In The Cheap Seats

Final Grade: C+

Midseason Grade: B-

Season Stats: 74 GP, 2 G, 6 A, 5 Pt, +6, 32 shots

Minutes: 1058 total (5^th among D), EV 13:49, PP 0:07, PK 0:22

Splits:

1^st Half: 39 GP, 2 G, 3 A, 5 Pt, +6, 18 shots

2^nd Half: 35 GP, 0 G, 3 A, 3 Pt, E, 14 shots

Linemates: Klee (50 GP), Brisebois (16), Leopold (3), Liles (3) Finger (2),

Career: Vaananen’s two goals shouldn’t have been surprising – he’s scored exactly 2 goals in 4 of his 6 NHL seasons.

Report: Mr Inconsistency…Maybe streaky is a better word there…Has good stretches and bad stretches…His all-over-the-place ice time reflects that…He had 11 games of 18+ minutes of ice time and 11 games of under 10 minutes…When he is on his game, he is a big, physical stay-at-home defenseman…When he isn’t on his game, though, he is provides a negative impact…2^nd on the team with 88 hits…Is supposed to be a good skater, but I’ve never seen evidence of that…To make matters worse, he tends to dog it skating back on a play…Doesn’t handle the puck very well…Played pretty well with Klee, but he and Brisebois seemed absolutely lost together – both acted like they had no clue what the other was going to do at any given moment…Has a propensity for taking bad penalties behind the goal line (as in, right in front of the referee)…Not much of a shot blocker…His 72 blocked shots was 5^th on the team…Not much of a shot taker either…His .43 shots per game was lowest on a team that has several defensive-minded defensemen…It’s a telltale sign that Vaananen was not trusted enough defensively to be used on the penalty kill.

Fast Fact: Although it’s true that he didn’t play much on the penalty kill, Vaananen had the most PK ice time on the team (28:10) without allowing a PP goal.

2007-2007 Salary: $998,000

2007-2008 Status: UFA

Outlook: Ossi Vaananen, at times, was our most physical defensemen. Unfortunately, on this team that’s sort of like calling someone the thinnest of a bunch of fat chicks. And that’s only when he’s putting in the effort. It’s noteworthy that in the last 7 games of the season, Vaananen was a healthy scratch 5 times. By that point, he’d been passed on the depth chart by Jeff Finger and Kurt Sauer. Both of those guys are similar players to Vaananen and, frankly, both are better – and cheaper - options. With 5 defensemen either signed or RFAs, I think it is very unlikely that Ossi will be back with the club in 07-08.