First Puckjuckie Freeroll at Draftstreet.com in the books

Well, when Souray is your top fantasy points skater, you know you are in trouble. Giguere came through with the win as expected, but somehow the well-rested Sens managed only 14 shots on him as they got drubbed 7-1, leading to a disappointing 6 pts for Giguere. The Sens are going to have a llllooonnnngggg year.

Congrats to WChums, victor in the Puckjunkie freeroll tonight. WChums picked up uber heavy weights James Neal (9.4 pts), Matt Moulson (7.9 pts) and Kipper (12 pts) and rode them and a good supporting cast to a close victory over sabresbills04's great draft, Tavares (14.2 pts). I guess the Islanders are for real, and the Flames may be out of their slumber earlier than normal.

Have to say, after my first night, that one-day fantasy hockey salary cap drafts at draftstreet.com are way too much fun. Sign up at any time to find other free and pay-to-play games, and watch for another Puckjunkie.com freeroll later this month. (PJ-Chris)

Team PJ-Jonathan Picks

Cris gave a good summary below, but to summarize: spend $100,000 draft dollars over the following positions: 2 LW, 2RW, 2 C, 2 D, 1G, 1 Flex (utility)?

Skater Scoring:
Shot 0.3 pt
Goal 3 pts
Asst 2 pts
+/- 0.5 pt
PIM 0.25 pt
PPG 0.5 pt
PPA 0.5 pt
SHG 1 pt
SHA 1 pt
Blocked Shot 0.3 pt

Goaltender Scoring:
W 3 pts
GA -1.5 pt
Save 0.3 pts
SO 2 pts

My Draft Summary:

G: J. Halak $16,351 - Dallas is a fairly low scoring team so everything bodes well for a decent amount of points...good value here
D: S. Weber $10,230 - Booming shot, toughness and premium PP time. Why wouldn't you take this guy vs Phoenix
D: S. Souray $6,435 - When Dallas does score there's a good chance Souray is in on it. Great bargain here.
C: P. Sharp $14,398 - Playing against Winnipeg this is a no brainer...great all-round guy.
C: C. Hodgson $5,363 - Needed a low cost option here and not many 2nd line centers are coming in a less than $6k.
LW: A. Ovechkin $14,331 - Ovie's season hasn't really started yet, but a game against the Pens should perk him up.
LW: M. Michalek $9,152 - Another value play here. His season has started off well and will continue tonight vs. Colorado.
RW: C. Stewart $10,223 - Nice mix of points and PIMs.
RW: P. Hornqvist $7,667 - John Franzen Jr. will have a shot at a couple of goals tonight...at least he should.
Flex: A. Babchuk $5,681 - Sometimes it just makes sense to throw a d-man in here. And even a slow-starting Flame isn't a bad option.
Total Salary: $99, 831

Play against us tonight by registering for free at Draftstreet.com. We’ve partnered up with Draftstreet to do a FREE one-day fantasy league. (More details below.) The league closes at puck drop (7:00 pm Eastern).

Team PJ-Chris for Tonight's Draftstreet.com Salary Cap Draft

OK, 10 good games tonight so how to maximize $100,000 draft dollars over the following positions: 2 LW, 2RW, 2 C, 2 D, 1G, 1 Flex (utility)?

Here's what you need to know:

Skater Scoring:

Shot 0.3 pt

Goal 3 pts

Asst 2 pts

+/- 0.5 pt

PIM 0.25 pt

PPG 0.5 pt

PPA 0.5 pt

SHG 1 pt

SHA 1 pt

Blocked Shot 0.3 pt

Goaltender Scoring:

W 3 pts

GA -1.5 pt

Save 0.3 pts

SO 2 pts

Analysis and picks for tonight:

Colorado at Ottawa - Varlamov played great last night but will likely get tonight off versus the weak Sens (although Ottawa pulled out a win on their last outing). Giguere will likely get his first start, he'll see lots of shots, and he'll get the win. He's had success over the Sens in the past. Goalies are expensive and comparatively he's a bargain tonight, freeing up cap space for skaters. Hopefully the key scorers on the Avalanche finally get going.

Flames at Montreal

Even without Cammalleri, the Canadiens at home will have the edge over a struggling Flames team. Plekanec should continue his good play and we'll pick him at centre. No Flames scream out for selection yet. Montreal's Y. Weber is playing well at D and with Spacek out will see more TOI. And he's cheap.

