With the NHL regular season quickly drawing to a close, we begin to consider how the 2010-11 season could shape up. If the current top-heavy payrolls are any indication of how teams will fare next year, these five franchises could be in for long seasons.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs

As of right now, the Toronto Maple Leafs will pay defensemen $26.3 million in 2010-11—a whopping 46 percent of the entire salary cap. While it’s all but certainty that General Manager Brian Burke will find a suitable trading partner for Tomas Kaberle this offseason, the Leafs will still be left with three to five forward signings to make, not to mention the re-signing of rookie goaltender Jonas Gustavsson.

Simply put, Burkie may not have the cap freedom to effectively operate this summer. Looking ahead to next season, even if the Leafs are in the playoff hunt down the stretch in March 2011, they may not have the cap space to acquire a needed player at the deadline.

4. New York Rangers

Any team that pays a 32-point forward over $7 million will find themselves with cap trouble. That player is the Rangers’ second-line pivot, Chris Drury, but the issues don’t end there. Former offensive-defensemen Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival will collectively chew up $11.5 million next season.

To no one’s surprise, Marc Staal is posting career-highs in a contract year and will likely get a raise to somewhere in the $4 million range next season, which will severely cripple the Rangers’ abilities to go out and acquire some secondary scoring in the offseason.

However, the Rangers have a plethora of talented (and more importantly, cheap) young prospects in Evgeny Grachev, Derek Stepan and Bobby Sanguinetti, so the Rangers may rely on their youth.

3. Montreal Canadiens

When the who’s-the-most-overpaid-player discussion comes up regarding the NHL, Scott Gomez often find himself at the top of the list. He’s a great second line center at best, yet he’s being paid like a franchise superstar. The $7.4 million he’ll get next year is a cap killer, and the $5.5 million that defenseman Roman Hamrlik will get does not lighten the burden any.

Now add that the Habs’ best player this season, Tomas Plekanec, is leaving to free agency and that goaltenders’ Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price are each restricted free agents looking for a pay increase and you begin to understand why Bob Gainey relinquished his managing duties.

2. Boston Bruins

The Bruins cap troubles stem from the six forwards who are earning $3.5 million or more next season. While Marc Savard and David Krejci are worth their moderately hefty salaries, Patrice Bergeron, Michael Ryder, Marco Sturm and Milan Lucic have not played consistently well enough to warrant their current price tags. With Phil Kessel’s departure, they also lack a pure sniper.

Another problem area is between the pipes. With the emergence of Tuuka Rask as a prominent NHL goaltender, the Bruins have to pay last year’s Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas $5 million per year for the next three seasons, unless they can find a trading partner for Thomas’ services.

GM Peter Chiarelli will be busy this offseason trying to re-sign restricted free agents Blake Wheeler and Daniel Paille, among others. He’ll also need to find suitable replacements for veterans Mark Recchi, Miroslav Satan and Dennis Seidenberg—all this with just over $9 million in cap space.

1. Calgary Flames

GM Darryl Sutter has set the Flames up for a world of hurt next season. With approximately $53.4 million already tied up for 2010-11, Sutter will have very little operating room this offseason. With Vesa Toskala leaving through free agency this summer, Sutter will need to seek out a backup goaltender willing to play for the league minimum, while also finding several cheap forward options to replace unrestricted free agents Chris Higgins and Craig Conroy.

Ian White, arguably the most valuable player the Flames acquired in the “Dion Phaneuf trade” is a restricted free agent, but will command a pay raise from the $850,000 he made this year. Aside from Mikael Backlund, the Flames don’t have any top tier young talent that figure to make an impact at the NHL level next season, so Sutter may end up having to deal team captain and fan favorite, Jarome Iginla, just to make ends meet.

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The regular season is winding down, and a good number of fantasy junkies are gearing up for playoff pools. These pools offer a shot at redemption for those of us who have been out of contention in our pools for awhile now, and a chance to hold ultimate bragging rights for regular season victors.

With this in mind, let’s have a look at a few of this season’s stars, and how they tend to perform in the postseason.

Captain Clutch

These guys have produced when it matters in the past, and there’s no reason to think it won’t happen again.

Evgeni Malkin, C, PIT—Last year’s Conn Smythe trophy winner has a total of 62 points in 49 playoff games. It’s been a tough year for Gino, but don’t let that make you pass him up for the playoffs. Sidney Crosby also gets an honourable mention here, since his re-invention from playmaker to sniper really began during last year’s playoff run.

Alex Ovechkin, LW, WSH—Same old Ovie come playoff time…

Nicklas Backstrom, C, WSH—Backstrom’s playoff performance last year closely mirrored his regular season production. He’s been even better this year, and become a pretty responsible defensive player too. I expect him to turn a lot of heads this postseason. That is, of course, if the Caps make it anywhere in the post-season, and that’s all up to Jose Theodore and Semyon Varlamov.

Patrik Elias, C/LW, NJ—Elias falls into the sleeper category for this year’s playoffs, as he’s had a pretty unremarkable season. His playoff resume is impressive though. He currently sits 5th among all active players in playoff points with 113. The Devils look poised to make a decent run come playoff time, and I would expect Elias to be a big reason why.

Playoff Busts

The following gents have a reputation of underperforming come playoff time. They may still give you some production, but don’t expect the same player you saw in the regular season.

Joe Thornton, C, SJ—Jumbo Joe’s playoff struggles are well-documented. For his career, the perennial regular season assist-king has just 53 points in 76 games, with a -12 rating. The Sharks are pegged as contenders year after year, and Thornton’s annual disappearing act is a major reason why they’ve never made good on their contender status. Dany Heatley’s arrival in town should change all that, right?

Dany Heatley, W, SJ—Heatley has 10 goals in 34 playoff games. Extrapolate that over a full 82 game season and you get 24 goals. When was the last time you remember Heatley scoring 24 goals in a regular season? Heatley also seems to disappear when the going gets tough. Shark fans had better hope that Heatley and Thornton can cure each other’s playoff woes, or it will be another disappointing season in San Jose.

Jeff Carter, C, PHI—Carter has 12 points in 29 career playoff games. The Flyers’ goaltending situation is a mess, and if the team has any aspirations of contending, they’ll need better from Carter.

Wildcards

These guys have had somewhat checkered playoff pasts, but that may change this year.

Ilya Kovalchuk, LW, NJ— Kovalchuk has only been to the playoffs once before, and his performance in the Thrashers’ four game exit was forgettable. He’s starting to hit his stride with the Devils though, and he’s surrounded by guys who know how to get it done in the playoffs. It’s tough to bet against him putting up big numbers now that he has an actual supporting cast.

The Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik—Yes, we’ll examine them as one player; they wouldn’t have it any other way. Henrik has received a ton of fanfare this season, and it’s very much deserved. Quietly though, Daniel has actually scored at an almost identical pace to brother Henrik! Over a full season, Daniel’s current pace would get him 107 points.

Last season, the Sedins had their best playoff showing yet, each posting 10 points in 10 games, with identical +4 ratings. Seriously, do these guys do anything differently?
That playoff showing was right on par with their regular season performances last year, and both brothers seem to have added a bit of sandpaper to their game this year.

I like the Canucks for a long playoff run if Roberto Luongo can find his game, and I like the Sedins to keep up their pace through the playoffs.

Mike Green, D, WSH—Mike Green’s first trip to the postseason was actually reasonably productive, and he scored at a point a game pace. Last year though, Green looked completely out of place. Green didn’t seem to want the puck on his stick at all, and I suspected he was hiding an injury throughout the Caps’ playoff run. He has yet again been the most productive NHL defenseman during the regular season though, so it will be interesting to see how he performs come crunch time.

Paul Stastny, C, COL—Stastny only has 9 games of playoff experience, and while he was completely underwhelming, his role on the team then wasn’t as prominent as it is now. I can’t say I expect the Avs to make a deep run, and Stastny isn’t the grittiest of players, but it’s not fair at this point to put him in the playoff bust category.

New to the Dance

Gut check time. The following regular season standouts have never played in the NHL playoffs:

Anze Kopitar (LA)
Chris Stewart (COL)
Craig Anderson (COL)
Drew Doughty (LA)
Jonathan Quick (LA)
Patric Hornqvist (NAS)

At the very end of last season, I was on your side. I thought Carey Price had an ego his game couldn’t yet match, and really doubted his desire to be a franchise goalie.

This season, I will admit, Price has not redeemed himself as I had hoped, but he is after all only 22 years old.

Goaltenders do not typically develop quickly. In fact, take a quick look at the ten goalies with the most wins this season. Kipper didn’t win a starting job until he was 28, Jimmy Howard is just now getting his first real shot at the number one job at 26, Nabokov was 25, and Bryzgalov was 27. Ryan Miller split time as a 25 year old, before being the undisputed starter at 26. Craig Anderson is getting his shot now, at 28.

Now, let’s take a look at the exceptions. Roberto Luongo jumped in with the Islanders as a 20 year old, and was absolutely shellacked. Even he wasn’t anointed as the Islanders starter right away though, and he actually had a lighter-than-usual starter’s workload in Florida at first.

