The Blackhawks will get a solid player in Brunette, who is consistently on the ice. He has only missed two games in the last eight seasons with the Wild and the Avalanche. Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville knows Brunette from his coaching days for the Avalanche where he had his best season, 2006-07 with 83 points. He dropped to 26 points in 2010-11, but might have a revival this season with Quenneville.
One player that benefited heavily from coach Todd Richards’ open style of play was Brunette. He scored 25 goals last year and registered 61 points, both of which were good enough for second on the team. With a year of playing in a new system under his belt, there’s no reason why we can’t expect Brunette to score 30 goals and collect 70 points.
Brunette played in 80 games last year despite skating for nearly a month with a torn ACL. His rehab went great over the summer and he's back to 100 percent at the beginning of training camp. He's even lineing up on the Wild's top line with Todd Richards as coach. At 36 years old and a reconstructed knee, Brunette isn't likely to improve on the 50 points he registered last year by a significant amount, but in a more up-tempo style he should be in the same ballpark.
Conservative fantasy owners salivate over Burnette's durability - he hasn't missed a game in five seasons, an impressive feat for the 35-year-old. Iron man Brunette exchanged his Avalanche jersey for one a bit more Wild this off-season. He did have a stint in Minnesota from 2001-2004, but now that he has returned for another round, look for the vet to brandish a quality offensive attack to the tune of 50-70 points. His numbers heavily depend on his linemates, so don't be surprised if he gets off to a slow start adjusting to a new squad.
Brunette is coming off a career year where he played along side two very good playmakers in Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny. He'll be the left winger on the second line along with Stasny and Milan Hejduk.
With Alex Tanguay traded, Brunette will likely stay on Colorado's first line with Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk and improve his chances of cracking the 20-goal threshold for the second consecutive season. The durable 32-year-old played in all 82 games in his first season with the Avalanche, and has missed just one game in the past four seasons. He should see plenty of ice time in both even-strength and power-play situations. Brunette proved to be a force with the extra man on the ice, as 11 of his career-high 24 goals in 2005-06 came with a man advantage.
Brunette should be good for at least 55 points and perhaps 60+ if he sticks on the second line and if his center Pierre Turgeon doesn't disappoint.
