Versatility is valuable in the NHL's salary cap era

NHL general managers seeking key pieces of the puzzle for their 2010-11 rosters could be left scratching their heads as July 1's unrestricted free agent market opens for business. Since the return from the lockout, NHL rosters have gotten younger and a wide chasm between the top-5 skaters on each roster and the last five players to make a team has never been more pronounced. Most general managers are left searching for "middle-class" players who won't break the bank but can contribute in many ways.

An example of the type of versatility GMs are searching for is the style of Thrashers' center Marty Reasoner. Last season, the Boston College product from Honeoye Falls, N.Y., had just 17 points playing on the third and fourth lines but was the team's top penalty killer. Those roles seem a bit incongruous for a guy who scored 33 goals and added 40 assists in 42 games during his final year at BC before turning pro, when he led the nation in scoring and was named Hockey East tournament MVP and first-team Hockey East.

For veterans who aren’t getting top-line minutes, they need to be versatile — and in this era of specialists in all sports — that commodity is getting tougher to find.

“What makes you valuable and keeps you valuable is that you are able to do different things and do them well,” the 33-year-old Reasoner told SportsSoutheast. “One of the things that was said to me at the beginning of last year was the fact that we did feel like we had more depth, and my role was going to change as far as what they expected from me. The year before I was given a little bit more of an opportunity to play more consistent five-on-five minutes, which in turn led to more scoring chances, which leads to better numbers. It was different this past year because I was put into a different role.”

Last season, his primary role included playing against the other team’s top scoring lines and killing penalties.

Early in his career, Reasoner had more of an opportunity to contribute offensively in both St. Louis and Edmonton. Unfortunately, his production wasn’t consistent enough. During his struggles, he received valuable advice from former Oilers coach Craig MacTavish, a solid defensive forward during his 17-year NHL playing career.

“Going back 10 years now, MacTavish told me that if you’re not scoring, you have to find a way to make yourself valuable to your team. I took that to heart and then focused upon playing well defensively. I started playing that role well and found my niche,” Reasoner said. “It’s one of those things that you evolve into and you realize you can’t have teams with four lines of guys all trying to play offense because it doesn’t work. If you do perform your job and do it the best that you can, maybe you don’t get as much notoriety on the outside, but internally you hope that guys on your team and the coaches recognize you for the job that you do.”

By being effective in his role, he actually limits his earnings potential. In the last year of his two-year deal he signed with the Thrashers last summer, Reasoner will earn $1.2 million. That figure ranks 75th among NHL centers, according to NHLnumbers.com.

“That’s the dilemma. MacTavish helped mold me into the type of player I am. Maybe I should be mad at him for it, but it has kept me around 12-13 years now. For me it was out of necessity because I wanted to keep playing in the NHL and felt this was where I belonged,” Reasoner said.

While he hasn't scored more than 14 goals or added 20 assists in any of his 11 NHL seasons, his value to his team is understated by those who don’t watch him play during an entire season. His teammates notice his contributions and voted him to receive the Players' Player award for the second season in a row as the player who best exemplifies a "team player."

Last season, Reasoner played an average of 12:30 minutes per game, his lowest total since the 2005-06 season when he played for Edmonton. He averaged 3:09 per game on the penalty kill unit, third most in the entire league, but his overall time on ice decreased almost three minutes per game from the prior season while playing for then-Thrashers head coach John Anderson. In fact, Reasoner has never played more than 18:18 in any game as a Thrasher.

“You don’t get to the NHL level and play 12 to 13 years without being a proud person and believing in yourself. Everyone wants to play more and there are times when it can be difficult when you’re not playing on a consistent basis as much as you had before. But if the team is going to be successful and that what it takes then you’re willing to do it. You can only control when you are out on the ice and do the very best job that you can. I look at it a little bit differently today. I’m a little bit older now and while it did bother me more when I was younger, I look at it as my job. I am depended upon to play a defensive role and to play well on the penalty kill,” Reasoner said.

“I’d like to score more. I think I can and I plan on scoring more next year. Obviously, everyone likes to score. I didn’t grow up playing hockey when I was seven years old dreaming of blocking shots,” he said chuckling.

But like all NHL players, the dream of participating in the playoffs is always a hot topic of conversation. Reasoner hasn't played in the postseason since 2003 and has appeared in just 23 career playoff games, only once making it past the first round.

