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Alphabetical Listing
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Fantasy Updates
Kinch signs deal with Sharks
Matthew Kinch, D OTT
News: The Sharks signed D Matthew Kinch to a one-year contract Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Analysis: Kinch, 28, spent the 2007-08 season with Binghamton (AHL). In 73 games played, he tied for second among team defensemen with 25 points (nine goals) and accumulated 73 penalty minutes. Kinch played in Europe for three seasons from 2004-07, including time in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. He is nothing more than organizational depth and can be ignored in Fantasy.
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Wiseman returns from German league
Chad Wiseman, LW NJ
News: The Devils signed defenseman defenseman Jay Leach, and forwards Jon DiSalvatore and Chad Wiseman to contracts Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Analysis: Wiseman, 27, returns to the NHL after spending last season with Wolfsburg (Germany). He split the 2001-07 seasons between the AHL and NHL with the Sharks, Rangers and Capitals organizations. Wiseman has one goal and one assist in nine career NHL games. He is nothing more than organizational depth and can be ignored in Fantasy.
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Leach, Devils come to terms
Jay Leach, D NJ
News: The Devils signed defenseman defenseman Jay Leach, and forwards Jon DiSalvatore and Chad Wiseman to contracts Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Analysis: Leach, 28, joins the Devils after seeing action in 77 games last season with Norfolk (AHL), Tampa Bay (NHL) and Portland (AHL). Leach made his NHL debut with Boston in 2005-06 and appeared in two games with the Lightning last season, recording no points and a minus-1 rating. Leach is nothing more than organizational depth and can be ignored in Fantasy.
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Devils sign AHLer DiSalvatore
Jon DiSalvatore, RW NJ
News: The Devils signed defenseman defenseman Jay Leach, and forwards Jon DiSalvatore and Chad Wiseman to contracts Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Analysis: DiSalvatore, 27, is entering his sixth pro season in 2008-09. He spent last season with San Antonio (AHL), recording 22 goals and 24 assists in 66 games. DiSalvatore made his NHL debut by appearing in five games with St. Louis in 2005-06. He has not been back in the NHL since. It's safe to ignore him in Fantasy.
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Blue Jackets opt to keep Rome
Aaron Rome, D CLB
News: The Blue Jackets re-signed defense Aaron Rome to a one-year, two-way contract Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Analysis: Rome had one goal and one assist in 17 games for Columbus last season. He also had 33 penalty minutes. Rome was acquired by Columbus last November in a trade with the Ducks. Rome is an enforcer by trade, but is nothing more than organizational depth. It's safe to ignore him in Fantasy.
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Pardy re-signs with Calgary
Adam Pardy, D CGY
News: The Flames re-signed defenseman Adam Pardy on Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Analysis: The 6-4, 220-pound Pardy had five goals and 13 assists in 65 games last season for Quad City (AHL). He also had 67 penalty minutes. He was recalled twice by Calgary last season, but never saw any action. Pardy has no Fantasy value heading into 2008-09.
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Drouin-Deslaurie inks new deal
Jeff Drouin-Deslaurie, G EDM
News: The Oilers signed G Jeff Drouin-Deslaurie to a two-year contact Friday. Drouin-Deslaurie spent last season with Springfield (AHL) and had a 26-23-5 record with a 2.90 goals-against average and .912 save percentage. He's expected to battle Mathieu Garon and Dwayne Roloson for playing time in 2008-09. "Jeff made some significant strides last season and now appears ready to challenge for a spot on our hockey club," Oilers VP Kevin Prendergast said in a statement. "With Jeff's addition, we are very comfortable with our goaltending situation."
Analysis: Drouin-Deslaurie was a second-round draft choice by Edmonton in 2002 and has spent the last four seasons in the AHL. Drouin-Deslaurie is the future in net fot Edmonton, but Garon and Roloson are both going to have to falter before he gets a shot in net. Consider Drouin-Deslaurie a less than desireable Fantasy option to open the season.
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 Thrashers ink prospect Esposito
Angelo Esposito, C PIT
News: The Thrashers signed C Angelo Esposito to a multi-year contract Friday. Esposito, originally selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the 2007 Entry Draft, was traded to Atlanta, along with Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen and a 2008 first-round draft pick (center Daultan Leveille), for Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis at the trade deadline last season. "The trade was initially a big surprise because I didn’t even play a game with Pittsburgh and got traded right off the bat," Esposito told NHL.com. "But I couldn’t be any happier at where I ended up. I was working hard this summer and my goal is certainly to earn a spot on the team. This is the first step in that process and I’ll just keep taking the steps to earn a spot."
Analysis: Esposito appeared in 56 games with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL (juniors) last season and finished third on the team with 69 points (30 goals, 39 assists). He was second on the Remparts in playoff scoring with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 11 games.In 2005-06, he registered 98 points (39 goals). "Angelo needs to have that summer that will make a difference and turn some heads," Thrashers Director of Amateur Scouting and Player Development Dan Marr told NHL.com. "We’re being positive and patient with his development. He just needs to get physically stronger to become that good point producer in the NHL." Esposito is likely a season or two away from making a big Fantasy impact, but he could arrive in 2008-09 with a solid training camp. Right now, Esposito is more of a long-term keeper.
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Toews named Blackhawks captain
Jonathan Toews, C CHI
News: The Blackhawks announced Friday that second-year center Jonathan Toews will serve as the team's captain during the 2008-09 season. Towes, who is 20 years old, joins Penguins center Sidney Crosby and Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier as the one of the youngest players in professional hockey to captain his club. Crosby and Lecavalier were both 19 years old when they became captains. "Jonathan deserves this honor, he is a tremendous individual and a wonderful leader on and off the ice," Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon said. "He has experience in captaining teams from his World Junior appearances and guys follow his lead in our locker room."
Analysis: Toews, the No. 3 pick in the 2006 NHL draft, led rookies in 2007-08 with 24 goals. He also led rookies with seven power-play scores and finished third with 54 points. He appeared in just 64 games because of a knee injury that kept him sidelined for several weeks. He was in the running for the Calder Trophy (top rookie), but lost out to teammate Patrick Kane. Toews is expected to be the Blackhawks' top-line center in 2008-09 and is capable of being a point-per-game player in his second NHL season. Consider Toews a nice No. 3 Fantasy forward to open the season, but there is room to improve.
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 Coyotes sign enforcer Murray
Garth Murray, C FLA
News: The Coyotes signed C Garth Murray to a one-year contract Friday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Analysis: Murray, 25, began last season with the Canadiens and appeared in one game before being claimed off waivers by the Florida Panthers. The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Murray then suffered a season-ending shoulder injury after playing in six games and collecting 19 penalty minutes (PIM) with Florida. Murray has appeared in 106 career NHL games and has 10 points (eight goals) and 119 PIM. He is merely an enforcer when active and has little to no Fantasy value.
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Veilleux avoids arbitration
Stephane Veilleux, C MIN
News: C Stephane Veilleux and the Minnesota Wild agreed to terms Saturday on a one-year contract, avoiding a salary arbitration hearing. The 26-year-old Veilleux, who has carved a niche as a left wing on the Wild's checking line, scored a career-high 11 goals and added seven assists in 77 games last season. He has played five seasons with the Wild, who drafted him in the third round in 2001.
Analysis: Veilleux has never scored more than 20 points in his career and should continue to be ignored in all Fantasy formats.
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Sabres lock up Miller through '13-'14
Ryan Miller, G BUF
News: Sabres G Ryan Miller signed a five-year, $31.25 million extension Friday that will take him through the 2013-14 season and keep him off the unrestricted free agent market next summer. "I was really happy with the way it went," Miller said by phone from East Lansing, Mich., where he was attending his brother's wedding. "There wasn't that much back and forth. They made a good offer and projected what the marketplace is now going forward with the cap. It's a fair deal for both sides. I just like the fact they showed faith in me. They want to build a team with core guys. Signing Paul Gaustad was a good move I liked a lot. I liked the fact they wanted me in that core group."
Analysis: Miller completed his third full season with the Sabres in 2007-08 and had an up-and-down year. He had difficulty with the load of appearing in a franchise-record 76 games, and finished with a 36-27-10 record, four wins short of matching the Sabres' mark he set last year. His 2.64 goals-against average was eight points lower than his career average. Miller was a disappointing No. 1 Fantasy goalie, but retained his ranking since he appeared in net so much. Nothing changes heading into 2008-09, so Miller remains a high-end Fantasy draft pick since he has the potential for 30-plus wins.
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Islanders re-sign C Nielsen
Frans Nielsen, C NYI
News: Danish C Frans Nielsen agreed to a four-year, $2.1 million contract with the New York Islanders on Saturday. "We're excited to have Frans locked up for the next four years," Islanders general manager Garth Snow said. Nielsen, the first Danish citizen to play in the NHL during the 2006-07 season, split last season between the Islanders and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League.
Analysis: In 16 games with the Islanders last season, Nielsen had two goals and one assist and he has three goals and two assists in 31 career NHL games. He was originally drafted by the Islanders in the third round (87th overall) of the 2002 draft. He has no Fantasy value at this time.
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Dawes, Rangers come to terms
Nigel Dawes, LW NYR
News: The Rangers agreed to terms with restricted free agent Nigel Dawes on Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Analysis: Dawes, 23, skated in 61 games with the Rangers in 2007-08, registering 14 goals and 15 assists along with 10 penalty minutes and a plus-11 rating. He led the club in plus/minus rating, ranked second in shootout game-deciding goals (two) and tied for third in game-winning goals (four). His four game-winning goals also tied for second in the NHL among all rookie skaters. The 5-9, 190-pounder has skated in 69 career NHL games in two seasons with the Rangers, registering 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points. He is a lower-line forward for New York and a low-end Fantasy option for deeper leagues.
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Walter re-ups with Islanders
Ben Walter, C NYI
News: The Islanders re-signed C Jeremy Colliton and C Ben Walter to one-year, two-way contracts Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Analysis: Both players spent time with both the Islanders and Sound Tigers (AHL) last season. Walter was second on Bridgeport in scoring with 20 goals and 46 assists in 68 games. He scored his first NHL goal/point on March 11 at Tampa Bay. Walter will be entering his second season with the Islanders' organization and has no Fantasy value.
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Colliton signs two-way contract
Jeremy Colliton, C NYI
News: The Islanders re-signed C Jeremy Colliton and C Ben Walter to one-year, two-way contracts Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Analysis: Colliton, known for his defensive play, scored nine goals with 11 assists for 20 points in 65 games with Bridgeport (AHL) in 2007-08. He had no points in 16 games with the Islanders, but finished at minus-4 and had four penalty minutes. Colliton has no Fantasy value at this time.
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