Henrik Tallinder: 2009-2010 Report Card

It's time to put the finishing touches on the 2009-2010 season for the Buffalo Sabres. Here is a complete report card of every single player that played any amount of time with the Sabres this season. The journey will begin with Chris Butler and conclude in almost a month with Thomas Vanek. Thanks to Japers Rink and Mile High Hockey for the inspiration.

It's Henrik Tallinder's turn.

Henrik Tallinder

#10 / Defenseman / Buffalo Sabres

Height: 6-3

Weight: 214

Born: Jan 10, 1979

Contract Situation: Received $3.25 million in 2010; will be an unrestricted free agent this summer

2009 Grade: D

Introduction: Henrik Tallinder was an unexpected revelation from Buffalo's blue line in 2006, playing the grandest hockey of his career and he was something else in the playoffs; he led the defense with eight points in 14 games to compliment a plus-14 rating. Peter Forsberg, who was involved with the Philadelphia Flyers that were eliminated in the first round by the Sabres, credited Tallinder and Toni Lydman by calling them one of the best shutdown pairs he'd ever played. Then, the Swede broke his arm in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals and while the cast has been removed, the after-effects remain.

Key Stat: The veteran doubled the quantity of goals he'd scored in the two years prior to this season, and for curious parties, his one goal in 2008 was an empty netter. Why don't we just say he put four more pucks by a goaltender than he had in those two earlier seasons - sounds better for his employment sheet.

Stimulating Stat: Tallinder was exposed to every game of a National Hockey League schedule for the second period in his career and in doing so, collided with the 20-point barrier again. Well, looks like he rode shotgun in Tyler Myers' rookie exposure without getting too clumsy.

Famous For: Sensing an open sheet of ice, Tallinder started behind Ryan Miller, went end-to-end and potted an uncharacteristically nice goal à la Mike Green or Dan Boyle. "Call him Henrik, call him Hank, call him Tallinder, call him goal-scorer." - Rick Jeanneret. I'll call him Bobby Orr for that play. 

Thumbs Up: For starters, Tallinder had a plus-13 rating to lead the defensive corps with Myers, was one of five defenders to post 20 points and he blocked 95 shots. The 31-year-old's quality of competition surpassed that of the remaining blue liners with the exceptions of Myers and Buffalo scored 2.98 goals for every 60 minutes he played as opposed to the 2.53 they allowed during the matching ice time. The Sabres weren't nearly as successful with their goals when Tallinder was off the ice, but they also did a better job of keeping pucks out of the net. With an average ice time of 20:36, he played almost 1,700 full minutes through 82 games and he achieved a personal milestone with his 100th career point on January 16 in Long Island. Whenever Tallinder contributed at least one point, the team registered a 14-2-1 record.

Regarding his future with the organization:

"I've been here so long, whatever Buffalo has to say, I'm ready to listen," Tallinder said. "We'll see what they want to do. If everything works out good, I might be back. Who knows? I don't even know yet."

Thumbs Down: Tallinder played alongside Myers and much of his steady campaign has to be credited to the young rookie's rise. He lost the puck to an opponent 33 more times than he'd grabbed it from them and his quality of linemates were behind Myers', Tyler Ennis' and Jason Pominville's. He doesn't shoot very regularly and he missed the net on 31 instances, which is why he took the least amount of shots amidst all the defensemen including Andrej Sekera and Chris Butler who played far less matches than he. Conclusively, Tallinder could transform into a more physical person and take bumps into the boards for the better of a play.

Voting: On a scale of one to ten, one being the lowest and ten being the highest, grade Henrik Tallinder on his season according to the expectations you had for him. If he met them, give him a five or a six. If he eclipsed them, aim for a seven or beyond. If he failed to meet them, give him a lower number relating to how poorly he missed the target.

Topics Of Discussion: Was Tallinder's steady season his own doing, or was he simply the beneficiary of Myers' progression? Would you like to see him return to Buffalo and if so, at what price? Can he return to the superb form he carried in 2006 before his injury? Which area of his game concerns you the most?