ASK SLAM!
By CHRIS NICHOLS -- SLAM! Sports
Let's take a quick look at the fantasy impact of the big trades in the last 36 hours.
Alex Kovalev to Montreal: This deal happened shortly after I submitted Wednesday's column, so sorry for the delay in the fantasy angle. It's a great deal for the Habs and it's nice to see them as buyers at the deadline. Kovy says he didn't fit in with the Rangers and since he'll be in a playoff hunt, I fully expect him to pick it up a notch in the home stretch. Kovy's fantasy value is definitely on the rise. Look for him to get great power play time and he may even man the point with Markov on the PP. We'll see. Kovy watched from the press box Wednesday night, but he'll play Friday against Phoenix.
Sergei Gonchar to the Bruins: Another fantastic deal for the buying team and talk about a buyer's market at the deadline. Gonchar will be a huge help for the Boston power play and he immediately raises the fantasy value for Joe Thornton and Glen Murray. Jiri Slegr's value hangs in the balance, because he had been eating up a lot of quality ice time. If Slegr gets to share the point on the PP with Gonchar, Slegr's value will be fine. The best news of all for Gonchar fans is that Gonchar's +/- will not be bad from here on in.
Petr Nedved and Jussi Markannen to the Oilers: Nedved should give the Oil a boost in the home stretch and he should get enough PP time that he'll score more than he was scoring for the Rangers. Markannen is the interesting part of this deal, because it will clear the way for the Oil to trade Tommy Salo in the summer - in my opinion. Ty Conklin, who is currently injured, can handle the starting duties and Markannen provides a reliable backup for the team.
Brian Leetch to the Leafs: Yet another salary dump, except this one sees the most respected Ranger (Next to Mess) leave the team with which he's played his entire career. Leetch will be a fantastic addition to the Toronto backline and will help the power play immensely. This obviously raises the value of Mats Sundin, Alex Mogilny, Owen Nolan and the rest of the forwards that get PP time. Hanging in the balance until we see who plays with who are the likes of Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle. Both guys will continue to get points, but Leetch will likely cut into that production. Still, assuming the Leafs go with two D on the power play point, that second D would still be fairly valuable.
We have a keeper league in which you can keep up to three players. I currently have a roster with Pronger, Aebischer, Lang, Tkachuk, Kovalchuk, Nash, and Jagr. Who do you think would be the best keepers out of this list? I am really contemplating keeping Lang but I don't know if he can do this two years in a row.
Thanks!
Kovalchuk and Nash are automatic keepers. The last pick comes down to Pronger, Jagr or Aebischer and I'd need to see what happens in the playoffs before I'd pick.
Chris: What has happened to D. Morris? Is he still worth hanging on to in a keeper league?
Gregg
Good question. His prospects as a keeper depend on the number of keepers you have year-to-year. Morris could still be dealt, so we'll have to watch the situation closely. The whole Avalanche offensive explosion has not laid out the way I thought it would, including Alex Tanguay being more valuable than Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne combined.
Hey man...whats up with Forsberg? Do you think it's safe to deal my Doan for
him? Thanks for the best fantasy hockey advice on the web
Well, you know what you get with Forsberg. If I had some offensive depth, I'd take a chance on that deal. There is no real time table for Forsberg to return though and the Avs will not take any chances because they want him healthy for the playoffs.
Hey Chris: Have you heard anything about a return date for Yashin and in what kind of condition do you think he'll be in when he returns.
Thanks, Kevin
He might play this weekend, but it could also be next week. Since the injury was his forearm, it stands to reason that he should be in good shape in his legs still. It will probably just be a matter of getting his timing back and whether the injury affects his shot or not.
Hey Chris: A quick question. I have clinched a playoff spot in my 12 team H to H
league. I was wondering if I should pick up Mogilny. I currently have Jagr, Scott Walker, Amonte, and Selanne as my RW's. I would like to keep Jagr, even though the Rangers are the biggest joke in all of sports and Walker has been a pleasant surprise.
Thanks for you help.
Dennis
Drop Selanne and grab Mogilny.
Hey Chris: I asked the same question about a month ago, but now Kovalev and Sullivan have changed teams.
A) who would you keep (2 of 3) between Kovy, Sully and Zherdev (I also have
Bertuzzi and he's an obvious keeper)
B) same question between H. Sedin and Koivu.
Great column!
Mark
It depends how many keepers you have and how long you're going to be in this league. Zherdev will be more valuable than Sullivan, but probably not by next season. Kovy should excel in Montreal, but we have the rest of the regular season to see if that really happens.
I'd likely keep Koivu over Henrik Sedin at this point.
Have a fantasy hockey question? Drop me a line at
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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