The D-Man Factor - Part Deux

As promised we'll take a quick look at a few more buyers and sellers on the blueliner market.


Philadelphia: The Flyers, as of this writing, are currently pushing the cap so will be looking at a number of options including tradiing Denis Gauthier or Derian Hatcher (although rumours abound that they'll just put him on waivers with the intent of sending him to the minors - thus freeing up a significant amount of cap space). Gauthier, on the other hand, could be an interesting pick up for a team looking for a little sandpaper. There are a number of teams who could be interested, but the Flyers have themselves in a bit of a pickle...they would need to get a d-man in return...and they'd probably need one who could play some decent minutes - but he'd need to be cheap. Possible trading partners would include:

• Anaheim - if Niedermayer retires they will have plenty of cap room and will need a minute eater with some grit. Going the other way would be a guy like Huskins or Hnidy.
• Detroit - the loss of Danny Markov would mean Gauthier would be a great fit. The Flyers would probably want a guy like Lebda, but it's doubtful the Wings would give him up.
• Nashville - with the loss of scoring, they're going to need to rough up the opposition a bit more. Trading a guy like Greg Zanon and a pick for Gauthier could make some sense.

Regardless of where Gauthier goes his fantasy value is really limited to PIMs plus possibly +/- if he goes to the right team.


Toronto: With the recent signing of Derrek Walser, the Leafs have 10 NHL-calibre d-men under contract. Rumours of a Pavel Kubina trade abound, but the question remains as to who could absorb the contract. A quick review of the numbers reveals that there are very few contenders who could make a deal without sending significant salary back to the Leafs. The three teams with the best balance of cap space and ability to contend would be San Jose, Nashville and maybe the Devils. In all three cases Kubina would likely be given more PP time than he would have received in Toronto, but he would be counted on for his all-round play. If he were to move you could expect a point bump up to near his career norms in the mid-30s.


New York Rangers: Talk of a Paul Mara trade has been circulating for a few weeks. There are two problems with this deal. First is the fact that Mara will be making $3 million this season which limits possible takers AND he's entering his final season, which limits those looking for long-term value. Although he could move to a team looking to off-load long term contracts and still maintain the minimum cap levels. If that happens and he ends up on a team like Phoenix, Chicago or Columbus, he could struggle and the numbers could be disastrous from a fantasy perspective.