A great SI piece on Ryan Kesler. Interesting to note that his stick flex has had so much to do with his recent goal scoring streak.

Dobber: My article from thn.com today.

My take on The Duck, The Ranger and The Blue have been added to the Guardian Project. The Project will be revealed during the second intermission Sunday.

Sidney Crosby has been cleared to work out off ice. I need him back in a bad way, as I am sure most poolies who own him do. No timetable for a return yet, though.

Ray Emery’s road to recovery is apparently going well – it sounds like he is going to test out his hip at the AHL level to see if he can still play the game professionally.

Read more about his injury here – how he avoided having a hip replacement is absolutely remarkable.

Spring training is around the corner… don’t forget to check out DobberBaseball!

A few new DobberHockey wallpapers – Zherdev and Mike Richards. The rest of the collection is here.

According to Darren Dreger, the Leafs are looking to make a big splash AT the deadline. Who would they move? Versteeg? Kadri? Giguere? Not sure they can really offer enough assets up to make any sort of splash.

Haven’t really looked at the All-Star rosters yet, but I am intrigued at the potential for a line featuring Stamkos, Brad Richards, and Martin St. Louis.

Where do you all sit on Travis Zajac? He has had a miserable season (due in large part to the Parise injury). What should be expected from him next year and beyond?

He's big and equally adept at passing and shooting the puck. The Devils have some good young centers, but no one with Zajac's pedigree or NHL experience. Jason Arnott is nearing the twilight of his career.

I'd dump Zajac and cut ties if you are still holding out hope in a one-year league. In a keeper, I almost always advise against selling low. I have been burned in the past before by holding on to players too long, but I'd rather not sell low than give a player away to a competitor way below value.

If you were an NHL GM, would you trade the 10^th overall draft pick in 2011 for Kyle Turris? No rumour to this one, just me tossing out a suggestion.

Sergei Shirokov – I think he is worth keeping in deeper league formats. His desire to play in the NHL is huge, and I don't see the KHL as a threat right now. He has already turned down $500k offers (tax free, as well) to play back home, and his AHL pay is about 1/10 of that.

The biggest difference between Shirokov this year and last year – conditioning. He looks stronger and his endurance and stamina on the ice are much improved. He is in tough to crack the Canucks right now unless they sustain a few injuries up front, but he has top six NHL upside.

If I had Stamkos, would I trade him for Malkin? Yes. Unless it is a league that HEAVILY weighted goals (two or three to one, for example), give me Malkin seven days a week.

With Edler on the IR, my defense is pretty thin in my main keeper league. I traded Ehrhoff last week, and the injury couldn't have come at a worse time. Right now I am sitting with Kampfer, Boyle, Liles, Chara, and Karlsson. Ekman-Larsson is on the farm but I don't want to waste a move calling him up.

Ended up picking Dan Hamhuis up off of the waiver wire. He doesn't see a ton of PP time, but his peripheral stats are solid (this league counts basically everything).

Top 10 Western Conference goals through the first half of the season: