1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers: 11 games, 5 g and 6 a for 11 pts, +4 rating
Drafted first overall by the Oilers last June, RNH has clicked instantly with fellow youngsters Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle. The offensively gifted Nugent-Hopkins sees the ice well and has great offensive instincts for a 18 year-old rookie. Expect the 6’1”, 175-lbs to slow as the season advances because of his slightly-built frame.
Projections: 77 games, 32 g and 34 a for 66 pts, +7 rating

2. Luke Adam, Buffalo Sabres: 10 games, 3 g and 6 a for 9 pts, +0 rating
After winning the AHL of the Year Rookie Award with the Portland Pirates last season, Adam didn’t have anything else to prove in the minors. As a result, Adam was promoted to the big club in training camp and slotted between sniper Tomas Vanek and captain Jason Pominville with great success. With Derek Roy and Ville Leino struggling, the 21 year-old Adam will most likely remain in the Sabres’ top-six, providing him plenty of ice-time along the way.
Projections: 80 games, 22 g and 42 a for 64 pts, +2 rating

3. Matt Read, Philadelphia Flyers: 11 games, 3 g and 4 a for 7 pts, +3 rating
Read, who has never been drafted, is a 25 year-old centre who came out of nowhere and made de Flyers out of training camp. Something that was made possible after the team traded both Mike Richards and Jeff Carter in the summer. Gifted with a good shot and a great ability to make offensive players, the speedster Read is a well-rounded player and will stick with the Flyers since he’s on a one-way deal.
Projections: 78 games, 20 g and 37 a for 57 pts, +10 rating

4. Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche: 11 games, 4 g and 3 a for 7 pts, +3 rating
Drafted second overall by the Avalanche last June, right behind Nugent-Hopkins, the 18 year-old Swede has made a big impact so far with a surprising Avalanche team. Landeskog is more a shooter than a playmaker as shown by his 43 shots on goal this year, second in the NHL only behind James Neal. Landeskog has acclimated well to North America, but he has yet to play an 82-game season so he will likely have tougher stretches ahead.
Projections: 76 games, 27 g and 26 a for 53 pts, +5 rating

5. Colin Greening, Ottawa Senators: 12 games, 4 g and 4 a for 8 pts, -5 rating
After getting a taste of the NHL in 2010-11, played 24 games with the Senators, notching six goals and seven assists for 13 points, the 25 year-old is not your typical rookie as he’s a late bloomer. However, with Ottawa’s flagrant lack of depth up front, Greening will get plenty of playing time in their top-six. Greening is currently playing with red-hot Jason Spezza and Milan Michalek on the Senators’ top-line so he will get every opportunity to produce.
Projections: 81 games, 24 g and 27 a for 51 pts, -10 rating

6. Craig Smith, Nashville Predators: 11 games, 4 g and 5 a for 9 pts, +0 rating
Coming out of the university ranks, Smith was widely unknown before the season. With the lack of depth up front in Nashville, a good training camp propelled Smith in the Predators’ top-six to start the season and he hasn’t disappointed. The 22 year-old centre who has yet to play more than 58 games in a single season, will be hard pressed to continue producing for the low-scoring Predators.
Projections: 77 games, 22 g and 26 a for 48 pts, +2 rating

7. Roman Horak, Calgary Flames: 7 games, 2 g and 3 a for 5 pts, +3 rating
Despite a poor training game, Horak was stayed with the big club after being acquired from the New York Rangers in exchange for defenseman Tim Erixon. Horak, who is currently playing on the Flames’ third line with Lee Stempniak and Rene Bourque, Widely unknown in fantasy circles, Horak scored 78 points in 64 games last season for the Chilliwack Bruins of the WHL.
Projections: 75 games, 21 g and 24 a for 45 pts, +1 rating

Honorable mentions: Sean Couturier (Flyers), Ryan Johansen (Blue Jackets), Rafael Diaz (Canadiens), Jake Gardiner (Maple Leafs), David Rundblad (Senators), Marc-Andre Gragnani (Sabres)

Note: early season favorite Braydon Schenn is out with a broken foot and will miss four-to-six weeks of play ruling him out of the Calder race.

————————–
Fred is a freelance sports write and translator, as well as a featured Montreal Canadiens blogger on http://hockeyindependent.com/blog/ and a baseball columnist on http://www.dobberbaseball.com/. Fred also joined www.habsaddict.com in time for the 2011-12 season.

Follow Fred on Facebook and Twitter

After starting the season 5-0-0, the Red Wings have lost their last two games.  The Blue Jackets are the last NHL team to have won a game this season.

A couple of Blue Jackets’ first round draft picks contributed to the cause.  Ryan Johansen (2010 first round pick) lit the lamp for his first NHL goal, which decided the game and also added an assist.  John Moore (2009 first round pick) also scored his first NHL goal in the second period.  RJ Umberger opened the scoring for the Blue Jackets by netting his first of the season.

It was also the first game of the season for defenseman James Wisniewski, and he was effective.  Wisniewski, who was acquired this past summer from a trade with Montreal, played solid defense for the home team.  He was suspended for the first eight regular-season games for an illegal hit to the head of Minnesota’s Cal Clutterbuck.

Darren Helm scored the lone goal for the Red Wings, tying the game at 1-1 early in the first period. It was short-lived.

The Red Wings must have left their game at the Joe Louis Arena because they have been, to quote Simon Cowell, “pathetic.”  Since they left Detroit for their two-game mini road trip, they have given up 12 goals against the NHL’s best team and worst team in Washington and Columbus respectively.

Ty Conklin has been the Red Wings’ version of Chip Diller from the movie Animal House.  Instead of Douglas C. Niedermayer, players from the Capitals and Blue Jackets were the Omega Theta Pi and paddled Conklin on this road trip.  The only thing that was swollen after the game was Conklin’s goals against average.

Fortunately, Jimmy Howard will be back with the team later this week after taking a leave to spend time with his wife and newborn son.

Things did not go the Red Wings’ way in Columbus.  Head coach Mike Babcock made changes in his forward lines, which didn’t work.  They also spent a lot of time in the penalty box, which didn’t help either.  They were outworked and outhustled.  The Red Wings played like the Blue Jackets in the Jackets’ first eight games.

It will be “Home Sweet Home” for the Red Wings, but they have a tough test ahead of them as they host the San Jose Sharks this Friday.  This should give the Red Wings plenty of time to regroup.

Yes, it is very early in the season but is it time to worry?

If you took the summer off from following the coolest team in the desert, you missed a lot.  Bryzgalov high tailed it to Broad & Pattison, leaving former Lightning goalie Mike Smith as the featured net minder.  JovoCop surfed on back to South Beach, and Bellanger, Ebbert, and Stepniak have moved on as well.  In addition to Smith between the pipes, the Yotes have brought in a plethora new blood to help the team take shape.  You may need a score card to keep track of all the new center icemen on the roster this season.  Daymond Langkow is the most noticeable addition, as he makes what he and fans hope will be a triumphant return to Arizona.  Other additions at the center positions include Petteri Nokelainen, Boyd Gordon, Kyle Chipcura, and Alexandre Bolduc.  A couple of wingers were also added to the mix in Raffi Torres and Patrick O’Sullivan.

While some of the faces and names have changed, the song, for the most part, remains the same.  Defense is still the order of the day in the desert.  While Lanks has been known to find the back of the net on occasion, most of the off-season moves were made with an eye toward making the defensive play even stronger than it has been in the recent past under returning Coach Dave Tippett.

Goalies:

This team starts between the pipes, so that’s where we’ll begin our tour of the ice.  Newcomer Mike Smith has some big skates to fill in Bryzgalov.  Goalie coach Sean Burke will take Smith under his wing this season.  While Smith’s career high games came in 2009, when he logged 42 games in net for the Lightning, he will be the man on opening night.  Look for Smith to improve in the defensive-minded system in Phoenix.  This is a best case scenario for Smith, and he has all of his ducks lined up for him as the starter.  Jason LaBarbera returns as the #2 man.  LaBabs appeared in just 17 games the last two seasons.  Look for this number to go up a little this year, and he should benefit from the added PT.

Defensemen:

Like Bryzgalov, Ed Jovanovski also headed East.  Like the goalkeeping situation, the Yotes did not sign a high-priced free agent to replace the departing vet, instead choosing to replace him from within.  While they’ll miss Jovo’s physical presence on the blue line, this year’s defensive corps will remain largely the same as last year’s.  Keith Yandle will again be the anchor of the defense.  Look for him to kick his game up a notch this year, perhaps delving into the 70 point range.  Derrek Morris and Adrian Aucoin may be getting a bit long in the tooth, but they’re still as steady as they come defensively.  Larsson, Rizsival, and Kessler look to round out the defensive troops.  If there is an area for need, it’s another offensive threat on the blue line to compliment Yandle.  But the Coyotes have proven their detractors wrong before with their extreme defensive style.  They’ll look to do the same on defense this year.

Captain Shane Doan will attempt to lead the Coyotes deeper into the playoffs during the 2011-12 season.

Forwards:   

It’s only fitting that we take a look at the offense last, as that’s what the Yotes seem to do as well.  While there is some offensive potential in the front line this year, most all of these players share one important attribute: playing rock-solid defense.  In fact, it’s highly possible that no Coyotes forward will top 60 points scoring this season.  The Coyotes may be the only team in hockey that can say that proudly.  If any other team had no 60 point scorers, their season would surely be more doomed than Barry Melrose on stroll through Newark.  But for the Yotes, that’s business as usual.  The Cap’n, Shane Doan, will lead the way again this year.  Look for him to be somewhere right in the neighborhood of 60 points on the season.  Doan has the dubious honor of helping to form one of the oldest lines you’ll find anywhere this side of well, Arizona.  His likely line mates will be elder statesmen Ray Whitney and Langkow.  Phoenix fans will be hoping Whitney has one last hurrah in him; and that Langkow can fully recover from his neck injury and regain some old magic.  Kyle Turris is still sitting out there unsigned, with no obvious resolution in sight.  Thus, the 2^nd line will likely consist of Vrbata, Hanzal, and youngster Boedker to start the year.  There are others that will contribute, including Brett McLean, Kyle Chipkura, and Raffi Torres.  None of them, however, seem likely to light the lamp with great regularity.  Paul Bissonette returns to his familiar enforcer role.

Bold Prediction:

The Coyotes will compile a record of 47-28-7, for 101 points and 2^nd place in the Pacific division.  The Yotes will win at least one playoff series, with a chance for more if everything comes together.  With all the changes, the goalkeeping is likely to be the key for success this season.  Phoenix management managed to avoid the traps of overpaying for free agents this off-season, and it will surely pay off in the long run.  As for this year, if Smith or LaBabs can get hot come crunch time, the Yotes have the system and the experience to make a deep playoff run.   The Zamboni’s fired up and ready to roll.  Buckle up and hold on tight.  It’s gonna be a wild ride!

Follow me on Twitter @Rabid_Jack for the latest on the Coyotes, the NHL, fantasy sports, and sports humor!

Please avoid the 10 players below at all cost because of the injury risk they pose. Let another participant take a risk on them and reap the rewards of a safer pick. Players are ranked in team alphabetical order.

1. Brendan Morrison, forward, Calgary Flames Morrison had off-season surgery after suffering a knee injury late last season and isn’t expected to practice fully with the team during training camp. He will most likely need a few games to get his groove back and with the emergence of youngster Mikael Backlund, don’t expect Morrison to repeat last season’s numbers. Don’t expect the aging 36 year-old Morrison to crack the 30-point mark this season.

2. Kyle Quincey, defenseman, Colorado Avalanche After missing most of last season with a very serious shoulder injury which forced him to only 21 games, Quincey will be hard pressed to reproduce the offensive numbers he posted in 2008-09 (38 points with the Kings) and 2009-10 (29 points with the Avs). The 26 year-old rearguard will need time to regain his rhythm and will likely have a very slow offensive start. Also, the acquisition of Erik Johnson as well as the emergence of rookie Stefan Elliot will push Quincey lower on the depth chart and will reduce his playing time. Don’t expect more than 20 points from him.

