Most Valuable NHL Role Players

SI Staff | Oct 2, 2009

Most Valuable NHL Role Players /

Most Valuable NHL Role Players

Max Talbot

Though he's out until midseason after surgery on his left shoulder, Talbot's postseason heroics (both goals for Pittsburgh in their decisive Game 7 win over Detroit) cemented his reputation as a clutch ''glue guy'' -- not a star, but a role player taking a star turn. The 2002 eighth-round pick also scored the game-winner in the 2008 Eastern Conference Final and the last-minute tying goal against Detroit in Game 5 of the 2008 Cup final. -- Darren Eliot

Tyler Kennedy

Along with Max Talbot, Matt Cooke, Chris Kunitz and Pascal Dupuis, Kennedy provided the Penguins with an emerging core of versatile role players last season. Kennedy scored 15 goals -- all at even strength -- with three GWG. He handled face-offs effectively as well, winning at a 53.8% clip. That flexibility to play the wing and take draws in certain situations adds to his overall value while skating less than 14 minutes a night. -- Darren Eliot

Blake Wheeler

He may come into his own this season filling the scoring gap for the departed Phil Kessel, but Wheeler contributed a lot to the Bruins' success last season often while on the third or fourth line. He has a scorer's touch in traffic. -- Jim Kelley

David Backes

He was thought to be just a tough guy, but his toughness gets him room on the ice and he takes advantage to the point where he's projected to be a No.1 center this season with the Blues. -- Jim Kelley

Darren Helm

His speed and relentlessness make this 2005 fifth-round pick an exceptional depth player on loaded Detroit -- think Kris Draper with better hands. -- Michael Farber

Steve Ott

Though he can still cuss out an opponent in any one of seven different languages, Ott has evolved into much more than a mere pest. Called upon to assume top-six minutes in response to a slew of injuries last season, he dredged up the scoring touch that characterized his game as a junior and chipped in a career-high 19 goals and 46 points. He'll slide back into a depth role this season, but armed with new confidence he could still score 15-20. -- Allan Muir

Ty Conklin

Now with his sixth team since 2002, the ever-reliable backup bailed out the Red Wings last season when No. 1 goalie Chris Osgood took a virtual post-Stanley Cup sabbatical. Conklin made 40 appearances and posted a solid 25-11-0 mark with a 2.51 GAA. -- Michael Farber

Chad LaRose

Signed by Carolina as an undrafted free agent in 2005, the speedy and obtrusive winger worked his way up from the fourth line to the second last season, scoring 19 goals plus four more in the playoffs. He's at his best in big games, a quality that earned him a new two-year contract in July along with public praise from GM Jim Rutherford as ''a key guy for our franchise.'' -- Michael Farber

Andrew Ladd

Ladd was the most productive player outside the NHL's top 100 scorers who didn't have a power play goal last season. He totaled 49 points -- a 10 point gain over his previous campaign. In fact, all of his goal scoring came at even strength, which goes a long way in explaining his plus-26 rating -- third best on the team. It also means the Blackhawks are deep up front and winning match-ups most nights outside their top two lines. Ladd is a big part of that match-up success. -- Darren Eliot

Brooks Laich

No, it's not all about Ovie in D.C. A sixth-round pick (by Ottawa) in 2001, Laich is a vital presence on the ice (back-to-back 20-plus goal seasons) and in the dressing room with his desire to do whatever the Capitals need on any given night. -- Michael Farber

Jan Hejda

A veteran of the Czech and Russian leagues, Hejda waited until he was 28 to try his hand in the NHL. After a brief stint with the Oilers, he was snapped up as a free agent by the Jackets in 2007 and quickly asserted himself as a physical, shot-blocking defender. He set a franchise record with his plus-20 mark that season, then topped it with plus-23 in 2008-09. -- Allan Muir

David Clarkson

Signed as an undrafted free agent by the Devils in 2005, the blossoming Clarkson proved he can score (career-high 17 goals last season) while handling the rough stuff (20 or more fights in each of the past two seasons). -- Michael Farber

