Ice Fishing: A Very Western Week

Interesting week that was in the NHL. Some goaltending controversies gained a bit more speed, some lost it. The Anaheim Ducks continued to roll as all of their stars have finally found their mojo and the Edmonton Oilers continued to stall despite strong fantasy play by most of its high profile forwards and defensemen. Toronto and Columbus scored and the Rangers bored. Mats Sundin attended a Vancouver game and Ryan Clowe took his turn as San Jose's scoring winger.

Let's get to the meat of it shall we...

Keep 'em:

Ryan Clowe
LW, San Jose

I figured I put him in the lead in so I might as well end the suspense right away. Unlike Setoguchi, who incidentally still gets my strongest recommendation, Clowe sees powerplay time with this squad. Clowe is tied for fourth on the team in points, behind only the resurgent Patrick Marleau, the spectacular Joe Thornton, and the aforementioned Devin Setoguchi, is third in PIM, and leads the team with 4 powerplay goals. What's not to like?

Chirs Kunitz
LW, Anaheim

He shouldn't be available in your league, but some people had goalie problems early and needed space on their rosters and were really lucky to pick him back up before he tallied 5 assists this last week. Yes I'm talking about myself and no I don't know why you should listen to anything I say beyond that last sentence.

Cam Barker
D, Chicago

We're having a bit of a west coast tip here but this blog is so east-centric that I'm feeling unapologetic right now. Barker has responded to his call up strongly. In 4 games Barker has 2 goals and an assist and 4 PIM. Both goals came on the man advantage. There is some speculation, has been since the preseason, that the Blackhawks are trying to move Barker. So long as that is the case and he's producing expect the Hawks to use him in showcase situations like the point on the man advantage.


Weigh 'Em:

Kris Versteeg:
RW, Chicago

Versteeg put up another two assists this week and is starting to look like a real challenger for the Calder this year. About a week ago Craig Kanelley alerted me to a piece he did on Versteeg over on Hawkey Central. Its a really interesting piece for anyone who would like to know more about the young man that has seemingly come out of nowhere to lead all rookies in scoring through November. Check it out here:
http://hawkeycentral.windycitizen.com/2008/10/29/from-lethbridge-to-chi-town

Jakub Voracek:
RW, Columbus

Notice the large number of wingers this week? You should all be pretty well set on your centers by now, but good wingers can be tough to find. For that you've got to look to surprising sources like overproducing veterans, breakout stars and yes... rookies. Voracek here came on strong in the last week and now has 10 points through 13 games.

Ray Whitney:
LW, Carolina

Oh good... I was starting to get worried that there were no Eastern Conference guys on this list. Whitney had 6 points, 3 goals and 3 assists, in the last week with four of those points coming on the man advantage. The only thing that keeps Wizard from being in the "Keep 'em" section is the fact he was also an atrocious -4 over that same span. You might want to give Tuomo Ruutu a look as well as he also has 6 points over the last week but is a +4. The knock on Ruutu is his lack of powerplay time and shots on goal(3).


Toss 'Em Back:

Kevin Weekes, Frederik Norenna, Joey MacDonald:
G, New Jersey, Columbus, New York Islanders

No. You know why. Weekes will not replace lost production from Brodeur, and you need at least a few games to see what he'll be able to do on this depleted Devils team. Norenna has shown that he is shaky at best right now. Wait for Leclaire. McDonald's numbers are deceptively good. Don't believe them. That Islanders team is atrocious.

Mathieu Garon:
G, Edmonton

Maybe just bench him until the Oil make their way back home. The only way the Oilers seem to be able to win right now is by scoring five goals. Take a hands off approach on this one.

Niklas Hagman:
LW, Toronto

I don't buy it. Toronto had some wild ones this past week and Hagman came out of it with 5 points while recording a stunning +7 over that same period. Wilson is a good coach and Hagman isn't a bad player, I just don't think he's a near point a game player. For the record I've been very very impressed with what Wilson has done with this Maple Leafs squad. I don't know if they are a playoff team but they are a heck of a lot of fun to watch. They better be careful though or they are going to play themselves right out of the Tavares Sweepsteaks.

That's all for now. Expect my report from Rangers v Lightning when I get back tonight as well as news and notes on a busy night in the national hockey league that sees 22 of the 30 teams in action. If I wasn't going to the Rangers game I'd be firing up Edmonton v Pittsburgh on my center ice package with Phoenix at Vancouver being the late game du jour.