Lighting at NYI

Although the Islanders somehow had Tampa's number last year, Tampa has the ability to score in bunches, even when they lose. The Islanders score a couple and hang on. Tampa breaks out tonight: Stamkos finally scores or gets frustrated and gets PIMs. Either way, his fantasy point total tonight should be his best this season.

Canucks at Wings

Two powerhouses here. Low score. Lots of high salaries with low leverage. Only stand-out value wise is Burrows on LW. PIMs count!

Caps at Penguins

Could be a high-scoring shoot-out, or could be a 2-1 OT win. Too many variables and risks. (You lose points for negative +/-). Can't afford to pick from this match-up.

Oilers at Wild

Dany Heatley once spurned the Oilers and now toils in Wild country. And the Oilers have lost 16 straight at the Xcel Energy Center. These are two considerably different teams from last year, and it should be a good match-up, but let's take Heatley at RW and see if continues his good start. And the Oilers are thin on RW, so Hemsky and Eberle will get lots of ice, and Eberle is cheap.

Kings at Devils

We need a big D-man who blocks the puck and may still contribute offensively: LA's Jack Johnson is good value.

Wow, the salary goes quick: $12, 686 left for two spots. Hmmmm.

Sheldon Souray (Stars) goes into the Flex spot: points, blocks, and PIMs possible.

And Paajarvi (Oilers) goes in as the best available LW for the remaining salary: he may get extra PP time this year.

Draft Summary:

G: Giguere $15,503

D: Y. Weber $6,375

D: J. Johnson $8,707

C: Plekanac $11,431

C: Stamkos $13,409

LW: Burrows $11,526

LW: Paajarvi $5,663

RW: Heatley $12,389

RW: Eberle $7,974

Flex: Souray $6,435

Total Salary: $99, 412 ($588 remaining)

OK, $100k doesn't go very far. We'll see how this first crack at the one day salary cap draft goes.

Play against us tonight by registering for free at Draftstreet.com. We’ve partnered up with Draftstreet to do a FREE one-day fantasy league. (More details below.) The league closes at puck drop (7:00 pm Eastern).

Puckjunkie.com One Day Challenge!

Hey Puckjunkies,

We're back in the blogosphere!

The season is off and running and there are already some recognizable patterns: the Flames have experienced a closed-door post-game meeting with Coach Sutter to discuss two dismal performances to start the season; Rick DiPietro is yet to play in the Islander net; and Tim Connolly (the new, expensive Leaf) started the season on the IR.

But there has also been lots of excitement, with some teams surprising in their first games, and lots of rookies already making their mark.

You've already drafted your fantasy team and settled in for a long season, but you'd also like another chance to test your drafting prowess. Well, now's your chance. Puckjunkie.com staffers will be participating in a FREE one day salary cap draft for this Thursday, Oct 13th. We'll post our picks in the blog and you can draft your own team...and maybe win some real $$$ and bragging rights.

One Day FREE Fantasy Contest - $100 in cash prizes

If you haven’t heard, there is a new trend in the world of fantasy sports. Fantasy enthusiasts all over North America are now participating in daily fantasy leagues for cash on DraftStreet.com. We’ve partnered up with Draftstreet to do a FREE one-day fantasy league with $100 in prizes exclusively for Puckjunkie members.

This is a salary cap league where everyone tries to assemble the best team out of the available players. You will have a $100,000 budget to build a team of 2 LW’s, 2 RW’s, 2 Center’s, 2 Defensive players, 1 Goalie, and a FLEX. Each NHL player has been allocated a price based on their expected fantasy performance. For example, star LW Alex Ovechkin costs $14,331 where as RW Jarome Iginla costs $12,256.

You can adjust your roster up until the contest start’s on Thursday 10/13 at 7:00pm ET at which time your rosters will lock and the Live Scoreboard will be available.

CLICK HERE to sign up for free and register for the Puckjunkie $100 Freeroll on DraftStreet.com.

Fantasy Impact Deadline Deals

Washington sends David Steckel and a 2nd round pick in 2011 to New Jersey for the Devils' Jason Arnott. Fantasy Impact - this is a solid deal, fantasy wise, for both teams. Arnott will likely be the Caps at least 3rd line pivot, and likely 2nd line center, feeding the likes of Alexander Semin. If he plays 2nd line, his fantasy value will increase for sure. He's a better option than Mathieu Perreault. He's likely gone at the end of the season, but if the Caps get to the Cup, it will be a risk worth taking. for teh Devils, Steckel will get a long look to see is he can supplant Danius Zubris as the Devils 2nd line center. Steckel is awesome at FOWs and if he can let his skills catch up to his big frame, he could be a diamond in the rough for the offensively challenged Devils.