Gregory Campbell

Better known as NHL VP's Colin Campbell's son, Gregory, a 2002 third-round pick by Florida, played on one of the better under-the-radar checking lines in the league last season, reaching career highs in goals (13) and points (32). -- Michael Farber

Rene Bourque

The late-developing Bourque, another undrafted gem, provides secondary scoring (21 goals in 58 games last season) that boosts an offensively challenged team. -- Michael Farber

Ben Eager

He's tough and capable of being a disturber on the fourth line, but can also move up to protect the likes of Chicago's more skilled forwards. Eager is smart for a guy who doesn't get a lot of minutes, and is a proven playoff force. -- Jim Kelley

Niklas Hjalmarsson

The NHL's most underrated defenseman, selected by Chicago in the fourth round of the 2005 draft, moves the puck smartly and withstands the pounding.

Michael Farber

Chris Butler

Not a noted defenseman, and not likely to make it to a top four position with any NHL team, but this fourth-round pick from 2005 is a crafty jack-of-all trades type who has a balanced game and can fit in with players who like to move the puck or stay at home. Kind of like the Swiss Army Knife of defensemen. -- Jim Kelley

Jussi Jokinen

He was a sleeper pick (sixth round by Dallas in 2001) who moved around with three teams before finding a role in Carolina where he's showed a scorer's touch and some two-way ability. -- Jim Kelley

Maxim Lapierre

A 15-goal scorer who plays in all situations, Lapierre posted a plus-9 rating while handling face-offs at a 53.25% effectiveness mark last season. He's typically cast as a checking center for the Habs, but has enough offense in his game to see spot duty in the top-six, as evidenced by his steady if modest increase each year in point totals. -- Darren Eliot

Craig Conroy

A sixth-round pick by Montreal in 1990, the 14-year veteran is an excellent faceoff man and passer, often overlooked except when the final score sheet is out. -- Jim Kelley

Kyle Brodziak

Playing just 12:43 per game last season, the 2003 seventh-round pick (by Edmonton) netted 11 goals -- three of which were game-winners. He won 51.6% of his face-offs and, over his two seasons with the Oilers, exhibited remarkable consistency. Brodziak signed with the Wild for this season, and the change of scenery shouldn't effect his night-in, night-out unsung contributions. -- Darren Eliot

Tom Kostopoulos

The seventh-round pick by the Penguins in 1999 can play on any line. He fights, hits and gets crucial points. -- Jim Kelley

Patrick O'Sullivan

A second-round pick by Minnesota in 2003, he seems to have found a home in Edmonton on a line with new addition Mike Comrie. Still only 24, O'Sullivan has soft hands, true offensive ability (he led the Kings in scoring two seasons ago 2007-08 with 53 points) and is steady in the plus-minus department despite that -7 in his first 19 games as an Oiler after arriving from L.A. in a deadline trade last season. -- Jim Kelley

Curtis Glencross

Glencross scored goals in all three situations last season -- even strength, power play, and short-handed. His 13-27-40 far eclipsed his previous NHL totals, and his three game-winners gave him four for his career. More than anything, he has shown steady progress as a dependable winger -- the kind of player that coaches turn to because they know they can count on the right play being made in a given situation. -- Darren Eliot

Greg Zanon

A fifth-round pick by Ottawa in 2000, Zanon the shot-blocking machine -- a career plus-19 in four seasons with Nashville -- was a savvy free agent signing by new Wild GM Chuck Fletcher. -- Michael Farber

Dan Bylsma

Yeah, he's a coach, but he's a coach who used to be a role player and he found a way to refocus the Pittsburgh Penguins to the point where they beat sometimes deeper and more experienced teams en route to wining the Stanley Cup. Bylsma was a grit player who showed the Penguins how to play with some. It made a difference. -- Jim Kelley

Published Oct 2, 2009

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