The Score Sports Forecaster was first out of the blocks with their NHL Season Preview for 2008-09, and the good folks at Andrew's Dallas Stars Page has a quick review of the magazine's preview of the Stars, but also the projected playoff teams and where they'll finish the season:

Western Conference
1. Detroit Red Wings 2. Dallas Stars 3. Edmonton Oilers 4. San Jose Sharks 5. Chicago Blackhawks 6. Anaheim Ducks 7. Calgary Flames 8. Phoenix Coyotes

Eastern Conference
1. Philadelphia Flyers 2. Washington Capitals 3. Ottawa Senators 4. Montreal Canadiens 5. Pittsburgh Penguins 6. Carolina Hurricanes 7. New Jersey Devils 8. New York Rangers

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I'll have my projections by late September as we get closer to the season and we have a better idea of what the rosters will look like.

As for the Forecaster, you'll have to buy the issue (I don't get any kickbacks for this) to find out why they're ranking the teams as they have.

And since I'm going on vacation for a few days starting August 14th, this is as good a topic as any for you folks to discuss in the comments, and please, keep it clean!

That’s the big question amongst hockey fans, pundits and bloggers heading into the dog days of summer.

With former Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin the only big fish remaining in a rapidly drying up UFA pond, the question of “What Will Sundin Do?” is starting to dominate the off-season NHL news just as the uncertainty over the future plans of fellow Swedish star Peter Forsberg did last summer.

Unlike Forsberg, dogged by uncertainty over the status of his surgically repaired right foot (which continues to hamper him to this day and could result in his retirement), Sundin proved last season that at 37 he’s still physically and mentally capable to be among the top forwards in the NHL.

Little wonder then that at one point five teams – the Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings – were considered the leading bidders for his services when this summer’s unrestricted free agent market opened on July 1st.

Sundin still has the ability to make a bad team good, a good team very good and a very good team a Cup contender.

He’s also someone who, at this point in his long career, isn’t going to be rushed or pushed into making a decision about his future.

Some critics have unjustly taken Sundin to task, stupidly suggesting that he’s “stringing those teams along”, that he should make a decision quickly and in the meantime apologize to the clubs bidding for his services for his foot-dragging.

Last time I checked, Sundin is what’s called an “unrestricted free agent”, meaning he doesn’t owe any team an explanation, an apology or any damn thing. He owes it to himself to make the right decision for his future and if he wants to take the entire summer to think about his future plans that’s his right as an unrestricted free agent, a right he's more than earned.

If teams like the Red Wings and Rangers decide they don’t want to wait for Sundin and opt instead to spend their available cap space on other players, that’s their business, not his.

Sure, it narrows the number of potential destinations for Sundin, but he’s been around long enough to know what the consequences could be for his actions. If he were that concerned about it, he would’ve signed with a team by now.

Quite frankly, as more than one scribe has suggested, we don’t even know if Sundin wants to play next season or not. He could decide after seventeen seasons that he just doesn’t want to put himself through the punishment anymore.

Retirement is a possibility, but the consensus of observers suggests he could be back for at least one or two more seasons.

Right now only three teams – the Vancouver Canucks, Montreal Canadiens and the Maple Leafs – appear to be in the running for his services.

The Canucks are in a bit of a rebuilding mode with a new general manager in Mike Gillis and a need to bolster their offensive production as that was a significant contributing factor (along with injuries to their blueline corps and personal distractions for goalie Roberto Luongo) to their missing the playoffs last season.

With a focused Luongo and a healthier blueline the Canucks should make the playoffs but if they’re to be more than a marginal playoff team they need a scoring star like Sundin.  

What makes them attractive is they’ve placed the biggest bid on the table (two years, $20 million), fellow countrymen Mattias Ohlund and the Sedin Twins would be his teammates and the 2010 Winter Olympics are being held there, where Sundin could be captaining the defending Olympic champion Swedish team.

