ASK SLAM!
By CHRIS NICHOLS -- SLAM! Sports
Chris: I've been offered his Pavol Demitra for my Brad Richards and also noticed that Zhamnov has became available on waivers... should I do the deal and pick up Zhamnov too? My other centers are H. Sedin and McAmmond... I'll need to drop a LW; I have Frolov, Rucinsky, Sturm, and D. Sedin... Oh, and thanks for the help on the Iggy deal, the guy went for it and now Jarome is tearing it up!
Brian
Demitra should be back from his hip pointed Thursday, but there's always a risk when you trade for an injured player. Still, he should produce more points than Richards.
Despite his recent production, I might drop Sturm to grab Zhamnov and hope that Zhamnov is valuable in whichever city he gets traded to soon.
Chris: Just checking to see what the status of Ozolinsh and Daze were. I hear they're supposed to be back soon, but I haven't seen anything to confirm that.
M. McLaughlin, Buffalo, NY
Daze has been at practice with the team, but there really haven't been any announcements from the team as to a return date. I've been advising Daze owners to look elsewhere for months. He's just too much of an injury risk for my liking.
I haven't seen anything on Oz lately that would suggest he'll be back earlier than mid-March, which was his originally projected return date.
Good day Chris: I made a blockbuster trade over the weekend. With my abundance of goaltenders, I was able to move Esche, Burke, and Lalime for Nabokov and Recchi. That still leaves me with the solid trio of Turco, Kiprusoff and Nabokov. Question: With Blake now on the IR I can pick up a defenseman. Choices are Berard (great offensive numbers, bad plus minus but much better lately), Slegr, and Markov (who is now playing the point in Souray's absence). We have 3 weeks left of regular head to head and then the playoffs. Who would you recommend for the stretch drive?
Thanks Chris
I would go for Berard. His point totals have been great this season.
Hey Chris, I'm in a fantasy hockey league with a group of guys that I work with, and had been holding strong in first place until the recent string of injuries. Rob Blake and Sheldon Souray were my main point getters for my defense and it's estimated they'll both be out for up to 6 weeks. I also had Jeremy Roenick, but he may even be retiring. So I was wondering if you had any advice on up and coming players (defense being priority) that could make an impact during this final stretch of the season.
I'd really need more info as to who is available in your league. Hopefully Blake will be closer to three weeks instead of six, but that's still up in the air. Joe Corvo (LOS), Kenny Johnsson (NYI) and Andrei Markov (MON) are all doing well lately and could be available. I can't say they're your best options without knowing who else is out there.
Hello Chris: You have already helped me twice this year in regards to the relative health of Peter Worrell and I'm hoping that you might be able to shed some further light on the Ed Jovanovski situation. I'm currently sitting in 3rd spot in my pool and have one last injury trade in hand. My peers have Jovo but no trades left. I'm just looking for some reassurance that should I choose to dump him for Hamrlik (my only trade possibility) that Jovo won't or shouldn't spring back to life a game or two later. Any help or suggestion would be appreciated.
Matthew Hindman
Poolies everywhere are scouring the net for info on Jovo's status and there really isn't too much to report. I have no reason to believe he'll be coming back right away, but I can't say that definitively. Hamrlik has put up a few points recently, but is not nearly as valuable as he used to be. He's better than an injured guy not producing though, so gauge the situation that way.
Hey Chris. Points only league and I have only one trade remaining. I have both Lindros and Bonk who are both injured now. Which of the two guys would you trade? And who would you trade for from the following list: McAmmond, H. Sedin, T. White and Mark Bell? Thanks
That's a very difficult position to be in. Lindros may not return at all, so Bonk is probably safer. All four of those free agents have their upside.
White has been the least hot lately, but at least has some scoring history.
McAmmond has been very nice in the past three weeks but I'm a little wary of him.
Sedin has been on fire and although he has no history, he at least has the pedigree to back up a sustained point streak.
Bell has also been hot and would be the definitive choice in a PIM league.
All in all, I'd chance it with Sedin.
Hi Chris: Wow, what a day for Satan! Should I drop someone from my team in order to pick him up?
C Morrison, Brendan (C-Van)
C Lecavalier, Vincent (C-TB)
LW Nash, Rick (LW-Cls)
LW Kariya, Paul (LW-Col)
RW Heatley, Dany (RW-Atl)
RW Bertuzzi, Todd (RW-Van)
D Redden, Wade (D-Ott)
D Schneider, Mathieu (D-Det)
D Gonchar, Sergei (D-Was)
D Berard, Bryan (D-Chi)
G Lalime, Patrick (G-Ott)
G Raycroft, Andrew (G-Bos)
Thanks, Raiden Effect
His four-goal game was very nice, but I wouldn't drop anyone on your team to grab him up. You have a fairly nice squad and I don't think he would improve upon it.
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chris_nichols@canoemail.com. I do my best to answer all questions within 24 hours, depending on the volume of emails. Please keep the questions short. Your fantasy questions may be answered in our Ask Slam! section.
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