Before getting into a tour of the European leagues, and the more recognizable names to NHL fans, I did some digging at one of my favourite sites www.behindthenet.ca to examine some of the stats that go a little deeper than the standard goals, assists and plus-minus.
The site does terrific work pulling information from data feeds in order to measure what players do in 5-on-5 situations, so I pulled apart the numbers to come up with the following:
First, in an effort to see who has the puck in the opposing end most often relative to the opposition,
Top 20 in Shot Differential per 60 minutes (minimum 25 games)
1. Sergei Fedorov, C, Washington - 14.8
2. James Wisniewski, D, Anaheim - 12.4
3. Johan Franzen, LW, Detroit - 11.6
4. Eric Fehr, RW, WAshington - 11.6
5. Brad Lukowich, D, San Jose - 10.9
6. Jiri Hudler, RW, Detroit - 10.7
7. Justin Williams, RW, Los Angeles - 10.5
8. Alexander Semin, RW, Washington - 10.3
9. Marian Hossa, LW, Detroit - 10.3
10. Joe Pavelski, C, San Jose - 10.3
11. Alexei Semenov, D, San Jose - 10.1
12. Ryane Clowe, RW, San Jose - 10.0
13. Dan Boyle, D, San Jose - 10.0
14. Henrik Zetterberg, LW, Detroit - 9.9
15. Niklas Kronwall, D, Detroit - 9.8
16. Milan Michalek, LW, San Jose - 9.6
17. Martin Havlat, RW, Chicago - 9.3
18. Eric Staal, C, Carolina - 9.3
19. Mikael Samuelsson, RW, Detroit - 9.2
20. Pavel Datsyuk, C, Detroit - 8.7
20. Andrew Ladd, LW, Chicago - 8.7
20. Marc Staal, D, N.Y. Rangers - 8.7
Top Rookie: Antti Pihlstrom, LW, Nashville - 6.6
Notes: Fehr and Hudler both average under 14 minutes of ice time per game...San Jose's second line (Pavelski, Clowe, Michalek) is represented...Wisniewski and Williams were both traded at the deadline...brothers Eric and Marc Staal both made the list...Stunning that Pihlstrom (six points, minus-2 in 41 games) would be top rookie in this category.
Bottom 10 in Shot Differential per 60 minutes (minimum 25 games)
10. Yan Stastny, C, St. Louis - -10.5
9. Gary Roberts, LW, Tampa Bay - -10.6
8. Darcy Hordichuk, LW, Vancouver - -10.8
7. Craig Weller, RW, Minnesota - -10.9
6. Derek Boogaard, LW, Minnesota - -11.0
5. Ryan Johnson, C, Vancouver - -11.1
4. Nick Tarnasky, C, Florida - -11.2
3. Rob Niedermayer, RW, Anaheim - -11.3
2. Eric Godard, RW, Pittsburgh - -11.9
1. Erik Reitz, D, Toronto - -12.1
Then, to see who is actually producing with those shots on goal, relative to their opposition,
Top 20 in Goal Differential per 60 minutes (minimum 25 games)
1. Alexander Semin, RW, Washington - 2.77
2. Aaron Johnson, D, Chicago - 2.73
3. Derick Brassard, C, Columbus - 2.57
4. Blake Wheeler, LW, Boston - 2.40
5. David Krejci, C, Boston - 2.36
6. Michael Ryder, RW, Boston - 2.33
7. Tomas Holmstrom, RW, Detroit - 2.13
8. Pavel Datsyuk, C, Detroit - 2.12
9. Marc Savard, C, Boston - 2.08
10. Travis Zajac, C, New Jersey - 1.74
11. Patrik Berglund, C, St. Louis - 1.69
12. Andrew Ladd, LW, Chicago - 1.69
13. Rene Bourque, LW, Calgary - 1.69
14. Simon Gagne, LW, Philadelphia - 1.68
15. Adam Burish, C, Chicago - 1.67
16. Bobby Ryan, LW, Anaheim - 1.66
17. Sergei Fedorov, C, Washington - 1.61
18. Phil Kessel, RW, Boston - 1.61
19. Zach Parise, LW, New Jersey - 1.61
20. Evgeni Malkin, C, Pittsburgh - 1.61
Top Rookie: Brassard, ahead of three other rookies in the Top 20
Notes: Boston's second line (Krejci, Wheeler, Ryder) takes three of the top six spots...a couple of Blackhawks depth players, Johnson and Burish, crack the list too...with the results in shots for/against considered as well, Sergei Fedorov appears to be having a significant impact when he's on the ice for the Capitals.
