This article is part of our Blue Line Buzz series.
Around the League
Johnny Hockey Swedish House Mix
Is there enough room in the NHL for two Johnny Hockeys? Yeah, we've got that kid, Jakub Voracek's puppet child, Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary, but the Lone Star State's got their own Johnny Hockey, albeit a Swedish version.
With a three-game point streak, giving him 10 points in his past six games, John Klingberg is emerging as Dallas' most dangerous defenseman. It's been a while since anyone's held that title. A litany of defensemen have tried to become the focal point of the team's transition attack, and you'd have to go back to the days of Sergei Zubov to find anyone who was good enough to get the puck to the team's forwards, long a historical strength of the franchise, from Mike Modano to Jamie Benn. Heck, the Stars' most dangerous weapon on defense from the late-2000s was Stephane Robidas.
Zubov had a chance to hone his game elsewhere before coming to Dallas, and by the time he donned the Stars jersey in 1996, he was already considered an elite player. Over the next decade-plus, he would spearhead the Stars' offense, finishing his career with 771 points in 1,068 games. His best season was in 2006 when he notched 13 goals and 71 points.
Klingberg has 10 goals in 39 games, three shy of Zubov's career-high, and at 22 years old has already asserted himself as a legitimate top-four defenseman in the league. Sure, his game has holes and
Around the League
Johnny Hockey Swedish House Mix
Is there enough room in the NHL for two Johnny Hockeys? Yeah, we've got that kid, Jakub Voracek's puppet child, Johnny Gaudreau in Calgary, but the Lone Star State's got their own Johnny Hockey, albeit a Swedish version.
With a three-game point streak, giving him 10 points in his past six games, John Klingberg is emerging as Dallas' most dangerous defenseman. It's been a while since anyone's held that title. A litany of defensemen have tried to become the focal point of the team's transition attack, and you'd have to go back to the days of Sergei Zubov to find anyone who was good enough to get the puck to the team's forwards, long a historical strength of the franchise, from Mike Modano to Jamie Benn. Heck, the Stars' most dangerous weapon on defense from the late-2000s was Stephane Robidas.
Zubov had a chance to hone his game elsewhere before coming to Dallas, and by the time he donned the Stars jersey in 1996, he was already considered an elite player. Over the next decade-plus, he would spearhead the Stars' offense, finishing his career with 771 points in 1,068 games. His best season was in 2006 when he notched 13 goals and 71 points.
Klingberg has 10 goals in 39 games, three shy of Zubov's career-high, and at 22 years old has already asserted himself as a legitimate top-four defenseman in the league. Sure, his game has holes and he's not physically strong enough yet, but his swift skating has put him in the same tier as Jacob Trouba and Ryan Murphy, young players who will make a difference at both ends of the ice with their mobility. The Stars' franchise record for goals by a defenseman, in case you were wondering, is 19 by Brad Maxwell, set in 1984. Not saying Klingberg is in the same tier as Erik Karlsson (yet), but it's not inconceivable to see Klingberg score 20 some day.
The Stars' playoff hopes remain rather meek, but a good run should at least make the race close, and nab one of the two wild card spots in a best case scenario. Klingberg is crucial to that success, and should be for years to come. He's a must-own this year and a pretty-good-to-have for next year.
The Blue Jackets Never-Ending Contribution
The Blue Jackets are so named because of Ohio's significant military contributions to the Union Army, but the only contributions Todd Richards' squad has made is to the medical bill. Young phenom Ryan Murray, in just his third game back after undergoing knee surgery, will miss 6-to-8 weeks with a high ankle sprain.
Getting low to block a shot, Murray lost his balance and ran into Ryan Johansen near the slot, with all 223 pounds of Johansen landing on Murray's leg. It's been a tough season for Murray and the Jackets, who would've been a playoff team if not for a slew of injuries.
At this point, owners who have been patient with Murray or picked him up recently on the waiver wire should just give up. There's no pressure on Murray to come back quickly with the BJ's falling way out of the playoff race. He's better off shutting it down for the year and coming back strong in the fall. The 21-year-old has a long career ahead of him, and the Jackets need him to be a lynchpin on defense for the next 15 years. Even if Murray does come back for the conclusion of the season, I'd rather not play him for 18 terrifying I-hope-he-doesn't-hurt-himself-again minutes in a meaningless game. He won't be nearly as effective and it'd be risking a lot.
That means minutes on defense will once again be split among Jack Johnson, David Savard and Fedor Tyutin. Richards has also increased ice time for Kevin Connauton and Cody Goloubef, either with confidence or out of necessity, but both have some upside. Offensively, Connauton offers more, but Goloubef will get more minutes because of his all-round game and stronger defensive presence. It's actually a little confusing as to why the Jackets don't play Connauton more on the power play, as he has more offensive talent than Savard. Even tweener Tim Erixon would be a good option there, rather than sticking with Johnson and/or James Wisniewski.
