Former Vezina winner Tim Thomas paid immediate dividends for his new team, as he stopped 25 of 27 shots in Florida's 4-2 road victory over Dallas. Already entrenched as the Panther's starter over unproven Jakub Markstrom, the 39-year old should surprise fantasy owners who drafted him the late rounds. Despite showing few signs of rust in his debut, he will surely endure his share of growing pains with the young squad, limiting his fantasy value. These aren't the Boston Bruins, so you must keep your fantasy expectations in check. The huge downgrade in supporting cast makes him a decent no. 2 fantasy goalie at best. "Timmy T" should be more than a serviceable option during the opening weeks, as he will be extremely motivated to get back to an elite level. Vokoun Who?: After the Pittsburgh faithful had learned the news of trusted veteran goalie Tomas Vokoun missing at least three months of live action, there were many concerns whether Marc-Andre Fleury can bounce back to elite status. Well, for at least one night, those fears were quelled as Fleury responded to his critics with a 28-save shutout over the New Jersey Devils in the season opener. We told you guys not to get caught up with all the negative hype surrounding Fleury after his dismal playoff effort last season. He has a proven pedigree as an outstanding regular-season goalie, which should be the only thing that matters to fantasy owners. Until shown otherwise, treat him as a middle-tier no.1 fantasy goalie option. Leave his playoff struggles to the Pittsburgh coaching staff! Other Fantasy Game Notes: Alex Chiasson's goal for Dallas gives him 7 in 8 career games. Anyone counting? Solid sleeper.. Keep your eye on defenseman Marc Staal, who has been earning top power-play minutes in the early going under new coach Alain Vigneault. He registered the only goal in the Ranger's 4-1 loss to Phoenix. He was utilized as a two-way shutdown defender in the past, but his elite skill-set and an almost full recovery from his eye injury should put him back on your fantasy radar.. The streaky Radim Vrbata scored three goals for Phoenix, making him valuable waiver-wire bait to start the season. Keep in mind that he is searching for a long-term extension, which could assist in a quick start for the Coyote forward.. Pittsburgh winger James Neal apparently re-aggravated his upper body injury and left early in the first period. Keep tabs on this one.. Not the start Rinne owners were hoping for, as the Finnish ...

THE GOALIE EDGE: 10/3/13 Look for Holtby and the Capitals to steamroll past a weak Calgary team in their season home opener.. Too much firepower for the Bruins as they should sneak by Tampa Bay... Our sleeper is none other than Mr. Former Vezina Tim Thomas, who could surprise in Dallas tonight... Feel free to start Cory Schneider if he is one of your top two fantasy goalies. He is motivated to outperform the Devil's pronounced starter Martin Brodeur, while Pittsburgh will most likely be missing two essential offensive pieces, Kris Letang and James Neal. Plus, Fleury remains a major question mark for the Pens in goal. I sniff a possible upset here. FANTASY MUST-STARTS Tuukka Rask, Boston v.s. Tampa Bay Braden Holtby, Washington v.s. Calgary SLEEPER ALERT Tim Thomas, Florida @ Dallas DAILY GOALIE PICKS Steve: Braden Holtby (1-1) Ray: Braden Holtby (1-1) Mike: Tuukka Rask (1-1)

After a year removed from hockey, Thomas has signed with the Panthers for the 2013-14 season and will start tomorrow. The 39-year-old had back-to-back 35 win seasons from 2010-2012 with the Boston Bruins. He has a career 2.48 GAA, .921 SV% and a .541 winning percentage. If the Panthers are going to surprise us this season, they will need Thomas to regain his form from a few years ago.

