2008 Final Grade: B-

2007 Grade: N/A

Links:

{{smyth}} (hockey-reference page)

2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) Smyth game log

Season Stats: 55gp 14g 23a 37pt -4

Minutes: 1,0788.8 (5^th), EV 15:15, PP 3:54, PK :29, ATOI 19:37

1^st Half: 36gp 11g 17a 28pt -5

2^nd Half: 19gp 3g 6a 9pt +1

Playoffs: 8gp 2g 3a 5pt -1

Best Month: December (12gp 5g 9a 14pt +4)

Positions: LW (55)

Lines: 1^st (30), 2^nd (13), 3^rd (12)

Linemates: Smyth season log

C: Stastny (29), Arnason (11), Sakic (10), Hensick (3), Guite (1), Hlinka (1)

RW: Hejduk (33), Svatos (11), Jones (5), Brunette (2), McLeod (2), Hensick (1), Laperriere (1)

Season: Smyth's 37 points were his lowest season total since 1998. Over his career, Smyth has averaged about 12 pp goals per year. Last year, he had 2 - the 2^nd lowest output of his career.

Report: I know there were a few folks happy to see Joel Quenneville move on, and I'd venture that Ryan Smyth was probably one of them. Smyth never really seemed comfortable in his first year in Denver. Like everyone on the team, Smyth was bounced from line to line and from partner to partner - his longest stretch with the same linemates was 9 games. I personally was expecting Smyth to be a major force in front of the other team's net, but that never really materialized. Was that coaching? Was it because our point guys don't shoot well? Was it Smyth? Frankly, I don't have the answer, but he certainly wasn't as effective with his game pushed to the sides of the net (and behind it). I think the effort was there, but he didn't have the points to show for it. Several nights he was one of the best players on the ice, but that wasn't reflected on the scoresheet. On October 16^th he threw 11 shots at the Calgary Flames, and had just a goal to show for it. On December 5^th, he had 8 shots against the Blue Jackets. No goals (3 assists, though, and that was also was one of the few games he got under the skin of the opposing goalie). February 27^th: 6 shots, no goals. I don't think any member of the team was more disappointing on the PP than Smyth - his 8 points in 214 minutes was anemic with a capital "nee". One of Tony Granto's biggest challenges in 2008-09 will be to improve the powerplay, and finding a way to get Smyth in front of the net instead of behind it would be a great start. Smyth wasn't used a ton on the penalty kill (29 seconds per game), but he was effective; only Stastny and Jaroslav Hlinka had a better rate of goals allowed per 60 minutes.

Fast Fact: The line of Stastny, Smith and Hejduk contributed an even strength point in 20 of the 25 games together. The trio scored 27 even strength goals in those 25 games.

2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $7,500,000 ($6,250,000)

2008-2009 Status: Smyth is signed through the next 4 seasons. He and John-Michael Liles are the only two Avs currently locked up for that long.

Outlook: $6.25 million is a lot of money to pay for 37 points, and already there's some grumbling in, um, ‘Lancheland, about his contract. I thought Smyth was a perfect addition to the team and could put up 40 goals in the ugly Avalanche uniform. I still think he can do that. He played well - but not often enough - with Stastny and Hejduk. If Smyth can stay healthy (not a given) and if Granato can turn around the powerplay (not a given, but it can't get worse) and if we move away from the simple cycle game (I sure hope so), Smyth has a chance to rebound with a big, big year. Even a slightly better year would be a big help to the team.

2008 Final Grade: C+

2007 Grade: N/A

Links:

{{mcleod}} (hockey-reference page)

2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) McLeod game log

Season Stats: 49gp 4g 5a 9pt -6

Minutes: 496.1 (12^th), EV 9:40 PP :08 PK :20 ATOI 10:07

1^st Half: 8gp 2g 0a 2pt +2

2^nd Half: 41gp 2g 5a 7pt -8

Playoffs: 10gp 1g 1a 2pt -3

Best Month: February (14gp 0g 4a -2 50 PiM)

Positions: LW (47), RW (2)

Lines: 3^rd (26), 4^th (19), 2^nd (4)

Linemates: McLeod game log

C: Guite (17), Hensick (12), Arnason (11), Hlinka (9)

LW: Smyth (2)

RW: Laperriere (17), McCormick (14), Svatos (7), Jones (5), McLeod (2), Hejduk (1), Parker (1), Skrastins (1)

Season: This was McLeod's first NHL season, so all numbers represent career highs for him.

Report: McLeod kind of surprised everyone (well, me, at least) with a fine rookie season. Even with just 49 games played, he was 3^rd on the team in hits (98) and 2^nd on the team in penalty minutes (120) and fighting majors (12). He also showed in the Minnesota series that he can really get under the skin of the opposing team (but where was that during the regular season?). McLeod doesn't have a ton of offensive skill, but he does seem to have some good hockey instincts. Defensively, he's a tad rough, as we famously saw in the Detroit series. There are some other negatives, of course. As others have pointed out, McLeod tended to be quite selective when it came to picking dance partners. He doesn't seem to be the greatest of fighters, so I can understand that, and it's not like he runs from every heavyweight. He also loses points for his propensity for losing his cool after the fights. The way he jaws at the opposing bench or to the other penalty box is extremely annoying, and has to bug his teammates as much as it bugs me. I also feel McLeod was a bit inconsistent in his effort. Some nights, he seemed to be playing for a continued spot on the roster. Other nights, he seemed to play like a guy who was going to play no matter what (probably because Joel "Even Hand" Quenneville never once sat him). I think that a healthy scratch here or there would have done wonders for McLeod's game. In the last few games, Quenneville suddenly started using McLeod on the penalty kill...and it wasn't pretty. All that said, I think McLeod was a great addition to the team and, overall, his positives outweighed any negatives.

Fast Fact: McLeod spent 16 seconds on the penalty kill in his first 42 games, and 15:43 in his final 7 games.

2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $490,000 ($477,000)

2008-2009 Status: McLeod signed a 1-year, $522,000 deal this summer as a restricted free agent. He'll be a restricted free agent again after this season.

Outlook: Two years ago, the only guys beside Ian Laperriere to earn a fighting major were Mark Rycroft and Jeff Finger. This year, all kinds of unexpected players (Brett Clark? Scott Hannan? Ben Guite?) were stepping into the ring and McLeod's 12 fights were a big boost as well. Quenneville obviously had a major affinity for McLeod (he often put McLeod on the ice for the opening faceoff). Will Tony Granato have the same level of love? Despite the (over) abundance of, um, muckers on the team, I think McLeod will find a considerable share of ice time next year.

2008 Final Grade: C

2007 Grade: N/A

Links:

{{jones}} (hockey-reference page)

2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) Jones game log

Season Stats: 27gp 2g 4a 6pt -5

Minutes: 306.7 (15^th), EV 10:34, PP :46 PK :01 ATOI 11:22

1^st Half: 2gp 0g 0a 0pt E

2^nd Half: 25gp 2g 4a 6pt -5

Playoffs: 10gp 0g 1a 1pt E

Best Month: March (15gp 2g 3a 5pt -4)

Positions: RW (27)

Lines: 3^rd (13), 4^th (6), 2^nd (5), 1^st (3)

Linemates: Jones season log

C: Arnason (10), Sakic (9), Hensick (4), Guite (2), Hlinka (1), Wolski (1)

LW: Brunette (9), McLeod (5), Smyth (5), Forsberg (3), Laperriere (2), Parker (2), Wolski (1)

Season: This was Jones' first NHL season, so all his numbers represented career highs.

Report: This one's kind of a tough one to break down. On one hand, Jones looked like a future power forward, registering 40 hits in 27 games (extended to an 82 game season, that would be 121 hits, more than any other Avalanche forward). And Jones seemed to have a ton of scoring chances, especially when he was paired briefly with Joe Sakic and Andrew Brunette. However, he seems to have the tight-gripped scoring touch of Dan Hinote. Actually, Hinote was one of 273 forwards with a better shooting percentage than Jones. Jones was excellent from center ice to the faceoff circles as well as behind the net, but really struggled in the money pit. His shots just weren't fooling anyone, and he also seemed to take himself out of position too often. The line of Sakic, Brunette and Jones was a good illustration of the conundrum of Jones' play. The trio combined for 13 EV points in 7 games together. But, Jones scored just 3 of those points and was -5 over in those 7 games. So we have the interesting situation where Jones was both the catalyst and the weakest link on the line. If he can stop squeezing that stick so hard and get over that scoring hump, I think he can be a heck of a player. That's not a sure thing, though, and I think some people think he's already proven that he's ready.

Fast Fact: 4 of Jones' 6 points came in a 2-game stretch in mid-March.

2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $550,000 ($550,000)

2008-2009 Status: Jones is signed through the end of the year at that $550,000 figure. Next summer, he'll be a restricted free agent.

Outlook: Jones' physical play and hard work all but assured him a spot in the lineup under former coach Joel Quenneville (for more on this subject, tune in tomorrow when I discuss Cody McLeod). With a new coach and a ton of new (albeit smaller) bangers in the mix, Jones is going to have pressure to produce. Hopefully, the chemistry he showed with TJ Hensick in the playoffs will be something both players can build on next year; the team would look a whole lot better if the two of them were able to turn the corner.

