Matt Keetley Sheds "Fat Matt" Moniker

NHL.com has an excellent article up on Calgary Flames prospect Matt Keetley's rise to the NHL. I was surprised to read he was formerly a 240lbs youngster with a slushie addiction. You wouldn't know it after seeing the performances he put on with the Tigers during their Memorial Cup run.

He has been an extremely clutch goaltender in the WHL and was a huge part of the Tigers making it to the Memorial Cup Final, a year in which he won the WHL's Most Valuable Player award. His career GAA in the WHL hovers around the 2.0 mark and his save percentage is around .920. Solid numbers for a goaltender who was only ever expected to be a backup, if that.

He's not ranked high by Hockey's Future (6.0C) but he'll take that as a challenge.

Best Bang for the Buck - Goaltending, Finale

I was off at wedding festivities for a good friend of mine most of the weekend so I'm a bit late. By my timezone though, I still got this out before the weekend was over.

This one took a lot more thought than picking a winner for Bang for the Buck on Defense. Goaltending is more than just stats and numbers as the defensive corps of a team can make a huge difference on how well the goaltender looks.

So aside from just perusing stats and projecting abilities for next season I've tried to take into account who was playing in front of the goaltender. If you feel my picks are way off base, feel free to leave a comment.

We'll start with a rundown of the final four, in alphabetical order.

Buffalo Sabres - $3.4M
Ryan Miller played on the #1 offensive team in the league last season and didn't put up eye-popping numbers. His GAA was 2.73 and his save percentage was .911. Not exactly stellar on paper. But on screen it was a whole different story. He was a rock in goal for Buffalo and gave them the freedom to play a run-and-gun style offense with little thought for the consequences. With a winning percentage of 63%, he's a steal at just $2.7M for the next years.

Calgary Flames - $3.3M
Miika Kiprusoff continues to be cool as a cucumber for the Calgary Flames - at least for one more year. Posting up numbers of 2.46 and .917, he continues to show that he is one of the premier goaltenders in the world today. Next year he will wave goodbye to his $3.33M cap hit and quite possibly find himself in a new city as well.

Minnesota Wild - $3.8M
Manny Fernandez was given the #1 job when Roloson was traded but when he suffered an untimely injury, Nicklas Backstrom proved he was up to the test. Posting stellar numbers of 1.97 and .929, Backstrom soon made Fernandez expandable as well. A 41 game season is a decent test for a goaltending but how will Backstrom do with upwards of 60 starts? If he falters, Josh Harding will be waiting.

New Jersey Devils - $5.9M
Martin Brodeur is still a good deal at a cap hit of $5.2M. He won 62% of his games while posting a GAA of 2.18 and a save percentage of .922. His numbers dipped a bit in the playoffs as the Lightning seemed find a hole in his game, but he still managed a GAA of 2.44 with a .916 save percentage. Just as you shouldn't bet against Randy Couture in UFC, you shouldn't bet against Marty Brodeur.

Let's jump right into the winning order now:

#4 - Minnesota Wild - $3.8M
Nicklas Backstrom showed he could get it done for half a season, but can he get it done for a full season? Josh Harding played superb in his 7 games last year so looks to make a very safe backup should Backstrom falter.

#3 - New Jersey Devils - $5.9M
The highest cap hit of the bunch but for good reason. Martin Brodeur is world-class and the reigning workhorse of the league with 78 games under his belt last season. Kevin Weekes will show up for his half dozen or less games and as long as he wins 2 or 3 of those, the Devils should be happy.

#2 - Buffalo Sabres - $3.4M
Ryan Miller stepped up his game in the playoffs and Jocelyn Thibault will be a competent backup for the 15 games he's likely to see. If Miller can find the ability to put in a 70+ game season, he'll be moving into some illustrious company.

#1 - Calgary Flames - $3.3M
Miika Kiprusoff pulls out the win here, as he often does in goal. Calgary gave up a lot of shots last year and Kiprusoff was there to bail them out more times than they can count. His calm demeanor might be a bit too calming, making it easy for the Flames to think less about defense and more about offense. He'll be looking for a big contract next year so look for his numbers to improve.

Honorable Mention

Vancouver Canucks - $7.4M
Yes, it's a lot of cash but it's hard to argue against a world-class goaltender - and in my opinion the best goaltender in the NHL - receiving that kind of money. A goaltender that can carry a team on his back almost into the conference finals is near priceless. He also posted a 2.29 GAA and .921 save pct in the regular season and upped those numbers to 1.77 and .941 in the playoffs. Who wouldn't want him?

Best Bang for the Buck - Goaltending, Part 1

After finishing up my Best Bang for the Buck, Defence series, I'm moving on to goaltending. Please feel free to continue leaving comments on the Defence series and on this one as well. Thanks to Kukla's Korner for sending a lot of traffic my way. I hope it was worth the read.