Bottom 10 in Goal Differential per 60 minutes (minimum 25 games)
10. Colton Orr, RW, N.Y. Rangers - -2.15
10. Tim Jackman, RW, N.Y. Islanders - -2.15
9. Georges Laraque, RW, Montreal - -2.17
8. Andreas Nodl, RW, Philadelphia - -2.22
7. Gary Roberts, LW, Tampa Bay - -2.22
6. Enver Lisin, RW, Phoenix - -2.25
5. Mike Brown, RW, Anaheim - -2.28
4. Brendan Witt, D, N.Y. Islanders - 2.45
3. Freddy Meyer, D, N.Y. Islanders - -2.52
2. Derek Armstrong, C, Los Angeles - -2.56
1. Ryan Hollweg, RW, Toronto - -2.62
Finally, to give some credit to those guys whose plus-minus is substantially better than their teammates,
Top 20 in Plus-Minus, Compared to Team Plus-Minus per 60 Minutes (minimum 25 games)
1. Derick Brassard, C, Columbus - 2.80
2. Alexander Semin, RW, Washington - 2.69
3. Patrik Berglund, C, St. Louis - 2.68
4. Aaron Johnson, D, Chicago - 2.33
5. Bobby Ryan, LW, Anaheim - 2.17
6. Pavel Datsyuk, C, Detorit - 2.10
7. Evgeni Malkin, C, Pittsburgh - 1.95
8. Rene Bourque, LW, Calgary - 1.95
9. Simon Gagne, LW, Philadelpia - 1.91
10. Tomas Holmstrom, RW, Detroit - 1.90
11. Stephen Weiss, C, Florida - 1.89
12. Steve Montador, D, Boston - 1.82
13. Blake Wheeler, LW, Boston - 1.71
14. Sergei Fedorov, C, Washington - 1.71
15. Ken Klee, D, Phoenix - 1.70
16. Jason Chimera, LW, Columbus - 1.70
17. David Krejci, C, Boston - 1.68
18. T.J. Oshie, RW, St. Louis - 1.67
19. Joe Thornton, C, San Jose - 1.65
20. Ryan Malone, LW, Tampa Bay - 1.64
20. Mark Streit, D, N.Y. Islanders - 1.64
Top Rookie: Brassard, ahead of four other rookies in Top 20
Notes: Heck of a year for Brassard before it was cut short...same goes for Bourque, who had a breakthrough season in Calgary...Who would have guessed that Montador and Klee would make the list? Good to see a couple of underrated yet good, honest two-way players like Stephen Weiss and Jason Chimera on the list as well.
Bottom 10 in Plus-Minus, Compared to Team Plus-Minus per 60 Minutes (minimum 25 games)
10. Enver Lisin, RW, Phoenix - -2.13
9. Rob Niedermayer, RW, Anaheim - -2.15
8. Travis Moen, LW, Anaheim - -2.18
7. Colton Orr, RW, N.Y. Rangers - -2.20
6. Derek Armstrong, C, Los Angeles - -2.21
5. Kris Draper, C, Detroit - -2.47
4. Gary Roberts, LW, Tampa Bay - -2.58
3. Ryan Hollweg, RW, Toronto - -2.80
2. Mike Brown, RW, Anaheim - -2.86
1. Andreas Nodl, RW, Philadelphia - -3.44
Okay, now for something a little different, I looked through some of the European pro leagues to see what some of the more high-profile players (mostly ex-NHLers, some prospects/'09 draft eligibles) have done this season. Catch up with some names from the past. Yes, they're still playing!
