The New York Isles acquired Thomas Vanek from Buffalo in exchange for Matt Moulson, a first-round pick in 2014, and a second-round pick in 2015. From a fantasy perspective, the big winner is Vanek, who is a two-time 40-goal scorer, but has lacked overall consistency in point production mainly because of never playing with a star center. Sure, Derek Roy had a few good seasons, but the opportunity to line up with John Tavares can transform him into a 50-goal sniper. If he and JT can find some chemistry, both of their fantasy values can rise to elite levels. It may take some time, but JT is finally getting the help he needs to potentially get to 100-point territory. It could happen this season or next. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the big fantasy loser is undoubtedly Matt Moulson. The perfect example of a star by association, he has scored over 30 goals in the last three full seasons, but the question remains whether he can accomplish that scoring feat without JT. His fantasy value will take a massive hit as he moves to a Buffalo team devoid of any starpower. He figures to get top minutes, but his point production will be adversely affected by his less offensive surroundings. Fantasy Game Notes: The two fantasy stars of the evening were backup goaltenders Richard Bachman of Edmonton (47 saves in 2-1 SO loss in LA) and Alex Stalock of San Jose (38 saves in 5-2 win in Ottawa). Maybe Bachman will get a few more starts considering the anemic state of goaltending for the struggling Oilers.. Ottawa's Erik Karlsson is back to elite fantasy mode, collecting a goal and an assist, raising his season totals to ten points in 11 games.. Corey Perry scored the game-winner and added an assist for the Anaheim Ducks in the 4-3 road win over Columbus. With 13 points in 12 games, the streaky forward is off to a much better start than last season, making a run at 80+ points way more likely. Start him with confidence.

UPDATE: Nashville Predator starting Goalie Pekka Rinne will miss a minimum of 4 weeks as he met with the docotors with concern about his hip. Backup Carter Hutton slides into the starting role for the time being. In fact, Hutton will be facing the Winnipeg Jets once again as he defeated them in his only start just last week. Spezztacular!: Jason Spezza's play in the Senators 6-1 clipping of the Detroit Red Wings last night emphasized that he is, indeed, the Captain of the Senators as he led the offense with a 2-goal effort against Jimmy Howard and the Red Wings, spoiling former Captain Daniel Alfredsson's first game against his former team. Spezza now has 8 points in his last 4 games while Bobby Ryan has 3 goals (2 in last night's game) and an assist in those same four games. Defenseman Erik Karlsson chipped in with 2 assists and the Senator trio seems to be heating up. A bit of concern was Ryan's 0:07 seconds spent on the power play.  There was expectation that Ryan would see top power play time after leaving the shadow of Anaheim.  Ryan did have 4:30 & 3:23 of PP time against Edmonton and New Jersey in the two games prior, so perhaps this was a statement by Head Coach Paul MacLean that Ryan needs to step up his play on the power play. Jimmy Howard was pulled at the 14:14 mark of the first period after giving up 3 straight goals to start the game.  Howard has not been the same since his return from injury.  When Jimmy Howard returned 3 games ago, there was a little concern that perhaps backup Jonas Gustavsson should have been given another start or two considering how well he played in Howard's absence. The Red Wings had won 4 in a row and were rolling along and then lost 5-2 to Phoenix in Howard's return.  Howard followed that up with a brilliant match against San Jose losing by a score of 1-0 in the shootout before last night's debacle against Ottawa.  Look for Howard to bounce back in his next start, which should be Saturday against the New York Rangers. More Fantasy Game Notes: Deuces were wild in Buffalo last night as the Boston Bruins came to town. The Sabres looked clueless early in the game before showing some life midway through the 2nd period.  Milan Lucic (2G, A) opened the scoring in the 1st and added his second of the game in the 2nd period to give the B's a 2-0 lead. Both of Lucic's goals were assisted by Jarome Iginla, who is still looking for his first goal as a Bruin. Lucic now has 9 points in 8 games and is on pace to eclipse his ...

UPDATE: Nashville Predator starting Goalie Pekka Rinne will miss a minimum of 4 weeks as he met with the docotors with concern about his hip. Backup Carter Hutton slides into the starting role for the time being. In fact, Hutton will be facing the Winnipeg Jets once again as he defeated them in his only start just last week. Spezztacular!: Jason Spezza's play in the Senators 6-1 clipping of the Detroit Red Wings last night emphasized that he is, indeed, the Captain of the Senators as he led the offense with a 2-goal effort against Jimmy Howard and the Red Wings, spoiling former Captain Daniel Alfredsson's first game against his former team. Spezza now has 8 points in his last 4 games while Bobby Ryan has 3 goals (2 in last night's game) and an assist in those same four games. Defenseman Erik Karlsson chipped in with 2 assists and the Senator trio seems to be heating up. A bit of concern was Ryan's 0:07 seconds spent on the power play.  There was expectation that Ryan would see top power play time after leaving the shadow of Anaheim.  Ryan did have 4:30 & 3:23 of PP time against Edmonton and New Jersey in the two games prior, so perhaps this was a statement by Head Coach Paul MacLean that Ryan needs to step up his play on the power play. Jimmy Howard was pulled at the 14:14 mark of the first period after giving up 3 straight goals to start the game.  Howard has not been the same since his return from injury.  When Jimmy Howard returned 3 games ago, there was a little concern that perhaps backup Jonas Gustavsson should have been given another start or two considering how well he played in Howard's absence. The Red Wings had won 4 in a row and were rolling along and then lost 5-2 to Phoenix in Howard's return.  Howard followed that up with a brilliant match against San Jose losing by a score of 1-0 in the shootout before last night's debacle against Ottawa.  Look for Howard to bounce back in his next start, which should be Saturday against the New York Rangers. More Fantasy Game Notes: Deuces were wild in Buffalo last night as the Boston Bruins came to town. The Sabres looked clueless early in the game before showing some life midway through the 2nd period.  Milan Lucic (2G, A) opened the scoring in the 1st and added his second of the game in the 2nd period to give the B's a 2-0 lead. Both of Lucic's goals were assisted by Jarome Iginla, who is still looking for his first goal as a Bruin. Lucic now has 9 points in 8 games and is on pace to eclipse his ...

Jason Spezza's play in the Senators 6-1 clipping of the Detroit Red Wings last night emphasized that he is, indeed, the Captain of the Senators as he led the offense with a 2-goal effort against Jimmy Howard and the Red Wings, spoiling former Captain Daniel Alfredsson's first game against his former team. Spezza now has 8 points in his last 4 games while Bobby Ryan has 3 goals (2 in last night's game) and an assist in those same four games. Defenseman Erik Karlsson chipped in with 2 assists and the Senator trio seems to be heating up. A bit of concern was Ryan's 0:07 seconds spent on the power play.  There was expectation that Ryan would see top power play time after leaving the shadow of Anaheim.  Ryan did have 4:30 & 3:23 of PP time against Edmonton and New Jersey, so perhaps this was a statement by Head Coach Paul MacLean that Ryan needs to step up his play on the power play. Jimmy Howard was pulled at the 14:14 mark of the first period after giving up 3 straight goals to start the game.  Howard has not been the same since his return from injury.  When Jimmy Howard returned 3 games ago, there was a little concern that perhaps backup Jonas Gustavsson should have been given another start or two considering how well he played in Howard's absence. The Red Wings had won 4 in a row and were rolling along and then lost 5-2 to Phoenix in Howard's return.  Howard followed that up with a brilliant match against San Jose losing by a score of 1-0 in the shootout before last night's debacle against Ottawa.  Look for Howard to bounce back in his next start, which should be Saturday against the New York Rangers. More Fantasy Game Notes: Deuces were wild in Buffalo last night as the Boston Bruins came to town. The Sabres looked clueless early in the game before showing some life midway through the 2nd period.  Milan Lucic (2G, A) opened the scoring in the 1st and added his second of the game in the 2nd period to give the B's a 2-0 lead. Both of Lucic's goals were assisted by Jarome Iginla, who is still looking for his first goal as a Bruin. Lucic now has 9 points in 8 games and is on pace to eclipse his career high of 62 points in 2010-2011....Iginla is a notoriously slow starter, so now is your chance to pry him away from an unsuspecting owner.  He and Lucic have displayed chemistry together and that should continue throughout the season and be a benefit to both players....Bruins' D-man Torey Krug had 2 goals in the 3rd period to ice the game for Chad Johnson who ...