Of these three teams the Canadiens could be Sundin’s best opportunity to play for a Stanley Cup contender.

 The Habs made significant improvement last season, finishing first overall in the Eastern Conference for the first time in 19 years. They’re deep in rising young talent, and Sundin’s potential linemates would be experienced offensive forwards Alex Kovalev and Alex Tanguay.

But the Canadiens probably won’t offer more than $8 million per season at best, and it’s also possible Sundin might not be comfortable suiting up for the Habs after spending his entire NHL career playing for two of their arch-rivals in Quebec City and Toronto.

Then there's the Maple Leafs, who also couldn’t out-bid the Canucks and don’t have the enticement of Cup contention like the Canadiens but do have familiarity on their side, given that Sundin played most of his NHL career as a Leaf.

Leafs management have said they’d bring him back, even with a movement clause, but it’s also possible there could be some bruised feelings after the club tried to pressure him to waive his movement clause last February.

So what will Sundin do?

Your guess is as good as mine, but don’t be surprised if we’re still asking that question by the end of August.  

The Montreal Canadiens have signed an impact forward, albeit one who provides a different kind of impact, inking noted enforcer Georges Laraque to a three-year contract believed worth $1.5 million per season, a modest raise over the $1.3 million per season he earned last season.

Laraque, a native of Montreal, has spent most of his career with the Edmonton Oilers and after spending the last two season split between Phoenix and Pittsburgh was believed considering heading back to Edmonton.

Considering Laraque’s comments earlier in his career against playing in Montreal due to the intense pressure French-Canadiens face with the Habs it’s a little surprising that he’s changed his mind, although the length of the deal likely had something to do with it.

Laraque’s presence will be a welcome one for a Canadiens team deep in talent but thin on grit, and will take much of the load off shut-down defenseman Mike Komisarek who’s had to do more than his fair share of the Habs enforcement duties.  

A rare occurrence took place on Thursday as the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs, hockey’s long time arch-rivals, swung a trade.

The Canadiens shipped young center Mikhail Grabovski to the Leafs in exchange for prospect defenseman Greg Pateryn and a second round pick in 2010.

Grabovski showed promise In his limited time with the Canadiens but was unable to crack the roster full time last season, and at one point left the team in the midst of a US west coast road trip to fly to Los Angeles and confer with his agent, who advised him to return to the Habs.

The Canadiens have $10 million in available cap space but have several young free agents to re-sign and are expected to land a veteran forward from the UFA market, making Grabovski expendable.

For a rebuilding Maple Leafs team thin at center Grabovski could be a good fit and should get much more playing time in Toronto than he got in Montreal.

Boston Bruins fans were hoping GM Peter Chiarelli would bring in some scoring help via the UFA market this summer.

Chiarelli signed a scoring winger but not a big ticket one like Marian Hossa, signing instead a forward who used to play for their arch-rival sin Montreal.

The Bruins signed former Canadiens winger Michael Ryder to a three-year, $12 million contract, paying him $4 million per season.

Seems a steep price to pay for a winger who managed only 14 goals and 31 points in limited ice time last season, but the affable Newfoundlander is only one season removed from his second straight 30-goal season, and if he can regain his scoring touch with the Bruins it could become a worthwhile signing.

This move should also demonstrate once and for all that the Bruins won’t be dumping the contract of aging veteran Glen Murray to free up the cap space to get into the bidding war for Hossa.

New York Islanders GM Garth Snow claimed prior to July 1st that he wouldn’t make a big splash in this summer’s UFA pool.

He apparently changed his mind, signing former Montreal Canadiens goalie  defenseman Mark Streit to a five year, $20.5 million contract, or $4.1 million per season.

Streit had a terrific performance in his third NHL season last year, with 62 points in 81 games, most of those coming on the Canadiens lethal power play.

The Habs hoped to re-sign Streit but with forward Andrei Kostitsyn to re-sign and with GM Bob Gainey focused on landing an impact forward there was no room on the payroll for him.

