The best measurement we have of future performance for right now (though I think Steve Burtch of Sportsnet is working on something more) is five-on-five save percentage. Early on in his career, it was true that Crawford wasn't very good: his .922 save percentage at 5v5 ranked in the bottom-third among regular NHL goalies. Since then? Crawford has a .930 save percentage at 5v5 since the start of the lockout-shortened season. The same mark as Braden Holtby, Cory Schneider, and Steve Mason (yes, that Steve Mason). It ranks in the top-third of the NHL among regular goalies.

I think the "demise" of the Blackhawks is a bit overblown. What did they lose? A second line centre who wasn't a huge factor for them (Richards), a scoring winger (Sharp), and a second pairing defenceman (Oduya). Brandon Saad is a big loss, I won't doubt that, but they still have loads of talent on that team, and guys like Teuvo Teravainen and Marko Dano are ready to take a step forward.

Crawford could come at a discount next year because of the public perception of the "gutting" of the Blackhawks. I'm not buying it. He's still a fringe top-10 goalie for me in roto leagues, and I don't think he bombs out like Semyon Varlamov did last year.

Tyson Barrie

The secret may be out after his 53 point season last year, but Tyson Barrie is pretty good. First and second in points per 60 minutes at 5v5 over the last two years among d-men are Brent Burns and Victor Hedman. Third is, you guessed it, Tyson Barrie.

There are a few problems here, though. He's being protected by coach Patrick Roy: Erik Johnson, Nick Holden, Nate Guenin, and Brad Stuart were all given tougher minutes to play than Barrie last year. Playing against easy competition is good for production (see: 53 point season), but bad for accumulation because it limits minutes. You won't see a defenceman playing 25 minutes a game against soft competition, there just is not enough minutes to go around.

That is something to remember for Barrie because he was insanely productive in his minutes last year. His on-ice shooting percentage (or Colorado's shooting percentage with him on the ice) last year was 11.2-percent, good for third in the NHL. What we know about shooting percentages is that outliers often regress. Consider this:

Matt Niskanen's 2013-2014 on-ice shooting rate was 10.2-percent, the highest for him in the regular season since 2008-2009. He put up a career high 46 points. Last year, that came back down to 7.3-percent, and managed just 31 points. He scored five fewer power play points, but also 11 fewer 5v5 points.

There should be concern that without a bump in ice time of two or three minutes a game that Barrie comes down to the 40-45 point range, rather than maintain or progress from 53 points. With the addition of François Beauchemin, and nearly the same defensive corps, I'm not sure he gets that ice time bump.

Chris Kunitz

In yesterday's Ramblings, I talked about Individual Points Percentage (IPP). For a brief primer, check that out.

I look at the Pittsburgh Penguins roster, and I see four top-six wingers: Phil Kessel, Patric Hornqvist, David Perron, and Chris Kunitz. I have to think Kunitz, at least to start, will be with either Crosby or Malkin.

That's important because out of 121 forwards with at least 1000 minutes played at 5v5 last year, Kunitz ranked 120^th in IPP. His mark of 51.2-percent was by far the worst of his career, and nearly 14-percent lower than the 2013-2014 season. He also had a 5-year personal low in shooting percentage. I doubt he repeats that in that top-six mix.

I'm not saying Kunitz gets back to the 65-ish point mark, but I think he rebounds from 40. Don't be surprised if he puts up 20 goals and 50 points next year.