There will be plenty of ongoing trade discussion as we approach the deadline, but I will leave it to "Romie" to give his fantasy take on yesterday's transactions. I will dive into our fantasy game notes. First, congrats to the Nashville organization, their faithful fans and fantasy owners for the successful return of All-Star goaltender Pekka Rinne last night. Albeit in a 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh, the Finnish sensation has made it all the way back after being sidelined since October 22. Huge addition for fantasy squads that held onto him, given that the former 43-game winner will be starting most of the games moving forward as the Predators try to secure the final playoff spot. Give him a few games to get back to normal, but Rinne should be strong for the fantasy stretch run. Colorado's defenseman Tyson Barrie has flown under the fantasy radar for much of the season, but should not anymore. After scoring the game-winning power-play goal and an assist in the Av's 4-2 win over Chicago, the youngster has collected an amazing 18 points in the last 20 games. Who would have thunk it??? Grab him immediately if he is available. Boston's top line had gone scoreless their first two games after the Olympic Break, but things seem back to normal after David Krejci's "hat trick" last night against Florida. Jarome Iginla also chipped in with a goal and an assist. Start both with confidence, as they have been hot for quite awhile. Being a "defense" guy, I am loving what Pittsburgh's Matt Niskanen has been accomplishing in the wake of all the Pen's key injuries on the blue-line. He scored 2 goals in the win over Nashville, giving him 5 points in the last 5 games. It's Niskanen, not Olli Maatta, who is getting all the major minutes on the power-play. Another goal and an assist for RW Johan Franzen in Detroit's 4-3 loss to New Jersey. Can he stay healthy? His fantasy owners hope so. Playing possibly his last game as an Edmonton Oiler, Ales Hemsky was the fantasy star of the game with two goals, one of the highlight-reel variety. Even though his season stats are quite mediocre, the oft-injured winger and impending UFA should be highly sought after during the final hours of probable trade frenzy. Hemsky could see a huge spike in fantasy value if he lands on the right team. Hey, Sidney Crosby could use another line-mate in Pittsburgh! Two goalie contract extensions resulted in immediate rewards as both Anton Khudobin and Ben Scrivens both shined in the crease for their respective teams, Carolina and Edmonton. In the case of Carolina, can Khudobin's "hot" goaltending-2.16 GAA and .928 SP- make Cam Ward expendable at the deadline? They still have Justin Peters in the AHL. In the case of Edmonton, the acquisition of Viktor Fasth should complicate the Oilers goalie situation, but Scrivens has the best SP in the entire NHL- .935. He should get most of the starts moving forward. One quick note on Ryan Miller's successful home debut for the St. Louis Blues: He stopped 15 on just 17 shots. That is considerable less rubber than he faced in Buffalo, where the least amount of shots he saw all season was 22. That fact alone makes Miller a much more valuable fantasy option the rest of the way. Keep your eye on Michael Grabner, as the Austrian speedster has been the Islander's most reliable scoring option since John Tavares went down. With his overtime tally in Winnipeg, he now has 3 goals in 4 games after the Olympic Break. With the Roberto Luongo trade to Florida, Vancouver's Eddie Lack is their true no.1 goaltender now. In terms of fantasy, his peripheral stats are outstanding- 2.05 GAA and .926 SP, but his win total will be very modest as the Canucks are heading toward total rebuilding mode. The 'Nucks can't score folks!