Dvorak finds himself unsigned as of early August and it's easy to see why: he tallied just 21 points (four goals, 17 assists) in a full season with Dallas last year, continuing a downward trend for the former first-round pick. He'll likely land somewhere, but projects as nothing more than a third/fourth line winger on a decent team.
Dvorak was signed to a one-year deal in the offseason as Dallas looked to add some offense to a squad that lost Brad Richards to free agency. He hasn't eclipsed the 15-goal mark since 2000-01 however, and should be viewed as an 15-goal/25-assist guy at the absolute maximum while serving in a third-line role.
From a fantasy perspective, Dvorak is unspectacular, to say the least. It's not uncommon to see Dvorak go five-to-six games at a time, without recording a single point. Such inconsistency makes it tough to count on him in fantasy pools, even though he always manages to put up respectable fantasy totals by the time seasons conclude. The bottom line: he won't be the reason you win a fantasy title, but he could be useful forward depth in deep leagues.
Dvorak is a prototypical third-liner who should post 30-40 points without much clamor surrounding the expedition. Even if there are injuries to top six players, the Panthers are likely to throw younger snipers into the mix before Dvorak.
Any hopes of a re-emergence as a scoring force with the Panthers were dashed with a 17-point campaign last season, so it's safe to sweep Dvorak off your fantasy radar. He will likely be a third-line winger this season.
Dvorak's second stint with the Panthers will likely land him on the third line, putting him in position to post similar numbers to his 2006-07 totals with St. Louis — 10 goals and 27 assists for 37 points. In the post-lockout era, Dvorak's fantasy value has dropped considerably. Don't look for that to change anytime soon.
This will be the year to see if his 30 goal season of 2000-01 was an anomaly and not the norm as he has scored under 20 goals in every other season. His speed is an asset, so if the rule changes truly open up the ice and favor the skaters, he may be worth a late-round flyer.