As the NHL season approaches the 10-game mark, many defenseman are off and running in the scoring department; some very familiar and some not so much. As we glance at the top of the rankings, fantasy owners need to realize who is the "real deal" and who is a just a "flash in the pan" in assessing their future fantasy values for the remainder of the season.      PK Subban has picked up where he left off as the Norris Trophy winner last season, collecting 10 pts in 8 games. He has clearly passed Andrei Markov as Montreal's primary fantasy option on defense....Despite all the talk of weight issues and lack of dedication to his overall game, Winnipeg's Dustin Byfuglien is off a solid start with 7 points in 9 games and looks poised to challenge the 60-point mark. Don't forget about his partner Tobias Enstrom, who always has flown under the fantasy radar but barring injuries, should be a lock for 50-point prioduction....Alex Pietrangelo also has the look of a potential top-five fantasy d-man this season, bouncing back with 6 pts in 7 games. His first of many 50+ seasons is coming, so treat him as a legit no. 1 fantasy option....It's important to remind us all that Kris Letang would certainly be among the scoring leaders if not for his injury. How do I know for sure? Matt Niskanen, who replaced Letang on the Pen's power play, is in the top ten with 6 points. Enough said... Oh yeah, Erik Karlsson is coming on strong too with 4 points in the last five games. Ottawa's franchise player will be one of the elite scoring blueliners by season's end.      While many fantasy owners passed over Marek Zidlicky partially because of New Jersey's anemic offense and his waning production in recent years, the veteran has stepped up in the exodus of Ilya Kovalchuk to provide more stability on their power play. He is just a few years removed from three straight seasons of 40+ points. A proven track record makes him a safer bet than most to post good numbers....Another forgotten defenseman was new Calgary captain Mark Giordano, who has exploded out of the gate with 9 pts in 7 games. Apparently, he has re-dedicated himself to staying healthy and he had been rewarded with top power play minutes. He was on the rise a few years ago with a 43-point season, but injuries and lack of pp time hurt his production. Not anymore, but can he keep it up? I say that 40 points is likely, but a spot in the top ten?.. Probably not. By the end of the year, Dennis Wideman and T.J Brodie will get ...

For fantasy hockey purposes, the Pittsburgh Penguins offer a plethora of players that are coveted by most fantasy owners because of their explosive offensive capabilities, probably more so than any other NHL team not named the Edmonton Oilers. When you have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin leading the charge, you know you have a good shot.  However, their goaltending has been in question the past few years, therefore the acquisition of veteran Tomas Vokoun the year before.  Vokoun stepped in for the struggling Marc-Andre Fleury in the playoffs and played fairly well.  Dan Bylsma has done a reputable job behind the bench and the players seem to like him.   This team shouldn't struggle to make the playoffs unless they were hit hard by injuries.  But even then they shouldn't have too much difficulty making the post-season. Goalies The one true question mark on this team is their goaltending. Although Fleury has backstopped the team to the Stanley Cup in 2009, which seems like a long time ago.  Ever since, fans and management had been hoping for a dynasty but injuries to key personnel along with the suspect goaltending has made this team more of a playoff enigma than a juggernaut.  Because of Fleury's spotty play in the playoffs, the team brought in Vokoun to help share the workload so that Fleury would remain fresh.  Fleury's career numbers are average with a 2.66 GAA and a .910 SP.  In last year's playoffs, "The Flower" posted a 2-2 record with a 3.51 GAA and a .883 SP in 5 games prompting Bylsma to turn the reigns over to Vokoun, who actually posted some good numbers with a 2.01 GAA and a .933 SP but just ran into a steamrolling Boston Bruin team.  Expect Fleury to get the bulk of playing time, but if he struggles, Byslma will not hesitate to go with Vokoun. Watch how the team plays in front of each net minder early on as that will give you an indication of who they believe in. Defense Kris Letang would be considered the top defenseman to own in most fantasy leagues if not for someone named Erik Karlsson. He has had some injury issues the past few seasons, so hopefully he is over those and can put in a full season.  If fully healthy, we expect him to compete for top scoring defensemen honors, especially with the cast and crew of the Pittsburgh Penguins.  Paul Martin had himself somewhat of a career year by going 6-17-23 in 34 games.  Martin should chip in with some points but it will be mostly Letang getting the bulk of power play time.  Matt Niskanen ...

