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Forwards:

Vincent Lecavalier (Center)
Lecavalier's career was headed down a scary downward path to oblivion, but he came back with a vengeance to silence all critics with a career year...on his way to superstardom and won't look back as he breaks 80 points for the first time. Projection: 34 goals, 46 assists, 80 points.



Brad Richards (Center)
Along with the rest of his Tampa teammates, Richards enjoyed the best season of his career, shattering his career high in assists with 57...has become one of the league's better playmakers and will contribute a healthy amount of assists both even strength and on the powerplay. Projection: 18 goals, 49 assists, 67 points.



Martin St. Louis (Right Wing)
Being one of the NHL's smaller players didn't prevent St. Louis from being one of its better ones either as he doubled his previous season's output to 70 points...his scoring prowess wasn't a fluke and he forms a formidable duo with Lecavalier. Projection: 27 goals, 36 assists, 63 points.



Corey Stillman (Left Wing)
Saw lots of time on the Blues' #1 line with Keith Tkachuk sidelined and he responded with a career high 43 assists and 67 points...should logically slide right into the departed Vaclav Prospal's role but will be in tough to duplicate his numbers. Projection: 22 goals, 36 assists, 58 points.



Fredrik Modin (Left Wing)
After a phenomenal 32-goal effort in 00/01, struggled for the second consecutive year while slipping to relatively poor 40 points last season...don't look for him to score 30 goals again, but he can challenge both 20 goals and 50 assists in the right setting. Projection: 19 goals, 25 assists, 44 points.



Defenseman:

Dan Boyle (Defense)
Followed up a successful debut with the Lightning a year ago to blossom into one of the NHL's top powerplay specialists while also nearly doubling his career point output...still needs work on the defensive aspects of the game, but his offense is top notch and not expected to tail off too drastically. Projection: 11 goals, 36 assists, 47 points.



Pavel Kubina (Defense)
After a quick start, his game took a marked step back after the emergence of Boyle and he didn't finish well either scoring no points in the playoffs...still in his mid 20s, Kubina has good offensive upside, but he won't realize it if he doesn't get regular powerplay duty. Projection: 8 goals, 24 assists, 32 points.



Goalies:

Nikolai Khabibulin (Goalie)
All the pieces of the puzzle were in place for him to dominate, but Khabibulin struggled with consistency and eventually lost time to John Grahame...is still an elite goalie when he wants to be, he can't afford to struggle with trade rumors and Grahame looming on the horizon. Projection: 29 wins, 2.32 GAA, .914 SV%.



John Grahame (Goalie)
Started the year off as the Bruins' #1 goalie, got injured and then eventually struggled leading to a trade to the Lightning...performed admirably whenever called upon, if Khabibulin is ever traded to a contending team, Grahame's fantasy value will get a huge boost. Projection: 15 wins, 2.39 GAA, .913 SV%.




Big Year Alert: Vincent Lecavalier. Will he be satisfied with what he's already accomplished or will he go the way of another fellow first overall big Joe Thornton by continuing to improve?

Don't draft: Pavel Kubina. Prior to last year, Kubina was Tampa Bay's go-to guy when it came to offense from the blueline. Now, Dan Boyle occupies that spot and Kubina has little chance to gain it back.

Keep your eye on: Nikolai Khabibulin. Khabibulin had a good statistical year last season, but the thing is he's capable of so much more. Said to be disgruntled and wanting a trade, if something drastic happens, the Lightning would be satisfied going with John Grahame.

Injury risks: Fredrik Modin (minor), Dan Boyle (minor).

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