Washington sends Jake Hauswirth and a 3rd round pick to Florida for Dennis Wideman. Fantasy Impact - Wideman gives the Caps some peice of mind and a more viable option on defence assuming that the horrible season for Mike Green continues. Wideman should help the Caps and he is under-rated defensively. For the Panthers, they get a long-shot prospect in Hauswirth, who is a converted defenceman now forward, who can score a little.

Edmonton sends Dustin Penner to LA for the Kings Colten Teubert, a 2011 1st rounder and a conditional 2nd round pick in 2012. Fantasy Impact - Penner is likely to gain a significant amount of relief from leaving hockey-crazed Edmonton where his periodic lacklustre play drove fans a little bananas for a guy that with his type of frame. Despite all that, Penner has managed to be a pretty consistent scorer, scoring 20+ goals in 4 of his last 5 seasons. He's likely to thrive as a part of the success story in LA rather than being the focal point of offense as he was in Edmonton. Penner should maintain his current 29 goals clip for the Kings. For the Oilers, Teubert fits the persona of a tough, physical defencemen that they hope to accompany a back end that will consist of Petry, Chorney and Maricin. If this core can grow together, the Oilers will have a terrific defence 3 years from now. To get a propsect like Teubert and a 1st rounder for Penner is a nice return on the enigmatic Penner.

Anaheim sends Maxim Lapierre and MacGregor Sharp to Vancouver for the Canucks Joel Perreault and a 3rd round pick in 2011. Fantasy Impact: Lapierre assumes a 4th line role with the Canucks. He is a high energy, robust player that can be undisciplined at times. He's not there to score goals. He is there to provide depth and to put pressure on the opposition's defence during the fore-check. If you count hits, you might take him. Sharp is a project prospect for the Canucks who was a scorer in college, but at 25 - his window to play in the NHL is closing. For the Ducks, Joel Perrault is a solid face off guy and depth center, but it will be hard for him to crack the Ducks line-up.

Florida sends Chris Higgins to Vancouver for the Canucks' Evan Oberg and a 3rd round pick in 2011. Fantasy Impact - Higgins is a nice addition to a Canucks team. He can kill penalties and has the ability to play as high as the 2nd line (are you listening Mason Raymond). He's a UFA in the summer. With both Higgins and LaPierre in the fold, the Canucks are likely to send Cody Hodgson and Victor Oreskovich back to the minors. For the Panthers, Oberg is a solid puck moving defencemen that will get a shot to crack the line-up next year. He projects as a 4-5 defencemen.

Phoenix sends Scottie Upshall and Sami Lepisto to Columbus for the Blue Jackets' Rotislav Klesla and Dane Byers. Fantasy Impact - At first blush, this is a hands down win for the Blue Jackets as Upshall has 16 goals and is a high energy player and great in the room. Upshall is a UFA in the summer and Jakcets management hopes that they can convince him to stay. In Lepisto, The Jackets get an offensive minded defenceman that has struggled to find success at the NHL level. He'll get a long look with the Jackets. For the 'Yotes they get a solid defenceman that was a very high draft pick for the Jackets, who is signed for the next few years, who can replace Jovonosvski in the off-season. He's not had his offensive junior success translate to the NHL, and at 28, likely will not, but he has developed into a shutdown defenceman. Byers is a long shot to make the club, but has proved himself adept at scoring and scrapping in the minors.

Atlanta send Niclas Bergfors and Patrick Rissmiller to Florida for Radek Dvorak and a 5th round pick in 2011. Fantasy Impact - Radek Dvorak has had some success in the NHL, while Niclas Bergfors never really seemed to get the required consistency for the Thrashers. Dvorak is an average fantasy forward in almost all pool formats at best. Bergfors was a former Devils 1st round pick that was part of the package sent to the Thrashers from the Devils last year when the Devils acquired Kovolchuk last year. Jury is still out, but he'll get every opportunity to play in Florida. Rissmiller is a sandpaper forward with limited upside.

St. Louis sends Brad Winchester to Anaheim for the Ducks 3rd round pick in 2011. Fantasy Impact - Winchester is a rough and tumble winger that will crash the net and is a load in front of the opposing zone. He's not got the best hands so his fantasy output will be limited.

