This week’s Fantasy Hockey Roundtable was asked: “Now that the Olympics are over, who is the one player you are targeting off the waiver wire for the final push this season?”

Representing the illustrious RotoRob, I went with Steve Downie, that still-hidden gem of a point-producer. Here’s what I had to say:

“I’m all over Downie, who’s going crazy playing with Steven Stamkos. He’s still available in a bunch of leagues and he’s probably the best player you’ll find on waivers at this point in the season. He’s putting up career numbers in a big, big way and while they’re hardly impressive, they’re solid. Downie should continue to put up points for you.”

Check out the rest of the Roundtable here.

This week, the Fantasy Hockey Roundtable was asked: “While the Olympics don’t count toward Fantasy points, they’re still fun to watch. Which NHL player will dominate this Olympics? Why?”

Here’s what our panel had to say:

Olympics Men’s Hockey is usually won by strong goaltending. While I expect to see a Canada-Russia final I do see the Slovakians finishing a surprising third due to the performance of Jaroslav Halak. While most experts have Sweden finishing third, it’s a team that looks better on paper and tends to underachieve. With Bob Gainey stepping down earlier this week, there are rumblings of Carey Price being traded. If this happens, Halak will be riding into the Olympics full of confidence. If a trade doesn’t occur he will be proving his worth on the world stage. Either scenario bodes well for Halak.

Marcus Schalle, dobberhockey.com

Much to the chagrin of my American friends, I’m going to predict a Canada-Russia final. Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby will meet in what promises to be an epic battle in front of a worldwide audience.

It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist (or even an expert hockey writer) to predict that the league’s two brightest stars will shine at the Olympics. Ovechkin will be featured in a feared Russian attack that will include Evgeni Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Pavel Datsyuk, and teammate Alexander Semin. Crosby, meanwhile, will have the opportunity to play alongside wingers such as Rick Nash and Jarome Iginla. Ovechkin may be the scorer feared more right now, but remember that it’s Crosby who has the Stanley Cup and who is playing on home soil.

What about the goalies? Martin Brodeur and Ryan Miller may put up stellar performances against opponents like Norway and Switzerland, but expect shooters like Crosby and Ovechkin to dominate once it’s time for the medal round.

Ian Gooding, fantasyhockey.com

There are two players who I really like for the Olympics, and they happen to play on the same team and possibly the same line — Alexander Ovechkin and Ilya Kovalchuk. Russia has a plethora of scoring talent — these two being two of the hottest — which makes it the favourite to win the tournament. The team also has standouts Pavel Datsyuk, Evgeni Malkin, Andrei Markov, Sergei Gonchar, Sergei Fedorov, Alexander Semin, and goalies Evgeni Nabokov and Ilya Bryzgalov. It is going to be very hard to stop this team, but mainly, the offensive pair of Ovie and Kovy.

Kevin Orris, fantasypros911.com

While Canada’s greatest strength is its depth, I think Team Russia could have the scariest top line if it goes with Alexander Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, and Evgeni Malkin. Even with Malkin and Datsyuk having down years by their standards, I could see that line putting up Nintendo numbers in the Olympics. Another trio that I’d keep an eye on is Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau. I’d still put the Russian line ahead of them in raw talent, but Heatley, Thornton and Marleau already have plenty of experience playing alongside each other and while other players are trying to adjust to new teammates, the Canadian trio will have the advantage of being able to keep it simple and just do what they’ve been doing all season: averaging a combined
3.4 points per game.

If I had to pick one NHL player to dominate though, I’d put my money on Ovechkin. He’ll be extremely passionate when it comes to playing for his country and I don’t think he’ll change his style in the slightest to try to avoid an injury. Ovechkin is remarkably consistent and the NHL’s best player should also be the Olympic’s greatest attraction.

Ryan Dadoun, Rotoworld.com

He’s an oldie but a goodie. Martin Brodeur loves big games and the spotlight. I think he’ll blow people away in the Olympics.

