D-Liver Us!: Top Two Penguin Defenders Out Until '09
ESPN is reporting that Sergei Gonchar has elected to have surgery on his injured shoulder (the one he injured on the first shift of the first preseason game of the year) which would put him out for 4-6 months.
Gonchar is a top flight d-man, but this kind of injury makes him nearly useless on your fantasy team. If you already have him stash him on your IR and start scouring the waivers. If you haven't drafted yet then he is a LATE round pick at best... again to stash on your IR and then replace with someone else.
The other interesting storyline here is who will pick up the powerplay slack. The first week of the season should be very illuminating on this point.
Camp Woes: Campoli Injured in Preseason as Well
The Islanders defensive prospect Chris Campoli, who showed some nice improvement last season, was also injured in the preseason. The exact nature of the injury and the time he will miss is, at this point, unknown. Streit will now have no competition on the powerplay.
UPDATE:
ESPN is now also reporting the earlier reported story that Nikolai Khabibulin has been placed on waivers so I'd say thats not so much of a rumor anymore. I wouldn't expect Khabibulin to be taken off of waivers (The nearly 7 million dollar contract might cause a bit of a problem) but I really do think that something will get done with either LA or Ottawa before the season starts, whether it be via re-entry waivers or a trade.
Showing posts with label Khabi-watch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Khabi-watch. Show all posts
Monday, September 29, 2008
Lighting the Lamp: Selanne Signs two year deal, Khabibulin rumors
Selanne to Ducks Until His Next Retirement:
Teemu Selanne signed a two year deal with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks over the weekend, which was the obvious outcome of the Schneider Shenanigans. Burke got a little certainty for all his hard work at least with that two year deal. Now he knows he won't have to go through this crap all over again next offseason. Oh wait, Niedermayer is going to be a free agent... sigh.
I think this makes Anaheim a VERY dangerous team going into this season. Anaheim had the best record in the league after Niedermayer returned last season. The Ducks were hurting for scoring for most of last year. Selanne played the last 26 games with the team and had 23 points. this gives the Ducks two SOLID scoring lines and one of the best powerplays in the league. The question is who is hurt and helped by this fantasy wise? Perry might take a bit of a dive if Selanne gets moved to the first line. Brendan Morrison likely stands to benefit the most from this as he will now have a quality winger (be it Perry or Selanne). Should be interesting.
Khabibulin on waivers?
Khabibulin has been the source of speculation for the entire summer. Now hockeybuzz.com is reporting that it has heard from several sources that Khabibulin has been placed on waivers thanks to the strong play of Anti Niemi, one of their goaltending prospects.
In the short term I think this vastly increases Huet's value. In the long term... well who knows. If this plays out the way the Schnieder situation did (ie Bulin clears waivers and is eventually dealt) I would love to see who the Hawks get back. They are team lacking depth up front and really anything would help. That first line is going to be pretty taxed this year, but they should get strong defense and goaltending.
Teams (off the top of my head) that could use the Bulin Wall's services:
Ottawa
LA
Boston
Tampa
Atlanta (as a reliable expensive backup to Lehtonen)
More on this as it develops.
Teemu Selanne signed a two year deal with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks over the weekend, which was the obvious outcome of the Schneider Shenanigans. Burke got a little certainty for all his hard work at least with that two year deal. Now he knows he won't have to go through this crap all over again next offseason. Oh wait, Niedermayer is going to be a free agent... sigh.
I think this makes Anaheim a VERY dangerous team going into this season. Anaheim had the best record in the league after Niedermayer returned last season. The Ducks were hurting for scoring for most of last year. Selanne played the last 26 games with the team and had 23 points. this gives the Ducks two SOLID scoring lines and one of the best powerplays in the league. The question is who is hurt and helped by this fantasy wise? Perry might take a bit of a dive if Selanne gets moved to the first line. Brendan Morrison likely stands to benefit the most from this as he will now have a quality winger (be it Perry or Selanne). Should be interesting.
Khabibulin on waivers?
Khabibulin has been the source of speculation for the entire summer. Now hockeybuzz.com is reporting that it has heard from several sources that Khabibulin has been placed on waivers thanks to the strong play of Anti Niemi, one of their goaltending prospects.
In the short term I think this vastly increases Huet's value. In the long term... well who knows. If this plays out the way the Schnieder situation did (ie Bulin clears waivers and is eventually dealt) I would love to see who the Hawks get back. They are team lacking depth up front and really anything would help. That first line is going to be pretty taxed this year, but they should get strong defense and goaltending.
Teams (off the top of my head) that could use the Bulin Wall's services:
Ottawa
LA
Boston
Tampa
Atlanta (as a reliable expensive backup to Lehtonen)
More on this as it develops.
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