You want to know the best players on each team at producing goals at the margin?  How about a better understanding who costs their respective teams the most just by showing up?  Well, since we are in the dog days of the longest offseason in sports, we will share with you our best and worst for 2014 – 2015.  Note; for players who have been traded or acquired as free agents, we have adjusted their AB scores as if the player had played with his new team last year.  We have yet to adjust our model to what we project the team with its new personnel will produce as a result of the moves.

What we find interesting is that we may be witnessing the advent of the Advanced Bracton, or a metric akin to it.  We have noted, as will become obvious, that many teams are shedding themselves of low rankers in an attempt to add players with higher scores and are resgining young RFAs that in some cases are team leaders.

There were two notable exceptions this offseason; the Sharp trade from Chicago to Dallas and the Bieksa trade from Vancouver to Anaheim.  In each of these cases, teams within their divisions swapped big liabilities (Daley, Garbutt and Bieksa) with a rival, thus likely and significantly impacting future team AB scores.  Vancouver and Dallas are markedly better due to addition by subtraction.

OK OK, So tell me who is “good” and who is “bad?”  Allright already – The following table lists the player and the approximate goals at the margin contributed.  Without giving away the secret sauce of the Advanced Bracton, except to say that net penalty margin is a part of it (“the Bracton Score”), here you have them, the guys that really give it their all are first, the other dudes, well what can we say….;

• Anaheim: Silfverberg 4, and Bieksa -4 – Ducks apparently not AB disciples, neither is Boston….
• Boston: Pastrnak 5, and Connolly -6 (cost the B’s a playoff spot, kidding, sort of)
• Buffalo: O’Reilly (who we love) +2 and Weber (among the worst in the NHL) -12 – McDavid can’t save it.
• Carolina: Jordan +1, and Hainsey -4 – The best Jordan in Carolina, (I didn’t say ever, calm down).
• Columbus: Team Foligno +6, and Boll -8 (Does CLS get it? Jury is out)
• Calgary: Hudler +5, and Bollig -6 – pugnacity, truculence earned a trip to the second round
• Chicago: Toews +7, and Tropp (yes, the guy the just traded for Saad), -6
• Colorado: Duchene +3, and Hejda -6, how did they let O’Reilly go? Sigh.
• Dallas: Eaves +5 (good signing), and Roussel -6
• Detroit: Datsyuk +7, and Kindl -6 (seriously fire Kindl…..see what I did there?)
• Edmonton: Klinkhammer +2 and Joensuu -15 (he’s still in the NHL?)
• Florida: Huberdeau (we love him too) +4 and Bolland -5 (what is it with guys named bol-something?)
• LA – Toffoli (great signing) +7 and Greene -5
• Minnesota – Parise +5 and Vanek (depression) -4 – Fletcher one of the best GMs out there.
• Montreal: Pacioretty +7 (get well soon) and Bourque -5
• NJ – Bernier +3 and Fraser (hmmm, lots of Leafs cast offs, we notice) -6
• Nashville – Forsberg +4 (ooooh he is good), and Bartley -6
• NYI – Nelson +4 and Strait -4
• NYR – Stepan +5 (need to resign him) and Glass -4 (why? WHY?)
• Ottawa – Stone (another great resiging, noticing a trend yet?) +7 and Chaisson -6
• Philly – Couturier +3 (and he kills penalties) and Gagner (with a spoon) -7 – taking over for Rinaldo.
• Arizona – Boedker (great signing) +6 and Downie -10 (why do people like this guy?)
• Pittsburgh – Hornqvist +4 and….wait for it…..KESSEL -8.  Lottery protected 1^st rounder, hmmm)
• SJ – Pavelski +5 and Burish -9
• STL – Tarasenko +9 (highest in NHL, great resign) and Ott -5
• TB – Johnson +9 (but lower than Tarasenko) and Morrow -3
• Toronto – Komarov +1 (that’s ridiculous) and Kozun and Polak tied at -8 (double trouble)
• Vancouver – Higgins +3 and Kenins -3
• Winnipeg – Scheifele +6 (nice) and Peluso -8 (not nice)
• Washington – Fehr +6 and Orpik -4

There you have it.  Don’t say we never gave you anything.  We are anxiously awaiting more color on the final depth charts so that we can form our pre-season rankings.  There will be a contest open to the public regarding this so check back regularly!