In the final part of this six-part series, we'll take a team-by-team look at the Pacific Division – the toughest division in hockey. 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)

(Part 5 – Southeast Division)

 

 

San Jose

Buyers or sellers: Buyers

 

 

Cap Situation: No room. Not even an NHL-minimum player. Salary would need to be moved.

 

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's – Ben Eager, Scott Nichol, Kyle Wellwood, Jamal Mayers, Ian White, Niclas Wallin, Kent Huskins, Antti Niemi

RFA's – Devin Setoguchi, John McCarthy, Carter Hutton, Jamie McGinn, Benn Ferriero, Alex Stalock, Thomas Greiss, Frazer McLaren

 

 

Needs:

1. An experienced third goaltender. With Antero Niittymaki on and off the IR all season and Alex Stalock out for the season, the Sharks suddenly miss Thomas Greiss.
2. A depth defenseman – a No.7 or No.8 guy. Right now Justin Braun is their eighth man. That's pretty good, but they may want a veteran.
3. A 13^th forward. Again, they could get by with Jamie McGinn or Benn Ferriero, but they may prefer a veteran.

 

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. The Sharks will probably not make any significant moves on Deadline Day. Yeah…their salary situation indicates that as well.
2. The Sharks are in the market for an experienced backup

 

 

Fantasy squad preparation:

1. Since nothing of fantasy consequence will happen with this team Monday (probably), there is nothing you need to do to prepare in advance. Devin Setoguchi's recent hot streak has effectively removed his name from all the trade rumors and a backup goaltender would only serve to hurt Niittymaki's starts – Niemi will still be the man.

 

 

 

Phoenix

Buyers or sellers: Buyers

 

 

Cap Situation: With $9 million in cap space, the 'Yotes can add the equivalent of $40 million in full-season salary. Lots of room.

 

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's – Radim Vrbata, Scott Upshall, Vern Fiddler, Eric Belanger, Andrew Ebbett, Ed Jovanovski, Ilya Bryzgalov, Jason LaBarbera, Petr Prucha, Matt Climie, Ryan Hollweg, Nolan Yonkman

RFA's – Kyle Turris, Mikkel Boedker, Lauri Korpikoski, Keith Yandle, Sami Lepisto, Viktor Tikhonov, Brett MacLean, Alexandre Picard, Joel Gistedt

 

 

Needs:

1. A first-line center.
2. A second-line center.
3. A No.5/6 defenseman. With three of them on IR, Phoenix could sure use some depth there.

 

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. Kevin Allen reports that Phoenix will not be very active because they do not have the cap space. The reasoning here is flawed, as the team has plenty of cap space, however they may not have the budget given the pending sale of the team.
2. Bryzgalov is in discussions to extend his contract with the team.

 

 

Fantasy squad preparation:

1. It is clear that this team needs a dozen injuries up front before Kyle Turris gets an opportunity to play on the top line. He had a few games there early on when several players were out, and he did very well. This indicates to me that he is still a quality prospect and if  you're just patient with him for two more seasons he should pan out.
2. It's hard to speculate which center the Coyotes will go after, if any. Stephen Weiss comes to mind, as they have dealt with the Panthers in the past

 

 

 

Los Angeles

Buyers or sellers: Buyers

 

 

Cap Situation: With $5 million in cap space, the Kings can add the equivalent of $22 million in full-season salary. Lots of room, but they are watching their budget for future years.

 

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's – Michal Handzus, Justin Williams, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Peter Harrold, John Zeiler

RFA's – Brad Richardson, Wayne Simmonds, Trevor Lewis, Drew Doughty, Alec Martinez, Johan Fransson, Oscar Moller, Richard Clune

 

 

Needs:

1. A top six winger. The Kings keep trying Brad Richardson there, with little success. For some reason, they've never felt that Ponikarovsky can do the trick, as he's rarely been tried there.
2. An experienced No.5/6 blueliner.
3. The return of Scott Parse (probably another three weeks away) will solve their need for a third-line winger.

 

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. Brayden Schenn is garnering a ton of interest and would be the centerpiece in any package that brought in a top forward. The Kings are insisting that Schenn won't be going anywhere.
2. Slava Voynov, a prospect defenseman, has also come up in trade rumors.
3. The Kings are said to be leading candidates to land Ales Hemsky.
4. The Kings may be interested in Brad Richards
5. The Kings may be interested in Florida's David Booth

 

 

Fantasy squad preparation:

1. It's doubtful the King swill land Richards, so count on either Hemsky or Booth. That would help Jarret Stoll's production, due to the nice linemate upgrade.
2. Kyle Clifford's ice time is dwindling. If you own him for his penalty minutes, be prepared to bail. Between Parse's return and a new acquisition, Clifford stands a good chance of being scratched.
3. Wayne Simmonds will be the first off the power play, if and when they add a top six winger.

 

 

 

Dallas

Buyers or sellers: Buyers. But with the pending sale of the team and the fact that their top player is unsigned after this season, you could see some selling action as well.

 

 

Cap Situation: With $7 million in cap space, the Stars can add the equivalent of $33 million in full-season salary. Lots of room.

 

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's – Brad Richards, Jamie Langenbrunner, Brian Sutherby, Jason Williams, Karlis Skrastins, Jeff Woywitka, Brad Lukowich, Brandon Segal

RFA's – Severin Blindenbacher, Richard Bachman, Colton Sceviour, Aaron Gagnon, Ray Sawada

 

 

Needs:

1. They already addressed their desperate need for a power-play quarterback and Alex Goligoski is fitting in nicely.
2. If they do move Brad Richards, replacing him with a young, budding center would be ideal.
3. The need for depth on the wing/center was addressed with the free agent signing of Jason Williams. But he's getting five minutes per game, so he's obviously not the permanent answer.
4. A depth defenseman.

 

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. The Stars apparently want Brandon Dubinsky, Derek Stepan and Matt Gilroy from the Rangers for Richards. Um…
2. The Leafs are very interested in Richards, but word is that Richards did not list Toronto among the teams he would agree to go to.
3. The Kings are another favorite to land Richards.

 

 

Fantasy squad preparation:

1. Richards' concussion puts a kink in trade talks in both the NHL and in the fantasy world. I think he will be traded, but will he return and play for the new team early enough to help?
2. While Richards is on the shelf, Jamie Benn is taking his spot at center. It looks like this will be a permanent move, since I think Richards will be dealt. This helps Benn for sure.
3. Loui Eriksson has just eight points in his last 15 games. With Richards gone, he goes from an 80-point player to a 70-point player.

 

 

 

 

Anaheim

Buyers or sellers: Buyers.

 

 

Cap Situation: A little bit – close to $4 million (or $16 million in full season salary space). But next year is tight, relatively speaking.

 

 

Pending Free Agents:

UFA's – Teemu Selanne, Jarkko Ruutu, Todd Marchant, Andreas Lilja, Ray Emery, Jason Jaffray, Josh Green

RFA's – Maxim Lapierre, Dan Sexton, Kyle Chipchura, Luca Sbisa, Nick Bonino, MacGregor Sharp, Patrick Maroon

 

 

Needs:

1. They needed goaltending depth, but the late signing of Ray Emery (who looked great in AHL action) and the trade for Dan Ellis helps offset the hopefully short-term loss of Jonas Hiller (vertigo).
2. A third-line scoring center. Brandon McMillan and Kyle Chipchura have combined for 19 points in 73 games.
3. They've already injected energy into the lineup with the acquisitions of Lapierre and Jarkko Ruutu and they've added depth on the blue line with Francois Beauchemin. The team could very well be done now.

 

 

The latest, from Spector's Hockey:

1. All the talk has been about goaltenders, thanks to the Hiller injury/ailment. However, the recent Emery/Ellis moves have settled those rumors.

 

 

Fantasy squad preparation:

1. Ellis' first game for the Ducks wasn't too bad – an overtime loss in which he allowed three goals on 31 shots. Ray Emery should get a start soon and my hunch is that he will relegate Ellis to backup duty. Will Hiller be on the shelf long enough to let Emery become fantasy relevant again? The guess – and I stress 'guess' – here is that yes, he will. Emery is a buy-low deal in the fantasy world.