Anaheim Ducks - $7.2M
J.S. Giguere and Ilya Bryzgalov are fresh off a Cup win and Giguere is fresh off a renewed contract. Unfortunately he's also fresh off of hernia surgery. It appears it wasn't a severe hernia so his play shouldn't be affected by it but it's tough to say for sure. Bryzgalov is publicly on the shopping block but Burke will likely be more picky - if that's possible - than before when analyzing a deal involving Ilya. But with two #1 goaltenders on board, they'll be getting some quality performance. Unfortunately it's not a price they can afford to pay.

Atlanta Thrashers - $3.35M
They've got 3 goaltenders affecting their cap right now: Kari Lehtonen, Johan Hedberg and Freddie Braithwaite. It's going to be a battle between Hedberg and Braithwaite as to who backs up Lehtonen out of training camp. My money is on Hedberg which would bring their hit down to $2.85M once Braithwaite is sent down/traded. Lehtonen has certainly shown his potential but he's also demonstrated his inexperience at times. If he can be all he can be, it's a solid price point.

Boston Bruins - $5.4M
The Bruins big off-season move was acquiring Manny Fernandez from Minnesota to help fill in their rotating door position in goal. Last season Tim Thomas was the #1 backed up by Hannu Toivonen. This year he will likely find himself splitting duties as the #1a with Fernandez, who fared well in his first season as #1 with the Wild last year but was unseated by hot-shot Nik Backstrom after going down to injury late in the season. The question is whether these two goaltenders can co-exist without Thomas seriously maiming Fernandez in the locker room if he whines too much.

Buffalo Sabres - $3.4M
I followed the Buffalo Sabres closely in the playoffs as they were an exciting team to watch. None more exciting to me than Ryan Miller - no, not even Afinogenov. Ryan Miller is one of the skinniest goaltenders I've ever known and boy does he know how to use his frame, speed and agility to their penultimate ability. Jocelyn Thibault is a good backup at a reasonable price which gives this team a pretty solid price to performance ratio.

Calgary Flames - $3.3M
Miika Kiprusoff is as cool as goaltenders get and about as good as they get too. He performs superbly in the playoffs and is a workhorse during the regular season. He has a well-deserved Vezina to back up his abilities as well as a run to the Stanley Cup finals in which he played an integral role. Jaime McLennan has headed off to Russia and that will pave the way for either Brent Krahn or Curtis McElhinney to back up the perennial all-star while Leland Irving continues being groomed in the background.

Carolina Hurricanes - $4.1M
Conn Smythe winner Cam Ward leads the charge and John Grahame looks to back him up again this year. Ward did not look like a Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup winning starter last season as he posted up a 2.93 GAA so he'll be looking to rebound. Meanwhile John Grahame turned in an equally forgettable season as he continues to be dogged by inconsistent play. They need more out of this duo to match the $4.1M price tag.

Chicago Blackhawks - $7.7M
After Nikolai Khabibulin helped lead the Lightning to the Cup in 03-04, he bolted to Chicago and hasn't been able to regain that form. He had a bit of a bounceback last season but still didn't look like the Bulin Wall of old. Unfortunately he doesn't have much support on the backend right now. Patrick Lalime is the scheduled backup which is all he'll ever be at this point in his career. Unfortunately the price point is too high compared to other duos in the league.

Columbus Blue Jackets - $1.9M
Two backup-quality goaltenders, Pascal Leclaire and Fredrik Norrena, enter training camp battling it out for #1. If I was a Columbus fan, I'd be worried. Leclaire has the ability to be #1 but is still battling some holes in his game. This pair is dirt cheap for a reason. I really do feel for the Jackets fans and hope the team turns it around at some point.

Colorado Avalanche - $6.0M
The albatross contract of Jose Theodore still hangs over this teams head reminding everyone of the latter days of Pierre Lacroix. Although Theodore will be given a shot at the #1 spot again this year, he'll likely end up backstopping Budaj before long. Although Theodore has put in good performances in contract years, it just doesn't seem likely based on the last 2 seasons that he'll show his magic again. Budaj has made great strides but he is still young and unproven. His play during the stretch run has shown that he does have the ability to lead a team to victory.

Dallas Stars - $6.7M
Marty Turco finally silenced his biggest critics as he put on an excellent playoff performance last season. Unfortunately, 3 shutouts and a 1.29 GAA still couldn't get the Stars past the first round. Turco consistently performs well in the regular season and Mike Smith displayed some intriguing possibilities as he put up a 2.22 GAA in his 22 games last season. Turco is one of the highest paid goaltenders in the league and if he can continue his playoff performance this season, it could be worth it.

Stay tuned for the next round of teams in a couple days.

Best Bang for the Buck - Defence, Finale

It's time. On the tails of Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 comes the grand finale. I've got it narrowed down to 4 teams so let's go over the final four and then find out who the big winner is. In no particular order (ok, it's alphabetical):

Calgary Flames
You can't go wrong with Phaneuf and Regehr with Warrener bringing up the rear. But it's hard to say which Adrian Aucoin will show up and I have my reservations on Sarich's worth.