If Streit’s asking price was $4.1 million per, it’s no wonder Gainey passed.

It’s understandable that Snow wants to bolster his blueline, and Streit is a good offensive defenseman, but as noted earlier, he put up those big totals last season on one of the top powerplay units in the league, which he won’t be playing for on Long Island next season.

Snow is gambling that Streit is capable of at least 40 points per season on a lesser team, and it could prove to be an expensive gamble.

Montreal Canadiens GM Bob Gainey is still seeking an impact forward via the UFA market but he still had time to ensure one of his promising young forwards remained a Hab.

Gainey re-signed winger Andrei Kostitsyn to a three-year contract worth $3.25 million per season, which has to be considered an affordable signing for the Habs as it was speculated he could net over $4 million per season, particularly as he could’ve been a target for an offer sheet.

Kostitsyn is also believed to have received offers from Russia worth over $5 million per season but spurned those to remain with the Habs to play alongside his brother Sergei.

In his first full NHL season this past year Kostitsyn established himself among the Habs top six forwards, with 26 goals and 53 points in 78 games.

Should he continue to improve his new contract could look like a bargain in a couple of years.

The Calgary Flames added a winger and subtracted one during the first round of the NHL 2008 Entry Draft, acquiring winger Mike Cammalleri from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for the 17th overall pick, and dealing veteran left winger Alex Tanguay to the Montreal Canadiens for the 25th overall pick.

Cammelleri was rumored as a trade candidate during the past week and for good reason given his contentious contract talks last summer with Kings GM Dean Lombardi resulting in a two-year contract through arbitration for less than he sought.

His current contract worth $3.35 million has one year left,  giving the Flames time to determine if they want to re-sign him this summer for more, or see how well he plays for demanding head coach Mike Keenan and make a pitch during next season.

Cammalleri has 80 point potential, having achieved that total in 2006-07 but fell off to only 47 points last season. With the Kings have plenty of depth in young scoring forwards he became expendable, in this case for a 17th overall pick which was then flipped to the Anaheim Ducks along with the 28th overall pick for the 12th overall pick.

The Flames however had to make salary room for Cammalleri and that meant moving out Alex Tanguay, who surprisingly agreed to waive his “no-trade” to facilitate a trade to the Montreal Canadiens for the 25th overall pick in this year’s draft.

Surprisingly, because Tanguay last season repeatedly stated he wouldn’t waive his clause to go to Montreal , citing the intense pressure French-Canadien  players feel playing for the Canadiens.

Evidently the pressure of playing for Mike Keenan another season in Calgary was enough to change his mind. By dumping Tanguay to Montreal and taking on Cammalleri’s salary Flames GM Darryl Sutter saves himself nearly $2 million in cap space which could be used to re-sign a key player or perhaps pursue some depth via the UFA market.

Canadiens GM Bob Gainey has repeatedly stated he wants to acquire an impact player and hinted of dealing his first round pick (25th) in this year’s draft to do so.

Tanguay is a skilled offensive winger whose offensive stats have fluctuated throughout his career. He should post up strong offensive numbers with the speedy young talented Canadiens, but he’s not considered an impact player.

It’s a bit of a puzzling move for Gainey, adding another finesse player into a roster already loaded with those kind of forwards, not to mention the huge cap bite his $5.25 million salary for next season will take out of the Habs’ salary cap.

Either Gainey is still shopping for that elusive impact forward (he’s been granted permission by the Toronto Maple Leafs to speak with Mats Sundin’s agent) or Tanguay is the best he could get.

Captain Canuck is calling it a career.

Trevor Linden recently announced his retirement from the NHL after 19 seasons, sixteen of which were spent with the Vancouver Canucks, nearly seven of those as team captain.

Linden hasn’t been captain of the Canucks for years but in the minds of most of the team’s fans he’ll always be considered the best captain the team ever had.

