Niclas Havelid

Havelid is a good skater due to his low center of gravity. He's a smart play-maker who knows when to jump into plays. He's been a power play quarterback in the past but he hasn't performed well in that role with Atlanta (Alexei Zhitnik will be doing the QB duties this season). He does have some offensive potential -- he has two seasons with more than 30 points -- but it won't be enough to make a fantasy impact in all but the deepest of fantasy leagues.

After signing Havelid to a three year, $8.1 million deal, it’s clear the Thrashers have a lot of faith in the Swede. He’s the Thrashers top defenseman and they need him playing at his best if they are to make the playoffs this coming season. From a fantasy perspective he would make a nice last d-man in deeper league (he was 52nd in points by a defenseman last year with 32). With the departure of Jaroslav Modry, Havelid will have more opportunities on the power play which could result in an up-tick in his results this coming season. One concerning statistic was that his shots were half of what they were in 2002-03 (84 to 169). If shots are a category in your pool you may want to look elsewhere.

Although he plays defense, we’re not sure Havelid knows what it means. He is an offensive defenseman in the true sense. Havelid will be one of Atlanta’s quarterbacks on the power play (alongside Jaroslav Modry) so he could improve on his totals with the Ducks last year. Havelid hasn’t really lived up to his potential as of yet, but a fresh start in Atlanta may be just what he needs. Watch out though, as last year’s minus–28 with the Ducks comes close to being duplicated this year.