Even with the injuries, Richards hasn't shown enough confidence in any of his defensemen to play them closer to 30 minutes per game. Ideally, Johnson would be the first candidate, but with his mercurial play and sometimes head-scratching decision-making, he likely doesn't have Richards' full confidence. When Wisniewski returns, he'll provide some offense, but he's battled through tough stretches all season. It's still difficult to say how good this BJ defense will be, and it's better for fantasy owners to look for defensemen elsewhere.
Left Shark Goes Missing
Wouldn't it be something if, one day, Marc-Edouard Vlasic makes his entrance riding a lion while coming out of the 17-foot shark's mouth in San Jose? Too bad – Katy Perry has more personality and bizarre ideas in her pinky than the normally deathly-stoic Vlasic. But even if Vlasic doesn't put on a show, he's a huge part of the Sharks' success. Scratched late Saturday due to illness (Run! It's the mumps!!!), Vlasic has been placed on injured reserve.
Ouch. This one hurts much more than the BJ's losing Murray because a) the Sharks are in the playoff hunt, and b) Vlasic is the team's best defenseman. Unlike Perry's Left Shark with its rogue dance moves, Vlasic plays well within the system, and on most night's plays such a steady and complete game that he's like Michael Flatley posing as a backup dancer. (Please stop, Brent Burns homers; he isn't a real defenseman anyway). The Sharks lack depth on the back end with Burns, Justin Braun and Brenden Dillon as the top three. They already have the weakest group among the three California teams, and the Ducks are still looking to add Tyler Myers.
Matt Irwin and Matt Tennyson are capable depth defensemen, but they will have trouble handling the Western conference's best forwards. Scott Hannan's just too darn slow for a team that likes to play fast, and young Mirco Mueller clearly needs some seasoning. The Sharks have called up Dylan DeMelo, a 21-year-old sixth-round pick out of the OHL who is a right-handed defenseman and plays at both ends of the ice. He has the offensive ability to play on the power play but despite his propensity for physical play, he may not be big enough (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) to do that consistently. The Sharks sit second in the Pacific division, with Vancouver and Calgary just two points behind. A misstep could mean finishing eighth, which would draw an unenviable first-round matchup against the Presidents' Trophy winner.
Hot
The 2008 second-round pick has four assists in his last four games, and he's been doing it all offensively for the Islanders this season. As far as homegrown talent goes, Hamonic doesn't get as much attention as John Tavares or Kyle Okposo, but very quietly he's become one of the NHL's most dependable players. Breaking in as a 20-year-old, Hamonic was the only Islander to finish with a plus rating in 2011 and 2012. He has 17 points and 64 penalty minutes this season, and he could be poised for a real breakout season next year. Even though he's not as offensively gifted as other defenseman, he plays with some of the best offensive players in the conference.
The big Swede has three points in his past three games and since returning from a two-game absence, the Lightning have lost just three of their past nine games. He's as integral to the Lightning's success as Steven Stamkos or even Tyler Johnson, and his continuing dominance at both ends of the ice shows that he was well worth taking second overall behind Tavares. Hedman is a top-five fantasy defenseman for the next ten years, and he is the closest thing we have to a Nicklas Lidstrom right now.
The veteran Russian defender has two goals in his past two games and logging some big minutes for the Habs, who in a three-way race for the Atlantic Division crown, with the winner getting the weakest wild card opponent (likely) instead of drawing a tough division rival. If Carey Price can shut the door all the way to the end (possible) and Markov and the defense remain a threat at both ends, they could go very far.
Cold
Big Z is no longer as big of a deal as he once was and that's mostly due to age. He still has a pretty big impact in games, but offensively, he's been a dud. Part of that is because Torey Krug and Dougie Hamilton can handle more offense and more minutes, but Chara's big slapper hasn't netted him a goal since Jan. 3. Despite posting 40 points in his previous campaign, the 37-year-old veteran's best days are clearly behind him.
Seabrook doesn't have to score much, even though his offensive game is quite underrated, but not enough people pay attention to you when there are five other elite players ahead of you. But he hasn't scored since Dec. 27 and completely Buffalo'd in January, scoring zero goals.
One goal in four games is pretty decent for the average NHL player, but Karlsson is not an average NHL player. He's gone pointless in his last three games, all of them losses, and hasn't quite delivered all season. It's been a season of transitions for the Sens, who will have long-time general manager BRyan Murray step down in the summer due to health reasons, but also dealt with an in-season coaching change. Karlsson's been disappointing this season, but given his talent, and perhaps some extra motivation, could bounce back in a big way next year.
