AP Photo/Richard Lipski

Carolina Hurricanes’ fans gave a collective sigh of relief last night as young forward Jeff Skinner has returned. Skinner, who has missed 16 games, was out because of a concussion.

The NHL continues its ongoing effort to curb head-shots, ultimately trying to remove concussions from the game. The charge to change the game for the better began last season as superstar Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins suffered a concussion, sidelining him for the last quarter of last season and out for the majority of this season.

Skinner’s return was a positive boost to the lineup of the Hurricanes as he continued where he left off. Playing two games so far, Skinner averaged 17:39 of ice time and picked up an assist in his second game. In time he will jump back up to his nearly 19 minutes a game norm.

Although Skinner’s return is a positive for the Hurricanes, the harsh reality is the team is in last place of the Eastern Conference. Last season the Hurricanes fell two points short of 8th place for the playoffs. This season the team will not make the playoffs even if a miracle happens. Very sad considering the team has such talent in Captain Eric Staal, Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Skinner, Joni Pitkanen and netminder Cam Ward. Major overhaul is in store for the team in the off-season, maybe even come trade deadline. From a fantasy perspective though, Skinner will still put up points to help out your team.

Offseason Additions: Anthony Stewart, Brian Boucher, Tomas Kaberle

Last Season Ranking: 9th in East

Expect Jeff Skinner to pick up right where he left off entering his second season.

Offense: The Canes are pretty stacked at the center position. The top three leading scorers from last season were all centers. Eric Staal returns as leader and face of the franchise. His offensive numbers were very impressive as he scored 33 goals and had 43 assists. But a byproduct of the awful defense the team had was his -10 rating. He will also quarterback the power play unit as he was the only player on the team with double-digit power play goals with 12 last season.

One of the breakout players from last season was rookie Jeff Skinner. The Calder Trophy winner led all rookies in the league in points with 63. He played a huge impact in them coming within a few points of making the playoffs. Just like with Detroit’s Jimmy Howard last season, I don’t expect a sophomore slump from Skinner.

The loss of Cole means there are 26 goals from last season that needs to be replaced. One player can’t fill his shoes entirely but expect a slew of young players to battle for limited spots on the team. They added Alexi Ponikarovsky and Anthony Stewart during the off season, but they can’t each be expected to score 20+ goals. Carolina could be playoff contenders just like last season if both players play within themselves ( 14 goals/35 points for Ponikarovsky and 16 goals/42 points for Stewart) they will have a solid first two lines.

This could be a make or break season for Zach Boychuk. Boychuk, 21, was the team’s first round pick (14th overall) in 2008 and the team is hoping can finally bust through and stick in Raleigh. In 23 games last season, Boychuk had four goals and three assists.

Team Staal selected Stastny with their 18th Round pick which left Kessel sitting alone on the floor as the inconsequential pick of Team Lidstrom. However, Kessel reaped the benefits as the NHL will donate $20,000 to a charity of Kessel’s choice and also awarded Kessel with a brand new Honda car. Mr. Irrelevant will be riding to the game in style on Sunday.

The Fantasy Draft seemed to go over surprisingly well and created many fun moments as fans got to see the less serious side of many of the players. Perhaps one of the best moments was a shot of Alexander Ovechkin whipping out his camera phone to snap a photo of Kessel sitting all by himself after Stastny’s name was announced. The friendly, joking nature of many of the players came out which was a nice change of pace over the usual serious, game-face demeanor fans are usually treated to during the regular season. The draft also produced some big surprises as many fans pondered the several story lines coming into the event tonight through their own mock drafts and scenarios, much like the one we posted yesterday.

One of the most surprising things from the draft was the layers of loyalties to teammates, ex-teammates and fellow countryman displayed throughout the draft process. It was no surprise that Steve Stamkos was selected by Team Lidstrom with their first pick not only because he leads the league in goals, but also because he plays on a line with Martin St. Louis, one of the assistant captains for Team Lidstrom. But what did come as a surprise was how quick Team Lidstrom was to select players like Brad Richards, who played in Tampa Bay with St. Louis for several seasons, and Martin Havlat, who used to play in Chicago with Team Lidstrom’s other alternate captain Patrick Kane. Team Staal, whose alternate captains are Mike Green and Ryan Kessler, made similar decisions when they selected goaltender Cam Ward with the first overall pick and then followed with Alexander Ovechkin and Daniel Sedin – all teammates of one of the captains.

One of the best moments of the draft had to be watching Phil Kessel squirm in his seat when it came down to him and Paul Stastny as the final selections. Kessel had a big grin on his face but you could tell he was sweating bullets and keeping his fingers crossed that he wouldn’t be the last man picked. Stastny, on the other hand, kept a fairly cool demeanor and if he was worried about being last picked, he sure didn’t show it.

Probably the most no-brainer moment came when the Sedin Twins were selected back-to-back by different teams. For the first time in their lives they will play against each other on different teams. Why was this choice a no-brainer? Well, if either team had allowed the other to select both Sedin Twins they would have immediately put themselves at a huge disadvantage. Have you seen those two play together? Sometimes it appears as if they just communicate telepathically and that’s how they find each other open so often.

In my opinion, one of the worst moments of the event came at the end when Kessel was awarded a new Honda for being the last pick. The donation to a charity of his choice was an incredibly awesome move by the NHL, but did they really need to follow it up by giving the guy a car? I think any one of those players makes enough money per year to buy themselves a decent mode of transportation.

Overall, however, the event was a lot of fun and really added something special and unique to the All-Star festivities. The NHL really hit a home-run with this switch in format and hopefully they can build on the success of the draft into tomorrow night’s skills competition and the actual All-Star Game on Sunday. Let’s just hope that David Backes follows through on his promise to hit lay on a few hits to the captains of the team that didn’t select him. Look out Team Lidstrom.

Take a look below for the final results from the 2011 NHL All-Star Game Fantasy Draft and be sure to check out the Skill Competition tomorrow night with the All-Star Game following on Sunday afternoon.

Key Offseason Additions:Joe Corvo, Anton Babchuk

Last Season Ranking: 11th place, East

Offense: The top line of the ‘Canes is as good as any in the East. They are led by Eric Staal, who led the team last season with 70 points. He will be supplemented by Jussi Jokinen on the left wing. Both players are expected to carry majority of the scoring load. Not far behind will be linemate Tuomo Ruutu and the second line of Sergei Samsonov, Brandon Sutter, and Chad LaRose. In terms of prospects, Drayson Bowman is the prospect that is most likely to crack the roster after training camp. The 21-year-old left winger recorded 32 points in 56 games for Albany in the AHL last season. The top power play line of Staal, Jokinen, and Samsonov should score a lot of goals, but if there’s any injuries to them problems could arise due to a lack of depth.

Carolina center Eric Staal is expected to lead the team in points this season. Expect him to get close to 80 points for the Hurricanes.

Defense: Defense is one area where the Hurricanes did improve upon. Joe Corvo was traded at the deadline as he was in a contract year, but was able to re-sign during the off season. Anton Babchuk last appeared in the NHL during Carolina’s 2009 playoff run, but he bolted for the KHL last summer. He returns to Raleigh and the team is looking for the player who scored 16 goals and had a plus-13 rating two years ago. The Corvo-Babchuk duo is expected to form the No. 2 defensive pairing while Joni Pitkanen and Tim Gleason should see the most ice time at the blue line. Don’t be surprised of coach Paul Maurice will tinker and experiment with different combinations amongst the four. The third defensive pairing will feature young, inexperienced players at the NHL level. It could most likely be Bobby Sanguinetti and Jamie McBain.

Goaltending: This is the area that could be the X-factor for Carolina. Cam Ward has had a great start to his carer when he won the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Award as a rookie. It was a freak accident with Rick Nash and back problems that kept him on the sidelines more often than in goal last season. Which Ward will we see this season? The team can only hope for the player who won 30, 37, and 39 games in his career and not the one who went 18-23-5 like he did last season. Manny Legace was the backup season, but expect them to stay young and go with Justin Peters as the backup.

Season Outlook: One thing is for sure, they cannot afford the same type of start that they went through last season. After beginning the season 2-12-4, they were pretty much done before Thanksgiving. But they did end the season on a positive note when they finished 21-10-3. But it was too little, too late as it was only good enough to finish 11th in the conference. They have a lot to show and improve upon if they want to make the playoffs. They didn’t do enough in free agency to be considered a playoff contender, but if Ward can play the way he did two seasons ago anything can happen.

Cam Ward, of the Carolina Hurricanes, is out indefinitely after Rick Nash's skate lacerated his leg

Despite all of the great hockey we have seen in the 2009-10 NHL season so far, one tremendous downfall continues to plague the league. This season, some of the NHL’s most notable stars have been injured, along with dozens of role players as well. In addition to the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Johan Franzen, Daniel Sedin, Simon Gagne, Marc Savard, Sergei Gonchar, and Valtteri Filppula, two more players have now been sidelined with injuries.

