2008 Final Grade: B
2007 Grade: N/A
Links:
{{hannan}} (hockey-reference page)
2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) Hannan game log
Season Stats: 82gp 2g 19a 21pt -5
Minutes: 1,859.7 (1st), EV 19:03, PP :33, PK 3:05, ATOI 22:41
1st Half: 41gp 1g 12a 13pt -8
2nd Half: 41gp 1g 7a 8pt +3
Playoffs: 9gp 0g 1a 1pt E
Best Month: December (15gp 1g 6a 7pt +5)
Linemates: Liles (31), Leopold (21), Cumiskey (13), Clark (9), Sauer (4), Boychuk (2), Skrastins (2)
Season: It may be tough to believe, but Hannan's 21 points were just 3 short of his career high (2005-2006 and 2006-2007) and his 19 assists were just 1 away from his career high of 20 (2006-2007).
Report: It started...poorly. Hannan looked lost in the first 10 games or so. He said he had problems adjusting to the new system and I'd certainly chalk it up to that. Once he got some games under his belt, he seemed to settle down substantially. On December 3rd, Hannan reached a low point of -15 but then slowly started to crawl out of the hole (going +10 the rest of the way). Despite steadying his game, he still was prone to the odd stinker or two. That occasional sloppiness led to Hannan taking 25 minor penalties - tied with Ryan Smyth for the team lead and too many of those were careless and unnecessary. Hannan was, by far, the most used penalty killer on the team with 252 PK minutes (Clark was 2nd among D with 183). His 19 EV points - as low as that is - was tops among our blueliners. Hannan, like so many of his teammates, is a good shot blocker and his 153 blocks led the team (thanks to the injury to Clark who had 10 less in 57 games). And even though the track record for D from other teams is that they lose some physicality when coming to the Avs, Hannan actually doubled his hit totals from the previous season (not that 59 makes him a bruiser or anything).
Fast Fact: 2007-2008 was Hannan's first season in the NHL with a negative +/-
2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $4,500,000 ($4,500,000)
2008-2009 Status: Hannan's $4.5 million contract runs through the end of the 2010-2011 season.
Outlook: How odd that this is the 14th grade I've done so far, and yet Hannan is just the 3rd player of the bunch (along with Brett Clark and Ian Laperriere) currently under contract for next season. Of course, that contract is a sore spot with many Avalanche fans. He's currently the 20th highest paid defensemen which, I agree, is too high. However, in 3 years $4.5 million for a solid-if-not-spectacular defensemen may well be a steal; with the way salaries are increasing in this era of *cough* cost certainty, Hannan may well be in the 50th-range for salary, a much more appropriate position. It's worth noting that of the 20 defensemen making $4.5 million or more, Hannan is one of just 3 guys under 30 (Andrei Markov and Dion Phaneuf are the others). So, while we watch other high-priced defensemen tail off, Hannan should at least maintain his current level of play and might even show improvement (I certainly expect some improvement next year, at least). I don't think Hannan's contract will ever be considered a steal and I don't think Hannan will ever be considered a #1 guy, but I do think he was a solid acquisition that will, in the long run, work out very well for the Avs.