February
19, 2007
Trade Buzz Fantasy
Impact, Part III
By Darryl Dobbs, TheFourthPeriod.com
Part three of three in taking
a look at some of the trade buzz, which players are available,
and what you should do in your hockey pool to prepare for
these moves that may or may not happen.
Ottawa Senators The Sens already added Mike Comrie to
the roster and look fairly set. They may add bit parts to
ensure that they are covered off for injuries, such as a
third-line forward or a fifth or sixth defenseman. Rearguard
Joe Corvo finds himself at the bottom of the depth chart and
he deserves a more prominent role, so perhaps the team will
move him for a stay-at-home defenseman. From a fantasy
standpoint, what you see is what you get.
Philadelphia Flyers Peter Forsberg is gone and the
"everything must go" fire sale is not over yet. Goaltender
Robert Esche is an unrestricted free agent this summer and
with Michael Leighton and Antero Niittymaki on the roster, he
is expendable. His bad back will have to heal quickly if the
team is to get any reasonable return. Veteran defenseman
Derian Hatcher is likely to be the next to go, but with his
high salary for the next two seasons the return will be small.
Kyle Calder and Mike York are both UFA's this summer.
Phoenix Coyotes The Coyotes traded Mike Comrie and
Ladislav Nagy and they re-signed Shane Doan, Mike Zigomanis
and Mikael Tellqvist. They will lock up Yanic Perreault soon.
Owen Nolan and Curtis Joseph will be the only pending UFA's
left. Nolan being traded would surprise me, but Cujo being
moved is a possibility if only because the team is quite happy
with Tellqvist's play and they have David LeNeveu waiting in
the wings. The price would have to be right though.
Pittsburgh Penguins The Pens have the seventh-most
points in the entire league and have two or three games in
hand on five of the six teams that are ahead of them. They are
16-2-3 in their last 21 games and on one hand you have to
think that management would not want to tinker with that kind
of chemistry. On the other hand, Pittsburgh could use a
veteran stay-at-home defenseman and power forward on the wing.
Nils Ekman will return to the lineup from his dislocated elbow
in about three weeks, but he is the polar opposite of a power
forward. Bill Guerin or Keith Tkachuk would fit the mold
perfectly, but the price would be high and Pens management
would likely shy away from dealing any piece of their
fantastic future. Expect them to grab a No. 6 defenseman.
St. Louis Blues Bill Guerin will be gone. Martin
Rucinsky and Keith Tkachuk will likely be moved as well. Eric
Brewer is also a possibility. Let the fire sale begin! Expect
a slew of prospects who are on the cusp of stepping into the
NHL to be acquired by the Blues and get into the lineup for
the final month. Tkachuk in particular will bring an elite
prospect to St. Louis (think: Bobby Ryan, Anaheim or Jiri
Hudler, Detroit).
San Jose Sharks The Sharks will be buyers and there is a
rumor out there that the team will try and reunite Joe
Thornton with his old buddy from Boston Glen Murray. They are
also carrying two starting goaltenders and will move one if
they get a nice return in the form of a second-line forward
and a top backup goalie. The team could also stand pat since
they do have the option of recalling Steve Bernier from the
minors if they lose any forwards to injury.
Tampa Bay Lightning The Lightning would love to address
some of the holes that they have on their roster but their
back is up against the salary ceiling. Almost $28 million is
tied up in Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad
Richards, Dan Boyle and Filip Kuba. They have about a million
dollars in wiggle room and would dearly love to give Brad
Richards a scoring linemate. This makes Anson Carter
(Columbus) a possibility, or perhaps Kyle Calder
(Philadelphia).
Toronto Maple Leafs The Leafs are in a similar position
to where they were last season and so you can expect them to
act in the same manner. Last year they acquired Luke
Richardson and Aleksander Suglobov and moved Ken Klee.
Essentially that is just moving sideways
but adding a
prospect. I dont anticipate the team moving Darcy Tucker or
Mats Sundin. They will bow to media pressure and re-sign the
former, while to move the latter when they are on the cusp of
a playoff position would not go over well either. A rumored
trade for former Leaf Gary Roberts is also a possibility, but
the team likely will not pay the second-round pick asking
price to Florida. Be on the lookout for another sideways move
that marginally helps their future.
Vancouver Canucks With just seven weeks of salary to pay
for, the Canucks may be able to finally pick up that scoring
winger that they have been searching for. Bill Guerin and
Anson Carter are affordable, but Keith Tkachuk is not unless
Vancouver moves some salary in the deal. Kyle Calder is
another possibility, as is Richard Zednik if Washington fails
to re-sign him.
