Shallow Frozen Water

Sunday morning armchair

in my work league i traded Scott Niedermayer and Dennis Wideman for Matt Carle and Tom Poti - ok, i know your first reaction is “you did WHAT?” but let me defend it.  i’m in 2nd place and the category i can move up in the most is +/- while generally my offense can’t be hurt too much in most of the other skater cats.  Nieds and Wideload have been a huge millstone on my +/- all season and the dropdown in overall offense to Carle and Poti will be more than easily offset by the huge gains that i’ll make in +/-.  that is, if things continue to go the way that they have gone this season.  Nieds has been disappointing this season and i still expect him to show plenty over the 2nd half of the season but Wideman has been disappointing and there is something seriously wrong with whatever is going on for him this season.  i’m bailing on them both.  meanwhile Carle and Poti are significant cogs is monstrous attacks while the +/- is the target cat in this entire thing.  if i look at stats this season so far i’m losing 3 goals, 0 assists, 9 PPP and about 90 SOGs but i’m gaining +50 in +/-.  thank you very much.

Chinny has been very active in this section over the last month or so and yes i truly think he’s just showing off but still, he traded Brent Burns, Daymond Langkow, a swap of 2nd round picks (he’ll drop 7 spaces or so) and a 5th round pick for Ryan Smyth and Danny Briere - he’s going for a 4-peat in this league and actually this is a nice example of trading for vets when you’re making a run while giving up future resources.  i’m a big Burns fan for next year but i was one for this year too and that hasn’t worked out so well.  Langkow hasn’t shown anything to me this season but with the recent trades in Cow-town then somebody has to step into the center vacuum created by moving Jokinen and Langkow is probably the best candidate.  in exchange he got 2 guys who have produced plenty this season and who don’t look to be stepping back from that production anytime soon.  this move is a short term win for Chinny and could be viewed as a bit of a push for him down the road too although realistically longer term its a loss for Chinny if Burns is the 60 pt defender he’s threatened to be.

Chinny also traded Martin Havlat, Brian Rafalski and Milan Michalek for Bobby Ryan and Radim Vrbata - i can’t stand Havlat and i think i’m in love with Bobby Ryan (ok maybe not) so i’m a bit conflicted on this deal.  Ryan is the best player in the deal but it sure looks like Chinny moved an awful lot to get this one done.  he defends it by stating that he had to make room for Johan Franzen coming off the IR next week and he wanted to upgrade on his SOGs.  well, he did that.  if getting the best player means winning a trade then Chinny wins this one but the Sens are on fire so Michalek may make him regret this move.  we also haven’t really heard from Rafalski this season and that may be another regret in this trade.  Martin Havlat is still a little girl.

Ryan traded Stephane Robidas and Scott Niedermayer for Tomas Fleischmann - Ryan plays in an 8 team H2H where he’s trying to free up bench space so that he can stream for the playoffs.  he was in a quest to find goals and he has certainly done that, he’s also really helped his +/- a lot too.  this is a solid deal for Ryan, Flash is poised as secondary attack in one of the top offenses in the league.  he’s poised to finish close to 30 goals on the season.

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this is a huge weekend.  not only was there a full slate of Saturday games to peruse but also there is the freaking SuperBowl where MY Saints get to take their shot.  i can’t believe how excited i was at the prospect of this weekend and i was thoroughly unproductive because i sat in apprehension for all the fun to happen.  Wendy went out and bought me some Saints garb to celebrate the day.

i’ve got to think that the Leafs loss on Friday night is directly linked to the knee to the head that Gustavsson took in the last couple minutes of the game.  i think he was in a cloud for the last couple of minutes and i suspect the best move should’ve been to put Giggy in the twine to finish the game.  hindsight is 20/20 though.

so i have this old 6 string and i was playing my own version of Guitar Hero (i say it that way because i don’t own a game system) when i realized that the matinee had started on CBC.  it was the middle of the 1st when i picked up the Habs/Pens.

CBC normally puts PJ Stock and Kelly Hrudey later in the night and i think they’re bright lights for HNIC that i want to see more of.  they break down production and upside like few others.  when they’re onscreen, stop what you’re doing and listen to the talking heads.

Mathieu Darche is the definition of plumber.  man is he an ugly skater, reminds me of Mike Foligno.  i’ll say this for him though, he was a good part of energy that was noticeable on the ice.  he was the reason the Habs got their first goal (it was interference though that got missed though) and eventually got himself a goal in the 3rd that MAF just should’ve had.

i was getting my lunch and i got to hear Montreal score twice.  i hate it when a game turns on its edge and i don’t get to see it.  in the replay it looked like MAF moved too early and failed miserably.

Brian Gionta seems to be taking up the slack left by the injury to Mike Cammalleri.  he’ll get plenty of opportunity and i can see him plenty with it.

Scott Gomez went 1 and 1 and he was still -2 when his team only let in 3 goals.  i’ve only liked him for assists and that’s only if he has a sniper beside him who can create his own offense in addition finishing off Gomez’sssss.

i just don’t get Tomas Plekanec.  i’ve never liked him as a fantasy option and he doesn’t seem to care that i think he sucks.   hmm, maybe the world doesn’t revolve around me after all.  what am i saying, of course it’s all about me.

the Canucks and Avs are in a battle for the division lead but the nucks play a lot of games on the road over the 2nd half while the Avs get home cooking for something like 20 games.  judging by how the nucks have fared on the road this trip so far i’m thinking that the Avs are probably the surprise winner of the Northwest this season.  wow.  bear that in mind when you’re considering your goalie starts over the 2nd half.

Bobby-Lou stole a game and got a SOW against the Bruins.  the B’s had the game well in hand after 1 and the nucks stormed back over the last half of the game (particularly the 3rd period) while Luongo barred the door.

Pavol Demitra with his 1st goal of the season to tie the game and secure the first point.  Demitra is a good option for the bottom of a roster in 12 team leagues or more.  the nucks need to anchor their secondary attack and Demitra may just be the answer for them.  he got the shootout winner too.

there was no way i was pegging Mason Raymond for 21 goals on the season let alone getting there with 25 games to go.

Michael Ryder took 7 SOGs, got a goal but was still -1.  i had him as a bench RW in my deep league but he has comepletely underwhelmed me all season.  the B’s are starved for more offense and he has 22 pts on the season.  maybe i’ll just start calling him Wynona, did you know she played Spock’s mother in last year’s Star Trek?  i didn’t.

Michal Handzus has always been an excellent checking center in my mind but i’ve never really viewed him as a valid offensive option.  Handy got his 15th of the season and in total he went 2 and 1.  you can’t tell me that production like that can’t help your team.

the Wings took it to the Kings in the 1st and then the Kings took it to the Wings in the 2nd.  they went into the 3rd tied at 3 and the Wings took the play again … only to lose.  i was really excited that i had started Jimmy Howard for this game and then the 2nd period came.

Henrik Zetterberg has had 8 games where he got zero points since he returned from injury 16 games ago.  half the time with zilch just doesn’t cut it.  he got 2 goals against the Kings but i hope it isn’t a trend that he disappears half the time.

something woke Alexander Frolov on this day.  he had 6 SOGs and went 1 and 1.  when he’s on he’s really on but he’s also REALLLLLLLY streaky when he’s not on.

Nik Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski were both +3 in a game they lost.  what more do guys have to do in order to win a game?

there was a respectful moment of silence for Brian Burke’s son before the Leaf game.  classy move and i’m sure that Burkie knows that his guys are supporting him.

wow, Leaf fans are still booing Alffy whenever he touches the puck.  Mats Sundin is retired guys, let it go.

my brother is a Sens fan so i love these sorts of nights … unless the Sens are beating the tobacco juice out of my Leafs.  thankfully last night was not one of those nights.

Alex Kovalev took 2 stupid and lazy penalties against the Leafs.  sometimes nobody has a clue where his head goes in the middle of the game.  maybe he’s up at the concessions getting a beer.

Jonathan Cheechoo got 56 goals three seasons ago.  he had 93 points that season.  he was a key ingredient in the Heatley trade this past fall and he has 5 goals this season.  5.  i often say that you don’t forget how to score but i think that maybe Cheech  may’ve “forgotten”  man (he says in his best Cheech and Chong voice).  ok that’s not fair, i don’t know that he’s a Cheech character at all.  maybe he just plain sucks … is that a better label?  i think i know which one i’d prefer if it were me.

by the way, the Sens got OWNED in that Heatley trade, but we knew that going into the season.

Pascal “made of fine china” Leclaire took over for Brian Elliott in the 3rd period.

for a Sens team that had been on fire they sure looked willing to fall into some bad habits and lay down for the Leafs again.  Elliott got beat at least once on a shot that he’d want back but there sure seemed to be a lot of shots that got through that never should’ve gotten through.

Luke Schenn with 2 goals.  that’s an entire season for him and he has had a more than rough year so far.  i really think the addition of Phaneuf to that corps helps him because he’ll get to see the example of how to play big and tough without getting into too much trouble.  both of them will need to remember not to run around hitting everyone on every play but they’ll find and hit their spots.

Mike Milbury agreed with me on the Kovalchuk deal.  i’m not a fan of Milbury the interruptor but i still say the Thrashers didn’t get enough.  close your mouth for a bit though Mike, you’re not the only one with a hockey opinion.

JS Giguere hasn’t been scored on as a Maple Leaf.  Grapes was whining about how they should’ve run him out there against the Devils again on Friday but i believe it was the right move to put monster in there.  once monster got his bell rung though i believe that Giggy should’ve gone in and then the Leafs would’ve preserved that win too.

Jamie Benn with 2 goals and both Loui Eriksson and James Neal went 1 and 1.  this is the future of the Stars attack for a lot of years to come.  man that is going to be freaking huge.

Marty Turco with a shuttie and although he’s old he still has plenty of fantasy value left in him.  the Stars are shopping him around the league and there has to be a team that can use a vet goalie who can steal a game on his own.  interesting that Turco got an unsportsmanlike minor in a game where he throws a shuttie.  PIMs don’t count for goalies but it’s interesting anyway.

Mike Ribeiro should return to the Stars lineup this week, possible Tuesday.  get him in your lineup.

Brandan Prust got an assist and 2 fights before the game was half over.  i guess he really wanted to make an impression as the newbie eh?

Marty Brodeur faced 25 shots and 3 got past him.  Henrik Lundqvist saw 42 shots and only 1 got past him.  since i’m one to compare i’m hoping this ain’t no omen for the upcoming Olympic tourney.

Ryan Callahan led Rangers forwards in ice time and went 1 and 1.  there were rumours that he would be moved in a Kovalchuk deal but in all honesty he wasn’t going anywhere.  they seem some real future for him, and so do i.  i can see 50 some pts for him this season and i can see a jump toward 70 next year.

Ilya Kovalchuk outshot everyone in the game but didn’t hit the scoresheet unless you count the 4 PIMs he took.  he’ll get comfortable and goals are going to come in bunches for him.

Joni Pitkanen has 19 points and is only -1 since Christmas.  he was -9000 or something over the first couple months but he’s really turned it around over the last couple.  i’ve seen him on waiver wires because of his brutal start and that’s just wrong.

Jussi Jokinen has 20 goals this season.  did you know that?  if i were to ask you who leads the Canes in goals this season would you think of him?  well actually he’s tied with Eric Staal for the goal lead on the Canes but still, think about that.  Jokinen is tied with Staal in goals this season.

Rick DiPietro only faced 25 shots but 3 got past him.  i’m still cringing about that guy’s future.  they have him locked in forever and i can’t shake the thought that he’ll be injured more than he plays for the length of that contract.  you won’t find him on MY team i’ll tell ya that.

hmmm, interesting … Doug Weight returned at New Year’s and i haven’t noticed at all.  seriously, i didn’t notice him once in a month of watching hockey.

Ray Whitney might just get moved this week.  i don’t know that to be the case but it does seem likely since the Olympic freeze is coming up.  it’s just a gut call i guess.

Andrej Meszaros scored the OT winner (it was pretty weak actually) to beat the Flames.  he was pretty big for the Sens a few years back but he’s never really shown the same flash as a Lightning.  he’s good for blocked shots if your league counts that.

the Flames have been flaming out but i still say they’re making the playoffs.

Steven Stamkos has 32 goals.  i wonder if the Canadians get a significant injury if he might just be the call that they make.  that’ll certainly piss Ryan Smyth off but Stamkos has just been a superstar this season.

i love the Phaneuf trade for the Leafs but i’ve got to be honest, Mark Giordano has made Phaneuf unnecessary for the Flames this season.  they did get an awful lot back in the deal too and Ian White will be very good for them.  i still like the deal for the Leafs but i don’t dislike the deal for the Flames either.

Milan Jurcina got his 1st of the season as a dump-in bounced out front and into the net off Patrick Lalime’s skate.  that was the game winner too.

Steve Mason got a deserved shuttie.  his GAA is 3.22 but his SV% is a Toskala-like .891 and that just won’t cut it.  i still believe and i may even try to draft him next year if i have the chance.  i suppose it depends on how they play under their new coach.

Anton Stralman was the 3rd star on the night but he was 1 and 1 (he didn’t contribute on the fluke goal either), +1 with 2 SOGs and 2 PIMs.  got to love variety in a fantasy game, it’s good to be able to do so much.

Jakob Voracek had 2 PPA and a 3rd assist on the fluke winner.  if he gets opportunity under a new coach then i’d expect more stats out of him, particularly goals.

Niclas Bergfors got the winner in his 1st game as a Thrasher.  the Thrash had to come back from a 2-0 deficit to get the win.

Nik Antropov is going to be pretty key for the Thrashers.  i expect him to dish a lot and i expect guys like Bergfors, Little and Kane to finish for him.   Kane in particular gets a big boost in value because he now becomes the top LW option for them.

i expect the Thrashers will run much of their offense through their D more now so i expect a boost in stats from Enstrom, Bogosian and to a lesser extent Kubina.

Anton Khudobin saw 39 shots and only 1 got past him to give him his 2nd win this week in his NHL career.  he’s been playing this week after Josh Harding had a hip injury and Niklas Backstrom was been waylaid by an “illness”.  i couldn’t discover what the illness was.  i wouldn’t rush to add Khudobin, i imagine that Nikl-Back will take the reins again soon.

Michael Leighton started for the Flyers after Ray Emery was scratched with a hip injury.  Leighton might have some fantasy value given the injury problems that Emery has had this year although he’ll be evaluated further on Monday.

apparently the Thrashers wanted one of Claude Giroux or James Van Riemsdyk if they were going to trade Kovy there and that’s just a no-go.  there’s a fairly large difference between JVR and Bergfors (who they eventually got from the Devils) if you ask me.

Cam Barker got a fighting major last night but he has been absolutely ice cold for fantasy value ever since i added him to my team a month ago.  he has given some PIMs but his ice has been cut back a lot and there has been no offense to speak of whatsoever.

Patrick Sharp is a 70 pt player and many fantasy guys see him as a 50 pt player.  if you’re in a multi-cat league that includes some form of SHP then he has a track history to help you a ton for stuff like that.  there have been rumours around him all season and i’d just like to say that he’d be welcomed in Toronto if the Hawks want to add some expiring contracts and move some guys they can’t afford next year.  i’d love to see what affect he’d have on the Leafs special teams.

Wade Belak and Jody Shelley squared off on 2 separate occasions last night.  neither guy has much fantasy value whatsoever but 2 fights against the same guy on the same night is such a rare occasion that i had to mention it.

Jason Arnott took 9 SOGs and got nothing for his trouble.  i spent much of this season trying to find a C who shot and i’m glad to have traded for Arnott a month ago.  i just need more goals now.

the Sharks trailed 3 times and eventually won the game 4-3.  heartbreaking loss for the Preds.

JP Dumont hasnt been heard from nearly enough this season.  he had 65 pts last year and 72 pts the year before but at the rate he’s going so far he’ll be lucky to reach 50 this season.  he had 9 goals going into the game and got 2 on the night but still, he needs to be doing better than this.

Dany Heatley went 2 and 1 and both Marleau and Thornton got 2 assists as the Sharks clawed back against the Preds.

the Preds were 25 and 43 on the faceoff dot.  that’s got to be one major reason why the Sharks were able to come back in that game, they had the puck much of the time.

Wojtek Wolski got his 9th point since Christmas and people are tabbing him as a superstar?  Matt Duchene is a superstar in waiting.  Craig Anderson is a superstar (probably already).  Wolski has had some incredible streaks to his season but in his BEST season he’s only gotten 22 goals.  it’s not like he’s a rook with a whole whack of promise either, this is his 4th full season in the league.  i’m not saying he doesnt have value, i’m saying he has less value in keeper leagues than some are thinking he does.

i like Brandon Yip for his quick release.  he’s big and he’s a decent skater.  he looks like he’ll have good value as a keep down the road too.

Jeff Deslauriers got shelled but he kept the score manageable over 41 SOGs.  JDD looks to have won the goalie wars in Edmonton.  congratulations kid, you’ll get to be the backup on a bad team for years to come.  then again, as soon as the Oil add Eberle and Hall (probably) then eventually they’ll rival the Pens for offense.

well, i’m off to prepare for the SuperBowl.  i’m wearing my Saints garb to church and i’m supposed to lead communion too.  i think it’s very appropriate that a Saint leads communion.

Kovalchuk to the Devils

Ilya Kovalchuk, Anssi Salmela and a 2nd round pick were traded to the Devils for Johnny Oduya, Nicklas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier, a 1st round pick and a 2nd round pick.

i’ve got to think that the Thrashers didn’t get enough and i don’t care that it “technically” could just be a rental for the Devils.  it is my belief the Devils will do all they can to sign Kovy for something that makes sense in their salary structure.  if they don’t or can’t then they actually didn’t lose all that very much here.

Kovalchuk is one of the best pure goalscorers in the game and i’ve got to think that Travis Zajac is just plain giddy tonight.  there’s a chance that the Devils will move Parise over to the right side and then they’ll have to give a plum assignment to someone who’ll get to center two of the best snipers in the world.  no Z, it isn’t Christmas and your birthday isn’t til May but still, it’s ok to do a little jig.  if the Devils decide not to move Parise to the right side then i would think that Brian Rolston wins the lottery because he’ll get playing time with one of the big guns.  at the very least if Parise switches sides then Rolston gets Langenbrunner and that’s not a horrible consolation prize.

the Thrashers get an underrated fantasy D-man in Oduya and a young sniper with loads of upside.  Cormier won’t amount to much of anything and the 1st rounder is going to be around 28th overall (ish) so that actually doesn’t amount to much. 

the value in the deal is in Bergfors.  he can be a 40 goal guy eventually.  the offensive vacuum will be filled by Bryan Little and Bergfors primarily.  Oduya has always been a shutdown guy who can put up some decent points and i think he may be the perfect complement to young D options like Enstrom and Bogosian.  he’ll fit in just fine with the Thrash although i don’t imagine the +/- strength that he’s put up will be a strength for him this year or next (since the defensive play on the Thrash is vastly different than the defensive play on the Devils).

ok, in general i’ve got to think that this deal helps in order:  Ilya Kovalchuk, Travis Zajac, Bryan Little, Brian Rolston, and Nicklas Bergfors.  i don’t imagine that any of the other names mentioned in the deal get affected too much.

i still say that i don’t think the Thrash got enough.  the Devils just might be the team to beat in the East now and yes i realize that there are some pretty monstrous offenses in the East.

Jokinen to the Rangers

Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust were traded to the Rangers for Christopher Higgins and Ales Kotalik.

in short, the Flames got owned in this one when you look at fantasy value alone.  Jokinen is the best player in the deal and he was just a bad fit in Calgary.  in moving him they sold short on his value and they came away with little serviceable value in Higgins and Kotalik.  their hope is that Higgins returns to the value that he showed as a Hab but that isn’t a guarantee by any means and if he doesn’t … then … where’s that paddle again?  oh yeah, they’re up that creek WITHOUT a paddle.  and Kotalik is a PP specialist, and that’s if i look at him in a generous, you married my sister so i have to like you sort of light.

the Flames let Cammalleri go this past summer so that they could keep Jokinen around and now they have virtually nothing to show for it.  Jokinen didn’t mesh well as a Flame because he’s a SOGger, a sniper, and they already have enough of that.  if you can’t dish to Iggy then you’re not a good fit and Olli likes to shoot, traditionally anyway.

rumours still abound that the Flames have something more going with the Stars and Flames fans are drooling that it might be a pass happy forward like Brad Richards.  i’ve got to think that they need something like that but i don’t know how that’ll come about.   i also don’t know how Olli is a good fit on the Rangers either, i suppose i’d suggest that they team him up with Brandon Dubinsky and they resist the urge to put him with Gaborik except on the PP.

so … who does this trade help?  the Rangers.  Brandon Dubinsky.  maybe it helps Christopher Higgins, at least the Flames hope that it helps Higgins.

if i were a Flames fan then i wouldn’t be liking this deal …  but i’m not a Flames fan.

