Latest Rumblings

Ottawa - Jason Spezza's most recent groin injury, has sidelined the Sens center for the foreseeable future. All this coming on the heels of Spezza signing a huge extended contract (7 years, $49M). Spezza does have the reputation for not being a speedy healer, so we'd be watching this injury very closely. Watch for Steve Kelly and Randy Robitaille to get more playing time, with Robitaille getting the lions share between Alfredsson and Heatley. Robitaille is one of those under-rated guys that should be able to fill the void effectively in the short-term. In the long term, he won't be able to replace Spezza's numbers however.

Fantasy Impact:

Spezza - Negative
Robitaille - Positive
Kelly - Positive
Heatley - even
Alfredsson - even.
Sens PP - Negative

Minnesota - with the return of the Pavol Demitra, it appears that the Wild's offense has been sparked as well. Demitra's an excellent talent, that just needs to stay healthy to reach his fantasy potential. Look for up-swings in production from the Wilds' PP, Demitra's line-mate (Marian Gaborik) and dark horse Mark Parrish, who may get a first line promotion if Demitra's moves to center and Koivu back to 3rd line pivot.

Demitra - positive
Gaborik - positive
Wild PP - positive
Koivu - negative
Parrish - positive

Toronto - there have been rumors aplenty in Hogtown that John Ferguson Jr. is on thin ice and madly trying to stop the bleeding on their back end via trade. From one game to the next, the Leafs defence has looked solid at one moment and then sieve like the next. Rumored on the offering table have been Steen, Weldwood and/or Ian White. Problem for the Leafs are that none of those players, or a combo of, will attract a top 4 defenceman in return; not until the trade deadline. Another rumor has the Leafs moving Tomas Kaberle for soon to be UFA (and under-achieving) Marian Hossa. Scoring is not the issue for the Leafs, but limiting offensive chances is. When Weldwood comes back this week, the Leafs will have a clearer indication of what they have to offer in the hopes of getting defensive help.