Austria
Klagenfurt
Mike Craig, 25-24-49, 78 PIM in 54 games
Jeff Shantz, 17-31-48, 78 PIM in 53 games
Sean Brown, 14-21-35, 119 PIM in 53 games
Innsbruck
Rem Murray, 29-34-53, 50 PIM in 54 games
Ljubljana Olimpija
Todd Elik, 12-35-47, 76 PIM in 46 games
Czech League
Ceske Budejovice HC
Roman Turek
Slavia Praha
Josef Beranek, 15-27-42, minus-3, 36 PIM in 50 games
Milan Kraft, 2-4-6, minus-6, 2 PIM in 21 games
Liberec Bili Tygri
Petr Nedved, 14-14-28, plus-6, 72 PIM in 33 games
Jaroslav Modry, 3-14-17, minus-2, 48 PIM in 52 games
Radim Vrbata, 12-5-17, minus-1, 20 PIM in 18 games
Litvinov CHP
Robert Reichel, 14-31-45, plus-11, 72 PIM in 47 games
Jiri Slegr, 5-26-31, minus-6, 98 PIM in 41 games
Sparta Praha
David Vyborny, 15-28-43, plus-12, 14 PIM in 52 games
Martin Rucinsky, 5-4-9, minus-9, 26 PIM in 19 games
Plzen
Martin Straka, 22-30-52, plus-12, 20 PIM in 51 games
Trinec Ocelari
Roman Cechmanek
Vojtech Polak, 21-13-34, minus-4, 42 PIM in 45 games
Lubomir Sekeras, 6-10-16, minus-7, 22 PIM in 48 games
Vitkovice HC
Michal Barinka, 2-9-11, minus-8, 50 PIM in 47 games
Robert Petrovicky, 5-15-20, minus-3, 47 PIM in 37 games
Pavel Trnka, 1-8-9, plus-18, 20 PIM in 31 games
Vaclav Varada, 5-5-10, plus-3, 22 PIM in 16 games
Znojemsti Excalibur Orli
Jiri Dopita, 10-21-31, even, 16 PIM in 40 games
Jaroslav Svoboda, 11-3-14, plus-2, 36 PIM in 42 games
Germany
Berlin
Denis Pederson, 19-34-53, plus-22, 32 PIM in 52 games
Deron Quint, 16-32-48, plus-25, 20 PIM in 52 games
Cologne
Philipp Gogulla, 17-21-38, minus-2, 58 PIM in 48 games
Dave McLlwain, 8-16-24, minus-20, 48 PIM in 42 games
Todd Warriner, 5-12-17, minus-14, 185 PIM in 34 games
Mike Johnson, 4-9-13, minus-6, 52 PIM in 28 games
DEG
Jamie Storr, 17-12-0, 2.62 GAA, .920 SVPCT in 38 games
Duisberg
Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre, 5-8-13, minus-40, 135 PIM in 47 games
Rick Berry, 2-9-11, minus-30, 111 PIM in 47 games
Daniel Tkaczuk, 3-8-11, minus-37, 34 PIM in 37 games
Frankfurt
Mathieu Biron, 5-16-21, minus-2, 82 PIM in 49 games
Bryan Muir, 0-4-4, plus-2, 42 PIM in 14 games
Lance Ward, 1-2-3, plus-3, 86 PIM in 41 games
Hamburg
Andy Delmore, 9-22-31, plus-6, 70 PIM in 52 games
Clarke Wilm, 16-25-41, plus-12, 88 PIM in 52 games
Jere Karalahti, 7-16-23, plus-13, 148 PIM in 50 games
Hannover
Chris Herperger, 13-23-36, minus-5, 58 PIM in 51 games
Ingolstadt
Jimmy Waite, 17-21-0, 2.78 GAA, .910 SVPCT in 48 games
Kassel
Drew Bannister, 2-15-17, plus-1, 84 PIM in 54 games
Mannheim
Fred Brathwaite, 20-17-0, 2.37 GAA, .925 SVPCT in 49 games
Colin Forbes, 17-25-42, minus-8, 52 PIM in 52 games
Dan McGillis, 3-16-19, plus-4, 88 PIM in 47 games
Blake Sloan, 4-10-14, plus-8, 101 PIM in 50 games