Giguere to the Leafs

the Anaheim Ducks traded Jean Sebastien Giguere to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake. 

i see this mostly as moving money from one pile to another and i don’t deal with that issue as a general rule so let’s talk about the fantasy impact of this deal.  the Leafs get a vet goalie who can help show the ropes to Jonas Gustavsson who they want to be their option down the road.  Monster can now handle up to half the games for the Leafs and Giggy can tutor him.  it’s an expensive idea methinks but it also addresses some needs as the team thinks they exist.

the Ducks trade a contract that was hard to move, that really very few NHL teams were even interested in.  for their troubles they got a vet goalie and another secondary scoring option.  Toskala will be the backup behind Hiller and … he won’t have much value whatsoever.  Blake actually shoots the puck a lot traditionally and that’s where most of his fantasy value lies.  he’ll be a decent addition for the Ducks if he gets the opportunity on the 2nd line that he needs to get.  he’ll probably get to line up with Saku Koivu and if he just pulls the trigger then at least he’ll have somebody who can send some saucers his way.

mostly though, this is a money move.  the Ducks got away from Giggy’s contract and the Leafs got a veteran tutor.

Phaneuf to the Leafs

the Flames traded Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom, and prospect D Keith Aulie to the Maple Leafs for Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Ian White and Jamal Mayers.  overall i say the trade is a push.

the Leafs gave up a lot of trade chips and i would’ve preferred they got a pick on top of what they did get but nevertheless they got a fantasy franchise D who contributes across the board for a fantasy team.  in terms of real NHL play i find that PIMy D chases around too much to make a big hit and he’s prone to defensive lapses because of it.  he’s also pretty much what the Leafs need.  Sjostrom … is nothing.  he’s Primeau except smaller and with less value.  as far as Aulie is concerned, he’s huge.  that’ll probably mean that he might have NHL value as a stay at home type but i doubt he’ll have any fantasy value at all. 

overall Brian Burke has traded for 3 guys that he likes and he continues to be building from the defensive side out.

the Flames fill out their secondary scoring with Stajan and Hagman while they replace Phaneuf with White.  the D swap is a step down overall but some would argue that White is a better option than Phaneuf is anyway.  White will slot into their PP quite well and he’ll fight Giordano to contribute more with the extra man.  i expect that Giordano will win the battle in the end but White is a very valuable D3 for the Flames now.  Stajan will slot into the 2nd line at the very least and may even replace Jokinen as the top option for the Flames.  Hagman may end up stealing opportunity from Rene Bourque but i actually see Bourque getting more exposure with Iginla on the top line.  Hagman may end up with Jokinen or with Langkow, maybe both and Bourque may end up with Stajan/Iginla.  then again they may just keep Stajan and Hagman together since they have at least played together some and would know each other’s game off the top.

the Flames are trying to make a run at the Avalanche in their own division and this is a move in the right direction.  their overall game is improved with these additions.  the Leafs add a franchise D in the mould of the sort of game they want to pursue.  i still wish they had gotten a pick out of it too but i like the move overall.

Sunday morning armchair

Trades made this week

in the Dobber Entry League Chinny traded Rick DiPietro and Michael Del Zotto for Michal Neuvirth and Dan Boyle - this trade was made simply to add Boyle to the roster.  Neuvirth might end up on the waiver wire in the near future or he could get traded elsewhere or he might end up as a significant starter for the Caps.  i’m not a fan of DiP in the least but DZ has done virtually nothing after the first month of the season so i’m perfectly fine with moving spare pieces for a significant D in Boyle.

Chinny then went on to show off some more and traded Scott Hartnell, Brad Stuart, and Dustin Byfuglien for Phil Kessel, Francois Beauchemin and Milan Michalek - my reaction when i saw what he had done was to wonder how it is that he gets other people to upgrade his roster at every guy involved in the trade.  Chinny is after SOGs mostly and he’ll get tons of that with Kessel/Michalek and Beau is just a better option than Stuart overall. 

and just when you thought it was safe to read on Chinny traded Mike Knuble for Shea Weber - how wrong is that eh?  who proposes something like that to a shark like Chinny?  i don’t imagine he could hit the accept button fast enough.  the odd thing is that he was in the process of trying to upgrade the D on that very team.  well anyway, well done.

Mark traded Mike Cammalleri and Jay Bouwmeester for Marian Hossa, Niklas Lidstrom and a conditional 3rd round pick if Lidstrom retires - i really like this deal for Mark in a multi-cat league because Hossa will continue to contribute as secondary attack for a really strong Hawks team while i fully expect that the Wings will make a run at a higher seed for the playoffs and much of the credit will be due to the leadership of their captain.  let’s get this out of the way now though, Lidstrom isn’t retiring after this year so you won’t be getting that pick.  this is a decent deal, particularly when i see the disappointing stats that JBo has put up so far.

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WOOOOOOO!  Hockey Day in Canada live from Stratford Ontario.  Stratford is a beautiful burgh full of lots of down home types that love their puck.  the unofficial “theme song” for HDIC is Skating Rink by David Francey who is a fave of my wife and the “boyfriend” of one of her good friends.  her friend only calls him that because she “LOVES him”, as far as i know they’ve never met.  you can hear the mp3 for the tune at this link or you can go watch the vid on youtube here.  i may have to go buy this CD now and i’ve already downloaded the guitar chords so i can learn to play the song myself.  THAT is hockey in Canada lads and one more reason why i love Hockey Day.

i’ve been trying to help an emailer make some trades to keep his lead in his league and Ryan if you’re reading this Dustin Penner should be enough to land you Danny Briere this season.  if it isn’t accepted by now then it’s not happening.

i’m actually happy for the Senators and for my brother.  the Sens have been on  a huge roll and my brother is a Sens fan living in the heart of Leafland.  he and they have got to excited by the renaissance of offense for them of late.

i’ve been rostering Jarkko Ruutu and Chris Neil for a couple weeks now in the hopes of getting more PIMs and i was hoping that a divisional game like this against the Habs would’ve given me something.  what’d i get?  goose eggs.

did you see Cammalleri get hammered by Volchenkov?  that was a direct result of a pass up the butt.  the mark of a true teammate is when you DON’T hang your guy out to dry with a pass like that.

Benoit Pouliot has been a Hab since Christmas, has played 18 games and he has 11 goals and 1 assist.  he’s a big kid and he’s just the sort of talented monster that they need on that team.  dynasty leagues should be all over this guy already but i’ve got to think that most keepers should be taking a good long look at him now too.

Alex Kovalev got booed everytime he touched the puck and he still went 1 and 1 on the day.  he’s a sleeping bear when he plays and booing him is just going to motivate him to say, “screw you too”.

ha ha, Jason Spezza took an idiotic minor in OT to take the PP away from his own team.  the Sens then scored during 3 on 3 on a nice play by Mike Fisher after a sweet pass from Erik Karlsson but that’s no thanks to Spezza.

take a read at my Between the Pipes article posted yesterday when i mentioned how Brian Elliott may just be securing the job for himself in Ottawa this season.  he has as many starts as Leclaire does and he’s got better stats.

Danny Briere should be returning to his 30 goal, 70 point level this season.  he had such an awful year last year after injuries shelved him for all but 29 games but this year is not last year.  he got his 18th and yeah, 30 is not out of the question whatsoever.

Scott Hartnell with a goal, 5 SOGs and 6 PIMs.  3 minors isn’t what i really want out of him but that won’t hurt the PIM total for my team either so i guess i’ll just take that.

the Flyers are 4-3-0 with Ray Emery in the twine since his return but in 1 of those 3 losses he only gave up 2 goals.  i’m not worried about Emery at all and i can see the Flyers making a run toward a top seed  in the east.  to be realistic though the best they can do is probably 5th before they’re ready for the postseason.

Josh Bailey has come out of nowhere to be a surprising part of the Isles attack.  he’s got skill and he’s getting opportunity.  he shouldn’t still be on a waiver wire in any league more than 9 teams so if he is then start paying more attention.

if a goalie is going to move at the deadline i’ve got to think that Dwayne Roloson is going to want out of the Island if he isn’t getting enough starts.  i hear the Stars are looking for a tender, the Blues too, so maybe one of those are a good fit.

i see a possible 40 pts for Rob Schremp this year and i believe he’s got 65 pt upside next year.

Phil Kessel had 1 goal in January.  1 goal.  he got 2 more last night so i’m hopeful that he’s waking up and doing some good things for the rest of the season.  i suspect this lack of production wasn’t about being tired and it had more to do with the dearth of talent around him.

Roberto Luongo only made 5 saves on 8 shorts and was down 3-0 before getting pulled.  it’s probably just a rough night and i’m not worried about BobbyLou in the least.  Raycroft went in and showed himself pretty well playing perfectly in front of his former crowd.

man there was one beautiful segment in the 3rd period where the twins and Burrows kept the puck on a string while the Leafs ran around like the Canucks had just stolen their lunch money.  embarrassing for any Leaf to watch and hilarious for any hockey fan to watch.

it was ALL twins and Burrows in the 3rd.  man that was entertaining, they really are great to watch.  Burrows with a shorty and an empty one to go along with a pair of assists to both twins.

at the end of the Leaf game i was -8 on my Expert’s League team, mostly due to the fact that i had rostered 4 Leafs this week.  i did get Kessel’s 2 goals but he was -1 on the night and Ian White was -3 alone.

the Hawks threw 41 shots at Cam Ward and lost the game 4-2.  when i think of the battle for the Taylor Hall i’m more and more convinced that the Canes do not belong in the discussion.

Sergei Samsonov (1 and 1) and Tom Kostopolous (2 assists) were the no name best options from this game.  in general you want no part of either of them but the sun’s gotta shine on every dog’s butt at some time.

Andrew Ladd went 1 and 1 in a losing cause while facing his former team.  that deal that landed the Canes Tuomo Ruutu has seemed like a win for the Canes for a long time but Ladd is a pretty interesting fantasy option too.  he’s a big body who throws himself around and contributes across the board.

Patty Kane took 7 SOGs but didn’t hit the scoresheet and was -2 on the night.  Marian Hossa also took 7 SOGs but was 1 and 1, +1 with 2 PIMs.  big difference but as soon as i say that i realize that the Hawks are going to go as far as Kane will carry them (with Hossa, Toews and Keith to help).

Jarret Stoll has 35 pts on the season and got the shootout winner against the Bruins last night too.  he’s really underrated as a fantasy option and he’s been seeing more ice time with Anze Kopitar on the PP.  if i can borrow a saying from a buddy of mine, “a hydrant could score 20 goals playing alongside Kopitar” even though Stoll has a lot more skill than a hydrant.

Wayne Simmonds had 5 SOGs before getting an instigator at the 25 minute mark.  i’ve been starving for PIMs Wayne, thanks.

Marco Sturm has 16 goals and i still don’t want him on my team.

Marc Savard returned on Friday night and got an assist.  he got another assist on Saturday and he’s the only real lynchpin to the B’s attack.   his 2nd night back and already with more ice time than any other B’s forward (as it should be).  i read an interesting point this past week that the B’s wouldn’t be likely to try and trade for Kovalchuk because Savard has already shown that he has no chemistry with him.  true dat.

Bryan Little finally got some playing time with Ilya Kovalchuk tonight and he finished with 2 goals on the night.  he’s had a pretty … well it’s been … subpar to say the least.  he had 31 goals last year and this year he’ll be lucky to hit 15.  i still say that if they trade Kovalchuk though they’re going to need somebody to score goals and Little will easily step into that goal scoring vacuum.  Little also led his team in SOGs on the night.

i traded Steve Sullivan and Martin Erat for Jason Arnott and Chris Neil in January.  since the trade i’ve gotten 5 assists and 35 PIMs out of it while the other guy has gotten 3 goals, 5 assists, and 13 PIMs.  Arnott is the best Pred forward, he gets the most ice and has the best per game stats on their team.  i really was only after more PIMs with the trade so i’m still calling this a win so far.

Ilya Kovalchuk isn’t a superstar every night.  he wants AO type of money but he just isn’t worth it.  he’s not going to get 10M per and the flirting toward 50 goals and ending up with 40 just doesn’t cut it with me.  goal guys are hard to find though so i expect that somebody’s going to pay him in the end.

the Preds should be using Pekka Rinne a lot more.  he’s just a better tender than Dan Ellis but Ellis still gets more starts than the typical backup.  at least Rinne will be fresh for the playoffs but that doesnt help my fantasy team now.

did you see Johan Hedberg lose his head this week?  hilarious.  there’s this great Calvin and Hobbes cartoon where Calvin sneezes and then hides his head inside his shirt like he blew his head off.  kinda reminiscent for me.

Nik Antropov assisted on both of Little’s goals even though he didn’t get a SOG all night.  he’s a better asset when he shoots the puck.

Mikkel Boedker got his 1st goal of the season after a callup from the AHL.  he’s a great Dane with a lot of skill and a huge future for the Desert Dogs.  keepers need to be all over him because the upside is pretty huge.

Vernon Fiddler had a much better moniker when he was a Nashville Predator.  not that he’s a Yote the Nashville banjo images go right out the window and so does any fantasy interest he might’ve had.  he did get 2 assists to total up at 19 pts on the season but still it was much cooler in Nashville.

Erik Christenson and Brandon Dubinsky continue to get a boost in value while they get some ice time with Marian Gaborik.  Dubinsky has some extra value because he has more skill that is less dependant on having pure goalscorer talent next to him.

man the Rangers have Gaborik for offense … and very little else.  i still like Dubinsky but he’s only a secondary option right now.  eventually i think Doobie could be Zajac-good … eventually, i said.

i was just looking at the boxscore for Columbus/St Louis and the most interesting thing about the game appears to be an instigator given to Brad Winchester.  Andy Mc had a goal and 6 SOGs but otherwise it looks more than a little boring.

Antoine Vermette had more ice than any other forward for both teams on Saturday.  he got nothing done with it but he was on the ice the most.

Paul Brandt sang the national anthem in Calgary and performed a tune during the 2nd intermission.  i’m not ashamed to say that i like Paul Brandt’s music and i also don’t have a single one of his albums.

the Oilers and Flames had the 2 longest losing streaks in the league and it was interesting to find out who was going to throw the monkey off.   the Flames had a significant lead by the midpoint.

Michael Backlund got called up by the Flames this week because they were freefalling and needed some sort of offensive boost.   he got as assist on the Flames 1st goal and i often think that he could be to Jarome Iginla what Nicklas Backstrom is to Alexander Ovechkin.  yes, he’s that good.

Sheldon Souray tried to even the score for his concussion earlier this season by taking on Jarome Iginla and what happens?  Souray fractured his hand.  that is freaking brutal.  what’s going on in your head?

Jay Bouwmeester came out of the box to get this beautiful saucer from Curtis Glencross on an immediate breakaway.  the pass went right under JBo’s stick and the length of the ice.  JBo was so heartbroken that i don’t think he had anything left to swear at himself for missing the chance.  man, he’s snakebit this season eh?

Jarome Iginla has been fairly quiet during the Flames losing streak until this week.  last night was a banner night though going 2 and 2, +4, 5 PIMs and scoring on both SOGs he took. 

it was known fairly early into the game that the Battle of Alberta wasn’t going to be much of a battle this time.  the Oilers are a truly bad hockey team right now.  i still hate the idea of them getting Taylor Hall though.

i was expecting at least 20 goals out of Dustin Boyd this season and it looks like he’ll fall short of that.  he’s been short on promise all season though and hasn’t shown nearly enough to be fantasy worthy.

Mark Giordano got into a fight with Shawn Horcoff.  i mention it because both guys have some fantasy value and a bonus 5 PIMs is valuable anytime.  i’m seeing more guys bail on Horcoff this season but in keepers he still will produce once all the missing pieces (i’m looking at you Hemsky) are back and contributing.

Devan Dubnyk is still winless but they keep running him out there.  he does have a load of talent but i wonder if all this losing will hurt his psyche.

Patty Marleau went 2 and 1, Dany Heatley had 2 assists but i want to highlight Joe Thornton who had a PPA, took zero SOGs and had 2 PIMs.  looks like Joe took the night off and let the other guys carry the load.

the Sharks scored 4 of their 5 goals on the PP.  ouch, that’ll destroy the psyche of a penalty kill and any goaltender.

Miiko Koivu took 9 SOGs for the Wild.  nobody else had more than 3 except Nick Schultz who had 4.  that’s just wrong, they need a lot more offense on that team and Martin Havlat is not the answer.

Evgeni Nabokov was behind 2-1 after the 1st but he barred the door and got the job done.  he has 31 wins already and a decent chance to break his career high of 46 wins on the season.

Between the Pipes

Hello to you and welcome to “Between the Pipes”.  This article will be posted at www.worldcupoffantasysports.com as well as at my hockey blog at www.fantasyhockey.hockeyanalysis.com, I’m Ian Fergusson and I’m grateful for the soap box.  Every month I’ll try to give you a rundown on goalies that stand on their head, lay on the table and maybe a couple bargain bin options for your fantasy team.

Well, let’s get at it.

Standing on their Head

Tomas Vokoun FLA – no starter saw more pucks or had better GAA than Vokoun over the last month.  His fantasy value is directly linked to the amount of saves he puts up in any given month and in fact nobody beats him in the Saves category over a given month.  The Panthers have 6 games in February, 4 of them on the road, and I suspect that Vokoun will get 4 or 5 of those starts before anchoring the Czech Olympic hockey team.

Evgeni Nabokov SJ – much of the Sharks success has to be tied to the fact that they have one of the best tenders in the game between the pipes.  The Sharks have 7 games in February, 6 of them on the road, and Nabokov should get at least 5 of those starts before he goes to anchor the Russian Olympic team for the remainder of the month.  The Russians should go far, so Gene will get plenty of work.

Roberto Luongo VAN – at the time of this writing nobody has more wins than Bobby-Lou in January and the Canucks have leaped to the top of the division.  The Canucks begin a 7 game pre-Olympic road trip in February as they work their way through Eastern Canada, and Florida before starting to head west again.  That means that the only Canucks that’ll be seen live in BC this month will be Olympic heroes.  There are back to back games scheduled in that trip and I expect that the captain will sit one of those 2 games.

Jonas Hiller ANA – Jonas is the man for the Ducks and the rumour has been for too long now that they’re trying to sell Giguere to whoever would make a bid on him.  Hiller ran off a string of wins to start the month and the Ducks look like they want to make a move in the West.  The Ducks have what looks like a lighter schedule for February even though 4 of their 7 games are on the road.  Hiller should start 5 of those games because there’s a couple back to backs there.

Jimmy Howard DET – he was having a fine month before getting an L and an OTL in the last week.  I mention him because I want to point out the obvious … Chris Osgood is not getting this job back this season and might only have a shot at some playoff starts if Jimmy implodes huge.  The Wings have 6 games in February, 4 of them on the road and 3 of those in California.  Jimmy should start 5 of those 6 games and I’m betting that he’ll sit out the Anaheim game on the 3^rd.  It’s going to be a tough sched for them though.

Craig Anderson COL – The Avs are getting NO respect and a huge reason for their success this season has been the play of their star goaltender.  I still think that the Canucks and Flames are better teams than the Avs but they still aren’t going away and they’ll sneak up and beat up on somebody in the playoffs.  Watch out if you get the wrong 1^st round matchup and you have to face this kiddie corps.  The Avalanche have 7 games in February with only 2 on the road.  Not only that but all those games are quite winnable.

Laying on the Table

Kari Lehtonen ATL – he was sent to the AHL’s Chicago Wolves for a conditioning stint and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start in the NHL before the Olympic break.  The Thrashers have had some struggles in goal but they also have some depth to work with there.  I personally took a flyer that maybe Kari would have some value to one of my teams recently and we’ll just see what happens.

Pascal Leclaire OTW – he’s been outperformed by his own backup this season and he’s got an abysmal history of injury.  Presently he’s shelved for seeing cartoon birdies and spinning stars from a concussion.  I have SERIOUS concerns about what fantasy value Pascal will ever have.  Ever.

