Happy Labor Day weekend to all my American friends out there.  I hope you are out enjoying what I hope is good weather, good food, good drink and good family and friends! A few happenings in the NHL the past week or so.  Ex-Montreal Canadien and NY Ranger Center David Desharnais is set to skate in the KHL for the upcoming season. I once highly touted him as possibly the next Martin St. Louis but as you can see that never panned out.  See my Under The Raydar article to see what I wrote all those years ago. Lol. RW Troy Brouwer signed a 1-year deal with the Florida Panthers.  Clearly a depth move and at a cost of $850K, inexpensive as well. Newly acquired Calgary Flame D Noah Hanifin signed a 6-year deal for good money, $4,950,000 per year.  Traded away from the Carolina Hurricanes in a swap of defensemen with Dougie Hamilton coming the other way in the deal.  Perhaps with Flames veteran Defenseman Mark Giordano, Hanifin can emerge as a more complete defenseman with a boost in his offensive game. PrimePucks™ is starting to add their pre-season rankings to the website so keep looking for updates.  SO far we have Team and prospect Rankings available for your perusal. I will be uploading a new, updated Fantasy Draft Guide tomorrow, Sunday September 2nd most likely around noon.  Heading to a family BBQ today then to the Deep Purple & Judas Priest concert afterwards.  Guide is available for purchase, just click here.  At $10.99, you get over 60 pages of fantasy hockey articles and all 31 teams analysis.  The NHL season is just around the corner now, so be caught behind, get ready now for your upcoming fantasy hockey drafts! Enjoy the weekend! Ciao for now, Ray

Winnipeg @ Boston Ottawa @ Buffalo Philadelphia @ Tampa Bay Carolina @ Nashville Edmonton @ St. Louis Pittsburgh @ Dallas Minnesota @ Colorado RAY'S PICKS G: Pekka Rinne-NSH D: Kevin Shattenkirk-STL D: Anton Stralman-TB LW: Jonathan Drouin-TB LW: Valeri Nichushkin-DAL RW: Nikita Kucherov-TB RW: Troy Brouwer-STL C: Tyler SEguin-DAL C: Steven Stamkos-TB  

The New York Rangers started their 3-game California trip with a solid 4-1 win over the NHL-leading leading Anaheim Ducks. This starts a 6 in 7 game road schedule for the Blueshirts who have won 11 of 12 with G Henrik Lundqvist leading the way. The Rangers are starting to get production from throughout their lineup.  Rick Nash potted his 25th on the season but Derrick Brassard (4 pts in last 3 games) & Mats Zuccarello (7 pts in last 8) are starting to heat up as well, both with goals in the contest. They face the Kings tonight in what should be a very emotional game for the Rangers.... Washington took care of a Toronto Maple Leaf team that looked a bit disorganized under the new Head Coach Peter Horachek, beating the Leafs 6-2 behind 2-goal efforts from Eric Fehr and Marcus Johansson. The issue with the Capitals has always been scoring depth and if they can get consistent production from those two, they will be tough to play against going forward.  Fehr has had some impressive minor league stats but has never been able to carry that effort over to the NHL.  Troy Brouwer had 2 assists. All three Caps are solid fantasy depth forwards, especially if they go on a tear.... Boston managed to finally win an extra time game after losing in 3 three straight. It was none other than Patrice Bergeron who righted the ship for the Bruins with two goals including the overtime game-winner in beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2. With an impressive effort from G Tuukka Rask, the return to health of David Krejci, and a surging Bergeron, the Bruins just might be on the verge of going on one of their streaks. They certainly have the makeup....Newly acquired Penguin David Perron had 5 SOG but was held off the score sheet.... The Detroit Red Wings continued on their 6-game road trip with a win in Calgary. The precious night in Edmonton it was Pavel Datsyuk who provided the offense but tonight it was Henrik Zetterberg who had a goal and an assist in the win. The two veteran Wings continue to shine when healthy. Gustav Nyquist had 2 assists in the win....Mikael Backlund returned to the lineup for the Flames and promptly had an assist on the opening goal by Mason Raymond. Backlund also scored a short-handed goal in the third period showing his value.   Backlund's return will be a breath of fresh air for the club at this point in the season.  Give him some time to get into game shape.

