Shallow Frozen Water

Sunday morning armchair

i don’t care if the Queen herself suits up for the visiting team in Montreal, i want my Leafs on Saturday night.  not only do i have to watch the Habs and Pens but i have to watch them without Sid?  no thanks, i watched a bit, saw the first goal and then we went out for the evening.  that doesn’t mean i don’t have stuff to say though.

did you see Georges Larocque pushing paper around in the office to set up the first goal of the game?  Georges is one of those classy guys in the game whose only real fantasy value is with PIMs but still it was nice to see him get a little ice time and make a really nice hockey play like that last night.  if Georges can keep up the pts pace over the season he’ll be worth more than a streaming option to your fantasy team, ’cause we KNOW he can do the PIMy thing despite the fact he only has 70 on the season so far.

Evgeni Malkin(g) is going to take on all of the responsibility for the offense while Sid is down.  there was talk about how Therien told him not to take on too much but come on, he’s going to want that, he’ll show what he can do and the Pens will be fine.  if Petr Sykora can keep up with Malkin(g) then the Pens will be more than fine.

that Colby Armstrong injury is going to hurt the Pens a lot too.  i think it’s the secondary scoring that needs bolstering at the best of time in Pitt and Colby was doing some nice things for them over the Christmas break (but had been a bit cold in January so far). 

Dany Sabourin with a shuttie.  you never mind him though, it’ll be Conk and then MAF for the Pens this season.

i saw Christopher Higgins blow the doors off a defender on the outside last night, impressive.  Higgins contributes across the board and doesn’t get enough love in this blog because of the team he plays for.  i really do like him and i’d even be willing to have him on MY team (in truth though there are several Habs (ptui) that i’d like for my fantasy team).

i can’t believe that Marco Sturm is the best sniper that the Bruins can put out there on a daily basis.  i’ll take it though, who am i to look the other way on a guy who’ll give me 30 goals.   now having said that, Marc Savard needs a bonafide goal scorer so that all those saucers he dishes end up in the back of the net.

Zdeno Chara takes a slapshot in the shootout to win the game.  somebody should blog about slapshots in the shootout (actually see my last post, i’m kinda proud of it).

Scott Gomez and Jaromir Jagr are definitely clicking together.  there’s a lot of talk about how the Rangers’ offense is awful so far and that may be so but i can say this much, Jagr has found a compatriot that can get him the puck and they’ll both contribute plenty over the 2nd half.

it’s pretty bad when your power play has to send Chuck Kobasew out on the ice but when he pays off with a couple goals then your coach looks like a genius.  he’s not a genius though, there just aren’t any better options to send out there and that is just plain a shame.  Chuck has a 20 goal career season high and this only his 2nd season where he’s broke into double digit goals.  he’ll set a new career high but i still don’t want him on my squad (unless i’m desperate for PPG i suppose).

Steve Ott could create some buzz around him this season the same way that Daniel Carcillo did earlier this season.  they’re VERY similar players if you’re looking for PIMs and pts by the way.  Ott will actually score more goals per game though and should get close to 200 PIMs.

Nikolai Zherdev scored his 20th goal of the season yesterday.  this from the guy who frustrated me to no end last season and finally seems to have bought into the system put up in C-bus.  i was talking to a guy who was thinking of trading him in a keeper league and i pretty much told him how much of a mistake that would be.  i believe that THIS year will be more indicative of his production than LAST year.

Matt Niskanen led the Stars in ice time last night without both Zubov and Boucher available to go for them.  Niskanen could be Lidstrom good in 5 years.

i still don’t see the Preds offense getting the respect it deserves.  halfway thru the season Arnott has 17 goals, Dumont has 18, Legwand and Erat both have over 30 pts and the guy with all the offensive potential (Radulov) will explode on to the scene at any time.  i’ve seen some of these guys on waiver wires this season as i looked at various leagues, most often it’s Dumont, Legwand and Erat for some silly reason.

i just cannot get into Chris Mason’s corner.  i just don’t see him as a viable option.  he was a backup for so many years and he never gave me the impression that he was a quality option then.  i didn’t even think he was better than Mike Dunham and whatever happened to him?  the way i see it Mason only keeps the crease warm for Pekka Rinne, whenever he’s to arrive in Nashville.  a lot of guys were REALLY high on this guy this season but i stayed very far away from him.  he’s even almost lost his job this season to Dan Ellis who is just as much the backup variety as Mason is in my eyes.  i run away from Mason in keeper leagues too.  if you’re relying on him in a keeper then move him while you still have the chance.

if you’ve been waiting for Scott Hartnell to break out before you put him in your lineup, well you’ve missed his incredible contributions for about a month now.  it’s not too late though, goals and PIMs galore.  staple him into your lineup, he got a hattie last night.

i see that Simon Gagne got to spend a little time on the ice with Mike Richards last night.  let that happen more boys, as much as i like to see Hartnell contributing the Flyers need Gagne to contribute more.  and he will.

in the game that i saw only in “highlights from Toronto” last night my Leafs manage to take it to the slugs.  you know who the slugs are right?  have you looked at their logo?  fugly.  Alex Steen is looking like an ok NHL’er of late, Jason Blake is still shooting the puck a lot, Nik Antropov is rather adept at the tip off the point shot, and all that slacker Sundin did was to provide one assist.  actually i love Sundin, he’s my guy.  still plenty of rumour of him going to Vancouver or Detroit but i honestly don’t see him waiving the trade clause.  he’ll also re-sign over the summer.

