A trade was just what the doctor ordered for owners of Andy McDonald. When he was sent to the St. Louis Blues last week, the point-per-game pivot got a fresh start.

It didn’t hurt that he was immediately plunked on a line between Paul Kariya and Brad Boyes.

If you held onto McDonald for two and a half rough months, kudos to you because going forward he will post a point-per-game, pushing him towards the 70-point mark come April. Not bad, considering he had 16 points in 33 games to start the campaign…

After starting off with 21 points in 17 games, Carolina’s Eric Staal hit a wall, producing just six in his next 16. That’s quite a drop off for a superstar who is just 23 years old and already has a 100-point season under his belt. Part of that slump was due to the absence of Erik Cole with a neck injury, another was the hefty losing streak that mired his Carolina Hurricanes over the past few weeks.

Staal has three points in his last three games and seems to be slowly shaking the drought. I think he’ll still manage to notch 85 points this season, so that would mean 55 points in the next 46 games…

After scoring just three goals in his first 27 games, Florida forward Stephen Weiss has four goals in his last seven. Coming off a year in which he posted 48 points in 74 games, the 24-year-old looked poised to break the 60-point plateau this season, so his step backwards concerned many poolies.

Florida is notorious for starting slow and finishing fast – the last two seasons they made late playoff runs. Look for most players on the roster to pick up their game going forward. If healthy, Weiss can still reach that 60-point mark and I think he’ll make it close…

Other quick observations in fantasyland: Despite playing about half as many games, Devils winger Jamie Langenbrunner has nearly caught teammate Patrick Elias in the scoring race. Langenbrunner has 16 points in 17 games, while Elias has 17 in 32. It’s looking more and more like Elias will fail to reach even 60 this season, while Langenbrunner just might…Chicago’s Patrick Sharp is having a career year and he is not slowing down. He has six points in his last four games and seems certain to clear 65 when it’s all said and done…

Injuries, from a fantasy league perspective: Joe Sakic is not getting anywhere with his groin injury. He has already missed 10 games and I think you can expect another 10…Sakic’s Colorado teammate Ryan Smyth will miss Friday’s game with a stiff neck. Andrew Brunette should fill in the offensive void while Smyth is out…Nashville’s Steve Sullivan’s back is improving, but very slowly. Do not expect to see him before February. My guess is he’ll return in early March…

(Originally published by The Hockey News December 21) 

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