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Poll: 2005 NHL Draft Take Two: Twenty-First Overall Pick

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Hindsight is an amazing thing, and allows us to look back and wonder “what could have been.” Though perfection is attempted, scouting and draft selection is far from an exact science and sometimes, it doesn’t work out the way teams – or players – intended. For every Patrick Kane, there is a Patrik Stefan.

We’re looking back at the 2005 NHL Draft, which kicked off the salary cap era and ushered in many of the current NHL superstars. The question we’re looking to answer is knowing now what we didn’t know then, how different would this draft look now with the benefit of hindsight?

Here are the results of our redraft so far:

1st Overall: Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
2nd Overall: Carey Price (Mighty Ducks of Anaheim)
3rd Overall: Anze Kopitar (Carolina Hurricanes)
4th Overall: Jonathan Quick (Minnesota Wild)
5th Overall: Kris Letang (Montreal Canadiens)
6th Overall: Tuukka Rask (Columbus Blue Jackets)
7th Overall: Bobby Ryan (Chicago Blackhawks)
8th Overall: Marc-Edouard Vlasic (San Jose Sharks)
9th Overall: Ben Bishop (Ottawa Senators)
10th Overall: James Neal (Vancouver Canucks)
11th Overall: T.J. Oshie (Los Angeles Kings)
12th Overall: Keith Yandle (New York Rangers)
13th Overall: Paul Stastny (Buffalo Sabres)
14th Overall: Marc Staal (Washington Capitals)
15th Overall: Patric Hornqvist (New York Islanders)
16th Overall: Niklas Hjalmarsson (Atlanta Thrashers)
17th Overall: Anton Stralman (Phoenix Coyotes)
18th Overall: Jack Johnson (Nashville Predators)
19th Overall: Matt Niskanen (Detroit Red Wings)
20th Overall: Justin Abdelkader (Florida Panthers)

Now we move forward to the 21st pick, which was held by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

To recap how this works:

  • We will go through the 2005 NHL Draft and have our readers select, through a voting process, who they think should have been taken with the selection.
  • The entire first round will be redrafted, spanning picks one through thirty. The new selection is chosen by the majority of votes.

Back in 2005, Toronto selected goaltender Tuukka Rask out of Ilves Tampere of the SM-liiga in Finland.  His selection was one of the top picks in the trade as you may have noticed he went sixth overall in our redraft.  Unfortunately for the Leafs, they never really got to reap the benefits of this selection.  Just one year after picking him, Toronto dealt him to Boston in exchange for Andrew Raycroft, a goalie only two years removed from getting the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year.

The Leafs were hoping that Raycroft would be their goalie of the present and future.  It didn’t exactly work out that way as he spent just two years in Toronto, recording 39 wins in 91 games.  He bounced around the NHL for a few more years with stops in Colorado, Vancouver, and Dallas, before heading overseas to play in Italy and Sweden before retiring following the 2013-14 season.

As for Rask, he has become one of the better goalies in the league with the Bruins.  He has played in 343 games, going 176-105-43 with a career 2.21 GAA and a .925 SV%.  He also won the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goalie in 2013-14.  While Toronto may not want a mulligan on their selection back in 2005, they’d surely like a do-over on their decision to trade Rask before ever playing a game in their system.

With the 21st pick of the 2005 NHL Redraft, who should the Maple Leafs select?  Cast your vote below!

Mobile users, click here to vote.

Snapshots: Burns, Ramo, Pouliot, Steen

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The Sharks and pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Brent Burns are making progress on a contract extension, reports ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun (Twitter link).  He does, however, note that the deal is not yet done.  LeBrun also adds in a follow-up tweet that there are still some deals to be ironed out but that lots of progress has been made.  Speculatively, one of the areas that likely would be getting worked on is the amount of no-trade or no-move protection and how it may vary – if at all – over the life of the contract.

Last season, Burns finished second in points among all NHL defensemen with 75 while he averaged just shy of 26 minutes per game.  He’s off to another strong start this season with seven goals and nine assists in 19 games; his 16 points lead all blueliners.

Back in September, we took a closer look at his contract situation and suggested that he could be in line for a seven year extension with an AAV of $7.875MM.

Other news from around the league:

  • Unrestricted free agent goaltender Karri Ramo is close to receiving the green light from doctors to return to game action, reports Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston (Twitter link). Ramo is currently skating with the Maple Leafs but does not have a contract, similar to UFA left winger Brandon Prust.  While the goalie market has been quiet as of late with Andrew Hammond passing through waivers, Ramo could draw some attention as potentially a cheaper option for teams.  He could also take a minor league deal to get in some game action and showcase himself to potential teams that way.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins have assigned defenseman Derrick Pouliot to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL on a conditioning stint, the team announced. The former first round pick has spent the bulk of the season on injured reserve with a lower body injury and last played on October 21st, his lone game of the season.  The Penguins plan to play him in three minor league contests and then be re-evaluated by team doctors next week.
  • Blues forward Alex Steen is not with the team on their two-game road trip although the team hasn’t ruled him out of playing the second game on Wednesday in Washington, writes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  He has missed the last two games with concussion-like symptoms (though the team is stressing that it’s not a concussion).  Steen has two goals and eight assists through 17 games this season.

Chicago Unlikely To Be Active In Trade Market

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Over the last couple of years, the Chicago Blackhawks have gone for it at the trade deadline.  Last season, they made moves with Winnipeg and Montreal to land forwards Andrew Ladd, Dale Weise, and Tomas Fleischmann while the year before that, they dealt for center Antoine Vermette and defenseman Kimmo Timonen.  In the process, they moved first and second round picks in each of those seasons (though the second rounder to Montreal last year was a 2018 pick).  The Hawks are once again near the top of the NHL standings, but as ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun writes, they’re not expected to be as willing to move picks for that final piece or two again this season.

There are a couple of reasons for the plan to not be as aggressive moving their picks this year.  For starters, they are pretty much capped out – they sit less than $50K under the cap according to CapFriendly – so unless the team trades away a big salary (unlikely given that they’re not expected to be sellers) or someone gets hurt long-term opening up some potential LTIR relief, they’re not going to have a whole lot of money to work with.

The other main reason is that Chicago is hosting the draft in June and are looking to hold on to as many picks as possible to make the event as fun for the hometown fans as possible.  The Blackhawks have ten selections so far and as GM Stan Bowman noted, they’ve been stocking up on picks for this year by design:

“We did that on purpose. We do have a lot; we want to make a splash out of it. Hopefully it will work out well. I don’t know if it’s a great draft; early returns are mixed on it. But there are always players in the draft.”

Barring any changes to their cap situation, Chicago will more or less be forced to be on the sidelines on the trade market this season.  Instead, they’ll be looking to their rookie class (which consists of forwards Nick Schmaltz, Tyler Motte, Vincent Hinostroza, and Ryan Hartman as well as blueliners Gustav Forsling and Michal Kempny) to take steps forward between now and the end of the season with their progression acting basically as their in-season or trade deadline acquisitions.

[Related: Blackhawks Depth Chart]

Lightning Place Steven Stamkos On LTIR, Demote Erik Condra

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The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed Steven Stamkos on long-term injury reserve, reports CapFriendly (Twitter link).  To maximize their potential space, the team recalled prospect defenseman Ben Thomas from Syracuse over the weekend for one day and then sent him back down.  By bringing Thomas up before placing Stamkos on LTIR, the Lightning were within $40K of the cap at the time of his placement which increased the amount of LTIR room to work with.  As a result, Tampa Bay has a little over $8.45MM in cap space to work with while Stamkos is out of the lineup.

If Stamkos progresses well in his rehab from surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his right knee and is projected to return late in the year, it’s unlikely that GM Steve Yzerman would make a bigger move to replace Stamkos as they wouldn’t be able to activate him until they’re back in cap compliance which would be difficult if they added a high salaried player to take his spot.

However, if they feel it’s likely that he’ll be out for the remainder of the season – a realistic possibility considering the four-to-six month projected recovery time – then they could add a bigger salary or two between now and the trade deadline.  There is no salary cap in the playoffs so even if the Lightning’s postseason roster was over the cap ceiling, it wouldn’t constitute a cap violation.  Chicago executed that to perfection a couple of years ago with Patrick Kane’s LTIR placement allowing them to add Antoine Vermette late in the season.

