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14 Sep 2009 |
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| Last week we talked about free-agent invites to training camps around the NHL, and that trend continued this week.
Not only did NHL Veteran and long-term layoff Theoren Fleury receive his re-instatement to the NHL, but he also got an invitation to come back to where it all began in Calgary. Now when many look at Fleury's chances at making an impact at the NHL level, they scoff. After all, Claude Lemieux tried the same thing last year after coming back from the Chinese league and he registered just one assist. While Fleury may offer up a great trip down memory lane and even some occasional offense, his season-potential can't be that high, especially as he's been away from the major level of competition since 2003. The other invite of note over the past few days was Petr Sykora, who will be suiting up at Minnesota Wild training camp this month and he should be a definite late-rounder in leagues yet to draft, or a quality free-agent pickup in leagues who have already drafted. What many don't know about Sykora is that he's scored at least 20 goals in each of the past ten seasons and the only real inconsistency in his game is with his playmaking ability. Now paired up alongside Mikko Koivu and Martin Havlat (At least via assumption—he may also line up alongside Pierre-Marc Bouchard) Sykora will continue to finish well alongside a play-making center, and will thrive in the new, wide-open Minnesota system. We'd be remissed however, if we didn't talk about the biggest trade of this past week.  Dany Heatley finally got his wish on Saturday and was sent packing by the Ottawa Senators."Heater" is now dressing in teal as the San Jose Sharks and he's almost guaranteed to return to the 50-goal plateau. The biggest advantage for the Sharks in this deal is that they didn't have to give up Patrick Marleau. Granted he's been prone to up-and-down seasons as of late, but his playmaking ability on the wing helps provide plenty of options for the Sharks. If Heatley is matched up alongside Joe Thornton, look for Thornton's assist totals to balloon up once again, while Heatley may have a realistic shot at 60 goals this season. On the other side of things, the Senators finally received some secondary scoring. Already in place are Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and Alex Kovalev, and added to that mix are Milan Michalek and Jonathan Cheechoo. Cheechoo is already receiving top-line minutes alongside Spezza in camp, and there are hopes that—while it may not be his 50-goal season—Cheechoo can re-discover some of that powerful scoring potential he slipped away from in San Jose. Michalek meanwhile offers the Sens with a variable presence who can spread himself over the ice, providing a stable 50-point (with room for improvement) presence. While many thought that the Sens would be bottom-feeders once again this year, they're on the right track. They've now got a solidified rotation of forwards up top with some real secondary scoring for the first time in a few years while they'll be integrating some young talent on the back end this season. And just as a closing thought, don't forget about Pascal Leclaire. Acquired last year by the Sens at the trade deadline, he's got all the potential in the world with this team.
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Tags: Theoren Fleury Claude Lemieux Petr Sykora Mikko Koivu Martin Havlat Dany Heatley Patrick Marleau Joe Thornton Daniel Alfredsson Jason Spezza Alex Kovalev Milan Michalek Jonathan Cheechoo Pascal Leclaire Ottawa Senators Minnesota Wild San Jose Sharks Calgary Flames
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