In Los Angeles, Jonathan Quick split time last year as a 22 year old, and this year is the undisputed starter. Most pundits will agree though, Quick is not among the NHL’s goaltending elite, despite his lofty win status.

Jonathan Bernier meanwhile, the Kings’ future franchise goaltender, has done nothing but perform, and yet he is forced to wait in the wings and toil away in Manchester. Why, you might ask? Maybe the Kings want him to learn to actually be a professional starting goaltender before they, oh I don’t know, force him to be their professional starting goaltender.

The Vancouver Canucks haven’t moved Corey Schneider, despite the fact that he has absolutely nothing left to prove at the AHL level.

Goaltenders take time to develop, and it’s something worth doing right. The Penguins’ Marc-Andre Fleury almost became a cautionary tale, but now the whispers that he may be a bust seem to be a distant memory. Columbus is walking a fine line with Steve Mason.

Carey Price is not even close to approaching bust status yet. Last night, he stood on his head in the third period, despite the fact that his entire team folded in front of him. And when he was named the game’s third star, you booed him. For shame.

Carey Price may have some ego issues, but who wouldn’t, when you show up as a rookie and the team ships an all-star goalie out of town to let you take the conference’s first place team into the playoffs? Last night, in fact, Carey Price was one of the only Canadiens who actually deserved to be applauded!

Price was never allowed to mature the right way, and everyone is paying for it now. It still isn’t too late to fix this though. Let’s hope and pray that the Habs retain both Price and Jaroslav Halak this offseason.

Neither will get us the return we would hope for on the open market. This team isn’t built to win now anyway, even though our offseason spending seems to indicate management thinks otherwise.

Let Price play 35-40 games next season, while we wait and see if Halak is for real. I personally am not convinced. And please, don’t be so hard on the kid; he was the only reason we had a chance in last night’s game.

Still fighting to the finish in your fantasy hockey league? Or maybe you are looking for some keeper prospects for next year. Here is the weekly buy and sell recommendations with a bit of help on both fronts.

Buy

Tyler Bozak, C, Toronto Maple Leafs—There is no denying the chemistry developing between Phil Kessel, Nikolai Kulemin and Bozak. While producing offensively, Bozak is also dominating in the faceoff circle (56.2 percent) and is showing he could be the long-term solution for the Leafs as their first-line center. The Leafs have a moderately favorable schedule the rest of the way so Bozak should be good for another 10 or so points.

Tyler Myers, D, Buffalo Sabres—Myers made a name for himself early this season as the towering 19 year old Calder Trophy favorite on the Sabres’ blueline, but his production hit the ever-popular rookie wall on February 1st – his 20th birthday. From February 1st through March 7th Myers had just one goal, no assists and was -5 through 11 games. Since then, he has reverted to his impressive ways, posting two goals, seven assists and a +10 rating. Scan your waiver wire—Myers is owned in just 55 percent of pools.

Alex Steen, C, St. Louis Blues—Steen ranks fifth in the NHL in points over the last month with 14, putting him ahead of superstars like Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. Normally, I would be skeptical to see a player of Steen’s caliber producing at such a pace, but his added incentive to contribute likely has something to do with his expiring contract. While we might see Steen return back to his old, less-fantasy relevant style of play next season, he is definitely worthy of a pickup down the final stretch this year.

Jamie McBain, D, Carolina Hurricanes—Keeper alert! McBain, 22, appears to be the Hurricanes’ powerplay quarterback of the future. After three years of offensive success with the NCAA’s Wisconsin Badgers, he accumulated 40 points in 68 games with the ‘Canes’ AHL affiliate the Albany River Rats this season. He has points in each of his first four games as an NHLer, with a goal and four assists.

Sell

Niklas Backstrom, G, Minnesota Wild—Backstrom, Minnesota’s franchise player, has been struggling with a groin injury, and with the Wild soon to be out of playoff contention, look for the starting reigns to be handed to Josh Harding, so as not to risk further injury to Backstrom. Cam Ward is in a similar situation in Carolina with an ailing lower back problem. While goaltenders like the Philadelphia Flyers’ Brian Boucher and the Edmonton Oilers’ Devan Dubnyk might be more suited for the AHL, they are starting games and are more valuable at this point of the season than typical studs like Backstrom and Ward.

Marc Savard, C, Boston Bruins—Injured players like Savard, Mikael Samuelsson, and Jeff Carter are still owned in over 60 percent of leagues. Unless you’re in a keeper pool it’s time to drop players who will be out for the remainder of the season.

Alex Kovalev, RW, Ottawa Senators—Surprise, surprise—the notoriously streaky Kovalev has disappeared now that the Senators need him most. In the month of March, he has zero points and a -11 rating through 10 games, while teammates Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson have picked up their respective games. Exchange him for Bozak or Steen, or Nikolai Kulemin if you’re in need of a winger.

Jay Bouwmeester, D, Calgary Flames—Though we expected Dion Phaneuf’s departure to open up offensive opportunities along the Flames’ blueline, Bouwmeester has no goals and four assists in 17 games since the trade. Instead, Calgary’s turned to Mark Giordano and Ian White to provide offense from the back-end.

Buy

Blake Wheeler, RW, BOS—Wheeler has put up four points in his last four games. He tailed off dramatically over the second half of last season, and his dismal production this year was a big problem for the anemic Bruins offense. He’s showing signs of coming around though, so a strong finish could be in the cards for the former fifth overall pick.

Lee Stempniak, LW/RW, PHO—Stempniak has been absolutely dynamite since his arrival in the desert. He’s scored at a goal-a-game clip since the trade. It isn’t fair to expect Stempniak to keep up this otherworldly production, but he is still available on many waiver wires and could be a short-term fix to your scoring woes.

Sergei Kostitsyn, LW, MTL—As I mentioned last time, mini-Kostitsyn was a standout for Belarus at the Olympics, and his strong play has followed him back to the NHL. Kostitsyn has five points, four of them goals, in his last three games. With brother Andrei Kostitsyn back from injury and Mike Cammalleri on the mend, Kostitsyn is going to have to keep producing or risk loosing ice time. This is a nice problem for the Habs to have as they round into playoff form.

Phil Kessel, RW, TOR—Kessel sure seems to have found some nice chemistry with Tyler Bozak, and this definitely bodes well for the Leafs’ future. With six points in his last four games, and an impressive performance in a shootout win over the Devils, Kessel’s long midseason slump is a distant memory at this point. His overall season totals are still somewhat underwhelming though, so you might be able to get him cheap.

Hold

Jason Spezza, C, OTT—Poor Cory Clouston. There is no middle ground with this Sens team. It seems like they’re firing on all cylinders, riding impressive hot streaks, or just go into the tank completely and can’t do anything right. Spezza and the Sens are ice-cold right now, but that means a hot streak could be just around the corner to take them into the playoffs. Spezza likely wouldn’t fetch you much in a deal right now anyways, so give him a game or two to get it going again.

Semyon Varlamov, G, WSH—Varlamov hasn’t impressed since his return from injury. His performance in an overtime loss to Carolina certainly underwhelmed. Jose Theodore was solid, if unspectacular in Varlamov’s absence, so there could be a bit of a goaltending controversy brewing in Washington as the Caps try to identify their playoff starter. My money is still on Varlamov winning the job, but Theo may get more starts than I would have expected down the stretch.

Sell

John Tavares, LW, NYI—Taveres’ five point performance will probably have people scrambling to snatch him up, especially in keeper leagues. Tavares could be nice trade bait to get you some solid help for the last eighth of the season. Frankly, I’m still not sold on Tavares being a huge breakout candidate for next year because the Islanders still have a long way to go as a team.

Marian Gaborik, RW, NYR—Gaborik has come back down to earth after a huge start to the season. The Rangers will essentially be playing playoff hockey down the stretch, and Gaborik isn’t exactly the safest bet to get it going when it matters (see the 2007-2008 playoffs). See if you can bring in a quick fix or some solid keepers.

Consider the Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks rank second, third, and fourth respectively among NHL teams with 225, 218, and 217 goals scored this season. Each of these teams have several offensive fantasy studs—Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Dan Boyle in San Jose, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith in Chicago, and Daniel and Henrik Sedin in Vancouver.

The Washington Capitals rank first in the NHL with 266 goals scored, 41 more than the Canucks, and 108 more than the 30th ranked Boston Bruins!

Generally speaking, you can’t go wrong picking any player from a scoring line on the Washington Capitals, because they are bound to contribute offensively.

While points are the obvious indicator of a fantasy stud, plus-minus can be a more subtle teller of where the value lies. Let’s take a look at the points and plus-minus totals of the Capitals’ top 10 fantasy-relevant skaters, all of whom should be considered on draft day next season.

1. Alexander Ovechkin, LW—96 Pts, +41

Step aside Sid and Geno—Ovie is the consensus number one in fantasy from here on out. He ranks second in the NHL in goals (44), sixth in assists (52), first in points (96), first in plus-minus (+41), first in power play points (33), and fourteenth in game winning goals (5). He also has a robust 81 minutes in penalties, and he’s accomplished all this despite missing eight games due to injury and suspension. Yup, Ovechkin’s in a class of his own.

