Cory Stillman to Carolina. Why can’t these GM’s wait until I am off from work to announce these trades! Analysis tonight, like the other deals.

The breakdown for the Kovalev trade will be posted this evening. His value goes from not much to pretty good (for one-year leagues, anyway).

Brooks Orpik will be out for at least a month with a broken finger. Matt Niskanen will see increased ice time. This is another huge blow to an already decimated Penguins squad.

Cory Schneider is starting for Vancouver tonight.

I like the Maxwell trade to Atlanta – his value rises a bit. Nigel Dawes is a dime-a-dozen AHL player, and Sopel is a steady defensive defenseman. Full analysis also up later this evening.

Ottawa has claimed Marek Svatos off of waivers. He’ll get ice time to produce – nab him if you are in a deep one-year league and need an offensive boost.

Anaheim has shipped goaltender Curtis McElhinney to the Bolts in exhange for Dan Ellis. This move saves Tampa Bay money, as Ellis is signed through 2011-12 while McElhinney is a free agent this summer.

Anaheim will now use Ellis to back up Hiller, but don’t forget about the Ray Emery wild card.

My Fantasy Mailbag is now open – ask any and all fantasy hockey questions here!

Gates Imbeau with a must-read for all rotisserie league players – the top 10 G/SOG players.

If you are looking for a young player to target at the deadline this year – Boston’s Jordan Caron is one. He could find his way into the top six in 2011-12.

I wounder where Edmonton would be if they had started Devan Dubnyk a bit more this season instead of Khabibulin? Probably near the bottom… but Dubnyk has been miles better than his Russian counterpart all season long.

38 stops on 39 shots against last night for Dubnyk.

Tom Gilbert has five points in five games (all assists).

Justin Williams has nine points in his last seven games.

Antti Niemi, you have proven me wrong. He won his 19^th game since December 1^st last night against Pittsburgh, and has been arguably the best goalie in the league over the past two months.

Andrew Ladd is back on fire after a bit of a mid-season lull in production. He should eclipse the 60 point mark this season.

James Neal was pointless in his Pittsburgh debut, but he did see over 20 minutes of ice time. I saw a GM in one of my leagues (keeper) trade him straight up for Dany Heatley!

Matt Niskanen saw close to 20 minutes as well, but he saw none of those minutes with the man advantage.

Enstrom and Byfuglien were a combined minus-7 last night, and Buffalo scored only four goals.

I traded Teddy Purcell yesterday, and has a going away present he gives me a hat trick. Thanks, Teddy!

Lecavalier had a five-point effort for the Bolts as well. Window to buy low is closing with each game… Sure he may have lost a step, but he was never a great skater to begin with.

Eric Brewer was pointless in 20 minutes of ice time (eight goals for… one assist would have been nice).

Bryzgalov can breathe a sigh of relief, Labarbera allowed all eight goals for the Coyotes.

David Schlemko scored his first goal in 39 games for Phoenix. He's actually a pretty good offensive d-man, but he's behind the 8-ball known as Keith Yandle (and Ekman-Larsson) in Phoenix.

Why did St. Louis make the trade? They believed Pietrangelo had surpassed Johnson as their franchise defenseman (among other reasons). Why did Colorado make the trade? They wanted a franchise defenseman, sure, but they felt Stewart was (somewhat) tradeable. Why?

David Jones. He is injury prone, but he is big, physical, fast, and possesses a great shot. With Duchene around for the long haul (Stastny seems to be on the block… although his contract would be a tough one to move), Jones should be good for 25-30 each season (even with his injuries).

Is Brad Marchand for real? Yes. He is Alex Burrows 2.0. Doesn't have the Sedin twins to play with, but he has the same skill level (great shot, hockey instincts, nose for the net, and tenacity) and same effort/intensity/will to win.

Kyle Brodziak is worth snapping up if you need points from a center. He's been great for the past four or five weeks. Big, strong on the draw, decent offensively. The Oilers sure could use him, no?

The Wild are toying with the idea of moving Bouchard back to center. Correct me if this has already happened. He is creative as hell and not exactly a forechecking demon – makes more sense to play him at a position where he will control the puck more.

Another short-term player to watch – Derek MacKenzie on Columbus. Seeing more ice time with Brassard out (again). Solid playmaker, and the Blue Jackets aren't lacking in skilled wingers.

Thanks to Brian Kom for having me on Dobber Nation yesterday – the latest edition will be up this weekend. I chatted about the recent trades, as well as some under the radar players for the rest of the season and beyond.

One player I talked in depth about was Bobby Butler. He's getting an opportunity in Ottawa and taking advantage of it in a big way.

Matt Calvert is ahead of where I thought he would be only half a season into his NHL career. Like Marchand, he is skilled and tenacious. Columbus could use a few more forwards like him. Ryan Callahan 2.0 – maybe less physical, but more offensive upside. Calvert is another in the mold of Skinner/Oshie/Eberle (various skill levels among these players, of course).

They simply GET the game of hockey – instincts, IQ, smarts, whatever you want to call it.

I rarely side with unproven prospects over proven players, but if you have a chance to acquire Brayden Schenn, now is the time to do it. His World Junior hype has died down a bit. He is about as bust-proof as it gets.

Best hitters in hockey among forwards? 1. Cal Clutterbuck. 2. Dustin Brown 3. Colby Armstrong. Any other contenders?

Pulling this in the shootout is one thing… but in a game? Wow: