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.

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....

UFA Flurry

Wow...one day and there are a ton of signings, so let's get to them. Briere to Philly - from a Fantasy perspective this is awesome. Briere is a PP machine and 5 on 5 he's pretty deadly as well. With the young guys the Flyers have amassed there, this team stands to be a marked improvement over last years'.... Scott Gomez and Chris Drury to the Rangers are two very good signings for the Rangers as well. Both Gomez and Drury are very responsible defensively, which should be a marked improvement for the Rangers down the middle. Gomez is even a better play-maker than Nylander, so expect Jagr to really enjoy the soft passes. Drury's signing likely means that Brendan Shanahan will will have to take less to stay - but I think he does to get a chance to play with either of those two guys at center. Still no defence help, which is a concern....With Drury and Gomez in New York, reports had Michael Nylander originally signing with the Oilers. But that appears to be premature as he has now confirmed signing with the Washington Capitals. Poolies can only dream about the results from a Ovechkin-Nylander combo. If they can come close to the Jagr-Nylander combo that would be most impressive. An opportunity to play with Ales Hemsky is tantalizing, but the Oilers still need a sniper to play with those two guys and right now, there's not one on the team....Ryan Smyth to the Avalanche is a solid signing for the Avs. Captain Canada will get the chance to play with either Joe Sakic of super-sophomore Paul Stastny, which will mean a solid return to 30+ goals for Smyth....Mathieu Schneider's signing in Anaheim is further evidence that the Ducks expect that Scott Niedermayer will announce his retirement before the beginning of next season. As is, the Ducks may have one of the best top 4 defence corp ever assembled with Pronger, Schneider, Beauchemein and potentially Niedermayer. Schneider won't replace Niedermayer if he does retire, but he's a nice substitute nonetheless....with Schneider in Anaheim, the Red Wings wasted little time in landing Deerborn, MI native Brian Rafalski for a long-term deal. Rafalski gives the Red Wings an excellent tandem of Lidstrom and Rafalski to man the PP points. Poolies should see a rise in his point totals from playing with the offensively challnged Devils....the Blues signed Keith Tkachuk, just prior to UFA opening, and then landed Paul Kariya. Kariya's becoming less of an offensive impact, but perhaps this move to the Blues and the chance to play potentially with Doug Weight may rekindle more offense. Kariya was deadly on the PP last year, and the Blues will welcome that. Just don't over-pay for his services though....