2. Mike Green, D—69 Pts, +31

The Canadian Olympic snubbing hasn’t even remotely fazed Green. He’s accumulated nine points in seven games since the break, and is just five points away from breaking his single-season record (73) set last year. Green’s 142 points in the last two seasons alone put him miles ahead of the next three offensive defensemen, Duncan Keith (105), Dan Boyle (104) and Nicklas Lidstrom (102). You could make a legitimate case for Green being the number two fantasy pick next year after Ovechkin. In fantasy hockey, no one consistently dominates their positions like Ovechkin and Green.

3. Nicklas Backstrom, C—83 Pts, +31

Now that he’s shooting more, Backstrom’s a true fantasy stud, and the chemistry he’s formed with Ovechkin is downright scary. If you’ve seen a Capitals power play you’ve undoubtedly witnessed the duo toying with opposing penalty kill units. It’s just simply not fair. He’s a restricted free agent this summer, so expect the Caps to give him a hefty pay increase from his entry level deal, and likely something long-term. Backstrom will probably go late first or early second round in most drafts next year. Imagine snagging the first overall pick to get Ovechkin and then grabbing Backstrom with your second round pick? Win-win.

4. Alexander Semin, RW—68 Pts, +26

Frustratingly inconsistent at times (three points in his last seven games after posting seven points in his previous three contests), there’s no denying Semin’s tremendous skill. The Russian sniper has slick hands and a unique ability to bulge the twine. Semin could go anywhere from the first to third round in fantasy pools next year, depending on whether your pool is broken down into all three forward positions (left wing, center and right wing), or just simply “forwards”. Wingers are harder to come by than centers, so draft accordingly.

5. Brooks Laich—51 Pts, +11

Laich’s not as flashy as the previous four, but he has an admirable work ethic and benefits from receiving occasional ice-time with some of the NHL’s best players. He might not be as skilled as a Rick Nash or an Eric Staal, but his current numbers are comparable to theirs. In fantasy, it doesn’t matter how you get points. Laich is deserving of a mid-round pick in drafts next season.

6. Tomas Fleischmann—47 Pts, +6

Like Backstrom, Fleischmann’s a RFA this summer but there have been no reports that the Caps intend to let him go. While his plus-minus isn’t as spectacular as some of his teammates, he’s been a top-tier secondary scoring option for the offensive-juggernaut Capitals. If he stays healthy next season, he could make a run at 70 points. He’s another mid-rounder.

7. Mike Knuble—45 Pts, +21

At 37, age is becoming a factor, but playing in Washington, Knuble has at least one more year of fantasy-relevance. He contributes in all categories, and is incredibly consistent. This is his seventh straight year posting at least 20 goals and 45 points. Depending on the format of your pool (positions and statistic categories), Knuble’s worthy of a pick somewhere between rounds eight and 12.

8. Eric Fehr—33 Pts, +18

Fehr, 24, is another RFA who’ll be looking for a pay increase but it’s well deserved. He’s on pace to set career highs in nearly every stat category this season, and has performed admirably even though bouncing between the second and third lines for much of the season. He’s worth a late pick, especially if the Capitals are unable to resign Fleischmann.

9. Tom Poti, D—22 Pts, +19

The Capitals only have one true offensive defenseman, but Poti has the luck of being the next closest player to fit that description. Unfortunately for Poti, prospect John Carlson is fast approaching consistent NHL duty. If your pool values plus-minus, Poti’s worth a mid-round pick. Otherwise steal him late.

10. Brendan Morrison, C—36 Pts, +18

Morrison’s an unrestricted free agent this summer, and he may have earned some market value with strong play this year so he might not be donning Capital red next season. He’d be better off playing in Washington though, where he’s been an ideal fit as their second line pivot. If he returns to Washington, he’s worth a late-round pick. Otherwise steer clear.

Now that most fantasy trade deadlines have come and gone, the only way to maximize your team’s production down the stretch is through the waiver wire. Based on trades, changes in ice-time, or simply recent NHL trades during the past week, we’ve compiled a thorough list of buys and sells.

Buy

Wojtek Wolski, LW, PHO—A sell candidate just a couple weeks back, a change of scenery could be good for Wolski, particularly with Chris Stewart emerging for the Colorado Avalanche as their main scoring threat. Wolski becomes one of Phoenix’s go-to offensive weapons and has already posted a pair of goals and an assist in two games since joining the Coyotes.

