Mara posted six points in a combined 53 games between Anaheim and Montreal, but enters the 2011-12 campaign without a team. Expect Mara to be signed by a team looking for a veteran presence on their blue line, but he has limited offensive upside and presents more value to his NHL squad than your roster.
Mara appeared in 42 games with the Canadiens last season collecting eight points and 48 PIMs. He suffered a shoulder injury on Jan. 22 at New Jersey that caused him to miss the final 30 games of the season. With his 681 career games, Mara will offer stability and NHL experience on the blueline. Even though he had the ability to score timely goals earlier in his career, expect him to play a stay-at-home type of style with the Ducks for 2010-11.
Mara appeared in 61 games for the Rangers last season and notched one goal with 16 assists. He put together a couple of 40-point seasons with Phoenix in the past and could hold decent fantasy value by appearing in more games.
Just prior to being acquired from the Bruins (last year), Mara was having an atrocious season. The Bruins were absolutely horrible and Mara’s game was adversely affected by this; he started picking up bad habits, overcompensating for certain things – needless to say, things were not going very well in all facets of his hockey game. A nice thing about sports -- everyone gets a second (and even a third) chance, and fortunately enough for Mara -- he has an opportunity to not only wipe his slate clean, but be a major contributor on this playoff bound team. The Rangers have a need for a quarter-backing, puck-moving d-man, and Mara has the skills to be that man. His experience in bean-town should be a distant memory come September, so target him in the late rounds and reap the benefits of a rejuvenated, productive player.
After toiling in relative anonymity in the Arizona desert, Mara is about to show the world he's a top-20 fantasy defender. This guy is just 27 and is entering his prime with a resume that shows increasing offensive totals, dominating quarterback skills on the power play and improving reads in his positioning in all zones. He'll never be a Norris candidate but he will run the Bruins' power play. And with that, he might just net you 50 points for your fantasy squad.
Mara could be one of the best of an up-and-coming crop of talented defenders on the Coyotes. This will be his seventh season in the NHL, and there is no reason that he can't add on to his career highs in almost every category. Expect him to build slightly on his goals (6), assists (36) and points (42)that he put up in his last campaign. He is durable and ranked 20th in the NHL in total ice time (1912:49). Tall defensemen sometimes take longer to develop and Mara is really starting to shine in his mid 20s.
