ASK SLAM!
By CHRIS NICHOLS -- SLAM! Sports
Hi Chris, reading your column has become one of my every day rituals, I really appreciate the great advice you provide us poolies on a daily basis. I've been wondering what's the news concerning Pavel Bure? Has the Russian Rocket retired or will he be back next year?
THANKS. PETER.
Thanks. I haven't read anything about Bure lately, but his brother Val was interviewed a few months ago and seemed to indicate Pavel would be coming back next season. Pavel turns 33 at the end of March and he probably still has quite a bit of gas left in the tank, assuming his knees can hold up. He's a risk in keeper leagues, but he's got big upside obviously.
Chris: I'm about a dozen points out of 1st in our points only pool. I think I have the horses to catch the lead guy especially when Naslund & Forsberg get healthy and back into the lineup. My question is about Walker & Sullivan. I can get Walker by giving up Demitra. Am I giving up too much? I might be able to get Sullivan by giving up Demitra along with Selanne & O'Neill; I would get Stumpel & Zhamnov along with Sullivan. I like the Walker deal but given Demitra's past seasons feel I'm giving up too much. Your thoughts? Cheers Grapes. As always, I read all your columns daily and can't wait until they give one of the HOT STOVE chairs to you during Hockey Night in Canada...
Indeed. All of those guys are probably in hockey pools, so maybe one day you'll see me giving JD and Strach advice on their teams.
As hot as Walker has been, I think Demitra is a safer bet. Same thing with Sullivan. I'd have no problem giving up Selanne and O'Neill in a deal to get Sully, but I think Demitra has too much upside. The thing I would say in Sullivan's defense though, is that a 60-point player that gets hot is all of the sudden a point-per-game guy.
Player for player: who would you rather have on your team... Cory Stillman or Marek Zidlicky? Is Zidlicky a one year wonder?
Not to dodge the question, but it's apples and oranges. Stillman is a talented forward that can score .80 ppg or above and Zidlicky can run the power play as well as many of the top guys in the league. Zidlicky should be producing similar numbers year after year, assuming he's in the same role he's in now. He's 27 and he has international experience, so it's not like he's a rookie fluke.
Given the fact that scoring D are harder to come by than forwards like Stillman, I'd probably take Zidlicky.
Hello Chris!
Re: Brian Gionta
Gionta is a free agent in our pool and was wondering if his recent offensive explosion (playing w/Elias & Gomez) is the real thing or a temporary hiccup line that Pat Burns will dismantle for not being 'defensive' enough. If it is the former instead of the latter, the acquisition of Gionta would be quite a coup in our keeper league where we only count points. My other option is taking a chance on Ruslan Fedotenko who has 15 points in his last fifteen games with Tampa Bay unless he is also a flavor of the month that John Tortorella will discard soon enough.
Thanks! Brian
I think both guys are average fantasy producers on a tear right now. Either guy is a good short-term add, but I'd drop them both with three or four games of no points. Fedotenko especially, should be on the downward arc of his production streak.
Hello again Chris. My question concerns A. Markov. I picked him up as my 4th Dman and he seems to play well but is getting scratched a lot lately. Sydor and Ulanov are available, would one of them be a better choice? Slim pickings out there for defensemen right now.
Thanks. Bob Y
Markov missed a few games due to the unfortunate passing of his father. Sydor has been producing well and might be a better option than Ulanov, if you decide to go another route.
I was offered his Heatley for my Mogilny. Should I do it? I also picked up Yashin over the weekend and put him on the IR. Who should I drop out of the following when he comes back? Legwand, Nieuwendyk, or Cheechoo. Or should I try to make a 2 for 1 deal? Our league is H2H & count all but PIM's. Thanks for all of your help this year. I was down in 10th at one point and am now 4 points out of 2nd.
Jeff
That's what I like to hear. That's the entire point of this column and I love hearing about how it has helped people creep up in their pools.
I would rather have Heatley over Mogilny.
I'd probably drop Cheechoo when Yashin comes back, but let Yashin play a few games first. You can also see who is hot at that time.
Chris: You are unbelievably knowledgeable. Thanks I am now in first place in a 10 team league, it feels great. My league counts G/A/Pts/Shorthanded Goals/PIMS/+/-/GAA/SV%/Wins. I just picked up Esche, but the Philly newspaper says he will not be back until next week, is that true? I also have Aebischer and Kipper. (Can only play 2 each week.) A guy wants Aebischer and offered me any one player on his team to get him - He has Hejduk, Kovalchuk, Demitra, Briere, Recchi, Elias, and Tkachuk. His goalies are Salo, Conklin, and Weekes. My Forwards are Bertuzzi, Iginla, Jagr, Tanguay, Walker, Handzus, Stillman, Ryder, Hunter, Tucker , Bergeron, and Simon (Only play 9 each week) Even though he wants to only do 1 for 1, I thought of asking for Hejduk and Salo for Aebischer and Bergeron, what do you think??
Thanks again, Steve
Thanks Steve. Great to see you in first.
I would honestly not deal Aebischer. It's always nice to have a spare goalie and when you have three excellent goalies like you do, that's even better. I suspect Esche is going to be a day-to-day decision for the next week and the Flyers do not want to rush him back. If you were to trade Aebischer and Esche re-injured his knee in his first game back, you'd be out of luck. Bye-bye championship. Play it safe and do not deal one of those three.
Just for kicks though, only Hejduk or Kovalchuk are worth a one-for-one from his team.
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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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