Sven Butenschon, 2-7-9, minus-1, 44 PIM in 49 games
Straubing
Jon Klemm, 4-12-16, minus-16, 93 PIM in 51 games
Finland
Assat
Erik Rasmussen, 1-8-9, minus-9, 60 PIM in 31 games
Ilves Tampere
Hannu Toivonen
Jokerit
Jani Rita, 14-16-30, minus-4, 12 PIM in 58 games
KalPa
Sami Kapanen, 20-24-44, plus-8, 18 PIM in 55 games
Lukko
Antti Laaksonen, 17-23-40, minus-10, 66 PIM in 51 games
Tappara
Ville Nieminen, 21-20-41, minus-7, 82 PIM in 55 games
TPS Turko
Aki Berg, 4-9-13, plus-4, 57 PIM in 43 games
Sweden
Brynas
Andreas Dackell, 13-27-40, plus-7, 44 PIM in 55 games
Jacob Markstrom, 2.38 GAA, .917 SVPCT, 3 SO in 35 games
Djurgardens
Marcus Ragnarsson, 12-25-37, minus-12, 38 PIM in 49 games
Jacob Josefsen, 5-11-16, minus-3, 14 PIM in 50 games
Farjestads
Marcus Johansson, 5-5-10, plus-4, 10 PIM in 45 games
Frolunda
Niklas Andersson, 16-21-37, plus-10, 22 PIM in 52 games
Lars Eller, 12-17-29, plus-13, 28 PIM in 48 games
Erik Karlsson, 5-5-10, plus-3, 10 PIM in 45 games
Joe DiPenta, 1-5-6, plsu-5, 71 PIM in 47 games
Johan Holmqvist, 2.17 GAA, .917 SVPCT, 2 SO in 49 games
HV71
Kris Beech, 17-17-34, plus-11, 116 PIM in 45 games
Linkopings
Jan Hlavac, 25-23-48, plus-6, 28 PIM in 54 games
Modo
Niklas Sundstrom, 18-35-53, plus-22, 70 PIM in 39 games
Mattias Timander, 10-15-25, plus-18, 70 PIM in 55 games
Victor Hedman, 7-14-21, plus-21, 52 PIM in 43 games
Peter Forsberg, 1-2-3, plus-4, 0 PIM in 3 games
Rogle
Kenny Jonsson, 6-24-30, plus-3, 26 PIM in 47 games
Mathias Tjarnqvist, 11-10-21, minus-7, 16 PIM in 40 games
Skelleftea
Niko Dimitrakos, 22-22-44, plus-6, 59 PIM in 54 games
David Rundblad, 0-10-10, plus-3, 8 PIM in 45 games
Mikael Renberg, 3-3-6, minus-2, 16 PIM in 21 games
Timra
Tom Wandell, 15-26-41, plus-15, 26 PIM in 51 games
Petr Tenkrat, 14-9-23, plus-1, 34 PIM in 44 games
Magnus Svensson-Paajarvi, 7-10-17, minus-6, 4 PIM in 50 games
Kontinential Hockey League
Astana Barys
Kevin Dallman, 28-29-57, plus-6, 117 PIM in 53 games
Jozef Stumpel, 10-24-34, plus-4, 65 PIM in 45 games
Trevor Letowski, 7-7-14, even, 30 PIM in 37 games
Branislav Mezei, 5-5-10, minus-10, 151 PIM in 56 games
Chekhov Vityaz
Chris Simon, 8-20-28, minus-11, 263 PIM in 40 games
Bryan Berard, 3-15-18, minus-21, 103 PIM in 25 games
Chelyabinsk Traktor
Andrei Nikolishin, 10-29-39, plus-5, 108 PIM in 48 games
Oleg Kvasha, 18-17-35, minus-1, 56 PIM in 52 games
Pierre Dagenais, 14-5-19, minus-6, 28 PIM in 40 games
Cherepovets Severstal
Ladislav Nagy, 5-14-19, minus-18, 103 PIM in 45 games
CSKA Moscow
Oleg Saprykin, 17-18-35, plus-8, 89 PIM in 51 games
Petr Schastlivy, 19-12-31, plus-11, 22 PIM in 54 games
Jussi Markkanen, 10-6-2, 2.32 GAA, .903 SVPCT in 18 games
Kazan AK-Bars
