Lubomir Visnovsky-one of the premier offensive defensemen in the NHL. Had a little bit of an offseason last year but will definately help out our powerplay and overall goals for. If you can't tell by the numbers below I have high hopes for Visnovsky.
Projected numbers: 78 GP, 20G, 40A, 60 points
Sheldon Souray-the chronic shoulder problem. The Visnovsky-Souray pairing on the powerplay is one of the best if not the best. Souray can definately be a very solid defenseman but he needs to stay healthy.
Projected numbers: 58 GP, 15G, 30A, 45 points
Tom Gilbert-fresh off signing a new 6-year/$24M deal, Tom has some big expectations. He played extremely well in my opinion last year. He will still be on the 2nd powerplay unit and will get points off jumping in plays. He may not reach the expectations $4M commands this year but two or three years down the road he will outperform that.
Projected numbers: 75 GP, 15G, 25A, 40 points
Denis Grebeshkov-formerly known as Garbagekov, he has taken out all the trash and proved to be a very good defenseman. After being traded for Marc-Andre Bergeron and a 3rd, the expectations weren't exactly set very high. At the beginning of the season, he looked terrible, but as the season wore on he adapted to the North American game and started showing what he was made of.
Projected numbers: 80 GP, 5G, 25A, 30 points
Steve Staios-Steady Steve. At some points of last season he didn't exactly look to steady. He's a veteran on the team and one of the best penalty killers on the team. At the Worlds he was one of Canada's best penalty killers and I expect him to play a similar role this season. Along with holding a steady defensive presence with one of the offensive defensemen.
Projected numbers: 70 GP, 4G, 10A, 14 points
Ladislav Smid-former 1st rounder, traded for Chris Pronger. Big expectations for a 20-year -ld. But back then he met them as he made a very weak Oilers squad and played surprisingly well. However, last season he didn't make the Oilers on a slightly better defensive squad. After being sent down to the AHL it didn't take long before the Oilers called him up due to injuries. He ended up playing 65 games with constant injuries to Souray and Pitkanen. He's now 22-years-old, has 2 NHL seasons under his belt, and proven he can play at the NHL level. Is this the year that Smid takes a big leap forward in his development and proves to be a top-4 defenseman or will he just stay as the number 6 defenseman?
Projected numbers: 70 GP, 4G, 8A, 12 points
Jason Strudwick-just another journeyman brought in to toughen up this defensive core. He's a proven NHL defenseman and can take a regular shift as well as get in a tussle to spark the team. From what I've heard, a good guy in the room. He should just be a quick fix, and give prospects like Peckham time to develop in the minors.
Projected numbers: 25 GP, 0G, 1A, 1 point
Overall not a bad defensive core, but I worry about the team defensively. However we should be able to move the puck up better thus improving our forwards' stats.
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