Oh, the life of Daniel “Danny” Briere – it’s just one injury after another these days, isn’t it? If you’re a fantasy manager, you were stoked to see Briere finally back, then pissed to see him get hurt yet again. If you’re Flyer GM Paul Holmgren, you’re probably slapping your forehead after just clearing a whole buttload of cap space at the trade deadline. But wait, it’s not as bad as we thought. It’s just a lot grosser than we thought. From Canadian Press:

“Briere was examined Friday morning, and his surgeon told him the adhesions broke from his last groin surgery and there was some internal bleeding. Briere said his surgeon told him that was common and Briere could possibly play Tuesday against Buffalo.”

Common? I hope my groin adhesions never break. In any case, don’t shut down Briere from your lineup just yet.

As for that whole trade deadline issue, the big fantasy winner is Olli Jokinen, but you knew that, right? Jokinen popped in a pair of goals in his first game skating alongside Jarome Iginla (guess which guy got to wear No. 12?) and everything’s sunshine and rainbows in Calgary, or as sunshine and rainbows as Darryl “Bitter Beer Face” Sutter can be. However, the knock on Jokinen has constantly been great start, poor finish. Will this happen up in Calgary? One would hope that having the playoffs around the corner would actually motivate the dude, but when you have someone who occasionally wears a porn star ’stache during the regular season, you don’t know what to expect.

The New York Rangers revamped their lineup to go along with their revamped coaching staff. Derek Morris becomes the de facto power play point man on Broadway despite having just a handful of points. He’ll certainly get his opportunities, so if you need some help on defense, it’s worth a gamble.

Hey, remember Martin Gerber? He’s back in the NHL thanks to the wacky folks over in Toronto. No, he’s not just there to serve Brian Burke pizza; Gerber’s actually got a hold of the starting position because Vesa Toskala’s been shut down for the year. You need starts to finish out your fantasy season? Gerber’s your man. Just don’t expect a ton of wins.

Erik Cole returns to the scene of the crime in Carolina. If you’ll recall, Cole was on the cusp of being one of the league’s best power forwards when a broken neck — yes, a broken neck — got in the way. Since then, he hasn’t put up goals at the same pace, but now he’s reunited with regular linemate/BFF Eric Staal. We’ll see if there’s any magic left over from 2005.

The other component of the Cole deal finds oft-injured Justin Williams in Los Angeles and underachieving Patrick O’Sullivan in Edmonton. For O’Sullivan, the key will be how much ice time he gets skating with talented Ales Hemsky.

Sidney Crosby’s linemates in his first game back from injury: Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin. It’s like Crosby woke up from a bad dream where he was surrounded by soft over-the-hill wingers (Miroslav Satan, say hello to the AHL). While Guerin’s numbers haven’t been anything to write home about this season, he still does love to shoot the puck and his aggressive style will work well with Crosby’s playmaking skills.

Brendan Morrison’s long strange journey across the NHL continues. Remember, at one point, this guy was a point-per-game player. Claimed off waivers by Dallas, he’ll be given every opportunity to thrive as the Stars remain depleted up front due to injury. Morrison probably won’t break up Mike Ribiero/Loui Eriksson, which means that he won’t have much scoring talent to work with. In other words, don’t look for a return to form from Morrison.

Antoine Vermette’s move to Columbus means that Ken Hitchcock has a few more offensive options, especially with Fredrick Modin coming back from injury soon. However, the combination of Rick Nash/Manny Malhotra/Kristian Huselius has found a pretty good groove, so don’t look for Hitch to tinker with things too much until it appears necessary. The Blue Jackets are filled with second liners like Vermette and R.J. Umberger that show first-line potential…whether they get there or not can make or break their playoff hopes.

And while this wasn’t a trade deadline move, the return of Martin Brodeur has provided the Devils an even bigger kick than making a big deal would. We sure hope you took our advice and picked him up if he was available, because good old Marty is 4-0 since returning from a 50-game absence and you can pretty well guarantee that he’s no longer on anyone’s wire. Brodeur is about to make history, currently sitting a mere four wins shy of passing Patrick Roy and becoming the NHL all-time leader in wins.

The Week Ahead

• How much can Jokinen ignite the Flame offense? We’ll find out as Calgary hits the road against Carolina (Friday), Atlanta (Sunday), New Jersey (Tuesday), and Detroit (Thursday).
• While a lot of Western teams are taking road trips out east, there are still key head-to-head match-ups for the playoff race: Minnesota at LA (Saturday), Minnesota at Anaheim (Sunday), Vancouver at LA (Monday), and Vancouver at Anaheim (Wednesday).
• Alexander Ovechkin is suffering from a bruised foot, but he should be in the lineup for the big game against Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. Don’t forget that the last time these rivals clashed sparked a war of words between the stars, and now even Don Cherry’s weighing in. All eyes will be on Crosby and his new linemates Kunitz and Guerin.

The trade deadline (it’s Wednesday, so mark your calendar) can be great for fantasy teams, since sometimes a player just needs a change of scenery or a different situation to blossom. Sadly, trades often turn solid players into total duds. It seems that for every Joe Thornton to San Jose there’s a Sergei Samsonov to Edmonton. That’s just the way it is.

The first big deadline deal was Penguin defenseman Ryan Whitney to Anaheim for forwards Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi (a minor leaguer). Whitney missed the start of the season and never really found a rhythm. After putting up almost 100 points in the last two seasons, he has just two goals and 11 assists so far this year. A less prominent role in Anaheim might actually open up his game, although I’m not sure I would necessarily dump a successful player for Whitney. At least not yet. Kunitz has basically been a 20-goal scorer his entire career, but he already had accumulated 16 goals and 19 assists for the Ducks this season. If he winds up on a line with Sidney Crosby, which is expected, he could presumably end the season with 30 goals. He’s definitely worth a look if he’s available.

