Andrew Cogliano

Cogliano was traded from San Jose to Colorado in mid-March in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick and went on to play a key bottom-six role for the club in its Stanley Cup victory. The Avalanche were impressed enough with Cogliano's efforts to ink him to a new one-year, $1.25 million deal. A reliable veteran who can kill penalties and provide some speed, Cogliano hasn't scored more than 17 points in any of the past four seasons. While he's likely to once again help Colorado win hockey games in 2022-23, you can look elsewhere on draft day.

At 34 years old, Cogliano's best years are behind him. He mustered a career-low 11 points with 79 hits, 88 shots on goal and a minus-8 rating in 54 games for the Stars last season. The Ontario native took a one-year contract with the Sharks, so he'll be joining a team in need of veteran leadership and defensive responsibility in its bottom six. Cogliano can provide both, but if any of the Sharks' myriad of forward prospects takes a big leap forward, he can also be easily stashed in the press box. Expect Cogliano to play more often than not, but he likely won't produce more than 15-20 points with moderate physicality and a negative plus-minus rating.

Cogliano only produced 14 points in 68 games with the Stars in 2019-20, the lowest output of his 13-year career. It's the second time in as many seasons that Cogliano has set a career-low in points -- at this stage, the 33-year-old is nothing more than a defensive, bottom-six forward. He will, however, maintain a little fantasy interest in deeper formats thanks to his physicality -- he's produced at least 68 hits in each of the last four campaigns. Never a prolific scorer, it's unlikely most fantasy managers will find a need to latch onto Cogliano on draft day. He'll likely max out at a 20-point pace even if he regains some of his old scoring form in 2020-21.

Traded from Anaheim to Dallas last January, Cogliano wound up with the worst offensive numbers of his career, scoring only six goals and 17 points in 78 games between the two teams -- including just three goals and six points in 32 games for the Stars. The 32-year-old still has two years and $6.5 million left on his current contract, so the team has incentive to keep him around -- even if it's just to round out a checking line -- but he may need to pick up the pace if he wants to fend off younger forwards and stay in the lineup on a regular basis.

Cogliano signed a three-year extension in January that will bring him through the 2020-21 season, but it appears his career may have hit a plateau. The 31-year-old has stayed at or below 35 points in each of the last four seasons and eclipsed 40 points just twice in 11 years. His two-way game has stayed sharp, though, as the Toronto native hasn't recorded a minus-rating in six years, including a plus-29 over the last two. The return of Patrick Eaves (illness) and the up-and-coming Nick Ritchie, however, will likely push Cogliano to at least the third and possibly the fourth line. While Eaves could suffer a setback and Ritchie could react poorly to top-six minutes, Cogliano's shallow upside makes it difficult to justify the risk of a grinder-line designation.

Catch him if you can, as Cogliano is one of the quickest players in the NHL. Last year, he harnessed that speed in his sixth season with the Ducks to the tune of 34 points (16 goals, 19 assists) and a plus-11 rating over a full 82 games. However, noteworthy is the fact that he spent 53.8 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone compared to the rest having taken place in the attacking area, where he'd otherwise have the best shot at delivering consistent, fantasy-relevant production. Cogliano won't help on the power play, either, but he is a mainstay on the penalty kill, notching 17 shorthanded points since his arrival from the Oilers -- the team that made him a 2005 first-round pick. While he’s settled into a third-line role hovering around the 15-minute mark, we're talking about a steady no-frills center who could be a serviceable find near the back end of fantasy drafts.

Despite recording the greatest number of assists (23) since 2010-11 with the Oilers, Cogliano took a step back in the goal-scoring department last year, lighting the lamp a career-worst nine times in a full 82-game season. A career 11.7-percent shooter with 128 goals under his belt, we wouldn’t expect that trend to continue given that his shooting percentage of 6.9 in 2015-16 was also the worst of his nine-year NHL career. That being said, it’s probably unrealistic to expect anything north of 12-15 tallies going forward from the 29-year-old, but Cogliano is a durable two-way winger that should be good for at least 30 points as part of a well-rounded Ducks offense – especially if he sticks in the top six with linemates Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg.

