Official: Cam Barker to Minnesota, and Kim Johnsson and Nick Leddy (2009 1st rounder) to Chicago. Johnsson is a free agent after this season. Artcle breaking down the fantasy impact coming soon.

Jody Shelley has been traded to the Rangers for a draft pick.

Cam Barker + to Minnesota for Kim Johnsson +. Rumor, but has legs.

Brad Boyes is centering Cam Janssen and Brad Winchester tonight. You know what this means…. Winchester owners rejoice!

Been a bit busy lately but I will have a comprehensive Olympic article out before the puck drops next Tuesday.

Jamie Lundmark has been waived by Calgary. He has never really got a fair crack there – he  always ends up falling victim to the dreaded numbers game. Calgary has a ton of forwards on one-way contracts. Lundmark has easily outperformed over half of the forwards on that team this year, and he is a skilled offensive player on a team desperate for goals.

Should be a few more deals between now and 3 or 4 EST. As always DobberHockey is the place to get the immediate fantasy impact!

Peter Forsberg will be carrying the Swedish flag during the opening ceremonies tonight (which I have heard are going to be absolutely spectacular – not on the scale of Beijing though, obviously). Can’t really think of a funny Forbserg/injury joke – maybe someone can post one below! Alexei Morozov, the captain of Team Russia, will carry the flag for his country.

Florica cancelled their practice this morning. The writing is on the wall for a lot of the veterans there… and a scathing letter from the team owners doesn’t help either. Expect that team to be blown up.

Ottawa has waived Jonathan Cheechoo.

Bob McKenzie is reporting that Ponikarovsky could be moved before the trade freeze (3pm EST) today.

The Senators have recalled Derrick Smith from the AHL to replace Picard in the lineup. As for the trade: Cullen will see lots of ice time with the Senators. He is an extremely versatile player (PK, PP, even strength), and may even find his way on to the first unit on the point. His fantasy value remains pretty high. As for Carolina it is a decent return. Picard is an NHL defenseman with some upside – he is very raw defensively but has a big shot and is effective with the man advantage.

The Sens will definitely look to add a defenseman, either today or on the real trade deadline day. Chris Campoli is out for up to a month, and they will need to replace Picard’s minutes.

The feeling is, in hockey media circles, that today will be a mini-trade deadline. Trading is frozen after today until after the Olympics, and then trades are only active after that for 63-odd hours give or take before the “read” deadline. So check in throughout the no-doubt busy day for our analysis.

It’s Dobber jumping on real quick – the Sens have acquired Matt Cullen from Carolina for Alex Picard and a second rounder. Nice acquisition for the Sens and good return for the Canes. Angus will break this one down for you later today.

The photo for Ian’s article sums up Nabokov’s game last night perfectly.

Apparently a few GM’s are mad at Sutter for not notifying them of Phaneuf’s availability. Uh… what? Did Sutter fail Economics 101? More demand is a good thing last time I checked. It makes you wonder who Calgary could have potentially fetched in another Phaneuf trade?

Victor Hedman had three points last night for the Lightning. He had one point in his previous nine. When rookie defensemen struggle to consistently produce, it just goes to show how damn impressive Dion Phaneuf’s 20-goal rookie season was in 2005-06. Hedman has a ton of upside and now would be a great time to make a move on him. Maybe not right now, since he just had a fantastic offensive game, but now as in before the season ends.

Marty St. Louis and Steven Stamkos combined for six points. They have been one of the most consistently potent duos in the entire league this season. Too bad Canada doesn’t need any forwards to score (yet)! I’ll reserve my full criticism until Canada plays a game (and not one against Norway or Switzerland), but I think it is absurd how at least one of these guys isn’t there.

After a strong offensive run in January, Vincent Lecavalier has only three points in his past seven games.

The Boston/Tampa game was pretty bizarre. The Bruins got out to a 5-0 lead, and the Lighting responded with four straight. It was the first time Boston has scored five goals in a game since Don Cherry was still their head coach.

The Bruins offensive outburst is going to be a great confidence booster for a few players. Michael Ryder and Milan Lucic each had a pair of goals. Marc Savard, who at times has been a man on an island this season, had two assists. The Bruins really need a winger to start scoring on a consistent basis – Savard has banked enough passes off of Marco Sturm’s stick this season to last a lifetime!

Jamie Benn has six goals in his last 10 games. Fitting since I recently traded him away. He has a ton of upside obviously, and the fact that he is already producing at the NHL level should increase his value immensely. Never underestimate the importance of a young player being proven over the glitz and glamour of a mysterious prospect.

Roberto Luongo stopped 31 shots last night for the shutout win over his former club in Florida. His posts and crossbar made about eight spectacular saves as well.

Johan Franzen played 20 minutes last night and scored a goal (and it was a beauty to boot). He now has two points in two games since returning. Hopefully the Swedes can find a way to get him on to their roster. I acquired him in a keeper trade recently, and expect lots of shots and goals down the stretch.

I wasn’t even able to catch any of the LA/EDM highlights – looks like the shootout was a marathon. Any good stuff from this one? Ersberg got the start as Quick sat out with the flu.

Zach Parise is playing tonight.

The Sabres lost their sixth straight last night, and Ryan Miller had some choice words for his teammates during a post game interview. He essentially called them all out for playing scared. Steve Montador, who has been abysmal all season for the Sabres, made a horrific play in the overtime period to give Carolina an easy goal. Miller’s comments were incredibly candid. Even if they were true, it isn’t really fair to throw teammates under the bus like that. Miller was obviously caught at the wrong time by the reporter.

Carolina has won eight of 10 and five straight. Manny Legace had a strong game as well (no this is not opposite day). Not sure how many people own him, but he has actually strung together a few decent games in a row here. There are rumours circulating that Ward may be out for the season, so Legace may be a decent option if you are in desperate need to fill categories like wins and games played.

Brandon Sutter had three points in the Carolina win. I am really high on him and think he could hit the 60 point mark as soon as next year. Brind'Amour will most likely retire or be bought out, and Matt Cullen is most likely going to be traded away very shortly. After Eric Staal, Sutter is the best bet to center the second line for the Hurricanes in 2010-11.

There were a few beauty goals last night in the Ottawa/Washington game. Spezza had an absolute snipe (the goal of the night), and Alex Semin replied with a few beauties as well. If Washington had any sort of steady goaltending they would be damn near unbeatable. Great game by the Sens as well. They are known for their defensive play and strong team structure, but last night showed they have the skill to run and gun with the league's most potent offense.

With the win, Ottawa is now ahead of Buffalo in the Northeast. The division is a two horse race, and the teams are going in very opposite directions as the Olympic break approaches. From a fantasy perspective, I still expect Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek to turn it on. I expected Jason Spezza to rebound, but not to the level at which he is playing currently. I don’t expect either team to be very busy on deadline day.

Spezza had three points last night, has goals in nine out of the last 10 games, and has 14 points over that span. Heatley who?

Andrew Raycroft is starting tonight, as the Canucks didn't land in Columbus until almost 3 am. Look for Luongo to get the start on Sunday afternoon in Minnesota before catching a plane back to Vancouver, where there is a warm spot on the bench waiting for him.

Semin's hat trick last night was the 3^rd straight game in which a Capital recorded one. Ovechkin, Laich, and now Semin. I want to get a video of one of them in particular – Semin has arguably the most deadly wrister in the league right now.

Filip Kuba quietly has eight points in his last 10 games (all assists). With Spezza and Alfredsson rolling once again, expect the Senators offensive defensemen to benefit.

Steve Downie had two goals last night and also enraged Zdeno Chara in a big way. Russ Miller (Probably Downie's biggest fan excluding immediate family) must be loving this! He has found a home in Tampa Bay playing under Rick Tocchet. Skating with Stamkos and St. Louis hasn’t hurt either! Downie has a ton of skill and always has been unfairly compared to talentless goons because of some of his reckless behavior on the ice. He has great hands and sees the ice very well.

Downie’s final stat line: two goals, plus-2, three shots on goal, six PIM. Not too shabby…

Evgeni Nabokov won his 11^th straight road game last night, which is a new NHL record. Think that is impressive? He made 50 saves while doing it. A few of them are worth a second/third/fourth/fifth look. I'll post a link once I come across one.

Speaking of Nabokov saves… here is a gem from the 2008 playoffs – one of the best ever! This game (I believe it was game six, Brenden Morrow eventually scored in the third or fourth OT) was and still is one of the best hockey game I have seen before.

He doesn't get a lot of love on DobberHockey, but how about Anton Volchenkov's game last night? He was the first star in a 6-5 game, and was pointless! He held Ovechkin to only one shot on goal. He also blocked 11, and I assume most of them were off of the stick of Washington's #8. Volchenkov only had eight less saves than Brian Elliott.

Follow me (angus_j) and Dobber (DobberHockey) on twitter. We keep the good stuff on the site here, but sometimes post our thoughts on breaking news in the hockey world over on twitter as well.

Make sure to Join the DobberHockey Olympic Pool being run over at Armchair Pools. It is absolutely free to enter, and there are some awesome prizes, including an autographed Steve Yzerman Team Canada jersey and an autographed Jaromir Jagr jersey. The funniest team name will receive an autographed 8×10 photo of Eric Staal.

The pool is very simple to enter – just register and pick a player from each group.

A special thanks to the fine folks over at The Sports Lettering Company for supplying us with the Yzerman jersey.

Do you have a blank sports jersey that needs a player name and number…look no further! We crest to impress, whether its hockey, baseball, basketball, or football. Give us a call (416) 412-7111, or email us at [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your questions.

Here is a link to check out the prizes.