March
3, 2008
Defensemen -- Down the
Stretch
By Darryl Dobbs, TheFourthPeriod.com
Some defensemen got moved around
on deadline day and I am already seeing changes in the way
rearguards around the league are producing.
Let's start with the big one.
The Sabres moved Brian
Campbell to San Jose, and the style of two teams suddenly
changed.
Buffalo lost a puck-moving
defenseman, but have several candidates to fill the void. |
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Jaroslav Spacek would be the
logical candidate, however his ice time has not increased one
iota since the deal. It wouldn’t make sense to move a
rearguard such as Toni Lydman into the void, however he had a
four-point game after the deadline. His ice time hasn’t
increased, but his power-play time has. That being said, he
does not have 40-point ability so don’t get on the Lydman
bandwagon just yet.
The biggest beneficiary seems to be Dimitri Kalinin, who has
logged 22 minutes per game of ice time since – a full five
minutes more than before. He has just one assist to show for
it, however. My personal favorite is Nathan Paetsch. He is now
seeing about 17 minutes per game, which is nearly four minutes
more than his average on the season. He is seeing nearly three
minutes per game on the power play now, but if he doesn’t post
points soon, his window will close for this year.
Over in San Jose, the Sharks are scoring at about 10 or 15
percent higher a clip in the three games since the deadline.
Campbell, who is actually the team’s second-leading scorer
now, has two points in those games. Craig Rivet, Matt Carle
and Christian Ehrhoff have four points between them, while
Sandis Ozolinsh is likely scratched permanently. Campbell is
clearly manning the top PP unit with a forward, while Carle
and Rivet man the second unit. Ehrhoff is off the power play
altogether.
Over on Long Island, the team has Chris Campoli on the
sidelines for the year with an injury and they shipped
Marc-Andre Bergeron to the Ducks. Suddenly, the
often-scratched Brian Berard is logging 19 minutes again and
has three points in three games since D-Day. He has been
scratched 19 times this season, but I don’t think it will
happen again.
Bergeron, meanwhile, saw just 12 minutes in his game Friday
with the Ducks and just 1:14 on the power play. Meanwhile,
Mathieu Schneider and Scott Niedermayer saw over five minutes
of PP time each. When Chris Pronger returns from his broken
jaw, Bergeron will have the best season in the house up in the
press box.
One move that went under the radar is the Colorado acquisition
of Ruslan Salei. The veteran is averaging 21 minutes a game in
his new uniform and is manning the top power-play unit with
John-Michael Liles. He has three points in two games. The
player most hurt by this addition to the lineup (along with
Adam Foote) is Jordan Leopold. He has averaged around 10
minutes per game of ice time. He must know the heat is on
because he picked up three assists last game despite zero
seconds on the power play. It may be wise to take advantage of
his three-point game and trade him to an owner who is not
aware that his ice time has plummeted.
One more trade-related defenseman to bring to your attention
is Dick Tarnstrom being shipped to Columbus on February 1.
Since the move, Edmonton rearguard Tom Gilbert has seven
points in 11 games. Tarnstrom, meanwhile, has six in nine
games for the Blue Jackets (okay, so it was two defensemen to
bring to your attention).
As with all things fantasy hockey, the sooner you catch onto
the subtle changes outlined above, the sharper your edge.
For more
fantasy tips, visit www.dobberhockey.com
Feb. 25, 2008 -
Trade Deadline - The Fantasy Lowdown Pt. 2 of 2
Feb. 18, 2008 -
Trade Deadline - The Fantasy Lowdown Pt. 1 of 2
Feb. 11, 2008 -
The Cavalry is Coming... But Do the Avs Need Them?
Feb. 04, 2008 -
Plekanec's Rolling Along
Jan. 28, 2008 -
At the All-Star Break...
Jan. 07, 2008 -
Leafs in World of Hurt
Dec. 17, 2007 -
Flashes of Promise
Dec. 10, 2007 -
Narrowing the Gap
Dec. 03, 2007 -
Passing the Torch
Nov. 26, 2007 -
Shifting Gears |
Nov. 19, 2007 -
Predators Back on Track
Nov. 12, 2007 -
Stepping Back
Oct. 29, 2007 -
The New Thrashers
Oct. 15, 2007 -
Two Promising Surprises
Oct. 08, 2007 -
New Islanders – In a Word:
Dominating
Sept. 24, 2007 -
The Future of Oil Country |
Dobber's
Fantasy Tips exclusively appear Monday's at
TheFourthPeriod.com.
Comments/Concerns/Criticisms/Compliments: rotohockey@rogers.com
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