Alexei Ponikarovsky, LW, PIT – “Poni” is the best two-way winger the Penguins have now, and it’s only a matter of time before head coach Dan Bylsma tries the 6’4” Ukrainian on either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin’s wing. He had an impressive six shots in his first game as a Penguin, one of which found the net.

Johan Hedberg, G, ATL—Hedberg’s recent play has made the Thrashers trade of former starter Kari Lehtonen that much easier to swallow. He’s 6-2-1 in his last nine starts and is the primary reason the Ilya Kovalchuk-less Thrashers are still contending for a playoff spot.

Brandon Sutter, C, CAR—Valuable in more than just keeper pools, Sutter is showing that, at 21, he’s ready to contribute at the NHL ranks. He has four goals and four assists for eight points during a current six-game point streak. With the Hurricanes out of a playoff contention, Sutter will get every chance to shine in Raleigh. He’s owned in just three percent of pools.

Joni Pitkanen, D, CAR—He’s a plus-minus liability playing for the lowly ‘Canes, but if points are all that matter in your pool, Pitkanen’s a steady option. His 38 points this season tie him for eleventh among NHL defensemen.

Carlo Colaiacovo, D, STL—The Blues are winners of five of their last six, scoring 26 goals over that time period. Colaiacovo’s benefitted from the team’s inspiring play, accumulating six assists and a plus seven rating over that span.

Sell

Dion Phaneuf, D, TOR—The Maple Leafs just aren’t going to generate enough offense for Phaneuf to be a worthy fantasy play down the stretch, especially if you’re in a pool that doesn’t value penalty minutes. A five point output over his remaining 16 games is probably his ceiling.

Alex Tanguay, LW, TB—When the Lightning managed to snag Tanguay for a measly $2.5 million for one season last summer, I thought it was the best free agent signing of the offseason based on value alone. Well, Tanguay’s lackluster play this season hasn’t even been worth the $2.5 million, and he’s bounced around all four forward lines as a result.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere, G, TOR—Leafs’ coach Ron Wilson plans on alternating starts between Giguere and rookie Jonas Gustavsson for the remainder of the season, so hopefully Giguere’s pair of shutouts in his first two games as a Leaf didn’t get your hopes up.

Bill Guerin, RW, PIT—Guerin’s currently battling back spasms and, at his age, the Penguins are likely to rest him for the postseason. With the Pens’ addition of Ponikarovsky, the fantasy value of veteran wingers like Guerin and Chris Kunitz take a definite hit.

Ryan Malone, LW, TB—Malone was on a torrid pace through December (35 points in 40 games) but has hit quite the wall in the second half of the season (nine points in 24 games since January 2nd). With the rising stock of youngsters Steven Stamkos and Steve Downie, the Lightning haven’t had to rely on Malone as much of late.

With the Olympics wrapping up, and the trade deadline today, this week’s Stock Watch takes a bit of a different approach. Let’s have a look at whose Olympic performances might carry over into the NHL season, and who might be moving on deadline day.

Noteworthy Olympians

Pavol Demitra, C, VAN—Demitra’s injury problems and ability to produce when healthy are both well documented. This season has been a particularly disastrous one, and Demitra has posted just 4 points in 11 games with the ‘nucks. That being said, Demitra led the Olympics in scoring with 10 points, and was instrumental to the Slovaks’ inspired run. He won’t spend any time paired with a triggerman like Marian Hossa in Vancouver, but with the Sedins drawing the opposing team’s best checkers, Demitra could quietly post some numbers down the stretch.

Evgeni Nabokov, G, SJ—Nabokov’s meltdown against Canada in the quarterfinals was surprising to say the least. To be fair, Nabokov’s defence offered no support, and coach Vyacheslav Bykov probably should have yanked him sooner. Still, just ask Marc-Andre Fleury how much one loss can shatter your confidence. It took Fleury quite some time to return to form after his famous own goal at the 2004 World Junior Hockey Championship.

Brian Rafalski, D, DET—After three straight seasons of 50+ points, Rafalski was on pace for just 39 this year. He was outstanding in the Olympics though, posting 8 points through 7 games. As the Red Wings get healthy and start to click, look for Rafalski to post big numbers down the stretch.

Sergei Kostitsyn, RW, MTL—Kostitsyn earned six points in seven games for the Habs prior to the Olympics, and five in four games with Belarus. Keep in mind he put up those 5 points with absolutely no offensive support, as Mikhail Grabovski and Andrei Kostitsyn were both forced to miss the Olympics. With Mike Cammallerri still rehabbing his injured knee, the Habs would love to see Kostitsyn’s inspired play continue.