Daniel Paille has shown a little something since just before Christmas (right around when Afinogenov went down.  interesting).  he’s worth a look in all leagues but in deeper ones he should already be rostered.

for all the gibbering going on about how the Lightning need to trade for a goaltender this season then Johan Holmqvist is having himself a very nice January with 3 wins and an OTL, including 2 shutties in a row.  he’s worth trading for if you can get a good price, just point out where the Lightning stand in the standings and put together something close, and you could get something done.

with both Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley on the shelf the guy who led the Sens in SOG last night was … Andrei Meszaros.  who’da thunk it?  not me anyway.  Mez is a quality defender, a shutdown defender that any team would love to add to their own blueline.  for fantasy purposes though he has less value than he has in actual games.

it looks like the Sens are relying on Mike Fisher more with the absence of Alffy and Heater.  he’ll put up a lot of #s in the interim.

at the start of the season i picked Nicklas Backstrom for the RoY.  that isnt happening but he’s definitely picked it up of late and is going to contribute significantly for the next decade and a half.

dare i say it but in leagues that count things like faceoff%, take a look at Boyd Gordon.  he won’t contribute anywhere else but if you want to look deep, there ya go.

i love Mike Green in all league formats for the next decade.

those guys that are expecting a big rebirth out of Jay Bouwmeester for this second half will be disappointed.  a while back somebody asked if i’d expect better numbers out of Bouw or Dennis Wideman and i picked Wideman, i still do.

whatever happened to Tom Poti?  he was supposed to be an offensive anchor for the Caps and has yet to pocket his first goal of the season.  i cut ties long ago.

some suggest that Kyle Turris will outpace Peter Mueller for production in PHX over his career, i say it’s going to be the other way around.  Mueller has some serious skill and it’d be criminal to have to roster him as your C2 for the dogs.  i like Turris too but i see him as a lot more brittle than Mueller.

my compatriot blogger for the Blackhawks has gotten me thinking about how the Hawks could very well send the Bulin Wall packing somewhere before the deadline.  Patrick Lalime has been more than adequate for a lot cheaper price.  think Pittsburgh might be interested in a goalie?

i sometimes rag on Alexander Frolov, particularly in H2H but he’s got 16 pts in his last 13 games.  i offered him around my keeper H2H league last week and got not a single counter offer.  i’m ok with keeping him around if he continues to produce like he has of late.

i got Dustin Brown as a throw-in in a trade in November and i’ve been thrilled by that ever since.  he shoots, scores, PIMs and he’ll knock you on your ass if you look at him sideways.  i think he might be on the vanguard for power forward options in the near future.  Rob, if you’re reading this your offer of Derek Roy for him doesn’t get there.

have you seen how Jason Labarbapapa bugs his eyes out in pregames?  he said last night that he’s just trying to “get his eyes going”, whatever that means.  it still looks psycho-killer if you ask me.  maybe that’s a good thing in hockey and goalies are stereotypically … nuts.

Rob Blake was on the ice for over 25 mins of the game last night.  Jack Johnson was on for over 21 and got a goal.  i still say there aren’t many better mentors for JJ than Blake.

i wish Sami Salo would do something on the scoresheet.  he’s one of those guys that i’ve been expecting to explode for goals and he doesn’t look like he’s getting anywhere close.  Mattias Ohlund has shown a little more but he’s a guy in the same boat.  with all the talk about how the Canucks need to generate more offense then one excellent way is to generate it from the D, it’s not happening for these 2 though.

did you see Dion Phaneuf with the love tap on JS Aubin on Friday night?  Scottie Thornton was just about to go off on PIMy D but he couldn’t reach him.  you got to love how Dion just stirs it up against everyone eh?  love. it.

Sandis Ozolinsh hits the scoresheet with 3 PPA, but he’s still -2 on the night.  i won’t have him on my team because of all the 2nd chances he’s gotten and still messed up.  i’d MUCH rather run Craig Rivet out there than him.

Dan Cleary is freaking streaky.  where was this guy for the first half of the season and then he gets 13 pts in 9 games in January.  he’s a decent option, just bear in mind that he’ll disappear for a couple games at a time.  he may have the quietest 19 goals on the season than anyone i know on the list.  last year i traded away Mike Fisher for Cleary because i needed a winger and had too many C’s.  as soon as he was on my team he went ice cold and Fisher lit it up.  sometimes the bear gets you.

some guys, all they do is score goals.  they get few assists, they’re just a triggerman.  this year it’s Brad Boyes, Rick Nash, Dustin Brown and Marek Svatos (seriously, go look at his stats for this season).  Devin Setoguchi is and will be one of those guys for a lot of years.

well, it’s mid-afternoon when i finish the Sunday morning armchair.  your patience is appreciated, if you care about such things.