While this year's verson did not get the media hype of past year's, the New Year Day Winter Classic between Chicago and Washington was as spectacularly done and as well played as any other. The home team ended up on top thanks to a late game tally by Troy Brouwer and superb goaltending by Braden Holtby (33/35 saves). Alex Ovechkin was easily the most dangerous forward on the ice, causing havoc with every shift and resulting in a dominant two-point effort. For Chicago, Patrick Sharp was also a "beast", scoring a power-play goal and racking up 10 SOG. Kris Versteeg left the game due to a hand injury and according to Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, "will be out for awhile". Last night's 3-2 win for the Kings over the Canucks featured three unanswered tallies for the road team in the third period. Of fantasy conswquence, winger Radim Vrbata paced the Canucks in the losing effort with a goal and an assist, raising his totals to 28 points in 34 games. With five points in his last five games, the streaky winger should be able to surpass his career-high of 62 points with the Sedin twins as his line-mates. Start him as a solid no.4/5 fantasy forward option..

While this year's verson did not get the media hype of past year's, the New Year Day Winter Classic between Chicago and Washington was as spectacularly done and as well played as any other. The home team ended up on top thanks to a late game tally by Troy Brouwer and superb goaltending by Braden Holtby (33/35 saves). Alex Ovechkin was easily the most dangerous forward on the ice, causing havoc with every shift and resulting in a dominant two-point effort. For Chicago, Patrick Sharp was also a "beast", scoring a power-play goal and racking up 10 SOG. Kris Versteeg left the game due to a hand injury and according to Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, "will be out for awhile". Last night's 3-2 win for the Kings over the Canucks featured three unanswered tallies for the road team in the third period. Of fantasy conswquence, winger Radim Vrbata paced the Canucks in the losing effort with a goal and an assist, raising his totals to 28 points in 34 games. With five points in his last five games, the streaky winger should be able to surpass his career-high of 62 points with the Sedin twins as his line-mates. Start him as a solid no.4/5 fantasy forward option..

The Barry Trotz era is about to begin and there are so many questions heading into the 2014-2015 campaign. Trotz is known for being the only Head Coach in Nashville Predator history and is more known for his defensive-style system than his offense which becomes a concern to poolies because of players like Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, two major offensive stars in Washington. Then there is the flipside of that in which the major defensemen in Nashville led the way on offense for the Preds. Will that translate in Washington?  Will that transform D Mike Green back to the offensive star that he once was? What should be the most important question is will Braden Holtby be that guy the Caps were hoping he'd be? GOALIES I was never one for the two-headed goaltender system. There needs to be a clear number 1 and a steady backup with the backup clearly knowing his role.  Perhaps with the new coach and the new system, Holtby can be that number 1 goalie the Capitals were counting on last year.  His metrics last season were far from impressive as he took a baby step backward in his development.  With Trotz behind the bench and incoming goalie coach Mitch Korn, Holtby's numbers should improve as he regains his confidence in net.  Korn was the goaltending coach in Nashville for the past 15 years, instructing NHL elite goaltender Pekka Rinne. Now if Holtby can be Rinne........Gone is Michal Neuvirth who was traded to buffalo at the trade deadline last year. Justin Peters signed 1 2-year deal as a free agent to back up Holtby. DEFENSE It will be interesting to see who emerges on defense in the Trotz system. Will it be a return to elite form for Green, or will John Carlson take that next step as a premium fantasy defenseman? Matt Niskanen parlayed his career season (46 pts.) in Pittsburgh into a 7-year deal with the Capitals. At 27, Niskanen is in his prime, but don't expect a return to those numbers unless he benefits this time from an injury to Green or Carlson.  He does have the talent but expect a little drop-off in production in his first year with the Caps.  Karl Alzner, Dmitri Orlov and free agent signing Brooks Orpik are all defense-first D-men so don't expect much in the way of offense. FORWARDS The Capitals offense begins and ends with Ovechkin, aka the Great 8 and Center Backstrom. Some say that it's Backstrom that makes Ovechkin better, but having either on your fantasy is a win-win. The duo were actually tied for the team lead in points ...

