Fantasy Hockey Ramble – April 22, 2009

In what is really just a formality, Bobby Ryan and Kris Versteeg were announced as finalists for the Calder Trophy along with the winner Steve Mason. Why Kris Versteeg got in when he had something like 10 points in his last 30 games, versus Pekka Rinne who nearly caught Mason in terms of comparable numbers – is beyond me. I guess, in the end, the three nominees made the playoffs, whereas Rinne did not. And that's what it's all about.

Ladies and Gentlemen – It's time to jump in the Pool. DobberHockey welcomes Jay Arbuthnot into the fold as our Stats Editor. Mr. Arbuthnot is responsible for creating, designing and maintaining his Frozen Pool fantasy tools section, which has come under the DobberHockey banner. I invite you to check out FROZEN POOL and play around with these amazing fantasy tools. An instructional video will be up soon, but it's really quite self explanatory. Check it out – getting the edge has never been easier. This will be a paid service in a couple of months, so those of you who complain that your fellow GMs all know about this site and that I should make them pay to weed out the cheap and lazy – this is that opportunity. Everything remains free on DobberHockey, but this Frozen Pool feature will require a little something extra starting in a couple of months. You can always access this section via the tabs up top in the banner.

Update on Alexander Radulov can be found here , although nothing new is really said.

The Dispatch is speculating that the Jackets won't risk Derick Brassard's shoulder just so he can play in one final game (they are assuming the team will be swept, I guess). That said, they also speculate that the Jackets WILL consider putting Nikita Filatov in.

Torrey Mitchell played his first game in just about a year last night. He got his feet wet with just 6:34 of ice time.

SJ line combos: Thornton, with Setoguchi and Marleau; Pavelski with Clow and Michalek; Goc with Moen and either Grier or Lemieux; Thornton double shifted to play with Cheechoo and Roenick. Mitchell occasionally subbed in for Moen.

According to the Canadian Press, Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom will have surgery to remove two cysts in his left hip that caused problems with his groin muscles and affected his mechanics in the net this season. He is out for three to six months, meaning he could return to the ice in August, or as late as October – putting training camp in