2008 Final Grade: C

2007 Grade: INC

Links:

2007 Report

{{cumiskey}} (hockey-reference page)

2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) Cumiskey game log

Season Stats: 38gp 0g 5a 5pt -3

Minutes: 460.9 (9^th). EV 10:38, PP 1:27, PK :03 ATOI 10:38

1^st Half: 30gp 0g 5a 5pt E

2^nd Half: 8gp 0g 0a 0pt -3

Playoffs: DNP

Best Month: December (14gp 0g 1a 1pt +3)

Linemates: Hannan (13), Finger (11), Leopold (4), Salei (2), Liles (2), Clark (1), Skrastins (1), Foote (1)

Season: In his 2^nd partial NHL season, Cumiskey set a career high in gp (38), assists (5) and points.

Report: After his second NHL season, Kyle Cumiskey remains one of the most interesting players on the team. He's like a little waterbug zipping back and forth around the ice. When you think of a speedy, diminutive defenseman, you're going to think he's an offense-only guy. Actually, it's been the opposite so far in the NHL. He uses his speed effectively in the defensive zone, and his breathtaking stickhandling to get out of the zone is a blast to watch (even if it is unnerving). And then he steps over the redline and the carriage turns into a pumpkin. He seems hesitant to pass the puck, instead favoring the hand-delivery method (Kyle, you're fast, but not that fast). And 19 shots in 38 games is lousy. Want to know how many players on the Avs had less shots per game than Cumiskey? Just one: Scott Parker. And a good chunk of those shots were him running out of room and just skating the puck up to the opposing goalie. That's not going to work.

Fast Fact: Cumiskey was the 222^nd player (out of 230) taken in the 2005 draft. With 47 NHL games under his toddler-sized belt, he's played more games than all but 19 players taken that year.

2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $512,000 ($552,000)

2008-2009 Status: Cumiskey is signed for one more year at the $552,000 cap figure. Next summer, he'll be a restricted free agent.

Outlook: As much as I like Cumiskey's surprising play in his own end, he needs to create some offense if he wants to stick around in Denver. And I hope he does, because I could easily see him becoming one of my favorite Avalanche players.

2008 Final Grade: B-

2007 Grade: INC

Links:

2007 Report

{{leopold}} (hockey-reference page)

2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) Leopold game log

Season Stats: 43gp 5g 8a 13pt +5

Minutes: 687.4 (7^th). EV 13:52, PP 1:25, PK :43 ATOI 15:29

1^st Half: 14gp 3g 1a 4pt +2

2^nd Half: 29gp 2g 7a 9pt +3

Playoffs: 7gp 0g 3a 3pt

Best Month: 7gp 2g 3a 5pt +2

Linemates: Hannan (21), Salei (7), Cumiskey (4), Sauer (3), Clark (2), Skrastins (1)

Season: The 5 goals scored by Leopold were the 2^nd highest season total of his career.

Report: All Leoprone jokes aside, this was an interesting season for Jordan Leopold. It started off terribly; Leopold was a turnover machine in the first few games of the season. And when he wasn't turning the puck over, he was taking stupid penalties: 6 of his 10 penalties on the season came within his first 6 games. I don't really know why, but in those first few games he looked completely lost on the ice. Then he went down with a wrist injury (one of 10 injuries he's suffered in the last two years) and missed 21 games. When he returned, he looked much better. Well, first he got injured again, but after he returned from that injury he looked much better. He had 4 points and was +4 in an 8-game stretch from December 29^th through January 13^th and in general was solid the rest of the way in his own end. Isn't a big hitter or a shot blocker (Cumiskey is the only guy with lower number of hits per game and shots per game). He was mostly used at even strength, but also had some PP time in there. Personally, I'd like to see him get a bit more PP ice time. 14 of his 22 career goals have come on the PP and he's got a 12.9% shooting percentage in his two years in Colorado. But he needs to shoot more - he averaged less than a shot a game this year.

Fast Fact: Leopold's longest consecutive game streak as an Av: 19 games. His second longest? 10 games.

