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.

Peca - where is he going?

With what appears to be the imminent signing of Mike Peca with the NY Rangers, TSN is reporting that the Columbus Blue Jackets are interested in the 33 year old center's services as well. With the Rangers current cap between $51-55M in salaries, it would appear that the Blue jackets, closer to $38M, have the space to offer Peca more in terms of guaranteed $. Peca's impact will now no longer been on the regular season stat sheet, but comes in the dressing room and when the playoffs arrive. Poolies should not be convinced that Peca can turn back the hands of time to re-gain some of his offensive flare, as he's suffered some horrific injuries and has a lot of miles clocked on his hockey odometer. That said, Peca's signing would have a very good impact on the younger Blue Jacket players and bring some much needed leadership and spirit to a team that appears to be devoid of it. The Jackets have even more space with Alexander Svitov signing up over-seas. He'd see more playing time in C-Bus and play a larger role there. If he signs with the Rangers, it means Peca's focus is on on trying to win a Cup this year. His impact won't be a large with the Rangers, but would certainly be felt once the playoffs began.

Peca - positive w/ CBJ and even w/ NYR
PK - positive
Playoff Impact - big positive at both places.

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.