The Senators surprised a lot of people with their performance last season, especially when star defenseman Erik Karlsson went down early with an injury. They finished 7th in the Eastern Conference, beat Montreal handily in the first round before losing to Pittsburgh in the second round. Ottawa was very much shocked this offseason when long time forward and Captain, Daniel Alfredsson, decided to jump ship after 17 years and go to Detroit hoping to finally win the Stanley Cup.  Don't know that he is going to have a better chance there than in Ottawa.  It's sort of like Marian Hossa moving from team to team trying to do the same thing a few years ago. It finally worked out for him just like it worked out for Ray Bourque in Colorado moving from Boston.  Jason Spezza is now the Captain of this team, and they have enough talent to make some noise in the NHL East.  Erik Karlsson should be fully recovered from his tendon injury, and when healthy he is the best fantasy defenseman in the NHL.  Forward Bobby Ryan should really flourish after his trade from Anaheim.  Goaltender Craig Anderson was terrific in the regular season.  This team is going to be something to be reckoned with in the NHL this year.     Goalies    The Senators will put their trust again in Craig Anderson as their starting goalie, despite what happened in the playoffs against Pittsburgh. Anderson was simply sensational in the regular season last year despite missing six weeks with an ankle injury. He went 12-9-2 in 24 starts, with a NHL leading 1.69 goals against average, a mind numbing .941 save percentage and 3 shutouts.  He played well against Montreal in the first round of the playoffs and then, unfortunately, got lit up by the Penguins. At 32 years of age he is in his goaltender prime.  He is 6'2" tall, although he only weighs about 180 pounds.  He has good positioning, and is very quick. The big complaint about him is rebound control, but he has gotten much better at this.   If he doesn't hurt his hand again he should win about 35+ games.  Robin Lehner is the backup.   The 22 years old Swede was pretty solid in relief last year with a 5-3-4 record a .936 save percentage and a 2.20 goals against average.  The Senators are in good shape in goal.  Defense Ottawa has the human superman, Erik Karlsson as their top defenseman. Karlsson, unfortunately, got hurt on a freak play last season where his tendon was torn.  Some poolies may pass him by because of that.  Don't do that.  He most ...

Erik Karlsson: The word out of Ottawa is that the All-World defenseman will be completely healed from injury and ready to go when training camps resume in September. With the acquisition of winger Bobby Ryan and the return of Jason Spezza, the Sen's power-play could be downright scary. Karlsson will be pumped to have a huge season.   FANTASY STOCK: UP Gustav Nyquist: There is talk that contract discussions between Nyquist and the Red Wings are moving along, although GM Ken Holland seems to prefer a one-year deal as opposed to two. The promising forward should get a huge bump in minutes this season, even possibly on the top line with Zetterberg and Datsyuk. We have a great sleeper brewing here, as a one-year deal will offer plenty of motivation for the youngster to showcase his scoring talent. FANTASY STOCK: WAY UP Nazem Kadri: According to the Toronto Sun, there has been minimal progress on contract extension talks between the Maple Leafs and RFA Nazem Kadri. Even though he is coming off a breakout season with 44 points in 48 games, it's hard to envision him building on that production in 13/14. A healthy Joffrey Lupul and the addition of David Clarkson will further balance the offense. Plus, he has admitted that the contract situation will become more distracting as the season get's closer. Buyer beware. FANTASY STOCK: DOWN Sergei Gonchar: New Dallas GM Jim Nill apparently believes that newly-acquired defenseman Sergei Gonchar could be the team's top blueliner this season. Perhaps Nill has been spoiled at his days with Detroit, where he had the pleasure to watch the ageless Nicklas Lidstrom perform his magic well into his forties. The 39-year old Gonchar can still get it done, but injuries have been a huge concern in recent years. He will put up points, but don't expect a full season from him. FANTASY STOCK: STEADY Ryan Whitney: The Edmonton Journal reported that there will probably be no suitors for Whitney's services until the training camps start. While his value right now floats around zero, there is a genuine need for offensive defensemen in the NHL. If he goes to the right team, 30+ points should not be shocking. He has a proven scoring pedigree, so don't completely forget him if he latches on somewhere. FANTASY STOCK: STEADY

