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Nathan Denette/THE CANADIAN PRESS
Maple Leafs’ Jeff Finger
A look at five players to watch this season in the NHL:
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
Skinny: Brodeur is likely to pass Patrick Roy’s NHL record of 551 regular-season wins by a goaltender and add fuel to the debate over which Quebec-born goalie was the best.
Marian Hossa, Detroit Red Wings
Skinny: The high-scoring Slovak right-winger was sent from Atlanta to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline and helped the Penguins reach the Stanley Cup final. Then he signed a one-year deal with the team that beat Pittsburgh in the final — Detroit.
Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
Skinny: Last Oct. 27, the Bruins’ shifty young centre was knocked cold by a hit from Philadelphia’s Randy Jones and missed the rest of the season with a severe concussion. There was fear he wouldn’t play again, but he resumed skating in March and reported to training camp feeling no lingering effects.
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
Skinny: Optimism runs high in Montreal after the Canadiens finished first in the Eastern Conference. Much depends on the play of their highly touted second-year goaltender, who foundered in the playoffs last spring. Price says he ran out of steam, but showed up to camp looking fit and ready.
Jeff Finger, Toronto Maple Leafs
Skinny: Finger is a decent defenceman who toiled 41/2 years in the minors before making it to the NHL with Colorado in 2007. Now he’s thrown into hockey’s brightest spotlight as the rebuilding Leafs’ main off-season acquisition, inking a four-year, US$14-million contract that has been widely panned as excessive.
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils
Skinny: Brodeur is likely to pass Patrick Roy’s NHL record of 551 regular-season wins by a goaltender and add fuel to the debate over which Quebec-born goalie was the best.
Marian Hossa, Detroit Red Wings
Skinny: The high-scoring Slovak right-winger was sent from Atlanta to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline and helped the Penguins reach the Stanley Cup final. Then he signed a one-year deal with the team that beat Pittsburgh in the final — Detroit.
Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
Skinny: Last Oct. 27, the Bruins’ shifty young centre was knocked cold by a hit from Philadelphia’s Randy Jones and missed the rest of the season with a severe concussion. There was fear he wouldn’t play again, but he resumed skating in March and reported to training camp feeling no lingering effects.
Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
Skinny: Optimism runs high in Montreal after the Canadiens finished first in the Eastern Conference. Much depends on the play of their highly touted second-year goaltender, who foundered in the playoffs last spring. Price says he ran out of steam, but showed up to camp looking fit and ready.
Jeff Finger, Toronto Maple Leafs
Skinny: Finger is a decent defenceman who toiled 41/2 years in the minors before making it to the NHL with Colorado in 2007. Now he’s thrown into hockey’s brightest spotlight as the rebuilding Leafs’ main off-season acquisition, inking a four-year, US$14-million contract that has been widely panned as excessive.
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