 200 PIM in 2013-14. He ranked third in the league when it came to penalty minutes.

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Cody Franson is still looking for his long-term contract, as the blueliner inked a one-year deal worth $3.3 million on Monday. Franson's play last year wasn't great and for my money he was the biggest disappointment on the team. With 33 points and a minus-20 rating, he was far from the level he showed in the previous lockout shortened year that saw him notch 29 in just 45 games. In a way, Franson was a microcosm of the Maple Leafs, as both regressed after a strong 2012-13. It's a good lesson on being wary of small sample sizes.

Still, as I've mentioned before, Franson shouldn't be avoided this year in fantasy circles. He was at the top of the league in hits in 2013-14 and if he can become a 45-point player, he'll be a huge fantasy asset. He averaged nearly three minutes a night on the power play and the looking at Toronto's blue line right now, that number should remain similar this year. Roman Polak and Stephane Robidas aren't stealing any of those minutes.

With that being said, how will the Leaf defensive pairings look in 2014-15? Carl Gunnarsson is gone so Dion Phaneuf needs a new partner and it might be wise to stick either Polak or Robidas with him for a stronger defensive presence. Franson played with Jake Gardiner a lot last season, but Randy Carlyle also opted for the pairing of Gardiner and Morgan Rielly at times, which was an adventure from a defensive standpoint. They could also go Phaneuf and Franson while placing Robidas and Polak with one of the young guys. Either way, however Carlyle sets things up will have a big impact on the offensive numbers for someone like Franson.

Or, there is always the possibility he could get traded.

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The New York Rangers and Chris Kreider remain apart on contract talks as the two sides prepare for arbitration. Kreider is a guy I'd be targeting high in fantasy drafts as he could be poised for a breakout season. He notched 17 goals in 66 games last year and six of those came on the power play. He also led the team in plus/minus and had more than 130 shots. If you extrapolate those out over 82 games, Kreider's numbers start to look pretty solid. Also, there is almost no one in New York's bottom six to challenge him for minutes, so you know he's going to get used in great offensive situations.

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Vladimir Sobotka received a one-year deal at $2.75 million from an arbitrator, but he's off to the KHL next season. However, the deal will be in effect for the following year if he returns to the St. Louis Blues. His deal with Avangard Omsk is reportedly worth $4 million a season for three years with an option to return to the NHL after each season, so he'll be taking a substantial pay cut if he decides to come back to North America. Keep that in mind if you have Sobotka in a keeper league.

As far as defensemen go, it has to be Michael Del Zotto. I know his play fell off big time last season, but he's still just 24 and displayed some real talent for a couple of seasons in New York. Some team has to take a chance on him. It could be the simple case that now that the frenzy of signings have subsided, players like Del Zotto and the aforementioned three feel no rush to reach out to teams, and instead will wait for the summer to play out before seeing what happens in regards to RFA signings, trades, injuries, etc. to find the best situation. As training camp nears you will probably see these guys get a shot.

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Alexander Ovechkin and Maria Kirilenko have called off their engagement. Ovechkin owners will be hoping the news has a similar effect as it did to golfer Rory McIlroy's game.

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Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville is excited about prospect Teuvo Teravainen.

"Today you get to see him play in a game situation, you see his abilities jump out," Quenneville said Friday. "I thought he had a special day today. Over the course of the week, you can see his skills. When you put a puck down and you're playing for real, you see his vision, anticipation and how he's creating with the puck, and his anticipation offensively is excellent." 

Teravainen is a center so it may be tough for him to crack the Blackhawks next season at that position when you factor in the signing of Brad Richards. However, if he impresses enough he could get a chance at wing.

"Today in particular was really just an experiment," general manager Stan Bowman said. "We had a lot of guys that were centers so somebody had to play wing. If you look at our team in Chicago and Joel has always liked versatility and players who can play both positions. Last season Teuvo played center, the year before that he played wing so it wasn't totally foreign for him to do that."

If he doesn't have the defensive responsibilities of a center in that Blackhawk forward group, he could put up solid numbers with his skill set as early as next season. Hopefully he makes the squad.

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The extensions for Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were steep, but when you consider the dance moves they also bring to the table, it's actually a bargain for Chicago.

 

 

Michael Amato is an Associate Editor for DobberHockey and a News Editor for theScore. You can follow him on Twitter at @amato_mike

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