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.