Richards was bought out by the Rangers after he scored 20 goals with 31 assists (51 points) in 82 regular season games. Richards has 12 points (5G / 7A) in 25 postseason games and he heads to a Chicago team with a ton of talent. He will likely centre the second line which will have playing with Patrick Kane. Should that be the case, his fantasy value should rise and another 50-plus point season seems very attainable.

*** Brad Richards contract bought out by NY Rangers. There was very heavy speculation that this was going to happen and now it has.  Spezza would greatly fill the need for the NY Rangers, giving them a pure No. 1 center to play alongside Kreider and St. Louis.  All indications seem to point to Anaheim or St. Louis, but I don't see Anaheim.  St. Louis maybe.  His injury history concerns me, but he would fit in great with the Rangers, but who knows what they have to give up to get him.  The only other place I can see him going to is San Jose.  Teams that need a No. 1 center like Florida, Buffalo, Calgary, Winnipeg, are not contenders ...so you can forget those... Hiller will be off to another team as Anaheim will go younger with Andersen and possibly a less expensive backup.  Hiller may find himself on the outside looking in for a job in the NHL.... Miller would be a nice fit in Washington, or any other NHL team listed at the end of the alphabet like Winnipeg, Vancouver and Toronto even.  I could even see him signing in Minnesota as former teammate Jason Pominville is signed long-term there.

After an exciting set of Conference championship battles, fantasy owners in playoff pools need to determine who to add to their final rosters. With two defensive teams with suprisingly strong offensive showings ready to face off, tough decisions need to be made.Do you stock up your fantasy line-up with Kings or Rangers? I am not completely sure of who the sure-fire picks are, but I am willing to make a few key observations: 1. Four of the top five leading NHL playoff scorers hail from the Kings(Kopitar, Carter, Gaborik, and Williams), averaging nearly 21 pts. On the contrary, the leading point-getters from the Rangers are tied for 15th place with 13 pts.apiece (St. Louis, Stepan, and McDonagh). The Kings have been getting it done on the offensive end but will now be facing arguably the hottest goalie on the planet in Lundqvist. Can you expect them to average 4 goals-per-game in the Championship round like they did against the high-octane Blackhawks? I say not, as both teams will play it closer to the vest. In addition, the Kings could be a bit fatigue to start the series as they just became the first team in NHL history to advance to the Cup Finals after winning three Game 7's. 2. Usually, defensemen are not the way to go but both teams have blue-chippers that need to be starting. For New York, Ryan McDonagh busted out of his post-season slump by collecting 10 points in the Montreal series, second most ever by a Ranger's blueliner in the playoff. While it's reasonable to expect a dropoff after this explosion, the rising star looks to be in the middle of much of the "Blueshirts" offensive production. On the LA side, how can you not love Drew Doughty? He collected 7 points in the seven game 'classic' against Chicago, giving him 16 pts. in the playoffs. After a 37-point regular season, the 24-year old always seems to save his best offense for the games that count. 3. If you are scraping the "bottom of the barrel" and reaching for wild-card picks, look no further than some of the usually reliable King veterans, such as Dustin Brown and Mike Richards. These type of players seem to excel in the most pivotal moments, so it's no surprise that Brown has posted 6 points in the last 4 games despite just 12 points in 21 overall playoff contests. Playing on the top line with Kopitar, the captain is beginning to surge, so fantasy owners need to take notice. Richards has not fared as well, but he is due to bust out so you can do alot worse than this perenially strong ...

After an exciting set of Conference championship battles, fantasy owners in playoff pools need to determine who to add to their final rosters. With two defensive teams with suprisingly strong offensive showings ready to face off, tough decisions need to be made.Do you stock up your fantasy line-up with Kings or Rangers? I am not completely sure of who the sure-fire picks are, but I am willing to make a few key observations: 1. Four of the top five leading NHL playoff scorers hail from the Kings(Kopitar, Carter, Gaborik, and Williams), averaging nearly 21 pts. On the contrary, the leading point-getters from the Rangers are tied for 15th place with 13 pts.apiece (St. Louis, Stepan, and McDonagh). The Kings have been getting it done on the offensive end but will now be facing arguably the hottest goalie on the planet in Lundqvist. Can you expect them to average 4 goals-per-game in the Championship round like they did against the high-octane Blackhawks? I say not, as both teams will play it closer to the vest. In addition, the Kings could be a bit fatigue to start the series as they just became the first team in NHL history to advance to the Cup Finals after winning three Game 7's. 2. Usually, defensemen are not the way to go but both teams have blue-chippers that need to be starting. For New York, Ryan McDonagh busted out of his post-season slump by collecting 10 points in the Montreal series, second most ever by a Ranger's blueliner in the playoff. While it's reasonable to expect a dropoff after this explosion, the rising star looks to be in the middle of much of the "Blueshirts" offensive production. On the LA side, how can you not love Drew Doughty? He collected 7 points in the seven game 'classic' against Chicago, giving him 16 pts. in the playoffs. After a 37-point regular season, the 24-year old always seems to save his best offense for the games that count. 3. If you are scraping the "bottom of the barrel" and reaching for wild-card picks, look no further than some of the usually reliable King veterans, such as Dustin Brown and Mike Richards. The those type of players seem to excel in the most pivotal moments, so it's no surprise that Brown has posted 6 points in the last 4 games despite just 12 points in 21 overall playoff contests. Playing on the top line with Kopitar, the captain is beginning to surge, so fantasy owners need to take notice. Richards has not fared as well, but he is due to bust out so you can do alot worse than this perenially ...

Newly acquired Martin St. Louis made it in time for last night's NY Ranger debut and impressed everywhere on the ice except the score sheet, but that is only a matter of time. St. Louis and Brad Richards showed some of that old chemistry they had but were off just by a slight bit. Changing teams shouldn't change the production from the talented RWer....Tyler Bozak is an important cog in the Maple Leaf machine and he proved that last nigth with a clutch penalty shot goal that opened the scoring against the Rangers, and then winning it in overtime. He now has 37 points in 40 games, so if you weren't about Bo before, you better know Bo now. Does anyone remember the terrible start Claude Giroux had a t the beginning of the season? It seems so long ago but if you look now, Giroux is tied for 6th in league scoring, only to move higher before the end of the season. The G-man led the Flyers with 2 goals and an assist before Washington was thwarted in their attempt at a comeback.....Jakub Voracek loves playing against Washington as evidenced by his 5-point performance in the back-to-back series. Voracek followed up his 1 goal and 2 assist Sunday with a 2-goal night.  Voracek can get streaky hot which is good news for those competing late in their fantasy season.... Capitals D-man, Mike Green, has been showing signs of life lately which is good news for either who stuck through the worse of it. Or for those who traded for the enigmatic Green recently.  Although he hasn't potted a goal his last 5 games, he does have 5 assists in his last 2 games.  Do I dare say Green is back? The Ottawa Senators marched into Calgary and were stampeded by the Flames. The Sens didn't mount much of an attack and once the third period started, they were down 3-0 to rookie goaltender, Joni Ortio. Ortio earned his first NHL victory 4-1.  Congratulations!  The Flames were practically inactive during the trade deadline and the Senators probably should have been more active by the looks of last night's game. The Montreal Canadiens came out of last night's game against Anaheim with an important two points with a win in the shootout. Still without the services of Olympic gold medal goalie Carey Price, the Habs struck early and made their way to the SO win. It helped that they kept the dynamic duo of Getzlaf and Perry off the score sheet.  Dustin Tokarski earned his 12nd NHL win in the spot start for Montreal after being called up.

Newly acquired Martin St. Louis made it in time for last night's NY Ranger debut and impressed everywhere on the ice except the score sheet, but that is only a matter of time. St. Louis and Brad Richards showed some of that old chemistry they had but were off just by a slight bit. Changing teams shouldn't change the production from the talented RWer....Tyler Bozak is an important cog in the Maple Leaf machine and he proved that last nigth with a clutch penalty shot goal that opened the scoring against the Rangers, and then winning it in overtime. He now has 37 points in 40 games, so if you weren't about Bo before, you better know Bo now. Does anyone remember the terrible start Claude Giroux had a t the beginning of the season? It seems so long ago but if you look now, Giroux is tied for 6th in league scoring, only to move higher before the end of the season. The G-man led the Flyers with 2 goals and an assist before Washington was thwarted in their attempt at a comeback.....Jakub Voracek loves playing against Washington as evidenced by his 5-point performance in the back-to-back series. Voracek followed up his 1 goal and 2 assist Sunday with a 2-goal night.  Voracek can get streaky hot which is good news for those competing late in their fantasy season.... Capitals D-man, Mike Green, has been showing signs of life lately which is good news for either who stuck through the worse of it. Or for those who traded for the enigmatic Green recently.  Although he hasn't potted a goal his last 5 games, he does have 5 assists in his last 2 games.  Do I dare say Green is back? The Ottawa Senators marched into Calgary and were stampeded by the Flames. The Sens didn't mount much of an attack and once the third period started, they were down 3-0 to rookie goaltender, Joni Ortio. Ortio earned his first NHL victory 4-1.  Congratulations!  The Flames were practically inactive during the trade deadline and the Senators probably should have been more active by the looks of last night's game. The Montreal Canadiens came out of last night's game against Anaheim with an important two points with a win in the shootout. Still without the services of Olympic gold medal goalie Carey Price, the Habs struck early and made their way to the SO win. It helped that they kept the dynamic duo of Getzlaf and Perry off the score sheet.  Dustin Tokarski earned his 12nd NHL win in the spot start for Montreal after being called up.