Rick Nash, LW, CLB—Nash may not exactly be a feasible “buy” in your league, but I have every reason to expect that his play will improve over the rest of the NHL season. This has been a difficult season in Columbus, but Nash was impressive throughout the Olympics, particularly in a shutdown role against Alex Ovechkin. Nash has often been viewed as a one-dimensional offensive player, but his play at the Olympics certainly seems to indicate he has matured.

Keep Your Bags Packed

Alexei Ponikarovsky, LW, TOR—Brian Burke must have been salivating when Montreal dished out a 2nd round pick to acquire Dominic Moore. Ponikarovsky is probably the second best offensive option expected to move on deadline day, after just Ray Whitney. Consider the fact that Ponikarovsky is still young, and could be locked up long term, and you could argue that Ponikarovsky would be an even better acquisition than Whitney.

[Editor’s Note: Between receiving this article from Iain, and publishing it, Ponikarovsky was moved to the Pittsburgh Penguins for prospect Luca Caputi and Martin Skoula to make the money work.]

Ray Whitney, LW, CAR—There’s a lot to like here from a rental perspective. Whitney has 8 seasons with 20+ goals, and is a weapon on the power play. He’s also won a Stanley Cup fairly recently, and brings loads of experience to the table. Whitney wants a contract extension before he will waive his no-trade clause, which could limit the Hurricanes’ bargaining power. As the deadline approaches though, it’s difficult to imagine Whitney passing up a trade to the likes of say, the Penguins, even without a contract in place.

Others Who Might Move
And Have Some Fantasy Value

Cory Stillman, Joe Corvo, Steven Reinprecht, Dan Hamhuis, Rostislav Olesz

There have been rumblings of Tomas Vokoun being moved, but I just don’t see it happening. Vokoun isn’t getting any younger, so he would only fit into the plans of a team that’s trying to win now.

A quick scan of the teams currently jostling for playoff position yields but a few teams who might want to improve between the pipes—Atlanta, Philadelphia, Washington, and Chicago.

Chicago is pressed up against the cap, and would need to move Brent Sopel and another high priced player to make this work. They could conceivably move Cristobal Huet, but there would be absolutely no reason for the Panthers to downgrade their goaltending situation without allowing themselves financial flexibility, unless there was a heap of draft picks or prospects coming their way, or the teams somehow worked out a three way deal.

Of the teams mentioned above, Atlanta is my personal favourite scenario. Management really needs this team to make the playoffs this year after dealing away Ilya Kovalchuk, or risk losing a significant chunk of their fan base. Atlanta has the cap space to pull this off, and stability in net could get this team into the playoffs.

On a final note, Jordan Leopold is worth watching now that he’s with the Penguins. His puck skills and offensive prowess could allow him to put up some big numbers, but the Pens already have Sergei Gonchar, Alex Goligoski, and Kris Letang as capable puck movers. Still, the Pens powerplay has underperformed so far this year, so Leopold could get a shot to see if he can shake things up.

Before you know it, it’ll be time for all you hockey diehards to snap out of Olympic mode and back into NHL fantasy mode.

With the NHL trade deadline fast approaching, so too are most fantasy leagues’ trade deadlines. Now is the time to cut dead weight and acquire the players who will produce down the stretch. We’ll provide our usual “Buy, Hold, Sell” candidates, as well as some advice regarding the remaining schedule.

The Philadelphia Flyers, Buffalo Sabres, Boston Bruins and Atlanta Thrashers are tied for most games remaining at 22—something to consider when trading or scanning the waiver wire for skaters this late in the season.

For goalies, who typically rack up most of their points through wins and shutouts, home ice is particularly important. The Thrashers have the most remaining home games left at 14, while the Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals, Toronto Maple Leafs, Anaheim Ducks and Dallas Stars are tied for second most with 12 contests left on home ice.

In the Eastern Conference, the Flyers have the easiest schedule over the last month and a half, with 14 matchups against teams not currently in a playoff spot. In the West, the Predators have the most favorable schedule, with 13 games against non-playoff opponents.

Here are some specific players to consider adding or dropping:

Buy

Antti Niemi, G, CHI—The Finnish rookie was starting more often than veteran Cristobal Huet heading into the Olympic break, and with a 17-4-1 record this season, the starts are well-deserved. The Chicago Blackhawks have been one of the NHL’s strongest teams this season, so check your waiver wire for the 57 percent owned backstopper.

Steve Downie, RW, TB—He’s quietly putting together an impressive season, producing across a variety of fantasy categories. It helps that he and Steven Stamkos have developed some explosive chemistry.

T.J. Oshie, C, STL—Flashy with a bit of an edge, Oshie is another player who will put up numbers across the board. He had 8 points in as many games heading into the Olympic break, and his omission from Team USA could help feed the fire down the stretch.

