Each week during the season, we'll survey the Fantasy Hockey landscape and provide you with a list of players whose Fantasy value has increased or decreased over the course of the past week.
Nik Antropov, C, Toronto The Toronto Maple Leafs have been struggling on offense and defense, which is the reason for their extremely slow start. One person you cannot blame is Antropov, however, as he has been bouncing around from line to line, but still producing at a high level. In fact, Antropov picked up a goal and assist against the Sabres in Buffalo on Monday night, giving him three straight games with a marker and a helper. He also has a tremendous plus-7 rating heading into Thursday's game against the Panthers. While Antropov's decision making and uncanny knack for picking up untimely penalties has gotten him into the doghouse in Toronto, especially during the Pat Quinn regime, he is going well right now and can help Fantasy owners immediately. |
|
Jonathan Bernier, G, Los Angeles Unfortunately for Fantasy owners who thought they were getting a steal after his impressive NHL debut in London against the Ducks in the opener, the Bernier stay in the NHL has been a rocky one since. In fact, there are reports from TSN.ca that he is able to be shipped back to his junior team with Lewiston of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) as soon as early this week. This report means Bernier's Fantasy value will be virtually nil, with the exception of long-term keeper leagues. Conversely, the stock of Jean-Sebastien Aubin and Jason LaBarbera is about to rise, as they'll hold down the fort unless the Kings look outside of the organization for help. That's possible, too, with Curtis Joseph as a potential target. |
|
Daniel Carcillo, LW, Phoenix Carcillo scored a pair of goals over the weekend in a game against Minnesota, drawing the attention of Fantasy owners everywhere. He has already racked up 22 penalty minutes in just five games, so he would be a must-start in all Fantasy leagues which heavily reward PIM if he can keep up his offensive production. We're not sure that he'll be able to produce on a point-per-game basis, in fact we're sure he cannot, but he can be a 35-40 point player with about 150 PIM by season's end if coach Wayne Gretzky continues to roll him out there with decent ice time totals. |
|
Jonathan Cheechoo, RW, San Jose Coach Ron Wilson had enough of his team's slow offensive start, especially that of Cheechoo. In Monday's game against the Canucks, Wilson removed Cheechoo from the top scoring line alongside Joe Thornton on a pair of occasions, which seemed to act as a motivating tool. Cheechoo got onto the stat sheet for the first time in 2007-08 with a goal, assist and plus-2 rating after being blanked in his first five games. Cheechoo's ice cold start has likely hurt a lot of Fantasy owners, but don't compound the matter by dropping him just yet and seeing a fellow owner pluck him off the waiver wire and reap the rewards. His stock is at an all-time low and if you consider trading him you will get very little in return. |
|
Randy Jones, D, Philadelphia Jones, who is 26 years old, has never really done anything in the NHL. In fact, the New Brunswick product had posted just four goals and 30 points in 99 NHL games entering the season. However, he already has four assists and a plus-5 rating heading into Tuesday's game against the Thrashers. Users in CBSSports.com leagues are starting to take notice too, as he has gone from a nothing in terms of Fantasy ownership at one percent to 18 percent overnight. Production from rearguards has been razor thin early this season, so any kind of signs of life, even from the most obscure players getting plenty of ice time, will get the attention of hungry owners. |
|
Manny Fernandez, G, Boston The Boston Bruins traded for Fernandez during the offseason and it appears that he was being annointed as the No. 1 backstop in Beantown, with goaltender of the future Hannu Toivonen having been shipped to St. Louis during the offseason. A little wrinkle has happened during the early going, however, as remaining goaltender Tim Thomas has refused to go quietly and Fernandez has been a dud early on. Right now, we expect Thomas to get starts in perhaps a 2-to-1 situation, at least until Fernandez is able to get on track and re-gain the form he showed before going down in Minnesota last season with a knee injury. |
|
Cam Ward, G, Carolina Ward is starting to look like the goaltender that helped the Carolina Hurricanes hoist Lord Stanley's Cup rather than the one who bumbled through all of last season, leading the Canes to the tee box in rather quick fashion. Ward earned the NHL's first star for his stellar play last week and he is 4-0-1 with a 1.79 GAA and sparkling .942 save percentage in five games so far. He is still available in 13 percent of CBSSports.com Fantasy leagues, which should continue to change rapidly. We're not ready to say he is a bona fide No. 1 Fantasy netminder just yet, but he is definitely showing the signs. |
|
Paul Mara, D, Phoenix Mara is starting to become a regular on our Stockwatch and Watching the Waiver Wire features, but not for anything particularly good. We can't help it, as his stock continues to plummet. The Boston Globe discussed a rumor which had Mara possibly ending up back in Phoenix with the Rangers ending up with veteran Ed Jovanovski. However, there would have to be a lot more headed back to the desert to make this deal come into fruition. Mara enjoyed his best days as a professional with the Coyotes, managing 21 goals and 89 points in two seasons from 2003-06. Perhaps he'll make his way off of this list once he is back in a system he is comfortable, but for now, Mara is the equivalent of a pink sheet penny stock. |
Do you have a trade you'd like reviewed by our experts, or feel that we're missing someone from our Stockwatch? You can e-mail us at DMFantasyPucks@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Fantasy Pucks in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state. Be aware we do not guarantee personal responses to all questions.