It will still be a while before Tampa Bay can realistically expect a revised timeline for a return date for their captain so in the meantime, it’s likely that they will look to fill his spot from within.  One player who it looked like was going to get a chance was right winger Erik Condra but that doesn’t appear to be the case now as the team announced that they have sent him back to Syracuse of the AHL before he appeared in a single game for the Lightning.

[Related: Lightning Depth Chart]

Metropolitan Notes: Hagelin, Sanford, Lindberg

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With the Penguins losing a couple of veterans in Patric Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz to injuries, some have wondered if left winger Carl Hagelin would see a bigger role over the next few weeks, including time on the man advantage.  As head coach Mike Sullivan told Jonathan Bombulie of the Pittsburgh Tribune, that’s not likely to be the case:

“We’re trying to cast guys in certain roles on the team for a number of reasons, so we can spread the minutes appropriately, so we don’t overtax guys in certain situations where they don’t have the ability to sustain success.”

In Hagelin’s case, he’s a key member of their penalty kill and evidently Sullivan is worried that asking him to play meaningful minutes on both special teams units may take away from his ability to play shorthanded.

One forward who could make a push for some time with the man advantage is Jake Guentzel, who had quite the NHL debut on Monday night, scoring twice in the first period.  He played with Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel, a pretty good pair to play with at any time.

[Related: Penguins Depth Chart]

More from the Metropolitan Division:

  • With Lars Eller (upper body injury) out of the lineup, Capitals rookie winger Zach Sanford is being shifted back to the middle, notes Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. While that is his natural position, the Caps had been playing him exclusively on the left wing this season in an effort to ease him into the pro game.  He has just one assist in 16 games so far this year but head coach Barry Trotz isn’t worried about his lack of production, particularly since he has spent a lot of time this season on the fourth line.
  • After a quality rookie season, Rangers center Oscar Lindberg’s sophomore campaign hasn’t exactly gone as planned. He has played in just eight games this year and has spent time as a healthy scratch.  As Newsday’s Steve Zipay writes, New York is being cautious and patient with Lindberg as offseason hip surgery cost him his offseason training as well as training camp.  Although he isn’t playing much (which could change with Mika Zibanejad’s injury), the AHL isn’t an option as Lindberg is waiver eligible.

Pacific Notes: Rakell, Hertl, Burrows

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After spending a big portion of last season as Anaheim’s second line center, Rickard Rakell has turned into somewhat of a utility player for the Ducks so far this season, notes Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.  At times early on this season, Rakell has been deployed on a two-way third line alongside Antoine Vermette while at others, he has been moved up with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf on the top trio.  Head coach Randy Carlyle hasn’t hesitated to move Rakell in and out of each situation midway through games either, depending on the situation.

It’s safe to say that shifting back and forth hasn’t negatively affected the 23 year old who signed a six year, $22.8MM deal last month.  Through ten games so far this season, he has six goals and four assists while averaging over 17 minutes of playing time per night.  It’s safe to suggest that the Ducks won’t be back in his old second line center role anytime soon.

[Related: Ducks Depth Chart]

More from the Pacific Division:

  • San Jose center Tomas Hertl will be out indefinitely with a right knee sprain, reports CSN Bay Area’s Kevin Kurz. Hertl is set to undergo a minor procedure later today and no timetable has been set for his return.  This is already the third time in his career that he has had to deal with a right knee problem, including back in the Stanley Cup Final, an issue that also kept him out of the World Cup of Hockey.  As we noted yesterday, center Danny O’Regan was recalled to take Hertl’s spot on the roster.
  • Although Vancouver left winger Alex Burrows is a prime candidate to be a rental player for another team between now and the trade deadline, he hasn’t given much thought to the possibility of being moved yet, writes Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province. He has a cap hit of $4.5MM which would suggest that any possible move will be later rather than sooner.  However, with a full no-trade clause, Burrows can control his own destiny when it comes to the trade market.  Kuzma suggests that the Canadiens and Rangers would be two teams that would have an interest in the 35 year old, who has five points in 15 games so far this season.

Blackhawks Notes: The Athletic’s Scott Powers Talks to PHR

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The Athletic’s Scott Powers was kind enough to sit down with Pro Hockey Rumors and answer some questions about the Chicago Blackhawks as the season approaches the 25% mark. Answered were a varying array  of questions, from the Blackhawks jump to the top of the West to the likelihood of Artemi Panarin re-signing with the Hawks. Make sure to follow Scott on Twitter (@ByScottPowers) and also read his work at the Athletic.