His best seasons were in his first go-around with the Canucks from his NHL rookie season of 1988-89 through the 1997-98 campaign, where he’d score over 30 goals six times and exceed the 50 point mark seven times, including four 70-plus point seasons.

Linden was never flashy as teammate Pavel Bure during that time but his strong two-way play and leadership made him a standout and the true heart-and-soul of the club for most of the 1990s.

He also earned a reputation as a solid playoff performer renowned for his clutch play, and he was never better than in the 1994 playoffs, captaining the Canucks to a thrilling seven game Stanley Cup final series against the NY Rangers, where the Canucks rallied from a 3-1 series deficit before falling to the Rangers in the deciding seventh game.

Dealt to the NY Islanders mid-way through the 1997-98 season for Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan McCabe and a third round pick (used to select Jarkko Ruutu), Linden struggled with injuries as he bounced from the Isles to the then-equally mediocre Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals over the course of four seasons.

But early in the 2001-02 season Linden was dealt back to the Canucks where he truly belonged, and while he was no longer the captain and his offensive skills were in decline he was still relied upon for leadership and strong defensive play.

He was also president of the NHL Players Association for 8 years, during which the NHL was shut down for an entire season due to a lockout.

Linden was a loyal lieutenant of PA Executive Director Bob Goodenow but broke with him in March 2005 following the league’s cancellation of the 2004-05 season, joining with PA assistant director Ted Saskin in negotiating the current collective bargaining agreement which brought the lock to an end in July 2005.

His role in the firing of Goodenow later than month and in the controversial hiring of Saskin as the PA’s new executive director remains murky, and resulted in his stepping down as PA president

Linden has also been a long-time active member of the Vancouver community, particularly in charity work associated with the BC Children’s Hospital and other charitable organizations, which has only deepened the love Canucks fans feel for Linden.

Presently it’s unknown if Linden will have a role in the Canucks organization in the near future, but considering all he’s done for the team on and off the ice as a player as well as in the community the Canucks hierarchy would be daft not to hire him, if not in management then at the very least a goodwill ambassador.

Linden finishes his NHL career with 375 goals and 867 points in 1, 382 regular season games, and an even more impressive 99 points (including 65 assists) in 124 playoff games.

It remains to be seen if he’ll ever be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Canucks retired his number 16 in honor of the most popular player in team history.

The Montreal Canadiens have made their first significant re-signing of the off-season.

CKAC radio in Montreal reported Friday the Canadiens have re-signed center Maxim Lapierre to a two-year contract extension paying him $575K for next season and $800K for 2009-10.

Lapierre, 23, has spent parts of the last two seasons split between the Canadiens and their farm team in Hamilton.

Considered to be a pesky checking line center, he appears to have earned a full-time spot with the Canadiens next season after playing in each of their 12 post-season games this season, primarily in a checking role.

Lapierre earned $562K last season and it’s likely his new salary will be below $1 million per season.

It’s a good, affordable signing by the Canadiens, as Lapierre has the potential to grow into a good checking line forward and penalty killer.

With Lapierre’s contract out of the way, management can now focus its attention on RFAs Andrei Kostitsyn, Jaroslav Halak and Josh Gorges, and UFAs Mark Streit, Bryan Smolinski and Michael Ryder.

That’s the suggestion of some Flyers fans in chat rooms, message boards and blogs, as well as in comments on some of my Foxsports.com articles.

NHL officiating always gets knocked more in the post-season than it does in the regular season (when there’s always a steady drumbeat of discontent over it).

I haven’t found the officiating to be any better or worse in this year’s playoffs. It seems about the same, some games it’s good, some games it’s questionable.

As for the Flyers, it seems to be part of their cultivation of their underdog status, their “us against the world” mentality in this year’s post-season to suggest they’re not getting the benefit of the calls or for some of their fans to outright make that claim.

So, is there any truth to it?

