It’s hard to write that a 34-year-old underperformer qualifies as a player on the rise, but that’s exactly the case with Satan. The Edmonton Oiler draftee has made a living in Buffalo and Long Island as a sniper but nearly fell off the charts with a 40-point year in 80 games with the Islanders a year ago. If moving to Pittsburgh with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin fails to ignite his competitive fires, then nothing will. Satan could even finish with a positive plus-minus rating for the first time since 2001-02. Incredibly durable, Satan has played in at least 79 games since his rookie campaign of 1995-96.
Satan slumped throughout the first half of the season last year, notching just 10 goals through the first 40 games. He then went on to light the lamp 17 times over his next 41 games en route to his eighth consecutive season with 25 or more goals. He should again hover near the 30-goal and 60-point plateaus.
Satan was brought in to bring some much needed scoring punch to the wings and he delivered. He led the team in 35 goals, power play goals (17, a career-high) and was tied for the team scoring lead with 66 points. He had some bouts of inconsistency, namely a seven game goal drought in December/January and an eight-gamer in March) but when all was said and done, Satan tallied the third-highest goal total of his career. Last year marked his seventh consecutive season with 26 or more goals. We see no need for a drop-off, so expect another campaign in the 30 goal range.
Satan is the scoring winger the Isles desperately needed. It’s no secret that he can put the puck in the net, as he scored 26 or more goals in each of the last six NHL seasons. As long as he and Yashin can form some chemistry, there is no reason to expect a drop in scoring. Pencil him in for another 30 goal season.
Satan, Buffalo's best player, produced his first sub-60 point season in 2003-04 after five straight 60-plus point seasons. He's known more for goal scoring than for being a true playmaker, as his average of 32.33 goals over the last six seasons attests. The other key point to note on Satan is that he rarely misses any time with injury. The fact that he's also a sniper on the power play makes Satan a nice second winger for your roto team. With the Sabres having a little more scoring talent around him in Chris Drury, Daniel Briere and Jochen Hecht, Satan seems like a safe bet for another 60-70 point season.