3. Kristian Huselius, forward, Columbus Blue Jackets Still recuperating from a torn pectoral muscle he sustained while lifting weights, Huselius doesn’t expect to be back until early December at the latest. He also had hip surgery in the off season. Don’t expect him to play more than 40 games this season and that’s optimistic. Steer away from him.

4. Gilbert Brule, forward, Edmonton Oilers Brule was traded to the Kings for Ryan Smyth earlier this summer only to see the deal voided because Brule had not been cleared to play this season. Brule has been working with a sports psychologist in the last months to deal with his off-ice issues (family problems) and on-ice issues (concussion, lack of production). With the depth the Oilers now have at forward, Brule is most likely to odd man out and is not worth drafting in any kind of draft format. Don’t touch him with a ten-foot pole.

5. Ed Jovanovski, defenseman, Florida Panthers After signing one of the worst contracts of the summer with his former team, Jovanovski goes from a defensive-minded team to another goal-starting club. Jovocop good offensive days are long gone and his fragility was displayed last season when he only participated to 50 games, recording only 14 points. Stop living in the past and don’t on the 35 year-old veteran to play more than 65 games and record more than 25 points.

6. Andrei Markov, defenseman, Montreal Canadiens The Canadiens re-signed Markov to a three-year $17.25 M contract this summer to prevent him to hit free agency despite the fact that he only played 52 games in the past two seasons because of serious knee injuries. Markov is currently skating with the injured players at the Canadiens training camp and he will most likely not be ready to start the season. Don’t expect him to play every game, especially on back-to-back games as the Canadiens will handle him with care. Let another GM take a chance on him.

7. Travis Zajac, forward, New Jersey Devils Zajac suffered an Achilles tear doing off-season workouts in mid-August that will sideline him up two three months from the date of the injury. Now the situation is a little bit murkier and Zajac could miss more than the two months he originally was expected to miss. Other players who suffered a similar injury have missed up to six months 9suc as Justin Williams in 2008-09 who played only 12 games that year). Avoid Zajac at all cost this year.

8. Rick Dipietro, goaltender, New York Islanders The ultimate band-aid boy, Dipietro’s locker is surrounded by bubble wrap to avoid any fluke injury to happen (a la Dan Boyle). Even with all the precautionary measures, Dipietro manages to land of the disabled list of an extended period every year. The last time he played a full season is in 2007-08 during which he played 63 games. Don’t touch him with the arm of your worst enemy. Draft Nabokov instead as a 3rd string goalie.

9. David Perron, forward, St. Louis Blues After sustaining a concussion when he was checked by Joe Thornton and playing only ten games last season, Perron is still battling lingering post-concussion symptoms and will miss the start of the season. Don’t gamble on him as his return is uncertain at this point. Grab him on the waiver-wire instead should he be able to hit the ice later in 2011-12.

10. Mason Raymond, forward, Vancouver Canucks After suffering a fractured vertebrae during the Stanley Cup finals, Raymond will start the season on the injured reserve still recovering from this serious injury and will be out until at least mid-November. Raymond’s production declined (39 points) last season after scoring 53 points two years ago and with all the depth the Canucks have up front, he will be hard pressed to crack the top-six forwards when he returns, especially with the addition of Marco Sturm.

Jonas Hiller (vertigo), Peter Mueller (concussion) and Tomas Fleischmann (blood clots) are high-risk high reward players to draft carefully because of their situation. They are currently not injured, but they present a big injury risk so downgrade your expectations.

As most of you know, Marc Savard will miss the whole season with post-concussion symptoms, his professional career is most likely over.

We also know that Sidney Crosby is trying to also recover from post-concussions symptoms, so manage your expectations regarding Sid the Kid. Let a another GM waste a draft pick on him in the first few picks, but if he’s still available in the second round, he is worth the risk as 60 points of Sid the Kid will likely net you 80 points anyway.

For more news and updates on hockey and the NHL in general, follow me on Twitter.

Notables: Pavel Valentenko (NYR), Alexei Yemelin (MTL), Evgeny Dadonov (FLA), Nikita Nikitin (STL), Alexander Salak (CHI), Jakub Kindl (DET), Jan Mursak (DET), Philip Larsen (DAL), Vyacheslav Voynov (LA), Vladimir Zharkov (NJ), Viktor Tikhonov (PHX)

10. Sergei Bobrovsky, G, Philadelphia Flyers (Russia) – Height: 6-2, Weight: 190
After a very surprising and efficient rookie season during which he won 28 games in 54 games, Bobrovsky is now Ilya Bryzgalov’s backup in Philadelphia. This hampers Bobrovsky’s value on draft day and should stay away from the “Bob”. Unless, Bryzgalov gets injured or the 22 year-old netminder gets traded during the season, his value will be limited because of a lack of playing time.
Prediction: 22 games, 10-8-2, 2.62 GAA, .912 Save %

9. Tomas Tatar, C, Detroit Red Wings (Slovakia) – Height: 5-11, Weight: 176
Drafted at the end of the second round in 2009 by the Red Wings, Tatar had a great offensive season with Grand Rapids last season, he even got a few cups of tea with Detroit. However, the 20 year-old Slovakian is buried in a very deep organization and could very well end up starting the year in the AHL. His hockey sense and offensive instincts are off the charts and he boasts strong puck handling ability and has great wheels. Tatar can also score goals as shown by his 24 tallies in 70 games with the Griffins last year.
Prediction: 40 games, 7 goals and 13 assists for 20 points, +2 +/- rating

8. Andrei Loktionov, C, Los Angeles Kings (Russia) – Height: 5-10, Weight: 180
Loktionov is a playmaking centre who should crack the top nine positions with the Kings and inherit third-line center duties if Mike Richards is used on the wing. Loktionov has averaged at least a point per game in the AHL and doesn’t have much to gain going back to the minors. The Moscow native is a solid two-way player who can fulfill various roles on the team ranging from a defensive expert on shorthanded units to a playmaker on a power-play unit. He sees a great vision and he is a great passer.
Prediction: 65 games, 10 goal and 15 assists for 25 points, +5 +/- rating

7. Yannick Weber, D, Montreal Canadiens (Switzerland) – Height: 5-11, Weight: 195
Used as the team’s seventh defenseman and sometimes as a forward, Weber was called-up in late November last year. He dressed for half of the Canadiens’s games, scoring 1 goal and adding 10 assists for 11 points. The Swiss rearguard will get more responsibilities this season with the departures of Brent Spoel and Roman Hamrlik. Weber will get plenty of power play on the second unit and regularly be in the line-up whether it is as the team’s sixth defenseman or thirteenth forward.
Prediction: 76 games, 6 goals and 19 assists for 25 points, -3 +/- rating

6. Lars Eller, C, Montreal Canadiens (Denmark) – Height: 6-0, Weight: 200
Ahead of schedule in his recovery from off-season shoulder surgery, Eller should be ready for the regular season. The young Dane had a very inconsistent rookie season with Montreal, showing flashes of brilliance at times while going AWOL for long stretches still trying to adapt to the rigors of the challenging NHL season. Eller should improve in all aspects of his game, but don’t expect big numbers from him as he is buried down the depth chart at center. The 22 year-old pivot will battle David Desharnais to be the Canadiens’ third line centre out of training camp.
Prediction: 75 games, 9 goals and 19 assists for 28 points, -5 +/- rating

5. Nino Niederreiter, LW, New York Islanders (Switzerland) – Height: 6-2, Weight: 205
After playing 9 games with the Islanders last season, before being sent back to junior, Niederreiter is ready to make the jump full time in the NHL. “El Nino”, a physically mature player who can play both wings, dominated in the WHL playoffs with Portland last season and has an opportunity to crack the Islanders top six on the right out of training camp. The Swiss native will only turn 19 in September, so he hasn’t yet reached his physical potential. The skillful Niederreiter is a real leader on and off the ice and his determination and skills will help blossom into a great NHLer.
Prediction: 78 games, 17 goals and 13 assists for 30 points, -15 +/- rating

4. Alexander Burmistrov, C, Winnipeg Jets (Russia) – Height: 5-11, Weight: 175
The talented Russian played very well at times last season in Atlanta, but he also struggled at time. The flashy Burmistrov scored only six goals and 14 assists for 20 points in 74 games. He struggled defensively, finishing the season with -12 plus/minus rating. The lanky pivot should start the season on the Jets’ third line behind Bryan Little and Nik Antropov. Expect a slight increase in production from Burmistrov, but don’t overrate him as he still has to bulk up and polish his overall game to be an effective top-six player.
Prediction: 78 games, 12 goals and 23 assists for 35 points, -7 +/- rating

3. Nikita Filatov, LW, Ottawa Senators (Russia) – Height: 6-0, Weight: 190
After being traded to the Senators during the off-season, Filatov will get another chance to crack a very shallow group of forwards and show his offensive skills. The boom or bust Filatov is likely getting his last chance to stick in the NHL after playing only 44 games in the past three seasons with the Blue Jackets. His elite offensive skills and versatility should allow him to produce on a consistent basis with the more offensive-minded Senators. Remember that Filatov is still only 21 year-old despite being around for the past three season. If Filatov lands a spot on Jason Spezza’s line, expect him to produce good offensive numbers on one of the streakiest lines in the NHL.
Prediction: 70 games, 21 goals and 16 assists for 37 points, -15 +/- rating

2. Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, RW, New York Rangers (Norway) – Height: 5-7, Weight: 170
The diminutive winger dazzled Rangers fans with his excellent offensive skills after he was called-up from the AHL following a rash of injuries to key BlueShirts forwards. Zuccarello managed to play half a season in the Big Apple, appearing in 42 games, scoring six goals and adding 17 assists for 23 points. The small Norwegian winger was especially valuable in the shootout where he excelled. The 24 year-old speedster has fantastic technical skills and great passing ability. He can also man the point on the power play.
Prediction: 75 games, 16 goals and 28 assists for 44 points, +6 +/- rating

1. Michael Grabner, LW, New York Islanders (Austria) – Height: 6-0, Weight: 170
After being plucked out of waivers by the Islanders from the Florida Panthers, Grabner blossomed during his rookie season. In 76 games in Long Island, Grabner scored an impressive 34 goals and 52 points while finishing +13 on a very weak team defensively. Don’t expect Grabner to repeat his goal totals in 2011-12, as other teams will put better defenders against him this season. Yet, Grabner is still a very talented forward boasting extraordinary speed and great offensive instincts. He needs to improve on his consistency as he can be red-hot for a few games just to go on a cold streak right after that.
Prediction: 77 games, 27 goals and 20 assists for 47 points, -5 +/- rating

I find it quite surprising that none of the above players comes from Finland and Czech Republic, which have been successful countries at an international level for quite some time now. Sweden is now by far the leading provider of talented hockey players born in Europe after looking at the best oversea prospects in the past two articles.

Do you agree or disagree with the above list? Do you think I overlooked a player? Feel free to add your comments below.

You can also follow me on Twitter for more news and opinions on the NHL.

So, today I decided to have a look at the other of the goal spectrum: who were the best bang-for-the-buck NHL forwards in 2010-11?

Please note that a minimum of 10 goals and a salary of at least $1,000,000 (as to exclude players on their entry-level contracts) in 2010-11 were required to make the marquee list below. I also made a list of the ten best prospects under the main list so you can see which player still on his entry-level contract has been a scoring machine this season.

Player Actual salary Goals Amount per goal
1. Curtis Glencross CGY $1,200,000 24 goals $50,000
2. Clarke MacArthur TOR $1,100,000 21 goals $52,381
3. Cal Clutterbuck MIN $1,000,000 19 goals $52,632
4. Dominic Moore TB $1,000,000 18 goals $55,555
5. Troy Brouwer CHI $1,050,000 17 goals $61,765
6. Kyle Brodziak MIN $1,100,000 16 goals $68,750
7. Rich Peverley BOS/ATL $1,250,000 18 goals $69,444
8. Dr. Mark Recchi BOS $1,000,000 14 goals $71,429
9. Raffi Torres VAN $1,000,000 14 goals $71,429
10. David Moss CGY $1,300,000 17 goals $71.471
11. Drew Stafford BUF $2,300,000 31 goals $74,194
12. Gregory Campbell BOS $1,000,000 13 goals $76,923
13. Alex Burrows VAN $2,000,000 26 goals $76,923
14. Alex Tanguay CGY $1,700,000 22 goals $77,273
15. Lee Stempniak PHX $1,500,000 19 goals $78,947
16. Matt Moulson NYI $2,450,000 31 goals $79,032
17. Tomas Kopecky CHI $1,200,000 15 goals $80,000
18. David Backes STL $2,500,000 31 goals $80,645
19. Andrew Ladd ATL $2,350,000 29 goals $81,034
20. Devin Setoguchi SJ $1,800,000 22 goals $81,818

The Calgary Flames (Glencross, Moss, Tanguay) and the Boston Bruins (Peverley, Recchi, Campbell), each have three players to lead the NHL in best bang-for-the-buck forwards. Who would have thought that Glencross (who had never scored more than 15 goals), Clutterbuck (more known for his hitting prowess (336 hits) than his scoring abilities) and MacArthur (let go for free by the Thrashers this summer) would top this marquee list?

Best goal-scoring players on their entry-level deals
Player Actual salary Goals Amount per goal
1. Steven Stamkos TB $875,000 45 goals $19,444
2. Michael Grabner NYI $765,000 34 goals $22,500
3. Logan Couture SJ $787,500 32 goals $24,609
4. Brad Marchand BOS $600,000 21 goals $28,571
5. Jamie Benn DAL $635,000 22 goals $28,864
6. Jeff Skinner CAR $900,000 31 goals $29,032
7. Claude Giroux PHI $765,000 25 goals $30,600
8. John Tavares NYI $900,000 29 goals $31,034
9. Matt Duchene COL $900,000 27 goals $33,333
10. Blake Comeau NYI $800,000 24 goals $33,333

Without surprise, Stamkos is the leader among prospects in goal per dollar, scoring 45 goals in his 3rd year in the league. All three Calder Trophy candidates, Grabner, Skinner and Couture, are also obviously on this select list of great young prospects.

Please note that the following players, who all made under $1,000,000 and scored at least 15 goals are worth mentioning:
David Jones COL (27 goals), Mike Santorelli FLA (20 goals), Sergei Kostitsyn NAS (23 goals), Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau NYI (20 goals), Brian Boyle NYR (21 goals), Tyler Kennedy PIT (21 goals), Matt D’Agostini STL (21 goals), Bryan Bickell CHI (17 goals), Ryan Jones EDM (18 goals), Ville Leino PHI (19 goals), Taylor Pyatt PHX (18 goals), Lauri Korpikoski PHX (19 goals), Teddy Purcell TB (17 goals).

The Montreal Canadiens traded both Kostitsyn (for Dan Ellis and Dustin Boyd) and D’Agostini (for Aaron Palushaj) last year for prospects and marginal players en route to finish 24th in goals scored in the NHL for the 2010-11! Bad management and lack of patience by GM Pierre Gauthier? I would think so!

If we combine the two lists and the above players worth mentioning, the best teams at finding productive forwards to get their money’s worth are:
1. New York Islanders : 5
2. Boston Bruins: 4
3. Calgary Flames: 3, Phoenix Coyotes: 3, Tampa Bay Lightning: 3

I’m looking forward to hear your comments about this list and about my previous blog: Top-20 worst bang-for-the-buck NHL forwards in 2010-11 which takes a look at the opposite end of the production line.

You can also follow me on Twitter to get more insights on the NHL.

The first three players making the list, Scott Gomez, Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky had problems all season long generating offense as shown by the dismal goal-scoring production. Gomez, acquired two years ago by GM Bob Gainey with Tom Pyatt from the New York Rangers in exchange for Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko and Chris Higgins had his worst offensive year by far recording only 38 points making a humongous $8,000,000 in 2010-11. Glen Sather is still laughing at the trade! The same happened when Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke stole Dion Phaneuf with Fredrik Sjostrom and Keith Aulie from the Calgary Flames in exchange for overrated forward Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and Ian White. Mayers and White are now with the Sharks, hell Ian White has even been traded twice since the trade! No wonder Darryl Sutter stepped down from his GM job this winter as he could bear watching the results of that trade anymore!

Please note that a minimum of 60 games and a salary of at least $2,500,000 in 2010-11 were required to make the shameful list below.

Player Actual salary Goals Amount per goal
1. Scott Gomez MTL $8,000,000 7 goals $1,142,857
2. Matt Stajan CGY $4,500,000 6 goals $750,000
3. Alexi Ponikarovsky LA $3,200,000 5 goals $640,000
4. Jean-Pierre Dumont NAS $4,000,000 10 goals $400,000
5. Vincent Lecavalier TB $10,000,000 25 goals $400,000
6. Samuel Pahlsson CBJ $2,650,000 7 goals $378,571
7. Brian Rolston NJ $5,000,000 14 goals $357,142
8. Pierre-Marc Bouchard MIN $4,250,000 12 goals $354,167
9. Tim Connolly BUF $4,500,000 13 goals $346,153
10. Joe Thornton SJ $7,200,000 21 goals $342,857
11. Marian Gaborik NYR $7,500,000 22 goals $340,909
12. Jason Spezza OTT $7,000,000 21 goals $333,333
13. Nicklas Backstrom WAS $6,000,000 18 goals $333,333
14. Michal Handzus LA $4,000,000 12 goals $333,333
15. Henrik Sedin VAN $6,100,000 19 goals $321,063
16. Wojtek Wolski NYR/PHX $3,800,000 12 goals $316,666
17. Alexei Kovalev PIT/OTT $5,000,000 16 goals $312,500
18. Jamie Langenbrunner NJ/DAL $2,800,000 9 goals $311,111
19. Simon Gagne TB $5,250,000 17 goals $308,824
20. Paul Stastny COL $6,600,000 22 goals $300,000

The following players were not taken into account, because they missed too many games in 2010-11:
Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal, Daymond Langkow, Guillaume Latendresse, Marc Savard, Zach Parise, Marco Sturm, Daniel Alfredsson, Chris Drury, Alex Frolov, Vyacheslav Prospal, Derek Roy, Steve Sullivan, Matthew Lombardi, Colby Armstrong, Ryan Malone, Kristian Huselius, Chris Clark, Shawn Horcoff, Ales Hemsky, Tomas Fleischmann.

In my next blog I’ll have a look at the Top-20 best-bang for the buck NHL forwards in 2010-11!

You can also follow me on Twitter to get more insights on the NHL.

Waiver Watch

Let’s start with the waiver wire, keeping in mind those final two weeks are what matter most at this point.

Zach Parise (NJ)

Yes, there’s a fair chance he won’t play an NHL game until October, but just what if he does?  He just got clearance to skate this week, and continues to publicly say he intends to play this season.  Even if he plays just the final week of the season, he could very well be the best player on your roster in the finals.  He’s still available in roughly 1/4 of CBS and Yahoo leagues, but that will change quickly the moment the first picture of Parise on skates hits the front page of TSN.

Mark Streit (D-NYI)

The other forgotten man in the New York area this season is on a similar timetable.  Streit missed the entire season so far with a shoulder injury suffered in the pre-season.  At the time, he was scheduled to return in February.  He also recently resumed skating, but there is no official timetable for his return.  Should he return, the storyline mimics that of Parise.  He could easily be the top defenseman on your roster in the final week or two.  If you’ve got a bench spot laying around, why not stash him away and hope for the best?  He’s available in roughly half of the leagues out there.

Now how about some options that can help you right now? …

Jiri Hudler (DET)

Hudler has been all over the map (literally) over the past year.  After abandoning the Wings last season for the KHL, he came crawling back this summer with hopes that he could be a major factor in the Detroit offense.  It didn’t happen, and he found himself a healthy scratch at times.  However, since February 7th, he’s been averaging a point a game.  So what changed?  About that time, he got paired up with a guy named Pavel Datsyuk.  As long as he holds that coveted spot, you can expect consistent production. He’s available in 2/3 of leagues.

Matt Calvert (COB)

Most fans had never heard the name of Calvert up until last week.  After all, he has just 15 points in 23 career games.  So what’s the big deal?  The rookie winger has 8 goals in his last 8 games since joining forces with R.J. Umberger.  His playing time has risen from an average of 6-8 minutes a game last month to 13-14 minutes over the past 2 weeks.  He had a career high of 7 shots on net in a game against Phoenix, which also produced his first career hat trick.  No telling how long this magic will endure, but it’s worth riding the train for now.

Devin Setoguchi (SJ)

Setoguchi became the forgotten man in San Jose through the first half of the season.  Fans were beginning to believe his 30 goal performance two years back was a fluke, as he had a whopping 2 goals by mid-December this season.  Since returning from an upper body injury in December, he has been a new man.  He has 17 points in his last 17 games and is starting to disappear from waiver wires.

Keep or Drop?

Fantasy owners are facing decisions on several injured or struggling players.  Here’s my take on what to do:

Ales Hemsky (EDM)

If you drafted Hemsky this season, you’re probably pulling your hair out by now.  His week to week performance is all over the map, typically defined by his health more than his talent.  He went on a run in mid-February that earned him 9 points in 5 games.  The latest piece of bad news arrived yesterday with word that he’s down with a shoulder injury.  While he’s projected to be out about 3 weeks, I wouldn’t bank on much production in those final 2, if he comes back at all.  The Oilers have more incentive to keep him off the ice than on, as they vie for the #1 pick this spring.  Drop him and look at the list above for help.

Chris Kunitz (PIT)

Kunitz is a tough call for many reasons.  The Pens have been quiet about the severity of his injury and the timeline for getting him back in uniform.  Latest word has him potentially playing this weekend.  When he does return, it’s not clear where he’ll land in the lineup.  The Pens just acquired James Neal and Alex Kovalev to man the wings, and several rookies have made a good impression in the Kunitz’ absence.  However, Coach Bylsma made a point of stressing the importance of his role with the team after bringing in the new talent.  To a large extent, his value may be tied to the return or non-return of Crosby.  For now, I’d hold on another week and see how this plays out.  If he’s not back and producing by mid-March, then let him go.

Evgeni Nabokov (G-NYI)

For the past few weeks, I urged fantasy owners to hang on to Nabokov through the deadline, in anticipation of a possible move to a contender.  Now that this window has passed, don’t expect him to play a game this season.  Move along.

Marian Gaborik (NYR)

Despite the talent, I gave up on Gaborik years ago.  I just can’t take the up and down.  However, if you drafted him, you’re left with the decision as the concussion uncertainly looms on.  Bottom line is that if you drop him and he does return, you’ll cause grievous bodily harm to yourself.  Since I don’t want that liability coming back to me, I’ll advise you to keep him on your bench and pray for healing.

Bench or Start?

Now what about those guys who have hit a wall lately, but clearly can’t be dropped?  Here’s my quick take on the guys in a temporary funk:

• James Neal (PIT) – Start: Zero points in 4 games since donning the Pens sweater.    He’s getting his chances and it’s a matter of time before he starts burying the puck.
• Mike Green (D-WAS) – Bench: Keep getting your hopes up from news of a possible return, only to find another game in the press box holding his ear in his hands.  Until he plays a game, keep him benched.
• Any Blues Goalie – Bench.  The Blues can’t find their game.
• Thomas Vokoun (G-FLA) – Bench.  The Panthers made a decision to punt once again this season.  Don’t expect much support for Vokoun down the stretch.
• Johan Franzen (DET) – Start: In 15 games following his 5-goal performance, he has exactly 0 goals.  Keep the faith.  He’s still averaged more than 3 shots a game over that stretch.  The goals will come back in bunches, and soon.

• Alex Burrows (VAN) – Start: After a stretch of scoring 8 goals in 8 games, he’s now gone 9 games without a goal, and 5 without a point.  The Canucks as a team have hit a wall recently, but should snap out of it soon.  Keep him active.

To get more free fantasy hockey tips and tools, visit http://www.landsharkhockey.com.

Mayor Regis Labeaume and Quebecor CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau held a news conference in Quebec City earlier this afternoon to officially announce that the media giant Quebecor will be the new 19,000-seat arena’s manager and naming sponsor.