Erik Karlsson: The word out of Ottawa is that the All-World defenseman will be completely healed from injury and ready to go when training camps resume in September. With the acquisition of winger Bobby Ryan and the return of Jason Spezza, the Sen's power-play could be downright scary. Karlsson will be pumped to have a huge season.   FANTASY STOCK: UP Gustav Nyquist: There is talk that contract discussions between Nyquist and the Red Wings are moving along, although GM Ken Holland seems to prefer a one-year deal as opposed to two. The promising forward should get a huge bump in minutes this season, even possibly on the top line with Zetterberg and Datsyuk. We have a great sleeper brewing here, as a one-year deal will offer plenty of motivation for the youngster to showcase his scoring talent. FANTASY STOCK: WAY UP Nazem Kadri: According to the Toronto Sun, there has been minimal progress on contract extension talks between the Maple Leafs and RFA Nazem Kadri. Even though he is coming off a breakout season with 44 points in 48 games, it's hard to envision him building on that production in 13/14. A healthy Joffrey Lupul and the addition of David Clarkson will further balance the offense. Plus, he has admitted that the contract situation will become more distracting as the season get's closer. Buyer beware. FANTASY STOCK: DOWN Sergei Gonchar: New Dallas GM Jim Nill apparently believes that newly-acquired defenseman Sergei Gonchar could be the team's top blueliner this season. Perhaps Nill has been spoiled at his days with Detroit, where he had the pleasure to watch the ageless Nicklas Lidstrom perform his magic well into his forties. The 39-year old Gonchar can still get it done, but injuries have been a huge concern in recent years. He will put up points, but don't expect a full season from him. FANTASY STOCK: STEADY Ryan Whitney: The Edmonton Journal reported that there will probably be no suitors for Whitney's services until the training camps start. While his value right now floats around zero, there is a genuine need for offensive defensemen in the NHL. If he goes to the right team, 30+ points should not be shocking. He has a proven scoring pedigree, so don't completely forget him if he latches on somewhere. FANTASY STOCK: STEADY

AND THE FANTASY WINNERS IN FREE AGENCY ARE: ROBERTO LUONGO G VANCOUVER Hard to imagine any player who did better to increase his fantasy value than Luongo. General Manager Mike Gillis' decision to trade Cory Schneider to New Jersey means that the Canucks will have no choice but to use Luongo as the starting goaltender. There are some rumblings in Vancouver that after being dangled as a trade offering for so long that Luongo does not want to go back to play for the Canucks.  While he could hold out, he does have a contract that has 9 more years and $64 million to go.  Don't think that he is going to walk away from that money.  At 34 years old, Luongo is still productive as he went 9-6-3 last year in 18 starts with a 2.56 GAA and a .907 SP.  His save percentage was well below his career average of .919, so there is some concern with that, but he should get 60 starts or so, and be a solid number 1 goaltender pick.   BOBBY RYAN RW OTTAWA Despite having scored 30 plus goals in 4 years, Ryan struggled to get quality ice time in Anaheim, as Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Teemu Selanne got most of the power play time. Ryan had a bit of a down season in 2013 scoring only 30 points in 46 games, and he had only 6 points on the power play.  The talented 26 year old scored 71 points in the 2010-2011 season, and now playing with Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson on the Senators' power play, we expect him to get back to those type of numbers again. Ottawa General Manager Bryan Murray has already indicated that Ryan will get top three ice time with the Senators.  Big fantasy winner! TYLER SEGUIN C DALLAS This may be a bit of a controversial selection, as there was no one whose reputation took a bigger hit this season than Seguin.  He had a down year with only 32 points in the regular season, and then went completely bust in the playoffs with one goal in 22 games.  There were rumors about the Bruins putting a guard outside his hotel room to keep him from going out late at night during the playoffs.  Have no idea if this is true or not, but his stay in Boston clearly hit rock bottom this year, and he needed to start fresh somewhere else.  Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli was not kind with his remarks about the trade saying that Seguin "needed to be more of a professional".  Unfortunately, Seguin has gotten off to a rocky start with Dallas with a vulgar tweet which he claims was hacked.  Seguin is still only 21 years old, he was drafted number 2 in 2010 and he has 3 ...