Capped – Cheap Bounceback Candidates

Chris Pudsey

2015-08-13

Some players are being given second chances on cheap contracts.

****

If you’re considered a bounce back player, something had to have gone wrong last year. Sometimes, it could be an injury that causes the slide, sometimes it’s bad luck, and sometimes it’s pure laziness on the player’s part. For some players, all it takes is a change of scenery or a different coaching philosophy that can turn their career around for a positive.

In this week’s Capped, I take a look at four guys who are primed for a bounce back season after a disastrous one last year. All four have changed teams in the offseason and hoping to prove their previous teams wrong.  Thanks to Frozen Pool, I have also shared their previous five seasons numbers (not all players have five years service) to show their career progression, or regression, depending on how you want to look at it.  In no particular order, here are four cheaply signed players who are looking to bounce back this year.

Alexander Semin – Montreal Canadiens, one-year, $1.1M cap hit

SEASON

GP

G

A

P

PntPG

+/-

PIM

Shots

SH%

HITS

PPG

PPP

SHG

BLKS

PPTOI

%PP

%SH

TOI/G

%TOI

2014-2015

57

6

13

19

0.33

-10

32

93

0.06

30

0

4

0

17

01:30

30.4

0.3

15:54

26.1

2013-2014

65

22

20

42

0.65

1

42

210

0.10

22

6

12

1

30

03:24

59.1

11.7

19:55

32.8

2012-2013

44

13

31

44

1.00

15

46

150

0.09

14

4

9

0

21

03:34

63.3

15.4

20:57

34.7

2011-2012

77

21

33

54

0.70

9

56

183

0.11

31

2

11

0

19

02:31

52.1

0.3

16:47

27.6

2010-2011

65

28

26

54

0.83

22

71

196

0.14

27

6

18

1

6

03:13

58.3

14.8

18:04

29.6

I will be the first to admit, I am no fan of Alex Semin but in writing these columns, I have to be objective and impartial to give the best possible fantasy information I can.

Alex Semin is a goal scorer, when he wants to be; he has proven that so far in his career.  If there’s a team looking for goals, it’s the Montreal Canadiens. This could work out well for both sides. Semin is no doubt a little embarrassed that he was bought out by the Carolina Hurricanes and the Habs need him to come in this year and prove that he can still do it in the NHL.

Last year, the 31-year-old found himself in the doghouse and couldn’t get out. He took a measly 93 shots all year and with a 0.06 shooting percentage, it’s no wonder he scored a career low six goals and put up a pitiful 19 points.

No matter how this ends up, this is a gamble Habs GM couldn’t refuse. This should be a gamble that works out for fantasy owners too. Semin shouldn’t have an issue turning his career around and working his way back up to the 20+ goals, 40-point range once again.  He is, after all, playing for another contract, and that normally brings the best out in most players.

Mikhail Grigorenko – Colorado Avalanche, one-year, $675,000 cap hit

SEASON

GP

G

A

P

PntPG

+/-

PIM

Shots

SH%

HITS

PPG

PPP

SHG

BLKS

PPTOI

%PP

%SH

TOI/G

%TOI

2014-2015

25

3

3

6

0.24

-10

2

35

0.09

28

1

2

0

15

01:05

23.2

1.3

15:10

25.1

2013-2014

18

2

1

3

0.17

-3

2

20

0.10

6

0

1

0

5

00:56

17.7

0.0

11:26

18.9

2012-2013

25

1

4

5

0.20

-1

0

31

0.03

2

0

0

0

2

00:37

11.5

0.1

10:14

16.7

Mikhail Grigorenko is a player that was once a highly touted prospect drafted in the first round by the Buffalo Sabres and was badly mishandled by those same Buffalo Sabres. It appears that all of that is now in the past, after coming to the Colorado Avalanche in the Ryan O’Reilly trade.

Grigorenko played his best hockey under coach Patrick Roy in the QMJHL for the Quebec Remparts. He is now reunited with Roy and could mean the resurrection of his floundering career. 

In Colorado, he will be given the chance to play meaningful minutes with better players than he was given in Buffalo. If it’s ever going to come together for Grigorenko, this is his best chance. It’s obvious that he wants to play in the NHL as he could have easily bolted for the KHL once his ELC expired at the end of last season but he didn’t. 

The talent is there, but one has to wonder how long it will take for the confidence to return. He’s shown in the AHL that he can produce at the pro level; now we just have to hope that Roy can get the most out of him at the NHL level. He just landed a one-year, show-me deal to figure this out.

Cody Hodgson – Nashville Predators, one-year, $1.05M cap hit

SEASON

GP

G

A

P

PntPG

+/-

PIM

Shots

SH%

HITS

PPG

PPP

SHG

BLKS

PPTOI

%PP

%SH

TOI/G

%TOI

2014-2015

📢 advertisement:

78

6

7

13

0.17

-28

12

127

0.05

40

0

1

0

21

01:20

28.6

0.1

12:51

21.1

2013-2014

72

20

24

44

0.61

-26

20

182

0.11

47

9

19

0

22

03:08

59.4

8.2

18:08

29.9

2012-2013

48

15

18

33

0.69

-7

20

114

0.13

21

3

6

1

24

02:55

43.6

21.9

18:24

30.0

2011-2012

83

19

22

41

0.49

2

10

154

0.12

37

7

14

0

29

01:58

35.3

4.0

13:49

22.5

2010-2011

8

1

1

2

0.25

1

0

9

0.11

4

0

0

0

2

00:47

18.2

0.0

07:45

12.9

After getting bought out by the Buffalo Sabres at the end of last season, there were plenty of question marks surrounding the career of Cody Hodgson. I honestly believe the Sabres didn’t want to buy him out, but the reality of taking another risky season with Hodgson and this being the last chance to buy him out at only one-third of his salary was just something the Sabres couldn’t overlook. After all, Hodgson is still only 25-years-old and only one year out from scoring 20 goals and leading the team in scoring. 

