Hockey Notebook: Final cuts
With the NHL season poised to begin in earnest on Wednesday, I thought it prudent to bring you one more preseason notebook. NHL clubs made their final cuts on Monday, and there are plenty of important fantasy implications.
Carey Price, G, Canadiens: If you had been shrugging off suggestions that a 20-year-old goaltender would stick on a team with a proven No. 1 netminder, it's time to shake out your head and start paying attention to Price. One slight, minute, trivial stumble out of Cristobal Huet and Habs fans, as well as the media, will be calling for his head. Price has been kept around to win the starter's job, not sit around watching Huet. He needs to be owned in every single fantasy hockey league, regardless of size, while we see how this story develops.
Sam Gagner, C, Oilers: I had dismissed this 18-year-old, suggesting he'd be back in London and the Ontario Hockey League before the season started. Well, the Oil have signed Gagner and will have him the starting lineup for their season opener. The 2007 first-rounder can still be returned to the London Knights after playing nine games in the NHL, so he is not a lock to stick for the season. Owners in deeper -- and keeper -- leagues need to pick him up though. He'll play a defensive role to start, but the veteran Oilers players are far from offensive wizards and the door is wide-open for any player who shows a scoring touch.
James Sheppard, C, Wild: He made the team, but try to ignore him in fantasy leagues. Coach Jacques Lemaire has already committed to bringing him along at a snail's pace this season, similar to how Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Brent Burns were developed. That means playing fewer than 50 games and watching from the press box as a healthy scratch the rest of the time. For keeper leagues, he should be an option next season.
Johan Franzen, LW, Red Wings: Franzen has cemented his role on the top line and needs to get some attention in virtually any fantasy league deeper than 10 teams. He showed tremendous preseason chemistry with Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom; Franzen may even become a staple on the power play. The Wings need him to succeed in place of Henrik Zetterberg so they can spread out their scoring, so expect Franzen to get a long leash.
Nikolai Zherdev, LW/RW, Blue Jackets: Things are not going so well in the land of Zherdev. The experiment at center was a disastrous failure and he has had a slow and uneventful preseason. His agent was quoted in The Columbus Dispatch implying that Zherdev will be looking for a trade if he is not a part of the Blue Jackets' top six. A trade would be the best thing for this near-bust right now. As a side note, there were Penguins scouts at a recent Columbus exhibition game.
David Perron, LW, Blues: Like Gagner, nothing is certain with Perron as far as just how long he is in the NHL this season, if at all. He can still be returned to his team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League at any time before playing in his 10th games. He has survived cuts to this point, and assuming some Blues end up on injured reserve, he will start the season in St. Louis. Perron has Kovalev-esque hands that he showed off all preseason, including an exclamation-point two assists in the last exhibition game. The 2007 first-rounder deserves more attention than Gagner, if he sticks around in St. Louis. There still may be a cut or two in St. Louis though, so don't go too nuts over him.
Jimmy Howard, G, Red Wings: You may look at Howard's demotion to the American Hockey League and say "Hey, Sean, I thought you said he was the backup goalie to roster?" Well, he still is. Howard would get the call if anything were to happen to Dominik Hasek. In deep leagues, you need to hang on tight to Howard.
Sergei Fedorov, C, Blue Jackets: I'm really, really sorry about this. I thought it would never happen again; but you have to pick up Fedorov in really deep leagues. He is practicing as the Jackets' No. 1 center, between Rick Nash and David Vyborny. The local newspaper expects him to start the season there. You just never know what a veteran like Fedorov is going to do, and Columbus certainly looks like an improved team all around this season. If it were anybody else winning the role of No. 1 center on this team, I would have to recommend them. So even though Fedorov has had a proverbial fork stuck in him for several seasons, I have to say put him on your bench and see what happens.
Jonathan Bernier, G, Kings: This is for anyone who didn't watch the opening game of the NHL season in London, England ... that was no fluke. Bernier is going to be the Kings netminder this season and he is going to be very valuable while doing it. You should have no qualms investing in him as a low-tier No. 1 goaltender.
Top-six Forwards, Sabres: Coach Lindy Ruff appears serious about deploying a five-forward power play this season. Jason Pominville, Tim Connolly and Ales Kotalik have been working the point while Derek Roy, Thomas Vanek, Maxim Afinogenov and Drew Stafford have been trading off up front. First off, why doesn't anyone do this already? It's brilliant. All the creative playmakers are on the ice and Buffalo has the speed to prevent opponents from gambling shorthanded. I love it and I think it increases the fantasy value of everyone involved. Brian Campbell isn't even hurt too much by this. He only had nine power-play points last year anyway.
Mason Raymond, RW, Canucks: Raymond made it through final cuts in Vancouver. That means you have to pay attention. The preseason surprise even winged the Sedins on several occasions. He should be an immediate addition in deeper leagues, though most fantasy games will introduce him on waivers after he plays a game. He is that much of a surprise.
Marc Staal, D, Rangers: Staal is in. The third Staal brother to embark on an NHL career will begin his on opening night for the Rangers. Though he is not a natural power-play quarterback, Staal makes smart passes out of his zone and can distribute the puck well. He likely doesn't offer any fantasy value to shallow leagues, but deep league owners know the value of a defenseman who stays on the good side of their plus/minus and gets a decent number of points.
