With the trade deadline fast approaching, let’s look who stood out (in a good and bad way) this season. For this analysis, I’ve removed any player that has played <500 minutes of total ice time to show a better reflection of full time players only without punishing players who have missed some time due to injury.

Average Minutes Played/Game
Good indicator of the most and least used players who have suited up in the majority of their team’s games.

THE MOST
D Reijo Ruotsalainen - LosAngeles - 26.6 min/game
LW Bernie Nicholls - NewYork - 26.5
RW Moe Mantha - NewYork - 26.2
RW Blake Dunlop - NewYork - 26.2
RW Kent Nilsson - Philly - 26
D Larry Murphy - Calgary - 25.8
D Bruce Driver - NewYork - 25.6
C Wayne Gretzky - Edmonton - 25.5
RW Dave Babych - Pittsburgh - 25.5

THE LEAST
D Jorgen Pettersson - Vancouver - 9.9 min/game
LW Jiri Hrdina - Edmonton - 10.1
RW Anders Hakansson - Pittsburgh - 10.1
RW Bob Lorimer - Edmonton - 10.3
RW Ron Duguay - Boston - 10.6
D Mats Naslund - California - 10.7
D Bob MacMillan - Toronto - 10.7
C Jean Potvin - California - 10.9
RW Mark Napier - Toronto - 10.9

Ice Time per Penalty Minute

Good indicator to see the Lady Byng type players who have played the most and least amount of ice time before getting a penalty minute.

THE MOST
D Rick Kehoe - Vancouver - 918 Minutes on ice before getting a penalty minute
LW Don Spring - Toronto - 689
RW Per-Olov Brasar - NewYork - 548.5
RW Peter McNab - Detroit - 503
RW Butch Goring - LosAngeles - 441
D Anton Stastny - LosAngeles - 330
D Marian Stastny - Edmonton - 306
C Michel Goulet - LosAngeles - 290

THE LEAST

D Jiri Hrdina - Edmonton - 4.4 Minutes on ice before getting a penalty minute
LW Andre St. Laurent - Hartford - 4.7
RW Al Cameron - Detroit - 4.8
RW Andre Dupont - Hartford - 4.8
RW Barry Beck - LosAngeles - 5
D Steve Larmer - Detroit - 5.5
D Borje Salming - Boston - 5.5
C Harold Snepsts - California - 5.9

Points Per 20 Minutes on Ice

Good indicator to see the most and least offensively productive forwards. I excluded defensemen on this.

THE MOST
RW Guy LaFleur - Montreal - 1.39 points per 20min of ice time
C Bryan Trottier - Montreal - 1.24
C Peter Stastny - LosAngeles - 1.17
C Wayne Gretzky - Edmonton - 1.14
RW Rick Middleton - Boston - 1.06
C Kent Nilsson - Philly - 1.03
RW Rick Kehoe - Vancouver - 1.02
LW Tom Fergus - Toronto - 1
C Denis Savard - Pittsburgh - 1
C Gilbert Perreault - Detroit - 1
RW Michel Goulet - LosAngeles - 1
LW Anton Stastny - LosAngeles - 1

THE LEAST
LW Derek Smith - Montreal - 0.37 points per 20min of ice time
LW Mike McPhee - Hartford - 0.4
C Barry Pederson - Hartford - 0.42
RW Mario Tremblay - Montreal - 0.43
C Guy Carbonneau - Montreal - 0.43
RW Wayne Babych - Calgary - 0.45
C Mark Johnson - Toronto - 0.47
RW Russ Courtnall - Hartford - 0.47
C Viktor Zhluktov - Calgary - 0.47
LW Bob MacMillan - Toronto - 0.47
C Ron Francis - Pittsburgh - 0.47

Shots Per 20 Minutes on Ice – Forwards Only

Good indicator to see the most and least offensively productive forwards. I excluded defensemen on this.

THE MOST
RW Guy LaFleur - Montreal - 3.32 Shots per 20min Icetime
RW Cam Neely - Chicago - 3
LW Anton Stastny - LosAngeles - 2.95
RW Rick Kehoe - Vancouver - 2.85
RW Tim Kerr - Edmonton - 2.83
LW Vladimir Krutov - NewYork - 2.76
RW Dave Gagner - NewYork - 2.74
C Mike Rogers - Pittsburgh - 2.74
LW Blaine Stoughton - Vancouver - 2.72

THE LEAST
LW Robbie Ftorek - Edmonton - 1.3 Shots per 20min Icetime
C Barry Pederson - Hartford - 1.4
LW Darryl Sutter - Chicago - 1.46
C Doug Jarvis - Hartford - 1.53
LW Yvon Lambert - Boston - 1.55
LW Bob MacMillan - Toronto - 1.57
RW Mario Tremblay - Montreal - 1.64
RW Wayne Babych - Calgary - 1.64
LW Mats Naslund - California - 1.64
C Dave Reid - Calgary - 1.64

Points Per 20 Minutes on Ice

Good indicator to see the most and least offensive generating blueliners. I excluded forwards on this.

