angus

The dust is still far from settled on the NHL free agent market, but some major players have changed teams already. Read on…

2008 may be dubbed as “the summer of the offer sheet” if many of the rumours circulating come to fruition. There are numerous young players who are set to hit the RFA market this summer without a contract. There are also many teams with roster holes and enough cap space to make some bold offers to these players. In this first segment, I’ll break down the current situations for Corey Perry, Mike Green, Steve Bernier, Joe Pavelski, and Pierre-Marc Bouchard.

I am not going to comment on the prospects taken, as we already have an expert around here for that with Matt Bugg. In this article, I will discuss the trades that took place, and the potential ramifications of those deals.

The 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver are still almost two years away, but the projections and predictions for Canada’s roster have began to circulate. All of the hockey experts love to try and guess what the team will be, but this article will not do that. I am going to project the best possible lineup (i.e. mine) that gives Canada the best shot at earning the gold.

The goalie talent has spread across the league over the past few seasons, with the majority of teams moving their strong backups to clubs where they now start. Goalies like Toskala, Bryzgalov, Garon and Smith have all been handed the reigns between the pipes. There are a few teams this off-season with some questions to answer with regards to their respective goaltender situations, and here are the five most interesting.

Although many of the top end potential free agents this summer have already been locked up, there are still numerous stars available. Marian Hossa and Brian Campbell will obviously be the most sought after, and some of the other top guys include Pavol Demitra, Wade Redden, and Mats Sundin. Beyond that tier, there are some interesting free agents that are not getting much fanfare or media attention. Until now, that is.

The best way to stay ahead of your competition in the fantasy world is to read this site. Articles like this one give a heads up on some players that are candidates to benefit tremendously from potentially moving teams this summer. A change of scenery can do wonders for some players, especially from a fantasy perspective. Look at Anson Carter, for example. He was a 33-goal scorer in Vancouver, but as soon as he moved teams, he struggled to find the back of the net. His fantasy value went from that of a solid depth winger to basically nil.

The San Jose Sharks come in to the post-season firing on all cylinders. They possess the best Vezina candidate in net, one of the most dominant forward in the Western Conference, and a great supporting cast. Coupled with this is the fact that both Marleau and Cheechoo seem to be rounding into form after horrendous starts to the season. But the main reason for their recent hot play has been without question the trade deadline acquisition of Brian Campbell.