Quick thoughts, expert doings and a question and answer period. The Frog has it all for you this week as Croaks from the Fantasy Frog makes its weekly tour around the NHL.

Quick croaks

Joffrey Lupul – I smell rebound!

Niklas Hagman – I do not believe for an instant that he’s for real, he’ll become stone cold any game now. However, he’s hot so ride the (hot air) wave.

Kings’ goaltender – Who cares! With the L.A. defense in front of him, Martin Brodeur would look like swiss cheese.

Todd Bertuzzi – Was struggling before the concussion, you’ll be lucky to get 50 points.

Ryan Getzlaf – A top 3 round pick in fantasy drafts next season.

Marian Hossa – Now’s the time to acquire him.

Ales Kotalik – I smell breakout…if he can stay healthy.

Mikka Kiprusoff – Just another slow start, don’t worry.

Jeff Hamilton – See Hagman!

Henrik Zetterberg – Yes, he can challenge for the scoring title. He won’t do it, but 100 points, definitely.

Travis Zajac – 60 points!

Peter Forsberg – Hmmmm, Dallas or Ottawa, what a difficult choice to make. DUH!

Daniel Carcillo – In roto leagues, his owners will LOVE him by season’s end.

Ed Jovanovski – I believe the trade rumors, good time to acquire him.

Minnesota goaltending – Just hand them the William M. Jennings trophy now.

Brendan Shanahan – No goals, but leads league in shots on goal. The goals will come.

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews – Huge stars starting in 2008-09.

Dan Hamhuis – Was just waiting for the opportunity. Got it with Timonen gone and Weber injured.

Pittsburgh Penguins – Be patient!

Experts league

Check it out – here's the link!

I’m currently sitting in 8th place out of 15 in the industry wide experts’ league. I’m quite satisfied with that ranking considering that Ray Emery has yet to play a game and that Alexander Semin has only played one. Other than my goaltending, my Achilles heal has been penalty minutes. Despite having Carcillo on my team I rank next to last in that category. However, it’s still early in the season and I’m counting on Semin and Scott Hartnell to give me a hand in that department in the coming weeks. I also added Jordin Tootoo this week to help me out in the category. My right-wingers have been absolutely awful and I need Hartnell, Ales Hemsky to do much better. I also picked up Lupul whose hot start I believe to be for real.

Dobber’s own Chris Burns is currently in 12th place due to the fact that his forward and defensemen rank no higher than 7th in any single category. His defensemen are hurting him the most. His goaltending has been solid, but it’ll be interesting to see how he fairs in that area with Henrik Lundqvist and Ilya Bryzgalov since JS Giguere is back with the Ducks.

Questions for the Frog

Green or Poti : Who is the real deal quarterback on this team?  This year and in future years? – Tom (Canada)

FROG: For this year, Poti is the main guy and he is getting the most minutes, that's why they brought him in. However, Green has plenty of upside and is spending plenty of time on the power play also and by the end of the season, he could very well be the man. Green has the ability to put up 35 points this season and be a regular 45-point producer year in-year out after this season. But keep in mind, that he still has to prove himself.

1st time visitor to the Dobber site & I love it!!  How I missed out, I have no idea but I am so glad I found it. My question is this.  I have EJ on my team but Spacek and Streit are FA’s in my league.  My other D’s are Chara, Timonen, and Visnovsky.  Would added either over EJ?  Someone else has Hamrilk, so Streit may have some trade value, but I am looking for over all performance. Thanks in advance for any advice and keep up the great work. – Jason (USA)

FROG: I assume your league isn't a keeper league. That being said and not knowing what scoring categories you use, I take Spacek over EJ and Streit. Johnson will be great, but he needs to learn and adapt to the NHL first so he'll have lots of ups and downs this season. Streit has been playing well, but if he struggles for any length of time, he'll see Hamrlik or a forward take his place on the first power play unit. So Spacek is definitely your best bet since as long as he stays healthy he'll produce. Note: After I answered Jason, news came out of Johnson’s broken foot. Spacek also suffered an injury in Buffalo’s last game, but it doesn’t look like he’ll miss much playing time so I stand by my answer.

Wondering who to pick-up? Who to trade? Who to keep? Write to the Fantasy Frog at [email protected] and you could see your fantasy hockey question answered in Croaks from the Fantasy Frog. Please indicate where you are from.

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