THE MOST
D Reijo Ruotsalainen - LosAngeles - 0.77 Points per 20min Icetime
D James Patrick - Toronto - 0.67
D Paul Coffey - Detroit - 0.67
D Alexei Kasatonov - Montreal - 0.6
D Moe Mantha - NewYork - 0.57
D Bruce Driver - NewYork - 0.56
D Risto Siltanen - Chicago - 0.56
D Doug Lidster - Montreal - 0.55
D Larry Murphy - Calgary - 0.55
D Denis Potvin - Philly - 0.54

THE LEAST
D Pat Ribble - Toronto - 0.07 Points per 20min Icetime
D Udo Kiessling - Montreal - 0.12
D Jack Hughes - Hartford - 0.19
D Rick Lanz - Pittsburgh - 0.2
D Ron Greschner - California - 0.21
D Lars Lindgren - Chicago - 0.21
D Curt Giles - Hartford - 0.23
D Bob Lorimer - Edmonton - 0.24
D Mike Ramsey - California - 0.24
D Viacheslav Fetisov - Toronto - 0.24

Shots Per 20 Minutes on Ice – Defensemen Only

Good indicator to see the most and least offensive generating blueliners. I excluded forwards on this.

THE MOST
D Denis Potvin - Philly - 2.11 Shots per 20min Icetime
D Ron Greschner - California - 1.95
D Larry Murphy - Calgary - 1.8
D Pekka Rautakallio - Toronto - 1.78
D Sergei Starikov - Vancouver - 1.76
D Paul Coffey - Detroit - 1.74
D Mike Kitchen - Chicago - 1.71
D Reijo Ruotsalainen - LosAngeles - 1.69
D Ray Bourque - Philly - 1.68

THE LEAST
D Brad Marsh - Edmonton - 0.64 Shots per 20min Icetime
D Brian Engblom - Boston - 0.73
D Vasily Pervukhin - Calgary - 0.8
D Lee Fogolin - Philly - 0.91
D Gord Lane - California - 1
D Udo Kiessling - Montreal - 1.02
D Mike Ramsey - California - 1.03
D Ken Morrow - Boston - 1.05
D Andre Dupont - Hartford - 1.06

Heavy Hitters

Good indicator to see the most physical hit-generating players in the league.

THE MOST
D Kevin Lowe - Detroit - 3.6 hits/game
D Dave Babych - Pittsburgh - 3.3
D Willie Huber - NewYork - 3.2
C Mark Messier - Edmonton - 3.1
D Rick Lapointe - Montreal - 3
D Mark Howe - NewYork - 2.9
D Viacheslav Fetisov - Toronto - 2.9
D Sergei Starikov - Vancouver - 2.9

That's it for this year's edition!

We're 23ish games into the season so let's look at the Team Stats and see what jumps out.

1. Edmonton looks like the early monster
If we’re talking pure top-end profile, Edmonton jumps off the page. They lead the league in scoring at 4.00 goals/game, have the best penalty kill at 92.3%, and their power play is also strong at 21.2%. That’s a pretty nasty special-teams combo. The one small yellow flag: their shot profile is weirdly neutral at 28.1 shots for and 28.1 shots against. So they’re dominating the scoreboard, but not necessarily tilting the ice at 5-on-5. Still, with that offence and PK, they’re clearly one of the teams to beat.

2. Vancouver might be the most balanced contender
Edmonton has the flashier topline stats, but Vancouver might have the cleaner overall team profile.
They’re second in scoring at 3.95 GF/G, first in shots for at 29.0 SF/G, and they give up only 24.1 shots/game, which is one of the best shot-suppression numbers in the league. Their PP is strong too at 21.2%, and the PK is solid enough at 84.2%.

3. Boston is legit, and is a pretty clean “no major holes” team
Boston looks really strong across the board:
• 23.9% PP, second-best in the league
• 85.0% PK
• 3.79 GF/G
• 2.75 GA/G
• 27.7 SF/G vs. 24.3 SA/G
That’s a very tidy profile. They score, they defend, they win the special teams battle, and they’re not getting caved in shot-wise. If I had to pick a “safe” contender, Boston is right there.

4. Montreal is quietly scary, but the power play has to wake up
Montreal has the best goals-against rate in the league at 2.38 GA/G, and the shot profile backs it up pretty well: 26.6 SF/G vs. 24.0 SA/G. Their PK is also very good at 86.0%. The issue is the power play: 13.5%, which is near the bottom. That makes them a really interesting improvement candidate. If their PP even gets to league-average territory, they could move from “good defensive team” to “serious problem." They feel like a team with more room to grow than their current scoring rank suggests.

