Steve Sullivan

Sullivan saw a drop in his per-game point production in 2010-11, recording 22 points (10 G, 12 A) in 44 games with Nashville. If he can stay healthy, then the 37-year-old right winger could once again approach the 50-point level. The team is lacking in power-play production, another area in which Sullivan might contribute. But fantasy poolies who take the 5-foot-8 forward will want to make sure they have backups available for when Sullivan inevitably misses time.

Sullivan is the epitome of high risk and high reward. The risk is because he's often bitten by the injury bug, and rarely finishes an entire season. The reward is his excellence in both dishing and scoring. His feast or famine nature creates a bit of frustration in the minds of fantasy owners, but he's the perfect player to start when he catches fire.

Sullivan made his triumphant return to hockey after over two years away with a back injury, and in 41 games scored 32 points. Sullivan is loaded with talent, but he is one of the biggest injury risks in all of the NHL. If he's healthy, 30 goals and a point total in the 60s is a reasonable possibility. However, he could easily miss more than half the season with various injuries. Sullivan is the epitome of a risk/reward player.

One of our favorite Predators may be coming to grips with early retirement in 2008-09. That's speculation at this point, but the slow rehabilitation and multiple back surgeries are starting to become a concern for fans and fantasy owners alike. Sullivan went down with the injury in early 2007 and hasn't seen action since. The latest news on his rehabilitation was that just skating alone required recovery periods afterwards, let alone full contact or NHL gameplay. We do not doubt Sullivan's resolve to play and love for the game, so we expect him to make a full effort to get back on the ice in the upcoming season. The likely outcome would be a player that is half the dazzling forward that we remember, or Sullivan coming to grips with the fact that his back will not allow him to play at this level anymore.

Don’t take this the wrong way, we love Sullivan and believe he is one of the more dangerous snipers in the NHL, but we have to put him in the “avoid” list this season. His health heading into the 2007-08 campaign is the major concern. Sullivan missed the last 20 regular season games of last season and all five playoff games. He’s endured two surgical procedures on his ailing back in a nine-week span over the off-season. Sullivan’s prognosis at this point is unknown, but at the time of this analysis the speculation was that he would be off the ice until December of this year. Back injuries can be devastating, career ending affairs and it appears that Sullivan has a nasty one. It’s better to leave him on the shelf this season and let someone else take the risk.

Sullivan was one of the Predators 30-goal scorers last season. He has revived his career since moving from Chicago to Nashville a couple seasons ago. Sullivan’s penchant for scoring short-handed and power-play goals gives him that extra value that fantasy owners look for. Sullivan is coming-off sports hernia surgery to correct a problem that nagged him during the late stages of last season, but this shouldn’t be a concern. Sullivan looks to be 100-percent by the start of training camp, and given how much power-play time he should see this season, we expect him to challenge the offensive totals he posted last year.

Sullivan, a prototypical elusive water bug of a forward, exploded upon being traded to Nashville at the 2003-04 deadline, racking up 30 points in 24 games down the stretch for the Preds. He isn't likely to come close to that points/game average over a full season, but as part of Nashville's top unit there's no reason to think he can't match the 25-goal, 60-point production he put up in his last couple of years with the Blackhawks, and possibly even top it.