The speedy Cogliano should provide solid secondary scoring from Anaheim’s second or third line this season, much like he has done for the last two years. While the 28-year-old won’t blow you away with his production, he’s scored at least 13 goals in each of his four seasons as a Duck, and is a useful plus-32 over the last three campaigns. He also possesses an exemplary health record, having yet to miss a game in his first eight NHL seasons. Cogliano should approach his 42-point output from 2013-14 if injuries or a strong camp grant him a second-line role, but his 29-point campaign from 2014-15 is a likelier bet should he find himself on the third line. While he doesn’t make for a flashy pick, there’s something to be said for the safety of taking Cogliano over some of the NHL’s more injury-prone options.

Cogliano set a personal record for goals during the regular season and scored the first-ever playoff goal of his career in 2013-14. The fact that the Ducks signed him to a four-year, $12 million contract extension in January indicates that the team sees a substantial future for Cogliano within the organization. But he still hasn’t replicated the offense he generated in his rookie season and at 27, he’ll be hard-pressed to change his habits now. Count on 40 points -- nothing more, nothing less.

Cogliano picked up 10 goals and 13 assists while playing in all 48 games of the 2012-2013 regular season. That was a nice rebound for the speedy winger who had tallied just 26 in 82 games the season before. He could return to the 45-point glory of his rookie season, but will be hard-pressed to deliver that if he slips to the third line. But this is a contract year for Cogs, so watch for a big push. And that has sleeper written all over it.

Cogliano can fly; if only he could do the rest. The guy skated most of his shifts with Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu but just couldn’t make the leap. Is there a chance his rookie year (18G, 25A) was a fluke? For sure. He's entering his sixth season and with the exception of 2010-11, his offensive output has steadily declined each and every year. That shouldn't happen to a guy who's just turned 25. Cogs might have to reshape himself into an irritating forechecker if he wants a long NHL career.

Cogliano scored 11 times and added 24 assists in 82 games played for the Oilers last season, parlaying that effort into a three-year deal with the Ducks after he was acquired in an offseason trade. Cogliano has not missed a game in his four-year NHL career, and while the former first-round selection (25th overall) has not quite matched the output (45 points) of his rookie campaign, joining the more offensive-minded Ducks should benefit his overall game resulting in an uptick in production.

After scoring 18 goals in back to back seasons Cogliano regressed to only 10 last season. Perhaps all of the trade rumors have affected his play somewhat as he was mentioned in a deal for Dany Heatley and Colorado also had some interest in him as well. Cogliano must be doing something right for so many teams to want to acquire his services, and the Oilers are reluctant to include him in any deal so look for him to get one last chance to show what he can do in Edmonton.

Cogliano’s 2008-09 campaign is eerily similar to his 2007-08 campaign. Cogliano was one of the pieces that were said to be going to Ottawa in the Dany Heatley trade. One has to wonder how this will affect the young Center. Does he feel unwanted by the organization, or does he try harder to prove he belongs in Edmonton? He has upside but scoring 25-30 goals a season may be his plateau.

Cogliano had an outstanding rookie campaign scoring 18 goals and adding 27 assists. The Oilers expect him to reach the 60 point plateau this season and if he continues to play with Sam Gagner we see no reason why he couldn't.

Critics can complain that Cogliano is only 5-10 and 185 pounds, but once you get past his lack of size, there aren't many other weaknesses in his game. Cogliano's biggest assets are his skating, passing and finishing. It remains to be seen if Cogliano will return to Ann Arbor for his junior season or turn pro, but if he decides to sign with the Oilers he could reach the NHL very quickly.

Cogliano will lace the skates up for Michigan again in 2006-07.

Extremely fast and skilled, he's drawn comparisons to Todd Marchant, Mike Comrie, and Doug Weight. It'll be a few years before we see what type of player he pans out to be as he'll be attending the University of Michigan.

Little guys like Cogliano (5'9" and 173 lbs) have started to get longer looks by NHL teams thanks to the success of Hart trophy winner Martin St. Louis. This kid can score but he's known more for his saucer passes to streaking teammates. He played in the Ontario Provincial Junior A league (one step below the OHL) in 2004-2005 and racked up 102 points in just 49 games. Scouts love his explosiveness and his speed, both of which they describe as world-class already. He's bound for the University of Michigan for 2005-2006.