Bryan Little, C and Brett Sterling, RW, Thrashers: Sterling has made the switch from left wing to right wing in order to play on a line with Ilya Kovalchuk and Todd White. He is still adjusting to playing the mirror image of what he is used to, but Sterling looked good by the end of camp. Sterling should be an addition to any deep-league roster looking for help. He is in Atlanta to stay. Little is sticking around for now, but by all accounts he still has some growing to do, which can be expected from a 19-year-old. Little didn't play with the top six very often in training camp and will need some time to adjust if he sticks in Atlanta. Only look to him as a very deep addition, and only if you are weak down the middle.
Chris Connor, RW, Stars: The diminutive winger will start the year in the AHL, but don't be surprised to see him back sooner than later. Connor tallied nine points during the preseason and spent more than one night on a line with Mike Modano and Brenden Morrow. The Stars are perennially short on offense and if that doesn't change this season, they may call up the 5-foot-8 forward and give him a shot.
T.J. Hensick, C, Avalanche I can't say Hensick's assignment to the AHL comes as a surprise at all. There is just no room for him on the offensively-stacked Avalanche. If injuries should befall anyone on the two top lines, Hensick is a logical choice to patch a hole somewhere else in the lineup, but even then, he looks like nothing but keeper-league material this season.
Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis, G's, Predators: Rinne will start the year in the minors after Ellis beat him out for the backup role in Nashville. I suspect playing time was a factor in this decision; Rinne can keep rolling as a starter in the AHL. I still don't trust Chris Mason, and I think Rinne should remain on the minds of most fantasy players. Rinne is still the best option the team has if (when) Mason can't handle the load.
Brad Boyes, RW, Blues: Boyes is one of those players who has looked so good in the preseason, it's hard not to bump him up a few notches before the season starts. Boyes has regularly been playing with Paul Kariya and either Keith Tkachuk or Doug Weight. He has seven points in the exhibition games and looks poised to obliterate his numbers from last year and come close to his 2005-06 season -- maybe even better it.
Kris Russell, D, Blue Jackets: Russell is going to be a staple on the Jackets power play this season. They don't have any other defensemen who have a proven ability to handle the puck offensively, and Russell did exactly that through the preseason. The rookie is a great addition to a fantasy team that is sour on their last couple defensemen in deep leagues. Go out and replace that Brian Pothier or Craig Rivet with Russell.
Nicklas Bergfors, RW, Devils: Bergfors has an opportunity to stake is claim to the NHL while Jamie Langenbrunner is out with injury. It looks like Langenbrunner may be out for a significant portion of the first two months, so Bergfors should get to play in the top six as much as he deserves. He may have a season like Zach Parise did before his big breakout last year. Point of interest: Among the cuts made by the Devils to get down to an NHL-sized roster were Parise, Gionta, Pandolfo and Marshall. That's Jordan Parise, Stephen Gionta and Mike Pandolfo, not Zach, Brian and Jay. However, that is veteran Grant Marshall who was cut.
Patrick Marleau, C (or is it LW?), Sharks: Marleau debuted on the wing with Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo for the final exhibition game. My first thought was to run and hide because that has to be one of the greatest line combinations around. After I calmed down a bit, I made a trade offer for Marleau in every league I am in. We are talking about an 80-point player when he is on the team's second line! If this dangerous combination can survive, Marleau becomes a strong No. 1 center in fantasy, and if he is granted left-wing eligibility, he is near the top of the class for that position.
Alexander Radulov, RW, Predators: I want off the train at its next stop. Radulov is being forced to play with Radek Bonk and Martin Gelinas on what has to be considered the Predators' third line. He hasn't even been playing on the team's top power-play unit. With Steve Sullivan out for a couple months, it's near criminal that this sophomore phenom isn't being given a shot on the top line. Alas, he remains in coach Barry Trotz's doghouse. I want nothing to do with Radulov to start this season. Maybe in a month when the Predators aren't scoring, Trotz will reconsider. In the meantime, grab Vernon Fiddler. The man with the most Nashville-appropriate name has been playing first-line right wing and looks good with Jason Arnott and J.P. Dumont. He could be a nice sell-high candidate when Sullivan returns in December.
Scott Gomez and Chris Drury, C, Rangers: Gomez is still the only center to play with Jaromir Jagr in the preseason, (Jagr missed the final games after Drury was supposed to line up with him). There wasn't much chemistry between Gomez and Jagr, but I am not losing hope just yet. Drury is wasted on a line like Jagr's because he has the ability to score and shutdown opponents at the same time. Drury is basically the most offensively-gifted shutdown player in the NHL. I don't think there has been a value shift for these two just yet, and Gomez is still the guy I would rather own.
Brent Sopel, D, Blackhawks: Sopel's presence doesn't do anything for me fantasy-wise, other than make me angry that Cam Barker will start in the AHL. Barker has more offensive upside than any of the other young defensemen in Chicago and I was looking forward to seeing him earn the role of power-play quarterback for a good Hawks team. Alas, Sopel will remain with the club, but I don't think he'll be much of a factor offensively; therefore, not much of a factor in fantasy.
Martin Hanzal, C, Coyotes: The tall centerman looks like he is sticking with the Coyotes. It comes as a mild surprise, but then again, the 20-year-old adjusted incredibly quickly to the North American game, scoring 85 points as a rookie in the Western Hockey League. Depending on who the 6-foot-5 native of the Czech Republic lines up with, he could offer mild fantasy value in deeper leagues. I wouldn't pick him up, but keep him on your watch list.
Sean Allen is a fantasy hockey and baseball analyst for ESPN.com.