Right now, his Devils are struggling. He’s looking to get the taste of losing out of his mouth. Playing behind Team Canada, he’s going to be re-engergized and ready to show the world just how good he is.

But also, you have to think Alexander Ovechkin will relish the opportunity to show up Canada on home ice. He has the ultimate chance to show North America just how great European players can be.

Steven Ovadia, RotoRob.com

This week the Fantasy Hockey Roundtable was asked “Over the course of 48 hours, the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks and New York Rangers combined to complete three major trades. What player(s) do you think will benefit the most from the transactions? Who do you think was hurt the most due to the moves?”

Representing for RotoRob, I wrote:

I think Christopher Higgins will most benefit from the Calgary series of trades, just because he seemed to be putting himself under so much pressure in New York, perhaps because he was playing so close to home, that he could hardly shoot straight. His time in New York was such a failure, he really has nowhere to go but up.

In terms of players hurt from moves, I’m not sold on Ilya Kovalchuk in New Jersey. I’m not sure how he’ll fit in with their system and I’m not sure how much he’ll appreciate not being the focal point of his team’s offense. And I’m not sure if he’ll struggle with the defensive responsibilities of playing for the Devils. It seems like there are a lot of places where the deal can go south for him. It’s a good thing he’s a rental.

Read the rest of this week’s Roundtable on RotoWorld.

This week, the Fantasy Hockey Roundtable was asked: “Which three players have been the most disappointing so far this year?”

Here’s what we said for RotoRob:

It’s hard to pick just three players who have disappointed me this season. I’ve been let down by so many, so many times. But if I had to pick just three, I would go with:

1. Evgeni Malkin — He finished last season with 35 goals. This year, Malkin had just 18 in his first 47 games, and just six goals in January. He finished last season so strong, looking like nothing could stop him. Malkin had 50 goals in his eyes after he lifted the Cup. By the time Christmas rolled around, he looked like he would be grateful to
score just 20 goals.

2. Alexei Kovalev — His disappearance isn’t surprising, but it is disappointing. Kovalev’s last two seasons in Montreal were great. But with 13 goals in 51 games for Ottawa, he hasn’t lived up to anyone’s expectations. Ottawa had to know Kovalev is one of the game’s streakiest players, but for whatever reason, it chose to throw its lot in with him. A lot of Fantasy owners made the same mistake.

3. Christopher Higgins — He’s never had huge numbers. In fact, his career-high is just 27 goals. But coming to the offense-minded Rangers, it was reasonable to expect Higgins to finally have that breakout season he always seemed to be flirting with. The idea was that he would just hang out in front of opposing nets and collect goals. For whatever reason, that hasn’t happened in New York. And when Higgins does have the rare scoring chance, he can’t cash in. He’s snake-bitten, as you can see with his six goals on the season.

This week’s Fantasy Hockey Roundtable was asked: “Which player is most likely to be traded by the March 3 trade deadline?”

Here’s what we had to say for RotoRob:

It’s tough to pick who’s most likely to be traded when you consider that pretty much all of the Carolina Hurricanes are up for grabs. In addition to that whole team, Sheldon Souray seems destined to be traded out of Edmonton. The team is horrible and he’s one of the few valuable pieces. Plus, it seems he wouldn’t mind leaving the Oilers either.

No one claimed Minnesota’s Petr Sykora off waivers, but I think there’s some team that’ll be willing to take a chance with him. He’s never been an offensive juggernaut, but he’s playoff tested, and that might be enough to entice a team to grab him. Of course, intangibles don’t show up on Fantasy scoresheets, so for our purposes, it really won’t matter.

Here’s the rest of this week’s Roundtable.

With RotoRob.com hosting this week, the Fantasy Hockey Roundtable was asked “Did you grab Miroslav Satan when the Bruins signed him last week? Why or why not?”

Here’s what the experts had to say:

Count me out of the Miroslav Satan sweepstakes in any of my leagues. Sure, Satan might benefit ice time-wise with the Bruins because of injuries to Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron. However, this was the same player who the Penguins placed on waivers at last season’s trade deadline and then subsequently sent to the minors after there were no takers. During the Penguins’ Stanley Cup run, Satan found himself in the press box when Petr Sykora wasn’t there. Once upon a time, Satan was a consistent 60-to-70 point player, but don’t fool yourself — those days have passed. Don’t expect him to help your Fantasy team a great deal.

Ian Gooding, fantasyhockey.com

No. Mid-season signings are a gamble even when the player is a former stud like Mats Sundin or Peter Forsberg. They typically need a while to shake off the rust and their failure rate seems to hover around 50 per cent. That being said, the allure of players like Sundin and Forsberg is their upside. With Satan, you’re getting most of the risk for none of the upside. He scored 17 goals and registered 19 assists in 65 games last season and had just 41 points in 80 games in 2007-08. The most you can realistically hope to get out of Satan is about a point and a penalty minute every other game. Unless your team has been plagued with injuries or you’re in a particularly deep league, he’s just not worth the risk.

Ryan Dadoun, Rotoworld.com

Maybe I’m an optimist, but I grabbed Satan in some leagues where I had some guys who weren’t doing much for me anyway. As everyone has pointed out, Satan is a risk, especially given the way he pretty much petered out at the end of last season. But at the same time, he’s now rested and desperate to prove he’s an NHL-caliber player. Then, factor in that players new to teams often have an explosive start from the excitement of playing someplace else. Satan hasn’t shown that explosive scoring with his two points in four games, but he’s putting up numbers for a Boston team that’s coming off of a three-game losing streak going into last night’s game against San Jose.

Obviously, Satan isn’t going to save anyone’s Fantasy season (or Boston’s real-life one), but if you have an extra roster spot, you could do worse than to grab him.

Steven Ovadia, RotoRob.com

After taking the holidays off, the Fantasy Hockey Roundtable returns this week to address the question “Which player surprised you the most in the first half of the season (either by performing well above or well below your expectations) and do you think he’ll rebound or collapse? Who do you think will be the surprise player of the second half?”

Speaking for RotoRob, this was my two cents:

Michael Del Zotto of the Rangers has surprised me, both in terms of performing above and below expectations. It was shocking when he started the season so strong — putting up four goals and eight assists in October. But since then, he’s cooled considerably, scoring just one goal and eight more assists the rest of the way. Those numbers wouldn’t be so surprising if Del Zotto hadn’t had started so strong. But given that this is his rookie season, it’s probably just growing pains. I expect him to finish the season quietly.

For the second half of the season, I’m anticipating a huge dive in Sidney Crosby’s numbers. He’ll be coming out of a long postseason and the Olympics. Sid the Kid is tired and it’s already starting to show. Who knows how gassed he’ll be after playing for Team Canada?

Read the rest of the Fantasy Hockey Roundtable on RotoWorld.com.

This week’s Fantasy Hockey Roundtable was right up my alley — multiple choice: “Which of the following struggling centres is most likely to find his scoring touch by the end of the season? The least likely?”

The centres to select from were Pavel Datsyuk, Vincent Lecavalier, Eric Staal, Olli Jokinen, and David Krejci.

Here’s how I weighed in:

My money is on Vincent Lecavalier regaining his scoring touch mostly because it seems coach Rick Tocchet is coaching game-to-game, trying to keep his job. I think a new coach will ignite Lecavalier. And if the Lightning happen to move Lecavalier, the change of scenery will also probably do wonders for his stats. So basically, left to his own devices, I don’t think Lecavalier will hit 15 goals. But given how unstable things seem to be in Tampa, I think any change could inadvertently help Lecavalier score.

I don’t think things will turn around for Eric Staal. He’s got no one around him in Carolina and you can see it in his numbers. Also, perhaps more interestingly, Staal is getting plenty of shots off, so it’s not like he doesn’t have the opportunity to score. The shots he’s taking just aren’t lighting the lamp. And that seems to signal he might have lost a step or two.

To read the rest of this week’s Roundtable, visit FantasyHockey.com.

This week our Fantasy Hockey Roundtable was asked “Which players are you currently looking to sell while their hot?”

Your humble correspondent threw Stephen Weiss under the bus:

The hot player I’m considering dumping is Stephen Weiss from the Florida Panthers. He’s coming off a December 2 hat trick and has five goals in his last five games. He’s got 13 goals and 11 assists in his first 31 games. Weiss is having a career season. Amazingly, he’s never scored more than 20 goals in a season and he’s never had more than 48 points. One school of thought says Weiss will continue to sizzle, but I’m guessing, as the Panthers continue to struggle, his production will return to his usual low-to-average levels. There’s nothing in his history to suggest he’s about to evolve into an offensive superstar. Weiss is doing well right now, and some Fantasy owners are probably cashing in on his recent hot streak, but I’m betting this is all just an illusion.

Read the rest of the Roundtable here.

This week we asked our illustrious panel “Who was your waiver pick up of the week?” Here’s what they told us:

This season David Clarkson had been the roto surprise player of the year before his recent injury. This title was held by David Backes last season who started off the year with four points and 34 PIMs in his first 21 games. His pace through 21 games was 16 points and 133 PIMs, which was far behind last years total of 54 points and 165 PIMs. With six points and four PIMs in his last four games, Backes looks to have turned the corner and he could break the 45-point and 150-PIM barriers again. His RW status is also bonus as it is the hardest position to fill.

Marcus Schalle, dobberhockey.com

Ian Gooding, fantasyhockey.com

Jesse Mendelson, FantasyPros911.com

Steven Ovadia, RotoRob.com

This week’s Fantasy Hockey Roundtable asked “Which goaltending battle has been the most intriguing so far this season?”

Here’s what we had to say:

I’ve been most interested in the Islander goalie situation, where you have both Martin Biron and Dwayne Roloson putting up strong numbers.

The fascinating thing is that despite their statistical similarities (Roloson has a 2.80 GAA and .920 save percentage; Biron has a 2.78 GAA and .910 save percentage), Roloson is 8-2-5 and Biron is 2-8-2.

We’re talking similar numbers by older goalies, both playing behind the same team, yet their won-loss records are like night and day.

And of course, this goalie battle will only get more interesting if presumable franchise goalie Rick DiPietro returns in mid-December as most recently reported.

The Islanders, who had almost no goaltending last season, could find themselves with three strong goalies.

It’s feast or famine in the nets on Long Island.

See the entire Roundtable here.

This week’s Fantasy Hockey Roundtable asked “Outside of Michael Del Zotto, which defensemen have surprised you the most this year?”

Speaking for RotoRob, I weighed in:

So far this season, I’ve been most surprised by Phoenix’s Ed Jovanovski.

Jovo finished last season with just 36 points in 82 games. It was a decidedly disappointing season for him and I expected it to continue. But this season, he has 13 points in his first 16 games and a 15-goal campaign doesn’t seem out of reach.

What’s different? Playing for coach Dave Tippett, the new head man in the desert. Tippett plays a defensive system that leaves a lot of chances for blueliners to blast away from the point. And Jovanovski is taking advantage of the constant green light from the point. It worked for Sergei Zubov when Tippett coached him in Dallas and it’s working for Jovanovski in ‘Zona.

For the rest of this week’s Roundtable, visit FantasyPros911.

This week, we asked our panel: “We’ve seen a lot of serious injuries so far this season. Who’s absence is going to most negatively affect his teammates’ statistics?” Here’s what the panel had to say on the matter:

Last season, the Boston Bruins held the best record in the Eastern Conference. They were the second-highest scoring team and owned the fourth-ranked Power Play. This season, they are 26th in offensive and their PP ranks 27th.

At quick glance the loss of Phil Kessel via trade and Milan Lucic to injury appears to be the issue, but it’s the injury to Marc Savard that has hurt Boston and his teammates’ stats the most.

The leading scorer on the Bruins is Patrice Bergeron with 10 points in 16 games. At that pace, he would end the season with 51 points. The other top scorers on the team aren’t exactly on pace for banner years, either: Michael Ryder (31 points) and Blake Wheeler (41 points). Zdeno Chara has had a slow start but is on pace for 46 which is not far behind his 50 from last season. The biggest area of concern is the +/- as Bruins led the league last season in this category.

Upon Savard’s return, I would expect to see the Bruin offense pick up dramatically as the team was only able to pick find the back of the net four times in five games last week. Savard is the driving force behind their offense and if the Bruins are unable to sign him this offseason I would be looking to quietly shop anyone in a Bruin jersey in your keeper leagues not named Chara or Tuukka Rask.

Marcus Schalle, dobberhockey.com

The plus/minus was already a disaster before Ward was accidentally cut in the leg by Rick Nash’s skate. But any savvy Fantasy owner should know that Manny Legace is not an upgrade in net, meaning that the frigid plus/minuses of Joe Corvo (-9), Joni Pitkanen (-10), Aaron Ward (-12), and even former Selke Trophy winner Rod Brind’Amour (-13) will not improve anytime soon.

Staal’s absence means that oft-injured regular linemate Erik Cole is practically worthless in Fantasy leagues this season (one point in seven games). Heck, if Jussi Jokinen (10 points in 17 games) is your leading scorer, you know that your team is in big trouble.

Ian Gooding, fantasyhockey.com

Andrei Markov’s injury will also have severe implications on his team, as we have already seen.

Kevin Orris, FantasyPros911.com

I think Marian Hossa’s absence is really hurting the Blackhawks.

How can his absence have impact if he’s never played a game for them?

No one on the team has more than six goals. Jonathan Toews has just two. This is a team that’s lost a little bit of its swagger. Hossa in the lineup will equal almost instant confidence.

On a more strategic level, Hossa in the lineup draws attention from opposing defenses. And that lack of attention on Toews and Patrick Kane should translate into more goals.

Plus, when he wants to be, Hossa can be quite a playmaker. We didn’t see it too much in Detroit last season, but he put up two 50+ assist seasons in Atlanta and there’s no reason to think he can’t revert to that dishing style in Chicago.

Steven Ovadia, RotoRob

This week’s Fantasy Hockey Roundtable asked “Is Craig Anderson Vezina Trophy material, or is he nothing more than fool’s gold for the rest of the season?”

Find out what what the panel had to say about this issue.

Honestly? I’m a little in love with Anderson, a player featured prominently in Friday’s edition of Ice Chips.

This week’s Fantasy Roundtable is up! Your lovable panel was asked: “Which NHL rookie has impressed you the most so far this season?”

There’s a whole lot of answers that rhyme with Smell Hotto. I’m just saying…

Check it out!

This week we asked the Roundtable “Who is your earliest pick that you have already dropped from your Fantasy roster?” Because, honestly, I was feeling a little guilty about some recent moves.

I subscribe to the philosophy that the Fantasy hockey season is a marathon, not a sprint, so I don’t get too concerned about statistics from the first two weeks. By sticking to that philosophy, I know that I have now officially missed the boat on early-season waiver wire gems like Michael Del Zotto. But at the same time, I am patient to wait it out with players struggling early on like Roberto Luongo, Ryan Getzlaf and Pavel Datsyuk, meaning that I don’t even consider trade offers for those players from other owners looking for a buy-low opportunity.

Being patient over the first month means that the earliest pick that I have already dropped is likely a later pick than most of the other guys. But that pick is Filip Kuba, picked 159th overall in the Yahoo! Experts League. Kuba has been sidelined day-to-day for the past couple weeks, and the Senators have not placed him on IR even though there is no targeted return date. My defense on that team needs a significant upgrade, so I can’t afford to wait it out with Kuba any longer. Other players that I have dropped from other teams include Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Bryan Little, Johnny Oduya, Matt Niskanen and James Wisniewski, all for various reasons.

Ian Gooding, fantasyhockey.com

The NHL season is only three weeks old and many GMs panic and drop their early/mid round picks for the streaky FA. I tend to be very cautious when it comes to dropping players on my roster that are off to slow starts. However, I’m usually very active in rotating my last starting D in leagues that include four or more starting D.

My first drop was Brent Burns, two and a half weeks into the season. Since then I have rotated the spot with Marc-Andre Bergeron and Jason Demers. I will continue to cycle this position unless Burns becomes a valuable Fantasy asset again.

Marcus Schalle, dobberhockey.com

I tend to be cautious about panicking too early in the season (see my recent article here on the annual early-season panic). However, I have just recently dropped Brent Burns, who I had hoped was going to have a solid year (still possible), but obviously something is not right in Minny (maybe the new coaching style), but I just couldn’t live with a league worst -10.

I have also dropped Loui Eriksson at LW, not because he has had slow start (he’s doing pretty much what most folks thought he was going to do), but more as a reflection of some interesting opportunities at LW that became available in my league (like Patrick O’Sullivan, who I highly recommend as a LW2 or 3 if you can still pick him up off the wire).

Brent Lemon, dobberhockey.com

I haven’t had any big let downs yet this year, and plus I think it’s a little early to be dropping guys that have proven themselves in years past. There’s no reason to drop any player that’s healthy if drafted in the top six or eight rounds at this point, but injuries are another story.

The best player that I’ve seen dropped is Johan Franzen because of the torn ACL that will keep him out for months, which is a huge dent in a league that doesn’t allow an Injured Reserve spot. I did see Marc Savard dropped in one league after suffering from a broken foot that will keep him out for over a month.

I highly recommend keeping an eye on the transaction history of your league on a daily basis to make sure that you can capitalize on other owners mistakes, like dropping Savard.

Kevin Orris, FantasyPros911

I dumped Christopher Higgins, who’s been struggling for the Rangers. He’s got no goals and just two points and seems to be losing confidence by the day. But even more damaging, his coach, John Tortorella, seems to have lost confidence in him. And it seems like Higgins will be relegated to the bench in a manner of days. You picked him because you thought he would finally hit that 30-goal plateau, especially playing on a line with Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan. Now, it looks like he’ll be lucky to pick up 10 goals this year.

This week’s Fantasy Hockey Roundtable, hosted by FantasyHockey.com, asked: Which player do you think will experience the highest single-season gain in points over last season? Which player will experience the greatest drop (not including injured or retired players)?

The answers just might shock you.

This week’s Roundtable question was designed to challenge conventional wisdom. Is there room for whimsy in Fantasy hockey? I sought to find out by asking the following to this week’s panel: Who do you predict will be the top three scorers this season and the highest scoring defenseman (overall points)?

The same goes for last season’s top-scoring defenseman, Mike Green. Although his defensive shortcomings during the playoffs were well-documented, Green is in a class of his own as far as scoring goes. It’s rare to see a defenseman crack the 30-goal or 70-point mark unless their name is Bobby Orr or Paul Coffey, which is why one could justify drafting Green in the first round. Other top-scoring defensemen like Nicklas Lidstrom, Scott Niedermayer and Sergei Gonchar won’t add to their point totals given the stage of their careers, but we may not have seen Green’s best years yet.

Ian Gooding, fantasyhockey.com

But as far as the next three are concerned, there is less agreement. Joe Thornton is a name that has often been associated with the top scorers’ list, but this year his appeal seems to be waning, perhaps due to continued lackluster playoff performances.

Instead, folks seem to be looking at Ryan Getzlaf, Ilya Kovalchuk, and Zach Parise as the number four, five and six scorers.

Of those three, I’d be most wary of Parise. While he’s clearly developed into an elite scorer, it’s unclear how the coaching change in New Jersey will affect Parise and the Devils. Jacques Lemaire is notorious for his defensive style of play. Scoring may take a dip as a result.

For defensemen, I like Mike Green as the top-scoring blueliner. Most other would agree I think.

Again, asking the question of who’s next after Green is perhaps more useful to readers looking for an edge this year.

