Some players are being given second chances on cheap contracts.

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If you’re considered a bounce back player, something had to have gone wrong last year. Sometimes, it could be an injury that causes the slide, sometimes it’s bad luck, and sometimes it’s pure laziness on the player’s part. For some players, all it takes is a change of scenery or a different coaching philosophy that can turn their career around for a positive.

In this week’s Capped, I take a look at four guys who are primed for a bounce back season after a disastrous one last year. All four have changed teams in the offseason and hoping to prove their previous teams wrong. Thanks to Frozen Pool, I have also shared their previous five seasons numbers (not all players have five years service) to show their career progression, or regression, depending on how you want to look at it. In no particular order, here are four cheaply signed players who are looking to bounce back this year.

Alexander Semin – Montreal Canadiens, one-year, $1.1M cap hit

SEASON	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	SH%	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
2014-2015	57	6	13	19	0.33	-10	32	93	0.06	30	0	4	0	17	01:30	30.4	0.3	15:54	26.1
2013-2014	65	22	20	42	0.65	1	42	210	0.10	22	6	12	1	30	03:24	59.1	11.7	19:55	32.8
2012-2013	44	13	31	44	1.00	15	46	150	0.09	14	4	9	0	21	03:34	63.3	15.4	20:57	34.7
2011-2012	77	21	33	54	0.70	9	56	183	0.11	31	2	11	0	19	02:31	52.1	0.3	16:47	27.6
2010-2011	65	28	26	54	0.83	22	71	196	0.14	27	6	18	1	6	03:13	58.3	14.8	18:04	29.6

I will be the first to admit, I am no fan of Alex Semin but in writing these columns, I have to be objective and impartial to give the best possible fantasy information I can.

Alex Semin is a goal scorer, when he wants to be; he has proven that so far in his career. If there’s a team looking for goals, it’s the Montreal Canadiens. This could work out well for both sides. Semin is no doubt a little embarrassed that he was bought out by the Carolina Hurricanes and the Habs need him to come in this year and prove that he can still do it in the NHL.

Last year, the 31-year-old found himself in the doghouse and couldn’t get out. He took a measly 93 shots all year and with a 0.06 shooting percentage, it’s no wonder he scored a career low six goals and put up a pitiful 19 points.

No matter how this ends up, this is a gamble Habs GM couldn’t refuse. This should be a gamble that works out for fantasy owners too. Semin shouldn’t have an issue turning his career around and working his way back up to the 20+ goals, 40-point range once again. He is, after all, playing for another contract, and that normally brings the best out in most players.

Mikhail Grigorenko – Colorado Avalanche, one-year, $675,000 cap hit

SEASON	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	SH%	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
2014-2015	25	3	3	6	0.24	-10	2	35	0.09	28	1	2	0	15	01:05	23.2	1.3	15:10	25.1
2013-2014	18	2	1	3	0.17	-3	2	20	0.10	6	0	1	0	5	00:56	17.7	0.0	11:26	18.9
2012-2013	25	1	4	5	0.20	-1	0	31	0.03	2	0	0	0	2	00:37	11.5	0.1	10:14	16.7

Mikhail Grigorenko is a player that was once a highly touted prospect drafted in the first round by the Buffalo Sabres and was badly mishandled by those same Buffalo Sabres. It appears that all of that is now in the past, after coming to the Colorado Avalanche in the Ryan O’Reilly trade.

Grigorenko played his best hockey under coach Patrick Roy in the QMJHL for the Quebec Remparts. He is now reunited with Roy and could mean the resurrection of his floundering career.

In Colorado, he will be given the chance to play meaningful minutes with better players than he was given in Buffalo. If it’s ever going to come together for Grigorenko, this is his best chance. It’s obvious that he wants to play in the NHL as he could have easily bolted for the KHL once his ELC expired at the end of last season but he didn’t.

The talent is there, but one has to wonder how long it will take for the confidence to return. He’s shown in the AHL that he can produce at the pro level; now we just have to hope that Roy can get the most out of him at the NHL level. He just landed a one-year, show-me deal to figure this out.

Cody Hodgson – Nashville Predators, one-year, $1.05M cap hit

SEASON	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	SH%	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
2014-2015 📢 advertisement:	78	6	7	13	0.17	-28	12	127	0.05	40	0	1	0	21	01:20	28.6	0.1	12:51	21.1
2013-2014	72	20	24	44	0.61	-26	20	182	0.11	47	9	19	0	22	03:08	59.4	8.2	18:08	29.9
2012-2013	48	15	18	33	0.69	-7	20	114	0.13	21	3	6	1	24	02:55	43.6	21.9	18:24	30.0
2011-2012	83	19	22	41	0.49	2	10	154	0.12	37	7	14	0	29	01:58	35.3	4.0	13:49	22.5
2010-2011	8	1	1	2	0.25	1	0	9	0.11	4	0	0	0	2	00:47	18.2	0.0	07:45	12.9

After getting bought out by the Buffalo Sabres at the end of last season, there were plenty of question marks surrounding the career of Cody Hodgson. I honestly believe the Sabres didn’t want to buy him out, but the reality of taking another risky season with Hodgson and this being the last chance to buy him out at only one-third of his salary was just something the Sabres couldn’t overlook. After all, Hodgson is still only 25-years-old and only one year out from scoring 20 goals and leading the team in scoring.

Last season, his shooting percentage dropped to a scant 0.047 percent when he normally hit on an average of 0.12 percent. I realize he isn’t a top producer in the league, but it’s hard to overlook the obvious in regards to a major drop-off in his offense when this type of statistic slaps you in the face.

Hodgson will still have to earn his ice time and opportunities on a deep group of forwards in Nashville but there’s certainly reason to be optimistic with Hodgson. He is entering his prime years in the league and will no doubt be looking to prove his doubters wrong. He should get some decent opportunities early on to show he wants it. At this point, it’s all up to him to salvage his NHL career.

Viktor Stalberg – New York Rangers, one-year, $1.1M cap hit

EASON	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	SH%	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
2014-2015	25	2	8	10	0.40	0	18	27	0.07	54	0	0	0	10	00:02	0.6	0.7	11:53	19.4
2013-2014	70	8	11	19	0.27	-15	32	114	0.07	55	0	0	0	25	00:12	4.0	1.2	12:35	20.7
2012-2013	47	9	14	23	0.49	16	25	113	0.08	43	0	2	0	14	02:12	40.0	1.0	14:07	23.0
2011-2012	79	22	21	43	0.54	6	34	215	0.10	91	0	0	0	24	00:27	7.9	0.6	14:04	23.0
2010-2011	77	12	12	24	0.31	2	43	135	0.09	102	0	1	0	25	00:12	3.7	0.3	10:42	17.6

After putting up two solid seasons in Chicago which saw him put up an average of 0.52 points-per-game, the Nashville Predators signed Stalberg to a four-year-deal. They thought they were upgrading their offense but Stalberg struggled under Barry Trotz and even cleared waivers last season and sent to the AHL under new head coach, Peter Laviolette.

The New York Rangers are willing to take a chance on Stalberg, and considering the price, this could be a good deal for both. I don’t think Stalberg is nearly as good as his numbers between the 2011-2013 seasons showed, but I also don’t think he’s nearly as bad as his time in Nashville showed either.

Stalberg’s game is speed and size. He should find a home on the third line with the Rangers and quite possibly find some time on the second power-play unit. He is essentially being brought in to fill the role left behind by Carl Hagelin. He’s a similar style of player, if not a bit more aggressive, but comes at a lot lower price tag. As long as the expectations are held at a minimum, he should end up being a good signing.

*Cap numbers are from CapFriendly.

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Thanks for the read. Feel free to comment and follow me on Twitter @chrispudsey.

If you haven’t picked up your Dobber Fantasy Guide yet, what are you waiting for? There’s one heck of a deal still going on as we speak so you can’t complain about the price.

3 Comments

Jason Mouland 2015-08-14 at 13:58Log in to Reply

Thanks for the read! Not that it really matters but the Shooting percentage you're using is actually a proportion (i.e. Stalberg's shooting percentage was 4.7% not 0.047%) The very low numbers you were using made do a bit of a double take.
- Chris Pudsey 2015-08-15 at 11:24Log in to Reply
  
  Thanks for the info! I will be sure to adjust accordingly in the future.
Woodrow 2015-08-15 at 21:11Log in to Reply

Expressed out of 1.00 being 100%, 0.047 is 4.7%.