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Stock Watch—Grab Stempniak, Kessel Rolling Along

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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.

Week 7 Fantasy Hockey Stock Watch

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New injuries continue to pile-up as poolies everywhere lost Eric Staal, David Krejci, Shea Weber, Victor Hedman, and Cam Ward this week. Fortunately, Jason Spezza, Jonathan Toews, and Daniel Sedin are all back on their team’s respective rosters, so be sure to put them in your starting lineups pronto. Of course, we have some new players to consider adding to your roster, and several to immediately rid your team of. Here we go:

Buy

Phil Kessel, RW, TOR – The sniper had an impressive first week as a playing member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, notching a goal and a pair of assists. Any doubts about his surgically-repaired shoulder should be put to rest.

Alex Tanguay, LW, TB – Tanguay finally seems to be getting his legs back to midseason form after joining the Lightning in early September. After starting the season with 2 points in 9 games, he has 7 points in his last 6.

Derick Brassard, C, CBJ – Owned in just 18% of pools, Brassard is centering the hottest winger in hockey right now in Rick Nash. He’s a must add if he’s on your waiver wire.

Mark Streit, D, NYI – His current statistical performances are far below his career averages, so a sudden boost in production is virtually imminent. Look for Streit to put it together on the powerplay in the coming weeks.

Antero Niittymaki, G, TB – He’s started the last 3 games for the Lightning and has looked impressive doing so. Consider handcuffing Mike Smith if you add Niittymaki, as the Lightning seem to be rolling on all fronts. Act fast – Niittymaki’s just 29% owned, but will be double or even triple that by next week.

Jonas Gustavsson, G, TOR – I was projecting a post-Christmas steal of the starting job in Toronto, but the Monster’s already deservedly dethroned Vesa Toskala. He’s my new favourite for the Calder Trophy.

Hold

Tomas Fleischmann, LW, WAS – He’s stepped up in Alexander Ovechkin’s absence with a 5 game point streak, but is notorious for being inconsistent (7 points in January last season, 7 in February, 0 in March).

Brad Boyes, RW, STL – After averaging 63 points per season over the last 4 years, Boyes is on pace for just 33. No one on the Blues have been scoring lately (just 4 goals scored in last 5 games), so this hold should include Andy McDonald, David Backes, and Paul Kariya as well.

Kevin Bieksa, D, VAN – With a logjam of healthy defensemen in Vancouver, coach Alain Vigneault has placed Bieksa (arguably the teams’ best defenseman) on a forward line. While this may seem like a benefit to his offensive totals, it doesn’t always work that way, as Brent Burns learned last season in Minnesota (27 points in 59 games as a forward in 2008-09, after putting up 43 points in 82 games as a defenseman in 2007-08).

Chris Mason, G, STL – His save percentage and GAA are phenomenal, but if you’re league values wins, you’re out of luck with Mason. He has just 2 wins in the last month, and 3 on the season.

Sell

Alexander Semin, RW, WAS – With Ovechkin out, Semin has struggled under tighter checking as the Caps’ new primary scoring threat. Now that Ovie’s revealed he’ll be out for the next 4 to 5 weeks, you may want to consider dealing him while his value is still moderately high.

Patrik Elias, C, NJ – Now that he’s finally playing, you might feel inclined to wait and see how he does, but the forecast isn’t overwhelmingly positive. He’s coming off groin surgery and, though a natural winger, is being used at centre, as the Devils deal with injuries in the middle.

Ray Whitney, LW, CAR – He’s been held pointless in his last 4 games, and has struggled to do much with Eric Staal out of the lineup. Wait if you want, but the Canes’ season is quickly going down the tubes and they’re soon likely to turn to their young guns rather than aging vets.

Ian White, D, TOR – He’s been the Leafs best player aside from Tomas Kaberle this season, and rarely gets the credit he deserves. Still, the underrated blueliner is unlikely to maintain his 49-point pace. Deal him to a Leafs’ fan.

Cam Ward, G, CAR – Out for a month with a lacerated thigh, Ward’s prospects look bleak. The Canes have been atrocious, and even if Ward does make a healthy return, a 20 win season is probably a best case scenario now.

Who is Picking Up the Slack?

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The Montreal Canadiens couldn’t be happier that the All-Star Break is this week. Not because they are hosting the event, but because the few days off will be needed to rest several key players with lingering injuries. Captain Saku Koivu hasn’t played in over a month with a high ankle sprain, but could be back by the end of January. Alex Tanguay hopes to return by mid-February from his shoulder injury. Goaltender Carey Price’s ankle injury has kept him from the Habs lineup for all of January so far. Andrei Kostitsyn has picked up some of the slack left by the injured forwards, posting 11 points over a current 7 game point streak after starting the season off slowly. Robert Lang also has 11 over that span. Both should be starting in mid to deep pools.  With Price out, Jaroslav Halak has stepped in between the pipes. While he hasn’t dropped our jaws, he’s been solid, and definitely worthy of being a fantasy starter during Price’s absence, especially on a strong team like the Canadiens.

Like the Habs, the Boston Bruins’ offensive threats have been dropping like flies in recent weeks. Phil Kessel is out a month with mononucleosis. Marco Sturm will miss the rest of the season after having knee surgery. Patrice Bergeron, who is beginning to gain a reputation as an oft-injured Peter Forsberg/Martin Havlat type, has missed 13 straight games after suffering his second concussion in just over a year. Even the hulking Milan Lucic has missed 5 straight with an undisclosed upper body injury. With these useful fantasy players out of the lineup, Marc Savard and David Krejci become that much more valuable and have seen their ice-time increase. Michael Ryder is another good fantasy option, and should be started against all NHL teams right now, while Blake Wheeler can be started against weaker teams. Tim Thomas and Manny Fernandez are splitting games right now, so make sure your player is starting in a particular game before using him.

The Calgary Flames’ Todd Bertuzzi, who has delighted fantasy owners who took a late-round risk on him, has missed his last 5 games with a hip flexor. At his age and with his injury reputation over the last few years, be wary of him right now. Currently, he has some value and is only listed as day-to-day, and you may be able to trade him for someone healthy. The Flames other significant offseason acquisition, Michael Cammalleri, has stepped his game up with 6 goals and 2 assists in Bertuzzi’s 5 game absence. LW Rene Bourque has also played well as of late, and could be worthy of a pickup if you are looking for help in every category across the board (16G/15A/ 31P/+12/62 PIM through 45 games).