Hecht has 12 goals and 17 assists in 67 games for the Sabres last year, and while he is an ideal third or fourth line center for coach Lindy Ruff's system, a lot of Sabres fans have made Hecht enemy number one. He shouldn't be expected to do much more than 10 goals and 20 assists while being blamed for all the ails the team again in 2011-12.
At 33, Hecht enters 2010-11 after missing Buffalo's first-round playoff loss to Boston due to surgery on a shattered finger. The German center has been with the Sabres since 2002-03, and has shown that he is capable of a 45-to-50-point season. His age points to a reasonable expectation for a slight regression, but Hecht does have value as a depth forward that you can plug into the lineup in four-game weeks.
At the end of the 2007-08 season Hecht was the Sabres' fourth-leading scorer with 22 goals and 49 points on the season. Well, those days are now gone. After eight years of relatively high production, Hecht saw the worst numbers of his career last season with just a mere 12 goals and 15 assists. He also had the second worst plus-minus rating on the team with minus-9. While some may dismiss his terrible play as an "off-year," it could also be signs of a career winding down.
Hecht totaled 49 points (22G, 27A) last season. He played in 75 or more games for the second straight season and continues to shed the "Broken Jochen" label. At age 30, he came within seven points of his career high, set in 2006-07. Hecht is a complementary player that would ideally be a third-liner (he skated with the Sabres' second unit last season and should do so again in 2008-09).
"Broken Jochen" was finally healthy in 2006-07, which led to a career-high 56 points (19G, 37A) during the regular season. He managed only five points (4G, 1A) in 16 postseason games. His scoring output will likely decline this year, as his high-scoring linemate Daniel Briere left via free agency. Hecht should contribute somewhere in the neighborhood of 45-50 points if he stays healthy again.
Hecht struggled with injuries at times last season and in the playoffs, but still had 42 points in 64 games. If the Sabres can get Hecht and Daniel Briere completely healthy on their first line, Hecht could produce quite a bit in 2006-07. Expect around 55-60 points from him.
Hecht has had trouble with injuries the last few seasons, and people have started referring to him as Broken Jochen. When healthy, he's one of the Sabres' better offensive producers, with 52 points in just 64 games in 2003-04. He's a good third or fourth winger for your team, especially if you can sneak him late because he won't have full-season totals from the past few injury-filled seasons.
Hecht has had trouble with injuries the last few seasons, and people have started referring to him as Broken Jochen. When healthy, he's one of the Sabres' better offensive producers, with 52 points in just 64 games in 2003-04. He's a good third or fourth winger for your team, especially if you can sneak him late because he won't have full-season totals from the past few injury-filled seasons.