Ottawa sends Chris Campoli and a conditional 7th round pick in 2011 to the Chicago Blackhawks for Ryan Potulny and a 2nd round pick in 2011. Fantasy Impact - Campoli is an upgrade at least offensively from the departed Nick Boynton, but he'll be playing behind Keith, Seabrook and Campbell. He'll get 6th defenceman minutes on the Hawks for the remainder of the season. For the Senators, they get to see if Potulny will ever be a regular NHL center for the next 20 games, while stock-piling another decent draft pick.

Atlanta sends Fredrik Modin to Calgary for the Flames' conditional 7th round pick in 2011. Fantasy Impact - Modin's fantasy contribution is going to be limited. He's a decent depth guy, but hard to imagine that he'll play on the Flames top 6 forward units. Thrasher's dump some salary while Modin adds some depth.

St. Louis sends Brad Boyes to Buffalo for a 2nd round pick in 2011. Fantasy Impact: it was evident with the Blues' acquisition of Chris Stewart that Boyes' playing time and spot on the depth chart would be moving lower. The Sabres are hoping that Boyes, who will play in their top 6, and could even play center, will re-ignite some of his past offensive glory. The bet is he'll discover a bit more of his scoring touch with the move to Buffalo and additional ice time but it's likely not that sustainable. Tyler Ennis is the likely odd man out on the Sabres top 6 to make room for Boyes.

More Rumors - Pt. II

Dallas - the rumors are very hot that Stars' GM Joe Niuewendyk is taking offers on Brad Richards, who would have to waive his no trade clause. The latest have the Kings the most interested, but the problem is will they part with highly coveted Brayden Schenn? The Kings would much rather move two of the following for Richards (and failing that, likely Penner or Hemskey): Loktionov, Hickey, Voynov, Clifford or Jake Muzzin, and likely a 1st round draft pick. A deal for any of the above mentioned NHLers will really come down to whether Kings GM Dean Lombardi is prepared to move Schenn or not.

T-minus 2 days before the Trade Deadline - latest rumors

Here is the latest that we are hearing around the league in terms of rumors with less than 2 days before the deadline:



Florida - having moved Froli, Stillman and McCabe, the next likely candidates to get dealt include Tomas Vokoun, David Booth and Stephen Weiss. Vokoun is an unrestricted free agent in the off-season and there is little likelihood that he'll resign in Florida. Potential suitors include Colorado, Toronto and Washington. For our money, it looks like the Capitals may win this sweepstakes as the combo of Varlamov and Neuvirth have not been consistent enough to give management the confidence that the Caps can go deep with the goaltending that they have. Also, the Capitals have Braden Holtby in the minors and he's shown signs that he can at least be a decent back-up next year when given chances with the big clus this year. If the Caps do make this deal you can expect they'll only rent Vokoun and the package going back is likely Neuvirth or Holtby and Jay Beagle - a young center in the Caps farm system.

Colorado - after wheeling Anderson, Stewart and Shattenkirk out and welcoming Erik Johnson and Brian elliott in, the Avs are also rumored to be interested in moving John-Micahel Liles prior to the deadline. The hottest destination for Liles has been Toronto, where the Leafs believe that they have a shot of catching the 8th spot in the East. Liles started like a house on fire this year, but since about the 20 game mark, his play in his own end has been brutal. The Leafs would like to get Liles by trading one of the frist round picks they received from either the Flyers or the Bruins and the 3rd rounder from the Bruins.

The Most Recent Trades

Florida sends Bryan McCabe to New York for the Rangers for Tim Kennedy and a 3rd round pick in 2011. Fantasy Impact: for the Rangers, McCabe gives them a steadying influence on the back end that they have not seen since the Brian Leetch days. We are not saying this Bryan will be as good offensively as that Brian, but McCabe has better offensive upside than the likes of Staal, Del Zotto and Gilroy. McCabe is not a 60+ point defenceman anymore but he's a good bet to get some look on the PP. For the Panthers, this is all about at least getting a dp and dumping some of McCabe's salary. This will mean more minutes for Kulikov and eventually, Erik Gudbransson.

Ottawa sends Alexi Kovalev to Pittsbrugh for the Penguins for a conditional 7th round pick. Fantasy Impact: this is clearly a low risk/high reward deal for the Penguins. Kovalev has not been close to the guy they were hoping they were getting when he was signed to a 2 year deal for $5M per season almost two seasons ago. This season Kovalev has been even worse, but even at the age of 37, Kovalev still has enough offensive skills to make a difference for the next 20+ games; particularly for the Pens PP that is missing Crosby, Malkin and Kunitz. Kovalev is as enigmatic as they come and he might bag a few tallies early, but we think he'll live up to his pool killer moniker while a Pen.

