This article is part of our Blue Line Buzz series.
Around the League
Staal Stays With the Ranger$
Okay, so "Ranger$" has been a dead joke for the past decade because sometime during the 2003-04 lockout, Glen Sather had an epiphany and figured it was better to throw the money at home grown players than free agents with overinflated values. Though it had been rumored for quite some time, the Rangers announced Sunday they re-signed Marc Staal to a six-year extension worth $5.7 million per year, making him the team's most expensive defenseman against the cap.
Since being drafted 12th overall in 2005, Staal has been a fixture on the Rangers blue line. Known more as a defensive defenseman who offers little on offense (119 points in 502 games), it'd be wrong to say Staal is one-dimensional. He's no Willie Mitchell, and though he doesn't move the puck as well as a player like Dan Boyle, he's still considered a pretty good skater. Staal's cap hit will be higher than Dan Girardi or captain Ryan McDonagh's, but with the going rate for free agents Staal took a hometown discount to stay on Broadway. The cap is expected to keep going up, especially if TV deals become more and more lucrative, which makes Staal a potential steal. At 28 years old, he's entering his peak, which is another huge bonus.
Staal's contract will expire in 2021, the same year as Henrik Lundqvist's, which means that for the most part, the Rangers will still be building from the
Around the League
Staal Stays With the Ranger$
Okay, so "Ranger$" has been a dead joke for the past decade because sometime during the 2003-04 lockout, Glen Sather had an epiphany and figured it was better to throw the money at home grown players than free agents with overinflated values. Though it had been rumored for quite some time, the Rangers announced Sunday they re-signed Marc Staal to a six-year extension worth $5.7 million per year, making him the team's most expensive defenseman against the cap.
Since being drafted 12th overall in 2005, Staal has been a fixture on the Rangers blue line. Known more as a defensive defenseman who offers little on offense (119 points in 502 games), it'd be wrong to say Staal is one-dimensional. He's no Willie Mitchell, and though he doesn't move the puck as well as a player like Dan Boyle, he's still considered a pretty good skater. Staal's cap hit will be higher than Dan Girardi or captain Ryan McDonagh's, but with the going rate for free agents Staal took a hometown discount to stay on Broadway. The cap is expected to keep going up, especially if TV deals become more and more lucrative, which makes Staal a potential steal. At 28 years old, he's entering his peak, which is another huge bonus.
Staal's contract will expire in 2021, the same year as Henrik Lundqvist's, which means that for the most part, the Rangers will still be building from the net out. Alain Vigneault can bring out the best on offense, but you can't change a leopard's spots, which means Staal will remain just outside the fantasy radar given his limited offensive production.
Of course, there's still a chance that the three Staal brothers will unite on a single team in the NHL, but it's not likely to happen anytime soon, and even if it does, it may not even be in Carolina.
Suter Returns
No one is ever going to blame Ryan Suter for giving Steve Downie a taste of his own medicine, but the struggling Wild will be happy to have their big minutes eater return to the lineup. With 23 points in 40 games Suter is still having a productive season, but the team isn't doing well and are in danger of missing the playoffs, the first time since the Wild made a big splash by signing Suter and Zach Parise.
Interestingly enough, the Wild went 2-0 in Suter's absence and will attempt to keep their streak alive Monday against Detroit. Suter's current minus-8 rating is the worst total since he posted a minus-16 rating six years ago in Nashville, but things are looking up now that Devan Dubnyk (of all goalies) has seemingly stabilized the goaltending by allowing just one goal in two starts with his new team. If Dubnyk can continue his improved and inspired play, Suter should see an uptick in his fantasy value. The Wild can afford to be more aggressive knowing that they have a capable goalie in net, which may allow Suter to pitch in a little more offensively. At the very least, his plus-minus should improve.
Son of Samuelsson
Not long after being traded from Pittsburgh to join brother Henrik in Arizona, Philip Samuelsson, son of Ulf, made his NHL debut this season after 38 games in the AHL. A second-round pick from 2009, Samuelsson spent two years at Boston College and another three years in the AHL, never making much headway in cracking the Penguins lineup. With a glut of prospects on defense, the Pens had an excess of players on the blue line and dealt for cheap for a depth player and a conditional draft pick.