Under the terms of the deal, the privately-owned company will pay $33 million for naming rights over 25 years (a number that will jump to $63.5-million if an NHL team ends up playing in the building) to the $400-million news facility, and another $3.15 million annually for the right to manage the building.

Quebecor will also pay between 10 and 15 per cent of its profits from concert revenues back to the city, depending on whether there’s a hockey tenant.

The arena will be built entirely with taxpayers’ money, at the provincial and municipal levels, since Ottawa has, so far, not agreed to get involved the estimated $400 million building costs.

But Labeaume repeated during the presser that he would continue pushing for federal money in the next few months. Labeaume added the deal means that even without an NHL team the city’s effective financial participation in the arena would be about $57.5-million, or about $600,000 per year. Just a little bit over the original amount of $50 million the City was supposed to pay with the participation of the federal government.

Quebecor, which owns the Sun media chain in English Canada and the TVA chain in French Canada, has long expressed interest in bringing NHL hockey back to the provincial capital, which lost its Nordiques in 1995.

Rival conglomerate Bell, part owner in the Montreal Canadiens was reportedly also involved in the bidding – along with Evenko, the concert promoter owned by the Molson brothers, owners of the Montreal Canadiens – but in the end Pierre-Karl Péladeau, whose company recently won regulatory approval to launch a specialized cable sports network, has won out the administration of the new facility.

As part of the deal, Quebecor has promised to make the building available 30 days each year for cultural events. The Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL, currently the main tenant of the Old Colisée, will also be able to use the multipurpose facility for their home games.

The Remparts currently lead the league in attendance with an average of 10,692 fans per game. There was 11,1000 fans for Friday’s game against Victoriaville (which I attended) and 15,176 fans (full capacity) for Saturday’s contest against Rimouski.

Finally, there was more than 11,000 fans in attendance for hall-of-famer Guy Lafleur’s farewell tour on Sunday afternoon at the Old Colisée, which I attended with my father, a die-hard Habs fan. The Canadiens legend played his last alumni game donning the Nordiques and the Habs jerseys in the same game. Lafleur scored two goals, one with each team, in a 6-5 win by the Nordiques.

Peter, Anton and Marion Stastny, as well as Joe Sakic, Scott Young and Jocelyn Thibault were amongst the Nordiques players, while the Canadiens dressed several notable players such as Steve Shutt, Mario Tremblay, Pierre Turgeon, Stephane Richer, Claude Lemieux, Eric Desjardins, Patrice Brisebois and Mathieu Dandenault.

My childhood idol, Joe Sakic, used the setting to make the case for the return of NHL hockey to the city.

“I hope it will work,” he said. “Quebec is a great city and I hope it gets a team from the National Hockey League. It certainly deserves to have a new arena. When it is built, it will be a great place to play hockey.”

Now they need to find an NHL team ready to move north of the border… which is easier said than done!

1. Niclas Bergfors (FLA) – Bergfors was a key piece of the Kovalchuk deal just a year ago, and actually outscored Kovalchuk after the move in 2010.  Since the coaching change and arrival of a batch of new faces over the summer, Bergfors has struggled to put up points and even stay in the lineup in Atlanta.  It’s way too early to give up on this 1st round draft pick.  It seems what he’s really needing to jump start his career is playing time and decent center to feed him the puck.   The first half of that equation should come immediately.  He had been averaging just 10-12 minutes a game with the Thrashers.  He should see significantly more than that with the Panthers, and with the extra minutes, you should expect to see some extra points on the way.  The biggest problem may be finding some talent to help boost his totals.  Should he get a look along side Stephen Weiss early on, Bergfors could be this year’s Stempniak.

2. Dustin Penner (LA) – Any other year, Penner’s move would have slid to page 2 of the trade news.  With all the bigger names moving earlier in February, Penner stands out with potential for growth.  He has shown in the past that he can be a scoring threat.  So far this season, he’s managed just 39 points in 62 games; however, he is on pace for 27 goals.  His move to LA just might spur him on to crack the 30 goal plateau for the 2nd straight season.  He leaves the young Oilers bunch for a group of teammates primed to make some noise down the stretch and in the playoffs.  He may immediately see some time with the flashy playmaker Anze Kopitar, which is an upgrade over his former line mates in Edmonton.  While we shouldn’t expect a point-per-game pace from Penner, it’s reasonable to expect his goal scoring pace to increase in his return to SoCal.

3. Chris Campoli (D-CHI) – Campoli is not a model of consistency in terms of fantasy hockey scoring; however, he does have a history of hot stretches.  As we enter into the stretch run and playoff action, hot streaks are what you care about.  That makes Campoli a name worth considering.  Three years ago, Campoli came to the Senators at the deadline and followed that up with 13 points in 25 games, including 5 goals.  So, perhaps he’ll be motivated by the move.  He should slide into occasional action on the Hawks power play right away.  Don’t be surprised to see him perform at a higher tick in his new home.

A few other guys moved at the deadline with potential to become fantasy factors down the stretch:

• Brad Boyes (BUF) – Boyes was starting to turn things around in St. Louis (24 points in his last 30 games), which may be the reason for Buffalo’s interest.  He has natural goal-scoring abilities, but it’s been a while since he showed it.

• Dennis Wideman (WAS) – Like Campoli, he’s inconsistent, but can go on incredible scoring stretches.  Depending on how long Mike Green remains sidelined, Wideman could get significant minutes on the highly talented Washington power play over the next few weeks.

• Marco Sturm (WAS) – While it wasn’t technically a trade, Sturm arrived in Washington via the waiver wire.  He’s an Alexander Semin injury away from short-term duty on one of the top lines with the Caps.  Not a long-term fantasy solution by any means, but there is potential for a good week or two of fantasy numbers down the stretch.

To get more free fantasy hockey tips and tools, visit http://www.landsharkhockey.com.

NHL clubs made 16 trades involving 35 players today prior to the 3 p.m., ET, trade deadline. Following is a list of the transactions:

• Anaheim traded C Maxim Lapierre and C MacGregor Sharp to Vancouver for C Joel Perrault and Vancouver’s 3rd-round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft.
• Atlanta traded RW Niclas Bergfors and LW Patrick Rissmiller to Florida for RW Radek Dvorak and Carolina’s 5th-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft (previously acquired).
• Atlanta traded G Drew MacIntyre to Montreal for D Brett Festerling.
• Atlanta traded LW Fredrik Modin to Calgary for Calgary’s 7th-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft.
• Boston traded D Jeff Penner and RW Mikko Lehtonen to Minnesota for G Anton Khudobin.
• Carolina traded LW Sergei Samsonov to Florida for D Bryan Allen.
• Chicago traded C Ryan Potulny and a 2nd-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft to Ottawa for D Chris Campoli and a conditional 7th-round pick in 2012.
• Colorado traded D Kevin Montgomery to Edmonton for D Shawn Belle.
• Columbus traded D Rostislav Klesla and LW Dane Byers to Phoenix for LW Scottie Upshall and D Sami Lepisto.
• Columbus traded LW Tom Sestito to Philadelphia for C Michael Chaput and RW Greg Moore.
• Edmonton traded RW Dustin Penner to Los Angeles for D Colten Teubert, Los Angeles’ 1st-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft and a conditional 3rd-round pick in 2012.
• Florida traded D Dennis Wideman to Washington for C Jake Hauswirth and Washington’s 3rd-round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft.
• Florida traded LW Chris Higgins to Vancouver for D Evan Oberg and Vancouver’s 3rd-round pick in the 2013 Entry Draft.
• New Jersey traded C Jason Arnott to Washington for C David Steckel and Washington’s 2nd-round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft.
• St. Louis traded LW Brad Winchester to Anaheim for Anaheim’s 3rd-round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft.
• Toronto traded C John Mitchell to NY Rangers for the Rangers’ 7th-round pick in the 2012 Entry Draft.

There also were three waiver claims today:

• Atlanta claimed C Rob Schremp from NY Islanders.
• Calgary claimed D Brett Carson from Carolina.
• Ottawa claimed G Curtis McElhinney from Tampa Bay.

Trade Deadline Activity Since 1979-80

Season Date Trades Players
1979-80 March 11, 1980 3 5
1980-81 March 10, 1981 12 22
1981-82 March 9, 1982 5 11
1982-83 March 8, 1983 1 1
1983-84 March 6, 1984 2 2
1984-85 March 12, 1985 4 7
1985-86 March 11, 1986 8 14
1986-87 March 10, 1987 5 9
1987-88 March 8, 1988 8 12
1988-89 March 7, 1989 9 21
1989-90 March 6, 1990 10 16
1990-91 March 5, 1991 14 33
1991-92 March 10, 1992 11 22
1992-93 March 22, 1993 9 14
1993-94 March 21, 1994 18 35
1994-95 April 7, 1995 19 32
1995-96 March 20, 1996 13 21
1996-97 March 18, 1997 18 35
1997-98 March 24, 1998 19 38
1998-99 March 23, 1999 21 30
1999-00 March 14, 2000 12 23
2000-01 March 13, 2001 17 31
2001-02 March 19, 2002 17 35
2002-03 March 11, 2003 24 46
2003-04 March 9, 2004 20 32
2005-06 March 9, 2006 25 40
2006-07 February 27, 2007 25 44
2007-08 February 26, 2008 25 45
2008-09 March 4, 2009 22 47
2009-10 March 3, 2010 31 55
2010-11 February 28, 2011 16 35

As the trade deadline approaches lots of rumors are flying around, some of which are just plain weird.

Brad Richards offering to sign a one-year contract extension to allow the Stars more time to sort out their ownership situation and they turned it down? I doubt Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk would’ve turned that down! If anything he would’ve pounced on that like a pit bull on a steak. Now if the suggestion had been Nieuwendyk made that offer and Richards spurned it, that would make much more sense.

Why are some folks still trying to tie Tomas Vokoun to the Philadelphia Flyers? They currently have (counting LTIR) just over $2 million in available caps pace, and Vokoun this season is earning a cap hit of $5.75 million, meaning it would take moving considerable salary to get it done.

Even if you take the cap conundrum out of the equation, Sergei Bobrovsky and Brian Boucher have played very well, plus the Flyers still have Michael Leighton, last year’s playoff hero, in the minors if they need to call him up during the playoffs. Their current tandem has given them no reason to seek a goaltending upgrade.

Ales Hemsky to Phoenix? According to reports the Coyotes can’t afford to take on much salary at the deadline since, of course, their ownership situation still hasn’t been fully sorted out.

Sure, they could offer up equal salary for Hemsky to the Oilers, but that would also mean moving perhaps two key players, which could have an adverse impact upon the Coyotes team chemistry.

All reports suggest if the Coyotes make any deadline deals it’ll be for affordable additions, which Hemsky wouldn’t be.

The Buffalo Sabres jumping into the bidding for Brad Richards or trying to acquire Paul Statsny? OK, I know they’ve got new ownership willing to spend, but what would be the point of trying to go after those two this late in the season, especially when Richards has a “no-movement” clause and probably won’t agree to go to Buffalo, even as a rental player.

Seems like the recent critical comments of the Avalanche’s management made by Statsny’s Hall of Fame father Peter for that recent four-player swap with St. Louis for Erik Johnson at the expense of Chris Stewart plus swapping goalies with the Senators is the root of the trade rumors swirling about Paul.

Sure, it’s possible the Avs could trade Paul Statsny, but his $6.6 million per season contract for three more years could be as good as a “no-trade” clause. Players carrying salaries over $5 million per season rarely get moved by the trade deadline.

Scott Gomez for RJ Umberger? OK, who in Montreal is gobbling acid for breakfast?

Thankfully, folks, the trade deadline is near, and these wild rumors will soon come to an end. After that, we’ll have a few months grace until June and the end of the playoffs, after which I’m sure we’ll hear lots more nonsense heading toward the June Entry Draft and the opening weeks of free agency.

Happy Deadline Day!

Anderson (COL) for Elliott (OTT)

I speculated at the start of the season that the Senators would deal for a goalie by the trade deadline; however, I envisioned it under very different circumstances.  A deal like this is obviously not about this season for either side.  The same applies to the fantasy hockey world.  Don’t expect a rash of owners running out to pick up either goalie, as they essentially left one losing situation for another.  If you’re in a keeper league, there’s more to consider.  Both goalies seem to have some upside to offer.  Anderson is slightly more proven than Elliott, based on last season’s star performance; however, Elliott hasn’t had much opportunity to prove his worth. 