Granted, the Flyers are bound to be watched more closely than other teams given the notable suspensions handed down to a couple of their players during the season, which at one point earned them a stiff public rebuke by the NHL ‘s disciplinary arm.

In the Flyers-Washington Capitals series, both teams drew 35 penalties, the most notable being Washington’s Tom Poti’s tripping call that led to Joffrey Lupul’s overtime series-winning goal in Game Seven.

In the Flyers-Montreal Canadiens series, the Flyers had 22 penalties to the Canadiens 14, 8 of those coming in the very rough third game when Derian Hatcher took a stupid boarding call that saw him tossed from the game and put his team shorthanded for half of the third period. In the other four games, two saw the teams draw equal number of penalties , one saw the Flyers draw one more and the other two more than the Habs.

A questionable call on Mike Richards for tripping Alex Kovalev late in Game One resulted in Kovalev’s game-tying goal, but the Canadiens Steve Begin took a silly interference late in the third of Game Four that snuffed out his club’s rally and resulted in the game winning PP goal by Daniel Briere.

After three games against the Penguins in the Conference Finals, the Flyers were assessed 11 penalties, the Penguins 10, with six of those 11 penalties coming in Game Two.

Flyers fans were justifiably upset over Scottie Upshall’s tripping call when a similar one later in the game by a Penguin was not called, and Evgeni Malkin’s blatant elbow to the head of Daniel Briere in Game Two going uncalled.

Overlooked however was Jason Smith’s punch to the face of Sidney Crosby in Game Two that went uncalled, as did a couple of other questionable tactics on Crosby and Malkin that the officials missed.

In the final assessment thus far, except for three games (one in each series) where undisciplined play got the better of them, the Flyers haven’t been getting the worst of the calls. It's was dead even against the Capitals, only one game skewed their numbers against the Habs (a game the Flyers won anyway), and it's been almost even against the Penguins in the first three games.

As far as calls go, some have certainly been missed for the Flyers, but so too have they gotten their share of breaks against their opponents.

The only thing beating the Flyers in their series against the Penguins is the talent depth of the Penguins, the absence of Kimmo Timonen and Braydon Coburn from the Flyers blueline and the inability of the rest of the Flyers defense to contain the Penguins speed. Penalties have nothing to do with it.

**Update** In Game Four, the Flyers were only called for two penalties, the Penguins called for four, leading a clearly upset Penguins coach Michel Therrien to sarcastically compliment the Flyers on their "disciplined play".  The Flyers tally of penalties now stands at 13, the Penguins at 14.

Check 'em out here.

In a nutshell, Rangers, Red Wings and Canadiens in six, Sharks in Seven.

Discuss!

As promised here is my Eastern Conference Quarter-finals preview and predictions.

Again, I'd love to read your comments, and if you disagree with me that's fine, but please, don't take it personally if I didn't pick your team to win or if in your opinion I haven't given them a chance. Remember, they're just one person's opinion. If I'm right, fine, if not, no big whoop.

Montreal Canadiens vs Boston Bruins: Canadiens swept the season series 8-0, enroute to locking up top spot in their division and the conference, whilst the Bruins battled injury and inconsistency to scrape into the post-season. The Bruins will try to use a physical, disciplined defensive style to shut down the Canadiens speed and to generate traffic in front of the Montreal goal. They’ll look to goalie Tim Thomas and captain Zdeno Chara to lead the way but that might not be enough to blunt the Canadiens offensive attack and league-leading power-play, led by Alex Kovalev's line. Habs rookie Carey Price is starting his first NHL playoffs but his unflappable demeanor and sound goaltending style will make it tough for the Bruins to score.  Both teams have been bit by the injury bug of late but the Canadiens are the healthier of the two. The Bruins will battle the Canadiens hard and could win a game or two but appear to lack the offensive punch and defensive ability to contain the Habs. CANADIENS IN FIVE.