The 2013-2014 PrimePucks Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide has been updated as of September 30th, 7:38 pm.  The Guide is revised with all the latest developments so that you can be prepared for your fantasy hockey draft.  As we near the start of the season, the Guide is updated more frequently so that you can be assured you have the most current and relevant information at your hands.  Just access the updated Guide through the FILES link in "My Account".  Get it now and WOW your fantasy opponents! Training Camp Notes: Veteran defenseman Ryan Whitney has found a home in Florida, signing with the Panthers for a one-year/ $900,000 contract. The new ownership continues to add complimentary pieces to improve the defense around starting goalie Tim Thomas.. As expected after the Cody Franson signing, the Toronto Maple Leafs have waived defenseman John-Michael Liles. Maybe a team in need of some help on the power-play will take a chance on him, but he has become a defensive liability these days.. A mild surprise in Tampa as hot-shot prospect Jonathan Drouin did not make the Lightning and will be returned to the juniors. Tremendous dynasty league upside, but there were preliminary plans to try him out with center Steven Stamkos .His time has not arrived yet, but the 18-year old has a bright future in the NHL..The Los Angeles Kings have opted to sent winger Tyler Toffoli to the minors. He impressively filled in for an injured Dustin Brown on the first line during training camp, but the team felt he was not ready yet.. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Kris Letang's lower-body injury might not be that serious. Considering his track history of getting banged up, Letang owners need to cross their fingers, as a fantasy player of his elite stature cannot be replaced. He can easily be the top fantasy defenseman in '13-14....The Washington Capitals traded C Mathieu Perreault to the Anaheim Ducks for a minor league player and a draft pick. Perreault should get a chance with the Ducks as they look for some secondary offense.  Also in Perreault's favor is the familiarity with Anaheim Head Coach Bruce Boudreau, where he played in parts of 2+ seasons with Boudreau behind the Caps' bench.  Keep in mind that he did have 2 straight seasons of over 100 points in the QMJHL....RW Jannik Hansen signed a 4-year extension with the Vancouver Canucks. Fans, and management, are patiently waiting for a breakout.  Don't expect anything huge.

Veteran defenseman Ryan Whitney has found a home in Florida, signing with the Panthers for a one-year/ $900,000 contract. The new ownership continues to add complimentary pieces to improve the defense around starting goalie Tim Thomas.. As expected after the Cody Franson signing, the Toronto Maple Leafs have waived defenseman John-Michael Liles. Maybe a team in need of some help on the power-play will take a chance on him, but he has become a defensive liability these days.. A mild surprise in Tampa as hot-shot prospect Jonathan Drouin did not make the Lightning and will be returned to the juniors. Tremendous dynasty league upside, but there were preliminary plans to try him out with center Steven Stamkos .His time has not arrived yet, but the 18-year old has a bright future in the NHL..The Los Angeles Kings have opted to sent winger Tyler Toffoli to the minors. He impressively filled in for an injured Dustin Brown on the first line during training camp, but the team felt he was not ready yet.. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Kris Letang's lower-body injury might not be that serious. Considering his track history of getting banged up, Letang owners need to cross their fingers, as a fantasy player of his elite stature cannot be replaced. He can easily be the top fantasy defenseman in '13-14.

UPDATE:  Toronto traded away Center Joe Colborne to the Calgary Flames for a 4th round draft pick instead of risking losing him on the waiver wire. Colborne was a 1st round draft pick in 2008 by the Boston Bruins but now joins his third team in hopes of sticking with the big club.  He will have every chance with the Flames as they are clearly in the rebuilding mode.  Might be worth a shot but don't expect a lot of production just yet. PRESEASON FANTASY BITS: The Florida Panthers recently signed forward Brad Boyes and defenseman Tom Gilbert to one-year contracts. With the addition of goaltender Tim Thomas, and the return of Kris Versteeg, the Panthers have become a little tougher to play against....Versteeg missed a big chunk of last season with an injury, but he has looked good so far in preseason.  He scored two goals and had an assist last night against Tampa Bay. Versteeg had good chemistry with Tomas Fleischmann a couple of years ago, maybe they can rekindle that this season. He may be worth a late round pick... Steve Stamkos and Martin St. Louis scored tor Tampa and they are both first round picks. Don't be shy about St. Louis' age, he did lead the NHL in scoring last season which means, he still got it!... James Reimer is showing that he wants to maintain the starting job in goal for Toronto, as he allowed only one goal against Detroit, and he had 24 saves. Jonathan Bernier has played well in camp also, so this is going to be a tough decision for Coach Randy Carlyle to make.  Expect them to split a lot of games, which means their fantasy value takes a hit... Young defenseman Nick Leddy had a big night for Chicago, scoring 2 goals and adding an assist in the Blackhawks 4-3 OT victory. The 22 year old has a lot of offensive potential and could score 40 points this season.  Draft him accordingly.. Forward Marcus Johansson scored a goal for the Capitals, and we a very high on this kid. Expect him to break out this season....Veteran defenseman Dan Boyle had two power play goals in San Jose's 6-5 win over Anaheim. Boyle may fall in your draft because he had a mediocre year last season, but we think he can still bring it, especially on the power play... The Ducks were badly oushot by the Sharks by 39-18, and they have not had a good preseason. Jonas Hiller got lit up in goal for Anaheim, although he did make 33 saves.  We expect him to get the majority of starts this year over Viktor Fasth... Great news for Colorado fans and fantasy players who own ...

