blueliner
Tough Building
...are there any 03/04 rookies who you might categorize as 'franchise' players?
there's a ton of intriguing talent getting their first taste of the bigs this season, but aside from penguin marc andre fleury, perhaps, i'd be inclined to suggest that none of them are really players you'd build a team around...
i guess it depends on how you define a 'franchise player', but if we assume the following basic profiles.....A) bona fide 1st line forward who plays in practically all situations, legitimate top-tier offensive superstar, consistent top-10 nhl points-getter.....B) #1 rearguard who plays in all situations, excels in all three zones and routinely logs 25+ mins a night, multiple norris candidate.....C) undisputed #1 who can steal games and intimidate the opposition (a la roy/hasek not a la emery), multiple vezina candidate.
so who else might fit the bill?...raycroft?, looks like a perfectly capable #1 but a franchise guy?...zherdev perhaps?...how about pitkanen?...whilst valuable contributors in their own right, i'd suggest we can probably exclude malone/hunter/ryder...semin?, looks good but not so sure...staal?, i like him a lot but a franchise type?
does anyone fit the bill?
there's a ton of intriguing talent getting their first taste of the bigs this season, but aside from penguin marc andre fleury, perhaps, i'd be inclined to suggest that none of them are really players you'd build a team around...
i guess it depends on how you define a 'franchise player', but if we assume the following basic profiles.....A) bona fide 1st line forward who plays in practically all situations, legitimate top-tier offensive superstar, consistent top-10 nhl points-getter.....B) #1 rearguard who plays in all situations, excels in all three zones and routinely logs 25+ mins a night, multiple norris candidate.....C) undisputed #1 who can steal games and intimidate the opposition (a la roy/hasek not a la emery), multiple vezina candidate.
so who else might fit the bill?...raycroft?, looks like a perfectly capable #1 but a franchise guy?...zherdev perhaps?...how about pitkanen?...whilst valuable contributors in their own right, i'd suggest we can probably exclude malone/hunter/ryder...semin?, looks good but not so sure...staal?, i like him a lot but a franchise type?
does anyone fit the bill?