2008 Final Grade: TJ Hensick

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2008 Final Grade: C-

2007 Grade: N/A

Links:

{{hensick}} (hockey-reference page)

2008 ITCS (aka highly unofficial) Hensick game log

Season Stats: 31gp 6g 5a 11pt -4

Minutes: 371.5 (14^th), EV 10:07, PP 1:51, PK :02, ATOI 11:59

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

2^nd Half: 17gp 5g 3a 8pt E

Playoffs: 2gp 0g 1a 1pt +1

Best Month: February (11gp 5g 2a 7pt E)

Positions: C (29), RW (2)

Lines: 4^th (14), 3^rd (9), 1^st (4), 2^nd (4)

Linemates: Hensick season log

LW: McLeod (12), Wolski (5), Brunette (4), Smyth (4), Leopold (2), Cumiskey (1), McCormick (1), Parker (1), Richardson (1)

C: Arnason (2)

RW: McCormick (7), Hejduk (5), Jones (4), Svatos (4), Brunette (3), Boychuk (2), Parker (2), Skrastins (1)

Season: This was Hensick's first NHL season, so all his numbers represent career highs. For now.

Report: Timothy James Hensick was a 3^rd round pick in the 2005 draft - the same year that Kyle Cumiskey and Paul Stastny were drafted. He shuttled between Colorado and Cleveland 5 times and dressed for 31 regular season games along with 2 playoff games. Although he spent some time on the top 2 lines, much of his time was on the 3^rd and 4^th line - not really a spot he's well-suited for. Hensick did have a nice 4-game stretch where he netted 6 points (5 on the powerplay when he was on that weird 3 center unit with Arnason and Hlinka). He had just 1 point in the next 6 games, though, and was soon back on his way to Lake Erie. He looked very comfortable in his two playoff games. With a whopping 4 hits to his credit, he's the only Avalanche player with less hits than Tyler Arnason (6). His 42.2% faceoff percentage leaves a lot to be desired as well. Essentially, Hensick doesn't seem like he's got a whole lot to offer other than the ability to put up points. If he's not scoring, there's not much point in having him in the lineup - there's certainly no reason to have him skating on the 4^th line.

Fast Fact: Hensick was one of 3 Avs with a +/- above zero in the playoffs.

2007-2008 Salary (and Cap Number): $585,000 ($850,000)

2008-2009 Status: Hensick is signed for two years at a cap number of $850,000. After that, he'll be a restricted free agent.

Outlook: I think Hensick will get a lot of chances next year to make the jump. With 45 points in 50 games with Lake Erie, he doesn't seem to have a lot to prove in the AHL. With the Avs, he seemed to improve as the season went on and looked good in his 2 playoff games. As I mentioned above, because he doesn't seem to have a lot to offer besides offense, he's going to be under a lot of pressure to rack up points consistently to stay in Denver.