In Part 5 of this six-part series, we'll take a team-by-team look at the Southeast 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. Hell, I've already nailed a few of the speculated players moving. All you need is a bit of research…and I save you that trouble.

 

(Part 1 – Atlantic Division)

(Part 2 – Central Division)

(Part 3 – Northeast Division)

(Part 4 – Northwest Division)

 

 

Tampa Bay

Buyers or sellers: Buyers

 

Cap Situation: There is lots of room here – nearly $9 million in space, meaning they could take on $36 million in cap hit

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's – Simon Gagne, Sean Bergenheim, Adam Hall, Eric Brewer, Randy Jones, MA Bergeron, Dwayne Roloson, Mike Smith, Mathieu Roy

RFA's – Steven Stamkos, Johan Harju, Ted Purcell, Mike Lundin, Matt Smaby, Mike Vernace, Vladimir Mihalik, Blair Jones, Cedrick Desjardins, MA Pouliot, Paul Szczechura

 

Needs:

1. A second-line scoring winger. Simon Gagne and Teddy Purcell are working very well as third-line wingers, showing us that over a full season they could tally 60 and 55 points respectively. Sean Bergenheim and Steve Downie have their moments. But they need a steady and prove 65-point guy.
2. They've already addressed their need of a power-play quarterback (MA Bergeron), steady veteran blue-line presence (Eric Brewer) and a goaltender (Roloson).

 

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. Brad Richards may have interest in returning to the Lightning. With his high salary and his injury, this is unlikely.
2. The team may still go after a mobile defenseman. With Bergeron, Clark and Hedman, they don't necessarily need one, but it can't hurt. One name mentioned was Francois Bouillon.

 

 

Fantasy squad preparation:

1. I wouldn't have a lot of faith in the continued production of Purcell or Bergenheim. They may be a 'sell high", but their value is not very high to begin with. Still, they are worth something so get what you can.

 

 

Washington

Buyers or sellers: Buyers.

 

Cap Situation: Very little room. They can add a couple of $2 million players, but any deals would probably involve salary going the other way.

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's – Mike Knuble, Brooks Laich, Matt Bradley, Boyd Gordon, Scott Hannan, Michael Nylander, Dany Sabourin, Brian Willsie, Brian Fahey

RFA's – Mathieu Perreault, Karl Alzner, Semyon Varlamov, Francois Bouchard, Josh Godfrey, Andrew Gordon, Patrick McNeill

 

Needs:

1. A No.2 center. This is driven home by the recent Nicklas Backstrom injury. Marcus Johansson and Mathieu Perreault are not yet ready.
2. A No.5 defenseman. With Tom Poti and Mike Green in and out of the lineup, something has to give here.
3. An experienced utility forward. A player who can come in and play on the third or fourth line as needed and provide a dressing room presence.

 

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. No offers have come in for Alex Semin since he signed a contract for next  year.
2. Ales Hemsky's name has been tied to a deal with the Caps. That doesn't solve the need for a center, so don't hold your breath.
3. The Caps are going after a defenseman – Chris Phillips and Ed Jovanovski are included on the list.
4. The Caps are interested in one of Tim Connolly, Jason Arnott, Stephen Weiss or Antoine Vermette. Put me down for a Weiss prediction.

 

 

Fantasy squad preparation:

1. Both Perreault and Johansson will see an uptick in production until Backstrom returns. But at that point, with a new second-line center, I would not expect a lot from them.
2. Brooks Laich, a player you could almost set your watch to for a March surge, will get himself a top center. I think you can count on it. Watch for his numbers to surge.

 

 

Carolina

Buyers or sellers: Buyers. But as a rebuilding team about to take the next step, they won't sell the farm. In fact, if it's not blatantly obvious to the fans, they'll do a deal to help their future a little more.

 

Cap Situation: Tons of room.

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's – Erik Cole, Sergei Samsonov, Chad Larose, Jussi Jokinen, Ryan Carter, Pat Dwyer, Joni Pitkanen, Jay Harrison

RFA's – Brandon Sutter, Jiri Tlusty, Troy Bodie, Brett Carson, Derek Joslin, Bobby Sanguinetti, Oskar Osala, Brett Sutter, Justin Pogge, Casey Borer

 

Needs:

1. Value back for some of their pending UFA's in the forum of picks/prospects.
2. A true second-line center. I don't believe Sutter will ever become one I think he's a top third-line center.
3. A second-line winger. Let's stick Samsonov in the press box and push Larose down to the third line.
4. A backup goaltender. Justin Peters has not yet earned the trust of this team.
5. An experienced blueliner.