2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $1,500,000 ($1,500,000)

2008-2009 Status: Leopold is signed for one more season at $1,500,000

Outlook: When we traded Alex Tanguay for Leopold two years ago, I think many of us were thinking we'd acquired a solid top 4 defenseman, and possibly even more. Leopold has played more like a 5^th or 6^th d-man. There's certainly nothing wrong with that - it's just not quite what we were expecting. He lost his starting job to Jeff Finger towards the end of last season. With Finger and Kurt Sauer gone, he should be a starter again...but might get some pressure for ice time from guys like Kyle Cumiskey. Leopold has a cap-friendly contract and is certainly a serviceable defenseman to have around. But at this point he's more a depth player than a core player, and that's just a tad disappointing.<-->

2008 Final Grade: B-

2007 Grade: C-

Links:

{{svatos}} (hockey-reference page)

2007 report

2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) Svatos Game Log

Season Stats: 62gp 26g 11a 37pt +13

Minutes: 848.3 (11^th). EV 11:10, PK :01, PP 2:30, ATOI 13:41

1^st Half: 38gp 16g 2a 18pt +5

2^nd Half: 24gp 10g 9a 19pt +8

Playoffs: DNP

Best Month: January (12gp 9g 3a 12pt +6)

Positions: RW (62)

Lines: 2^nd (35), 3^rd (14), 1^st (7), 4^th (6)

Linemates: Svatos season log

C: Arnason (31), Hlinka (9), Stastny (8), Sakic (6), Hensick (4), Guite (3), Richardson (1)

LW: Wolski (23), Smyth (11), Brunette (9), McLeod (7), Hlinka (4), Smith (4), Richardson (1)

Season: Svatos had his 2^nd highest totals in GP (62), goals (26) and points (37). His +13 was a career best.

Report: Svatos rebounded nicely from his disappointing sophomore season, jumping from 15 goals to 26 goals. In the process, his shooting percentage more than doubled, from 8.4 in 06-07 to 18.6 (which was 3^rd best in the NHL). When Svatos is in the lineup, he's always a threat to score - he's averaging just under 32 goals per 82 games over his career. Unfortunately, it takes him about 1 1/3 seasons to get to 82 games. He's averaging just 63 games a season in the last 3 years and he's hit the 70-game mark just once as a professional (72 games with Hershey in 2004-05). Svatos didn't get his 3^rd assist until his 45^th game (by that point, he had 20 goals), but then had 9 assists in his final 18 games. He also seemed to be much more committed defensively this year, which is a nice plus. And he continues to entertain us with some timely big hits that seem to come out of nowhere. He doesn't initiate a ton of contact, but if someone hits him, 9 times out of 10 he's going to hunt that person down and return the favor - usually on the same shift. Once he went down, it took Milan Hejduk 13 games to overtake him for the team lead in goals. And that just makes us want to see a full 82 from him even more.

Fast Fact: To date, Svatos has 204 NHL games played...and 145 NHL games missed.

2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $1,200,000 ($1,200,000)

2008-2009 Status: Svatos and the Avalanche are headed to arbitration this summer.

Outlook: When I did Svatos' grade last year, I complained that he didn't work well with linemates not named "Joe Sakic". This year, Svatos scored 9 goals with Tyler Arnason, 6 with Jaroslav Hlinka and 5 with Paul Stastny, so I guess we can check that one off our list. He also eased up on the boneheaded penalties, improved his defensive play, and seemed to be much more consistent overall. All he has to do now to earn my eternal gratitude is to stay in the lineup.

2008 Final Grade: D-

2007 Grade: N/A

Links:

{{smith}} (hockey-reference page)

2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) Smith game log

Season Stats: 25gp 0g 3a 3pt -4

Minutes: 291 (17^th). EV 9:10, PP :07 PK 2:21, ATOI 11:38

1^st Half: 25gp 0g 3a 3pt -4

2^nd Half: DNP

Playoffs: 1gp 0g 0a 0pt E

Best Month: November (12gp 0g 2a -1)

Positions: LW (22), RW (3)

Lines: 4^th (16), 3^rd (9)

Linemates: Smith season log

C: Guite (13), Arnason (8), Richardson (1)

LW: McCormick (1), Hlinka (1), Parker (1)

RW: Laperriere (10), Parker (5), Svatos (4), McCormick (3), Hlinka (2), Brunette (1)

Season: Smith's 3 points were the 5^th highest total of his career.

Report: I think all we need to know is this: at the end of the season, I made this index list and forgot to include Wyatt. Perhaps more tellingly, it's taken me a good month to realize my omission. On paper, the Smith signing was a good one - Smith was billed as a defensive-minded center with some good faceoff skills. In other words, the Anti-Arnason. On the ice, though, the biggest thing Smith seemed to share with Arnason was his power of invisibility. If Smith is a good defender, he didn't show it in his 25 games with the Avalanche. And it certainly didn't show on the PK, when his 9.18 goals allowed per 60 minutes was one of the worst on the team. He was good in the circles (50.9%), but that seemed to be his only measurable talent. Other than that, with no offense and no defense, he was, to be frank, essentially useless. I would have liked to see this work out for both Smith and the Avs - we've needed a good, defensive-minded center since Stephane Yelle left - but this one was a bust.

