NHL Blog Breakdown

July 4, 2009 10:34am CDT

This article will be a weekly series profiling the recent Fanball Sports Network NHL blog posts, as well as how this news and analysis impacts fantasy owners.


PensAreMightier.com: 5.762 Gigawatts!
Our Pittsburgh Penguins correspondent examines the available money Pittsburgh can use on free agents, and who they likely will keep or part ways with.

"OK, well... more like 5.762 million dollars. That's the magic number, according to NHLnumbers.com, that the Penguins have left to sign players with.

Shero has already locked up a few key players that we are already aware of:

Bill Guerin - 1 year/ $2 mil
Craig Adams - 2 years/ $550,000 per year
Alex Goligoski - 3 years/ $1.25 mil, $1.5 mil, $2.75 mil

Like I mentioned in my earlier post, Bill Guerin is a key signing for Shero, Adams is a bonus, and Go-Go has a great chance being up with the club next year..."

Impact: Playoff heroics often cause fantasy owners to assign value to a player that frankly doesn't deserve it. Scuderi played great in the playoffs, but though he contributed five points, he mostly excelled in the intangibles that do not help a fantasy team win a championship. Scuderi is not an offensive defender as he only contributed 16 points in 2008-09 and just five in all of 2007-08. Therefore, his 4-year, $13.6 million deal with the Kings doesn't mean he will all of a sudden have copious amounts of fantasy success.


PucksGoneWild.com: Get a Room
Roy from our Minnesota Wild blog gives his thoughts on the loss of Marian Gaborik and the signing of Martin Havlat.

"In less than 2 months on the job, Wild GM Chuck Fletcher did something Dougie Risebrough couldn't get himself to do in 10 years: sign a top free agent. After being spurned by Marian Gaborik, the Wild went to the next best available forward and signed Martin Havlat to a 6 year contract."

Impact:To read some thoughts on the recent turn of events for the Wild, give our Frozen Pucks - Free Agent Edition, Part I a read.


FlamingPuck.com: Bagging Bouwmeester
The Calgary Flames correspondent, James Duplacey, looks at the Jay Bouwmeester trade and what the defenseman brings to Calgary.

"A fluid skater and sharp puck handler who plays with a obstinate edge, Bouwmeester brings poise and purpose to the table. Opposing forwards who dare enter Calgary's kitchen will be met by a tenacious trio of trenchmen - the rugged Robin Regehr, the deft Dion Phaneuf and the bellicose Bouwmeester - that rank among the roughest, toughest and most belligerent in the league."

Impact: Bouwmeester has scored 12 or more goals in each of the past three seasons. The defenseman loves to shoot, firing 174 or more shots in each of the past four seasons. This kind of production is difficult to find from the defense, so Bouwmeester has become a desired fantasy option on draft day. His move likely won't impact his value much, but what it will likely do is signal the exit of left winger Michael Cammalleri.

*Editors note: Cammalleri will indeed be with a new squad after signing a deal to join the Candiens. To read more about that deal, click on the link to Frozen Pucks - Free Agent Edition, Part I.

DoubleEdgedSabres.com: Free Agency Fun
The Buffalo Sabres blog has a run down of all the news and transactions from the NHL free agency period.

"The first major signing of the day. Matthias Ohlund will join fellow countryman Victor Hedman in Tampa Bay. He signs a 7-year deal worth $3.75 million per year. Off we go."

Impact:The start of the free agency period is one of the most exciting times in the NHL, and one of the most important to follow for those in fantasy hockey. Numerous players are set to swap teams, and one of the first stories of the free agency period was that Matthias Ohlund is leaving the Canucks to join Tampa Bay in a seven-year deal. Ohlund is as reliable as they come from the defense, contributing 20 points or more in each of his 11 seasons in the NHL. His goal totals have dropped the past few seasons, from 13 in '05-'06, to 11 in '06-'07, to nine in '07-'08 and to six in '08-'09. A change of scenery might rejuvenate these totals as he moves to the Lightning.


FrozenNotes.com: Draft and Trade News The St. Louis Blues blog correspondent (the author of this piece - shameless plug) examines the Chris Pronger trade and how the Flyers paid a hefty price for the defender.

"The Philadelphia Flyers landed the defender by paying a hefty price by shipping Joffrey Lupul, Luca Sbisa and this season's 21st overall pick and Philadelphia's first-round pick in the 2010 draft. Anaheim will also receive a conditional third-round pick in one of the next two drafts. In my mind, they paid WAY too much for Pronger, and I am glad that the Blues did not make a deal for Pronger if that's how much he was going to cost. Two players and three high picks is an enormous price for one player, let alone one that is 34-years old."

Impact:Pronger is an incredible player, and is a strong offensive minded defenseman. He tallied 48 points in 2008-09 and has totaled 43 points or more the past five consecutive seasons. However, the Flyers did what a lot of fantasy owners do, and that is overpay for something you really want. We can all learn a lesson from Philadelphia when it comes to trades as the Flyers demonstrated first hand how a desire for a player can cause you to offer far too much for that player. Pronger is an extremely talented skater, but he is 34-years old and the Flyers gave up two players, two first-round picks and a third-round pick for a guy with just one year left on his contract.