The big question is which environment will be more goalie-friendly next season and beyond?  Clearly, the Senators are entering full-fledged rebuild mode at this point.  Alfredsson is winding down his career.  Spezza seems to be lingering in no-man’s land and may not be in Ottawa come March.  Phillips is also rumored to be on the block.  What does that leave for Anderson to look forward to in the coming years?  Lots of shelling pucks out of his own net.

On the other side of the country, the Avs are still on a steady progression back to contender status.  Last season was a pleasant surprise, and this season is not really a sign of a step back, and much as a slower step forward.  The future in Colorado is much brighter than the future in Ottawa, and Elliott now has a clear path to the number 1 job.  If you’re in a keeper league, Elliott’s value just went up, while Anderson’s just tanked.

Kaberle (TOR) for Colborne and picks

I’m not going to look too far in the future to study Colborne’s future or the impact of the 1st rounder Toronto just swiped back from Boston.  Fantasy owners must only concern themselves with Mr. Kaberle right now.  Kaberle has been a steady fantasy star for the past decade in Toronto, at times being the only fantasy option worth owning in Blue.  The question out there is to wonder what Kaberle might have done in his career had he been moving pucks to some more prolific offensive weapons around him.  He’ll get his first chance at answering that question this week, as he joins a Bruins team far more gifted up front than the Leafs squad he’s leaving behind.

Kaberle was already having another solid season as it were, averaging .64 ppg, heavy on the assists.  While the Bruins have been getting plenty of scoring up front, they were missing that offensive dynamo from the blueline.  On paper, it seems like a perfect match.  It doesn’t always play out the way it’s supposed to in the real world, but all the signs point to a very strong finish to the 2011 season for Kaberle in Boston.  If you’ve got him in your lineup, you can smile bigger today.

Johnson and others (STL) for Stewart and Shattenkirk (COL)

Perhaps the biggest deal of the day technically came early Saturday morning.  It’s the one that years from now may prove to be a franchise maker or breaker, and it could go either way.  St. Louis and Colorado both gave up significant potential in their quest to be better next season.  For fantasy owners, the impact could be immediately felt.

We’ll start with Erik Johnson.  Johnson’s season has been one of the biggest disappointments to fantasy owners in 2010-11.  He was projected to be a top 10 option on defense and to this point has delivered nothing worth mentioning.  While the Avs have hit a major slump in the past few weeks, they still feature a much more offensively-gifted set of teammates than what he’s leaving behind in St. Louis.  Johnson should get ample opportunity to prove his offensive worth in Colorado, and don’t be surprised to see his numbers climb.  He’s actually available out there in some leagues, and it’s certainly worth taking a chance on him at this point if he’s there.

On the other side are two fantasy options that looked like studs back in the fall, but have hit a wall since then.  Stewart missed a good chunk of time with a broken hand and since then has struggled to find his game.  He’s even been a healthy scratch on a Avs team suffering from injury problems.  A fresh start in St. Louis may also benefit Stewart in the short term.  Despite the short-term set back, Stewart remains one of the top emerging power forwards in the league.  He should get adequate ice time with the Blues and owners should see his numbers climb as the seasons winds down.

Shattenkirk also stands to benefit from a change of scenery in the short term.  After an insane start to his NHL career in December, he’s struggled in the past month, now riding an 8 game dry spell.  Any change is welcome when you’re in that kind of funk.  All around, fantasy owners of any of these guys can look forward to better production to finish the year.

Other Deals

As proven last season with the like of Wolski and Stempniak, the most significant deals from a fantasy perspective can often be the ones that fly under the radar at first.  Of the other four deals that transpired yesterday, the one that seems to have some potential is Ian White going to San Jose.  White never really took off in Calgary or Carolina, but that doesn’t mean he’s without promise.  Beyond Dan Boyle, the Sharks don’t have many defensive options that can carry the puck like White.  He should see some time on the power play.  White’s available in most leagues and is worth taking a chance on in his new colors.

To get more free fantasy hockey tips and tools, visit http://www.landsharkhockey.com.

The leading scorers over the past 2 months are dramatically different than those who led the league through the first 2 months of the season. From a fantasy perspective, you’ve got to care much more about what players have done lately, than what they were up to when the season began. So let’s break down the top performers over the past 2 months to get a better view of who the elite players are heading into the playoff stretch. These are the guys you should target when making your daily roster selections:

OFFENSE
Starting off, here are the top 10 scorers from the past two months, highlight those that have surged significantly during that time.

The Top Guns
1. D. Sedin
2. Kesler * – Through the first 2 months, Kesler was sitting at 21 points. Since then, he’s wracked up 33 points, including a whopping 20 goals, in 29 games.
3. Tavares * – Following the up and down streaks of his rookie season, Tavares has been a different player in the last two months. He has 33 points (13/20) over that span. He had just 14 points through the first 2 months.
4. H. Sedin
5. Zetterberg
6. Stamkos
7. Bergeron * – Bergeron wasn’t on the fantasy map after the first 1/3 of the season, sitting at 15 points. Since then, he’s cranked it up several notches, delivering 30 points in 28 games (14/16).
8. Iginla
9. B. Richards
10. St. Louis

Biggest Climbers
A number of other players have surged significantly over the last 2 months. Here are the players who have made the biggest leap in the standings over that time (number of spots they’ve risen):

1. Burrows -127 – has shaken off the early injury rust to be a major contributor in Vancouver
2. O. Jokinen -126 – hit his hottest streak in years before getting hurt on Monday
3. Grabner -121 – All goals, all the time for this rising Islander star
4. Tavares -116
5. Doan -114 – got crazy hot in January, is cooling off a bit
6. Stafford -110 – Up to 23 goals after a shaky start
7. Cole -103 – cracked the top 100 for the first time in years on the back of a strong couple months
8. Bergeron -103
9. Kovalchuk -81 – is relevant once more, on his way back to stardom?
10. Boyes -70 – not scoring goals like his old self, but the assists are piling up

Falling Fast
Mostly due to injury, a number of star performers have dropped significantly in the standings. Here are the 10 players who have fallen the farthest over the past 2 months (with the number of spots they’ve dropped). I’ll note those that can’t use injury as an excuse for tanking.

1. Callahan – 101
2. C. Stewart – 100
3. A. Kostitsyn -75 – 9 points in 26 games. No longer relevant on the Habs front line.
4. Semin – 71
5. Roy – 70
6. Cleary -67
7. Cammalleri -66
8. Eberle -64
9. R. Bourque -59 – while most of the Flames have caught fire, Bourque has fizzled out. 10 points in 29 games.
10. Laich -57 – predictably, after a strong start, he’s collapsed, earning just 11 points in 25 games

DEFENSE

Top Guns
1. Yandle * – while he was expected to be one of the top defensemen this season, he took his time getting there. He’s had a point-a-game over the past 2 months. He’s now sitting on top and should stay there.
2. S. Weber * – Weber was slow out of the gate with just 11 points in the first 2 months. Since then, he’s had 24 points in 28 games. He should finish top 5 for defensemen on the season.
3. Lidstrom
4. Doughty * – plagued by early injury problems, he had just 7 points through the first 2 months. Since then, it’s been 22 points (6/16).
5. Rafalski
6. J. Johnson * – many fantasy owners bailed on Johnson after the first month of the season. Patience pays. He’s delivered 21 points in the last 29 games for LA.
7. Wisniewski
8. Ehrhoff
9. Enstrom
10. Visnovsky

Biggest Climbers
1. Tyutin -95 – Is starting to show his potential. Has 18 points (5/13) in the last 2 months.
2. Doughty -63
3. Bieksa -55 – 14 of his 19 points have come since mid-December
4. R. Suter -42 – Suter has been streaky all season, and is currently on the good side of those streaks
5. McBain -42 – had just 6 assists through the first 2 months. Has since added 4 goals and 9 assists to his numbers.
6. Kulikov -41 – 13 of his 19 points recorded in mid December through January
7. Weber -35
8. Subban -34
9. Babchuk -33 – Babchuk has been a beast over the past month, fueling Calgary’s surge
10. Seidenberg -29 – 4 of his 5 goals have come in 2011

Falling Fast
Nearly all these guys are off the hook, due to injuries, but a few need to provide other explanations:
1. Stuart – 38
2. Foster – 36 – after a fantastic start, Foster has disappeared. A lousy 3 assists in the past 2 months.
3. Zidlicky – 35
4. Jovanovski – 32
5. Klein -29 – Klein has just 3 assists to speak of since mid-December
6. Gilbert -28 – after 5 goals in the first half, Gilbert has none in the past 2 months
7. Rozsival – 27
8. Gonchar -23 – his start was disappointing. His performance since then has been embarrassing. He remains a -16 and just went down with an injury.
9. Montador -23
10. Whitney -23

To get more free fantasy hockey tips and tools, visit http://www.landsharkhockey.com.

Matchups

Teams with 2 Games:  Atlanta, Columbus, Pittsburgh

Teams with 4 Games:  Buffalo, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Vancouver, Washington

Only three teams are facing the short schedule this week.  May be best to avoid loading up on those teams for this week.  Of the busier teams, give the Sabres a special look.  They have 3 home games, including the Leafs, Blues, and Caps — none of which present particularly menacing defenses right now.  Expect Vanek and crew to have a big week.

Who’s Hot

A few surprising names highlight the top performers over the past two weeks:

• Mikael Samuelsson (VAN) – 10 points (4/6)
• Nikolai Kulemin (TOR) – 9 points (5/3)
• RJ Umberger (COB) – 8 points (2/6)
• Thomas Vanek (BUF) – 7 points (4/3)
• Ilya Kovalchuk (NJ) – 7 points (4/3)
• Nathan Horton (BOS) – 7 points (2/5)
• Robyn Regehr (D-CGY) – 5 points (1/4)
• Antti Niemi (G-SJ) – red hot with 4 wins, including 2 shutouts for the Sharks

Who’s Cold

A number of goaltenders have gone cold in the past couple weeks:

• Cory Schneider (VAN) – after a terrific first half of the season, he’s lost 2 of 3 and has a .880 save percentage during that stretch.
• Kari Lehtonen (DAL) – Has lost 4 of 6 games with a 3.59 GAA
• Henrik Lundqvist (NYR) – lost his last 3 with a .818 save percentage
• Craig Anderson (COL) – lost 3 straight, with a 4+ GAA

Waiver Watch

Chris Campoli (D-OTT)

Campoli has shown flashes of brilliance in his career, particularly in his days with the Islanders.  Recently, he’s been the lone bright star in Ottawa.  He has 6 points (2 goals and 4 assists) over the past 4 games.  He is a +6 over that span, while many of his teammates are deep in the hole. 

Max Pacioretty (MON)

Pacioretty’s role with the Habs has been slowly increasing to the point where he is now being counted on for regular offensive production.  He has 3 goals in the past 2 games and 6 in his last 5.  He’s been piling up an average of 4+ shots per game over the past month as well.

Travis Zajac (NJ)

Many fantasy owners expected Zajac to have a breakout campaign at the start of the season.  It just hasn’t panned out that way, at least until recently.  Zajac has been at the center of New Jersey’s recent resurgence and his numbers are starting to stand out.  He has 6 points in his last 4 games and seems to be on track for a big finish.

Michael Grabner (NYI)

The plague of injuries on Long Island has opened the door for Michael Grabner to shine.  He has been on a tear for the past month, with 15 points in his last 13 games, including a whopping 10 goals.  He is currently riding a 3 game goal-scoring streak and has become the go-to guy for New York.

Keep or Drop?

Fantasy owners are facing decisions on several injured or struggling players.  Here’s my take on what to do.

Evgeni Malkin (PIT)

Word is Malkin is on the shelf until next fall.  As much as it hurts, you must drop him and move on.