Pittsburgh Penguins vs Ottawa Senators: The Sens won the season series 3-0-1 but have been in free-fall since mid-January whilst the Penguins have overcome injuries to key players to finish second overall in the Conference. The Senators have far more playoff experience than the Penguins, but they're a team wracked by dissension, shaky goaltending, inconsistent defense and with key forwards Daniel Alfredsson, Mike Fisher and Chris Kelly sidelined by injury. The Penguins lost to the Sens in five games last season but they’re a year older, wiser, healthier and better this time around. Their offensive attack, led by Evgeni Malkin and captain Sidney Crosby, could prove too much this time around for a floundering Ottawa team to shut down.  PENGUINS IN FIVE.

Washington Capitals vs Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers took the season series 2-1-1, but struggled down the stretch whilst the Capitals were one of the NHL’s hottest team’s over the same period, catapulting them to the Southeast Division title. For the Flyers, their role is simple: shut down the Alexander Ovechkin line and generate traffic in front of Caps goalie Cristobal Huet, and they’ve got a good chance to defeat Washington. Easier said than done, as the Capitals head into this series riding a wave of momentum, spurred by Ovechkin’s amazing play, Huet’s goaltending, the coaching of Bruce Boudreau and the overall improvement of their roster. The Flyers possess more experience than the Capitals, but there are concerns about Martin Biron’s goaltending, their defensive depth and overall health. The Flyers also haven’t played the Capitals since early February and could find this club far different from the one they faced earlier in the season. CAPITALS IN SIX.

New Jersey Devils vs New York Rangers. The Rangers won the season series 7-0-1 but it’s the Devils who’ll have home-ice advantage in this match-up. The last time these two met in the playoffs the Devils swept the Rangers in four, but the Rangers are a healthier, more defensively sound club this time around, and can rely on strong goaltending from Henrik Lundqvist. The Devils will again use their grinding, physical defensive style to try to wear down the Rangers, but their lack of offense could make it difficult to cash in on scoring opportunities. Ultimately the Devils hopes will rest on goalie Martin Brodeur, who had another strong performance this season and must carry that over into the post-season for the Devils to have a chance. This series should be a close one but in the end the Rangers offensive depth and improved defensive game should see them through.  RANGERS IN SEVEN.

As another disappointing season ends for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and with their Stanley Cup drought now at 41 years and counting, interim general manager Cliff Fletcher claims that part of the club’s rebuilding plan will be to bolster its prospect depth.

It remains to be seen if the Leafs will actually follow through with that plan. This is a team that, under the previous CBA, preferred to spend its way out of trouble, often at the expense of its youth.

With the Leafs going into this summer’s UFA market with potentially $14 million in available cap space, potentially more if Pavel Kubina is traded and Andrew Raycroft bought out, the temptation to splurge on free agent talent could be too strong to overcome.

The Leafs get kicked around for not drafting well, particularly over the last ten years, but they have been capable of selecting some decent talent.

All-star defenseman Tomas Kaberle was selected 204th in the 1996 draft, hulking forward Nik Antropov went tenth overall in 1998 and two-time 20-goal scorer Alexei Ponikarovsky went 87th overall the same year. Brad Boyes went 24th overall in the 2000 entry draft but was dealt away in the ill-fated Owen Nolan deal. Alex Steen and Matt Stajan were both 2002 draft picks

The problem unfortunately is that the Leafs haven’t been able to draft well consistently over the last ten years.

Some of their current kids, like Jiri Tlusty and Anton Stralman, have shown some promise, and prospect goalie Justin Pogge has played well on their farm club this season. That bodes well for the team’s rebuilding process, but they’ll have to devote more time and attention to not only drafting well but developing their young talent well.

The Leafs could learn from the example set by their long-time rivals, the Montreal Canadiens, which has rebuilt itself into a powerhouse this season in the Eastern Conference primarily through drafting and development.