Fast Fact: Wyatt is one of 106 Smiths to have played in the NHL.

2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $500,000 ($500,000)

2008-2009 Status: Smith signed with Tampa Bay this offseason, and will be one of 17,000 forwards vying for a roster spot in the fall.

Outlook: Not our problem (although I'd love to see him succeed somewhere).

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2008 Final Grade:C+

2007 Grade: B-

Links:

{{arnason}} (hockey-reference page)

2007 report

2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) Arnason Game Log

Season Stats: 70gp 10g 21a 31pt -1

Minutes: 1,068.1 (6^th), EV 12:46, PP 2:27, PK :02, ATOI 15:15

1^st Half: 30gp 3g 7a 10pt -1

2^nd Half: 40gp 7g 14a 21pt E

Playoffs: 10gp 2g 3a 5pt -2

Best Month: January (9gp 2g 6a 8pt +5)

Positions: C (70)

Lines: 3^rd (46), 2^nd (23), 4^th (1)

Linemates: Arnason season log

LW: Wolski (25), Smyth (11), McLeod (9), Smith (8), Hlinka (6), Brunette (3), Laperriere (3), Forsberg (2), Cumiskey (1), Guite (1), Richardson (1)

RW: Svatos (31), Laperriere (11), Jones (10), Brunette (5), McCormick (4), Hejduk (3), Hensick (2), Hlinka (2), McLeod (2)

Season: Arnason's 10 goals and 31 points were his lowest totals since his 21 game rookie season

Report: When preparing these, I usually check back to last year's write-up to see what's changed. Interestingly, of the 4 comments, 3 were quite favorable to Arnie (including one from our friend Joe) and my grade was rather complimentary as well. Something tells me there won't be quite the same outpouring of support this year. Arnason was his usual inconsistent, emotionally detached self this year, except with a little less production. Arnason had points in back-to-back games just 3 times this season. For two years running he's averaged over 2 minutes a game on the powerplay, and he has all of 21 pp points. He's had acceptable output at even strength (22 points this year), but someone really needs to stop using him with the man advantage. It just isn't working. Obviously, physical play is not a part of his game; he has 8 hits in 2 seasons in Denver. 709 NHL players had more than that this season alone. For crying out loud, little Kyle Cumiskey had 7 in 38 games. Arnason did improve in the faceoff circle, from 43.8% to 47.3%. I thought he looked good down the stretch and in the Minnesota series and he's a bit underrated for his ability to draw penalties. His line had a lot to do with the Wild's game 4 meltdown, although that just adds to the frustration; we know the guy can play - the issue is that he rarely seems to be interested in doing so. I think what annoys me the most is that Joel Quenneville was notoriously hard on so many of his players, but seemed to give Arnie a free pass. Arnason has yet to be healthy scratch in his two years with the Avs. By my count, 14 other forwards have been a healthy scratch at least once during Arnie's tenure (Wolski, McCormick, Richardson, Rycroft, Laaksonen, Guite, Svatos, Parros, Turgeon, Parker, Hlinka, Smith, Hensick and Jones). And only three times since coming aboard has Arnason seen less than 10 minutes of ice time in a game - his 3^rd game as an Avalanche (9:59), game 77 of this past season (9:06) and in game 6 against the Wild (9:49). If anyone needs an occasional wake-up call to, um, rekindle the fire, it's Arnason. For whatever reason, Quenneville just let Arnason be Arnason.

Fast Fact: Arnason spent time on a line with every forward other than Joe Sakic, Paul Stastny and Scott Parker (and if you aren't mouthing "one of these things is not like the other" right now, you have more restraint than I do).

2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $1,600,000 ($1,675,000)

2008-2009 Status: Arnason is signed through the end of the upcoming season.

Outlook: I know the current sentiment in the Avosphere is a desire to dump Arnason as quickly as possible, but I think he can be a very useful player to us. He can be dangerous at even strength, enough to provide some much-needed 3^rd line pop. But, he needs to be a lot more consistent with his game. Do I expect miracles? No, some occasional disappearing acts are to be expected. But 49 scoreless games out of 70 played are just way too many. I think with a little better motivation from the coaching staff, Arnason could give the Avalanche a solid return this year on their $1.6 million. But not on the powerplay, please. That's just a waste of everyone's time.