The Coyotes have a really good group of up-and-coming young defensemen, including Brandon Gormley and Connor Murphy, and Samuelsson is among that group, though he'll most likely play a lesser role. Samuelsson doesn't have as much offensive talent, which hurts his value in fantasy, but there's no question that he plays with an edge (not unlike his dad) and could collect a lot of penalty minutes before his career is over. Gormley will be out for an extended period of time so expect Samuelsson to stick around for a while.
At Wit's End
He hasn't appeared in a game yet, but like Samuelsson in Arizona, Luke Witkowski is a physical defenseman who plays with an edge. A sixth-round pick from 2008, Witkowski joined the Lightning after four years at Western Michigan and spent all of last year in the AHL, finishing the year with 12 points in 76 games and 204 penalty minutes. The Lightning aren't a physically intimidating or bruising team like the Bruins, but should Witkowski ever get some game time he can be a good source of penalty minutes in a pinch. Physical defensemen who want to make an impression in the pros usually do so by dropping the gloves.
Performers of the Week
Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis - The Blues are still four points behind the Predators in the Central Division, but there's a lot to be happy about for the Blues, winners in six of their past seven games. Pietrangelo, of course, has been the center of it all, registering points in five of his past six games and hasn't finished a game with a negative plus-minus since the Dec. 30. He had two assists and plus-5 rating in three games this week.
Torey Krug, Boston - Krug's five-game point streak was snapped Saturday against Columbus, but that hasn't stopped the diminutive defenseman from being one of the Bruins' best. It wasn't too long ago playoff prospects for the Bruins looked rather meek, but with wins in five of their past six, they've separated themselves from the rest of the competition in the division. They're just five points behind Montreal for third in the division, four ahead of Florida and will likely enter the playoffs as the seventh or eighth seed.
Justin Braun, San Jose - Finding his offense a little more in the second half of the season, Braun has five points in his past three games, two of which were wins, allowing the Sharks to remain in second place in the Pacific Division. Truth be told, Braun was a benefactor of generous score keeping and the second assist, but a point is a point and the former seventh-round pick has reached a new career-high with 19 points thus far. He was a reliable player for the Sharks last season and building on that this season.
Hot
Zach Bogosian, Winnipeg - For years, the 6-foot-3, 215 pound defenseman was known to be a fearsome physical player with the ability to dish out punishing body checks. That perception has changed in recent years and he's showing why with five points in his past five games. He's had trouble staying healthy, but combined with Paul Maurice's aggressive style, he's jumping up on the play a lot more. He's always had a heavy slap shot but hasn't scored more than 10 goals since the team moved from Atlanta.
Andrei Markov, Montreal - Michel Therrien's re-tooling of the power play units has worked wonders with the 36-year-old veteran picking up six points in his past four games, including four assists with the man advantage. His totals remain respectable with five goals and 25 points in 44 games and should finish the season with over 40 points.
Kris Letang, Pittsburgh - A week after a cold spell due to a variety of minor ailments, Letang has five points in his past three games, a signal that the 27-year-old is finally back on track. After playing 82 games in the 2010-11 season, Letang has yet to play a full slate. While playing 82 games is quite difficult in itself, if all goes well, Letang should be able to play at least 70 games this season, and extrapolating his current point-per-game pace, he should finish with 60 points.
Cold
Cody Franson/Dion Phaneuf, Toronto - The Leafs' two most productive defensemen are having a rough stretch of games and neither have been positive factors in their recent four-game losing streak. Phaneuf hasn't registered a point in six games and Franson in four games. The pair is expected to drive the team's offense and it's no coincidence that their severe power outage has coincided with the Leafs scoring just one goal in their past four games. There's no Randy Carlyle to blame anymore and Peter Horachek has achieved mixed results so far, and if the Leafs want to make the playoffs Phaneuf and Franson need to turn it around in a hurry.
Zdeno Chara, Boston - You don't expect him to score as he once did and it's better off to hand those duties off to the much younger Dougie Hamilton, but Big Z hasn't scored a point in three games. That's not exactly a drought, but how about this one: After scoring 17 goals the previous season, Chara has just three goals this season and only one since Oct. 18.
John Carlson, Washington - He does many other things very well so he can be forgiven for scoring just one assist in his past four games. With 32 points, he's in the midst of a breakout season and emerging as the Caps' No. 1 defenseman. He won't score like Mike Green once did, but he's a good bet to find the score sheet more often than not. The Caps are coming off two straight losses after winning six of their past seven. Carlson's slight dip in production certainly has something to do with it.