5. Chicago’s special teams are carrying them a bit
Chicago leads the league in PP% at 24.2% and has the second-best PK at 89.8%, so their special teams are excellent. But the rest of the profile is a little less dominant. They’re only scoring 2.91 GF/G, and the shot numbers are basically even: 27.1 SF/G vs. 26.3 SA/G. They’re good, no doubt. But if that power play slips from elite to merely good, they may not look quite as dangerous unless the even-strength offence picks up.

Detroit (AP) -- Another lost season in Detroit as the team failed to make the playoffs for the second consecutive season. The team immediately went to work in the offseason. With the late season trade to move Dennis Potvin out, the team had a middle first round pick having not held their own, which became 4th overall. Out went Glenn Anderson and Mario Tremblay, and in came another young scoring winner, one who loves the penalty box albeit, and a 1990 first round draft selection. The team went out and acquired the league's 6th career scoring forward in Gilbert Perreault who is likely in his final HFHL season. The team needed to improve down the middle after the McNab experiment failed. In Perreault, Detroit has one of the best who ever played in the HFHL, with a career 437 points in 386 games and coming off a 102 point season. The team hope his presence and skill can boost the struggling franchise. The team is big on rookie Ray Ferraro and expects him to start the season as the teams second line centre but with the team loaded with centre depth it is fair to say the team will certainly mix up the lines as needed. The forward group is deep and has punch on every line. Sophomore Carpenter is boosted and ready for more responsibilities.

On the backend, the team is less impactful from last year given the departure of Potvin. However, Howe and Hartsburg come in boosted. Lowe needs a rebound season after a poor first campaign here. He will be paired with the great, Paul Coffey. Boxmeer was signed in free agency to provide more two way play from the team who didn't get much offensively outside of Coffey and Hartsburg. Rookie Steve Smith slots in as a defensive minded player and will be faired with veteran Fox to start the year.

In goal, the team finally has their young goaltender at 80ov and ready to perform. He has improved each year of his career and we expect to see more of the same. The team dealt their mid range first for signed veteran goaltender Greg Millen, 78ov, and a second round pick during the draft. He is signed for 3 season and expected to perform in at least 25 games each season, perhaps more depending on how Vernon gets going.

There is subdued optimism in Detroit after the changes made. Time will tell how the team will adapt to the new teammates and to their opponents in a competitive conference.

Forwards
LW Steve Larmer 79 - C Gilbert Perreault 80 - RW Mike Bossy 83
LW Bob Carpenter 78 - C Peter McNab 79 - RW Paul MacLean 78
LW Eric Vail 78 - C Ray Ferraro rookie 76 - RW Danny Gare 76
LW John Tonelli 74 - C Ulf Nilsson 77 - RW Jim Fox 69

Defense
D Paul Coffey 83 – D Kevin Lowe 80
D John Van Boxmeer 76 - D Craig Hartsburg 79
D Greg Fox 75 - D Steve Smith 75 rookie
Extras: Al Cameron 75

Goaltending
Mike Vernon 80
Greg Millen 78

Prospects
C Ray Ferraro 76/21 - promoted to pro roster
C Kirk Muller 71/19
W Stephane Richer 70/19
D Dave Manson 66/18

GO Detroit Red Wings GO!

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (AP) – After falling just one win short of a championship in Season 4, Philadelphia took a step backward last season. The Flyers entered the playoffs as the fourth seed but were bounced in five games by Montreal, despite making a major push at the trade deadline by acquiring Denis Potvin and Rick Kehoe. Even so, there's plenty of reason for optimism heading into Season 6. On paper, Philadelphia still boasts one of the league's deepest and most talented rosters. The challenge is that the window to win is starting to close. Many of the team's core players are getting older, and after recent years of chasing championships, the prospect pipeline has thinned considerably. If there's a year for this group to finally get over the hump, it's hopefully this one before the window slams shut.

The offseason brought a handful of notable changes. The club re-signed a key defenseman in Fogolin, shifted promising 3-year pro Dale Hawerchuk to the wing to balance things out, and reshaped its third line through a few trades. The blue line remains one of the league's biggest strengths, even after getting a little younger by swapping Keith Brown for Robert Nordstrom. Add in the continued development of the team's young talent and the long-awaited debut of star goaltending prospect Tom Barrasso, and Philadelphia enters Season 6 with all the pieces needed to make another serious run at the Cup.

Let's take a closer look at how the roster stacks up as the new season gets underway tomorrow.

Forwards
LW Gillies80 – C Nilsson82 – RW Taylor83
LW Gainey79 – C Maruk80 – RW Hawerchuk80
LW Boutette74 – C Savard77 – RW Johnstone77
LW Sturgeon69 – C Hagman73 – RW Talafous69

Defense
Bourque82 – Potvin83
Nordmark78 – Huddy81
Fogolin79– Lariviere75
Extra: Farrish73

Goalies
Starter: Liut84
Backup: Barrasso76 (rookie)