A two-time Stanley Cup winner, Madden is seeking a fourth-different club in four seasons for his services as of press time. He's hardly an offensive juggernaut, but Madden's one of those players that are more valuable to their NHL club than your roster. A heady, gritty checking center, Madden faces the opposition's top lines, often frustrating them. There's not an offensive upside, but Madden will boost the penalty kill with whomever he signs.
Madden will give the Wild a defensive-minded center on the third or fourth line. After scoring 43 points with the Devils in 2007-08, his production has declined the last two seasons. There's no reason to think his new environment with the Wild will reverse that trend.
Madden was brought in to do a couple of things, win faceoffs and help the kids develop. He saw his numbers drop to seven goals and 16 assists, but being in a new environment and more of a scoring environment could put him in the class of 2007-08 when he had 20 goals and 23 assists.
Arguably one of the league's premier defensive forwards, Madden had the highest-scoring season of his career with 43 points and 20 goals. He's not going to be very consistent offensively but he has tremendous value to New Jersey's team-first philosophy.
Madden isn't a great fantasy option but he is one of, if not the, league's top defensive forwards. Matched up against the opposition's top scoring line, Madden is on the ice plenty but not for his scoring acumen.
One of the best defensive forwards in the NHL, Madden is known for scoring shorthanded, but he hasn't approached his career goal total of 23 from 2001 in some time. He's had 19 and 12 goals the past two seasons, so expect more of the same, even though he's on the ice around 18 minutes a game. Unless he's given power play time, he probably isn't worth considering despite being one of the best in league at what he does.