Former Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas shocked the NHL with his decision to sit out last season even though he had a contract. He had a sensational 2010-2011 season, leading the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Championship, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy and the  Vezina Trophy and breaking Dominick Hasek's leading save percentage record of .937 by going .938.  He went 35-11-9 in the regular season with a 2.00 goals against average.  But he was insane in the playoffs going 16-9 with a 1.98 goals against average and a .940 save percentage.  He broke a 66 year record by only allowing 8 goals in the 7 game series against Vancouver.  That was quite the year.  In 2011-2012 he had a decent season as well, winning 35 games again.  His 2.36 goals against average and his .920 save percentage were both pretty solid.  Then for reasons known only to Thomas he decided to sit out last year.  He recently decided to come back to the NHL as a free agent, and he chose the Panthers as the best team for him, signing a one year contract.  This makes a lot of sense as the Panthers have new ownership with some money, and their goaltending last season was atrocious. The heir apparent for the starting job Jacob Markstrom went 8-14-1 with a 3.22 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.  Their other goalies Scott Clemmensen and Jose Theodore were even worse.  Theodore was not brought back after he became a free agent, and Clemmensen is in the AHL rehabing an injured knee.  Markstrom has great size at 6'6" and 215 pounds, but at 23 years old he does not appear ready yet for the NHL.  Thomas will be the Florida starter, and he should get a lot of starts.  Markstrom will be the backup this year.  The Panthers do not have a good team, and Thomas will discover that it is not like playing for the Bruins, but he should be okay as a second goalie, and get close to 30 wins.

"Tim is a proven winner who we are pleased to have signed," said Panthers GM Dave Tallon. "He is a fierce competitor who brings to our club a wealth of experience including a Stanley Cup Championship, two Vezina trophies and a Conn Smythe. Thomas sat out the lockout shortened season but in 2011-12 he was 35-19-1 with a 2.36 GAA and .920 SV%. He should become the Panthers starter which gives him some instant fantasy value, but his ceiling is limited.

After signing a one-year deal with the Florida Panthers, Former Vezina standout Tim Thomas played half of last night's game, allowing one goal in the 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. He looks to have the inside track on the starting job, so his average draft position over the next few days should rise sharply. I was lucky enough to get him in the 20th round in one of my drafts... Super goalie sleeper Ben Bishop saved 26 of 28 shots for the Lightning and should be a lock to start on Opening Night. He has been available in the late rounds in many leagues. Cash in if you can. He can get 30+ wins and a few shutouts. We don't have much faith in Anders Lindback.. Oh,oh. Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov looked brutal in the 5-0 loss to Dallas, giving up 5 goals on 24 shots. If he doesn't get off to a good start, there will be plenty of dissension in Avalanche country.. Roberto Luongo blanked the New York Rangers 5-0 to a tune of 41 saves. It's entirely possible that Luongo becomes the top fantasy goaltender AGAIN, so don't discount his potential greatness in '13-14.. Don't sleep on Boston's Loui Eriksson, who scored the overtime game-winner in the 3-2 win over Winnipeg. All the talk has centered on the arrival of future HOF'er Jarome Iginla, but the 3-time 70-point scorer will make a big fantasy impact on his new team. Mark it down... We like to extend our condolences to Martin Brodeur and his family, after the passing of his father and legendary photographer Denis Brodeur. How many of us have the image of Paul Henderson's legendary Summit Series winning goal in 1972 engrained in our minds? Thanks for the memories. The 2013-2014 PrimePucks Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide has been updated as of September 27th, 9:25 am.  The Guide is revised with all the latest developments so that you can be prepared for your fantasy hockey draft.  As we near the start of the season, the Guide is updated more frequently so that you can be assured you have the most current and relevant information at your hands.  Just access the updated Guide through the FILES link in "My Account".  Get it now and WOW your fantasy opponents! Check out the new ROMIE HITS THE POST which focuses on the New Jersey Devils goaltending situation.  Check it out here! PrimePucks™ continues to bring you the NHL IN 30 every day in the month of September, bringing you in-depth team analysis for the upcoming season. Today's featured team: The Big, Bad Boston Bruins!  Don't forget to check back each and every day as we ...