Jose Theodore WAS – man has it ever been a merry go round of goalies for the Caps this season eh?  Theo has had to fight off charges by Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth so far and he’s right on the verge of returning from a hip flexor problem.  When he’s healthy I suspect that he’ll get his share of starts but in all honesty the kids have done just fine in his absence so it’s kind of a rock, paper, scissors (lizard, spock) competition to see who’ll hang on to the job. 

Bargain Bin

Antero Niittymaki TB – while Mike Smith was down Niitty held the fort admirably.  He’s on a streak of 3 in a row to end the month including a shuttie of the Habs.  He doesn’t get a fair enough shake and with the Olympics around the corner I’ll just point out that he was voted the MVP of the 2006 Olympic tourney.  People forget that.

Brian Elliott OTW – he’s actually had the same amount of starts as Leclaire but he’s put up better stats on the season.  This is his chance to run with the opportunity since a slew of Sens have returned from injury and they’re making their move by putting together a significant win streak.

Jonathan Quick LA – Dash (a nickname I just made up) went into a dry spell in November as the Kings struggled generally.  Overall though he’s been among the best tenders around this season as he’s saw plenty of rubber and racked up wins.  I mention him here because I actually saw him sitting on a waiver wire in one league this season so it could be that people just don’t realize the skill the kid has.  He’ll easily push 40 wins this season.

Jaroslav Halak MON – I actually found him on the waiver wire in one of my leagues recently too and that’s just plain WRONG.  He’ll be the Olympic Slovak goalie and quite frankly I think he has more skill than Carey Price does.  Recently it has been suggested quite strongly that Halak is the goalie that the Habs need to be hanging on to and they should be trading Carey Price, is that an interesting thought?

Sunday morning armchair

Trades made this week

Chinny traded Steve Mason for Cam Ward - Chinny is going after a 4-peat and although i truly believe this hurts him down the road it’s going to help him this year.  Ward is going to put up better stats for Chinny this year than Mason would’ve and so he’s solidifying himself for the stretch run.  given the situation this is how fantasy trades are SUPPOSED to happen in keepers.  there’s nothing more frustrating than a guy who’s on top who figures he has to get kids back in addition to the vet he’s trying to trade for to help him win this year.  that’s not renting toward a championship that’s cheating your way to a championship.  be like Chinny, be reasonable.

Chinny also traded David Backes, James Wisniewski and Nick Foligno for Ales Hemsky and Kevin Bieksa - he made this trade in a 3 tiered league where Chinny has a big lead in the top tier and the other owner is trying to make a move so that he can move up a tier during the offseason.  this move shouldn’t hurt his chances at winning this year and it’ll put him in better position to win next year too.  this an astute move at a very reasonable price.

Tony traded Tomas Vanek and Sheldon Souray for Rick DiPietro and Dwayne Roloson - i HATED this deal when i saw it and i told him so.  i was actually advising him to go get Tomas Vokoun instead of DiPietro and i suggested that he could package Chris Mason into the offer and still get BOTH Vokoun and DiPietro if he wanted DiP so badly.  that didnt happen and Tony is happy with his trade.  the deal isn’t awful, i just think that he sold incredibly low on the value of Tomas Vanek.  at least he has the Isles handcuff situation in place should there be injury issues with DiPietro this season or beyond, and i’ve got to think that there are going to be problems with his body made of fine china.

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it’s a big day for “my” New Orleans Saints as they try to make it to their first SuperBowl.  “my” teams haven’t made a championship game of any kind since the ‘93 Blue Jays repeated as World Series Champions, that’s a long drought for me.  living in Winnipeg the closest NFL team is the Minnesota Vikings so i’m surrounded by Vikes fans and i’m the only Saints fans i know.  let me just point out that the Saints are favoured, they’re playing at home where they’re really hard to beat and they have the best offense in the league this season.  i suspect that you’ll see a couple great plays out of the Saints D this weekend as Bert … er Bart … em Brent throws up a couple INT’s.

i’m really looking forward to Hockey Day in Canada next week, live from Stratford Ontario.  Stratford is picturesque if you’ve ever been there and if you haven’t then next week might be fun.  we can meet for a beer after all the fun, you’re buying.  ok, i won’t be able to make it … you’re still buying.

Nathan Horton broke a leg on Friday after getting hit by a Dennis Seidenberg slapshot.  it sucks to get hit by a puck but especially so if you end up blocking a shot from your own teammate in the process.  he’ll be back for the playoffs but he won’t have much value this year anymore.  don’t drop him though, there’s a 2 week Olympic break during which he’ll heal up some.

Kari Lehtonen got sent down to the AHL Friday so that he can get up to playing speed.  he’s made of glass but he still has fantasy value if you’re desperate for a tender.

Georges Laracque got dumped by the Habs this week and if he decides to fight whoever comes he’ll have fantasy value again, if he doesn’t then we may not see much of him again.

there’s a possibility that Marc Andre Fleury plays on Sunday against the Flyers.  he fractured the ring finger on his catching hand last week.

Brendan Morrow has missed the last 3 games for the Stars.  he actually got dumped (and immediately snapped up by me) in my work league this week presumedly because they figured he was done or worthless or something.  he isn’t.

Jason Spezza is back and seems hungry to contribute.  as the Sens get their guys back things will be looking up for them.

the boxscore looks like the Sens played a couple guys short for some reason.  i never found out why but it could be that they dressed a couple guys and let them draw stink at the end of the bench.  how humiliating.

the Bruins offense is in trouble right now.  i hope you don’t have too many B’s on your roster because i don’t see much of an improvement until Marc Savard returns.

Mark Recchi kicked it in.  it sure looked like a kicking motion to me anyway.  no that doesn’t count.

Eric Staal missed a week in January but he’s been on FIRE since the very end of November.

sometimes you see a guy’s name in the boxscore and immediately think, “oh that’s right, he’s not retired after all”.  i thought that when i saw that Sergei Samsonov got an assist.

Michael Leighton actually did a really good job for the Flyers but Ray Emery is back and so Leighton’s value has gone in the crapper.  they’ll ride Emery 90% of the time now.

Jeff Carter went 2 and 1, Chris Pronger 1 and 1 and Dan Carcillo scored a beauty.  when the Flyers are on they’re really on.

why would i go for a buy one/get one offer on a Slap Chop?  that Vince dude is smarmy to begin with but what do i need with 2 Slap Chops really?  if i gave one away as a gift i’d have to admit that i actually paid good money to Vince, which i’ve never done in case you were wondering.

Cory Stillman was moved up with Steven Weiss and Michal Frolik on the top line so expect more of that while Horton is on the shelf.

Ian White is insanely important to the Leafs blueline, he’s probably the most consistent two-way D-man they have and yet there’s talk that they won’t want him around beyond this year.  i figure they’ll lock up both him and Kaberle and all this chatter about T-Kabs no movement clause is moot.  i don’t see him going anywhere.

the call on the trip that led to Florida’s 1st goal looked weak to me but maybe i’m just biased.

Tomas Vokoun hates rebounds.  everytime the puck came near him he froze it.  maybe that’s why he gets so many saves, he forces a lot of faceoffs in his own zone and anything close becomes a save as he freezes it.

in contrast Jonas Gustavsson looked really ugly on at least two occasions when he tried to move the puck from behind his own net.  there were a couple slap pass attempts that went virtually nowhere.

FASCINATING interview with Kenndle McArdle after he got his 1st NHL goal last night.  McA has a slight stutter and i thought it was great to hear from him after a big moment for him.

the Habs put the boots to the Rangers on the night.  i wasn’t watching but i’m betting that Tortorella’s head was about to explode.  couldn’t happen to a nice guy (now where’s that sarcasm button on my keyboard?).  i did manage to see Tort’s postgame and he got annoyed with the same NY Post writer it seemed but in general he kept it under control but gave no info.

i said last week that Benoit Pouliot is a good fit in Montreal and i fully stand by that opinion.  he got his 12th goal on the season and i believe he could be a 40-50 goal guy one day.

18 of MA Bergeron’s points coming into play on Saturday were scored on the PP.  that is the definition of a specialist if you ask me.  the line on MAB for years now has been abysmal defensive play so … don’t let him on the ice except with the man advantage.  he still got a hammer from the point so basically, problem solved.  he got 2 pts last night, both on the PP.

i was advising a guy this week that a star LW who might be easier to trade for might be Mike Cammalleri.  of course Camm goes out and goes 2 and 2 on the night.  yeah, it might not be very easy to trade for him after he has a game like that.

i actually found Jaroslav Halak on the waiver wire of one of my 12 team leagues this week.  it’s a lower priority to check the wire on that league but Halak should not have sat on the wire in any 12 team league.

i’ve been working with an Isles fan recently and it has made me consider Robbie Schremp.  Schremp was lost in Edmonton but on the Island he’s finally getting a chance to show his skills and he’s REALLY well liked on the Island.  i think he’s really found his niche and although he may never be the superstar we expected years ago i actually think he can be kinda serviceable as a fantasy option.

Zach Parise got 2 goals and Travis Zajac with 2 assists.  Z and Z are a significant tandem.

Kyle Okposo went 1 and 1, both on the PP.  with all the hype about Tavares on the Island i sometimes wonder if OH-poso will be the best of the entire crop.  both do they ever need another D to go along with Streit.

Lauri Korpikoski got 2 goals and took more shots than any other Yote in the game.  if Korp is your best player on a given night then, you’re going to lose.

Mike Green played.  he missed the Penguins game on thursday night but he was back leading his team in ice time on Saturday.

Eric Fehr (Manitoba boy) i’m glad you got 1 and 1 with 2 PIMs but you were also -2 when your team only gave up 2 but scored 4.  that’s not right.

Alex Semin did a lot more with less ice than a lot of guys on his own team last night.  i’ve always liked him, except for that fight last year where he punched like a little girl in a slapfight.

Richardson, Simmonds and Kopitar brought the Kings back for a win against the Wings.  the Kings and Wings are in a dogfight for playoff positions so it was a huge comeback for them against a team they had to beat.

Todd Bertuzzi continues to have great value in the absence of Johan Franzen.  i’m pleased that i called that one.  Bert never would’ve put up anything like this if Franzen were around to do most of the work that Bert is doing.

i watched the pilot for Human Target this week while waiting for Day 8 of “24″.  i’ll never get that hour back.  maybe i was just stoked for 24 … nah, the show sucked.