PHR: Everyone expected a good season from the Hawks, but the main questions rotated around the kids being infused into the lineup. How do you think those kids have done? 

Powers: The kids have had varied results, but the Blackhawks have to be pleased about their early play. The start of the season could have been a disaster if those younger players didn’t carry some weight. It says something that the Blackhawks have yet to recall anyone from the AHL.  As expected, too, those younger players are beginning to improve. Ryan Hartman has played well. Tyler Motte showed some early signs before his injury. Vinnie Hinostroza broke out with a three-point game last week. Nick Schmaltz is getting a chance on the top line. Gustav Forsling is still working some things out, but he’s also a 20-year-old defenseman.

PHR: At the 25% mark of the season, Chicago looks like the team to beat. Teams who were supposed to challenge have either underachieved (Nashville), or been ravaged by injury (Dallas, and Los Angeles). Who do the Hawks need to watch, and how can the Hawks upgrade before or at the trade deadline—-if they choose to?

Powers: I feel like it’s still too early to really gauge the contenders and pretenders. Even with the Blackhawks, they have certainly played well, but plenty of people are still skeptical about them. They have some inflated stats that may even out over time. I think you can say who likely isn’t going to contend after 20 games when you look at the bottom of the divisions.
Overall, though, I’d wait until 40-plus games to start talking about who is going to challenge whom. As for upgrading, I really don’t expect the Blackhawks to be active at the trade market. Their salary cap situation is as tight as it’s ever been. They don’t have the financial space to make a trade unless they move someone with a significant cap hit. The Blackhawks’ hope has to be their younger players continue to develop and make the team better throughout the season.

Nov 18, 2016; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Chicago Blackhawks goalie <a rel=

PHR: If Corey Crawford keeps up this pace, it’s highway robbery if he doesn’t win the Vezina, right? And outside of Crawford, who has been indispensable for this team?

Powers: You never know with the Vezina. The NHL general managers vote on it, and they almost always go with the goalie who has the most victories. It’s obviously not the best way to measure a goalie’s play, but I don’t see it changing. But, yes, Crawford’s been outstanding. The last two years he’s really been an elite goaltender. He’s shown that during some of the Blackhawks’ playoff runs, but his overall numbers had suggested he was a slightly above average goalie. He’s elevated his standing now. Aside from Crawford, it’s been the usually suspects. Patrick Kane, Panarin, Artem Anisimov and Marian Hossa are playing well among the forwards. With the defensemen, it’s depended on who has been paired together, but Michal Kempny and Brent Seabrook’s play has been pretty consistent.

PHR: Artemi Panarin is having another great season. Could a bridge deal get done to keep him in the fold, does he take a hometown discount, or do you see him holding true to the reports of $6MM per season? 

Powers: I wrote about the Panarin contract at length today. He’s not looking for a bridge deal. He’s also probably worth more than $6MM. There are a lot of different factors and I explained in today’s story, but it’ll be interesting to see how it play out. He may take a bit of a discount to stay in Chicago, but it won’t be significant. I don’t think he owes that to the Blackhawks either. He’s not real young at 25 and wants to get paid.

Photo Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. 

Snapshots: Buchnevich, Palmieri, Guentzel

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News and notes from around the NHL this evening:

  • The New York Rangers announced that forward Pavel Buchnevich will be out for two to three weeks with back spasms. The Russian prospect missed the past three games with back issues and underwent an MRI today to discern the problem. The MRI showed no structural damage, reports the New York Post’s Larry Brooks, but Buchnevich will need at least two weeks to strengthen his core. This injury—coupled with Mika Zibanejad’s broken fibula last night—continues to deplete the Rangers’ roster. The team claimed Matt Puempel today in an effort to staunch the bleeding.
  • The New Jersey Devils may be without forward Kyle Palmieri tonight against the San Jose Sharks, reports Andrew Gross of the North Jersey Record. Palmieri suffers from upper-body soreness and only briefly took part in today’s morning skate. The American winger has 3G and 4A in 17 games for the Devils, and the team hopes that Palmieri can eventually find the magic he harnessed last year.
  • Jake Guentzel, the Pittsburgh Penguins 2013-third round pick, scored on his first shift in his first NHL game tonight against the New York Rangers. Guentzel was called up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after potting 7G and 10A in 16 games. Guentzel then went on to score a second goal in the first period. The last Penguin to do that was Luca Caputi back in 2009. Part-owner Mario Lemieux also scored his first goal on his first NHL shift.

