Rotisserie by the Numbers

Others to benefit from Tkachuk, Allison injuries

By Craig Rondinone, SportsTicker

Jason Allison and Keith Tkachuk entered the 2002-03 season as two of the top 25 players to have in fantasy hockey. One knee-to-knee hit and one slap shot have rendered those rankings meaningless.

Torn MCLs and broken feet are not just football injuries, and fantasy hockey owners of Allison and Tkachuk are finding that out the hard way. Courtesy of a vicious meeting of the knees with Atlanta's Andy Sutton, Allison is out of action for at least two months. Thanks to being at the wrong place at the wrong time, Tkachuk will be sidelined up to six weeks because of a broken foot.

But not all fantasy owners should be crying rivers of tears because of these two major injuries. One of my favorite mottos is that one player's demise will cause another player's value to rise, and this is certainly the case with these two stars going down.

Here is how the injuries to Allison and Tkachuk will affect the fantasy world and whose worth might be getting a little shot in the arm:

Los Angeles: We are only a month into the season and already the Kings have had more health problems to deal with than the doctors of ER usually do during the course of a 22-episode season. Between Ziggy Palffy's groggy groin, Adam Deadmarsh's randy wrist and Aaron Miller's hellish hernia, the Kings have not been able to put their best team on the ice yet this season, and with the catastrophe around Allison, they might not be able to until the new year.

Who benefits the most from Allison's injury? Bryan Smolinski is a solid second-line center. He is a swift skater, a decent passer and can score 20 goals in a season. He is not a No. 1 center and he is certainly not Allison, but for the time being he is going to have to assume both roles.

Smolinski will now center the top line and play in between Palffy and Deadmarsh. This will mean more ice time (probably an extra three minutes per game), more scoring chances (Palffy and Deadmarsh are better than Eric Belanger and Alexander Frolov) and increased time on the power play. Smolinski is not the second coming of Marcel Dionne, but he should score 20-23 points in his next 30 contests.

Who else could benefit? If Smolinski falters -- and this is entirely possible because he is as inconsistent as the quality of water here in the Garden State -- Belanger would most likely be elevated to the first line. The Kings think very highly of this youngster and would have no problem placing him with Ziggy and "The Dead Man."

Who sees their value go down? Palffy and Deadmarsh go from having one of the best playmakers in the business setting them up to having a very mediocre center passing them the puck. Palffy does not need a lot of help to score, but he and Allison seemed to have a psychic connection together. Deadmarsh cannot create scoring opportunities for himself and should be hurt the most since he has played the best hockey of his career alongside of Allison.

St. Louis: The Blues have been singing them for a couple seasons as they have now claimed the title of unluckiest team in the NHL away from the Washington Capitals and Montreal Canadiens. Two years ago it was Pavol Demitra and Al MacInnis missing large chunks of time. Last year it was Doug Weight. This season it is Chris Pronger, Brent Johnson and now Tkachuk. Will the wicked witch of fantasy hockey please remove her curse from this poor team?

Who benefits the most from Tkachuk's injury? St. Louis jumped on Martin Rucinsky faster than a compulsive gambler jumps on a slot machine when he was ready to sign with an NHL team 10 days ago. The Blues must have known that their streak of bad luck was going to continue.

Rucinsky is a little on the flighty side. Sometimes he has moments where he makes magic happen on the ice, and sometimes you do not even realize he is on the ice at all. He is a player who is as good as the talent surrounding him. Last season with the Rangers, he was nearly invisible until he started teaming with Pavel Bure and Eric Lindros late in the campaign.

Rucinsky has stepped into Tkahuck's big skates and is getting the chance to play with the likes of Weight and Demitra, scoring a goal in each of his first two games. As long as Rucinsky stays healthy -- the Blues' bad luck plus Rucinsky's track record could equal a visit to injured reserve - he should score a little less than a point per game in Tkahcuk's absence.

Who else could benefit? Many other Blues wingers will be asked to step up their play and point totals in the wake of losing Tkachuk. Cory Stillman, Dallas Drake, Petr Cajanek and Scott Mellanby will all see their roles and ice time increased.

Who sees their value go down? Demitra and Tkachuk seemed to have a good thing going before Tkachuk broke his foot. Demitra could probably get a fair share of assists passing to a corpse, but his numbers will take a slight dip without Tkachuk on his left side.

Penalty Shots

Obviously, Allison and Tkachuk are the co-winners of this week's Mario Lemieux Award because of their respective injuries. Good job, guys!

Who would have thought Dick Tarnstrom, Dan Boyle, Jarolsav Spacek and Robert Svehla would be among the top 10 in defenseman scoring after one month. This is why you do not take defensemen ahead of forwards and goalies in the early rounds of fantasy drafts, because you never know which backliners may pop up at the points on potent power plays.

 

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