The Jackets have locked up Fedor Tyutin for six years. The cap hit for the deal is about $4.5 million. Solid defenseman… but six years? Ties into my point below regarding Columbus and the roster turnover very well…

Some not so great news out of Edmonton – Ryan Whitney has re-aggravated the foot injury that bothered him for most of last season.

"Ryan Whitney injured his surgically-repaired right foot skating at a summer conditioning camp in Boston earlier this month, but hopes to be ready for his club's main camp in two and half weeks.

"I rolled over on the foot … caught a rut in the ice. Minor sprain, I think," said Whitney, the best Oiler until he popped a tendon in his foot just ­after Christmas in a game against the ­Buffalo Sabres at Rexall Place."

If Whitney is bothered by the foot, this means Tom Gilbert is the de facto PP QB. Jeff Petry may get a look but he probably isn't ready (yet).

Fantasy Guide was updated about a week ago. Next update will be before training camp kicks off (Dobber is on vacation so I can’t give you a firm date).

And then of course there was the launch of a new iPhone app – Dobber's Draft Buddy.

Please take a moment to weigh in on our Smart Phone vote – looking to see who uses the BB, iPhone, Android, or none of the above. Comments are welcomed/encouraged.

Was looking back at my old projections, and came across the forward line combinations for Columbus back in 2006. How things change in five years (think of all of those long-term deals)…. There is only ONE player remaining with the Blue Jackets from this 20 player roster.

Modin-Fedorov-Zherdev
Nash-Brule-Vyborny
Chimera-Malhotra-Fritsche
Shelley-Svitov-Balastik

Foote-Hainsey
Berard-Westcott
Klesla-Johnson

Leclaire
Norrena

I chatted with the fine folks over at Nucks Misconduct yesterday – everything fantasy/Vancouver related – Edler, Ballard, the Sedins, Kesler, Hodgson, Luongo, and more.

I made another trade in my keeper H2H yesterday. With news of Sharp being a full-time C in Yahoo, I wanted to acquire a winger to help me win faceoffs. I made a move to get Winnipeg's Bryan Little (RW in Yahoo, C in real life) and Timonen (as well as a nice pick upgrade) for Mikko Koivu.

I broke one of my golden rules (the best player usually wins the trade for the team on the receiving end), but I have a hunch with Little. I hate relying on hunches as it implies I am not using numbers or my head. Little wasn't as bad as his numbers last year. I'm hoping for 20-25 goals, 60-65 points, face off wins, and solid offensive numbers.

Koivu is a very good center. He doesn't get PIM, SOG, or this, but he does produce offensive stats. I am taking a risk moving him considering Crosby is one of my other centers. Right now my roster centers are Lecavalier, Crosby, Ott, and Sharp.

I'll have Leino (LW) and Little (RW) to win me face offs from the wing. I hope to have a strange hold on this category.

I also moved a 2012 dispersal draft pick for David Booth – he's great in certain categories, and useless in others. I'm hoping that more skill insulating him in the lineup will lead to a 25-35 goal season with a lot of SOG.

Who will be the starting six defensemen on Long Island? Wishart is a long shot, but there are a few injury prone veterans ahead of him on the depth chart.

Nick Lidstrom likes the Ian White pickup.

"”I think he’s a player that’s tough to play against,” Lidstrom said. “I think he can log a lot of minutes and he can be that right-hander on the power play if needed. He can be a player that’s in your face. He’s a good, strong skater. He’ll be a good addition for our team.”

One way for the Oilers to see an immediate improvement this season – play Devan Dubnyk more.

An interesting and hockey-specific review of Moneyball.

"By the end of his 200-odd pages, Lewis has reached two conclusions in his book. The first is that many of the traditional statistics by which baseball players are chiefly evaluated (hits, runs, runs batted in, slugging percentage, fielding errors, and for pitchers, earned runs allowed and saves) are largely unconnected to the success or failure of a baseball team, or at the very least, enormously overvalued. The second is that because baseball’s internal society of GMs, managers, coaches and scouts is largely closed off to outside recruits (not unlike hockey’s), an intolerance of new ideas and fetishization of the “seen him good” approach pervades the ranks of baseball’s decision-makers. Lewis combines these two conclusions to argue, quite convincingly, that not only is the traditional evaluation of baseball players unscientific, but that it is actively hostile to a scientific approach, and that a team that employs such an approach has an opportunity to run rings around the competition."

The future top pairing in San Jose – Vlasic and Burns? The next Weber-Suter?

"It may be too early to make sweeping predictions, but expectations for a Vlasic-Burns pairing are one of the few things that have managed to keep this lowly blogger from going Coco-loco after being stranded on the deserted island known as the August offseason. Maybe it’s the rancid coconut juice talking here, but a pairing that resembles the duo of Shea Weber and Ryan Suter in Nashville seems like a possibility if everything breaks right.

Burns and Weber both possess booming shots and great offensive instincts, while Suter and Vlasic provide the quiet defensive play that allow their more offensively gifted partners to succeed (although Suter is clearly a more talented offensive presence than Vlasic). Burns and Vlasic won’t be counted on to shoulder the massive minutes load that Weber and Suter see with the Predators, nor will they be as instrumental to the success of their team; however, the groundwork is definitely set for these two young Sharks to become a part of one of the best young defensive pairings in the entire League, and one that many across the NHL will begin to take notice of as the season progresses.

With Vlasic and Burns providing a perfect complement for one another, 2011-2012 has all the makings of producing a more productive offensive year for Vlasic and a more responsible defensive year for Burns. Ever since San Jose lost Rob Blake to retirement in 2010 they’ve been looking for a number two d-man, but in all actuality, they have also been looking for a physical partner that can shoot the puck to pair with Vlasic. It was with Rob Blake that Vlasic truly bloomed as a premier shutdown defenseman in the NHL; Burns skill set matches those needs perfectly."

Where is Kyle Cumiskey? An interesting omission from Colorado's training camp roster.

Huge news out of Toronto – Matthew Lombardi is symptom free. He's going to add a lot to the Leafs – a massive, massive upgrade on Tyler Bozak on the third line. With Connolly ahead of him on the depth chart, he'll have lots of opportunities to move into the top six. Tread carefully as he hasn't played in almost a year, of course.

A reality check:

"To be honest, both are wildly optimistic. Any beer leaguer knows that going from something like running or biking to playing hockey is not an easy transition at the best of times. Lombardi still has a long way to go before he is ready to compete on the ice in training camp let alone in a full contact environment so we shouldn’t get too far ahead of ourselves but if we look at this as one small step on the road to recovery then it’s a good bit of news."

If any of you guys have recommendations for things to do in Vegas, let me know! Staying at the Mirage, not really a gambler (although may lay down some coin on NHL futures, I like the Kings at 15-to-1).

Nice goal from Lombardi in Phoenix:

More Kris Letang training – takes a lot of grip strength to be able to do these with body weight, let alone an 80lb dumbbell hanging below: