17 for 17

As it stands before the dispersal and expansion draft, Heading into the Eagles' 17th season in the RHL, the squad currently has 17 players under contract for a total of $18.6M. Add a couple of RFAs the team will most likely resign, that number grows to 19. Let's break down the team by position.

Centre
Arnott C 107 30000 17:15 38/8 49/15/7/28 444 4430 1003
Comrie C 94 33000 16:00 32/7 63/9/6/13 444 3230 0003
Bell C 91 33000 17:30 22/8 64/18/10/7 433 4430 0003 *RFA
Vermette C 90 33300 12:30 34/8 53/9/6/31 453 3220 0004
J.Carter C 74 30300 12:00 24/6 83/6/4/6 443 3320 0002
Fiddler C 60 30000 13:45 35/4 30/30/18/21 332 3220 0003

Centre is the deepest position on the squad. The group is a good mix of veterans (Arnott, Comrie) and up-and-comers (Vermette, Carter). There's also a nice balance of speed and grit to handle a variety of situations. With all but Arnott having flexiblity to play other positions, expect a couple of to end up on the wing.

LW
Stajan LW 84 33300 11:30 36/11 33/37/15/14 333 3220 0002

After letting Smyth go to the auction, Stajan is the only natural LW under contract. But Bell, Comrie and Vermette can all play as needed. Still, this is a big hole to fill. Expect the team to target at least one 1st or 2nd line LW thru the auction or a trade.

RW
Satan RW 99 03300 19:15 28/7 85/6/4/4 444 3220 0002
Cammalleri RW 83 33300 16:45 25/6 68/6/4/21 443 3220 0003
Samuelsson RW 68 03300 13:30 25/6 88/3/2/6 333 3320 0000

Finesse is the name of the game on the right side, as the squad will probably be comfortable with these three end up filling out the top 3 lines. Could use a depth RW, something easily attainable through the auction.

Defense
Mara LD 85 00033 21:30 19/3 58/11/9/15 444 0333
M.Bergeron LD 83 00033 21:15 21/4 41/21/15/22 443 0323
Ehrhoff LD 65 00033 17:45 8/3 62/19/9/9 433 0322
D.Tjarnqvist LD 65 00033 19:45 11/3 30/33/16/20 333 0322 *RFA
Boynton RD 71 00033 20:45 11/3 53/23/13/10 333 0433
R.Jackman RD 57 00022 17:15 12/3 83/7/6/3 334 0322

At this point, defense looks to be the Achilles heel for the Eagles in RHL17. Expect it to be a focus during the auction and in trades. While they should be able to hold their own offensively with Mara, Bergeron and Jackman, it's a soft group with no real shut-down players who can go up against the other team's best. On the team's wishlist is a true #1 who can be leaned on to anchor the group.

Goal
Vokoun G 131 6/48/3/42 91.94 4 4 2 61
Budaj G 89 8/41/3/47 90.05 4 4 2 34
Theodore G 85 8/36/3/52 88.17 4 4 3 43

The team's glaring weakness for RHL17 turned into one of its strengths after the acquitition of Vokoun. He is expected to be one of the league's best, and should help mitigate a mediocre defense. He is backed up by capable rookie Budaj and verteran Theodore. Three's a crowd in nets, so expect someone to move before the season begins.

On the bubble
Nokelainen C 44 33000 7:45 15/3 59/14/14/12 332 3330 0002
Ladd LW 57 02000 11:15 28/4 60/11/10/18 333 3330 0000
Shishkanov RW 50 00200 8:30 23/3 78/9/8/4 442 2220 0000
Bieksa RD 46 00003 16:00 0/0 46/15/13/35 332 0332 0000

Four other prospects could crack the big league squad, the feeling is they need more time in the minors. While Nokelainen and Shishkanov are long term projects, Ladd and Bieksa will be around for RHL18.

RHL16 in review

Another season is in the books for the Edmonton Eagles--one that overall met expectations but left the players, management and fans with a bitter taste in the mouth after a disappointing final stretch run and playoffs. Finishing with a 33-27-6 record, the team's 10th best result in its 16 seasons was good enough for 3rd in the division and 6th in the conference.

But the team let the divisional crown slip out of their hands and the playoffs brought another disappointment--this time a first round matchup against the powerful and Kings Cup runner up Rovers. The series lasted only 5 games and was never really in doubt.

While the page is turned on another season, RHL17 looks promising. While numerous veterans including Ryan Smyth, Craig Conroy, Shawn McEachern, Mark Parrish and Chris Chelios will test the UFA market with the hope of only a couple coming back at best, the next generation of Eagles will begin to take ownership of the team andput their own unique stamp on Edmonton.

Mike Cammalleri, Antoine Vermette, Jeff Carter, Peter Budaj, MA Bergeron, Matt Stajan, Christian Ehrhoff and Mark Bell all look to play prominent roles next season. They will join a solid core of Jason Arnott, Miro Satan, Thomas Vokoun, Mike Comrie and Paul Mara as the teams looks to make amends and take home the division crown.

Team awards were handed out today at a team luncheon for season ticket holders.

Team MVP (Patrick Roy Award)
Jose Theodore

Best defenseman (Chris Pronger Award)
Nic Boynton

Best forward (Geoff Sanderson Award)
Shawn McEachern

Top young player (Ryan Smyth Award)
Mike Cammalleri

Leadership and Dedication (Trevor Linden Award)
Mark Parrish

As well, management released their rankings of each roster player based on which category they fell into:

Breakout season
Ric Jackman: 25 pts, +12 in only 41 gp
MA Bergeron: 11 goals, +11 in 51 gp

Above expectations

Mike Comrie: 14 goals in 13 min/game over 56 gp

Mike Cammalleri: 25 points in 39 gp, important secondary scoring

Jaroslav Modry: +7 playing in all 66 gp

Nick Boynton: top points and icetime among defencemen (31pt, 24 min/g)
Jason King: earned 15 min/g with 12 goals

At expectations
Jose Theodore: 32 wins, .915 save%
Mark Parrish: 5th straight 20 goal season
Shawn McEachern: 50 points
Miro Satan: 15 points in 19 gp
Chris Chelios: +2 over 17 gp
Paul Mara: 23 min/game, +7
Matt Stajan: +7, 10 goals in limited role
Antoine Vermette: went from 4 GP to 47 GP

Below expectations
Jason Arnott: 13 goals for #1 centre
Ryan Smyth: 19 goals, lowest total since RHL12
Dick Tjarnqvist: healthy scratch 14 times
Ivan Majesky: went from +12 to -2

A bust
Craig Conroy: $1.9M for 5 goals
Mark Bell: went from 22 to 10 goals playing with more talented linemates