This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
It looks like owners are going to be given a chance to grab up some familiar names that weren't on the wire this time last week. Martin Brodeur signed a one-year contract with the St. Louis Blues earlier this week and Ilya Bryzgalov has signed a professional tryout (PTO) with the Anaheim Ducks.
Brodeur's presence was necessitated by injury to Brian Elliott and Blues coach Ken Hitchcock said, following his team's 4-1 loss to Chicago Wednesday, that Brodeur will be making his debut Thursday night against the Predators. I feel like it'll take a little time to get used to see Brodeur in a Blues jersey.
If you're desperate for some goaltending -- maybe your starters were John Gibson and Brian Elliott -- Brodeur and Bryzgalov (if he gets a contract) are living, breathing, non-injured goalies, which, depending on your situation, might be better than no goalie at all.
They might be. That's it. No guarantees there. In one of my leagues I've got enough goalie stats logged that I'm happy with -- it's season long cumulative stats format -- so I would rather play no one than either of them. But, as an example, in most weekly formats you're going to lose some categories if you don't start anyone at all.
Why would I play no one? Because neither of these guys are good solutions for these teams. These are desperate, temporary decisions that could be better than the alternative for those teams, but you probably have another option not named Igor Bobkov you can turn to. At least, I hope your team can. Consider some other back-ups that have been playing better than awful. Niklas Backstrom. Martin Jones. Antti Raanta.
Brodeur's a legend. One of the greats. But he was awful last year. For the second straight season he posted a save percentage of .901 and he hasn't had a SV% over .908 in four seasons. He's 42 and his time has past. There's no reason to believe that a new team will solve the problems that have existed for the last four seasons. He's a year older, missed camp, and sat out for the first quarter of the season. I'd love it if I was wrong and he plays great, but that will have to happen before I'd take a chance on him.
Honestly, if Bryz gets a deal, I'd pick him up before Brodeur. I have more confidence in his current abilities than I do in Brodeur's. But even then, I'm hoping to find someone like Raanta or Alex Stalock somewhere on the wire. Someone who has played well and will get starts throughout the season. Brodeur and Bryzgalov stand to just have a short window of starting as their teammates (or future teammates) get healthy.
So don't get tricked by the names. There are a couple of new goalies on the wire and they're worth a look if you're desperate, but only if you're desperate. And even if you're desperate you should think long and hard about it before you click that "add" button.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Vancouver Canucks (Ryan Miller) at Pittsburgh Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury), 7:00 PM
Washington Capitals (Braden Holtby) at Carolina Hurricanes (Cam Ward), 7:00 PM
New Jersey Devils (Cory Schneider*) at Toronto Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier), 7:30 PM
New York Islanders (Jaroslav Halak) at Ottawa Senators (Craig Anderson), 7:30 PM
Dallas Stars (Kari Lehtonen) at Detroit Red Wings (Jimmy Howard), 7:30 PM
Buffalo Sabres (Jhonas Enroth) at Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky) at Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 7:30 PM
St. Louis Blues (Martin Brodeur*) at Nashville Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00 PM
Colorado Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov) at Calgary Flames (Karri Ramo), 9:00 PM
Los Angeles Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Arizona Coyotes (Mike Smith), 9:00 PM
Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at San Jose Sharks (Antti Niemi), 10:30 PM
*confirmed starter
Injury News For Teams Playing Thursday
Vancouver Canucks
Tom Sestito, LW - (lower body) has skated on his own.
Zack Kassian, RW - (finger) was moved to injured reserve last Friday.
Dan Hamhuis, D - (lower body) is not on the Canucks road trip.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Marcel Goc, C - (foot) is a possibility for Thursday's game.
Chris Kunitz, LW - (foot) has a fracture in his foot and will miss the next couple weeks.
Kris Letang, D - (groin) remains out.
Beau Bennett, RW - (knee) was moved to IR Tuesday.
Robert Bortuzzo, D - (suspension) has been suspended for two games. Thursday's match is game one.
Scott Wilson, LW - (lower body) will miss at least two weeks due to an injury sustained on Tuesday.
Pascal Dupuis, RW - (blood clot) skated on his own Tuesday morning.
Washington Capitals
John Erskine, D - (neck) remains out from surgery in October.
Mike Green, D - (upper body) will travel with the team, which is a good sign.
Edward Pasquale, G - (hip) is out indefinitely.
Dmitry Orlov, D - (wrist) has practiced with the team.
