Quarterpole Article 3 - D-men and Goaltending Surprises

There have been some amazing goalie and d-men surprises. Here's the list and what you should do with them.

Paul Ranger - TB - There are few that would have seen him as being the eighth best scorer at the quarterpole...and his +11 makes him even more valuable. All that said, we think that you'd be crazy to at least not look for a trading partner given that the majority of his production has come due to the absence of Dan Boyle. And while Boyle is likely out for another month, once he gets back Ranger will likely slow.

Ed Jovanovski - PHX - Many are surprised that he's actually upped his production...we're not. He's a quality guy who has struggled due to injuries and a poor supporting cast. We expect these numbers to continue as long as he stays healthy. We say hold onto him.

Chris Campoli - NYI - We projected a good season from him and he hasn't disappointed. In fact, he's pushed MA Bergeron to the sidelines. We think you should hang onto him and hope he puts up a 40-45 point season.

Mark Streit - MTL - There were many who thought that he'd be valuable because he'd qualify as a d-man but play some wing. But his production has come on the blueline and he's been impressive. That said, it can't hurt to test the water and see if you can pick up a Wade Redden or Bryan McCabe-type player in exchange for him.

James Wisniewski - CHI - We put him on the list only because there are probably some of you who picked him up on the waiver wire early on. He's been hot and cold and we don't think he'll have a lot of trade value...so get whatever points you can from him and drop him once he looks tapped out.

Pascal Leclaire - CLB - Leclaire and the Blue Jackets started off incredibly strong, but have slowed of late. It may not be the worst thing to see if you can move Pascal for a top 3 veteran tender - think Kiprusoff, Broduer or Luongo - even if it means putting together a package including a forward. I heard of one deal that was essentially Leclaire and Vanek for Kiprusoff. Hard to argue with that kind of return!

Martin Gerber - OTT - This is a hard one to predict. Ray Emery has struggled with injuries and in his absence Gerber has been spectacular. It also doesn't hurt that the Sens have played extremely well in front of him. Our feeling is that once Emery sorts out his latest back spasm woes he'll at least challenge to split time with Gerber which will reduce his value. If you can get a quality package in return, we'd move him.

Martin Biron - PHI - No-one really doubted that Biron was capable of being a starter, but few believed that the Flyers or Marty were capable of putting up the number of wins they have this early in the season. Biron is NOT a top 5 goalie and as such, we'd say you should look to move him and take advantage of his early production.

Johan Hedberg - ATL - With Kari Lehtonen hurt, Hedberg has been great in the Thrasher nets. But once Lehtonen sorts out his latest groin injuries, we think that Johan will be quickly forgotten. Trade him if you get a chance.

Jose Theodore - COL - While he hasn't been spectacular all season, Theodore has been very streaky in the Avalanche nets while sharing time with Peter Budaj. At this stage, unless you're dealing with a closet Theodore fan, we'd suggest hanging onto him in the hopes he gets moved to a team looking for a starter...think maybe LA or even a team like Tampa if the Avs were willing to take back some salary - including former Av Marc Denis.

Can a New Coach Mean New Life for a Team?

The firing of a coach can be a wakeup call for a team and often results in a short term boost in points. In the case of the Atlanta Thrashers it may also result in two bursts. With Bob Hartley fired and no permanent replacement on the horizon, GM Don Waddell will step behind the bench.

Look for the Thrashers to produce over the next couple of days...and in fact, it may be a good time to flip a couple of these guys if the price goes up.

Many will think that the reason for Waddell taking up the coaching duties, even temporarily, is a move of desperation or shows a lack of planning on his part. I don't buy that for a second. I think he has an idea of who he wants to be the coach but he wants to see the game from "ice level" to get a sense of the changes that might need to be made.

From a fantasy perspective, don't be surprised if one of Hossa or Kovalchuk are moved. Right now this team is far two unbalanced because of the salaries of these two guys and with Hossa a pending UFA at the end of the year, it may make more sense to use him as an asset to add depth the squad...depth that was squandered in trading for Keith Tkachuk and Alexei Zhitnik at the trade deadline last year.

If Hossa or Kovalchuk are dealt it will most likely be to a team with a top-end center already in place...this could mean an almost instantaneous bump in points.

But that is mere speculation right now. In the short term look for a slight bump in offense from the big boys in Atlanta, but don't expect it to last very long without a significant change in personnel.

Who's Next?

...as we slide into the dog days of summer, Baroids Bonds is about to sully the most impressive single achievement record in professional sports, the hockey poolie has to be wondering "what's going on with my team?" as training camps are now a mere 5 weeks away. Here's the latest off the rumor wire...Edmonton - now that GM Kevin Lowe has p-o'ed his good buddy GM Brian Burke, [but really, should Burke be that peeved that Lowe over-spent for Penner? Was he supposed to take a bigger risk in poolies' eyes and sign Bertuzzi to the same $ but only over 2 years? Is it Lowe's fault that few, if any, free agents want to come to Alberta's capital?], rumor has the Oilers and Thrashers talking about a potential move of Ilya Kovulchuk to Edmonton in return for draft picks and 3 players - Cogliano, O'Marra and Matt Greene. This is a similar rumor to that coming out of San Jose, where the Sharks management is worried that they may not be able to sign Patrick Marleau in 2008 and as a result, are looking to see what they could get for the soon to be UFA. In Atlanta, an ownership squabble has forced the Thrashers to trim payroll to $40M. GM Don Waddell has got to move either Kovulchuk or Hossa, whom the team would rather try and sign as he is the more complete player, but Hossa is going to be a UFA in 2008 as well....in Montreal, after signing Patrice Brisebois to a one-year deal, the Habs are rumored to be in the market to sign Danny Markov, and unite the Markov brothers. Detroit is still trying to bring the burly d-man back as well. Wherever he signs, don't expect a lot of offensive production. The Brisebois signing begins anew the love-hate relationship between Hab-fans and Brisebois. Brisebois does provide them with some veteran presence as well as a 2nd unit PP QB....Peter Forsberg remains unsigned, and most teams are rumored to be interested in seeing how he heals up in the next few weeks before beginning serious talks. Rumor has the Canucks trying to land Forsberg with an incentive laden contract to let him play with close friend Markus Naslund. However, the smart money is that Forsberg wants to play in Colorado one last time - assuming he's ready to go by training camp....Mike Peca has been advertising his desire to return to Buffalo and pilot the team where he saw the greatest success in his career. The Sabres are said not to be interested, particularly given that Peca is looking for $4M for a one year deal. If he comes down to the $2M per season level, the Sabres, Habs, Canucks and Coyotes are rumored to be "kicking the tires"....Anson Carter remains unsigned, and might remain that way right into the start of training camp. Carter had a brutal season last year, and any thoughts of him singing for more than $1M per season are ludicrous. He needs the precise situation to succeed - he had it in Vancouver two seasons ago but got greedy and now may be on the outside looking in for quite some time....

Flames Heating Up

Despite the fact that they went out and hired Mike Keenan the Flames have been making some noise and the developments are promising. Jarome Iginla and Robyn Regher recently extended their contracts with the team and that is great news. Add them to recent additions of Corey Sarich, Adrian Aucoin and Owen Nolan and things are definitely looking up. Expect Aucoin to log some serious minutes this season as he's dedicated himself this off-season to a serious fitness program. Nolan provides a nice steadying veteran presence and Sarich is definitely under-rated. A little more pop up front would be welcome for poolies, but the Flames look to be poised to make some noise...in Montreal, the Habs seemed to have bid adieu to Sheldon Souray. His booming shot from the point on the PP will be missed, but his -20 plus/minus will not. GM Gainey extended a pricey offer to Roman Hamrlik to replace Souray and Hamrlik will fit in nicely; he'll have less points but his +/- will be better than Souray's. Also, Bryan Smolinski has signed on with the Habs and he might be worth a late round fantasy pick. He's better than the departed Radek Bonk and his skill in the face-off circle will be welcomed...in Edmonton, they're still licking their wounds from the Nylander debacle, GM Kevin Lowe has set his sights on Eric Lindros as his next free-agent signing. He hasn't played more than 47 games in one season in any of the past 4 years, but when healthy Lindros still has the skills that allow him to contribute. The tipping point for Lindros to the Oil is the Edmonton's desire to use the Big E down the middle...Atlanta re-upped Slava Kozlov to a 3 year deal and this is good news for Kozlov owners. The Thrashers play an up-tempo style of play and Kozlov thrives in the type of system that doesn't focus on defensive hockey. Look for another strong season from Kozlov again this coming year...