Newly acquired Martin St. Louis made it in time for last night's NY Ranger debut and impressed everywhere on the ice except the score sheet, but that is only a matter of time. St. Louis and Brad Richards showed some of that old chemistry they had but were off just by a slight bit. Changing teams shouldn't change the production from the talented RWer....Tyler Bozak is an important cog in the Maple Leaf machine and he proved that last nigth with a clutch penalty shot goal that opened the scoring against the Rangers, and then winning it in overtime. He now has 37 points in 40 games, so if you weren't about Bo before, you better know Bo now. Does anyone remember the terrible start Claude Giroux had a t the beginning of the season? It seems so long ago but if you look now, Giroux is tied for 6th in league scoring, only to move higher before the end of the season. The G-man led the Flyers with 2 goals and an assist before Washington was thwarted in their attempt at a comeback.....Jakub Voracek loves playing against Washington as evidenced by his 5-point performance in the back-to-back series. Voracek followed up his 1 goal and 2 assist Sunday with a 2-goal night.  Voracek can get streaky hot which is good news for those competing late in their fantasy season.... Capitals D-man, Mike Green, has been showing signs of life lately which is good news for either who stuck through the worse of it. Or for those who traded for the enigmatic Green recently.  Although he hasn't potted a goal his last 5 games, he does have 5 assists in his last 2 games.  Do I dare say Green is back? The Ottawa Senators marched into Calgary and were stampeded by the Flames. The Sens didn't mount much of an attack and once the third period started, they were down 3-0 to rookie goaltender, Joni Ortio. Ortio earned his first NHL victory 4-1.  Congratulations!  The Flames were practically inactive during the trade deadline and the Senators probably should have been more active by the looks of last night's game. The Montreal Canadiens came out of last night's game against Anaheim with an important two points with a win in the shootout. Still without the services of Olympic gold medal goalie Carey Price, the Habs struck early and made their way to the SO win. It helped that they kept the dynamic duo of Getzlaf and Perry off the score sheet.  Dustin Tokarski earned his 12nd NHL win in the spot start for Montreal after being called up.

Busy night yesterday in the NHL with 9 games played. Vancouver visted Boston and came out the loser 3-1.  Nice game by Bruin goalie Tuukka Rask as he had 27 saves. Rask is a premiere fantasy goalie with a 25-13-3 record a 2.09 GAA and a .929 SP.  Boston forward Jarome Iginla had a goal and an assist, and with 16 goals and 40 points on the year, he is not the player he once was at 36 years old, but he is still a viable 6th forward option. The New York Rangers are really turning their season around.  They have gone 10-3 in their last 13 games.  One of the big reasons for their surge has been the play of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who has won 4 straight games and 9 of his last 11, allowing only 15 goals during that stretch. Ryan Callahan had a big game for New York with 2 goals and an assist. Callahan is a tough and gritty player, but he is in the last year of his contract, and it appears that he and New York are not going to come together on a new contract.  This means that Callahan will likely be traded soon. He has only 24 points on the season in 40 games, so he is not exactly the second coming of Wayne Gretzky.   New York forward Brad Richards had a goal and an assist, but he has only 41 points on the season. The 33 year old is a far cry from his 91 point days in Dallas.  The only thing big about his time in New York is his contract; $58.5 million worth. Goalies duel: Nice goalie duel in Carolina last night as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Hurricanes 2-1 on a late goal by by Jets forward Chris Thorburn of all people. This was Thorburn's 36th goal in 516 NHL games.  What the heck?  Both goalies were outstanding as Ondrej Pavelec had 29 saves for the win, and Anton Khudobin had 27 for Carolina, giving up Thorburn's late goal. Cam Ward is now fully healthy for the Hurricanes, so head coach Kirk Muller is going to have to make a decision as to who is his starting goalie; Ward or Khudobin. Keep a close eye on the team's next few starts for a sign of how Muller is leaning. The Price is right: OK so I have used this one before, but it is good and also easy.  Great night for Montreal goaltender Carey Price as he shutout the Calgary Flames 2-0 with 27 saves. Price has had a nice year with 24 wins a 2.37 GAA and a .923 SP.  Those are really good numbers.  The Canadiens have struggled a bit lately going only 3-9 in their last 12 games, but Price has been solid.  Montreal forward David Desharnais had a PPG, but with only 28 points on the season, he has been a big ...

