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Puck Amok King Jason: Allison should shine in Tinseltown
By Dave Wallace, Special to CNNSI.com Allison, my aim is true. Or rather, with respect to Elvis Costello, my aim was true. My aim, like a lot of other fantasy owners, was to draft Jason Allison and hope he would come back early enough to help my team. He’s back and he missed nine games, so it’s a gamble that paid off. The merits of the trade for the Los Angeles Kings and the Boston Bruins are up for debate, so let’s measure the fantasy fallout. What it means for Los Angeles: In Allison, the Kings have one of the league’s top centers, a guy whose name finds itself in the same breath with Sakic, Lemieux and Yzerman. Fourth in scoring last year with 95 points, expect Allison somewhere in the top 20 when the regular season ends due to the missed games. Though he sat out most of the 1999-2000 season with an injury, Allison seems typically sturdy. The time off shouldn’t make him more injury prone. When people talk about Allison, they almost always talk about playmaking first and goal-scoring second. So who is going to find his passes on the Kings? Mainly he’ll find Zigmund Palffy on the right. There’s some scoring on the point in Mathieu Schneider, too, who’s having a great start with four goals and seven assists. The one worry is that the Kings’ remaining scoring talent — Adam Deadmarsh and maybe Steve Heinze — plays on the right side. Palffy and Schneider deserved to be on fantasy rosters before the trade, and they should only improve. Palffy’s benefit should show more in his goal total, and expect Schneider’s name frequently in box scores as the second assist after wisely sending pucks to Allison. Unfortunately, the Kings lack a player of borderline fantasy value that Allison can elevate to a definite roster spot. Deadmarsh would somewhat fill that role, but he probably is on the second line. While it’s been Loss Angeles since Allison joined the team Oct. 24, and Allison has one assist in his first three games, the next four are against Chicago twice, Atlanta and Calgary. Allison should find his stride. In his 70 remaining games, he can get 30 goals and 45 assists. The trade also made a statement that L.A. is for real. Losing Rob Blake and Luc Robitaille suggested the team peaked last year, but now we shouldn’t be surprised if the Kings get Allison some help on the left side before the trade deadline. Mikko Eloranta, the other player acquired from the Bruins with Allison, does not belong in fantasy hockey despite his place on the first line of the NHL’s all-name team.
What it means for Boston: Certainly Jozef Stumpel, acquired with Glen Murray from the Kings, won’t supplant Thornton or eat any of his ice time. Stumpel’s a fine second-line center and still worthy of a spot near the bottom of a fantasy roster. But he’d better show something this year, because after looking like a mid-range fantasy player from 1996-1998, he’s dropped to a 50-point player in recent years. Boston’s wingers are deep, with Bill Guerin and Sergei Samsonov on the left and Martin LaPointe and Murray on the right, so Stumpel should get a boost. He might also give some much-needed juice to the sputtering Guerin. I understand some people want to ride Murray’s hot start, but if he were on my roster, I’d try to move him. He’s never shown enough scoring output to really justify keeping him. With 11 points he looks valuable right now, and perhaps could fetch a better player by himself or packaged. The key is finding a slow-starting star with a desperate fantasy owner who thinks I’m full of crap or who didn’t read this column. If Murray is on your team, dump him at the first sign that his hot start cooled. So far, he hasn’t scored in his two games with the Bruins. At the end of the year, he might have 20 goals and 30 assists, which would be great in fantasy hockey if he played defense. Give Stumpel some time because of his past, but if he looks like a dog in a month or two, drop him too. Right now, I’d say 60 points are possible. That’s acceptable for the last forward on your depth chart. With a big trade this early, we’re in for an exciting season. Find an owner who thinks Dave Wallace is full of crap or who didn’t read this column? Good luck.
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