Where Are They Now?

Johnny Boychuk (BOS)-  42 GP, 1G, 5A, 6PTS. Boychuk is a physical force on the Bruins back end and one of their best defensemen. He hasn’t put up big numbers this year in the shortened season but his play has been nothing short of excellent.

Departure:  Colorado traded Boychuck to Washington for Matt Hendricks, who later signed with the Capitals

Jordan Leopold (BUF/STL) – 38GP, 2G, 8A, 10PTS. Leopold struggled along with the rest of the Sabres this season but there has been a resurgence in his play since going to the Blues. He is being used more on the powerplay and scored a few points against the Avs in his only contest against his former team. Surprise suprise.

Departure: Traded to the Flames for Lawrence Nycholat, Ryan Wilson, and the pick used to select Stefan Elliot.

Scott Hannan (NSH/SJS) – 32GP, 0G, 1A, 1 PT. He was never known for putting up points and he has fulfilled those expectations this year. But his play for Nashville was solid and he remained pesky to deal with in front of the net. He was hurt 3 games into his return to the Sharks, but played well. This is probably one the better Avs trades in recent memory.

Departure: Colorado traded Hannan to Washington for Tomas Fleischmann. Great trade! Fleischmann already has 26 goals this year!

Tomas Fleischmann (FLA) – 47GP, 10G, 23A, 33PTS. Fleischmann’s point production for the Panthers will continue to haunt Avs fans for years to come. His 61 points last year was no fluke as he has 33 points with Florida in this shortened season. He is their best player offensively and the Avs made a huge mistake in letting him go. For nothing.

Departure: Colorado let him walk for nothing. But don’t fret Avs fans; we didn't need his 61 points!

Peter Mueller (FLA) - 42GP, 8G, 9A, 17PTS. Mueller joins the injured castoff party in Florida. More was expected of Mueller. His 8 goals and 9 assists, while decent, are lower than what many has expected. But when you play on a team as bad as Florida this season, you never really know what these numbers mean. Look for him to turn it up next year and force more moans and groans out of poor Avs fans.

Departure: Colorado let him walk for nothing as well.

Alex Tanguay (CGY) – 40GP, 11G, 16A, 27PTS. Tanguay isn’t done yet in the NHL. His 11 goals are good for 3^rd on the Flames roster. He is revitalised from last year’s dismal performance. Tanguay only scored 13 goals in 64 games last year.

Departure: Colorado traded him to CGY for Leopold, and 2 2^nd round picks (2006, Cody Burki..?), (2007, Trevor Cann….???).

Jose Theodore (FLA) – 15GP, 4W, 6L, 3OTL, .893SV%, 0SO, 3.29 GAA. Don’t let Theodore’s poor save percentage and high GAA fool you about how he played this year. He had almost no help in front of him on a horrible, last place Florida team. While some blame still lies with Theodore, he played well, all things considered, before his season was lost to injury.

Departure: Signed as a free agent with Washington.

Wojtek Wolski (WSH) - 27GP, 4G, 5A, 9PTS. Sometimes a healthy scratch under Adam Oates, Wolski plays more of a checking role on the Capitals bottom two lines. He has almost matched his point production from all of last year however.

Departure: Colorado traded Wolski to the Coyotes for Peter Mueller and Kevin Porter.

Peter Budaj (MTL) – 12GP, 7W, 1L, 1OTL, .906SV%, 1SO, 2.42GAA. Budaj has been the saving grace for Montreal this season when starter Carey Price has been shaky and inconsistent. His record and numbers show that he still has a lot of game left. The MTL coaching staff seem to have more faith in him as well as he has played in only 3 less games this year over last season.

Departure: Signed as a free agent with Montreal

Craig Anderson (OTT) - 23GP, 12W, 8L, 2OTL, .942 SV%, 3SO, 1.68GAA. His W/L record can be deceiving but Anderson has been one of the best goalies this season. His insane .942 SV% is currently an NHL record amongst goalies who have played more than 20 games in a season. He has three shutouts, and if it weren’t for injuries, he would be almost a shoe in for the Vezina. Who knows, he might still win.

Departure: Colorado traded Anderson to Ottawa for Brian Elliott.