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. Carolina may have interest in John-Michael Liles.
2. Carolina is in the trade market as buyers and not sellers, with money/payroll not being an issue (February 16). This would indicate that Pitkanen will not be dealt away.
3. Erik Cole is garnering some interest. Who needs a winger? What would they be willing to pay? A trade involving Cole would be an interesting one to say the least.

 

Fantasy squad preparation:

1. If Pitkanen is indeed traded, which is looking doubtful, look for Jamie McBain to get a more prominent role. If you like to be proactive and take risks, pick up McBain, as he is available in many one-year leagues.
2. Cole will do well on another team, and he's not doing too badly on this one. He's a low-risk acquisition that you should look into.
3. Pitkanen would produce the same on any other team in the league. I rate him a "hold".

 

 

Atlanta

 

Buyers or sellers: Sellers. They're fading out of the race fast, but they have a good young team that could be made so much better for next year if they moved a couple of UFA's out. The messy ownership situation doesn't exactly scream "spend" either.

 

Cap Situation: Tons of room. They could add their entire roster a second time.

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's – Fredrik Modin, Pat Rissmiller, Chris Thorburn, Eric Boulton, Brent Sopel, Mark Stuart, Freddy Meyer, Jason Krog, Noah Welch, Jaime Sifers

RFA's – Andrew Ladd, Blake Wheeler, Nicklas Bergfors, Spencer Machacek, Anthony Stewart, Zach Bogosian, Akim Aliu, Riley Holzapfel, Nigel Dawes

 

 

Needs:

1. Value back in the forum of picks/prospects for some of the expensive players.
2. Young players on the cusp of either breaking out or making the NHL. Wheeler is an example of this.
3. A first-line center. This was supposed to be Nik Antropov, but he took awhile to recover from his hip injury.
4. A stay-at-home defenseman. They have lots of great young puck-movers.

 

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. Despite being adamant that they will not move Zach Bogosian, the rumors persist. He is coveted by many teams, including the Oilers.
2. Atlanta is still looking to make some moves. They're not done yet by any stretch (February 22).
3. Toronto is after Bogosian. It would be a costly acquisition, but with Toronto armed with two recently-acquired first rounders, it's certainly possible.
4. The Thrashers would like to deal Ron Hainsey. At that salary? I should think so. Not sure why they signed him for so much to begin with.
5. Johnny Oduya is attracting interest.

 

Fantasy squad preparation:

1. For the last three weeks, a new Bogosian rumor has cropped up daily. That's far too often to ignore and I can't help but think that he will be moved – and get a great return for this team. A change of scenery would kick-start Bogo's production. Or, if he stays put and the team deals Oduya or Hainsey, then Bogosian's ice time will increase. Win-win.

 

 

Florida

 

Buyers or sellers: Sellers.

 

Cap Situation: Tons of room.

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's – Cory Stillman, Radek Dvorak, Chris Higgins, Marty Reasoner, Darcy Hordichuk, Bill Thomas, Bryan McCabe, Tomas Vokoun

RFA's – Steve Bernier, Shawn Matthias, Byron Bitz, Mike Santorelli, Jack Skille, Keaton Ellerby, Michal Repik, Kenndal McArdle

 

Needs:

1. A potential star/picks – some value back on their free agents. All positions.

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. Weiss is getting the most interest, but he is signed for next year. Still, I think one team will step up with an offer that can't be refused (ahem – Washington).
2. Vokoun, Stillman, Rostislav Olesz, David Booth, Marty Reasoner, Dennis Wideman are all names bandied about in rumors right now. The potential for a huge fire sale is a big one.
3. Both McCabe and Vokoun have no-trade clauses.
4. Penguins are said to be interested in Stillman. That sounds like a Pittsburgh type of deadline deal.
5. There may be some interest by the Rangers in Wideman.
6. Weiss wants to remain with the team and the feeling is mutual. Like I said – they would have to get a lot for him if he's going to be moved.

 

Fantasy squad preparation:

1. After a slow start, Weiss is already on a bit of a roll. On a team that needs a centerman, his wingers will obviously be an upgrade. If you can get him on the cheap, do so and see what happens.
2. McCabe is another likely candidate to be moved, but I don't see a big jump in his numbers on a different team.
3. Stillman – if you pick him up you would be doing it because of one potential destination. Pittsburgh. Anywhere else would not give you the payoff you are hoping for.
4. Pick up Jacob Markstrom. I think he'll start another dozen games for Florida going forward because I think Vokoun will be traded.