Evgeni Nabokov (SJ)

Nabokov remains in no-man’s land, as hockey fans continue to scratch their heads over Garth Snow’s motives.  That should become clearer as the trade deadline approaches.  It seems reasonable to think that Snow will move Nabokov to a contender for a pick or a prospect, essentially getting something for nothing out of this deal.  If that plays out, fantasy owners can look forward to cashing in on Nabokov’s services on a good team during the playoff run.  In other words, keep him for now, or pick him up if he’s still out there.

Ryan Malone (TB)

Malone is becoming one of the most inconsistent fantasy producers in the league.  When several Lightning forwards went down with injury, he filled in on the top lines with some quality production.  Since mid-January, his production has dried up, and he has missed several games.  At this point, I’m looking elsewhere for help up front.  Drop him.

To get more free fantasy hockey tips and tools, visit http://www.landsharkhockey.com.

Matchups

Teams with 2 Games:  Anaheim, Buffalo, Chicago

Teams with 4 Games:  Montreal, New Jersey, Pittsburgh

Only three teams feature four games on the schedule.  Of those, take note of New Jersey, who has been on a bit of a hot streak lately.  They have home games with Ottawa and Florida, and away matches with the Rangers and Montreal.  The Devils have a good shot at winning 3 of those four this week.

On the other end, the Sabres have just 2 games on the schedule, with one of them being played at Pittsburgh.  Don’t expect much production there.

Who’s Hot

This week, we’ll take a look at the hottest point producers since the calendar flipped to 2011:

Offense

1. Daniel Sedin – 17 (7/10)
2. Danny Briere – 16 (8/8)
3. Patrice Bergeron – 16 (8/8)
4. Eric Staal – 15 (7/8)
5. Mike Ribiero – 15 (4/11)
6. Brad Richards – 15 (3/12)
7. Lee Stempniak – 14 (6/8)
8. Thomas Vanek – 14 (4/10)

A few surprises in the list.  Bergeron has caught fire with the Bruins and his goal production is reaching new heights.  Lee Stempniak continues to puzzle.  Maybe he just plays well late in the season, mimicking last year’s production.

Defense

1. Keith Yandle – 17 (3/14)
2. Shea Weber – 13 (4/9)
3. Lubomir Visnovsky – 13 (1/12)
4. Joe Corvo – 11 (1/10)
5. Zdeno Chara – 10 (5/5)
6. Fedor Tyutin – 10 (3/7)
7. Tobias Enstrom – 10 (1/9)

Weber and Yandle have made a strong push to start the new year for Norris consideration.  Yandle’s on a crazy point streak right now.  Corvo seems to have awaken from a one year slumber to get back to his old ways of consistent fantasy production.

Goalies

1. Pekka Rinne (NAS ) – 9 wins in 12 games.  He went on a terrific run.
2. Dwayne Roloson (TB) – since arriving in Tampa, Roloson has exceeded expectations.  He has 8 wins and 3 shutouts in his last 12 games.
3. Jonas Hiller (ANA) – Hiller earned his All-Star berth with a fine January.  He won 8 games, including 2 shutouts.
4. Ryan Miller (BUF) – Miller had a rough start to the season, but is back to his Vezina form of last year.  He also has 8 wins in January, and 1 shutout

Waiver Watch

Mats Zuccarello (NYR)

Zuccarello is still fighting to earn consistent playing time, but his role with the Rangers has been increasing since he arrived in late December.  He has 7 points in his last 7 games, including a 3-point performance against the Panthers heading into the break.  He’s been on the short list of go-to guys in the shootout lately, which shows that Tortorella has confidence in his abilities.

Brad Boyes (STL)

For those who may have given up on Brad Boyes in the past year after months of disappointing results, you may want to check out what he’s been up to lately.  He’s on a 4 game point streak and has 12 points in 12 games since the calendar turned to 2011.  While the goals have been slow in coming, he’s piling up the assists right now.  Boyes was a fantasy star from 07-09, but fell off the map quickly.  Keep an eye on him after the All-Star break and consider grabbing him on the rebound.

Michael Grabner (NYI)

While he’s looking at just 21 points in 45 games on the season, take note of what he’s been doing lately.  Grabner has points in 7 of the last 8 games, and has totaled 6 goals and 3 assists over that stretch.  His ice time in on the rise with the Islanders, and he’s averaging well over 3 shots per game this month.  With so many rookies to watch this season, Grabner has been late to the party; however, at this point, he’s worth a look.

Keep or Drop?

Fantasy owners are facing decisions on several injured or struggling players.  Here’s my take on what to do.

Alex Edler (D-VAN)

Edler was having himself a stellar season on the Vancouver blueline; however, that came to a sudden stop last week.  He’s now looking at about 8 weeks on the shelf as he recovers from a bad back.  Unless you’ve got a bench spot to spare, there’s no point holding on to him, as he may just make it back before the playoffs.  You’d really have to make it to the finals of your league before he could contribute again this season.

Jamie Benn (DAL)

Benn was on a tear for the Stars in January before leaving the game last Monday with a head injury.  No official word on his condition, but there is talk of a possible concussion.  At this point, you should definitely slide him down to your bench, but I’m not quite ready to advise dropping Benn.  If he bounces back quickly, he’s looking like a valuable player to have in your lineup.  If the head problems linger, you may consider letting go.  For now, I’m holding.

To get more free fantasy hockey tips and tools, visit http://www.landsharkhockey.com.

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At the 58th NHL All Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina yesterday afternoon, Team Lidstrom/Penguins’ starting goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was, as expected, abandoned by his defencemen and humiliated, giving up the first 4 goals of the game on the first 9 shots he faced.  Meanwhile Team Staal/Penguins’ defenceman Kris Letang flourished, scoring twice on 3 shots.  His first goal made the game 6-4 when he snapped the puck from the high slot over the blocker of Anaheim netminder Jonas Hiller to complete a great triangular passing play with Alex Ovechkin and Daniel Sedin.  His second goal gave Team Staal its last lead, 8-7, when he found the puck just above the crease and whipped it by Boston’s Tim Thomas.

Opportunities to cheer, indeed.

It struck me this afternoon that the All Star Game is really a vehicle for fans in every pocket of the continent to cheer for their favourite “home team” players, exhorting them to create one fleeting memorable moment on a nationally televised stage.  Quite likely, Shea Weber, Rick Nash, David Backes and Erik Karlsson will not be seen on national television again this season but for one afternoon, their fans in Nashville, Columbus, St. Louis and Ottawa cheered when these All Stars touched the puck.

In the same way that this writer applauded in Toronto concurrently with fans in Pittsburgh and wherever else Penguins’ fans are found when Letang scored his two goals, no one will forget the enthusiasm written on the faces of the Carolina crowd and their prolonged cheers when Hurricanes’ captain Eric Staal tied the score 7-7 on an early third period breakaway goal.  They roared again with 34 seconds left in the game when his second goal pulled Team Staal to within one of Team Lidstrom.

My version of Team Lidstrom went head-to-head against Team Staal, captained by fellow blogger Jana Kimmel. We drafted players on Saturday morning. Adrian won 25-14. Jana immediately called for a rematch in the 2012 All Star Game.

It is incidental that Staal’s second marker was the final goal of the game and his squad fell 11-10 to Team Lidstrom.  Rather, each hockey fan will remember one or more frozen moments likely related to a favourite player.  Nashville will remember Weber’s 4 assists, +6 and his mano-a-mano with Zdeno Chara in the Hardest Shot contest on Saturday.  Los Angeles will remember the slick stick-handling and moves of Anze Kopitar who scored twice.  Colorado will remember Matt Duchene’s game-tying breakaway goal in the first period and will hiss at the memory of Alex Ovechkin throwing his stick at Duchene’s stick in the third to avert another breakaway, producing the first-ever All Star Game penalty shot.

Dallas will remember Loui Eriksson scoring the winning goal into an empty net to complete a 2-goal, 2-assist performance though perhaps no one outside Texas noticed.  After all, Eriksson was named the “most underrated player” in an NHLPA poll disclosed on Sunday.  Still other fans will remember other moments.  Boston will remember the oddity and long odds of Tim Thomas becoming the first goaltender to win three straight All Star Games.  When Team Lidstrom scored its second goal, the puck went from Duncan Keith to Patrick Kane to Dustin Byfuglien – two Blackhawks to a Thrasher.  But while Atlanta was cheering for that goal, scored by its lone All Star, fans in Chicago were simultaneously smiling and saying to each other, “Remember last spring …”

Long after the All Star logos are removed from the RBC Center in Raleigh, these memories will remain.  Two decades from now, there will be a Carolina resident who will point to yesterday’s game as the day when a lifelong passion for hockey was ignited and will describe in great detail the play that created Staal’s breakaway goal.  The enthusiasm will be identical to the Pittsburgher who can recall Mario Lemieux’s four-goal game on home ice at the All Star Game in 1990 or an Edmontonian who can bittersweetly remember Wayne Gretzky returning to Northlands Coliseum in 1989 as an All Star, wearing a Los Angeles Kings’ sweater.

Further: Ray Bourque scoring in the final minute before his home Boston crowd to lift the Eastern All Stars over the West in 1996 and the following year, Shark Owen Nolan bringing the house down in San Jose when he pointed at the net before firing the puck past Dominik Hasek to complete a hat trick.  Dany Heatley scoring 5* goals in a losing cause in 2003 at Florida – a record-tying 4 goals in regulation then one more in the first-ever All-Star shootout.

Ultimately, the score of these Games are meaningless.  The All Star Game exists for one reason: to create moments that are memorable and indelible.

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Thus this newest incarnation of All Star Game formats – pitting “Team Lidstrom” versus “Team Staal” based on a live Fantasy-style Draft – didn’t really excite me until yesterday night.  Part of the reason is that All Star Games in all sports are really about cheering for one’s favourite home team players in an essentially non-competitive pick-up contest.  Thanks to injuries to Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ quartet of 2011 All Stars has been cut in half, leaving first-timers Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury.  Yes, I’ll be cheering when Letang and Fleury make good plays tomorrow, but in an exhibition where offence is the only thing that matters, Pens’ fans will find a general lack of opportunities to cheer for their All Star representatives.

However, the flames of excitement burned within once more when Eric Staal, captain of the host Carolina Hurricanes and Team Staal, stepped to the microphone to announce the first overall pick last evening.  Having played Fantasy Baseball for eight straight seasons last decade, the concept of alternating picks to fill out a roster suddenly set off a Pavlovian response inside me.  (Shameless self-gloating: In my two final seasons of Rotisserie Baseball, I won back-to-back championships, then promptly retired thus producing an answer to the question: What do Mario Lemieux and I have in common?  We both retired at the top of our game at age 31, with back-to-back scoring titles).

Thankfully, Jana Kimmel was a good sport and participated in a Fantasy All Star Draft with me this morning and we will keep score tomorrow afternoon (+1 for each goal or assist by our skaters; -1 for each goal against by our goalies) to “play for all the marbles” as she aptly stated.

Back in the “real” Fantasy world, what is there to say about the real Team Staal and the real Team Lidstrom (click for full rosters)?  Right off the bat, Staal set the tone by placating the home crowd with his “nothing’s fina’ than Carolina” first overall pick: teammate Cam Ward.  Like the savvy veteran that he is, Lidstrom made a fairly easy and wise choice with his top selection, choosing this season’s top scorer, 38-goal man Steven Stamkos of Tampa Bay, instantly creating 2/3 of a potent line since Lightning forward Martin St. Louis was already selected as a pre-draft alternate captain on Team Lidstrom.

GOALTENDERS: Lidstrom was shrewd at drafting his goalies.  Routinely, the All Star Game becomes a blowout and hapless netminders turn to fish out pucks from their own cage seemingly every other minute.  Two of the last four All Star Games were among the highest-scoring ever.  With Tim Thomas (1st in save percentage), Jonas Hiller (5th) and Fleury (6th), Team Lidstrom might be able to keep goals allowed at more respectable levels than Team Staal’s Henrik Lundqvist (8th), Cam Ward (11th) and Carey Price (13th).

DEFENCE: Lidstrom secured two cannons from the point by the seventh round acquiring Shea Weber with his fourth selection and playoff hero Dustin Byfuglien with pick #7.  His blueliners also include himself, Duncan Keith, Keith Yandle and Brent Burns.  Staal snared the undisputed hardest shot champion Zdeno Chara along with Mike Green (an alternate captain), Dan Boyle, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang and brother Marc Staal.

