Taking a closer look at Patrick Sharp and where he fits with Dallas; wondering about training camp invites, Patrick Kane trade interest, and more…

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An interesting article here on Patrick Sharp in which Yost analyzes where Sharp likes to shoot from – and where Jonathan Toews likes to set players up. Then he looked at where Tyler Seguin likes to set players up (high slot, slot, or low slot) and compared to Jason Spezza (and for the sake of interest, Cody Eakin). He rightfully concluded that Sharp would be the best fit on the Seguin line. As interesting as the analysis was, it doesn't address the fact that even playing with Toews and staying healthy, Sharp would have struggled to get 65 points. The stats used, in Sharp's case, focused on the last five years which doesn't effectively weight this past year. He wasn't out there against the tough lines – he was basically implemented the same way Brad Richards was used when it comes to quality of competition and offensive zone starts.

Sharp turns 34 in December and he gets hurt a lot. And while I believe he'll play with Seguin to start the year, and he'll rebound – it won't be huge. I have him for 52 points in the Guide, as well as missing 11 games. If he stays healthy, then sure playing with Seguin should see him close to that 65-point area. I'm just not on board with a revisit to his 77-point days.

A lot of how Sharp will do will also depend on Brett Ritchie. I think right now if Ritchie can thrive on a line with Jason Spezza, then that frees up Sharp to stick on that Seguin line. However, if Ritchie isn't ready…if he falters in any way, then here is the domino effect:

1. Ritchie will go back to the AHL

2. Patrick Eaves will move into the top six.

3. Since Eaves clicks with Seguin and Benn, and not Spezza, then this would force Sharp down to the second line.

4. As Yost pointed out in his article, Spezza is probably not a great fit for Sharp.

So here are my two "ifs" that are needed in order for Sharp to become valuable in fantasy (i.e. in the neighborhood of 65 points). IF he stays healthy and IF Ritchie can play most games in the top six.

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Interesting to see two players who were traded for each other both sign on the same day to play in Europe next season. Maxim Lapierre has signed on with MODO of the SHL while Marcel Goc has signed to play in Germany.

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I never get the training camp invites. I don't understand most of them – why the team does the inviting and why the player accepts. Granted, there are some obvious fits that make sense, such as when Florida invited Brad Boyes two years ago. But by and large, they don't make sense to me. The only thing I can think of from the players' perspective is that they didn't have any other offers. And I can't think of any reason, from a team standpoint.

Like this one – David Leggio to the Winnipeg training camp. Yeah David, you'll slot in there right after Pavelec and Hutchinson. And Hellebuyck. And, uh, Comrie. Just looking to fill the ECHL squad I guess.

Or how about St. Louis inviting Scottie Upshall? This is after already having invited Scott Gomez. Just trying to reach the Scott quota? I guess from the St. Louis standpoint they figure Berglund is hurt they may need a couple of veterans to push bubble players Robby Fabbri and Magnus Paajarvi (who is on a one-way deal). Because the only way Upshall makes the team is if he sends Gomez packing, sends Fabbri back to junior, and forces the team to waive Paajarvi. All three of those things need to happen. Or an injury. Is that the best option for Upshall?

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Prospect tournament rosters are starting to get announced now, which means training camp is around the corner!

Here's the Dallas roster (for Traverse City)

The Boston roster

Keep checking in at DobberProspects for Ramblings coverage of the various tournaments.

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DobberProspects update – big progress on removing the double posts (that came over with the re-launch) and fixing all the Top 10 links, as well as adding a couple of posts back in that had disappeared with the move. Still working on that. Also discovered a solution for the bad formatting on some of the profiles, but to fix one at a time will take awhile – talking 1000 profiles here. So first we'll try to find a way to do this in bulk. Anyway, the site itself is morphing back into shape just in time for your research.

I've also hired Hayden Soboleski and Zach Hopkins as Associate Editors over there – and with four editors now, you can expect at least five Ramblings per week on DobberProspects now. The growth continues – and it's made possible by you and your generous clicking!

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From the files of "D'uh" – Tampa Bay's season ticket sales have increased this year. Already at 13,500, they've surpassed last year's 11,500.

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And if you haven't seen this year, five teams have been in contact with Chicago about the availability of Patrick Kane. Kane starts this first season of his eight-year deal this year. The one that pays him, uh, $84 million – that's $10.5 million per year.

It really is all about winning, eh? A player beats his wife and will probably go directly from prison to the Los Angeles Kings dressing room, then to the ice for a game. Another player gets investigated for rape – and even if he's charged and found guilty (which is by no means a sure thing, or even a likely thing), you just know teams would still line up to get him. And while nobody can prove this and it's just speculation on my part (because I have a brain) – I'm guessing that the Blackhawks are working very hard to prevent any charges from getting filed even if he's guilty. Up to and including paying off anyone who needs to be paid off. Because millions of dollars in revenue is on the line here. Kane playing for the Blackhawks without a criminal record is worth a LOT of money. When millions and millions of dollars are at play here, there is nothing a greedy businessman won't resort to. Those who have been reading me for years know by now that I love my conspiracy theories.

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So that was a close one! Over 3000+ consecutive days of having a Ramblings and it was almost broken Sunday. Ian was victim of the BC power outage. He had Ramblings ready to go but couldn't post or even access them. Finally at 11:30pm I posted my Monday Ramblings and slapped the 'Sunday' label on them. Cheating, I know, but still… And then Monday at 5:30pm (Eastern) Ian got his power back and posted. So we had three ramblings posted in a 34-hour span – but kept the streak alive.

There are two other times I was close to missing a day:

1. December 25, 2008. My first daughter was born. It was Christmas. Still, late afternoon I was able to scoot home and just post a single paragraph.

2. Last summer, I messed up coverage. I thought Mike Amato had taken one of Laidlaw's days but late that night saw that it was supposed to be me. I scrambled something quick, and in time.

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Another announcement – check out the latest addition to the forum! I love how it looks – it's responsive to screen size, and if you're checking via your phone it shows just one article preview instead of five. Very sharp. And if you haven't been there since the new logo, that's pretty cool too.

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