Sean Burke, Phoenix Coyotes - Burke is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Wings, reports the Arizona Republic.
Johan Hedberg, Pittsburgh Penguins - Hedberg is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Predators, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Patrick DesRochers, Carolina Hurricanes - DesRochers is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Sabres, reports the Raleigh News-Observer. If he doesn't start today, expect him to start in the very near future as the Hurricanes, realistically out of the playoffs, want him to get action at the NHL-level.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Anaheim Mighty Ducks - Giguere is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Blackhawks.
Martin Biron, Buffalo Sabres - Biron is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Hurricanes.
Jocelyn Thibault, Chicago Blackhawks - Thibault is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Mighty Ducks.
Ron Tugnutt, Dallas Stars - Tugnutt is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Wild.
Curtis Joseph, Detroit Red Wings - Joseph is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Coyotes.
Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers - Luongo is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Canadiens.
Jamie Storr, Los Angeles Kings - Storr is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Lightning.
Manny Fernandez, Minnesota Wild - Fernandez is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Stars.
Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens - Theodore is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Panthers.
Tomas Vokoun, Nashville Predators - Vokoun is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Penguins.
Nikolai Khabibulin, Tampa Bay Lightning - Khabibulin is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Kings.
Arturs Irbe, Carolina Hurricanes - With no other teams interested in the veteran Irbe, the Hurricanes sent him back down to Lowell of the AHL and recalled Patrick DesRochers so that they can get a "better look" at his play.
Curtis Sanford, St. Louis Blues - Sanford was scheduled as the starter for yesterday's game against the Sharks, but was scratched due to a minor knee injury he suffered in practice. Brent Johnson was summoned off injured reserve to start in place and with the acquisition of Chris Osgood and Fred Brathwaite still around, Sanford's time in the NHL is probably finished for the year.
Chris Osgood, St. Louis Blues - The Blues acquired Osgood from the Islanders in an effort to bolster their goaltending depth. It was a bit of a strange move as Osgood is nowhere near an elite goalie at this stage of his career and isn't even guaranteed to become the #1 goalie in St. Louis. He and Brent Johnson will spend the next ten games battling for rights to man the nets for the Blues in the playoffs but when all is said and done, Sean Burke was St. Louis' first choice but with Osgood, they really didn't upgrade the one weak position on their team.
Rick DiPietro, New York Islanders - With Chris Osgood traded to the Blues, the Rick DiPietro era has begun on Long Island and the highly touted youngster ended up starting Tuesday's game against the Canucks. He will be given every chance to become the team's franchise goalie and is worth picking up for the remainder of the year and definitely someone to target for next year's draft. The big question is - can he or Garth Snow carry the Islanders deep into the playoffs?
player info
Sergei Samsonov, Boston Bruins - Samsonov was scheduled to get the cast on his wrist removed yesterday after which he will enter the final phase of his rehab from surgery. The Boston Herald reports that he could return in two weeks. If you've held on to Samsonov for all this time, hang in there for just a little bit longer.
Simon Gagne, Philadelphia Flyers - Gagne met with a hernia specialist on Tuesday who determined that there has been no sports hernia or other abdominal related injury. As a result, he has officially been diagnosed as having just a regular groin pull and as such, hopes to return by the end of the regular season at the earliest. Gagne probably won't do much until the playoffs so he's pretty useless now as a fantasy starter.
Justin Williams, Philadelphia Flyers - Williams is said to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from ACL surgery and could begin skating again sometime this week.
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins - Lemieux, who missed the Penguins last game with some minor back discomfort, practiced for 65 minutes yesterday and plans to be in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Predators.
Oleg Tverdovsky, New Jersey Devils - Tverdovsky was a healthy scratch last night but coach Pat Burns denied that it was directly because of his play. According to Burns, the Devils now have eight active defenseman and someone had to sit and he chose Tverdovsky. The talented Russian defenseman has had a horrible year and continues to remain a prime candidate to be traded in the off-season.
Scott Gomez, New Jersey Devils - Gomez was also a healthy scratch on Tuesday but unlike Oleg Tverdovsky, the reason for his benching is that he's apparently in coach Pat Burns' doghouse. When asked why Gomez was scratched, Burns simply replied with: "because he has to get better."
