The Puck Stops Here: Kovalev Shines

I want to begin by congratulating the Puck Monkeys. On Monday night, my adult league team won the Blade Runners Adult League Ice Hockey Championship. After being shut down and frustrated by the trap in game one, we came back and gave the Thrashers a bit of their own medicine. We won games two and three by scoring dirty goals and trapping them into submission, winning game three 3-1. A special shout-out goes to Ralph, our goalie, for standing on his head at times. This was a championship only the New Jersey Devils could be proud of.

While on the subject of adult hockey, I hope you got to watch the All-Star Game on Sunday evening. While the game showcased some spectacular offense, this was nothing more than an adult league game with superstar talent. I would also like to thank Alexei Kovalev for calling me out by winning MVP after I went on at length about how he didn’t deserve to be there. If anyone’s favorite team or player needs a change of fortune, let me know, I’ll criticize them and that should solve all the problems. Enough about adult hockey, let’s discuss fantasy.

I feel as though I need to discuss Rick Nash. No, he won’t be available on your waiver wire, he isn’t really a buy low candidate, but, more importantly, he isn’t a sell candidate. For weeks I was talking a friend off the Nash trade ledge, telling him to come back inside and we’ll talk about it. Calmer heads prevailed and Nash rewarded him with a hat trick last night. Look, Nash doesn’t carry the name value of a player like Kovalchuk, but he is outperforming Kovalchuk big time. Sure, Nash has three less points, but he is also a plus 12 compared to Kovalchuk’s minus ten. I keep seeing Nash traded for flashes in the pan like Scott Hartnell, Patrick Sharp and Michael Cammalleri. Don’t do it, Nash is the type of consistent, across the board player that you need to win a championship.

Another player being dealt far too often and for far too little in return is Patrick Kane. Kane is a primo buy low candidate. If you can get him, do it. If you have him, hold him or make sure you are getting great value in return. I get it, he has one assist over his past 11 games, but don’t forget about his 41 points in his other 32 games. He is in a slump. Don’t compound the problem by taking less value. I would much rather have Kane than the aforementioned Kovaluchuk. In one league, Kane was just traded for Dustin Brown. Really, Dustin Brown? Don’t make the same mistake, hold him if you got him, go get him if you don’t.

Speaking of Dustin Brown, while he certainly doesn’t have even close to as much value as Kane, he is worth owning. Brown is currently available in about 30-40% of leagues, but he shouldn’t be. Brown has seven points in his past seven games, he can help out with PIM and he takes plenty of shots, including an 11-shot game. Shots are like touches in football. In football, if you don’t touch the ball you can’t get yards or score. In hockey, it is practically impossible to score without shooting the puck. Brown is still pretty young, but has a good hockey pedigree. He should be pretty serviceable for the rest of the season. I would add him rather than taking a wait and see approach.

Erik Cole hasn’t met preseason expectations, but he currently has three things going for him. Both he and Edmonton have been playing pretty good hockey recently, he can help out in PIM, and he is eligible at both left and right wing. The importance of the final characteristic can’t be overstated. Having a player you can plug in at either wing is extremely valuable. It is enough to turn an average player into an above average player for fantasy purposes. His current stats are slightly inflated due to a recent hat trick, but there are plenty of worse options out there. Keep an eye on Cole, or if you need help at wing, grab him.

If you need help with defensemen, look no further than Cory Murphy. Murphy is a power play specialist, but he is also getting very solid ice-time at even strength. Since being claimed off of waivers by Tampa Bay, Murphy has four points in three games. While Tampa Bay isn’t a good hockey team, it is more talented offensively than Florida and should provide more opportunities for Murphy. Murphy won’t help you with PIM or +/-, but he should produce enough offense to be a good fourth defenseman.

I mentioned Claude Giroux as a preseason sleeper. That didn’t work out very well, but he has been called up and has given Philadelphia a point in each of his last two games. Wait and see on Giroux, but make sure he is at least on your radar...Keep an eye on Bobby Ryan’s ice-time when Teemu Selanne returns in a week or two. Ryan has performed very well in Selanne’s role, but what will happen with Teemu back in the lineup? The answer will determine if Ryan should still be owned...Clemmensen owners, keep an eye on Martin Brodeur. He has been determined to return before the end of the season and it looks like he will. Nothing would kill you more than to see Brodeur steal fantasy playoff starts from Clemmensen.

As always, please feel free to leave comments or questions. Until next week, The Puck Stops Here.

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