The Barry Trotz era is about to begin and there are so many questions heading into the 2014-2015 campaign. Trotz is known for being the only Head Coach in Nashville Predator history and is more known for his defensive-style system than his offense which becomes a concern to poolies because of players like Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, two major offensive stars in Washington. Then there is the flipside of that in which the major defensemen in Nashville led the way on offense for the Preds. Will that translate in Washington?  Will that transform D Mike Green back to the offensive star that he once was? What should be the most important question is will Braden Holtby be that guy the Caps were hoping he'd be? GOALIES I was never one for the two-headed goaltender system. There needs to be a clear number 1 and a steady backup with the backup clearly knowing his role.  Perhaps with the new coach and the new system, Holtby can be hat number 1 goalie the Capitals were counting on last year.  His metrics last season were far from impressive as he took a baby step backward in his development.  With Trotz behind the bench and incoming goalie coach Mitch Korn, Holtby's numbers should improve as he regains his confidence in net.  Korn was the goaltending coach in Nashville for the past 15 years, instructing NHL elite goaltender Pekka Rinne. Now if Holtby can be Rinne........Gone is Michal Neuvirth who was traded to buffalo at the trade deadline last year. Justin Peters signed 1 2-year deal as a free agent to back up Holtby. DEFENSE It will be interesting to see who emerges on defense in the Trotz system. Will it be a return to elite form for Green, or will John Carlson take that next step as a premium fantasy defenseman? Matt Niskanen parlayed his career season (46 pts.) in Pittsburgh into a 7-year deal with the Capitals. At 27, Niskanen is in his prime, but don't expect a return to those numbers unless he benefits again from an injury to Green or Carlson.  He does have the talent but expect a little drop-off in production in his first year with the Caps.  Karl Alzner, Dmitri Orlov and free agent signing Brooks Orpik are all defense-fist D-men so don't expect much in the way of offense. FORWARDS The Capitals offense begins and ends with Ovechkin, aka the Great 8 and Center Backstrom. Some say that it's Backstrom that makes Ovechkin better, but having either on your fantasy is a win-win. The duo were actually tied for the team lead in points with 79....

A LITTLE REFLECTION..... SLEEPERS & DARK HORSES was one of the new features in our 2013-2014 PrimePucks™ Fantasy Hockey Guide. This feature was to provide the fantasy hockey poolie with some players who may get an opportunity to make an impact on their respective NHL clubs.  Some were hits and some were disappointments.    We always like to think that our predictions will always be "spot on" as we have so much faith in these players like they were our own children, but sometimes they just need a little more time to grow, a little more time to mature and blossom into their full potential. Some of the players that have met or exceeded our potential were the likes of Anaheim's Nick Bonino and Detroit's Gustav Nyquist. In the case of Bonino, he was given an opportunity on the top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry who were on fire to start the season and Bonino reaped the benefits of playing alongside those two superstars.  In the PrimePucks™ Guide we had forecast Bonino to get 45 points and Nyquist 42.  In 74 games so far, Bonino has 47 while Nyquist also has 47 points but in just 54 games played where we predicted 42 points on the season.  Nyquist's opportunity was more the result of the Red Wings two superstars, Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, being out for large chunks of the season due to injury. So, one benefited from playing with two superstars while the other played without them.  Everyone has been waiting for the arrival of Nyquist and it seems his time has finally arrived. Some of the big disappointments were Marcus Johansson of the Washington Capitals and Sean Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers. The way Johansson had closed out the Lockout season playing with Alexander Ovechkin, we thought for sure that MJ would clearly blow past his career high season in points of 46 in 2011-2012 but it looks like he will just about equal that total with just 3 games left on the schedule.  We had MJ pegged for 76 points, so a big disappointment.  Johansson collided with a woozy Troy Brouwer (hit from behind at the end boards) and was shaken up in last night's game, so his season might be over anyway. Couturier and the Flyers started the season just 3-8-0 in the month of October but have forged their way back into a playoff spot.  Couturier never got his game going but still has 37 points in 79 games played so far, a far cry from the 64 we had predicted from the young talent.  He will always be in the shadow of playing behind Captain Claude Giroux, but...

Troy Brouwer, one of the Washington Capital player representatives to the union, has taken exception to recent comments made by teammates Roman Hamrlik and Michal Neuvirth. Both Czech players have taken an anti-union stance, stating that the lockout was more "about several superstars with big contracts' than anything else. Brouwer has followed that their comments cannot be taken seriously, considering both players have been absent from the negotiations. Also, he reiterated that the NHLPA remains a cohesive unit during this extended lockout. Really?? Happy birthdays to Vancouver D Keith Ballard and free agent LW Mathieu Darche.

Seems like Troy Brouwer will start the playoffs on the top line.