Radim Vrbata (PHX) – 32GP, 9G, 15A, 24PTS. Vrbata isn’t having a 35 goal year like last year, and he’s been streaky, but he is still one of the Coyote’s best players. His 9 goals in 32 games would have him on pace for about 21 goals in a full season. Good stuff.

Departure: Colorado traded Vrbata to Carolina for Bates Battaglia. Bates Battaglia. Here is his Wikipedia page in case you are like most people and fail to recall who he is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bates_Battaglia

Bates Battaglia (Karlskrona HK, Swedish Elite League).  0GP, 0G, 0A, 0PTS. He is an unrestricted free agent. Hm. I wonder why no one has signed him…

Departure: Colorado traded Battaglia and prospect Jonas Johansson to Washington for Steve Konowalchuk and a 3^rd  round pick in 2004.

Daniel Winnik (ANA)- 47GP, 6G, 13A, 19PTS. Winnik started this season strong scoring 5 goals in his team’s first 5 games. His scoring dropped off though with only 1 goal in the next 42, but he has played solid on the 3^rd line for the 2d place Ducks.

Departure: Winnik was traded to the Sharks along with Galiardi for Jamie McGinn, Mike Connolly, and Michal Sgarbossa.

Kevin Shattenkirk (STL) – 47GP, 5G, 18A, 43PTS. Shattenkirk has had another great season for the Blues. That’s what one would expect from a blue chip, top prospect defenseman. Boy would his #8 look good on the Avs blueline this season. His play sort of slowed down in past 10 games but watch for him to step up come playoff time.

Departure: After a night of binge drinking and mechanical bull rides, Greg Sherman called the Blues GM and proposed Shattenkirk and Chris Stewart in exchange for McClement, Johnson, and a 1^st round pick. The drinking/bull story isn’t confirmed, but we figure that’s what had to have happened for Sherman to think up such a deal.

Chris Stewart (STL) – 47GP, 18G, 18A, 36PTS. Chris Stewart has 18 goals for the Blues. 18! That’s 3 better than last season, a season in which he played 79 games. If this were a full season, Stewart would be on pace for about 30 goals. So what does that tell you Avs fans? He is only getting better. Wave at the Blues from the cellar Avs! They aren’t laughing with you, they’re laughing at you.

Departure: See above Departure.

Jay McClement: (TOR) – 47GP, 8G, 9A, 17PTS. Good numbers coming from a penalty killing center who plays on the bottom 2 lines every game. McClement has been absolute dynamite for the Leafs this year in terms of great defensive play and awesome penalty killing. Great season from one of the two bodies that came over from the Shatty/Stewart trade.

Departure: Signed as a Free Agent by the Maple Leafs.

Brian Elliott (STL) - 23GP, 13W, 8L, 1OTL, .905SV%, 3SO, 2.34GAA. After having a horrible start to the season, and a 2 game stint in the AHL, the streaky Elliott has gained the trust of the Blues coaching staff after solid play in his last 10 games. In those last 10 games, Elliott has only allowed more than one goal on 2 occasions while posting three shutouts in a row.

Departure: After trading Craig Anderson to Ottawa in exchange for Elliot, he signed in the offseason with the Blues.

John-Michael Liles (TOR) – 31GP, 2G, 9A, 11PTS. Liles found himself in Randy Carlyle’s doghouse throughout the middle of the season but has begged his way out. His offensive production has slipped from the last few season, but with all the great prospects on the Leafs blueline, it isn’t having much of an effect on the Leafs, who are back in the postseason.

Departure: Colorado traded Liles to Toronto for a 2^nd round pick (2012). Wait…wasn’t Quincey worth a 1^st?

Matt Hendricks (WSH) – 47GP, 5G, 3A, 8PTS. In just 47 games this year Hendricks has already scored one more goal than last season. He has played in all of Washington’s game, grinding it out on the 3^rd and 4^th lines, playing hard, being hard to play against, and providing the Caps with a great physical presence. This is the guy we gave up Johnny Boychuk for. Then let slip away for nothing. I’m beginning to see a trend in the departures…

Departure: Signed as a free agent with the Capitals.