Rotisserie by the Numbers

Many players win out thanks to trade deadline deals

By Craig Rondinone, SportsTicker

March is a month full of madness, but not just the kind involving conference tournaments, bubble teams, brackets and Dick Vitale screaming like a man whose house is on fire.

The NHL trading deadline is good for a lot of craziness, even if it is confined basically to a 72-hour period, thanks to a flurry of wheeling and dealing that would make an auctioneer's head spin. And when it comes to fantasy hockey, trades are good things, because most of the time a trade bumps up the fantasy values of the players involved.

Sometimes a player gets a new lease on life when he joins a new team. Sometimes a player gets traded back to a team where he had great success earlier in his career. Sometimes a player gets dealt to a team that will utilize his skills better and give him more ice time. And sometimes a player just needs a change of scenery because his coach, management and teammates were getting on his nerves.

Here is a list of some of the players that switched uniforms before the Tuesday deadline who should see their fantasy values go up a couple notches thanks to being traded:

Owen Nolan, Maple Leafs: Nolan had worn out his welcome -- and his body -- in San Jose. It was time for a fresh start, and what better place for one of the most ornery power forwards in the business to go than the heaven for goons and cheap shot artists, Toronto.

Nolan is playing on the second-line with Robert Reichel and Mikael Renberg, not exactly the second coming of Bryan Trottier and Mike Bossy. This might not last long, though. Gary Roberts left the last Maple Leafs game with a groin injury, meaning a spot has opened up on the top line with Mats Sundin and Alexander Mogilny. Nolan could fit right in and score a bushel of points with those two snipers.

Chris Osgood, Blues: Also known as "The Human Sieve" in fantasy circles this season, Osgood has proven two things over his career. He is not superb enough to carry a team on his back, and he is good enough to win a lot of games if he plays with a very good team, especially if that team specializes in playing defense.

St. Louis is the perfect haven for goalies who are solid but not spectacular. Al MacInnis and his Blues cohorts on the blueline play tight defense and do not force their goalies to face more than 30 shots most nights, and the offense scores plenty of goals to salvage cheap wins for goaltenders when they have off nights. The Brent Johnson Era is over for now in St. Louis. Osgood will now get the bulk of the work -- and a bulk of the wins.

Tony Amonte, Flyers: "The City of Brotherly Love" is going to play host to another lovefest now that Amonte has been re-united with his Olympic buddy Jeremy Roenick. All we will hear about the next week is how close the two of them are (even though they had a slight falling out a while ago). These two will be so mushy together it will make you sick to your stomach.

Two failed experiments equal good news for Amonte owners. The experiment of Amonte playing in Phoenix was a disaster, and the experiment of Sami Kapanen playing alongside Roenick in Philly was even more of a disaster. Look for Roenick and Amonte to get plenty of press and plenty of points together over the next month.

Dean McAmmond, Flames: McAmmond played the best hockey of his career last season when he was the third component on Calgary's top line with Jarome Iginla and Craig Conroy, one of the highest-scoring units in the NHL. But McAmmond did something in Colorado this season that is very difficult to do -- he failed to score goals while playing with Joe Sakic.

Now McAmmond is back in Calgary for another go-round, so there is almost no doubt the Flames will try to recreate the magic he had with Iginla and Conroy, both of whom have also fallen off the face of the earth scoring-wise this season (do not buy for a second that McAmmond's absence is the reason they have been so bad). McAmmond will get more playing time, especially on the power play, and will get to play with his two old friends again -- definitely a plus.

Rob Ray, Senators: Ottawa always gets pushed around in the playoffs like the little brother who tags along with his older siblings at the playground. Well, bullies, be on alert! It will not happen this season.

Ray is not going to stand by and watch big defensemen floss their teeth with Marian Hossa or play air guitar with Martin Havlat's torso. Ray is there to defend the multitude of finesse forwards the Sens have, which means he should get in many fights and rack up much in the way of penalty minutes for fantasy owners.

Alyn McCauley, Sharks: McCauley cannot be any worse than he has been the past couple seasons in Toronto. He was always the victim of the numbers game there, squeezed out of ice time by the mediocre likes of Travis Green and Reichel.

Ice time will not be a problem for McCauley in San Jose, who wants to see what they have in the young center/left wing. The Sharks system should be good for him since they play a style where good skaters prosper. McCauley will not light the ice on fire, but his offensive production will be better than it was in Toronto.

Bates Battaglia, Avalanche: 19 points in 70 games. Sounds like the stats of a fourth-line wing or a defensive defenseman. Nope. Battaglia, who last season was on Carolina's first line and gave fantasy owners decent numbers, saw his point production drop quicker than a glass-jawed opponent of Mike Tyson this season. He seemed to hit every post and get stopped by every hot goalie.

Colorado acquired Battaglia at the deadline for enigmatic Radim Vrbata, and this could cause B2's value to zoom. The Avalanche needed to upgrade their size and grit up front, so he will play. And if he finds his way onto Joe Sakic's line somehow his point-per-game average could double, if not triple.

Ramzi Abid, Penguins: I love the name, and I love his game. He showed he can score in bunches during his short stay in Phoenix, and although he has deficiencies on the defensive end of the ice, his offensive skills make your mouth sweat.

Abid did a good job putting the puck in the net playing with Daymond Langkow. What do you think could happen if he plays with Mario Lemieux? A Super Mario-Abid-Martin Straka line does not sound farfetched if Rico Fata and Steve McKenna were demoted to lower lines that better suit their limited talents. Taking a flyer on Abid is not a bad idea if you need a wing because of this possibility existing.

Radek Dvorak, Oilers: "The Big Apple" wins again. Dvorak could never get his act together with the Rangers after tearing his ACL. His speed seemed like it had returned this season, but his old problem, finishing around the net, also returned after a two-year hiatus. Six goals in 63 contests is unacceptable -- unless your name is Stu Grimson.

Enter Edmonton. Maybe Dvorak, who could not click with any Ranger middlemen other than Petr Nedved, should get to play on one of the top two Oiler lines, meaning either Mike Comrie or Todd Marchant would be his centerman. That should be a good thing.

Playing in the Western Conference, where wide-open play is a little more warmly received, should also be a good thing. And escaping New York and the wrath of Ranger fans and the tabloid media should be the best thing for Dvorak. Remember, this a fellow who netted 31 goals a couple years ago, and he is still young.

Penalty Shots

Is there anything worse than getting bit by the injury bug right in the groin? And time and time again no less? Gagne's groin has nagged him all season long, and every time he comes back, he re-injures it.

After his latest stint on the injured list, Gagne returned against the Rangers. One game, one hit, out probably for the remainder of the regular season. Too bad the Flyers did not package him for Jarome Iginla when they had the chance.

 

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Jon A. Dolezar: Leafs, Stars earn highest marks for deadline deals

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