Atlanta sends Brent Sopel and Nigel Dawes to Montreal for the Habs' Ben Maxwell and a 4th round pick. Fantasy Impact: Brent Sopel's days as an offensive option are long gone. He is a pretty accomplished shot blocker and was a stalwart on defence for the Chicago Blackhawks run to the Cup last year. Sopel's likely to log about 20+ minutes given the shortage of NHL ready defencemen at the Habs disposal now, but he's not going to post much more fantasy worthy stats. Dawes and Maxwell are simply changing spots on their respective AHL rosters.

Florida sens Cory Stillman to Carolina for the Hurricanes Ryan Carter and a 4th round draft pick. Fantasy Impact: Stillman is similar to Kovalev, but without all of the drama. He has the ability to score the key big goal now again, but he's not likely to be a 20+ goal scorer again in the NHL. If you are in a real deep league, Stillman might be worth a waiver look see, assuming he's relatively injury free.

Tampa Bay sends Dan Ellis to Anaheim for the Ducks' Curtis McElhinney. Fantasy Impact: this is a deal that sees the Lightning save some $ in changing McElhinney for Ellis' salary, while the Ducks get a bit more depth in net with incumbent No. 1 on the DL suffering from vertigo. For the Ducks, Ellis will be an upgrade from McElhinney and they are likely to ride Ellis or recent call up Ray Emery until Hiller returns. Emery seems like the better bet from a fantasy poolie perspective, particularly in keeper leagues where if he performs well, someone is likely to take a gamble on signing him in the off-season.

The Impact Deals to Date

As the trade deadline looms closer, just like in past years, Puckjunkie wants to give you the fantasy poolie out take on the latest deals and rumors around the league. Unlike past years however, the deals have been plentiful weeks prior to the deadline, so – without further delay, let’s dive in to the ones completed so far.

Toronto sends Tomas Kaberle to Boston for the Bruins 1st round draft pick in 2011 and prospect Joe Colborne and a conditional 2nd round pick is Kaberle resigns with Boston or they make the 2011 Finals. Fantasy Impact – for owners of Kaberle this is very good news. Kaberle is an excellent PP QB and makes the first pass from his own end as well as any other in the league. He moves from a team that is not likely destined to make the playoffs, to one that thinks it’s got a legitimate shot at the title. Kaberle improves a decent Bruins PP and alongside Zdeno Chara, gives the Bruins an excellent tandem from the back end and indirect benefactors should be guys like Krejci, Lucic and Bergeron. One guy who’s points may be adversely impacted is Mark Recchi, who’s spot on the Bruins PP will likely be taken by Kaberle. For the Leafs, they get a valued 1st round pick (likely in the 20-30 range) and a decent prospect in Joe Colbrone – a huge center who is a decent skater and projects as high as a solid 2nd line center.

Toronto sends Kris Versteeg to the Philadelphia for the Flyers 1st round pick & 3rd round pick in 2011. Fantasy Impact - After acquiring Versteeg in the off-season, it never seemed that the young forward could ever live up to the expectation of hockey mad Toronto. Versteeg’s best success has been when he gets to play a complimentary role from the 3rd line, kills penalties and chips in with some timely goals. This will be his role with the Flyers and he should thrive.

Toronto sends Francois Beauchemin to Anaheim for Joffrey Lupul, prospect Jake Gardiner and the Ducks 4th round pick in 2014. Fantasy Impact – it’s been pretty hard to fathom just how far Beauchemin’s confidence has fallen from his happier days in Anaheim. Beauchemin heads back to the Ducks, where he had the most success in his hockey career and should provide the Ducks with some steadying influence on defence. He’s the 3rd offensive fantasy option behind veteran Visnovsky and rookie Cam Fowler. This will be Joffrey Lupul’s fourth trade and fourth organization in his 10 year NHL career. There’s no doubting his scoring ability, he’s hit the 20+ goal mark three times in his career, it’s his inability to stay healthy which is a concern. Lupul heads to a goal starved Leafs with the hope that he’ll be able to give the Leafs a needed offensive boost. He’s risky, but he’s going to get every opportunity to play on the top offensive lines and PP, so in the short term, he’s a low risk/high reward acquisition. In Jake Gardiner the Leafs get a decent defence prospect with some offensive upside. He projects as a solid 2nd blue-line pairing guy with some offensive upside.