First we have Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes. While Ward is having a sub-par start to his season, his career numbers are good. He helped lead the Hurricanes to the Eastern Conference Finals last season where they were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 2005-06, Ward lead the team to a Stanley Cup Championship in a 7-game series over the Edmonton Oilers. He went on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs as well.

Against Columbus, last night, Cam Ward’s leg was lacerated by the skate of Blue Jacket Rick Nash. Ward left the game and was taken to the hospital. He remained in the hospital Saturday night, and did not make the flight home with his teammates. There is no timetable for his return, so Carolina will be forced to give Michael Leighton the starts in net. Beyond that, they will either have to call up a goalie from their minor league system, or begin to look at possible trade options to provide added depth.

Just as things we’re beginning to look up for the Detroit Red Wings, winning three straight, they took another huge hit. In the second period of last nights game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jason Williams suffered a fractured fibula when he lost his balance and fell wrong on the ice. This injury will put Williams out for at least two months. Detroit is already without forwards Valtteri Filppula and Johan Franzen, and another injury obviously hurts the team.

Injuries in Detroit will give players such as Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader, Patrick Eaves and Ville Leino a great chance to step up and show what they’ve got. The young players bring a tremendous amount of speed and energy to the team, but they have yet to show much on the scoreboard this season. Leino, for example, was considered by many to be in the running for Rookie of the Year honors after netting five goals and four assists in thirteen games when he was called up last season from Grand Rapids.  In fourteen games this season, however, he has two goals and one assist with a minus four rating. If we are to see any more success in Detroit this November, these energy players must begin to produce.

Rod Brind'Amour, who played in 80 games last season, has to improve his -23 rating if the Hurricanes expect to be a serious contender in the Eastern Conference.

The story with the Hurricanes going into this season is can they build on the momentum created at the end of last season? Every time they seem to take one step forward (Stanley Cup Finals appearance in 2002, winning the Stanley Cup in 2006), they have taken two steps backward (missing the playoffs in 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2008). The Hurricanes used a change in head coaches to surge to the playoffs, but upsetting of New Jersey and Boston in the first two rounds before bowing out to Pittsburgh in the Eastern Conference Finals.

On offense, this team will come and go with how center Eric Staal plays. If he can top the 40-goal season he had last season, this team could challenge Washington in the Southeast Division. If he gets injured or fails to score enough (Carolina went 7-1 in the playoffs when he scored and 1-9 when he didn’t), this team could be surpassed by Florida or Tampa Bay. If you were to say which way they will lean, go with a Carolina-Washington dogfight for the division title.

Staal will get help on the wings with Ray Whitney and Toumo Ruutu. Not many new players were added, but they will enjoy the return of defensemen Aaron Ward, who left the team after the 2006 championship season to play for New York and Boston. Expect Ward to compete for the third defensive paring spots with newcomer Andrew Alberts,  veteran Tim Conboy.

Keeping on topic with the blue line, that can appear to be a weakness for the Hurricanes.  After allowing only 17 goals in a seven-game series in the conference semi-finals against Boston, the defense of Carolina allowed 20 goals in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Penguins.

While the core of their team is young with Stall and goalie Cam Ward, several members of the 2006 championship team is either in or entering the twilight stage of their careers. The group of players over 34-years-old include defensemen Ward and Niclas Wallin, and forwards Whitney, Scott Walker, and Rod Brind’Amour. Things changed quickly last season during the conference finals when they couldn’t stop Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as their age turned from a positive (leadership and experience) to a negative (age and fatigue).

Look for Joni Pitkanen, Tim Gleason, and Joe Corvo to carry majority of the defensive load while forwards Erik Cole, Matt Cullen, and Chad LaRose will be expected to anchor the second line. For the rookies, expect Zach Boychuk to make the opening night roster. At worse, he will spend most of the season in Albany, which will be better than last season when he made the team out of training camp but returned to Lethbridge of the WHL after two games.

In goal, this is the season that Cam Ward will join the elite goaltenders of the NHL. Working with Tom Barasso, Ward has to take how he played down the stretch and the playoffs last the entire regular season. If Barasso can transfer Ward’s strong play throughout the entire season, consider Ward an outside candiate of the Vezina Trophy.

Overall, this team can shock the Southeast Division and give Washington a good fight, but most likely the Hurricanes will fall between fourth and sixth in the East. What could be working against them if they are in a tight playoff race, seven of its last 12 games beginning March 20 at Pittsburgh are on the road.