Upon Further Review

Let's continue with our look at the players on each team who have a question mark attached to their name going into the 2008-09 NHL campaign.

On deck ... the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Pittsburgh Penguins, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks and Washington Capitals.

Ottawa Senators: Jason Spezza. After the Sens underwent a massive overhaul in the off-season, one player GM Bryan Murray needs to step up and take his game to another level is Spezza. Criticized for soft play in the playoffs and the focus of trade rumours, Spezza will be given every chance to redeem himself and prove he is among the elite in the NHL. We know he can make plays and score, but can he find the other end of the rink?

Keep an eye on…Martin Gerber. The Ray Emery distraction has been bought out, and Alex Auld has been brought in as Gerber’s backup, now it’s up to the Swiss netminder to prove he can be a No. 1 guy in the final year of his three-year contract with Ottawa.

Philadelphia Flyers: Mike Richards. Talk is Flyers head coach John Stevens will make Richards the middle man on a super line with Daniel Briere and Simon Gagne. In three seasons with Philadelphia, Richards has turned into what he was with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHL; someone who can score goals, make plays, check, fight, play in all situations and most importantly, lead.

Keep an eye on…Braydon Coburn. Perhaps GM Paul Holmgren’s greatest trade continues to pay off. The Flyers’ plus/minus leader (minus 17) is a warrior (in last year’s playoffs he stopped a Hal Gill slapshot with his face) and along with Kimmo Timonen forms one of the best shut-down defensive pairs in the Eastern Conference.

Phoenix Coyotes: Olli Jokinen. GM Don Maloney gave up a pair of strong NHL defencemen (Nick Boynton and Keith Ballard) to get Jokinen now it’s up to him to help get the Desert Dogs into the post-season. Many thought the Coyotes were a first-line centreman away from the post-season last year, we’ll see if that’s true. Jokinen has never played a single playoff game during his NHL career (721 career games) and will break Guy Charron’s record of 734 this year. Phoenix management and fans alike hope this is a streak that comes to an end this season.

Keep an eye on…Ilya Bryzgalov. With a weakened defence it will be up to the Russian netminder to stand on his head some nights to keep Wayne Gretzky’s team in it.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Evgeni Malkin. To say he struggled in the playoffs last season is the understatement. At times last year he looked like the best player in the league and we know he can light it up in the regular season, but the question still remains can Gino find that elusive playoff gear.

Keep an eye on…Sidney Crosby. Why not? The rest of the league will be. Crosby’s team has been weakened greatly (thankfully for the Penguins there is no team around the top of the Eastern Conference who took huge strides in the off-season) and an even bigger weight will be on the 21-year-old’s shoulders to take the Pens deep into the playoffs. If the kid stays healthy, the Pens have another shot at the final.

San Jose Sharks: Patrick Marleau. The captain stepped up his game in the playoffs and shook off the “he can’t hang in the post-season” tag. He was the Sharks’ best player in their all-too-familiar Round 2 bow out against the Dallas Stars. Marleau didn’t always see eye-to-eye with head coach Ron Wilson but he’s since been removed from the San Jose equation. Is this the year Marleau puts it all together? All the roadblocks have been cleared away.

Keep an eye on…Dan Boyle/Rob Blake. Both were brought in to shore up the Sharks’ defence. This pair could be the missing ingredient the team needs to make a serious Stanley Cup push.

St. Louis Blues: Paul Kariya. Last season’s 65 points was considered a disappointment by Blues’ brass, especially after he signed a three-year $18 million US contract. He also needs to find the back of the net more than 16 times. Kariya will get big minutes on the first line and if he doesn’t produce, it will be another long year for the Blues

Keep an eye on…Andy McDonald. Shocked and disappointed after the trade that sent him from Anaheim to St. Louis for Doug Weight, McDonald took a while to adjust to his new surroundings. One of the fastest skaters in the league, he’ll be relied on heavily to produce five-on-five points and more importantly on the power play.

Tampa Bay Lightning: Vincent Lecavalier. No team underwent more of an overhaul than the Bolts this off-season (Malone, Vrbata, Recchi, Carle, Roberts, Hall, Kolzig), yet the most important member of the team has been there for almost 10 seasons. Lecavalier has the ‘C’ back on his jersey, the most lucrative contract in the franchise’s history in his hip pocket, the responsibility of guiding young Steven Stamkos through his rookie season and is expected to get the Lightning back in the playoff picture.

Keep an eye on…Mike Smith. After coming over in the Brad Richards trade at the deadline, Smith was handed the starting netminder role. This season he’ll be back in that position on a radically different looking team whose weakness is still its blue-line. Smith will see a lot of rubber this year. If he falters, veteran Olaf Kolzig has been brought in to bail him out.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Nik Antropov. When the Leafs drafted Antropov in 1998 they had plans for him to one day take over as the team’s first-line centre. Of course in true Toronto fashion, as quickly as he was drafted, he was dangled to try to land the Leafs either Eric Lindros or Vincent Lecavalier. Antropov has endured frustrating, injury-plagued seasons and the scorn of Leafs fans, yet he endures. Last year he netted 26 goals and has set the bar higher for himself this year. If he stays healthy he could pot 35. Needs to shoot more.

Keep an eye on…Brian Burke. Each day that Burke doesn’t sign his contract extension in Anaheim will fan the rumour flames that he’s Toronto bound. We’ll really know it’s happening when we hear rumblings of that Ian White for Ryan Getzlaf trade.

Vancouver Canucks: The Sedin twins. In the final year of their contracts, the twins are looking to cash in and most experts speculate it will take $12 million to get the deal done. That’s a lot of money for players who still haven’t proven themselves in the post-season. Do they come as a package? Would GM Mike Gillis sign one and trade the other? Doubtful. He didn’t get off on a good foot when he first took the job, but things seem to be smoothed over between both sides. Can Gillis get a deal done with the pair? If not, who else will score for this franchise?

Keep an eye on…Steve Bernier. Will probably join a lengthy list of wingers drawing the assignment of playing with the twins, where it’s either feast or famine.

Washington Capitals: Jose Theodore. The former Hart Trophy winner regained his form last season in Colorado after he went back to his old style of making saves instead of letting the puck hit him (like most goalies do in the NHL these days). Theodore replaces rental Cristobal Huet (now in Chicago) and one of the most popular Caps ever, Olaf Kolzig (now in Tampa).

Keep an eye on…Sergei Fedorov. Another former Hart Trophy winner - there are three on Washington - Fedorov seemed to find that jump in his step that was missing in Columbus. He’s revered by the Russian players on the Caps, especially Alex Ovechkin. Fedorov can still do a little bit of everything, including playing the point on the power play.

Hockey Night in Canada Radio returns to the airwaves Monday, Sept. 29 on Sirius channels 122 and 97.
Join us live in Toronto in the CBC Atrium on Front Street as we broadcast all next week to kick off the 2008-2009 NHL season.

This year we’ve extended the show an hour and will now run 4-7 p.m. ET. Same great guest lineup and more of the stars of Hockey Night in Canada including Kelly Hrudey, Ron MacLean, Cassie Campbell, Craig Simpson, Elliotte Friedman, Scott Morrison, and our new additions Marc Crawford and Mike Milbury.

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