St. Louis sends Eric Johnson, Jay McClement and a 1st round pick in either 2011 or 2012 for Kevin Shattenkirk, Chris Stewart and a 2nd round pick in 2011 or 2012. Fantasy Impact – on it’s face this appears to be a bit of a steal from the Blues. Stewart is a budding fantasy stud power forward, with soft hands and does play with a bit of an edge. Last year he registered 28 goals and if not for an injury earlier in this year, he’d have eclipsed that this season. In Shattenkirk the Blues get an offense first defencemen who has been excellent since his call up after about 10 games in to this season. He won’t replace Johnson’s defensive abilities but he’s at least as good offensively. The Avalanche are clearly hoping that Johnson regains his form of 2009-10. Perhaps the change in scenery will benefit Johnson but this season, we are not liking his fantasy value for this year, but next season he’s a good risk/reward pick for poolies. Johnson’s absence will give more PP playing time for the arriving Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo.

St. Louis sends Eric Brewer to Tampa Bay for the Lightning’s Brock Beakeboom and a 3rd round pick. Fantasy Impact – Eric Brewer is the epitome of a very solid stay at home defenceman that can play 25+ minutes a game. He’s not a significant offensive fantasy option any longer, but the ‘Ning have brought Brewer in to steady their defence core and provide some solid veteran leadership on the blue line. In return, the Blues have picked up the son of former NHL defencemen Jeff Beukeboom; and he is a chip off of the ol’ block. The younger Beukeboom is not fleet of foot, but he is a big, tall, stay at home defenceman with a mean streak. He’s not going to add much offensive fantasy value, but as early as next season, Beukeboom could be patrolling the Blues defence. A Blue that should benefit from the most two recent defence departures is Nikita Nikitin. Nikitin has some offensive upside and the Blues have been slowly bringing the Russian born rearguard along but most recently he had supplanted Johnson from the Blues 2nd unit PP.

Boston sends Blake Wheeler and Mark Stuart to Atlanta for Rich Peverley and Boris Valabik. Fantasy Impact – after acquiring Kaberle, the Bruins needs to clear some cap space and thus shipped Wheeler and Stuart to Atlanta. Wheeler has yet to realize his fullest potential for a guy that was drafted 5th overall in 2004. Wheeler’s a big body with some nose for the net. The question has been his desire to consistently go to the critical spots on the ice to get his goals. He’s a good fit in Atlanta to give them more size and additional youth, but he’s a 20 goal a season max guy. In Stuart, the Thrashers are getting the perfect example of a gritty stay at home defenceman that won’t add much in terms of offensive fantasy stats save for hits and possible blocked shots. For the Bruins Rick Peverley gives them a decent fill-in for the injured Marc Savard. Peverley’s decent in the offensive zone, but has some flaws on his own zone. Expect him to play likely on the 3rd line behind Krejci and Bergeron, but there is a risk that he may have limited minutes and much less playing time on a deeper Bruins team then what he saw with the Thrashers. The Bruins also acquired massive defenceman Boris Valabik who reminds many scouts of Derek Boogaard, save he’s a defeceman. Valabik’s skating is not yet up to NHL level, but if he ever gets the chance to play alongside Zdeno Chara, the Bruins might have the league’s newest “Twin Towers” as Valabik is 6’7”.

Ottawa sends Chris Kelly to Boston for the Bruins 2nd round pick in 2011. Fantasy Impact – Chris Kelly was a favourite of current GM Pete Chiarelli, back when he was with the Senators’ organization. Kelly will provide additional speed, the ability to kill penalties and much needed “glue” in the room for the Bruins. A very popular guy amongst his team mates, Kelly’s ice time will be more limited than what he was seeing in Ottawa but he’ll now be playing for a Stanley Cup. If Kelly kills penalties, he’s got some fantasy value. Without it, he’s just another excellent skating 3rd or 4th liner.

Ottawa sends Brian Elliott to Colorado for Craig Anderson. Fantasy Impact – this is a bit of a noggin’ scratcher for us to be sure. Ottawa jettison’s a young turtle for a guy that is an unrestricted free agent sounds like the Sens believe that Robyn Lehner is the heir apparent for the Sens top job (and he’s been good on some games and not so good on others at every level he played at) or it’s part of the concerted effort of the Pens to off-load as much salary as they can. We think it’s the later. For Anderson he’ll likely welcome the change in scenery and will likely be auditioning for a new contract – in other words, he’ll be motivated to turn around just an ok year. For Elliott it’s the chance to be the No. 1 guy for the Avalanche. Poolies can expect he and Budaj to compete for the No. 1 job for the remainder of the season.

