Ray Bourque (er…he’s the one in the middle), is returning to the scene of his Stanley Cup glory, but don’t worry, he’s not bringing his two friends with him.

The Colorado Avalanche went back to the future to lock-in the final pieces of what they hope will be another Stanley Cup run, re-signing defenseman Ray Bourque and goalie Patrick Roy.

Bourque won the Cup with Colorado in 2001 and then retired, doing charity work in the Boston area. He was also a consultant to the Bruins. Roy retired in 2003 and became vice president of operations for the Quebec Remparts, part of Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Most recently, he was suspended five games for sending his son into a playoff brawl.

“[The suspension] was definitely a factor in my decision to come back. It made me realize how much I missed the game. And I’ll deal with the fallout from my decisions when the NHL season ends,” Roy said at a press conference announcing the surprise signings.

Roy will displace goalie Jose Theodore, who, while having a strong season, is still not believed to be back to his Vezina form.

“I never really stopped preparing to come back, even when I wasn’t sure I would ever come back,” Roy said.

Theodore was not available for comment.

For Bourque, the decision to return to Colorado was more sudden: “I’ve been watching [Detroit defenseman Chris] Chelios, and I feel like if he can do it, I can do it.”

Bourque explored a comeback with Boston, but the Bruins ultimately said it would be more of a distraction.

“They told me to feel free to go back to Colorado, though,” Bourque laughed.

Bourque and Roy are eligible to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs due to a sly sleight of paperwork by Avs’ GM Francois Giguere. Giguere quietly signed both players as coaches before the trade deadline and an odd quirk of the CBA allows coaches to be eligible for the playoff rosters, as long as they did not play during the regular season.

“Trust me. No one knew about this,” Giguere said. “It was me, Paddy, and Ray. And believe me, I wanted to tell everyone.”

March 31st, 2008
Categories: HOCKEY, Steven Ovadia, Transactional analysis . Author: Steven Ovadia . Comments: 1 Comment

The future has arrived on the Island in the form of Kyle Okposo.

The beauty of an NHL system that lets more than half of the teams into the playoffs is that it makes it very exciting to watch those teams struggling to not be left out of the party. And, of course, struggle makes for both offense and injuries, the sad yin and yang of fantasy hockey.

Boston Bruin Marc Savard, an increasingly gifted scorer and puck-disher (15 goals and 63 assists), is out with a broken bone in his back, after taking a cross-check against Montreal. The Bruins are saying he’ll miss at least two games, which seems a bit conservative given that it’s a broken bone in his back. It’s not like the guy chipped a tooth. So if Savard is in your lineup, you might want to keep an eye on the situation.

Philadelphia Flyer Mike Richards has been feeling pretty good since returning to the lineup from a hamstring injury. He’s put up five goals in six games and has 71 points on the season. More importantly, the time off seems to have done him some good after a slow February.

The Buffalo Sabres just can’t catch a break. They can’t hold onto half of their players for financial reasons and the players they do have get injured. Tim Connolly is the latest victim, out not only for the rest of the regular season, but also for the playoffs, which luckily for Buffalo doesn’t seem like a big deal, since its outside of the playoff bubble. Connolly, the 1999 first-round draft pick, wasn’t an offensive juggernaut, but he put up decent enough numbers (seven goals and 33 assists in 48 games).

If you’re a little bit of a gambling fantasy player, you might consider taking a chance on Islander propsect Kyle Okposo. Okposo, the Islanders’ first-round draft pick in 2006, left the University of Minnesota early to sign with the Isles, and now that they’ve pretty much given up on any kind of playoff run, he’s seeing some NHL time and not looking too out of place. He’s got a goal and two assists in his first five NHL games. Factor in Islanders’ coach Ted Nolan needing some kind of hook to get a contract extension. Everyone knows there’s no better way to get re-signed (other than winning), than having the organization’s top prospect be a fan. How do you make a rookie like your coaching? Give him a lot of scoring chances and power play time.

Over in the Western Conference, St. Louis Blue Paul Kariya has gone stone cold. His last goal was on Valentine’s Day. That’s February 14, for those of you who shun the Hallmark-manufactured holiday. And now, it’s almost April. Kariya has 57 points on the season, and you have to figure with a goal drought this long, he’s bound to score eventually. But he might not be the best choice for your roster, given pretty much any other option.

Detroit Red Wing Johan Franzen continues his red-hot March. How’s this for a fantasy stat? There were only two games in March in which he didn’t score. And in one of those games, he still picked up an assist. So Franzen continues to be a great option if you’re smart enough to have on your roster.