Eddie Lack Concussed

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The Carolina Hurricanes announced that goaltender Eddie Lack suffered a concussion today in practice. The team has called up Michael Leighton from the AHL Charlotte Checkers to serve as backup tomorrow night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Lack has since been placed on Injured Reserve.

Lack has not been the goaltender the Hurricanes hoped for since acquiring him from the Vancouver Canucks. Last year Lack posted a .901 SV% and a 2.81 GAA. He’s fared even worse this season with a .856 SV% and a 3.80 GAA in 4 starts.

Lack’s performance has relegated the goaltender to backup status, and Cam Ward’s stats so far imply that Ward is not relinquishing the starting job anytime soon. In 13 starts this season, Ward has a .916 SV% and a 2.36 GAA. Not elite numbers, but definitely good enough to keep him between the pipes full-time.

 

Debut Notes: Bjugstad, O’Regan, Guentzel, Honka

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Alex Petrovic may be sidelined for a while, but at least the injury-prone Panthers are getting back center Nick Bjugstad. The 24-year-old pivot suffered a hand injury during the preseason, but will return to the lineup to make his 2016-17 debut tonight. Bjugstad has had his injury struggles early on in his young career, but has managed to produce when healthy in each of the past three seasons.

The tenth overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, Bjugstad finally became a full-time player in Florida in 2013-14, putting up 38 points in 76 games as a rookie. He topped those numbers in 2015-16 with 24 goals and 43 points in 72 games, and then posted 34 points in just 67 games last year. A hard-working, physical forward, Bjugstad has shown resilience and an ability to bounce back from injury before, and the Panthers expect nothing less. Currently tied for fourth in the Atlantic Division with an offense on the wrong side of the league average, Florida will welcome the added offense that Bjugstad’s return will bring and hope that his presence can help to get the team back atop the division, where they spent most of the 2015-16 season.

In a corresponding move, the Panthers have sent Jared McCann to the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds. Florida had originally acquired the 20-year-old center from the Vancouver Canucks as part of the return for Erik Gudbranson in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks last season. McCann has three points in 17 games thus far, but has looked good. His demotion is more to ensure that he gets ice time and continues to develop. With Bjugstad back, the Panthers are set down the middle with Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck and Derek MacKenzie also in the fold.

Players making their NHL debuts tonight:

  • The defending Stanley Cup champs are dealing with the injury bug and have called in reinforcements. Jake Guentzel will make his NHL debut tonight, likely lined up alongside Evgeni Malkin – not a bad place to jump start a career. After three outstanding seasons at the University of Nebraska – Omaha, Guentzel decided to leave school early to join Pittsburgh, and has shown he belongs in the pro game with 17 points in 16 games for the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins thus far. Pittsburgh will need the trend of AHLers exceeding expectations to continue with Guentzel, as they are facing down a severe challenge to their forward depth with injuries to Chris Kunitz and several minor leaguers and still awaiting the return of Daniel Sprong. 
  • The Penguin’s Stanley Cup opponents are dealing with some injuries of their own. The San Jose Sharks, in anticipation of the long-term absence of Tomas Hertl, have recalled Danny O’Regan from the AHL Barracuda and he will make his NHL debut tonight against the New Jersey Devils. The 22-year-old Massachusetts native has been playing point-per-game hockey in his first pro season, with 11 points in 11 games in the minors. Prior to 2016-17, O’Regan was a four-year starter for his hometown Boston University Terriers and played prep school and junior hockey in the Boston area as well.
  • John Klingberg’s loss is Julius Honka’s gain. With top defenseman Klingberg struggling this season combined with him missing a recent team meeting, Dallas head coach Lindy Ruff announced that Honka will make his NHL debut tonight in place of the scratched Klingberg. The 14th overall pick in 2014, Honka has played two full seasons with the AHL’s Texas Stars, but to this point had not earned a call-up. An elite puck-moving defenseman from Scandinavia, just like Klingberg, the Stars are hoping that Honka can help out a defense that has struggled all season and seen numerous players moved in and out of the lineup on a nightly basis.

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