Nik Antropov had 2 goals on Dec 1/09 and then he got his 13th last night.  he has 3 goals in January so far so it seems that he isn’t shooting as much again and it really is needed.

Todd White and Bryan Little have disappeared because much of the opportunity alongside Kovalchuk has been given to Antropov.  if the Thrashers lose Kovalchuk then they’ll need White and Little to step back up.  i’m confident that Little has the skills to do just that.

Matt Walker has had a very busy weekend for the Lightning with 3 fights in 2 games.  he has very little fantasy value otherwise but he could be used as a bench D if you can’t find enough rosterable offense to put on your team.  he’ll only bring PIMs to the table, be forewarned.

the Blues had a 3-0 lead and lost it by a 3rd period comeback by Bobby Ryan and the Ducks.  Ryan got his 2nd goal of the night with 30 seconds left in the game and he took a whopping 10 SOGs on the night.  i’m telling you, there’s 50 goals in that kid.  hear me now.

Eric Belanger got his 13th goal and his 31st pt on the season.  he’s a guy that … YAWN … ah drat i nearly got through that and managed to show that i actually care.  i don’t.  neither should you.  sorry Mrs. Belanger, i’m sure your boy is a nice lad.

Miikko Koivu is the Wild captain and he’s their best skater.  yes i realize that Martin Havlat is on that team but he’s a little girl and Miikko is a real NHL’er.  the captain got 2 goals on the night, led their forwards in ice time and i wouldn’t be surprised to see a career best statline at the end of the season.

Jared Boll and Derek the Boogeyman Boogaard had a fight last night.  that must’ve been SOME tilt since both guys are monstrous in their own rights.

my 2 “break” friends with whom i take my breaks at work are a Hawks fan and a Canucks fan.  we’ll have plenty to talk about on Monday as they each rehash that game.  we were already discussing it all this week so they can go on and on and on some more about it this week.  that’s probably a good thing because my Leafs got shut out so maybe they’ll leave me alone.

who would’ve really picked Henrik Sedin for the NHL scoring lead this season?  and don’t try to tell me that you did ’cause i don’t believe you.  he has been freaking amazing though.  you guys in the East should stay up late and watch him go.  it’s becoming a hobby of mine to stay up late and watch either Hank or Big Joe work their magic (depending on the night).

there’s this old Cheers episode where Sam Malone becomes a sports reporter for an episode, you ever see it?  he does this AWFUL rap having to do with a GROIN INJURY, a GROIN INJURY, G … G …. GROIN INJURY.  my wife heard on tv that Sami Salo was hurt with a groin injury this week and she started doing the rap.  gotta love it when the entertainment you get is right here at home.

Antti Niemi got a consecutive start for the Hawks.  that was odd because teams regularly mix their goaltending around when they go on a western swing.  uncle Antti got smoked and was gone by the 2nd period though.  the door may be open again for Cristobal Huet to put some distance on Antti in the minds of his coaches.  they’re paying him so much they might as well run him out there.

Pavol Demitra got his 1st point on the season.  i have him in the Expert’s League so that i could take a flyer on him.  he should be on your bench for the most part but lots of people take lots of chances on guys in his position.  he has a history for stats and opportunity when he’s not injured.

Henrik, Daniel and Alex Burrows combined on 3 even strength goals.  right now they’re the best line in hockey.

Ryan Kesler is a checking center but sometimes i forget that he’s 6′2″ and 2 bills.  he got into his 2nd fight of the season last night.  that’s a nice bonus for a fantasy guy because it’s relatively unexpected.

Duncan Keith’s team lost 5-1 but Keith was even on the night and took more SOG’s than anyone else in the game.  Duncan for the Norris!

Joe Thornton only had 1 assist on the night.  slacker.

the Sabres jumped out to a lead and looked like they were going to surprise the Sharks but the fins got 2 in the 2nd and 3 more in the 3rd (including an empty one) to put the game away.

Dan Boyle missed his 2nd straight game with an upper body injury.

Joe Pavelski and Jed Ortmeyer with 2 goals each.  JP has value and JO doesn’t.  Pavelski has shown in the past that he can get stats with some opportunity having put up 59 pts last season, it’s also extra value that he’s eligible at C and RW on yahoo.  Ortmeyer is a 4th line energy guy who doesn’t really contribute much in any one category.

Manny Malhotra is Jed Ortmeyer except he gets more opportunity and can take better faceoffs.

Jason Pominville is on pace for 60 pts this season and that just isn’t good enough.  he got 80 pts two seasons ago and 66 pts last year but both he and Vanek have severely disappointed in Buffalo this season.  in a season where Tim Connolly is playing over his head and Derek Roy is basically on pace for what he should provide then i’ve got to think that Pominville should be able to leach off some of those stats and create more of his own.  the Slugs can’t win if they don’t score more, Miller can’t do it all.

Tyler Myers has been incredible for the Slugs this season.  some are touting him for the RoY and i suppose i wouldn’t be surprised if it happened but i may just call Jimmy Howard the RoY now after saying John Tavares was the only choice.  JT may end up 3rd in the voting before this is all over.

ok, with that i’m out.  it has snowed in Winnipeg for the last couple days, a heavy, wet, slippery snow.  beware the g … g … g … groin injury.

Dub’s Warriors

Jana emailed about a possible review of her team.  she plays in an 8 team H2H league where everybody makes the playoffs.  she’s in 3rd and she absolutely smoked her opponent last week.  she’s one of the elite teams in this league and it’s always wise to position yourself for the playoffs.  she only has 3 losses on the season but unfortunately 2 of those losses were to the 1st place team.

Jana’s league has the following settings for skaters: Goals (G), Assists (A), Plus/Minus (+/-), Penalty Minutes (PIM), Powerplay Points (PPP), Shorthanded Goals (SHG), Game-Winning Goals (GWG), Shots on Goal (SOG), Faceoffs Won (FW); and for goalies: Games Started (GS), Wins (W), Goals Against Average (GAA), Saves (SV), Save Percentage (SV%), Shutouts (SHO).  that’s a lot of categories but it should be noted that this is an 8 team league so it’s not as hard to find good goaltending to handle so many cats.  every team is going to be loaded though.

let’s take a look at the Warriors.

C Henrik Sedin VAN - the scoring race leader and i’ve heard all the arguments that he can’t keep this up.  why can’t he keep this up?  he’s playing great.  that doesn’t mean that you ignore all trade requests for him because you can’t ignore the right deal in a sell high situation.

C Jonathan Toews CHI - he does everything and he’s extra good at it.  he’s very much underrated as a fantasy option, particularly if your league also factors in FW like yours does.

LW Alexander Ovechkin WAS - he’ll be MVP again.  yawn.  he’s just so dynamic on the ice eh?  he’s one guy that i don’t look to trade in any league that i have him in, at least i’d have to be getting everything the other guy has and he’d have to throw in an autographed stick or something.

LW Bobby Ryan ANA - he’s young and in any keeper league he is a consideration to be kept.  within 2 years i see 50 goals a year out of him.

RW Marian Hossa CHI - he gets lost in all the offense in Chicago but he anchors their 2nd line scoring.  i like how many of your guys are purposefully pulled off of young high scoring offenses.

RW Patrick “sugar” Kane CHI - he’s already the best purely offensive option on the Hawks, and i say that already knowing that i’ve expressed some nice futures for Toews and for Hossa.

D Duncan Keith CHI - quite possibly going to win the Norris trophy this season, his first of what could be a long line of them.

D Tobias Enstrom ATL - right now he’s 5th in D scoring and quite frankly i saw him falling back to earth and Bogo picking it up.  that didn’t happen and it’s looking like he’s definitely the D to own in ATL for the next several years.

D Alex Goligoski PIT - i had to choose between Goli and Drew Doughty earlier this year in another fantasy discussion and i’m more than pleased to have picked Doughty.  that doesn’t mean that Goli isn’t a good option, not at all, he’s just further down the pecking order in Pitt than Doughty is in LA.  the fact that he’s young and Gonchar might very well be moving somewhere else in the near future bodes very nicely for him though.

D Stephane Robidas DAL - it is really underestimated what value Roby provides to an NHL team or to a fantasy team.  he’s hard-nosed, gets a ton of ice time and he makes solid choices for transitioning the puck out of the zone.  he’s now the man in Dallas from the back end and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon.

G Cristobal Huet CHI - he’s the starter on one of the best teams in the league but he still can’t shake the concept that he should be replaced.  he should be fine for this year … i hope.

G Tomas Vokoun FLA - his best fantasy asset is the fact that he sees more pucks per game than any other starter in the league.  he’ll get 30-some wins on the season, keep the ratios decent and he’ll make more saves/game than anybody.

BN Pekka Rinne NAS - i like him to be the Preds best option but lately they’ve been relying on Dan Ellis a lot more.  in the end he’ll be the better tender but Ellis (who looks like a hobbit) will steals some starts and some wins.

BN Eric Staal CAR - wow, he doesn’t even qualify as one of your starters that’s how far his value has sunk this season.  he’s still a great talent and you do NOT want to give up on him.  he’ll be fine and a decent option for goals and SOGs.

BN Andy Greene NJ - the Devils have been without Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya for good chunks of this season so into that gap has stepped Greene.  he’s a solid NHL option although he has never been nor will he ever be a star.  it was good that you capitalized on his situation this year, good pickup.

BN Scott Hartnell PHI - i love this guy in multi-cat leagues like yours because he contributes in goals while throwing in a nice dose of PIMs.  he can be  pretty streaky but when he’s on he puts up stats like the best of them.

BN Kurtis Foster TB - he’s been hurt for a lot of years and i’ve got to say i don’t have him on a single one of my teams.  now having said that he’s been great for the Lightning of late and he’s fitting in very nicely as a PP option for them.  i don’t see him as a long term option for them but for this year he’ll produce plenty for them.

BN Mason Raymond VAN - wheels galore and he’s REALLY blossomed into some nice promise this season.  i could see 30 goals out of him for a lot of season in a row.

you have the best offense in the league and i think you carry 1 too many D for my taste.  ideally i’d like to see you trade a D in a package in order to get an extra C/RW so that you can get more FW without hurting your total offense.  you also have a 50 transaction limit of which you’ve used all your waiver moves for the season (you realize the season’s only half done right?).  i wish you had saved some move for your fantasy playoffs actually, it would’ve been nice to have about 10 moves or so for streaming over 4 wks of playoffs.  in case you’re not familiar with the concept streaming is dumping a guy who’s not playing that day so that you can roster a guy who is playing that day or perhaps more games that week than the guy you’re giving up.  you don’t stream your good guys but but you can choose your worst player and stream him for a couple weeks.  anyway sorry, you don’t have that option.

Waiver Wire Options

since you’ve used up all 50 of your transactions this season that’ll mean that the only way that you can pick up a guy off the wire would be to offer 2fer1 trades but tell them they need to pick up so-and-so and then trade that guy to you in this deal.  that’ll mean that you REALLY complicate your trading discussions if you want to do that.

at any rate, here’s a handful of names on your wire that i like, in the order i like them.

Martin Havlat - ok, i really don’t like him at all but also he can be a real gamebreaker.  he looks to have found some chemistry with Guillame Latendresse and he’s a really streaky scorer to begin with.  if you can acquire him through trade then you’ll need him to go on a monstrous goal scoring streak … which he has the gifts to do.

Tomas Vanek - i realize this is an 8 team league but he has the sort of pedigree for 40 goals in a season during most seasons.  this year has been a bad one for him but you’re going to need some significant things to go your way in order to win this league anyway.  this bears watching.

Patric Hornqvist - right now he IS the Preds offense.  the Predators seems to latch on to 1 really good option up front and then run their attack through their significant D corps.  sometimes the significant forward is Jason Arnott, sometimes it’s JP Dumont or Martin Erat and right now it looks like it’s Horny.

Kimmo Timonen - actually i think you have 1 too many D right now anyway but Timonen has a history of significant D scoring.  i actually like him a sliver more than Greene who you already roster but maybe something could be done to roster him.  by the way, i loved Timonen in The Lion King.

Tim Connolly - he’s a C with a absolutely brittle history but this season he’s stayed healthy and he’s been a pt/game (ish).  you already have some significant C’s but one never knows what could happen during the course of a season.

Trading Options

these trade ideas are only suggestions, they may blow up in your face or the other guy might absolutely love the idea.  they’re intended as a starting point and the negotiations can begin here.  i’m completely willing to discuss trade ideas by email and that’s part of the point of doing this in the first place.  i want you to know that you can ask whatever question you want and i’ll do my best to answer as quickly as i can.

trade Stephane Robidas and Mason Raymond to Got Milk? for Brian Rafalski and Nik Antropov -  Milk has some trouble on his team at LW and you have a slight hole to fill at RW.  you’d be taking a chance by adding Rafalski and Antropov to the mix because the Wings might not bounce back and the Thrash may trade Kovalchuk which would deflate Antropov’s value.  let’s be serious though, this is a reasonable chance to take since i fully believe that the Wings are going to respond in the 2nd half and much of the reason will be because of Rafalski and Lidstrom; and the Thrash would be highly stupid to trade Kovalchuk, plain and simple.  Antropov provides offense and some extra FW, which you need and you’re offensive cushion doesn’t take much of a hit here.

trade Andy Greene to Digital Bruisers for Chris Stewart - DB needs a 5th D and Greene is a more solid option than the guy he’s playing as his 4th D (Marc Andre Bergeron).  you need another RW and have an extra D to spare. 

trade Henrik Sedin, Tobias Enstrom, Kurtis Foster and Tomas Vokoun to Team Sweden for Joe Thornton, Zdeno Chara, Tomas Fleischmann and Miikka Kiprusoff - Team Sweden has been loading up on Swedes all season so you offer him 2 Swedes and 2 other guys that you could argue could sound like Swedish names (Swedes spell Curt with a K right?).  there’s no way that this trade works in a hockey sense but even if you whittle it down so that the goalies are dropped out of the deal then you get the RW help you want and you balance out some other stuff that could actually work.  just point out that Fleischmann is a Czech and Kiprusoff is a Finn so he doesnt want them anyway.  who knows?  it might work.

Conclusions

you’re solidly positioned in 2nd in your league and your only real loss of the season (twice actually) was to the guy in 1st.  that’s the team to beat by the way and your situation is worsened a little by the fact that you have no transactions left for your playoffs.  you have a solid shot at it however. 

your team is strong and your only weakness is that you have a bit of depth problem at RW while you have one extra D that you don’t need.  you’ll also need your goaltending to hold up and there is a bit of concern about that too. 

the only way to improve your team at this stage is by trade and actually i’d start by looking at Team Sweden for some help there.  it’s obvious that Sweden is trying to lock up Swedish players only so why not offer up a couple Swedes to see if he’ll bite on the proverbial apple.  if you can get that deal done then you still might need to look at another RW option better than Fleischmann but not necessarily.  if that won’t fly then i’d go talk to the other 2 trade options to see who might jump at your offer first.

don’t get me wrong, if you do nothing your team’s going to be just fine too.  it’s not like you’re life and death on the border of missing the playoffs and in H2H once you get to the dance, anything can happen in the playoffs.

well, all the best Jana.  your team is solid, not much to worry about at all.

Sunday morning armchair

Trades made this week

Ryan traded Joe Pavelski, Jason Spezza (IR), Kevin Bieksa (IR), Nik Antropov and Alex Goligoski for Ilya Kovalchuk, Shea Weber, and Derek Roy - Ryan plays in and 8 team keep 4 men league and he traded a bunch of guys he won’t keep and can’t help him win for guys who can help him win this year and a guy he might keep in Kovalchuk.  the only discussion was whether or not he should go after someone better than Roy in this deal and it turned out that there wasn’t anyone better than Roy to go after in this deal.  well done.

Ryan traded Miikko Koivu, Jamie Langenbrunner and Jay Bouwmeester for Daniel Sedin and Rene Bourque - yes Ryan was a busy dude this week and as i write this he was still working on another trade too.  remember this is an 8 team multi-cat league that rewards for goal scorers and PIMy options.  Bourque is gold in this league because of his combo of offense and PIMs while Daniel has a history of staying right along with his brother but he’s the better triggerman.  Ryan traded a lot to get this done but he got the best 2 options in the trade and he had some depth he could move off his bench.

Chinny traded Rostislav Olesz and Jose Theodore in the Dobber Entry Division to get Scott Hartnell - this is a fantastic move for Chinny.  he took advantage of a guy’s goalie panic and made him give up a valuable commodity for some goals and PIMs.  this move allows him to take Pavol Demitra off IR and Hartnell goes right into his lineup daily.  Olesz has some traditional value as a sniper but he has undershone from my perspective.

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i was watching the Leafs on Friday night and a fight broke out.  the hit the caused it was incidental but Colton Orr’s stick was high which was the problem.  nothing like a complete melee to make your night interesting.  i had 4 Leafs going in the at game and i ended up -9 from those guys by the end of the night.  sigh, it’s not like it’s surprising that the Caps score a bunch.

the Preds threw a donut at the Flames on Friday night and it looks like they’re sharing goalie starts in Nashville.  i don’t see that as being good for the keeper development of Pekka Rinne who has the capability to be a star.

Patric Hornqvist is carrying the Preds right now.  keepers take careful note.  i like him for all offensive stats but especially goal related and SOG stats.

Jimmy Howard will not be giving the job back.  cement him in as the starter this season and just endure Ozzy’s whining throughout.   i’ve said since the beginning of the season that John Tavares would win the RoY in a walk but now i’m definitely saying “hey, what about Jimmy?”.  by the way, i wonder what Smallville is going to do about the fact that they killed Jimmy Olson last season, that ain’t the way it happened.

Brad Richards scored an unassisted PP goal in the 2nd.  PPG’s are hardly ever unassisted so i must take a look at that one.  i was watching the Oilers/Sharks at the time.

i’ve offered the handcuff of Howard/Osgood around a couple times in the Expert’s League and i’m now glad that nobody bit on it.  i offered a package that included Roloson/Khabibulin coming the other way and the other guy was annoyed at the idea.  it just goes to show that you should never poo-poo a offer you don’t like since you’ll still want to continue to deal with the guy afterward.  some guys are just hard to deal with (i can be that way sometimes too but i NEVER tear the other guy a new one when i don’t like his offer).

Brendan Morrow only had 6 minutes of ice in this game.  he suffered an upper body injury and he’s DTD.  he hasn’t been doing enough like he can this season anyway, the only Stars worth their salt this season are Richards, Eriksson, and Robidas thus far.

Steve Ott’s shootout winner was controversial.  i briefly saw the goal review but one official said it crossed the line after the other said he lost sight of it.  he called it a goal and then the review was inconclusive to overturn.  the problem is that the guy who said he lost sight of it first waived it off decisively.  i think it was a bad call and the Wings have a point here.

my wife and i watch “Numbers” on Friday nights and i always chuckle because every freaking week Charles Epps (the math prof character) has a teacher moment where they pull out a bunch of graphics to explain muzzle velocity and how it relates to the aerodynamics of a stork or something.  i think that he’s Bill Nye the science guy everytime.  it’s almost as annoying as all the one-liner crap that Horatio pulls out on CSI Miami.

Steve Mason continues to struggle.  he had a 4-3 lead going into the 3rd and eventually took the loss 6-5.  i’d actually target him in keepers if i’m right out of it and i was playing for next year only.  it’s just a soph slump and the price tag on him couldn’t get much lower.  i still believe and Mathieu Garon is pretty long in the tooth so the upside is still there.  Mason is a big kid who’ll continue to fill up the net, whenever the game in C-bus is back together we’ll see a return to last year’s stats.

Patty “sugar” Kane got the 3rd star for 3 assists on the afternoon.  the weird thing with his boxscore is that he didn’t take a single SOG in 15 minutes of ice.  i appreciate the assists kid but goals are always better and you won’t get those if you don’t shoot.

Jonathan Toews had a couple beautiful snipes to go along with an assist.  man that kid is special, he does everything and he does it well.

Troy Brouwer has had a decent run of points in January and i’m sure that any average league could make use of a bottom of the roster, hard-nosed RW.  if he’s available then he shouldn’t be.

Duncan Keith (cousin to my buddy Dave) is a monster of a D-man.  i’ve just now started to hear the rumblings that he’ll win the Norris and i’ve got to think that he’s the fave for it right now.  he had zeros completely across the board against the Jackets but the Jackets scored 5 goals on the night so there wasn’t a single blemish while Keith was on his watch.  i remember saying earlier this year to Dave that i didn’t think Keith was among the top 8 D for Canada and yeah, that was dead wrong.

Mike Commodore is pretty unsung.  if he can control his +/- situation he has some good value for PIMs and a little offense.  unfortunately though his defensive play this season has been pretty tough as he’s lined up facing some of the best offensive options in the league on every night.

Antoine Vermette is a completely different player in C-bus than he ever was in Ottawa.  his faceoff percentage is really good, he can be Rick Nash’s defensive conscience and he’s the beneficiary of the excess offense that the captain creates.

Tomas Greiss got the start at home for the Sharks because you can’t COMPLETELY run your starter into the ice all season.  i didn’t think that Greiss didn’t look very good at all.  he tried to clear a puck right up the middle with loads of traffic coming right at him and i didn’t think his reaction time looked even close to good.  Nabokov has no worries about this guy taking his job.

Devin Setoguchi scored the Sharks 3rd goal but he very nearly missed a wide open net, the shot banked in off Dubnyk.  he also has a new haircut that he’s sporting.  i can’t really work the shaved head look, i’d look like a giant thumb.

speaking of Devin Dubnyk (pronounced Doob-nick), he’s getting a tryout to see if he’ll be Khabibulin’s backup next year and he’s looking pretty good actually.  the kid looks HUGE in the net, his angles are solid and he looks agile enough to be decent.  JDD has something to worry about here.

the Sharks completely outclassed the Oilers.  the difference in talent is immense right now and the Oil is right to give kids like Doobie a shot.  just imagine Taylor Hall as an Oiler (i think i’m going to be ill at that thought, oh please let it be the Canes and not the Oil or the B’s).

man i’ll love to watch the Sharks and the Hawks in the Western Conference Final and that’s exactly how i see it right now.  they’ve just got the best teams across the board in the West.  you guys in the East don’t get to see enough of them because you don’t stay up to watch them very much (i know, i’ve lived in the East too) and you’re missing a lot.

from Nov 25 to Dec 31 Wayne Simmonds had 12 pts in 13 games even though he was hurt for 2 weeks in there.  since the new year he’s gotten 2 pts in 6 games coming into the game on Saturday.  that’s just not enough, if you’re getting top 6 minutes then i want top 6 stats and that’s saying a lot with the firepower available on the Kings.  he got an assist in a Kings shootout comeback win.  he got to line up with Kopitar and he’s even a good source of some PIMs.  i like him.

David Krejci and Zdeno Chara are the only offensive options i trust in Boston right now.  they won’t go far if they have to rely on Sturm, Satan or even Wheeler.

Miro Satan scored his 2nd goal of the season.  even though there’s an offensive dearth in Boston right now i still don’t want him on my fantasy team.

Blake Wheeler got 45 pts last year and was a killer +36.  this season he’s about on pace for the same amount of points but the +/- is looking like it might be the neighbourhood of the freezing level (that would be about zero for our non-Canadian friends).  i  still like him for a nice career in most keeper formats.

the Kings have so much offense at their disposal and then Jaret Stoll leads them in SOGs on Saturday afternoon.  Stoll is really underrated, an excellent 2 way threat who’ll contribute with decent offense.  the injury history is his biggest problem but go ahead and look at the stats on a per game basis.  he’s an excellent C4 option in any league with 12 teams or more.

Chris Stewart is 6′2″ and 228.  he’s a big dude that i think needs to play with a bit more edge but who am i to complain, he’s got 15 goals and 31 pts on the season.  he’s on the 1st line and he might end up with 30 goals by season’s end.  the lanche need guys just like him to step up and they’ve been waiting on him for a couple years now.  he’s arrived and he isn’t going away.  it’s probably too late to get him for a reasonable price but it’s still worth looking into it.

i traded for Zach Parise last month with the hope to improve my +/-.  he cost me Cammalleri and Ryan Whitney and then i added Pitkanen off the wire.  in terms of total stats i’m ahead by a couple goals and about 6 assists but i really expected this trade to be more huge than it has been.  Zach was -3 yesterday, and they only gave up 3 goals.  you can’t get beat up with your best player on the ice like that.

don’t buy into the hype that all will be well with Mike Fisher.  he’s a decent NHL’er don’t get me wrong but his talents are best served as a checking center.  he had a phenomenal 1st half but expect the stats to come back to the norm for him over the 2nd half.

it was good to see Alffy back on the ice, i love him as a leader and he’s underrated as an offensive option.  he’s getting older and more brittle but he still has plenty to contribute.  it was hilarious to me that it was Dad’s day for the Sens and Alffy’s own dad wasnt in his seat for his nice snipe.  i fully expect his stats to be in line with the sort of contributions he’s put up when healthy over the recent past.

Roman Hamrlik and Jaroslav Spacek get used much more 5 on 5 than MA Bergeron gets used but MAB goes out there on the PP.   if all you’re after is special teams points then i like MAB since he’ll be out there more with Markov but for overall play i like Spacek and then Hamrlik.

i answered a question over at Dobberhockey this week that asked me to choose between Benoit Pouliot or Matt Moulson and i went with Pouliot because i honestly like his talents and opportunity more than Moulson.  i see Moulson disappearing as the talent matures on the Island but i can see Pouliot blossoming into a power forward option in Montreal if he can handle all the pressure there.

Tomas Plekanec scored his 11th goal and 47th point on the season on a puck that Mike Brodeur didn’t see and went straight 5-hole.  i’ve never really liked Plekanec, i thought his feet were slow and that he’d never amount to much but i also didn’t see this level of contribution from him … ever.  i suppose i’d be willing to consider having him on my team but i still have some reservations.

Steven Weiss left the battle of Florida with a lower body injury but it’s expected that he’ll be fine and shouldn’t miss any time.

Cory Stillman was in my lineup and got me 2 and 1.  he can be really streaky but that team is so young that they need some older guys to show the way.  Still waters run deep.

Kurtis Foster has been all the rage in most leagues lately and that’s because he’s on fire over the last few weeks.  this doesn’t come out of the blue though, he had 40 pt potential in Minnesota and given the right chance he can do that for the Lightning.

Rostislav Olesz got 2 goals on the night but i’m still not changing my mind from the Trades section above.  he still has a pedigree as a shooter but he’s never really shown himself as a goal guy at the NHL level.  he’s on pace for close to 20 goals and that’s to be considered a good season for him.

Rick DiPietro got his 1st win of the season in a shootout against Ryan Miller and the Sabres.  i still like Roloson for the lion’s share of starts for them this season, he’s been a godsend for them.

John Tavares got his first goal since before Christmas, that’s forever when your team needs you to be the man on offense.  he’ll still get 30 goals though … i hope.

by the way, WHO DEM SAINTS eh?  Who dem?  yeah, sorry to introduce a different sport to the discussion but my Saints haven’t done this sort of thing in the past i’d just love to see a lot more of them this season.  they get to host their first ever NFC championship game next week.

Eric Staal with 10 SOGs and 1 assist as they get stomped by the Thrash.  EStaal is still going to show you something this season, don’t forget to pay attention.

Nik Antropov, Zach Bogosian, Ilya Kovalchuk and Rich Peverley each went 1 and 1 to get it done.  i’m a believer in 3 of them this season, you’ll have to read back to previous posts a little to be sure who it is on that list that i don’t trust.  ok, it’s Peverley.  i just think that his contributions are too dependant on the talent around him.

i’m wearing my Winnipeg Jets t shirt as i type this.  oh and look, the Coyotes won too.  this might be a big year for them, they can jump up and surprise a team or two in the playoffs.

Guillame Latendresse is completely at home on the Wild.  he was lost as a Hab but getting away from that boiling pot of hockey madness has been phenomenal for him.  he won’t be a superstar but the Wild run decent options at you over four lines and Guillame can be more than serviceable for that team.  by the way he got a hattie in a losing cause and he has 12 pt in his last 7 games.

Martin Havlat assisted on all of Latendresse’s goals and the two of them are developing some nice chemistry of late.

Ed Jovanovski led his team in ice time, got 4 assists and was +4 on the night. 

the Blues are 4-2-1 under their new coach.  as much as i like Andy Murray a new coach and a new perspective often turns a team around.

Alex Steen (born in Winnipeg while Daddy played for the Jets) has 10 pts in his last 10 games.  he went 1 and 1 in 16 minutes of ice.  if you’re in the market for a bottom of the roster C then you could do a lot worse.

David Backes scored on his only SOG last night and had more ice than any Blues forward outside of TJ Oshie.

TJ Oshie played in his 100th game already.  he isn’t the green rook that many think he is.  by the way, his future is a lot brighter than Patrick Berglund.

the Rangers put Marian Gaborik on the ice a lot.  that’s because nobody else can score for them.  that’s just a hard truth right now.  i still like Brandon Dubinsky though and Ryan Callahan might be decent.

Roman Polak was the 1st star going 1 and 1 and carrying most of the load defensively on the ice.  i don’t think he has much fantasy value overall but i suppose that he could be affected really nicely by the coaching change and i’m willing to be surprised by his contributions.

i don’t care how much your starter sucks on that night, unless he’s hurt and CAN’T play you don’t put in the kid who just signed a 1 day tryout contract while you’re on your western swing.  that’s just stupid but that’s exactly what the Penguins did after John Curry got pressed into duty and got shelled.  they should’ve just told him to “suck it up princess, we need you in the twine tonight”.  it turns out this tryout kid wore MA Fleury’s pads and only let one past him in half a game.  he still didn’t belong in there though.

Pavol Demitra played his first game of the season after 2 shoulder surgeries this year.  he was -1 with zero SOGs in 14 minutes of ice but i doubt he’s complaining because he’s finally back.

Jannik Hanson was impressive with the Manitoba Moose a couple years back and he shows flashes of NHL ability when he gets the chance to contribute in Vancouver.  he went 1 and 1 in 11 minutes of ice.  things are plenty crowded for ice time for him though since guys like Mason Raymond and even Tyler Glass have already shown their better at the sorts of stuff that he can do.

Evgeni Malkin scored a fugly one but when you’re struggling you take everything you can get.

Eric Godard lost it a bit in the 3rd period with 3 minors and a misconduct.  4 minutes of ice time and 16 minutes in the box, i doubt he even needed a shower after the game.