Ottawa sends Mike Fisher to Nashville for the Predators 1st round pick in 2011 and a conditional draft pick in 2012. Fantasy Impact – as much as Alfredsson and Spezza are the flashier players, it seems evident for the Senators that as Fisher went, so did they. This season Fisher has been playing hurt since training camp and just looks like he’s not playing at 100%. This move now vaults Fisher to No. 1 center status for the Preds and they are desperately hoping that he will re-discover his scoring prowess that has seen him score at least 22+ goals in 4 of his 10 seasons in the league. Fisher is also likely to benefit from not playing in hockey mad Ottawa as well, where every move by the players is under scrutiny. The Predators he will play with should benefit as well; guys like Erat, Hornqvist and Sullivan.

Chicago sends Jack Skille, Hugh Jessiman and David Pacan to Florida for Michael Frolik and Alexander Salak. Fantasy Impact – for the Blackhawks, this is clearly an attempt to add some more scoring depth top the Blackhawks. Frolik has put together back-back 20+ goal seasons for very bad Panther teams and should see top 6 forward duty for the Hawks right away. The Hawks also get a nice goaltending prospect in Salak, who’s putting up solid numbers over in Europe. For the Panthers Skille was a now Panthers’ GM Dale Tallon selection and should get a long look and more minutes for the remainder of the season to entice the Panthers to sign him to a long term deal. Jessiman is a long-shot prospect that has yet to fulfill his potential while Pacan, at 19, is a longer term prospect that projects as a 2nd line forward.

Carolina sends Ian White to San Jose for the Sharks 2nd round pick in 2011. Fantasy Impact – Ian White is a poor man’s Dan Boyle. They play similar style’s, are about the size and based on their size, are forever proving that they belong. White should stand to make a significant impact for the Sharks. After pursuing the then Leaf’s Beauchemin, the Sharks settled on the soon to be UFA Ian White. White should help Boyle and the struggling Sharks PP. White has 40 point production in him and he will likely find the up tempo play in the Western more to his liking, The ‘Canes, this deal allows them to focus on signing Pitkanen. White has been just OK as a Hurricance and this move to the Sharks should please White owners significantly.

Pens-Stars Deal: Neal, Niskanen & Goligoski

Dallas sends James Neal and Matt Niskanen to Pittsbrugh for the Penguins' Alex Goligoski. Fantasy Impact: hard to imagine that the Pens were able to get two young, still improving guys in Neal and Niskanen for Alex Goligoski. It's not that Goligoski is not good, he's a very good offensive defenceman, but his stats are likely to take a longer term downturn as he'll play on the less talented Stars PP. For the Stars this may be also an attempt to clear some cap space with the hope of being able to sign Mike Richards. Goligoski still has two years left on a less than $2M per season, while Neal has just one year at $3.5M and Niskanen is owed $1.75M. Niskanen has had a brutal year offensively, but had 35+ points only two seasons ago. If Neal plays with Crosby upon his return you can expect Neal to flirt with 40 goals. Pens seem to win this deal, hands down.

2011 Trade Deadline Rumors

The latest rumors from around the league, let’s start in Montreal. After only winning 4 of their last 10 that Habs are searching for some more offense. They have already lost Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges for the remainder of the season. The Canadiens have repatriated Paul Mara to assist them, but they are interested in possibly acquiring Bryan McCabe from the Florida Panthers, Chris Phillips from the Sens and forwards Ales Hemskey and Dusting Penner from the Oilers. The latest has the Habs dangling Jerred Tinordi and a 1st round pick for Penner and Hemskey. In the alternative, the Habs are dangling their 1st round pick to the Panthers for McCabe. In order for McCabe to move he’d have to waive his no trade clause, but there is little doubt that McCabe would be able to help the Habs right away. The price being dangled for Penner and Hemskey, whom are both under contract into next year, seems a bit light, but both Hemskey and Penner would give the Canadiens some offense right away. The issue for the Habs would be creating the cap space to make the deal.

The other suitors kicking the tires around on Hemskey and/or Penner have been the LA Kings and the Nashville Predators. The Kings have been talking Thomas Hickey for either of the Oilers veterans but to date Hickey has not been able to continue his junior success into the minors and thus position himself as a likely prospect for an NHL roster. Of stronger interest for the Oilers would be Colten Teubert, also a defensive prospect for the Kings, but the Kings are reluctant to part with him. From the Predators, the Oilers would love to ply either Ryan Ellis or Jonathan Blum from the defense heavy prospects list of the Predators. Another defensive prospect that may be more acquirable would be Charles-Olivier Roussel. The Oilers are desperate for solid defencemen prospects or center prospects for both Hemskey and Penner.

