Roto Exclusive : Guest Contributions and Featured Articles

y Eric Daoust
Surprises
• Viktor Fasth – At first glance, it appears that Fasth will be getting
to know the bench this season when considering that starter Jonas
Hiller is coming off of a 73-game campaign. But when looking at
Hiller’s numbers, we see that last season was by far his highest
workload and led to the lowest save percentage mark of his
career. There will be more on Hiller later, but Fasth could be in for
around 20 starts this year.
• Kyle Palmieri – The AHL star is ready to make the jump and there is a hole on the second line.
With Andrew Cogliano, Devante Smith-Pelley, Matt Beleskey and Emerson Etem in the mix,
Palmieri appears to be the best suited to putting up points immediately. He is a shot-first player
who scored 62 goals over the last two seasons in the minors. Consider him a dark horse for the
Calder, especially if he starts hot and gains some confidence.
• Sheldon Souray – Out of sight, out of mind. After being banished to the AHL by the Oilers,
Souray returned to the NHL in Dallas last season and had 21 points. Some people may forget
that Souray is a two-time 20-goal scorer and two-time 50-point scorer. With Visnovsky out of
the mix, Souray has a clear path to the top power play unit. He is getting old and is very prone
to injury, but there is no reason to think Souray cannot get back able 30 points.
Disappointments
• Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry – These two guys are tied at the hip in terms of their production.
Both experienced massive drops in production last season. Coincidentally, top offensive
defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky dropped from 68 points two years ago to just 27 last season.
The duo may bounce back, but with Visnovsky traded to the Islanders, their short-term upside
takes a hit. Even with Cam Fowler maturing and Sheldon Souray in the fold, it will not be
enough to push them above the point-a-game mark. Don’t look now, but if the Ducks struggle
again as a team, these two could be traded at the deadline or shipped to another team. Stay
tuned.
• Jonas Hiller – In the three years prior to last season, Hiller
appeared in between 46 and 59 games, posting a save
percentage of .918 or better each time. Last season, his .910
is a sign that he was overused. With a new quality backup in
town, Hiller could see his workload reduced to a level that he
is more familiar with. With that in mind, he could be in tough
to even get to 25 wins. However, you should expect to see
his save percentage climb back to his career average.
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