The Week Ahead

March 28th, 2008
Categories: HOCKEY, Ice Chips, Steven Ovadia . Author: Steven Ovadia . Comments: No Comments

Let’s hope, in what is their third appearance on the site, that the Sabres’ skanks in training can help Thomas Vanek heat up.

The playoffs are within reach for so many teams. We love to complain about parity, but it sure does make the NHLers play hard, eh? This time of year, it’s all about injuries, hot streaks and cold streaks. There’s really nothing else that matters.

Cold

Hot

Hurt

Reborn

The Week Ahead

March 14th, 2008
Categories: HOCKEY, Ice Chips, Steven Ovadia . Author: Steven Ovadia . Comments: No Comments

Marc Savard is one of the NHL’s hottest players currently.

Now, with the trade deadline passed, there’s really nothing left to do, but focus on the performance of your players. If you’ve been hoarding passers, waiting for your team to land a sniper and it didn’t happen by Tuesday, you made a poor fantasy choice. I’m sorry there’s not a nicer way to say that.

Boston’s Marc Savard is a puck-dishing fool. He’s got 58 assists over 62 games. As if that wasn’t enough, he even has 14 goals. He’s been on a tear, too. His last pointless game? Two weeks ago.

A lot of people grabbed Teemu Selanne at various points in the season, hoping the Finnish Flash would return to the NHL for a victory lap. It seems like these fantasy players were well-rewarded. Selanne has put up six goals and five assists in his first 10 games back. That includes a hat trick against Chicago over the weekend.

Paul Stastny, who returned to the Colorado Avalanche from an appendectomy, has also been successful. He’s got two goals and an assist in his first four games back. Imagine how he’ll be rolling when he’s feeling 100 per cent. Joe Sakic has also returned to the Avs’ lineup, having survived hernia surgery. Sakic has just a goal and an assist in the first three games back, but he’s managed to put up 24 points in just 27 games this season. Obviously, if you kept him on your roster all of this time, he hasn’t helped you very much, but if he’s available via waivers, why not grab him and hope for the best?

Steve Bernier is off to a good start in Buffalo, by the way. With two goals in his first 15 minutes of ice time, he finished his first game as a Sabre with three points. At this rate, he’ll be a 30-goal scorer by the end of the weekend. He won’t keep up this pace, I assume, but he could be about to heat up.

The Penguins have got to love Marian Hossa spraining his MCL in his first game for them. He’s expected to be out about a week. Hopefully, this isn’t some kind of omen.

The Week Ahead

February 29th, 2008
Categories: HOCKEY, Ice Chips, Steven Ovadia . Author: Steven Ovadia . Comments: No Comments

Mike Smith’s value should soar as a starter for the Lightning.

The trade deadline is always a crazy time. Imagine if the moves actually affected the rosters? Like everyone traded had to leave a fantasy roster, too? Even if a trade doesn’t mean your roster changes, there are fantasy implications as some trades will make good players better and some trades seem like they’re designed to destroy careers.

Brad Richards to Dallas for back-up goalie Mike Smith, plus some other parts? That’s win-win. Smith will probably start in Tampa, since he’s a number one goalie trapped in a back-up situation. And Richards will probably thrive on a line with Mike Modano, as will Modano by having a bona fide offensive talent beside him.

Sergei Fedorov to the Caps for defensive prospect Ted Ruth? That’s a great move for Fedorov, getting to play with Alexander Ovechkin. Fedorov is not the same player as previous years, but he can’t help but put up numbers with Ovechkin. Hell, I could get 20 points alongside Ovechkin.

Montreal goalie Cristobal Huet’s trade to the Caps? That’s got to hurt. The former starting goalie is now going to be backing entrenched Olaf Kolzig, and even if the workload split is 50-50, it’s still going to be less ice time for the feisty Frenchman.

Marcel Hossa to the Penguins also isn’t a slam-dunk. While he’ll be able to fill Sidney Crosby’s role, what happens when Crosby comes back from his ankle sprain? Can coach Michel Therrien find minutes for Crosby, Hossa, and Evgeni Malkin? Will Hossa and Crosby have enough time to gel? Probably not.

Similarly, Vinnie Prospal’s trade to the Flyers probably won’t do much for his numbers, seeing as how he’s going from working with one speedy, undersized forward (Martin St. Louis), to another (Daniel Briere).

Still, what fun would it be if all the trades were good ones?

February 26th, 2008
Categories: HOCKEY, Steven Ovadia, Transactional analysis . Author: Steven Ovadia . Comments: No Comments