Aleksey Morozov, 32-38-70, plus-22, 22 PIM in 49 games
Niko Kapanen, 12-17-29, plus-9, 22 PIM in 53 games
Oleg Petrov, 9-13-22, plus-4, 24 PIM in 54 games
Nikita Alexeev, 8-7-15, plus-13, 16 PIM in 54 games
Fredrik Norrena, 7-4-2, 1.52 GAA, .931 SVPCT in 11 games
Wade Dubielewicz, 11-8-3, 2.77 GAA, .892 SVPCT in 21 games
Khabarovsk Amur
Nolan Pratt, 1-9-10, minus-7, 28 PIM in 35 games
Magnitigorsk Metallurg
Stanislav Chistov, 11-19-30, plus-6, 93 PIM in 56 games
Dynamo Minsk
Ben Clymer, 3-14-17, minus-8, 85 PIM in 49 games
Bryan Muir, 1-6-7, minus-10, 47 PIM in 23 games
Igor Ulanov, 1-4-5, minus-11, 126 PIM in 36 games
Moscow Dynamo
Dmitry Afanasenkov, 19-17-36, plus-7, 40 PIM in 56 games
Mattias Weinhandl, 16-16-32, plus-11, 53 PIM in 41 games
Petr Cajanek, 9-22-31, plus-11, 123 PIM in 53 games
Karel Rachunek, 9-21-30, plus-19, 85 PIM in 50 games
Vitali Yachmenev, 8-13-21, plus-12, 12 PIM in 47 games
Denis Tolpeko, 3-13-16, minus-2, 42 PIM in 42 games
Alexei Zhitnik, 4-7-11, even, 58 PIM in 56 games
Danny Markov, 3-4-7, plus-2, 12 PIM in 24 games
Moscow Spartak
Branko Radivojevic, 17-28-45, plus-10, 86 PIM in 49 games
Mytishi Atlant
Alexander Korolyuk, 21-32-53, plus-20, 32 PIM in 56 games
Magnus Johansson, 7-26-33, plus-33, 36 PIM in 53 games
Denis Arkhipov, 10-12-22, plus-8, 24 PIM in 56 games
Igor Korolev, 7-15-22, plus-8, 46 PIM in 56 games
Jan Bulis, 9-8-17, plus-7, 16 PIm in 35 games
Ray Emery, 22-8-0, 2.12 GAA, .926 SVPCT in 36 games
Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo
Pavel Brendl, 35-15-50, minus-10, 48 PIM in 56 games
Artem Chubarov, 4-17-21, minus-4, 2 PIM in 40 games
Mika Noronen, 2-9-2, 2.61 GAA, .865 SVPCT in 14 games
Avangard Omsk
Jaromir Jagr, 25-28-53, minus-1, 62 PIM in 55 games
Alexander Svitov, 8-8-16, plus-7, 86 PIM in 32 games
John Grahame, 9-10-2, 2.86 GAA, .896 SVPCT in 20 games
Dynamo Riga
Marcel Hossa, 22-23-45, plus-3, 118 PIM in 52 games
Mark Hartigan, 20-17-37, minus-1, 115 PIM in 55 games
Duvie Westcott, 2-17-19, minus-2, 124 PIM in 51 games
Ronald Petrovicky, 2-3-5, minus-4, 49 PIM in 30 games
St. Petersburg
Nils Ekman, 12-20-32, plus-9, 50 PIM in 46 games
Sergei Brylin, 9-15-24, plus-11, 16 PIM in 50 games
Andrei Zyuzin, 6-4-10, plsu-1, 36 PIM in 36 games
Darius Kasparaitis, 0-1-1, plus-6, 34 PIM in 26 games
Robert Esche, 21-14-6, 1.87 GAA, .912 SVPCT in 38 games
Ufa Salavat Yulayev
Alexander Perezhogin, 28-22-50, plus-33, 32 PIM in 55 games
Alexander Radulov, 22-26-48, plus-26, 92 PIM in 52 games
Oleg Tverdovsky, 8-21-29, plus-9, 30 PIM in 48 games
Konstantin Koltsov, 8-7-15, plus-6, 14 PIM in 42 games
Yaroslavl Lokomotiv
Alexei Yashin, 21-26-47, plus-10, 30 PIM in 56 games
Josef Vasicek, 12-22-34, plus-12, 81 PIM in 56 games
