Florida's sophomore left winger is performing above poolie expectations. - One of the more difficult positions to fill in rotisserie leagues is the left wing slot.

Knowing which rookies to draft in your pool can be the difference between first and second. - It’s easy for poolies to predict that Alex Ovechkin will get 115 points, or Jarome Iginla will garner 95, or Anze Kopitar will flirt with 80…but what about those players who do not have an NHL track record? Predicting how the freshmen will produce can sometimes be akin to throwing darts, but it’s good to get as many opinions as you can before evaluating a player’s fantasy value.

Minnesota center P-M Bouchard is on the cusp of something special, and poolies should take note. - With five NHL seasons under his belt, Minnesota forward Pierre-Marc Bouchard is poised to finally reward his patient fantasy owners with a breakout year.

League-wide news and views to give you the edge in your fantasy draft. - Some notes and thoughts from around the league for you to take with you to the final rounds of your fantasy draft this weekend… Salary cap restrictions forced the Anaheim Ducks to ship Bobby Ryan down to the American League.

With injuries to key players on Pittsburgh's back end, this rookie is getting a look. - Pittsburgh prospect Alex Goligoski’s stock has risen within the organization over the past two years, but it has taken a shoulder injury to Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney’s foot surgery for fantasy owners to start paying attention.

There’s no question that the Dallas Stars new, erm, star forward had an awful big dose of hype placed atop his shoulders going into the start of the season. And there was no question that his debut would be watched carefully by a vast array of interested parties. Sure, the guy was supposed to be great. [...]

After a 1-2-1 start which has not pleased a whole lot of people, the Chicago Blackhawks organization has fired coach Denis Savard. Savard was replaced by a not-altogether-unlikely option, scouting chief Joel Quenneville. The idea that Quenneville would seize power in Chicago and take over the coaching slot probably surprised nobody. However, the idea that [...]

Former first-round draft pick of the New York Rangers Alexei Cherepanov has died during a game in Russia. He passed away yesterday after collapsing on the bench of his Avangard Omsk team in the third period of a Continental Hockey League game. Cherepanov had seven goals and five assists in 14 KHL games this season. He [...]

We’ve known her for a few months now and yet, at times, it’s felt like we’ve known her for decades. I’m talking, of course, about Sarah Palin. The “you betcha” Queen of Alaska, the veep candidate in the dog-and-pony show we love to call American politics down South, and the individual selected in a baffling [...]

Sports Illustrated has become the latest magazine publication to chime in with its predictions regarding the winner of the Stanley Cup for the 2008-2009 NHL season, selecting the Detroit Red Wings to win it all. SI joins The Hockey News with the prediction, which in my view is a fairly obvious one. But SI and The [...]

As just about everybody on the hockey planet is aware, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been devoid of a Stanley Cup for the last 41 years, seemingly on the path to 42. In an attempt to be facetious, many Leaf cohorts would happily replace their first-born to see their beloved blue & white win the prestigious trophy. There is quite obviously a myriad of reasons why the Maple Leafs along with their numerous fans have not relished in the ecstasy of Stanley Cup success in quite sometime. Over th...

The New York Rangers exploded out of the gate and have vaulted to a 5-0 record in the NHL's regular season. But while they have yet to face a loss on the ice, there was some tragic news for the team yesterday when it was reported that top prospect Alexei Cherepanov had collapsed during a game in the Russian Kontinental Hockey League. He later passed away.

Last season the Blackhawks were relevant and competitive for the first time in a LONG time. Hockey is back in Chicago, baby! Last year was both the rookie campaign AND the breakout year for both Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. The two 1st round pick rookies made good with the big club and definitely rejuvenated the entire franchise on every level. Dustin Byfuglien was the other big new name for the franchise having a breakout year himself. This year will be a proving year for all three to cemen...

Last season the Minnesota Wild won their first ever Northwest Division title but were ousted in the first round of the playoffs by the Colorado Avalanche. The big question for the Minnesota Wild this season is the whether or not they picked up enough goal scorers to make up for the players they lost in free agency. Here’s a quick rundown off who came and went, along with their scoring numbers from last year.

So Habs fans, the Centennial season has commenced! We've been waiting a while for this, and here we are...too bad Ryan Miller and the Sabres had to go spoil it. Not to fear, fellow believers, not to fear. It's one game, decided by a shootout-there's no shootouts in playoffs. Besides, we all know Carey Price's track record in shootout-he'll be fine.

Keeper league player rankings for the month of October. - The Dobber's rankings of a player's trade value in 'rollover' fantasy pools. Enter The Hockey News Supreme Pool with more than $15,000 in prizes and a $5,000 first prize! OCTOBER PLAYER RANKINGS Rk.

Keeper league player rankings for the month of September. - The Dobber's rankings of a player's trade value in 'rollover' fantasy pools. SEPTEMBER FANTASY RANKINGS Sept.

Keeper League Player Rankings for the month of July. - Our rankings of a player's trade value in 'rollover' fantasy pools.   July Player Rankings August Player Team DEF? Rating July June Change 1 Sidney Crosby PIT   450.

Keeper League Player Rankings for the month of June. - Our rankings of a player's trade value in 'rollover' fantasy pools. May Player Rankings Player Team DEF? Rating May April Change Sidney Crosby PIT   451.

Keeper League Player Rankings for the month of May. - Our rankings of a player's trade value in 'rollover' fantasy pools. May Player Rankings Rank Player Team DEF? Rating Last 2mths Change 1 Sidney Crosby PIT   453.

Our Michael Hurcomb examines some of the more interesting offseason moves that will impact Fantasy owners on Draft Day 2008 in his latest Fantasy Stockwatch.

Plenty of big names were drafted or traded over the recent NHL Draft weekend. Our Michael Hurcomb discusses all of the fallout in his latest Between the Pipes.

The Fantasy Hockey season has been over for a month, but there has still been plenty happening on and off the ice. Michael Hurcomb discusses some of the latest movers and shakers in this edition of Fantasy Stockwatch.

Our Mihai Cercel files his final Fantasy Planner of the hockey season for those few owners playing out the string.

With many teams realizing that the playoffs are not a realistic goal, injured players are opting to shut it down or opt for season-ending surgery. Our Mihai Cercel visits the infirmary ward and more in his latest Fantasy Hockey Planner.

Mike Russo has a story in the Star Tribune about how Atlanta GM Don Waddell is all too familiar with how annoying/stressful/impossible it is to get a superstar re-signed during the hockey season. Having lived through the Marian Hossa ordeal last year, Waddell  knows exactly what Minnesota Wild GM Doug Risebrough is going through with [...]

A couple days old, but whatever: Chalk one up for Tampa Bay’s new GM (no idea what his name is, and let’s be honest, it’s pretty irrelevant since Koules and Barrie are running the show) for finally listening to the rest of the rational world and seeing that his team’s defense could use a bit [...]

Remember that Swedish wonder-kind who was overlooked by scouts left and right and ended up with an opportunity to sign as an unrestricted free agent with the NHL at age 23? Remember how everyone said that he wouldn’t be able to adapt to the game and that people were idiots for throwing good money at [...]

Today’s rumor comes from the Rockies where very few people are impressed with the early (winless) performance of the Colorado Avalanche. First on that list has to be the Denver Posts’s Adrian Dater: So where are we now? We’ve got a team that is 0-3, one that has allowed 13 goals and blown all three games [...]

Ok, like who couldn’t see this one coming? Not only do the Chicago Blackhawks load up on on-ice talent this offseason, they add Scotty Bowman to the front office and hire Joel Quenneville as a pro scout. I guess only a few people knew he was actuall scouting the team’s head coach. I bet his first [...]

Welcome (back) to Hockeyinformer.com for the 2008/2009 NHL season. We'll be here with our daily goalie predictions on who will be in net as well as news and fantasy insight for forwards and defenseman as well. Just as a summary for those who are new, the links on the left are what you need to use to navigate the page. The "news" tab is where you will find all the fantasy worthy news that we have time to post while the "starting goalies" tab is where you will find what you're really here for:...

Here are Hockeyinformer's goalie rankings for the 2008/2009 NHL season. While we have ranked most of the top goalies in the league, we have also taken the liberty to break them down into tiers as we feel at times it may be important to know which goalies share similar value and which are in a distinctly inferior group. Tier One 1. Martin Brodeur - You can't go wrong with the perennial All-Star and Vezina finalist .. Turns 36 this year, but is ready to break several records this season the most ...

Huet was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a second round pick, reports the AP. This deal clouds the goaltending picture in Washington considerably, as Huet will now battle with Olaf Kolzig for starts. It's still unclear who will emerge as the winner, but our opinion is that Huet will probably come out of all this with slightly more value than the aging Kolzig. Brent Johnson meanwhile becomes absolutely worthless as he is now a third stringer. Over in Montreal, Carey Price ta...

Smith was traded to the Lightning in the blockbuster that sent Brad Richards the other way, reports the AP. Smith immediately becomes the favorite for starts and should be picked up in any leagues in which he is still available. Karri Ramo will be relegated to backup duties while Johan Holmqvist, who was also part of the deal, heads to Dallas to serve as Marty Turco's backup. Bump up Smith's value considerably while Ramo and Holmqvist are now virtually worthless. Turco's value will stay ab...

Unless you own Vanek, you might not have noticed that he has exploded back into the stratosphere. After months of disappointment, this great buy-low player has finally shaken his label. The window has likely closed to snag him at much of a discount, but it is still worth a shot. Unfortunately, 15 points in 9 games, including two hat tricks, usually wakes up even the most naive of owners. Still, if you stole him low... congrats!