I like Dion Phaneuf as the next leading defensive scorer. Mike Keenan was not good for the Flames, and I believe that the coaching change will be well received in Calgary. After a significant dip in his numbers last season, I think Phaneuf is hungry for a comeback year, especially with the extra incentive of the impending Olympic team selections.

Brent Lemon, DobberHockey.com

So let’s take a look at four through six, where things are a bit tougher to gauge.

4. Joe Thornton: It wasn’t long ago (2006-07) where Big Joe put up 114 points, second only to Crosby. JT is known for being a one-dimensional player, but in a points-only league where goals and assists are equally weighted I’ll take 90 assists and 10 goals over 60 goals and 20 assists 100 per cent of the time. JT has seen his value drop after a disappointing 86 points last season, but let’s not forget he has averaged 97 points the last four seasons, which is highest average not including the big three. This was all accomplished without an elite winger; factor in the addition of Dany Heatley and you have an easy pick.

5. Ilya Kovalchuk: Scoring 91 points playing with Todd White/Rich Peverly as your centre is quite the feat. This year, Kovalchuk will have Nik Antropov, who — when healthy — is not the best option, but an upgrade nonetheless. Kovalchuk is in a contract year and will most likely be the top UFA next season. Look for him to put up big numbers as he tries to secure a long-term deal.

6. Ryan Getzlaf: A steady progression of 39, 58, 82 and 91 points over his first four years makes Getzlaf a great candidate to hit 95+ this season. The line of Corey Perry-Getzlaf-Bobby Ryan clicked well last year and with a full season of Ryan on the top line, the chemistry should continue. Finding a player who can break the 90-point mark is rare and, at such a young age, Getzlaf has many more successful seasons ahead of him.

Other candidates: Heatley, Datysuk and Jarome Iginla.

Green has a chance to hit the 80-point mark if he doesn’t get injured. After Green, the next best defenceman will be in the 60-point range.

Andrei Markov is the popular choice here, but with a defensive coach and a lot of turnover on their roster, it will take time for the Canadiens to find chemistry and thus I expect a drop in Markov’s points. [Editor's note: After this was submitted, Markov tore a tendon on opening night, requiring surgery and sidelining him for up to four months.]

Mark Streit: He’s not a popular pick, but the Swiss Captain put up 56 points in 74 games last season on a horrible team. I was under the belief last season that he would not be Fantasy worthy after leaving Montreal, but he proved me wrong. Streit will have John Tavares and hopefully a healthy Kyle Okposo to help improve on his numbers, so 60 points is within reach.

Other candidates: Dan Boyle.

Marcus Schalle, dobberhockey.com

Top Scorers

• Rick Nash: This poor kid has been waiting for a decent centre since he got to Columbus. He seems to finally have one in Derick Brassard. That’s going to be huge for him. His 40 goals last season? Add another 10 or so on to that.
• Marian Hossa: I don’t think anyone is avoiding Hossa, but he’s not a slamdunk player because he’ll miss some time because of rotator cuff surgery. But the guy has a lot to prove. A lot. He has to justify a huge contract. He has to justify leaving Pittsburgh to win a Cup, only to lose to Pittsburgh in the finals. Hossa has a lot going on, but he’s going to be playing with a very talented team that might be better suited to his style of play than Detroit was. Don’t count Hossa out.
• Ilya Kovalchuk: Atlanta is trying to get faster and Kovalchuk and Nik Antropov will be a great combination. Kovalchuk will see a lot of tough matchups, but he’s trying to play his way onto a better team next year, so I don’t imagine that there’ll be much that can stop him.

Defenseman: Forget Mike Green. Do you know what number he wears? It’s number bullseye. As in, he has a giant bullseye on his back and all anyone cares about is shutting him down. You saw it in the playoffs and you’ll see it this season. Teams know they can’t stop Alex Ovechkin, so they’ll focus on Green, whom they can stop. My top scoring defenseman? The underappreciated Mark Streit. He’ll have some more scoring options this season and solid goaltending, which the Islanders should have, will make a world of difference. Streit actually had to focus on defense last season. I think he’ll have a permanent green light in the offensive zone this season.