Sixteen members of the Canadiens current roster were drafted and developed by the team. Of those, Andrei Markov and Michael Ryder (1998), Mike Komisarek and Tomas Plekanec (2001), Chris Higgins (2002), Andrei Kostitsyn, Maxim Lapierre, Ryan O’Byrne and Jaroslav Halak (2003), Mikhail Grabovsky and Mark Streit (2004), and Carey Price, Guillaume Latendresse and Sergei Kostitsyn (2005) were all selected within the last ten years.

Other prospects seen as potential Habs include Kyle Chipchura (who played 36 games this season with the Canadiens) and Alexei Yemelin (2004), David Fischer and Ben Maxwell (2006) and Ryan McDonagh, P.K. Subban and Max Pacioretty (2007).

Little wonder the Canadiens prospects have the club regularly ranked among the top five NHL teams in that regard in recent years, and certainly accounts for the Habs stunning rise to prominence this season. That talent pool could keep the Canadiens among the league’s top teams for several years, possibly even putting them into Stanley Cup contention during that time.

Of course there are other means of rebuilding a club, via trades and free agency, but in a salary cap world drafting, developing and retaining young talent appears to be as valuable a building block as ever.one the Leafs ignore at their peril as they embark on a long-overdue rebuilding program.

With the NHL season almost over, here’s a look at how the top free agents of 2007 (based on salaries of $5 million or more per season) have fared in the first season of their current contracts.

Oh, and for those nitpickers wondering why I’m doing this now (and my review of my season preview last Friday) given the handful of games remaining, it’s because I’m preparing to cover the upcoming playoffs and won’t have the time to do this at season’s end.

Anyway, stats are as of March 31, 2008,along with their projections in November 2007 and January 2008. The regular season ends on April 6, 2008. I’ll leave it up to you, the readers, to decide if they’re worth the money they’re getting.

Enjoy!

Daniel Briere, Philadelphia Flyers - 2007-08 salary: $10 million. Salary cap hit: $6.5 million.

November 2007: on pace for: 41 goals, 61 assists, 102 points.
January 2008: on pace for: 32 goals, 49 assists, 89 points.
March 31, 2008: 78 GP, 31 goals, 40 assists, 71 points, -23

Scott Gomez, New York Rangers – 2007-08 salary: $10 million. Salary cap hit: $7.357 million.

November 2007: on pace for: 14 goals, 44 assists, 58 points.
January 2008: on pace for: 18 goals, 57 assists, 75 points.
March 31, 2008: 77 GP, 16 goals, 53 assists, 69 points, +5.

Thomas Vanek, Buffalo Sabres – 2007-08 salary: $10 million. Salary cap hit: $7.143 million.

November 2007: on pace for: 21 goals, 36 assists, 57 points.
January 2008: on pace for: 23 goals, 25 assists, 48 points.
March 31, 2008: 79 GP, 32 goals, 28 assists, 60 points, -5

Kimmo Timonen, Philadelphia Flyers – 2007-08 salary: $8 million. Salary cap hit: $6.33 million.

November 2007: on pace for: 10 goals, 38 assists, 48 points. -14
January 2008: on pace for: 12 goals, 33 assists, 45 points. –2
March 31, 2008: 77 GP, 8 goals, 36 assists, 44 points, -3

Ryan Smyth, Colorado Avalanche: - 2007-08 salary: $7.5 million. Salary cap hit: $6.25 million.

November 2007: on pace for: 21 goals, 28 assists, 50 points.
January 2008: on pace for: 22 goals, 34 assists, 56 points (sidelined until late-February)
March 31, 2008: 53 GP, 14 goals, 23 assists, 37 points, -3

Chris Drury, New York Rangers – 2007-08 salary: $7.1 million. Salary cap hit: $7.05 million.

November 2007: on pace for: 17 goals, 34 assists, 51 points –3.
January 2008: on pace for: 21 goals, 34 assists, 55 points, -21
March 31, 2008: 78 GP, 23 goals, 31 assists, 54 points, -4

Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings: 2007-08 salary: $6.7 million. Salary cap hit. $6.7 million.

November 2007: on pace for: 24 goals, 65 assists, 89 points, +38.
January 2008: on pace for: 30 goals, 66 assists, 96 points, +47
March 31, 2008: 79 GP, 31 goals, 53 assists, 94 points, +41.

Sheldon Souray, Edmonton Oilers: 2007-08 salary: $6.25 million. Salary cap hit: $5.4 million.

March 31, 2008: Sidelined for most of the season by injury.
26 GP, 3 goals, 7 assists, 10 points, -7.

Paul Kariya, St. Louis Blues – 2007-08 salary: $6 million. Salary cap hit: $6 million.

November 2007: on pace for: 26 goals, 63 assists, 89 points +15.
January 2008: on pace for: 23 goals, 53 assists, 76 points, +16
March 31, 2008: 78 GP, 16 goals, 46 assists, 62 points, -9

Brian Rafalski, Detroit Red Wings – 2007-08 salary: $6 million. Salary cap hit: $6 million.

November 2007: on pace for: 10 goals, 58 assists, 68 points, +24
January 2008: on pace for: 14 goals, 52 assists, 66 points, +24
March 31, 2008: 71 GP, 13 goals, 42 assists, 55 points, +28

Andrei Markov, Montreal Canadiens – 2007-08 salary: $5.75 million. Salary cap hit: $5.75 million.

November 2007: on pace for: 20 goals, 44 assists, 65 points, -20.
January 2008: on pace for: 20 goals, 36 assists, 56 points, -4
March 31, 2008: 79 GP, 16 goals, 41 assists, 57 points, 0

J-S Giguere, Anaheim Ducks – 2007-08 salary: $5.5 million. Salary cap hit: $6 million.

November 2007: on pace for: 26-20-7, 2.50 GAA, .906 SP.
January 2008: on pace for: 34-19-7, 2.33 GAA, .915 SP
March 31, 2008: 34-17-6, 2.10 GAA, .923 SP

Mathieu Schneider, Anaheim Ducks – 2007-08 salary: $5.5 million. Salary cap hit. $5.625 millon.

November 2007: on pace for: 12 goals, 43 assists, 55 points, +18 in 67 games.
January 2008: on pace for: 10 goals, 28 assists, 38 points, +22 in 67 games.
March 31, 2008: 63 GP, 12 goals, 27 assists, 39 points, +20.

Roman Hamrlik, Montreal Canadiens – 2007-08 salary: $5.5 million. Salary cap hit: $5.5 million.

November 2007:on pace for: 7 goals, 31 assists, 38 points. +24.
January 2008: on pace for: 5 goals, 27 assists, 32 points, +11
March 31, 2008: 74 GP, 5 goals, 20 assistss, 25 points, +7

Michael Nylander, Washington Capitals – 2007-08 salary: $5.5 million. Salary cap hit: $4.875 million.

November 2007: on pace for: 20 goals, 52 assists, 72 points, -43
January 2008: sidelined for the season, was on pace for 21 goals, 50 assists, 71 points.

Mats Sundin, Toronto Maple Leafs – 2007-08 salary: $5.5 million. Salary cap hit: $5.5 million.

November 2007: on pace for: 39 goals, 59 assists, 98 points, +23.
January 2008: on pace for: 36 goals, 53 assists, 89 points, +20.
March 31, 2008: 74 GP, 32 goals, 46 assists, 78 points, +17.

Scott Hartnell, Philadelphia Flyers – 2007-08 salary: $5.2 million. Salary cap hit: $4.2 million

November 2007: on pace for: 11 goals, 18 assists, 29 points, +7.
January 2008: on pace for: 21 goals, 21 assists, 42 points, 0
March 31, 2008: 77 GP, 23 goals, 18 assists, 41 points.