Thursday, April 24, 2003
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils - Brodeur will be the starter for Thursday's game one against the Lightning. The much decorated goaltender was extremely sharp in the Devils' opening round win and probably will need to keep up the quality of his play as the Lightning are an offensively talented and extremely balanced squad. Nikolai Khabibulin at the other end of the ice is no slouch either.
Nikolai Khabibulin, Tampa Bay Lightning - Khabibulin will be the starter for Thursday's game one against the Devils. The Russian netminder got better and better as the Lightning's round one series agianst the Capitals went on. If he can match Martin Brodeur save-for-save, he will give his team a great chance at upsetting the favored Devils.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Anaheim Mighty Ducks - Giguere will be the starter for Thursday's game one against the Stars. If the playoffs ended after the first round, Giguere would be the Conn Smythe winner hands down as he was phenomenal in helping the Ducks upset the Wings. He can't afford to let up one bit as the Stars are not only just as offensively explosive as the Red Wings, but they play a more rugged style which could cause problems for the Ducks.
Marty Turco, Dallas Stars - Turco will be the starter for Thursday's game one against the Mighty Ducks. The holder of the NHL's goals-against-average record was only nothing sensational in round one but expect him to continue to get better as he shakes off the rust from a late season ankle injury. He will not be as busy as his counterpart JS Giguere, but will probably need more concentration as the few shots he will face will primarily be quality scoring chances.
Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche - Roy will decide within the next few days whether he will return to the Avalanche for one more year. He has a one-year $8.5 million team option left but the Avs management has said that the decision will be entirely Roy's. We expect him to come back for one more year and again take his spot among the NHL's elite goalies.
player info
Sergei Brylin, New Jersey Devils - Brylin will return to the Devils lineup for Thursday's game one against the Lightning, reports the Newark Star-Ledger. He has missed time from a wrist injury suffered way back in February but deemed himself healthy after a strenuous series of practices over the past week.
Brian Gionta, New Jersey Devils - Gionta will play on a line with Patrik Elias and Scott Gomez for the series against the Lightning, reports the Newark Star-Ledger. The Devils hope that this arrangement will get the struggling Elias going against Nikolai Khabibulin's stellar goaltending.
Bill Guerin, Dallas Stars - Guerin will not play in game one against the Mighty Ducks, reports the Dallas Morning News. The thigh injury which as sidelined him for over a month is all but healed, but the coaching staff has decided to hold him out for at least one more game as a precaution. Nontheless, Guerin will return sometime during this round and most likely in time for game two but probably won't play on a line with Mike Modano just yet. Either way, we will keep everyone posted.
Pierre Turgeon, Dallas Stars - Turgeon will return to the Stars lineup for Thursday's game one against the Mighty Ducks, reports the Dallas Morning-News. He will play on the fourth line with Stu Barnes and Kirk Muller and will no doubt see very limited action. As a result, he is not a recommended pool pick until he gets promoted to one of the top two lines, even if it's as a winger.
Luc Robitaille, Detroit Red Wings - The Wings are not expected to bring the veteran Robitaille back for next year, likely as a result of buying out the remainder of his contract for $1 million. Robitaille would then become an unrestricted free agent but he has full plans of continuing his career but has gone on record to say that he doesn't want to play a limited role like he did with the Wings this past year. Robitaille may have one more good year left in him, but he probably won't get the icetime anywhere to warrant a high pool or fantasy draft pick.
Alexei Yashin, New York Islanders - Tests have revealed that Yashin only has a bruised shoulder and thus will not need surgery for what was originally feared as a torn tendon. However, he needs to rest for at least two weeks to let the shoulder heal properly and thus will not play in the upcoming World Hockey Championships.
Ron Francis, Carolina Hurricanes - Francis will return with the Hurricanes next year for his 23rd NHL season. He is no longer a flashy offensive performer, but can still put up quality numbers as long as Jeff O'Neill remains on his line.
Phil Housley, Toronto Maple Leafs - According to the Toronto Star, the Maple Leafs are not interested in bringing back Housley next year. The veteran rearguard was a huge bust for the Leafs, often either injured or ineffective and is definitely on the downside of his career anyway. Some team will probably take a chance on Housley as a powerplay specialist but there isn't much left in the tank.
Teemu Selanne, San Jose Sharks - Selanne rejected a $6.5 million player option to return to the Sharks, making himself a free agent on July 1. It is still possible that he could re-sign with the Sharks, but that is considered a longshot now at best. Teams who are reportedly interested in Selanne (and vice versa) include the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche.
Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils - Brodeur will be the starter for Thursday's game one against the Lightning. The much decorated goaltender was extremely sharp in the Devils' opening round win and probably will need to keep up the quality of his play as the Lightning are an offensively talented and extremely balanced squad. Nikolai Khabibulin at the other end of the ice is no slouch either.
Nikolai Khabibulin, Tampa Bay Lightning - Khabibulin will be the starter for Thursday's game one against the Devils. The Russian netminder got better and better as the Lightning's round one series agianst the Capitals went on. If he can match Martin Brodeur save-for-save, he will give his team a great chance at upsetting the favored Devils.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Anaheim Mighty Ducks - Giguere will be the starter for Thursday's game one against the Stars. If the playoffs ended after the first round, Giguere would be the Conn Smythe winner hands down as he was phenomenal in helping the Ducks upset the Wings. He can't afford to let up one bit as the Stars are not only just as offensively explosive as the Red Wings, but they play a more rugged style which could cause problems for the Ducks.
Marty Turco, Dallas Stars - Turco will be the starter for Thursday's game one against the Mighty Ducks. The holder of the NHL's goals-against-average record was only nothing sensational in round one but expect him to continue to get better as he shakes off the rust from a late season ankle injury. He will not be as busy as his counterpart JS Giguere, but will probably need more concentration as the few shots he will face will primarily be quality scoring chances.
Patrick Roy, Colorado Avalanche - Roy will decide within the next few days whether he will return to the Avalanche for one more year. He has a one-year $8.5 million team option left but the Avs management has said that the decision will be entirely Roy's. We expect him to come back for one more year and again take his spot among the NHL's elite goalies.
player info
Sergei Brylin, New Jersey Devils - Brylin will return to the Devils lineup for Thursday's game one against the Lightning, reports the Newark Star-Ledger. He has missed time from a wrist injury suffered way back in February but deemed himself healthy after a strenuous series of practices over the past week.
Brian Gionta, New Jersey Devils - Gionta will play on a line with Patrik Elias and Scott Gomez for the series against the Lightning, reports the Newark Star-Ledger. The Devils hope that this arrangement will get the struggling Elias going against Nikolai Khabibulin's stellar goaltending.
Bill Guerin, Dallas Stars - Guerin will not play in game one against the Mighty Ducks, reports the Dallas Morning News. The thigh injury which as sidelined him for over a month is all but healed, but the coaching staff has decided to hold him out for at least one more game as a precaution. Nontheless, Guerin will return sometime during this round and most likely in time for game two but probably won't play on a line with Mike Modano just yet. Either way, we will keep everyone posted.
Pierre Turgeon, Dallas Stars - Turgeon will return to the Stars lineup for Thursday's game one against the Mighty Ducks, reports the Dallas Morning-News. He will play on the fourth line with Stu Barnes and Kirk Muller and will no doubt see very limited action. As a result, he is not a recommended pool pick until he gets promoted to one of the top two lines, even if it's as a winger.
Luc Robitaille, Detroit Red Wings - The Wings are not expected to bring the veteran Robitaille back for next year, likely as a result of buying out the remainder of his contract for $1 million. Robitaille would then become an unrestricted free agent but he has full plans of continuing his career but has gone on record to say that he doesn't want to play a limited role like he did with the Wings this past year. Robitaille may have one more good year left in him, but he probably won't get the icetime anywhere to warrant a high pool or fantasy draft pick.
Alexei Yashin, New York Islanders - Tests have revealed that Yashin only has a bruised shoulder and thus will not need surgery for what was originally feared as a torn tendon. However, he needs to rest for at least two weeks to let the shoulder heal properly and thus will not play in the upcoming World Hockey Championships.
Ron Francis, Carolina Hurricanes - Francis will return with the Hurricanes next year for his 23rd NHL season. He is no longer a flashy offensive performer, but can still put up quality numbers as long as Jeff O'Neill remains on his line.
Phil Housley, Toronto Maple Leafs - According to the Toronto Star, the Maple Leafs are not interested in bringing back Housley next year. The veteran rearguard was a huge bust for the Leafs, often either injured or ineffective and is definitely on the downside of his career anyway. Some team will probably take a chance on Housley as a powerplay specialist but there isn't much left in the tank.
Teemu Selanne, San Jose Sharks - Selanne rejected a $6.5 million player option to return to the Sharks, making himself a free agent on July 1. It is still possible that he could re-sign with the Sharks, but that is considered a longshot now at best. Teams who are reportedly interested in Selanne (and vice versa) include the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche.
