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.
| | Johan Hedberg, G, Atlanta Hedberg got off to an extremely shaky start in his first game as the starter in Atlanta following Kari Lehtonen's groin injury, but he'll start a majority of the games for the Thrashers while their top goalie is down. The team said he'll miss four to six weeks and interim coach and general manager Don Waddell said it will be closer to the six-week estimate since he is a goaltender and this is a groin injury. While Hedberg should certainly not be counted on to serve as a No. 1 Fantasy goaltender, he makes for a decent low-end No. 2 or solid No. 3, especially in leagues which average points per game in a scoring period. However, youngster Ondrej Pavelec will get a start here and there to show what he can do. He is the goaltender of the future in Atlanta and might force his way into more playing time if Hedberg struggles and Pavelec shows well early. |
| | Ed Jovanovski, D, Phoenix Jovanovski has had a difficult time staying healthy over the past few seasons. At least he has been able to play in all of his team's seven games so far this season. However, he has managed just one assist and a minus-9 rating and looks lost for a player of his caliber. We've been calling for a major drop in his production from a Fantasy perspective, but we never expected it to be this sharp. He should start to show some signs on offense, but his stock has never been lower than it is right now. Fantasy owners are starting to pull the trigger and drop him for lesser-known rearguards such as Minnesota's Brent Burns, Chris Campoli of the Islanders and Philadelphia's Randy Jones. You might want to consider following suit. |
| | Sami Kapanen, RW, Philadelphia It feels like 2001-02 when Kapanen posted a career-high 69 points with the Carolina Hurricanes. Since then, the Finn has struggled with injuries and ineffective play, failing to collect more than 34 points in any single season. He had a three-game goal streak from Oct. 13-18, but that was ended on Oct. 20 at home against his former team. His plus-6 rating has also been very attractive, especially for Fantasy owners in Rotisserie formats. While we do not believe he'll continue his current pace to amass a career-high 35 goals, we think that a return to the 40-50 point level is certainly possible due to the Flyers resurgence. It's amazing how a little winning will put a jump in people's step. |
| | Ladislav Nagy, LW, Los Angeles Nagy has been a consistent producer during his career, managing to get into the 50-60 point range in each of the past four NHL seasons. However, coach Marc Crawford made him a healthy scratch in two straight games recently, as he is apparently not on the same page with the coach. That's never good for Fantasy owners or his landlord in the Los Angeles area. It's likely that he'll be moved, perhaps for goaltending help, as he won't be too happy about spending time in the press box for much longer. While his stock is sure to drop following the scratches, keep an eye on Nagy. He is a good player to scoop up while his value is at a low if you have the roster space. His short-term outlook is extremely bleak, but with his past four seasons of decent production, he has more than proven himself over the years. |
| | Robert Lang, C, Chicago Lang, who had a mostly disastrous stay in his days with the Detroit Red Wings, is having a resurgence during the early going in his stay with the Blackhawks. He has posted five goals, three assists and a plus-6 rating in eight games. He also has managed to light the lamp in four of his past five games entering play on Tuesday night against Columbus. It appears that Lang has re-gained his deft scoring touch and is back on a roll. With his past performances, especially during his time in Washington, there is no reason to believe he cannot continue his point-per-game pace. If he is available in your Fantasy leagues, he is certainly worth a look as a No. 2 or 3 center. |
| | Drew Stafford, RW, Buffalo It comes with great sadness that we include Stafford on the value dropping list, as we expected big things out of him this season. In fact, he was one of our predicted breakouts. While there is plenty of time for him to right the ship, he has rarely displayed the confidence and offensive dominance that he showed in his first taste of the NHL last season. He has just three points (1 G, 2 A) in seven games this season, including just one helper over the past five. In fact, nine other players on the Sabres have more points than he does at this point. That's just not going to cut it right now with a slew of options producing at a higher level right now. |
| | Manny Legace, G, St. Louis A lot of Fantasy owners (see below) are asking us for advice on hot free agents to pluck off of the waiver wire. While it is still hard to suggest the goaltender for the Blues as a viable Fantasy option, Legace is starting to win over even the biggest skeptics. While a 3-2-0 record is not that impressive on the surface, his 2.00 GAA and .930 save percentage in six games is pretty tasty. Like Hedberg above, we do not consider hitching your wagon to Legace as a No. 1 Fantasy netminder. But if you have a No. 2 or 3 who is struggling during the early going, such as Boston's Manny Fernandez or Toronto's Vesa Toskala, Legace is certainly worth a look in the short-term. |
| | Dainius Zubrus, RW, New Jersey Zubrus has posted four assists with a team-worst minus-7 rating through the first eight games, which is not exactly what Fantasy owners were expecting when he started out on the team's top scoring line. While the New Jersey offense has flourished overall under the stewardship of new coach Brent Sutter, Zubrus has not been able to get into the goal column just yet. He found a lot of Fantasy success playing with Washington's Alex Ovechkin, but he has looked lost since being traded to Buffalo at the NHL trade deadline last season. That has spilled over into the new year with his new club. If you need someone who is producing, don't be afraid to drop Zubrus. There are plenty of players of similar ability available if he is snatched up by another owner. |
Mailbag
Rich Giandrea: Which free agent goalies would you suggest I pick up? We give points for games played, saves, win and shutouts. Vesa Toskala, Manny Legace, Ilya Bryzgalov, Andrew Raycroft and Manny Fernandez are available. I'd love Toskala, but I fear Raycroft taking a lot of starts which has me leaning towards Legace.
D.E.D.: Rich, we'd stay away from the goaltending quagmire that is Toronto right now, as those goaltenders are splitting starts right now. The same holds true with Manny Fernandez, who is great one night and terrible the next. He has been rather inconsistent and Tim Thomas has put up a tough fight trying to get back his No. 1 status. Bryzgalov is now the backup with Jean-Sebastien Giguere, so his numbers might look good from early play, but he will do little unless Giggy aggravates his injury. We mentioned Legace above, as he has been playing very well for the Blues. It doesn't sound as if he will be your No. 1 Fantasy goaltender. Of the five goalies you asked about, we think the St. Louis backstop is your best bet, at least in the short-term. Former Bruins prospect Hannu Toivonen might push for time with the Blues eventually.
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.