Washington Capitals The Caps will likely pack it in for
one more season before taking a run next year. Although
Dainius Zubrus and Richard Zednik are both potential
unrestricted free agents this summer, it is unlikely either
will be moved as the team is interested in re-signing them.
For the right deal, goaltender Olaf Kolzig could be moved. In
all likelihood, this team will be quiet over the next 10 days.
For more
fantasy tips, visit www.dobberhockey.com
Feb. 12, 2007 -
Trade Buzz Fantasy Impact, Part II
Feb. 05, 2007 -
Trade Buzz Fantasy Impact, Part I
Jan. 29, 2007 -
Bulin Wall Crumbling?
Jan. 22, 2007 -
Dan Boyle: Underrated, but One of
the Best Fantasy Defensemen
Jan. 15, 2007 -
Back on Track
Jan. 08, 2007 -
Leafs Youngsters get Chance to Shine
Jan. 01, 2007 -
Is the Suffering Finally Over?
Dec. 18, 2006 -
Malone Finds Timing
Dec. 11, 2006 -
Erat Breaking Out
Dec. 04, 2006 -
Pavelski Becoming This Year's
Bernier
Nov. 27, 2006 -
Radulov Gives Sneak Preview
Nov. 20, 2006 -
Need Penalty Minutes?
Nov. 13, 2006 -
Broken Ankles/Feet This Year's Groin Injury
Nov. 06, 2006 -
Fantasy Surprises After the First
Month
Oct. 30, 2006 -
Eight Games (and Counting)
Oct. 23, 2006 -
The Magical 10th Game
Oct. 16, 2006 -
Pitkanen Becoming an Elite Fantasy
Rearguard
Oct. 09, 2006 -
Out of the Shadows
Oct. 02, 2006 -
Was McDonald's season a fluke?
June 19, 2006 -
Players to Watch on Draft Day
June 12, 2006 -
AHLers Proving Their Worth
June 5, 2006 -
Prospects Are Proving Their Worth,
Too
May
29, 2006 -
UFAs - Hidden Gems II
May
22, 2006 -
UFAs - Hidden Gems I
May 15, 2006 -
Sabres Rattling
May 08, 2006 -
Home Ice Advantage |
Apr. 24, 2006 - Can Rangers Stop 'EGG' Line?
Apr. 17, 2006 - The Hot Hand Going Into the Playoffs
Apr. 10, 2006 - Big Second Lines Tough to Contain
Apr. 03, 2006 - Getzlaf as PP QB has Ducks Rolling
Mar. 27, 2006 - Bang For Your Buck
Mar. 20, 2006 - Deadline 2006 Fantasy Fallout, Part 2
Mar. 13, 2006 - Deadline 2006 Fantasy Fallout, Part 1
Mar. 06, 2006 - Trade Deadline Looms II
Feb. 27, 2006 - Break Over, Deadline Looms
Feb. 06, 2006 - Risky
Picks
Jan. 30, 2006 - The
Future of Boston
Jan. 23, 2006 - High-Flying
Canucks
Jan. 16, 2006 - Home
Sweet Home
Jan. 09, 2006 - He's
Baaack!
Jan. 02, 2006 - Young
Pens Get Their Shot
Dec. 19, 2005 - The
'New' Sabres
Dec. 12, 2005 - Shark
Outlook Upgraded to 'Buy'
Dec. 05, 2005 - Rejoice
Over Recent Movement
Nov. 28, 2005 - The
Most Underrated Fantasy Player
Nov. 21, 2005 - Chemistry
in Chicago
Nov. 14, 2005 - Thrashers
the Net
Nov. 07, 2005 - King
of the L.A. blueline
Oct. 31, 2005 - October's
Best and Worst Fantasy Players
Oct. 24, 2005 - Wild
About Scoring
Oct. 17, 2005 - Striking
Gold Thanks to Linemates
Oct. 10, 2005 - A
Surprise Fantasy Asset
Oct. 03, 2005 - Last
of the Late Picks to Put You Over the Top
Sept. 26, 2005 - More
Late Picks to Put You Over the Top
Sept. 19, 2005 - Late
Picks to Make or Break Your Pool Team |
Dobber's
Fantasy Tips exclusively appear Monday's at
TheFourthPeriod.com.
Comments/Concerns/Criticisms/Compliments: rotohockey@rogers.com
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