Vitaly Vishnevski, 8-13-21, plus-6, 124 PIM in 53 games
Marcus Nilson, 5-3-8, minus-2, 30 PIM in 36 games
HOT
Martin Brodeur, G, New Jersey (4-0, 0.98 GAA, .960 SVPCT in last 4 GP)
Chris Campoli, D, Ottawa (1-4-5, minus-2 in last 6 GP)
Paul Martin, D, New Jersey (0-4-4, plus-10 in last 4 GP)
Jarome Iginla, RW, Calgary (6-8-14, plus-6 in last 5 GP)
Steve Sullivan, LW, Nashville (4-4-8, plus-6 in last 4 GP)
Tomas Kopecky, C, Detroit (3-4-7, plus-6 in last 6 GP)
NOT
Steve Mason, G, Columbus (2-4, 3.19 GAA, .862 SVPCT in last 6 GP)
Brett Clark, D, Colorado (0-0-0, minus-5 in last 5 GP)
Kimmo Timonen, D, Philadelphia (0-2-2, plus-10 in last 16 GP)
David Booth, LW, Florida (1-0-1, minus-4 in last 6 GP)
Drew Stafford, RW, Buffalo (0-0-0, minus-3 in last 5 GP)
Patrick Marleau, LW, San Jose (1-1-2, minus-3 in last 6 GP)
CHIRPING
"We weren't out kicking tires. I think it's a message to our players, a vote of confidence for the players that we have, that many of them that have been sidelined with injuries or were not having the seasons they hoped for, that now is the time to get there." - Canadiens GM Bob Gainey
"Second-round picks were the flavour of the month and they went for players that are short-term players either to teams to recover from injuries or try to get into the playoffs." - Canucks GM Mike Gillis
"I'm pretty upset about it. As much as the fans don't like seeing that, you can bet I don't want to let one like that in." - Sharks G Brian Boucher, after letting in a long shot for a goal against Minnesota.
“You battle between the whistles, battle against guys you know, your friends and you might even end up trading punches with one of your buddies. But after the game is where you have to still show some character.” - Islanders C Dean McAmmond.
"It's just fun to be back on the ice and actually win a game." - Maple Leafs G Martin Gerber.
"We were 4-0 without him, so we were going to tell him to stay home." - Penguins G Marc-Andre Fleury, about Sidney Crosby.
"If we can't adjust to play on the road, then we don't deserve to be in the playoffs." - Canadiens coach Guy Carbonneau.
"I don't think I should say the number, but there were legitimate offers They were offers that didn't fulfill our needs. I wanted two players in return, a defenceman who could play in our top four. Some teams thought their defense could play in our top four, obviously, I didn't." - Panthers GM Jacques Martin, on deciding to keep Jay Bouwmeester at the deadline.
For those that still haven't checked it out, the Fantasy Hockey Report is on Facebook; a few bonus features and random commentary included.
Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@ctv.ca