Posted by John Pereira
So the NHL's Halloween "Spook-tacular" was decidedly un-scary for the most part -- unless, of course, you are a Marty Turco owner. Dallas backup goalie Tobias Stephan stopped 27 shots in his second consecutive start in place of the struggling regular. Granted, the outcome (a 5-2 loss to Chicago) is not what either Dallas coach Dave Tippett or Stephan had hoped for; but it's a strong signal nonetheless. While I'm not quite prepared to invoke Yogi Berra's "it's like déjà vu all over again" quote, I am willing to say that we have seen this trend before in the Lone Star State. Last season, Mike Smith vultured 21 games away from a struggling Turco before he was moved at the deadline to Tampa Bay in the Brad Richards deal. Turco eventually finished that season with 62 games played and a fairly respectable 2.32 goals-against average. So we flash forward to 2008-09: Turco again is struggling to start the season, his win-loss record is at 3-4, and his goals-against average has ballooned to 4.26 in only nine games. What is a fantasy owner to do?
Let's first figure out who this Tobias Stephan really is. The 24-year-old is a native of Zurich, Switzerland, and was taken 34th overall by the Dallas Stars in the 2002 NHL draft. At the beginning of the season, some had ranked Stephan as only the second-best prospect in net in the Dallas Stars organization, behind Richard Bachman on the organizational chart. Stephan is a solid butterfly-style goalie who exudes calmness on the ice at all times and at 6-foot-3 is big enough to make shooters work hard to find their targets. He still has some problems with his style, though, and despite some nice early returns in his NHL career, many scouts project he will be a backup at best.
So what should Marty Turco owners do in their fantasy leagues? Just hold tight for now. For the past decade, Turco has been one of the better goalies in the NHL, and unless your name is Jim Carey (the goalie, not the actor), you don't fall off the perch that quickly. Turco has shown a penchant for starting slowly the past couple of years, but by the end of the season, he has usually become one of the better netminders in the NHL. It would be a good idea to play it safe in deeper leagues (much like in fantasy football) and handcuff Turco with Stephan, who is available in nearly every ESPN league at this point. If Stephan becomes irrelevant as quickly as he appeared, you can send him back to the waiver wire with no hesitation. Now, too, might be the perfect time to poach Turco from another frustrated owner in your league. Then sit back, be patient and enjoy.
Ice Chips
With two goals in Anaheim's 7-6 loss to Vancouver, Teemu Selanne tied Guy Lafleur for 20th place on the NHL's all-time goal-scoring list with 560 career markers. Selanne has been on an absolute tear for the Ducks of late, with 10 points in his past five games. … The night of milestones didn't end with Selanne's efforts, as Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo suited up for his 500th NHL game. Unfortunately, it wasn't as impressive as the 499th: Luongo allowed six goals on 37 shots for an .838 save percentage. … I will admit that I never thought Corey Perry's offensive game would translate to the NHL as well as it has. While he likely will never be the 130-points-per-season player we saw in the OHL, his one goal and four assists Friday night point to an ability to be at least a point-per-game NHL player. … Ninety-eight. That's the percentage of leagues in which owners could find Cam Barker sitting on the waiver wire. Barker scored and had an assist in a win over the Dallas Stars in just his second game since being recalled by the Blackhawks. The former third-overall pick is projected to be a big-time defender and should be scooped up quickly in available leagues. … Dallas center Brad Richards missed the game because of a lower-body injury, and the Stars aren't saying how long he'll be out of the lineup.
