Ville Leino: AP

Seems the Ville Leino era in Detroit has begun. And no, that's not the name of another Mike Ilitch-owned pizza joint, although nobody would blame you for asking. So who the H-E-Double Hockey Sticks (clever eh?) is Ville Leino? Signed by the Red Wings in the off-season, Leino is an undrafted Fin who claimed most valuable player honors in the Finnish Elite League last year. By all accounts he showed enough jam in preseason to crack the Wings' roster, but was assigned to the AHL for salary cap reasons. There, he registered 37 points in 44 games before being called up last weekend when he scored a darling of a goal in his first NHL game. Reports indicate Leino will get the chance to strut his stuff for the next little while, and should he continue to impress, Detroit's looming offseason dilemma (trying to find money for both Marian Hossa and Johan Franzen) might be made easier (as in bye bye, Marian). Leino has been playing on Detroit's top line with Pavel Datsyuk and Hossa and registered an assist Monday against the Blues. Keep an eye on his progress over the next couple of weeks to see if he becomes yet another gem discovered by the Wings peerless scouting staff (apologies to you New Jersey scouting staff.)

So last week I made seven predictions with regards to how certain players would perform the week after the All-Star break. And while I was definitely on the mark in predicting a hot streak for Sidney Crosby (4GP, 3G, 5A = 8 points, +3), I was really wrong -- as in brown-shoes-with-black-pants wrong -- on others. A look here at my biggest mistakes:

Dustin Brown: Predicted a cold streak; he went on a tear: (2GP, 3G, 2A = 5 points, +2, 4 PIM)
Cam Ward: Predicted a cold streak; he stayed on a hot streak: (3GP, 2W, 1.01 GAA, .966 SV%, 1 SO)
Roberto Luongo: Predicted a hot streak; still awaiting that hot streak: (2GP, 0W, 4.02 GAA, .872 SV%)
I will point out, though, that Brown went pointless Tuesday versus Ottawa while Ward lost to Luongo in Vancouver.

The toughest decision a fantasy owner in keeper leagues faces is when to abandon his or her chase for the money and begin rebuilding for next year. Obviously if you've been a cellar dweller all season that move should have been already made. But it becomes harder when your team isn't altogether awful and you're positioned middle of the pack. The key is to force yourself to look beyond the standings and at the actual numbers, particularly in roto leagues. Do you really have the horses (or can you really get the horses) to catch up in those categories in which you're lagging behind? If not, you might be best to take stock and sell high. Sometimes the worst thing a fantasy owner can do is finish just out of the money while leaving the cupboards bare for next season.

David Backes: Frank Orris/Icon SMI

I remember a time not to long ago when Ottawa's Chris Neil was a sought-after winger on draft day. He was always among the league leaders in penalty minutes, yes, but he was also capable of putting up decent goal and point totals. Witness his 2005-06 season specifically when he tallied 16 goals and 33 points while racking up 205 PIMS. While his penalty minutes are still valuable, his offensive production has severely dipped with only six points thus far. So who is the new Chris Neil? In this order, try getting St. Louis' David Backes (17 goals, 28 points, 127 PIMS), New Jersey's David Clarkson (10 goals, 20 points, 92 PIMS) or Colorado's Cody McLeod (11 goals, 15 points, 110 PIMS) in your lineup.

Speaking of poorly performing Senators, gone from behind the bench is Craig Hartsburg, replaced by Cory Clouston, who was in charge of Ottawa's AHL team in Binghamton prior to the promotion. So who is Clouston? A former CIAU (Canadian University) player, Clouston, 39, spent five years in the Canadian Major Junior ranks behind the bench of the Kootenay Ice. He posted five straight winning seasons but never got his team past the third round of the playoffs. After being introduced to the media, Clouston said he expected a lot from his players and had full confidence in the guys in Ottawa's dressing room. To me, that sounds a heck of a lot like the constant refrain uttered by Hartsburg earlier this year before his frustration level peaked. Ottawa seemingly replaced Hartsburg with a younger, less experienced version of, well, Hartsburg. A coaching change quite often sparks an underachieving team, but I wouldn't get my hopes up long-term if I had a bunch of Ottawa players on my team. The Sens were shutout by the Kings in Clouston's debut Tuesday night.

My top-10 irks inspired by my fantasy friends:

1. When someone says he and I "basically have a deal done" before going AWOL the rest of the day leaving me in limbo as the weekly deadline approaches.
2. When someone tries to squeeze out way too much from me in a trade and subsequently settles for far less in another deal when I inevitably decline.
3. Someone who doesn't trade . . . ever. Where's the fun in that? (This year I pleaded with a guy to go back to school and learn how to weld just so that I could associate him with a trade of some sort.)
4. Even worse, the guy who constantly offers you bench players for superstars. Yeah, like I'm going to trade you Sidney Crosby for guys who can't crack your line-up.
5. Someone who blames injuries for all his fantasy woes. "I'd be in the mix if my team was healthy." Yeah right -- get off the Marian Gaborik train already. (You hear me DiscoSuperfly?)
6. The Woe-Is-Me guy. Constantly downplays the legitimacy of his chances in hopes he'll be pleasantly surprised.
7. The guy who needs a draft pick thrown into virtually every trade. (Wait, that's me.)
8. The bully. Just because you're a car salesman by day doesn't mean you can talk me into each and every deal you offer at night.
9. When I ship out a boatload of talent to get a big name -- i.e. Crosby -- and I'm immediately inundated with offers for said big name that aren't as good as the package I gave up to get him.
10. Those who are out of the mix and decline to play the role of spoiler by leaving injured players in their line-up. Sometimes the guy in last place of a roto league can have a huge impact on the final standings.