“Philadelphia proved that once you get in, anything can happen. That should provide us with motivation. We think there is a good group of younger guys mixed in with guys that have experience and you hope that we can take that next big step next season,” Reasoner related. “A lot of it is talk and it remains to be seen. Winning is a lot like losing, in that it can become a habit, and you hope that you can do it every day and get used to it. It’s something that you have to learn to do on a consistent basis and that’s what we’re looking to do.”

Before the 2010-11 season begins, Thrashers president Don Waddell and general manager Rick Dudley must hire a coach and then complete the 23-man roster. The Thrashers have several player contracts that expire June 30, which means as many as 10 roster spots could change from last season.

When asked if he and other returning players are excited about Dudley making the personnel decisions this summer, Reasoner offered an interesting perspective.

“For us, as players, we just play. I learned a long time ago that personnel decisions are out of our hands, what the GM does or what they are doing. I don’t have a problem with anything that Don has done, obviously, and I think he’s made some good moves. Maybe I haven’t been around long enough, but I don’t really see that it should change. I think the team is going in the right direction and he’s had a pretty big footprint in that since I have been here,” he said.

“Any time that there are new people coming in, there is excitement and uncertainty. The coaching staff and the people that we had, you knew what to expect. We don’t even know who the coaching staff is going to be, so there is that excitement that everyone starts with a clean slate. You hope you come in and play well and help contribute. We want to continue to build off what we have done the past couple of years,” Reasoner said.

The Thrashers made minor strides in each of the past two seasons in points earned, ascending in the Eastern Conference standings from 14th in 2007-08 to 13th in 2008-09 and up to 10th last season.

During his time with the Blues and Oilers, while the rosters changed every off-season, there was a familiarity among those who returned. With the prospect of having a number of new players on the Thrashers roster when the season opens in October, Reasoner expects a similar philosophy in Atlanta to those he experienced in St. Louis and Edmonton.

“There are a core group of guys that you want to go to battle with every night and those guys basically are the identity of your team. A lot of times, that isn’t necessarily your stars. A lot of time your stars aren’t the type of identity as far as what type of team you want to be. When a team isn’t winning, you need to make changes to find the right formula. When you get closer to winning, that’s when you start to stick with the core, and that’s what we hope we are starting to put together here. You want to stick together for a few years, see it through and see where it can take you,” Reasoner said.

Yet, keeping the core of a team together has never been more difficult because of the salary cap.

“A lot of guys coming out of their entry-level contracts are signing really long term deals for high money, which just didn’t happen when I first started. You went through arbitration and guys were taking their 10 percent raises. Now, the league is younger because of the age of free agents being dropped from 31 to 27. It makes a big difference on how teams are constructed and the way guys are brought along. There are some guys that maybe would have spent a few years in the minors who are playing right away now,” Reasoner offered.

“A lot of personnel decisions are made based more on salary rather than on performance and it becomes a tough system. That’s what we were all afraid of when it came to the salary cap system. We were told, and thought, that was what was going to be created in the beginning (the 2005-06 season). When a team only has so many dollars, and they focus on the higher profile guys, a lot of times it’s the guys at the bottom that become expendable,” Reasoner said. “Teams don’t end up having the depth that maybe they would have in the past. And, if you look at the league now, it has become a lot younger league than it was when I broke in.”

Reasoner said it is a veteran’s responsibility to help shorten the learning curve for younger players.

“I spent time in the minors after I made the Blues out of camp my first year out of college. I got sent down so it was difficult because I felt like I belonged in the NHL. At the time I was miserable and didn’t want to be there (in the American Hockey League), but I look back and it was probably the best thing that could have happened. I learned how to be a professional. I learned how to handle the schedule. In a way, being sent to the minors helps guys become better players,” he said.

“The evolution of the game and the way it is now, you have younger guys on everyone’s roster now. They’re learning on the job. Through your experiences, you try to help them shorten their learning curve and I think we’ve had some pretty good success in Atlanta with the young guys we’ve brought in. At first, they may have had a tough time, but by midseason it looked like some hadn’t missed a beat at all.”

With a veteran of 624 NHL games like Reasoner there to help, both new teammates and young players should learn quickly how to become valuable members of the Thrashers.

Follow us on Twitter