Busy night yesterday in the NHL with 9 games played. Vancouver visted Boston and came out the loser 3-1.  Nice game by Bruin goalie Tuukka Rask as he had 27 saves. Rask is a premiere fantasy goalie with a 25-13-3 record a 2.09 GAA and a .929 SP.  Boston forward Jarome Iginla had a goal and an assist, and with 16 goals and 40 points on the year, he is not the player he once was at 36 years old, but he is still a viable 6th forward option. The New York Rangers are really turning their season around.  They have gone 10-3 in their last 13 games.  One of the big reasons for their surge has been the play of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who has won 4 straight games and 9 of his last 11, allowing only 15 goals during that stretch. Ryan Callahan had a big game for New York with 2 goals and an assist. Callahan is a tough and gritty player, but he is in the last year of his contract, and it appears that he and New York are not going to come together on a new contract.  This means that Callahan will likely be traded soon. He has only 24 points on the season in 40 games, so he is not exactly the second coming of Wayne Gretzky.   New York forward Brad Richards had a goal and an assist, but he has only 41 points on the season. The 33 year old is a far cry from his 91 point days in Dallas.  The only thing big about his time in New York is his contract; $58.5 million worth.   Goalies duel: Nice goalie duel in Carolina last night as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Hurricanes 2-1 on a late goal by by Jets forward Chris Thorburn of all people. This was Thorburn's 36th goal in 516 NHL games.  What the heck?  Both goalies were outstanding as Ondrej Pavelec had 29 saves for the win, and Anton Khudobin had 27 for Carolina, giving up Thorburn's late goal. Cam Ward is now fully healthy for the Hurricanes, so head coach Kirk Muller is going to have to make a decision as to who is his starting goalie; Ward or Khudobin. Keep a close eye on the team's next few starts for a sign of how Muller is leaning. The Price is right: OK so I have used this one before, but it is good and, also, easy.  Great night for Montreal goaltender Carey Price as he shutout the Calgary Flames 2-0 with 27 saves. Price has had a nice year with 24 wins a 2.37 GAA and a .923 SP.  Those are really good numbers.  The Canadiens have struggled a bit lately going only 3-9 in their last 12 games, but Price has been solid.  Montreal forward David Desharnais had a PPG, but with only 28 points on the season, he has been a ...

Last night's slate of NHL contests was not densely packed, but the results offered major contributions by players who are warming up after slow starts and should be targeted by fantasy owners in potential trade offers. Their fantasy value will continue to rise, so maybe it's time to try to pry them away from an unsuspected owner while you can have them at a reasonable price. Patrick Sharp: With another goal and an assist in Chicago's 4-1 victory over Winnipeg, the high-scoring winger is slowly kicking his wheels into high gear with six points (3G/3A) in the last five games. His scoring expoits have always flown under the fantasy radar, mainly because he shares the stage in Chicago with high-profile stars such as Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. He is currently on the team's hottest scoring line at the moment (Toews-Hossa-Sharp) and is playing the point on the top power-play unit, ahead of both Nick Leddy and Brent Seabrook. Brad Richards: In the 5-1 thrashing of the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins, the much-maligned center contributed to the offensive explosion with two assists. Not a huge night on paper, but Brad Richards has shown clear signs so far in the early stages of the season that his offensive game is on the upswing again. With 5 goals and 12 points in 15 games, he is on a scoring pace to match his 66-point output in '11-12, where he made a huge offensive impact in his first year on Broadway in their run to the Eastern Conference Finals. With the return of Ryan Callahan restoring more balance to the Ranger's top-six and adding more punch on Richard's line, this seems to suggest that his numbers could even improve moving forward. And, let's not forget that Rick Nash should be returning at some point, so Richard's fantasy value could be soaring by mid-season. P.A. Parenteau: With a goal and an assist in the 6-4 loss to Nashville, Colorado's leading scorer in '12-13 is way below last season's nearly point-per-game scoring pace with 10 points in 14 games. While there is a wealth of offense in Colorado these days, don't discount his importance on the top line with one of the NHL's hottest and rising stars, Matt Duchene. The two play together both on even strength and on the power-play, so Parenteau will get his share of points moving forward. With the likes of Gabriel Landeskog and first overall pick Nathan Mckinnon, the Av's are stacked up front, but it's looking like a huge career season for Duchene- and that bodes well for Parenteau's scoring ...