The edge goes to Lidstrom’s defensive corps.  The Detroit captain did his homework, choosing four of the top six goal scorers from the blue line (himself, Byfuglien, Burns and Weber) and Burns is one of the most accurate shooters this year, finding the back of the net on one-sixth of his shots.  Staal chose young, talented, puck-moving defenders like Letang, Karlsson and Staal but they are a bit green compared to Lidstrom’s sextet.  Snagging Keith Yandle was just overkill.

FORWARDS: When it comes to assessing All Star forwards, it is wise to be brief simply because the talent level on both squads tends to be very high and very equal.  As well, as the saying goes, anything can happen in one game.  For the record, Lidstrom’s dozen has scored 231 goals this season while the twelve forwards on Team Staal have netted 255 goals.  Staal drafted snipers and has the advantage on pure goal-scoring ability, placing six of the top ten goal scorers on his team (to just two for Team Lidstrom).  No doubt Team Staal’s Ryan Kesler and Daniel Sedin, both 27-goal scorers, will line up frequently together and look to earn Vancouver bragging rights against playmaking centre Henrik Sedin.

Perhaps Lidstrom can take advantage of pre-existing chemistry as well by pairing teammates on the same lines (e.g. Loui Eriksson and Brad Richards, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, Stamkos and St. Louis) to counteract Staal’s firepower.

FEARLESS PREDICTION: Team Lidstrom 10, Team Staal 7. MVP: Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles.

One last word: Can you tell Canadians and TSN love hockey?  Did you know the sun rises in the east?  Did you know water is wet?  I just can’t get over how much coverage TSN dedicated to the Fantasy Draft.  On its website alone, there are fifteen different video segments related to last night’s events that can be viewed with in-depth analysis.  Remember, that is fifteen videos about the Draft only.  The Skills Competition and All Star Game are yet to come and hockey’s annual showcase of its best players will continue to be covered exhaustively all weekend.

And no true hockey fan will mind one bit.

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Jana had first overall selection and chose All Stars for Team Staal.  PenguinsMarch picked players for Team Lidstrom.

We stuck with the NHL format for the first three members of each team.  That is, the captains and two alternates were predetermined before we started alternating picks.  Jana and I also agreed on a simple scoring system to create a vested interest in the All Star Game: 1 point will be given for each goal or assist scored by a player. 1 point will be taken away for each goal given up by a goalie.  If we tally up our fantasy points and end up in a tie, the tiebreaker will be the number of combined goals scored by the two real NHL All Star Teams tomorrow afternoon.

Jana predicts 9 goals in total; I’m going with 17.

The first table shows our final rosters.  The round and overall draft position are shown in brackets after each player’s name.  The second table shows our picks in order with some brief commentary.

Below, the draft in round-by-round order with micro-analysis (and some cries of agony).

Proving our Fantasy imitates last night’s Fantasy which imitates reality, it is no surprise that Kessel and by extension, the Maple Leafs bring up the rear.  I can already see it coming.  Third period, Kessel’s team down by a goal tomorrow.  Jana leads me by 1 point.  Kessel gets a breakaway with five seconds left; he totally dekes the goalie but as he shoots, a visiting Toronto fan throws a waffle at the crease, knocking the puck off his stick.  The horn sounds.  Kessel fails.  Team Adrian Lidstrom loses.

All Star Games in every sport have become boring.

We all know it.

If the game is in your city, it’s a great experience – as it was here in Los Angeles in 2002…a weekend filled with legends of the game everywhere, the fan fest, a skills competition, etc.

However, the game itself isn’t much to get pumped for unless you’re there live. Even the honor of being selected to play doesn’t seem to mean what it once did, with more and more athletes finding reasons to have a mini-vacation instead of attending the event with their peers.

Major League Baseball attempted to give theirs a little umph a few years ago by affixing a meaningful prize to the winning league – home field advantage in the playoffs. Sounds great on the surface, but it’s hard for fans to invest emotionally in July for an outcome that may or may not mean something to their team three months later. Not to mention the nonsensical correlation between a team gaining such a critical advantage for a championship series by an All Star team victory.

This year the NHL takes its turn at trying to spice things up a bit and I love what they’ve done.

The game will probably be the same, perhaps only slightly better.

However, there is much more intrigue leading up to tonight than in any All Star Game of recent memory.

At 5pm PST the All Star Draft will get underway on live TV. If you haven’t heard, gone is the Western Conference vs. Eastern Conference format. Instead, each team has been assigned a captain (Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings and Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes) and three assistants. All other players have been put in a general pool and one by one they’ll be selected to their teams, just like kids on a school yard or frozen pond.

With that in mind, I sat down with a few Kings players to do a mock draft before they all went their separate ways this weekend.  First up, defenseman Drew Doughty.

To keep things simple, we each took one goalie, two defensemen and three forwards. We also removed Anze Kopitar from the list since they’re teammates.

Here were the candidates:

GOALIES

M. Fleury (PIT), J. Hiller (ANA), H. Lundqvist (NYR), C. Price (MTL), T. Thomas (BOS), C. Ward (CAR)

DEFENSEMAN

D. Byfuglien (ATL), B. Burns (MIN), T. Enstrom (ATL), M. Green (WSH), E. Karlsson (OTT), D. Keith (CHI), N. Lidstrom (DET), K. Letang (PIT), M. Staal (NYR), S. Weber (NSH)

FORWARDS

D. Backes (STL), S. Crosby (PIT), M. Duchene (COL), P. Elias (NJD), L. Eriksson (DAL), C. Giroux (PHI), A. Hemsky (EDM), P. Kane (CHI), R. Kesler (VAN), E. Malkin (PIT), R. Nash (CBJ), C. Perry (ANA), H. Sedin (VAN), D. Sedin (VAN), P. Sharp (CHI), E. Staal (CAR), S. Stamkos (TBL), M. St. Louis (TBL) and P. Kessel (TOR)

Doughty picked first, then we alternated selections. The teams below are shown in the order taken…

Disagree with those players? What would you have done?

To see the results of mock drafts with Matt Greene and Anze Kopitar simply click here.

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RELATED ARTICLES:

Terry Murray’s Plans for This Weekend – how to improve the Kings for the second half

What The Others Are Doing – Smyth, Johnson, Clifford, etc. on the break

Shane Doan would pick Kopitar at All Star Draft

Jonathan Quick Isn’t an All Star? – why 37 is the target for Quick and the Kings

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Matchups

Teams with 1 Games:  Anaheim, Atlanta, Buffalo, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Minnesota, Montreal, New Jersey, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Tampa Bay

The other half of the league has two games each.  Phoenix probably has the best chance of scoring high, as they get a home game against Edmonton and a road contest with Colorado.  Detroit has just one matchup, but they get NJ at home.  Best to avoid the Habs next week, with just one game against Philly.

Who’s Hot

A number of players who had been quiet all season started to heat up lately.  Here are a few standouts over the past 10 days of action:

• Jussi Jokinen (CAR) – 5 goals, 3 assists
• Joe Thornton (SJ) – 3 goals, 5 assists
• Patrice Bergeron (BOS) – 5 goals, 2 assists
• Stephen Weiss (FLA) – 7 assists
• Jordan Staal (PIT) – 3 goals, 3 assists
• Dennis Wideman (D-FLA) – 3 goals, 2 assists
• Steve Kampfer (D-BOS) – 1 goal, 3 assists

Who’s Cold

Here are some players who have flat lined for reasons other than injury in the past couple weeks:

• Jonathan Toews (CHI) – 2 points in last 6 games
• Dustin Brown (LA) – 2 points in last 5 games
• Brett Clark (D-TB) – 10 games and counting with no points
• Nikolai Khabibulin (G-EDM) – losing streak climbs to 9 games.
• Chris Drury (NYR) – scoreless in 11 games
• Mason Raymond (VAN) – scoreless in 7
• Jonathan Quick (G-LA) – 1 win in last 7 games

Waiver Watch

Evgeni Nabokov (G-?)

Talk is heating up once more surrounding Nabokov’s possible return to the NHL, as Ken Holland has confirmed interest in possibly bringing him into Detroit.  Where will he land and when?  Most likely, whenever he does agree to terms with a team, he’ll get swallowed up by someone else on the NHL waiver wire.  As for your NHL wire, if you need help in net, it’s worth burying him on your bench before it’s too late.

Fedor Tyutin (D-COB)

Tyutin is starting to make due on all the promise he’s demonstrated in the early stages of his career.  Right now, he’s the hottest player in Columbus.  He has 7 points in his last 6 games, and is averaging around 30 minutes a game.  If you’re in need of consistent help on your defense, consider adding Tyutin.

Trevor Daley (D-DAL)

Daley is emerging as a quality scoring defenseman for the Stars.  He has 3 goals in his last 4 games and 7 points in 9 games.  He should easily top his career highs in both goals and points this season, as he’s finally earning top-end minutes with Dallas.

Grant Clitsome (D-COB)

Clitsome is the latest in the wave of rookie defensemen to make an immediate offensive impact after making the big club.  In his first 5 games of the season, he now has 2 goals and 3 assists.  Don’t expect him to continue at that crazy pace, but you might as well ride the wave as long as it lasts.  His ice time has steadily rose with his scoring success, up to a whopping 26 minutes on Wednesday night against Florida.

Keep or Drop?

Fantasy owners are facing decisions on several injured or struggling players.  Here’s my take on what to do.

Bryan McCabe (D-FLA)

McCabe was already ailing with a busted finger, but playing through the pain.  However, a broken face was too much for the captain to handle and he’s looking at 6 weeks on the sideline.  That’s too much time at this point in the season to be waiting on a guy like McCabe.  Unless you’ve got all you need on your defense, you’re probably well advised to let him go.

Michael Cammalleri (F-MON)

Cammalleri was in the midst of a very disappointing season and was just starting to get his act together, when he suffered a separated shoulder.  It’s bad enough that you’ll have to wait more than a month for his service.  Even after returning, don’t expect him to light it up.  Make room for other options.

Jose Theodore (G-MIN)

Theodore was on a roll when he went down with a hip injury.  In the meantime, Kudobin came in and played very well.  Backstrom is now back in the fold, relegating Thedore back to the bench when he does return.  The crease is crowded in Minnesota, and you can probably find better options out there.

Tomas Fleischmann (F-COL)

Fleischmann will miss the remainder of the season.  We wish him the best in his recovery.

To get more free fantasy hockey tips and tools, visit http://www.landsharkhockey.com.

Matchups

Teams with 2 Games:  Chicago

Teams with 4 Games:  Atlanta, Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Calgary, Florida, LA, Montreal, NJ, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Tampa Bay

It’s worth noting that Chicago is the only team with a mere 2 games on the schedule, and they come against Detroit and Phoenix.  In other words, give your Hawks the week off and play some other guys this week.

On the favorable side, Florida has a strong schedule, with 3 games at home (ATL, COB, TB) and one on the road against the Devils.  Buffalo gets the honors of a home-and-home with the Islanders, along with matchups against Boston and Montreal.  Look for Pominville to keep it rolling and for Miller to have a big week.

Who’s Hot

Here are some of the hottest scorers over the past 2 weeks:

• Patrice Bergeron (F-BOS) – 11 points (6/5) in 7 games
• Tuomo Ruutu (F-CAR) – 11 points (4/7) in 7 games
• Nikolai Kulemin (F-TOR) – 9 points (3/6) in 7 hames
• Phil Kessel (F-TOR) – 8 points (5/3) in 7 games
• Shea Weber (D-NAS) – 11 points (2/9) in 7 games
• Alex Goligoski (D-PIT) – 8 points (3/5) in 6 games
• Lubomir Visnovsky (D-ANA) – same as Goligoski
• Jonas Hiller (G-ANA) – 5 wins in 6 games
• Pekka Rinne (G-NAS) – 5 wins in 6 games

• Dwayne Roloson (G-TB) – 4 wins in 5 games

Who’s Cold

• Kurtis Foster (D-EDM) – 0 points in 12 games
• Stephane Robidas (D-DAL) – 0 points in 10 games
• Brian Elliot (G-OTT) – hasn’t won in 6 straight
• Dustin Brown (F-LA) – just 1 point in his last 7 games
• Claude Giroux (F-PHI) – has dried up recently with just 1 assist in 6 games played
• John Carlson (D-WAS) – pointless streak now at 8 games

Waiver Watch

Kyle Okposo (F-NYI)

Okposo should be finding his way into the Islanders lineup in the next few weeks.  He was poised for a big season, but was sidelined up til now with the separated shoulder.  With few other options up front, Okposo should quickly rise to the top line and provide adequate goal production down the stretch.  Add him now if you’ve got the bench room to spare.

Sergei Kostitsyn (F-NAS)

Kostitsyn (Sergei, that is — the banished one in Nashville) caught fire in January, scoring goals in 5 straight games for the Preds.  He’s finally getting top tier minutes (close to 20 a night) and he’s producing admirably.  He’s been dry for the last two games, but still has 9 points in his last 8 games played.

Andrew MacDonald (D-NYI)

MacDonald has been tearing it up on the Islanders blueline since the departure of Wizniewski.  It appears his opportunity has come.  He has 12 assists in the past 14 games.  If he could just get himself a goal.  He has just one in his career, coming back in 2009.

James Reimer (G-TOR)

Reimer has temporarily taken control of the Toronto net.  He’s been the goaltender in 6 of Toronto’s last 7 games and has won 4 of them.  His stats so far have been excellent:  2.27 GAA with a .933 save percentage.  If you’re in need of a short-term goalie fix, consider Reimer.

Keep or Drop?

Fantasy owners are facing decisions on several injured or struggling players.  Here’s my take on what to do.

Simon Gagne (F-TB)

Gagne present quite a pickle for fantasy owner.  At any moment, he could wake up from his funk and go on a goal-scoring tear.  Owners are losing patience waiting for that day.  After going 7 games without a point, he finally scored a goal on Wednesday.  Sign of things to come, or just an interruption in his forgettable season?  This choice comes down to depth on your bench.  I’m holding onto him in one league, but recently let go in another.

Niklas Backstrom (G-MIN)

Between Backstrom’s hip injury, and Theodore’s recent hot stretch, many fantasy owners have started to dump him.  Theodore suffered his own hip injury, making the picture more confused.  When he comes back to health, Backstrom will most likely resume the role of #1 in Minnesota.  While it’s looking rather bleak at the moment, don’t jump the gun.  He’s a solid starting goalie who is putting up decent numbers so far this year with a 2.58 GAA and a .919 save percentage.  You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em.

Dan Ellis (G-TB)

It would appear that the Lightning are seriously sticking with Roloson.  As a result, a good number of owners have been dumping Ellis.  While I’m not sold on Roloson as the #1 option in Tampa, I can’t see Ellis having much value in the near future either.  Take your chances on another goalie and let Ellis go.

To get more free fantasy hockey tips and tools, visit http://www.landsharkhockey.com.

Matchups

Teams with 2 Games:  Atlanta, Dallas, New Jersey

Teams with 4 Games:  Boston, Edmonton, Nashville, NY Rangers, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Phoenix, St. Louis, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington

Ride those Canucks this week as Vancouver cannot do wrong right now. They’ve got four games, though all of them are on the road.  The Caps have a good chance of getting the offense rolling with 4 games, including matchups with Ottawa and Florida.

Steer clear of Devils, not that you had considered otherwise.  They have just two games on the road this week.  Maybe that’s the mercy rule in effect.

Who’s Hot

Here’s some players who have risen quickly in the past two weeks:

• Shane Doan – 11 points (6/5) in 6 games
• John Tavares – 7 points (3/4) in 5 games
• Alex Burrows – 5 points (1/4) in 5 games
• Patrick Sharp – 5 points (3/2) in 5 games
• Nicklas Lidstrom – 10 points (2/8) in 5 games
• James Wisniewski – 6 points (2/4) in 5 games
• Roberto Luongo – 3-0 with 4 GA in past 3 games

Who’s Cold

These guys have dried up lately:

• Rene Bourque – 5 straight without a point

• Daniel Alfredsson – 2 points in past 6 games
• Bobby Ryan – 1 point in last 7 games.  Somebody misses Getzlaf.
• Kurtis Foster – Nine straight without a point.  Did I hear a Niner in there?
• John Carlson – 5 game drought
• Martin Brodeur – lost last 6 games.  Nothing good to say here.

• Antero Niittymaki – dropped last 2 with a GAA above 4

Waiver Watch

Chris Higgins (F-FLA)

Higgins has become a factor in the Florida offense.  He has points in 4 straight games and has 7 in his last 6.  He’s currently on a 3-game goal streak.  Higgins consistently gets his chances, as he hasn’t gone a game without a shot on goal since October.  Consider adding him to your bench if you’re in need of some help up front.

Jason Pominville (F-BUF)

Between the concussion and a slow start, Pominville didn’t register a point until November.  After that, he had stretches of 3 and 4 games without a point.  He seems to be back to form, with 9 points in his past 6 games.  You can reasonably expect him to go at close to a point-per-game pace for the rest of the season.  If he’s still available in your league, I highly recommend seizing the chance.  I just did so myself.

Kevin Bieksa (D-VAN)

Bieksa is always up and down, mostly depending on health.  Right now you won’t find a hotter prospect on defense.  7 of his 14 points on the season have come in the past two weeks.  He’s also a +14 over the past 10 games.  He’s logging top minutes on the Vancouver blueline and should be considered a solid fantasy option at this point.

Brendan Morrow (F-DAL)

While his point totals still aren’t daunting (27 in 41 games), his goal totals are (17).  He has 4 goals in his past 3 games, and seems to be back to his 2007-08 form when he last cracked the 30 goal mark.  He’s going quick in leagues, and probably won’t last another week.

Jose Theodore (G-MIN)

Theodore refuses to go away.  He had an outstanding season in Washington last year, but was kicked out of town all the same.  He settled for a backup role in Minnesota, but lately has seized the reigns there.  He’s won the last 3 games with the Wild and looks to split time at a minimum going forward with Backstrom.  He may ultimately earn the starting role if he keeps this up.  Theodore is available in most leagues, so consider grabbing him now.

Keep or Drop?

Fantasy owners are facing decisions on several injured or struggling players.  Here’s my take on what to do.

Marek Zidlicky (D-MIN)

Zidlicky severely injured his shoulder last week, and it may be separated.  If that is the case, he’s not worth keeping on your roster, as he’ll be out far too long.  Even if it’s less severe, you may find a better option than sitting and waiting for his return.  It’s a shame, as he was having another solid fantasy season with 20 points in 30 games.

Michael Del Zotto (D-NYR)

After sitting as a healthy scratch and missing time with injury and illness, the Rangers demoted Del Zotto to the AHL.  They have given no timetable for his return.  Del Zotto has been a disappointment this season, with just 9 points in 35 games, following a tremendous rookie season.  Drop him until the news looks better.

Michael Leighton (G-PHI)

Leighton found himself to be the odd man out in Philadelphia after returning from injury.  He was put on waivers and then demoted to the AHL.  Unless there’s an injury to Boucher or Bobrovsky, he’s not worth hanging onto.  Let him go and consider adding Theodore in his place.

To get more free fantasy hockey tips and tools, visit http://www.landsharkhockey.com.

Presidents Trophy: Vancouver Canucks

Weak division.   Solid team.

No reason to back off this one.  With the recent stretch of hotness, the Canucks find themselves alone atop the NHL standings.

Stanley Cup Winner: Pittsburgh Penguins

Nice new banner to hang in that shiny new arena.

So far, I’m smelling like roses…

Runner Up: LA Kings

Drew Daughty fever.  Catch it now.

On a roll… no backing down from the Kings pick either.

Hart Trophy, Art Ross & Rocket Richard: Steven Stamkos

Forget Ovechkin, Crosby and Sedin.  Stamkos is the man.  I’m calling a hat trick of trophies.

All was going great with this prediction before “the streak” began.  I still see Stamkos walking away with the Rocket, and I’m saying he’ll be in the running for the other two.  Crosby has yet to see his annual injury bug show up…

Conn Smythe: Sidney Crosby

He’ll be lifting the trophies that matters most next spring.

Standing pat here.

Vezina Trophy: Ryan Miller

Looking for a repeat here, but should have plenty of competition.

So Miller is most likely out of the running already.  I’ll take my mulligan and pick Tim Thomas to get his second.

Norris Trophy: Drew Daughty

Daughty Fever.  Catch it now!

Unfortunately, Drew did catch the fever and missed a handful of games.  Coupling that with scoreless streaks of 6 and 10 games, he would have to go on a crazy tear to get back into consideration this season.  I still see him finishing in the top 10 for defensemen, but given the chance would revise my pick to see Nicklas Lidstrom claim his 7th trophy.

Calder Trophy: P.K. Subban

Something to cheer about in Montreal.

The field for the Calder is wide-open right now.  Couture, Skinner, Eberle, Bobrovsky, Crawford, Carlson… any one of these guys could ultimately claim the prize.  So for now, I’m sticking with Subban to make a run at it in the 2nd half of the season.

And finally, now that we’re through the mundane, here are 10 other predictions, sure to come true in 2010-11:

1. The Sutters will be out in Calgary by Christmas

Off by 3 days…

2. John Tavares will lead the Islanders in scoring by no less than 40 points.

What I meant to say is that nobody but Tavares would actually hit 40 points this season.

3. Nathan Horton scores 40 goals.  No other Bruin tops 25.

How about 30?  Stand by the 2nd half, though Lucic may get there.

4. Michael Neuvirth and Jonathan Bernier finish the season with 30+ wins each.

Neuvirth may get there yet.  Bernier clearly fell short.

5. The Senators will make a deal for a new starting goalie in time for the playoffs.  Let’s say… Kiprusoff or Vokoun.

With Elliot clearly struggling and Leclaire incapable of staying healthy, this seems more likely than ever, assuming they’re still in playoff contention at that point.

6. After being relegated to the press box in December, Mike Modano retires during the Winter Classic.

First half right (though not for the reasons I thought).  Still don’t see the Wings having much of a role for him going forward when he gets healthy.  Just move the date forward to June.

7. No player over the age of 30 will finish in the top 10 of scorers this season.

Darn you, Martin St. Louis!

8. Kari Lehtonen has a healthy season and plays 60 games.

Healthy is a relative term, really.  Still has a shot at 60 games.

9. Corey Crawford earns the starting job in Chicago heading into the playoffs.

Ahhhh… I think I got one right.

10. NHL announces in February that the Florida Panthers will be moving to Quebec.

Anybody want to bet against it?  Though February is probably a bit premature.

On the Mark…

Here are a few players that seem to be panning out as predicted to start the year:

• Matt Duchesne – “Expect him to be better in his second season … 70 points are not out of the question”
• Claude Giroux – “Giroux is clearly ready for a breakout season in the 70 point territory”
• Loui Eriksson – “Eriksson is quickly becoming the top offensive threat in Dallas… 30-35 goals  “
• Dustin Byfuglien – “It’s a no-brainer that he should top his career high of 36 points”
• Tobias Enstrom – “Plan on a 55 point season “
• Michal Neuvirth – “At some point, he’ll get a good run going this year “
• Marc-Andre Fleury – ” It all adds up to a potentially hot season for Fleury in terms of fantasy numbers”
• James Neal – “Could finish in the top 30 this season in terms of total fantasy points”
• Kris Letang – ” this could be the breakout season for Letang”

Missing the Mark…

And here are a few that I need to pretend didn’t happen:

• Brad Richards – “He’ll surely be drafted way too high by someone else”
• Sergei Gonchar – “I’d still take a chance on him in Round 2″
• Shea Weber – “20 goals should be a given this season in Nashville”
• Martin Brodeur – “Brodeur will be Brodeur once again in 2010. Rank him as high as you please”
• Erik Johnson – “Look for a big breakout year from Johnson in the 50+ point range.”
• Tuukka Rask – “he has apparently dethroned Tim Thomas for good”

To get more free fantasy hockey tips and tools, visit http://www.landsharkhockey.com.