Dallas Stars
The combination of Zubov and Norstrom is one of the best in the league and Boucher rounds out a nice top-3. It's essentially the same squad which allowed the 2nd least shots against in the league last year, except they've added Norstrom and lost Sydor and Modry. So it's a win for them.

San Jose SharksEven without Hannan, this squad has some grit and veteran leadership. They've also got some excellent young d-men to help lead the charge. Top-5 in goals against and shots against last season, they may slip a bit but should still land in the top-10 this season.

Vancouver Canucks
Possibly the most unheralded squad right now. Fitzpatrick is likely out, Bourdon is likely in and that will likely mean an improvement. With Kevin Bieksa still under a $0.5M cap hit, they're a cheap squad and should provide excellent results.

After much bally-who, it's time to put a true order on these teams and decide who has the best ratio of performance to price.

#4 - Calgary Flames ($14.7M) - unfortunately Aucoin and Sarich are question marks in my mind and even though Regehr and Phaneuf are studs, the price point doesn't cut it

#3 - Vancouver Canucks ($13.6M)- Salo and Ohlund are solid, as is the rest of the squad but their cap hit to performance ratio doesn't cut it compared to the next two teams

#2 - San Jose Sharks ($9.9M) - at a mere $9.9M they were my early favorite when I started this series. If it wasn't for the lack of a solid #1, they'd be the shoo-in.

And what you've all been waiting for (if you haven't figured it out by process of elimination)

#1 - Dallas Stars ($13.6M) - Zubov and Boucher put up points and are reliable defensively, while Norstrom will do nothing but help this squad. Top-3 in goals against and shots against last year and they've improved their corps this year.

Hopefully everyone enjoyed the Best Bang for the Buck series. I hope I find time to do the same for goaltending and forwards in the near future.

Best Bang for the Buck - Defence, Part 1

With most team rosters solidified, I thought I'd examine which team had the best bang for the buck on defense, offense and goaltending. I'll be using the numbers listed at nhlnumbers.com. Looking at all 30 teams at once would make for a gigantic post so I'm going to do it in 3 installments and hope to have it completed by the weekend.

Anaheim Ducks - $22.9M
Well, with the highest cap hit of any team (counting Scott Niedermeyer's hit), it would seem fairly safe to say that the Ducks do not have the best bang for the buck. Until you look at the names. Pronger. Niedermeyer. Schneider. Beauchemin. That is hands down the best top four in the league.

Atlanta Thrashers - $10M
Their #1 is Alexei Zhitnik. And it goes downhill from there. Even at a paltry $10M, they're a candidate for the worst bang for the buck.

Boston Bruins - $15M
Zdeno Chara headlines this backend and also gobbles up one half of their cap hit. The rest of the group is rounded out with Ward, Ference, Mark Stuart, Alberts and Wideman. One stud D followed by a group of mediocre to average D-men with an in-the-middle cap hit. Ouch.

Buffalo Sabres - $15.7M
An average group of defenders at an average cap hit. There is something to be said for a well-rounded group of d-men. Just ask Carolina. However at $15.7M, I wouldn't count this squad as being a deal.

Calgary Flames - $14.7M
I can't believe what Cory Sarich cost and I bet they're hoping Aucoin suddenly develops a better attitude. However it's tough to go wrong when you have Regehr and Phaneuf as your top pairing. Whith Warrener providing a solid defensive d-man as a 3rd-pairing/PK man and Sarich adding some extra muscle, it's a very solid group. But with three Saskatchewan-raised products in the group (Warrener, Sarich and Regehr), I could be biased in their direction.

Carolina Hurricanes - $10.9M
A Stanley Cup winning group for under $11M, you can chalk them up as a candidate for the best bang for the buck. Another squad filled with solid players (and one aging vet in Glen Wesley) but no superstar. Can Frantisek Kaberle come back from shoulder surgery and lead this squad deep into the playoffs again?

Chicago Blackhawks - $7.8M
After trading Adrian Aucoin, they have the lowest cap hit of the 30 teams. They also have one of the lowest average ages, weighing in with an average of 24 measly years. That youth comes with 2 former WHL stars in Cam Barker and Brent Seabrook. Those two will certainly be expected to carry a big load this year but are they ready to handle it?

Columbus Blue Jackets - $10.2M
Led by an aged Adam Foote, this group could be one of the worst in the league. Poor Rick Nash.

Colorado Avalanche - $12.4M
With the addition of Scott Hannan and the departure of Patrice Brisebois, the Avalanche have certainly improved in the defensive category. The question is whether Leopold can stay healthy enough to help anchor the #1 unit and contribute on the PP.

Dallas Stars - $13.6M
With Norstrom on board they now have one of the best defensive d-men to go with one of the best offensive d-men in Sergei Zubov. Aside from Boucher, the rest of the squad are 3rd pairing/reserve d-men. They'll be relying on big minutes from Norstrom and Zubov.

Stay tuned for the next round of teams in a couple days.