i think kane is an A. no other player who has had that surgery has come back and done anything. he's come back and is the same player he was last year production wise. he'll never be who he was in his prime, but he is the most creative and best offensive player on this team. whether or not he (and debrincat) sacrifice too much defense is another question. but he wasnt brought here to defend. he's exceeded expectations, imo.
exceeds: kane, sprong, veleno, lyon, chairot, compher, gotisbehere, raymond
meets: larkin, seider, walman, copp, fabbri
does not meet: perron, rasmussen, kostin, holl, maata, petry, fischer, husso, reimer
part of those grades are based on my expectations, part on production. for instance, chairot has been pretty good this year considering his last couple of seasons. compher's offense has been a plus and a surprise.
i expected more from rasmussen. he's been muted this year. perron looks his age. the defensive signings have not worked out and are serving to hold edvinsson back. the goaltending other than lyon has been atrocious.
a word on edvinsson: he wasnt all that when he was here. he had a similar problem to what i saw in the preseason: no urgency to his game. seider became a physical force (for a while) his second year. edvinsson needs that leap.
whether he develops it or not he should be in detroit right now. petry is cooked. holl and maata are regular healthy scratches. in hindsight, yzerman spent too much money on old defense this offseason.