Jack Johnson, D, LA—Though -12 for the season, Johnson was +6 in his last 6 games before the break, while also posting a goal and five assists. He’s been one of Team USA’s best defenders so far during the Olympics, and the experience he’s acquiring should serve him well in his return to NHL action.

Hold

At this point of the season, the only players you should be waiting on are goalies like Cristobal Huet and Semyon Varlamov, who may or may not receive quality starts down the stretch. Don’t waste time “holding” or “holding out” on skaters, unless you’re in a keeper league.

For keeper leaguers looking to rebuild for next season, Brandon Yip, Brandon Sutter, Jamie Benn, Tyler Bozak, Cal O’Reilly, and P.K. Subban have impressed of late and could be on the verge of a breakout season in 2010-11.

Sell

Tomas Kaberle, D, TOR—His four points in 10 games before the break isn’t terrible, but it’s not the explosive production we’ve seen from him previously this season. His ice-time has also been cut significantly since the Dion Phaneuf acquisition, and the Leafs have a slew of tough matchups down the stretch.

Wojtek Wolski, LW, COL—It’ll still be a career year for Wolski, but his numbers will be a far-cry from the pace he had going through December. Float him out there in an offer for Downie or Oshie.

Jason Blake, LW, ANA—He’s owned in an astounding 62 percent of pools, but I’d bet that there are better waiver wire players in each and every one of those pools. Don’t waste your time putting Blake on the trade block—you won’t get any offers. Drop him.

I’ve been using Twitter for a little while now, and while I do like it, I continue to feel it out and explore ways to get the most out of it for me personally.

For those not familiar with Twitter, start by checking out my account for DraftBuddy.com. You do not need a Twitter account just to see the main page for anyone’s account, although some people choose to protect their “tweets” (short blurbs people post on Twitter). If only some NFL players selected that option in recent months.

Twitter accounts connect together using a follow system. I can choose who I follow, and others can choose if they want to follow me. The tweets you see on my main page are tweets I’ve sent out, sorted chronologically from most recent to oldest. If people find them interesting enough, or care to be updated in this way about what is going on with the Cheatsheet Compiler & Draft Buddy or DraftBuddy.com, then they will follow my account.

Of interest to me of course, is what other people have to say, so I choose to follow them. My main interests include breaking baseball news, football news and hockey news, plus some comedic sidebars and updates from friends are never a bad thing. Initially I followed a whole host of people across these sports topics and other people I knew.

The collected tweets of people I’m following builds a personal timeline. You can see your own timeline (you’ll need to have a Twitter account for this) by clicking “Home” at the top of your page. Now I have constant news and updates faster than any other resource short of being there in person, all in one convenient spot.

As a bonus, I don’t need to be at a computer to view my timeline. I can take it with me on my iPhone using any number of Twitter applications for mobile devices. I use Tweetdeck.

One thing I found though is the more people I follow on a whole mish-mash of topics, the more daunting viewing the timeline can be. If I want to get an update on football, I’d rather just look at updates from the guys who tweet about football. Keep me organized Twitter, please.

And they did. Twitter developed a new feature – simple enough – called lists. Now I can group people I’m following into lists, basically a group of people to follow on a particular topic. In fact, I don’t even need to follow them outside the list. So what I did is created three new lists at the DraftBuddy account. They are:

• Fantasy Baseball Updates
• Fantasy Foootball Updates
• Fantasy Hockey Updates

I believe you can see those even if you don’t have a Twitter account.

As it says in the list description, “MLB (or NFL or NHL) breaking news from media insiders, plus discussion and opinion from fantasy baseball experts.” Essentially, I’m looking for a nice mix of media guys who break the news most importantly, plus others focussed on fantasy whose thoughts and opinions are worth reading and discussing.

I guess the reason for this post in the blog is to introduce all of you to Twitter, and the Twitter lists. If you have a Twitter account, then you can follow the lists yourself, which is another nice feature of the lists. You don’t need to create your own list if you find another list that is useful to you and managed by someone else.

And even if you don’t have or want a Twitter account, then you can still go to the Twitter website at each of those list links and get updates that way. Maybe we’ll convert you over eventually.

Where I could use your help is to suggest new people to follow on each of the lists. We’ll leave out pro baseball, football and hockey players and stick to media and fantasy experts. If you know of worthwhile people to follow on Twitter that would be beneficial to any of these three lists, let me know and I’ll verify and add them to the lists.

At the end of the day, we’ll have one fine resource for each of those three topics that are near and dear to our hearts, or shall I say to further our fantasy sports fanaticism.