COMPLETELY REWRITTEN DUE TO ALL THE DEALS – In Part 3 of this six-part series (by the way – I have updated the other two parts for any new trade rumors and recent deals that have gone down), we'll take a team-by-team look at the Northeast Division. Buyers? Sellers? Who's available? How can you prepare your fantasy roster for the upcoming address changes for some of these guys? Everything you need to know as a fantasy hockey owner about the 2011 NHL Trade Deadline is right here.

 

(Part 1 – Atlantic Division)

(Part 2 – Central Division)

 

 

Boston

 

Buyers or sellers: Buyers, but they could be done.

 

 

Cap Situation: Tight. Someone has to go.

 

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's – Mark Recchi, Michael Ryder, Tomas Kaberle, Trent Whitfield

RFA's – Zach Hamill, Brad Marchand, Boris Valabik

 

 

Needs:

1. In swapping Blake Wheeler for Rich Peverley, they added a little more experience in proven scoring ability on the wing. In adding Chris Kelly, who can play the wing, he is a solid, experienced forward who fills several needs. The need is probably filled, unless they add a depth veteran.
2. Tomas Kaberle brings experience on the blue line and he represents their best puck-moving defenseman. They could use an experienced No. 5 or No. 6 guy.

 

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. The Bruins may be interested in Chris Phillips of the Senators.
2. The Bruins may be interested in Ron Hainsey of the Thrashers. They don’t have the cap space for this one.

 

 

Fantasy squad preparation:

1. Don't count on Tyler Seguin being a factor down the stretch. For some reason, the team scratches him even with Marc Savard out for the season.
2. Brad Marchand had a hot January to pull himself into the Calder race, but if the Bruins bring in a winger (doubtful, but possible), then he would be the first to suffer.
3. The only safe offensive defenseman is Zdeno Chara in terms of continued production. Dennis Seidenberg is on pace for a career high 35 points – and it's well deserved. However, he takes the hit after the Kaberle trade.
4. Adam McQuaid makes great trade bait. He looks like a 130 PIM player and his plus-20 is beautiful to look at. But he does occasionally get scratched and may be first in line to get scratched if the Bruins add even more experience on the blue line.
5. Kaberle has already bumped Recchi off the top PP unit. Sell high on Recchi now.

 

 

 

Montreal

 

 

Buyers or sellers: Buyers

 

 

Cap Situation: They have room for a $2.5 million player, but would probably not swing for the fences. A couple of a $1 million players is more likely, for size and depth. They have a ton of flexibility for next year, with very few contracts in the books.

 

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's –Jeff Halpern, Mathieu Darche, Andrei Markov, Roman Hamrlik, James Wisniewski, Hal Gill, Alex Auld, Paul Mara, Curtis Sanford

RFA's – Andrei Kostitsyn, Benoit Pouliot, Max Pacioretty, Ryan White, David Desharnais, Tom Pyatt, Josh Gorges, Yannick Weber, Alexandre Picard, Ben Maxwell, Dustin Boyd, Brett Festerling

 

 

Needs:

1. As always – they need size.
2. A high-end scorer. As it stands now, Mike Cammalleri is the only one that they have. They have a handful of "potentials" but nothing proven.
3. Experience on the blue line. With Markov and Josh Gorges out for all or most of the season, and Gill also battling injuries, the Habs are using Alexandre Picard and Yannick Weber – although Weber is doing very well. Still, you often see teams not trusting 30-game stints. They may go with someone more proven if one is available. Adding Paul Mara addresses this a little, but they may still look for one more.

 

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. The Habs are shopping Scott Gomez, Andrei Kostitsyn and Yannick Weber. The source of this list is Bruce Garrioch, so take that with a grain of salt. But nobody is interested in Gomez at his price, and A.K. is far too inconsistent to generate a big return, but he could be good trade bait for a rental. Maybe a year ago. Weber wouldn't land more than a middle draft pick and not a proven player, which is what they are after.
2. Could the Habs be dangling Kostitsyn for Chris Phillips?
3. Hamrlik will reportedly take less money to remain in Montreal.
4. Spector shoots down a silly rumor that would see David Perron going to Montreal. I agree – just because a player is French does not automatically give him a ticket to Montreal.
5. Montreal could be after Shane O’Brien or Alexander Sulzer in Nashville.
6. Montreal is not in talks to send Kostitsyn to Nashville and reunite him with his brother.

 

 

Fantasy squad preparation:

1. I think the Habs moving a forward (Kostitsyn) for a defenseman will be a nod to Desharnais, who has earned a spot as one of the team's scorers. I think Desharnais is a good "buy" candidate.
2. A.K. could also be a "buy" as he could flourish on a new team with more responsibility and better linemates. Just like his brother is right now in Nashville.
3. Dump Weber. I can’t help but think that if they add another rearguard…

 

 

 

Buffalo

 

 

Buyers or sellers: Buyers – it may seem like the Sabres are out of it, but take a look at their games in hand. They have lots of time/room to catch up on eighth. However, they'll trade one of their pending UFA's if the price is right.

 

 

Cap Situation: Lots of room, thanks to the Derek Roy injury

 

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's –Tim Connolly, Mike Grier, Rob Niedermayer, Cody McCormick, Craig Rivet, Steve Montador, Patrick Lalime, Mark Parrish, Matt Ellis, Colin Stuart

RFA's – Drew Stafford, Nathan Gerbe, Andrej Sekera, Chris Butler, Mike Weber, Jhonas Enroth, MA Gragnani

 

 

Needs:

1. I could suggest that the team needs size, again, but they never listen.
2. A first-line center. Connolly doesn't cut it. Ironically, Connolly could be traded. So it sounds as though they could be going backwards with this need.
3. A power-play quarterback. Kudos to Jordan Leopold, but they need another puck mover as well. Yeah, get in line.

 

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. Chicago is apparently interested in Steve Montador.
2. Los Angeles could have a good fit in Tim Connolly. This is an interesting one. I agree that, if the Kings need a rental, he would be a good fit there.
3. With a new owner in place, the team may be keen on getting a return on their pending UFA's, so it is quite possible that all of them will be moved.
4. Buffalo could be in the market for a backup goalie. They have no faith in Patrick Lalime, and Enroth lacks experience.

 

 

Fantasy squad preparation

1. I think your instinct would be to hold off on the likes of Tyler Ennis and Nate Gerbe, who are relatively hot right now, in case the Sabres add a scoring forward. But I don't think that's the way to play it. I don't think the Sabres will add a scoring forward. I think they'll subtract a couple. That would mean more ice time for the likes of Ennis and Gerbe, plus we could see rookie Luke Adam make the jump full time.
2. Buying low on Tim Connolly would be a smart move. I really do think he's going somewhere else and in most cases a trade has a positive initial impact on production.

 

 

Toronto

 

 

Buyers or sellers: Sellers

 

 

Cap Situation: Lots of room and can certainly help teams with their cap room – for a price, of course.

 

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's –Fredrik Sjostrom, Tim Brent, Joey Crabb, J-S Giguere, Aaron Voros

RFA's – Tyler Bozak, Clarke MacArthur, Darryl Boyce, Luke Schenn, Carl Gunnarsson, James Reimer, Christian Hanson, Jay Rosehill, Ben Scrivens, Brayden Irwin, Luca Caputi, John Mitchell, Fabian Brunnstrom, Matt Lashoff, Mike Zigomanis

 

 

Needs:

1. Draft picks. Lots of them.
2. A star. Any position. Just a star. GM Brian Burke hoped that he landed a star (i.e. "buy low") before he became a star – twice. But neither Phil Kessel nor Dion Phaneuf have exploded into superstars as of yet. To the point that now, in hindsight, he didn't "buy low" at all, but bought rather high. They could actually land that star by parlaying some of the draft picks that they have acquired over the last two weeks.
3. Since they may not land a star at the deadline, they'll settle for "potential". Adding Joffrey Lupul is an example of that. A long shot, to be sure. But that's the type of under-the-radar guy they are looking for. Clarke MacArthur is another example of this.