Aaron Volpatti, LW - (neck) has practiced.
Carolina Hurricanes
Jordan Staal, C - (leg) has shed his cast and is expected to begin off-ice workouts soon.
Andrej Sekera, D - (undisclosed) missed practice on Wednesday.
Brett Bellemore, D - (lower body) is on IR.
Cam Ward, G - (soreness) took practice off Wednesday, but may be available.
New Jersey Devils
Patrik Elias, LW - (groin) is questionable for Thursday.
Jaromir Jagr, RW - (head) left Tuesday's game and is doubtful for Thursday.
Martin Havlat, RW - (lower body) will miss both games on the current road trip.
Bryce Salvador, D - (lower body) is on IR.
Travis Zajac, C - (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Monday.
Ryane Clowe, LW - (head) is likely out long-term.
Steve Santini, D - (wrist) out following surgery.
Jon Merrill, D - (arm) was cleared to play on Monday.
Stephen Gionta, C - (foot) took a shot to the foot Tuesday and is questionable for Thursday.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Leo Komarov, LW - (concussion) is unlikely to play Thursday.
Brandon Kozun, RW - (ankle) is in the AHL on a conditioning assignment.
Roman Polak, D - (knee) is expected to miss at least another three weeks.
Daniel Winnik, LW - (lower body) is expected to play Thursday.
Carter Ashton, RW - (suspension) is still serving a 20-game suspension.
New York Islanders
Lubomir Visnovsky, D - (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Wednesday.
Eric Boulton, LW - (undisclosed) is on IR.
Johnny Boychuk, D - (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Wednesday.
Matt Carkner, D - (back) is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Cal Clutterbuck, RW - (undisclosed) left Tuesday's game with an injury.
Travis Hamonic, D - (upper body) left Tuesday's game with an injury.
Ottawa Senators
Marc Methot, D - (back) could make his season debut on Thursday.
Bobby Ryan, RW - (finger) practiced fully Wednesday, but appeared hobbled. He's questionable.
Dallas Stars
Patrick Eaves, RW - (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Wednesday.
Rich Peverley, C - is on long-term IR.
Patrik Nemeth, D - (arm) is unlikely to return this season.
Valeri Nichushkin, LW - (hip) underwent surgery and won't be back soon.
Detroit Red Wings
Jonas Gustavsson, G - (shoulder) will be out at least another month.
Justin Abdelkader, LW - (shoulder) did not play Tuesday.
Buffalo Sabres
Drew Stafford, RW - (lower body) will not play Thursday.
Andrej Meszaros, D - (concussion) missed Tuesday's game.
Matt Hackett, G - (knee) took part in Wednesday's practice.
Joel Armia, RW - (upper body) remains out.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Mattias Ohlund, D - (knee) is on long-term IR.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Nathan Horton, RW - (back) is unlikely to return this season.
Fedor Tyutin, D - (knee) remains out.
Brandon Dubinsky, C - (abdomen) is traveling with the team, but will be out Thursday.
Artem Anisimov, C - (triceps) is out a few weeks.
Cody Goloubef, D - (leg) has resumed skating.
Mark Letestu, C - (groin) underwent surgery Tuesday and is expected to miss six weeks.
Ryan Murray, D - (knee) remains out.
Florida Panthers
Aleksander Barkov, C - (hand) is unlikely for Thursday.
Scottie Upshall, LW - (leg) is on IR.
Dave Bolland, C - (groin) has traveled with the team recently, but remains out.
St. Louis Blues
Jay Bouwmeester, D - Did not play Wednesday.
Brian Elliott, G - (knee) resumed skating, but isn't expected back soon.
Nashville Predators
Viktor Stalberg, LW - (knee) remains on IR.
Derek Roy, C - (upper body) remains day-to-day.
Colorado Avalanche
Brad Stuart, D - (hamstring) is day-to-day.
Jesse Winchester, LW - (concussion) remains out.
Marc-Andre Cliche, C - (oblique) could be out up to two weeks.
Jamie McGinn, LW - (back) may need to undergo surgery.
Ryan Wilson, D - (shoulder) will miss the remainder of the season.
John Mitchell, C - (leg) is doubtful.
Patrick Bordeleau, LW - is on IR.
Dennis Everberg, RW - (shoulder) is on IR.
Calgary Flames
Sam Bennett, LW - (shoulder) is out for a long while still.
Mikael Backlund, C - (abdomen) is considered week-to-week.
Joe Colborne, C - (wrist) skated on his own Wednesday.
Matt Stajan, C - (knee) has been cleared to return Thursday.
Mason Raymond, LW - (upper body) will not play Thursday.
Los Angeles Kings
Marian Gaborik, RW - (upper body) said that he expects to miss Thursday's game.
Slava Voynov, D - (suspension) remains suspended despite the Kings' best efforts.
Arizona Coyotes
Brendan Perlini, LW - (hand) is out indefinitely.
David Moss, RW - (upper body) is doubtful.
Brandon Gormley, D - (lower body) still isn't practicing.
Boston Bruins
Zdeno Chara, D - (knee) is making progress, but won't be on the team's current road trip.
David Krejci, C - (groin) is on IR.
Adam McQuaid, D - (thumb) is on IR.
David Warsofsky, D - (groin) participated in practice Saturday.
San Jose Sharks
Logan Couture, C - (head) - left Tuesday's game after taking a shot to the head. Is questionable.
Tyler Kennedy, LW - (lower body) has been a full participant in practice.
Raffi Torres, LW - (knee) hopes to resume skating soon.
Hot:
Patrick Kane, RW, CHI -- Yeah, Kane's kind of always on fire. But he's been great lately, notching two goals last night to give him four goals and three assists over the last four games. If you stretch that out Kane has eight goals and seven assists to go along with an average of 3.6 shots per game through the last nine games. Kane is and remains pretty good.
Kris Versteeg, LW, CHI -- Versteeg's ownership levels are on the rise. He's been playing outstanding and with Chicago struggling to score for a little while early in the season, the team is running with whoever is putting the puck in the net. He's currently on a three-game point streak over which he has a goal and six assists. Like with Kane, you can stretch out that range and it's still looking good. He's got four goals and ten assists over the last eight games. Will it last? His shooting percentage has maybe been a little high and will come down, but he's posting strong possession numbers, getting great ice time over that eight game stretch, and advanced stats show that the team has been better with him on the ice. Versteeg's spot could stick.
Cold:
Nail Yakupov, LW, EDM -- If you're asking yourself When wasn't Yakupov cold? you aren't totally wrong. Here's the problem: Yakupov isn't just on a terrible team and he isn't just perennial kryptonite if your league scores plus/minus, he's not producing offense this year. If Yakupov suited up 82 games last year, he was on pace for just over 14 goals. (He actually played 63 games.) His rookie year, he was on pace for 29 goals in 82 games. (Lockout shortened season. He played all 48 games that year.) This year he's on pace for just nine goals. How about total points? Rookie year he was on pace for 53. Last year he was on pace for 31. This year he's on pace for 22. He's currently without a point in ten games. The problem is that Yakupov does look impressive at times and it's clear he has a ton of skill, but he's not producing at the level he needs to be in order for him to have value to your fantasy roster. There are better options (see: Jason Zucker below). This is especially true with the Oilers winning the race to the bottom of the league right now. They're without a win in 11 games, so it's not as though the strong play of the team around him is going to snap him out of this funk. I'm not trusting him until I see a radical shift in his numbers.
Vincent Lecavalier, C, PHI -- Ownership levels are dropping fast for Lecavalier in most leagues, but it honestly shouldn't have taken him getting scratched in two straight games to get people dumping him. No matter what the ownership percentage on Lecavalier is, it's too high. It should be zero. He's a serviceable fourth line player at this stage in his career, but that's it. He's lost most of his value in fantasy. (And certainly loses all of it when he's not even on the bench.) With the Flyers grabbing just 4 points in their last 11 games, things are going to change in Philly and benching Lecavalier for a longer stretch is far from out of the question, especially if they turn things around without him on the roster. Vinny hasn't scored a goal since the fourth game of the season, is without a point in his last five, and has just two assists and no goals in his last 12 games. Time to drop him in anything but the deepest formats. (And even then...)
Recommended Pickup:
Jason Zucker, LW, MIN -- With a goal 19 seconds into last night's game, Zucker has points in three straight and five points in his last five games (4-1-5). Zucker is emerging as a top talent with nine goals on the year, second best on the Wild. He's also starting to get a look on the Wild's struggling power play. If he finds any measure of success there, the team is sure to go back to him while they try to gets something, anything happening on the man advantage. Zucker is playing great and is worth a pick-up in many formats, as his ownership levels are below 10%.
