A penny for my thoughts? How about 60 thoughts for free? This week, I take you on a go round of the 30 NHL teams with a couple of quickies on each one of them.
 

Anaheim Ducks

Odds that Teemu Selanne comes back this season are at less than 20%.

Inversely, odds that Scott Niedermayer makes a return are at 80% and Mathieu Schneider loses a lot of value when that happens.

Atlanta Thrashers

Me thinks Ondrej Pavelec is the future in Atlanta, not Kari Lehtonen.

If Tobias Enstrom has gone unnoticed in your league, take advantage since he has the potential to put up 40 points playing on a power play that features Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa.

Boston Bruins

Don’t expect Patrice Bergeron back for several weeks, maybe even months and I wouldn’t be surprised if his season was over.

Chuck Kobasew is playing close to 20 minutes per game and delivering. I expect him to reach the 30-goal mark.

Boston Bruins

Don’t expect Patrice Bergeron back for several weeks, maybe even months and I wouldn’t be surprised if his season was over.

Chuck Kobasew is playing close to 20 minutes per game and delivering. I expect him to reach the 30-goal mark.

Buffalo Sabres

I’d buy low on Thomas Vanek since I expect he’ll snap out of it, but he won’t make up for the lost time, meaning he won't put up much more than 30 goals.

Same thoughts on Maxim Afinogenov.

Calgary Flames

Dion Phaneuf is on pace for 160 penalty minutes, added to his other stats, he might just be the most valuable defenseman in roto leagues.

Adrian Aucoin has slowed down, but he’ll finish in the 40-point range.

Carolina Hurricanes

Eric Staal is a perfect example of young players struggling one season and bouncing back the next, keep him in mind when looking at Jordan Staal next season.

Cam Ward has given up three or more goals in five of the last six games. I simply don’t trust Ward.

Chicago Blackhawks

Tuomo Ruttu has only two points in his last five games; I don’t know what to make of him. He's still a wait and see.

Patrick Kane will do even better if he can get Martin Havlat back to help on the power play.

Colorado Avalanche

Don’t trust in Marek Svatos and his seven goals.

Now is a good time to make a pitch for John-Michael Liles.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Sergei Fedorov is back on the top line and he has just seen a seven game point streak come to an end. He makes an excellent pickup.

If you need penalty minutes, Jared Boll is a great source.

Dallas Stars

Don’t expect more than what you are getting from any Star player.

Mike Modano has just had a couple of good games, but don’t expect that to be the start of resurgence on his part.

Detroit Red Wings

Dominik Hasek might actually lose his starting gig to Chris Osgood within the next month.

Jiri Hudler looks like he’s finally turned the corner and become a reliable fantasy commodity.

Edmonton Oilers

Sheldon Souray’s return will give a boost to everybody on the top power play unit.

The Oilers ARE a bad team, so Dwayne Roloson will continue to struggle.

Florida Panthers

Keep an eye on Stephen Weiss, he’s worth grabbing when he gets hot.

Nathan Horton has scored only two goals in his last 13 games. Buy low.

Los Angeles Kings

Jack Johnson is performing exactly as expected on the team with so many offensive defensemen.

Anze Kopitar will have his ups and downs, but I still expect him to score close to 80 points.

Minnesota Wild

I hope you aren’t surprised to see Marian Gaborik missing so many games. Shame on you for drafting him too high (that’s for all his owners since I guarantee you that he went too high in 99% of fantasy leagues).

Petteri Numminen is playing at forward lately and should be owned in all leagues while it lasts since you can play him on defense.

Montreal Canadiens

Michael Ryder isn’t a buy low, but if he’s a free-agent, he’s certainly worth keeping a close eye on. He’s been relegated to the third line, but it’s a temporary move.

Carey Price will be a star.

Nashville Predators

Martin Erat has scored nine points in the last six games after a five-game pointless streak.

Alexander Radulov has an 8.1 shot percentage compared to 18.8 last season, it’s just a matter of time before the pucks start going in the net.

New Jersey Devils

Before his two-point performance on Monday, I was starting to doubt my confidence in Patrick Elias. Now, I still have hope that he’ll turn things around.

After a nice start to the season, Travis Zajac has scored only 3 points in the last 11 games. I expected much more from him.

New York Islanders

Chris Campoli is the best kept secret on Long Island.

Miroslav Satan is back with an eight-game point streak that saw him score 11 points. If I have my choice, I’ll take Satan over Mike Comrie.

New York Rangers

Paul Mara is worth a pickup if you are looking for a defenseman.

You gotta love Sean Avery in roto leagues.

Ottawa Senators

Don’t expect Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley to be separated for long if the Sens go through with their idea of keeping Mike Fisher on the top line upon Spezza’s return.

Antoine Vermette is now a 60-point player.

Philadelphia Flyers

Count me in as a Mike Richards believer. I won’t be surprised if scores 80 points since he was expected to break out last year, but had a disappointing season.

Jeff Carter should also be an 80-point player someday.

Phoenix Coyotes

This will be a great team in the near future if they can somehow put their hands on John Tavares.

After a rough start, Ed Jovanovsky`s production is on par with his career numbers, but his +/- will hurt you all year.

Pittsburgh Penguins

It looks like age has finally caught up with Mark Recchi.

Ditto for Gary Roberts.

San Jose Sharks

Craig Rivet has more points than Patrick Marleau, Jonathan Cheechoo and Milan Michalek, so does Jeremy Roenick. In both cases, it won’t last much longer.

Sandis Ozolinsh will score over 35 points as the power-play quarterback.

St-Louis Blues

David Perron is a truly blue chipper, a natural goal-scorer so don’t be surprised by his production.

Erik Johnson will challenge Patrick Kane as the best rookie from here on out.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Paul Ranger scored nine points in the first 8 games and two points in the last 9 games. Don’t be mislead by his overall stats.

Get on the Michel Ouellet train while it’s running, but be prepared to get off quickly.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Nik Antropov isn’t even worth owning any more in many leagues.

I don’t even want to imagine Jiri Tlusty naked, much less see the pictures.

Vancouver Canucks

Mattias Ohlund is a decent pickup if available in your league, he’ll make up for the slow start and finish with his usual 30+ points.

Other than the Sedins and Roberto Luongo, there really isn’t much on this team worth owning.

Washington Capitals

I’m really worried that Alexander Semin will struggle all season with his injury.

Brian Pothier hasn’t scored a point in six games and you shouldn’t expect any more value from him with Tom Poti back.

Industry Experts league

http://hockey.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/experts

The standings keep fluctuating daily, but as of November 14th I stood in first place thanks to a huge increase in the penalty minute category in the past few weeks. I’ve really grown to love Daniel Carcillo!

Hot pickups during the past week featured Ozolinsh, Nummelin and Hudler. 

Questions for the Frog

I'm in a rotisserie league that scores G, A, +/-, PPP, PIM, SOG, GWG and FW. I've got Brian Gionta, Bill Guerin and Brad Boyes on RW, and Vanek and Morrow on LW. I'm thinking of dumping Gionta for an FA like Svatos or  Radulov. I'm also thinking of trying a multi-player trade using Gionta and Antropov (or maybe Beauchemin?) to acquire someone like Hejduk or Eric Cole. What do you think? Will Gionta and the Devils pull out of this, or do I need to dump him ASAP? – Mark (Whitehorse)

FROG: I understand how you can be losing patience with Gionta, but your expectations shouldn't be that high to begin with. He didn't have that great a season last year, and it`s looking more and more likely that his 48-goal season was a one-time thing. Frankly, I do expect Radulov to have a better season than Gionta. Antropov is a sell high so I wouldn't hesitate to trade Gionta and Antropov in return for a proven commodity such as Cole or Hejduk and get a free roster spot.

Would it be wise to dump Jason Labarbera and pick up Tim Thomas? – Ken (Canada)

FROG: Without a doubt, you should make that move. Labarbera will have lots of ups and downs, but you can rest assured that they will be mostly downs. Thomas is playing extremely well and has shown the ability to sustain a high level of play for a much longer period than Labarbera. Don't hesitate to make the switch.

Wondering who to pick-up? Who to trade? Who to keep? Write to the Fantasy Frog at [email protected] and you could see your fantasy hockey question answered in Croaks from the Fantasy Frog. Please indicate where you are from.
 

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