 

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. Lyle "Spector" Richardson shoots down any idea that Brad Richards would be moved to Toronto. Agreed.
2. Giguere may not be dealt. When Jonas Gustavsson was sidelined, the Leafs may have considered keeping JSG
3. The Leafs have cleared up all this cap space to go after Brad Richards, Kevin Bieksa or Christian Ehrhoff in the summer.
4. Leafs are interested in a goalie. But with Gustavsson now back practicing, this may not come to fruition
5. Phil Kessel could be dealt. Apparently Brian Burke is testing the waters to see what he could get for Kessel, although Burke has denied this. To me – it can’t hurt to ask. Everyone has a price.

 

 

Fantasy squad preparation

1. Watch for Nazem Kadri to come back up. If the fire sale continues, then there will probably be room for him.
2. Bozak has been playing between Kessel and Lupul. Buy low.
3. Acquire James Reimer. If Giguere goes, Reimer will see a huge pile of work, as I don’t trust Gustavsson’s health.

 

 

Ottawa

 

 

Buyers or sellers: Sellers

 

 

Cap Situation: Surprisingly little, but rapidly expanding as the fire sale continues

 

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's –Alexei Kovalev, Ryan Shannon, Chris Phillips, Pascal Leclaire, Andre Benoit, Craig Anderson, Francis Lessard, David Hale, Mike Brodeur

RFA's – Bobby Butler, Zack Smith, Chris Campoli, Colin Greening, Erik Condra, Roman Wick

 

 

Needs:

1. A goaltender. Seriously, I could have told them (wait a minute…I did) that Pascal Leclaire would not be the answer as soon as they got him. Craig Anderson is a free agent this summer, so they still need one.
2. A second-line center.
3. A first-line winger.
4. Cap space. Daniel Alfredsson and Milan Michalek take up $9.2 million each of the next two years. That’s a lot to pay for what I see as a combined 100 points per season.

 

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. A deal could be in the works with Columbus involving one of the pending UFA's in exchange for draft picks. I think there will be a lot of deals like this going down for the Sens.
2. Montreal, Boston, San Jose and Anaheim are interested in Chris Phillips, but with the recent deal for Francois Beauchemin, I can't see Anaheim in the picture. I also don't see Boston in the mix.
3. Erik Karlsson and Nick Foligno are unavailable. Well duh.
4. Kovalev to the Penguins. I don't see this because of the salary and the minimal performance of late, but crazier things have happened.
5. There is some interest out there for Chris Neil.
6. Add Milan Michalek and Jason Spezza to the trade rumors. It sounds as though anyone can go when it comes to this team. No particular destination for these two, just that they are apparently available.
7. Despite Brian Elliott, Chris Kelly, Mike Fisher and Jarkko Ruutu already gone, there is still much more to come.
8. Rangers are interested in Kuba
9. Phillips is reportedly interested in staying, and may even take a paycut.
10. Add Matt Carkner to the list of those in trade rumors

 

 

Fantasy squad preparation

1. The team is in a full-scale rebuild and as such, the strategy would be to load up on their younger players. With veterans being shipped out, it will be the kids who pick up the slack in terms of ice time and PP time. Peter Regin, Bobby Butler, Nick Foligno, Erik Karlsson all come to mind. Any young prospect the Sens get in return for their players will also be in the mix for ice time and a boost in production.
2. On a new team that really needs his skill set, Chris Neil could go back to being the 25-point, 180 PIM stud that he was several years ago. Actually, his PIM are on pace for over 220, so a move would only serve to boost his offense slightly.
3. Condra looks good on the big club and is a dark horse for 12 points in the final 24 games or so.
4. A great Craig Anderson analysis can be found here.

 

 

Don’t miss out on NHL Deadline Day 2011 on Monday, February 28. I don’t claim to break any trades – but I do claim to be the fastest at posting the best damn fantasy analysis of any deal that goes on that day. I’ll have the Trade Deadline primers Parts 1 through 6 every Sunday and Wednesday leading up to the big day. We’ll also be bringing back the DobberHockey live chat!