Last season, his shooting percentage dropped to a scant 0.047 percent when he normally hit on an average of 0.12 percent. I realize he isn’t a top producer in the league, but it’s hard to overlook the obvious in regards to a major drop-off in his offense when this type of statistic slaps you in the face.

Hodgson will still have to earn his ice time and opportunities on a deep group of forwards in Nashville but there’s certainly reason to be optimistic with Hodgson. He is entering his prime years in the league and will no doubt be looking to prove his doubters wrong. He should get some decent opportunities early on to show he wants it. At this point, it’s all up to him to salvage his NHL career.

Viktor Stalberg – New York Rangers, one-year, $1.1M cap hit

EASON

GP

G

A

P

PntPG

+/-

PIM

Shots

SH%

HITS

PPG

PPP

SHG

BLKS

PPTOI

%PP

%SH

TOI/G

%TOI

2014-2015

25

2

8

10

0.40

0

18

27

0.07

54

0

0

0

10

00:02

0.6

0.7

11:53

19.4

2013-2014

70

8

11

19

0.27

-15

32

114

0.07

55

0

0

0

25

00:12

4.0

1.2

12:35

20.7

2012-2013

47

9

14

23

0.49

16

25

113

0.08

43

0

2

0

14

02:12

40.0

1.0

14:07

23.0

2011-2012

79

22

21

43

0.54

6

34

215

0.10

91

0

0

0

24

00:27

7.9

0.6

14:04

23.0

2010-2011

77

12

12

24

0.31

2

43

135

0.09

102

0

1

0

25

00:12

3.7

0.3

10:42

17.6

After putting up two solid seasons in Chicago which saw him put up an average of 0.52 points-per-game, the Nashville Predators signed Stalberg to a four-year-deal. They thought they were upgrading their offense but Stalberg struggled under Barry Trotz and even cleared waivers last season and sent to the AHL under new head coach, Peter Laviolette.

The New York Rangers are willing to take a chance on Stalberg, and considering the price, this could be a good deal for both. I don’t think Stalberg is nearly as good as his numbers between the 2011-2013 seasons showed, but I also don’t think he’s nearly as bad as his time in Nashville showed either.

Stalberg’s game is speed and size. He should find a home on the third line with the Rangers and quite possibly find some time on the second power-play unit. He is essentially being brought in to fill the role left behind by Carl Hagelin. He’s a similar style of player, if not a bit more aggressive, but comes at a lot lower price tag. As long as the expectations are held at a minimum, he should end up being a good signing.

*Cap numbers are from CapFriendly. 

****

Thanks for the read. Feel free to comment and follow me on Twitter @chrispudsey. 

If you haven’t picked up your Dobber Fantasy Guide yet, what are you waiting for? There’s one heck of a deal still going on as we speak so you can’t complain about the price.    

3 Comments

  1. Jason Mouland 2015-08-14 at 13:58

    Thanks for the read!  Not that it really matters but  the Shooting percentage you're using is actually a proportion (i.e. Stalberg's shooting percentage was 4.7% not 0.047%)  The very low numbers you were using made do a bit of a double take.

    • Chris Pudsey 2015-08-15 at 11:24

      Thanks for the info!  I will be sure to adjust accordingly in the future.

  2. Woodrow 2015-08-15 at 21:11

    Expressed out of 1.00 being 100%, 0.047 is 4.7%.

Leave A Comment

Related Posts

UPCOMING GAMES

Apr 18 - 19:04 MIN vs SEA
Apr 18 - 20:04 WPG vs VAN
Apr 18 - 21:04 CGY vs S.J
Apr 18 - 21:04 COL vs EDM
Apr 18 - 22:04 VGK vs ANA
Apr 18 - 22:04 L.A vs CHI

Starting Goalies

View on GoaliePost App

Top Skater Views

  Players Team
LANE HUTSON MTL
JURAJ SLAFKOVSKY MTL
AUSTON MATTHEWS TOR
CONNOR MCDAVID EDM
SIDNEY CROSBY PIT

Top Goalie Profile Views

  Players Team
MARC-ANDRE FLEURY MIN
SEMYON VARLAMOV NYI
CHARLIE LINDGREN WSH
JET GREAVES CBJ
KAREL VEJMELKA ARI

LINE COMBOS

  Frequency NSH Players
20.9 RYAN O'REILLY GUSTAV NYQUIST FILIP FORSBERG
14.2 TOMMY NOVAK LUKE EVANGELISTA ANTHONY BEAUVILLIER
13.9 JASON ZUCKER COLTON SISSONS MARK JANKOWSKI

DobberHockey Podcasts

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

📢 advertisement: