The Hockeycentric Top 10: Highly Anticipated Debuts

Every hockey fan has said one or both of the following statements:

1. “Imagine (player name) in a (team name) jersey! … That that would look so weird/natural/sweet/ridiculous…”

2. “If (team name) signs (player name), they’re easily a top-5 team in the eastern/western conference…”

With less than two weeks to go before opening night of the 2009-10 NHL season, fans are getting anxious to see their teams back on the ice, and to evaluate the new additions. There are a number of players who will be sporting new colours on October 1^st, so Hockeycentric counts down our 10 most intriguing debuts.

10. Pascal Leclaire, Ottawa Senators

Actually acquired by the Sens at last year’s trade deadline, Leclaire was sidelined for all but 12 games due to an ankle injury. He has yet to take to the ice for a regular season game with Ottawa, but many consider him to be the best tender the Sens have ever had next to Dominik Hasek. Whether or not Leclaire is able to withstand the pressure of playing in a Southern Ontario hockey market is yet to be seen.

9. Martin Havlat, Minnesota Wild

The Blackhawks’ leading scorer from last season, Havlat signed with the Wild on July 1^st , and joins a team that will need an offensive spark in 2009-10. The Minnesota Wild are now without Marian Gaborik, and will be relying on Havlat’s scoring ability to power their often-lackluster offense. It’s as though the Wild had gotten so used to having an injury-prone star, they were compelled to replace Gaborik with Havlat.

8. Jonas Gustavsson, Toronto Maple Leafs

Labelled as the best goalie not in the NHL last season, Gustavsson was heavily pursued by Brian Burke during the spring. Cynics around the league are waiting to see if he can adapt to the North American style of play, but Jonas says he’s up to the challenge. If he plays like he did for Farjestad last season, expect “The Monster” to pressure Vesa Toskala for the starting job in Toronto.

7. Mike Cammalleri, Montreal Canadiens

After a stellar 39-goal campaign with the Flames, and his first playoff appearance, Cammalleri joined the Montreal Canadiens on July 1^st. The 5-foot-9 Richmond Hill native will be joined by 5-foot-7 winger Brian Gionta and 5-foot-11 centreman Scott Gomez, making for one of the shortest lines in the NHL. It is tough to say how the Habs will fare this season, but expect Cammalleri to put up 30+ goals for his second consecutive season.

6. Jay Bouwmeester, Calgary Flames

With intense trade talk surrounding Bouwmeester at the deadline, no deals were completed until after the Stanley Cup was awarded. The addition of Jay-Bo gives Calgary one of the strongest defenses in the league from top to bottom. The potential chemistry between Phaneuf and Bouwmeester is what the Flames are banking on — as this could easily become one of the best tandems in the league, and perhaps on Team Canada.

5. Marian Gaborik, New York Rangers

The injury-prone Gaborik signed a massive $37.5 million contract over five years with the Blueshirts. If he can stay healthy, expect him to add some major scoring punch to the Rangers, who are in desperate need of offense after finishing a lousy 28^th in the league in goals-for last season. If his body doesn’t hold up, he’ll be one of the most burdening 7.5 million dollar players on the books for any club.

4. Dany Heatley, San Jose Sharks

After demanding a trade from the Sens due to his “diminished role”, Heatley was finally sent to the Sharks after Bryan Murray endured a hectic and stressful summer of negotiations. Heatley will most likely be playing on the top line with assist machine Joe Thornton. If Thornton’s previous linemates Jonathan Cheechoo and Devin Setoguchi are any indication, Heatley should score a heap of goals in San Jose.

3. Chris Pronger, Philadelphia Flyers

Pronger joins a rough-and-tough Philadelphia team that he was born to play for. This addition makes the Flyers defense almost as scary as its offense, as Pronger is still an elite defender with playoff know-how and plenty of nastiness. Expect the fans in Philadelphia to fall in love with Pronger’s belligerent style of play.

2. Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks

After losing two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, Hossa will get another chance at Lord Stanley’s Mug with the Blackhawks. The addition of Hossa to Chicago’s high-powered offense will be scary, but Hawks fans will have to wait until December when he is slated to return from off-season shoulder surgery. Seeing as Chicago is one of the favourites in the West, the Hockey Gods may be looking to extend Hossa’s ironic Stanley Cup misfortunes with a third consecutive Finals defeat.

1. John Tavares, New York Islanders

With over 10,000 fans attending the Islanders Draft Party, this highly touted prospect has a heap of expectations sitting squarely on his 19-year-old shoulders. The Islanders haven’t won a post-season series since the 1992-93 season, and Johnny T is supposed to be the one to bring them back to respectability. With very little talent elsewhere on the roster, all eyes will be on him in Long Island this year.

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