In Ottawa the Senators are rumored to be dangling Alex Kovalev and Chris Phillips to the highest bidder. Both Kovalev and Phillips are UFAs this summer but the asking price for both has been significant to date. GM Murray is looking for at least a 1st round dp for each of those guys. The rumored landing place for Phillips has been Montreal. For Kovalev the Penguins have been kicking the tires on his availability. The Sens have wanted Eric Tangradi in exchange but the Pens are loathe to part with that high of a prospect for the enigmatic Kovalev.

2010 Canucks Training Camp Report - A Fan's Perspective

From Canucks fan and former PJ columnist Ted Hagmeier who lives in Penticton, BC where Vancouver is holding their training camp:

"I attended the first day of Vancouver Canucks training camp. The players were divided into two groups, each group on the ice for 90 minutes, each group doing the same drills. The first ice time was at 9am, the second at 11:30am. I watched both groups. Players were out skating around beforehand and each practice started promptly. Vigneault ran the practice but Bowness often did the shouting during the drills to keep players moving. The other coaches were pretty invisible. There were no special team drills. Everything was designed around north-south hockey: transition and break outs with full ice flow. There was an ice clean half way through each practice. Here are my observations:

· Luongo let in lots of soft goals during the drills. Wow

· During practices coaches will put in breaks. Often, a coach will bang his stick, blow the whistle and everyone does a hard lap then goes for water. Luongo's 'hard lap' is from blue to blue cause he is slower than everyone else - even the best goalie in the world skates like a goalie! Then he goes for water.

· The coaches didn't do a lot of talking to explain the drills and never used the dry erase board.

· Towards the end of the practice some of the players were looking tired. During a 2 on 2 drill, Vigneault yelled at Dan Hamhuis, "Push it, Hammy"

· Schaefer did extra stretching while his group was on the benches for an ice clean. He looked a little sore, not surprising since he was out of hockey last year. But he looked good in the drills and he has a heavy wrist shot

· O'Brien seemed to be the team funny man - laughing and bear hugging some of the players in between drills.

· He also took a few shots at Sergei "The Sheriff" Shirokov during some 5 on 5 drills in the defensive zone

· The 'Sheriff' impressed me with his speed

· Morrison looked okay but it’s hard to see where he is going to play

· He made a lovely deflection, directing a shot along the ice to score off the crossbar

· Bieksa is a very smooth skater and puck handler, maybe the best among d-man and tops in the team

· The goaltenders, except Luongo, took extra coaching at the end of practice.

· Malhotra, Kessler and Rypien practiced face-offs at the end of practice

· Janik Hansen is a terrible skater. He is fast but no points for style

· Often, it’s the captain who leads the team during stretching in games and practices. Sedin led his group. Malhotra led the group that included Kesler. Sort of odd, if Ryan is being considered for captain

· Both squads got applause when they came on the ice and when they left

· O'Brien was in the second group and came out before his ice time to sign autographs. He might have been the only player to do that.

· Between drills Vigneault spotted someone he knew by one of the gates to the ice (so it was a restricted area). He skated over to him with a broad smile and tapped on the glass to say high. I think that guy was a person with special needs. Otherwise he showed no emotion at all.. Didn’t even tap a player on the pads.

· Schneider looked good in his first practice as the "it's my back-up goaltender job to lose” guy

· In drills the Sedins don't really stand out. Neither has great speed, size or shot. I didn't even recognize Daniel until half way through his session. But in 3 on 3 drills cycling the puck they stood out, even though they were playing without each other

· Bill Sweat, who they just signed, looks like a player. He was one of the best forwards during the 'Young Guns' game I watched and he didn't look out of place with the big boys. I am not saying he'll make the team but he is a good addition for the farm

· Schneider took a puck off the melon. It was a drill early in the practice to warm up the goalies and the skaters. The skater attacks the net with the puck, shoots, and then screens the goalie for a point shot. The point shot had players ducking and we heard the 'doink' as the puck hit mask. The d-man yelled, 'Sorry'

· Henrik badly missed the net on one shot and held both arms up in mock celebration. The players around him laughed. Everyone cheered.

· In the same drill a prospect I don’t know made a nice play to score on Luongo. When he went back to the corner to wait his turn in the drill Henrik tapped him on the pads as if to say, ‘nice play.’

If you ever get a chance to see training camp - do it. Go Canucks Go."