Sergei Berezin, Washington Capitals - Berezin was traded to the Capitals on Tuesday in exchange for a 4th round draft pick. He will probably play on one of the top two lines in Washington, but temper your bids on him as he has no signs of salvaging a disappointing season thus far.
Doug Gilmour, Toronto Maple Leafs - The Maple Leafs re-acquired the fiesty Gilmour and only gave up a middle round draft pick in 2003. Still, Gilmour is not the player he once was for the Leafs and is only expected to be a role player for the team for the remainder of the regular season.
Phil Housley, Chicago Blackhawks - Housley was traded to the Leafs on Tuesday in exchange for two picks in the 2003 draft. He is still hurt and is 39 years old anyway and has very little left in the tank. Stay away.
Janne Niinimaa, New York Islanders - The Islanders bolstered their blueline, acquiring the underrated Niinimaa and a draft pick in exchange for underachievers Brad Isbister and Raffe Torres. In the present, the Isles clearly win this trade as Niinimaa is as versatile a defenseman as they come, giving the Isles one of the top quartet of rearguards in the entire league. Fantasy wise, Niinimaa's value takes a little bit of a hit as he now has to share powerplay time with Adrian Aucoin, Roman Hamrlik and Kenny Jonsson. Isbister for his part still has a lot of potential and could develop along Todd Bertuzzi lines, but that's a mighty big if and probably won't have a chance to happen until next year at the earliest.
Jan Hrdina, Pittsburgh Penguins - The Penguins firesale continued as they traded away Hrdina and a minor leaguer to the Coyotes for Ramzi Abid and two other minor leaguers. Hrdina's fantasy value decreases now that Mario isn't around while Abid could definitely blossom if he plays with #66 and/or Martin Straka.
Bryan Smolinski, Ottawa Senators - The Kings traded Smolinski to the Senators for prospect Tim Gleason. Smolinski is a versatile forward who will blend in nicely with the other talented Senators and if he happens to crack one of the top two lines, his fantasy value will experience a nice increase. Be realistic though - he probably won't play with either Daniel Alfredsson or Marian Hossa and won't suddenly start scoring at a point per game clip or anything.
Radim Vrbata, Carolina Hurricanes - In a bit of a weird trade, the Avs traded away one of their top young players in Vrbata in exchange for underachieving Bates Battaglia. Vrbata, a finesse forward, is only in his early 20s and will see primetime action on one of the Canes' top two lines for years to come. Battaglia is a more grittier forward and is expected to play on Joe Sakic's line, which is a great way to re-kindle his offensive abilities.
Anson Carter, New York Rangers - The Oilers dumped Carter off to the Rangers, primarily in exchange for winger Radek Dvorak. A good trade for the Rangers as Carter is a definite upgrade over Dvorak. His fantasy value goes up a little as he will be surrounded by a more talented array of stars in New York. Dvorak for his part has not been the same player since major knee surgery, but perhaps a move to the Western conference will rejuvenate him.
Valeri Bure, St. Louis Blues - The Blues got Bure in exchange for youngster Mike Van Ryn. Even though he seems to always be injured, we really like this deal for the Blues as Bure has put up some great offensive numbers while playing for far mediocre teams. We hope to see him play alongside playmaker extraordinaire Doug Weight and if so, Bure's fantasy value would skyrocket.
Mathieu Schneider, Detroit Red Wings - The Wings acquired Schneider from the Kings in exchange for Sean Avery, Max Kuznetsov and two high round draft picks. In terms of real life, it's a great deal for the Wings as Schneider is an all-star defenseman who can do everything well, but for fantasy purposes, it hurts Schneider's value as he will be relegated to second unit powerplay duty or spot duty on the first unit. He will likely play with in tandem with Chris Chelios.
Dean McAmmond, Calgary Flames - The Flames re-acquired McAmmond from the Avs for a 5th round draft pick in the upcoming NHL entry draft. After a hot start, McAmmond struggled in Colorado and ended up a healthy scratch for five games within the past month. He enjoyed a lot of success in Calgary last year with linemates Jarome Iginla and Craig Conroy and with those two still in Cow-town, it makes sense for the Flames re-unite the trio, giving McAmmond decent fantasy value over the last few games of the season.
Johan Hedberg, Pittsburgh Penguins - Hedberg is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Predators, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Patrick DesRochers, Carolina Hurricanes - DesRochers is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Sabres, reports the Raleigh News-Observer. If he doesn't start today, expect him to start in the very near future as the Hurricanes, realistically out of the playoffs, want him to get action at the NHL-level.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Anaheim Mighty Ducks - Giguere is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Blackhawks.
Martin Biron, Buffalo Sabres - Biron is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Hurricanes.
Jocelyn Thibault, Chicago Blackhawks - Thibault is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Mighty Ducks.
Ron Tugnutt, Dallas Stars - Tugnutt is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Wild.
Curtis Joseph, Detroit Red Wings - Joseph is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Coyotes.
Roberto Luongo, Florida Panthers - Luongo is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Canadiens.
Jamie Storr, Los Angeles Kings - Storr is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Lightning.
Manny Fernandez, Minnesota Wild - Fernandez is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Stars.
Jose Theodore, Montreal Canadiens - Theodore is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Panthers.
Tomas Vokoun, Nashville Predators - Vokoun is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Penguins.
Nikolai Khabibulin, Tampa Bay Lightning - Khabibulin is the probable starter for Wednesday's game against the Kings.
Arturs Irbe, Carolina Hurricanes - With no other teams interested in the veteran Irbe, the Hurricanes sent him back down to Lowell of the AHL and recalled Patrick DesRochers so that they can get a "better look" at his play.
Curtis Sanford, St. Louis Blues - Sanford was scheduled as the starter for yesterday's game against the Sharks, but was scratched due to a minor knee injury he suffered in practice. Brent Johnson was summoned off injured reserve to start in place and with the acquisition of Chris Osgood and Fred Brathwaite still around, Sanford's time in the NHL is probably finished for the year.
Chris Osgood, St. Louis Blues - The Blues acquired Osgood from the Islanders in an effort to bolster their goaltending depth. It was a bit of a strange move as Osgood is nowhere near an elite goalie at this stage of his career and isn't even guaranteed to become the #1 goalie in St. Louis. He and Brent Johnson will spend the next ten games battling for rights to man the nets for the Blues in the playoffs but when all is said and done, Sean Burke was St. Louis' first choice but with Osgood, they really didn't upgrade the one weak position on their team.
Rick DiPietro, New York Islanders - With Chris Osgood traded to the Blues, the Rick DiPietro era has begun on Long Island and the highly touted youngster ended up starting Tuesday's game against the Canucks. He will be given every chance to become the team's franchise goalie and is worth picking up for the remainder of the year and definitely someone to target for next year's draft. The big question is - can he or Garth Snow carry the Islanders deep into the playoffs?
player info
Sergei Samsonov, Boston Bruins - Samsonov was scheduled to get the cast on his wrist removed yesterday after which he will enter the final phase of his rehab from surgery. The Boston Herald reports that he could return in two weeks. If you've held on to Samsonov for all this time, hang in there for just a little bit longer.
Simon Gagne, Philadelphia Flyers - Gagne met with a hernia specialist on Tuesday who determined that there has been no sports hernia or other abdominal related injury. As a result, he has officially been diagnosed as having just a regular groin pull and as such, hopes to return by the end of the regular season at the earliest. Gagne probably won't do much until the playoffs so he's pretty useless now as a fantasy starter.
Justin Williams, Philadelphia Flyers - Williams is said to be ahead of schedule in his recovery from ACL surgery and could begin skating again sometime this week.
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins - Lemieux, who missed the Penguins last game with some minor back discomfort, practiced for 65 minutes yesterday and plans to be in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Predators.
Oleg Tverdovsky, New Jersey Devils - Tverdovsky was a healthy scratch last night but coach Pat Burns denied that it was directly because of his play. According to Burns, the Devils now have eight active defenseman and someone had to sit and he chose Tverdovsky. The talented Russian defenseman has had a horrible year and continues to remain a prime candidate to be traded in the off-season.
Scott Gomez, New Jersey Devils - Gomez was also a healthy scratch on Tuesday but unlike Oleg Tverdovsky, the reason for his benching is that he's apparently in coach Pat Burns' doghouse. When asked why Gomez was scratched, Burns simply replied with: "because he has to get better."
Sergei Berezin, Washington Capitals - Berezin was traded to the Capitals on Tuesday in exchange for a 4th round draft pick. He will probably play on one of the top two lines in Washington, but temper your bids on him as he has no signs of salvaging a disappointing season thus far.
Doug Gilmour, Toronto Maple Leafs - The Maple Leafs re-acquired the fiesty Gilmour and only gave up a middle round draft pick in 2003. Still, Gilmour is not the player he once was for the Leafs and is only expected to be a role player for the team for the remainder of the regular season.
Phil Housley, Chicago Blackhawks - Housley was traded to the Leafs on Tuesday in exchange for two picks in the 2003 draft. He is still hurt and is 39 years old anyway and has very little left in the tank. Stay away.
Janne Niinimaa, New York Islanders - The Islanders bolstered their blueline, acquiring the underrated Niinimaa and a draft pick in exchange for underachievers Brad Isbister and Raffe Torres. In the present, the Isles clearly win this trade as Niinimaa is as versatile a defenseman as they come, giving the Isles one of the top quartet of rearguards in the entire league. Fantasy wise, Niinimaa's value takes a little bit of a hit as he now has to share powerplay time with Adrian Aucoin, Roman Hamrlik and Kenny Jonsson. Isbister for his part still has a lot of potential and could develop along Todd Bertuzzi lines, but that's a mighty big if and probably won't have a chance to happen until next year at the earliest.
Jan Hrdina, Pittsburgh Penguins - The Penguins firesale continued as they traded away Hrdina and a minor leaguer to the Coyotes for Ramzi Abid and two other minor leaguers. Hrdina's fantasy value decreases now that Mario isn't around while Abid could definitely blossom if he plays with #66 and/or Martin Straka.
Bryan Smolinski, Ottawa Senators - The Kings traded Smolinski to the Senators for prospect Tim Gleason. Smolinski is a versatile forward who will blend in nicely with the other talented Senators and if he happens to crack one of the top two lines, his fantasy value will experience a nice increase. Be realistic though - he probably won't play with either Daniel Alfredsson or Marian Hossa and won't suddenly start scoring at a point per game clip or anything.
Radim Vrbata, Carolina Hurricanes - In a bit of a weird trade, the Avs traded away one of their top young players in Vrbata in exchange for underachieving Bates Battaglia. Vrbata, a finesse forward, is only in his early 20s and will see primetime action on one of the Canes' top two lines for years to come. Battaglia is a more grittier forward and is expected to play on Joe Sakic's line, which is a great way to re-kindle his offensive abilities.
Anson Carter, New York Rangers - The Oilers dumped Carter off to the Rangers, primarily in exchange for winger Radek Dvorak. A good trade for the Rangers as Carter is a definite upgrade over Dvorak. His fantasy value goes up a little as he will be surrounded by a more talented array of stars in New York. Dvorak for his part has not been the same player since major knee surgery, but perhaps a move to the Western conference will rejuvenate him.
Valeri Bure, St. Louis Blues - The Blues got Bure in exchange for youngster Mike Van Ryn. Even though he seems to always be injured, we really like this deal for the Blues as Bure has put up some great offensive numbers while playing for far mediocre teams. We hope to see him play alongside playmaker extraordinaire Doug Weight and if so, Bure's fantasy value would skyrocket.
Mathieu Schneider, Detroit Red Wings - The Wings acquired Schneider from the Kings in exchange for Sean Avery, Max Kuznetsov and two high round draft picks. In terms of real life, it's a great deal for the Wings as Schneider is an all-star defenseman who can do everything well, but for fantasy purposes, it hurts Schneider's value as he will be relegated to second unit powerplay duty or spot duty on the first unit. He will likely play with in tandem with Chris Chelios.
Dean McAmmond, Calgary Flames - The Flames re-acquired McAmmond from the Avs for a 5th round draft pick in the upcoming NHL entry draft. After a hot start, McAmmond struggled in Colorado and ended up a healthy scratch for five games within the past month. He enjoyed a lot of success in Calgary last year with linemates Jarome Iginla and Craig Conroy and with those two still in Cow-town, it makes sense for the Flames re-unite the trio, giving McAmmond decent fantasy value over the last few games of the season.