Of course, trades aren’t the only agent of change in the NHL. There are a lot of factors. For instance, the return of goalie Martin Brodeur to the Devils sent shockwaves through the fantasy world, as Scott Clemmensen, who filled in ably for Brodeur and as a fantasy goalie (2.39 goals against, .917 save percentage) was unceremoniously sent down to the AHL, ruining not just Clemmensen’s day, but also many rosters. Brodeur put up a shutout his first game back, so if he’s still available, you might want to mirror real life and use him to replace Clemmensen.

A new coach can also be a huge change. For instance, earlier this week the New York Rangers fired coach Tom Renney and hired coach John Tortorella. If you have any Rangers on your roster, you know they’re not scoring, which was a symptom of Renney’s hyperdefensive style. Now, with Tortorella, you can expect a much more aggressive, uptempo style with important players getting major minutes. Fantasy duds like Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, and Nikolai Zherdev might actually start performing. It won’t be instantaneous, but it’s worth keeping an eye on these guys to see how they do under Tortorella. And while you’re doing that, keep an eye on goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who should see a lot more action now that the guys in front of him won’t be playing five men back the entire game. His numbers might suffer because of it.

According to ESPN, Boston’s David Krejci, the NHL’s +/- leader, isn’t universally owned across leagues, so if he’s available, you need to grab him and his 20 goals and 39 assists.

Another guy that might not be owned is Jason Arnott, who, after potting two goals and an assist in the last two games, is on pace for his first 30-goal season as a Predator. He ripped home the game-winner Thursday as Nashville improved its playoff chances with a third straight win. The Preds are in 11th place in the West, but are just one point behind the Minnesota/Dallas/Edmonton/Anaheim logjam who are all tied with 65 points.

The Week Ahead

• Saturday, Anaheim plays Dallas, as the two teams fight to remain in the playoff picture. Anaheim is hoping Whitney will help, but it might need to make a few other moves to firm up a playoff position.
• Monday, the Avs play the Islanders. It just doesn’t seem fair that those teams have to play each other. It’s like making two sick chickens fight each other.
• Thursday, Pittsburgh plays Florida. The Eastern Conference playoff picture is so crowded, games like this — between teams that are so close together in the standings — are huge. So if you want to keep Crosby out of the playoffs, tune in and wish hard.

In the NHL, players will suddenly go very hot. In the fantasy world, the big question is always, how long will they stay hot?

Take Eric Fehr from the Washington Capitals. He’s got seven goals on the season, but four in his last five (plus two assists). Has the former first-round pick suddenly found his game? The Capitals have to be hoping so. He’s only got three goals in the previous three seasons, much of that spent in the minors. So is Fehr worth the risk? He’s certainly worth keeping an eye on.

Also, look for some great players to return to their lineups. A lot of times, players get injured and dumped out of fantasy lineups, and former owners forget to go pick them up. It’s like free money!

Pittsburgh defenseman Sergei Gonchar has been cleared to play, meaning he should appear in the Penguin lineup soon. While Gonchar will have to ease himself in (he hasn’t played all season), he’s a fixture on the Penguin power play — a unit that has really suffered without him. Look for Gonchar to see special teams time, if not regular even-strength minutes.

Also consider Andy McDonald from the Blues, who returned to the St. Louis roster Tuesday night. McDonald played on the wing instead of centre, but things still worked out, as he scored a goal and added an assist. Not bad, considering he hadn’t played since November 2008. The Blues just signed McDonald to a four-year extension, so if he’s good enough for them, he’s certainly good enough for your fantasy team.

The Blues also recently sent goalie Manny Legace down to the minors, so if he’s somehow on your roster, you might want to dump him. If New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur is available, grab him. He’s been cleared to practice and he could be back relatively soon.

If you’re looking for a slightly damaged goalie, Steve Mason from Columbus could be back Friday. He was out with mono. Don’t ask how he got it. Don’t even let your mind wander to the situations that could have caused it. Just think about his .923 save percentage and his 2.09 goals against. And in case you’re wondering, you can’t get mono through a waiver transaction.

And New York Islander Doug Weight is expected to be out six weeks with an MCL sprain. Weight’s numbers haven’t been great, but he seemed to be prime trade bait, and if he had been dealt, his numbers would presumably would have improved. I don’t see a team trading for him unless they really want to say “Wow. We really gained Weight this season.” And none of my uncles run NHL teams, so that’s not going to happen.

The Week Ahead

• Saturday, the Wild looks to get back on track against Ottawa. Minny is clinging to the final playoff spot in the West, but unfortunately the team has a date in Detroit next weekend — and that spells doom for the Wild. After Thursday’s 4-2 loss to Detroit, Minnesota is now 0-10-2 in its last dozen tries against the Wings. On the plus side, Brent Burns potted his first goal in almost a month. He’s been a real disappointment this season after enjoying a breakout campaign last year. He’s no longer a must-own fantasy defenceman.
• Sunday, the Sharks play the Devils in what could be a Stanley Cup Finals preview.
• Sunday, Colorado plays Detroit. For Detroit, it’s like when you see an old girlfriend on the street and she’s kind of let herself go, and you tell her she looks great, but she can tell you’re lying, and you just kind of stand there and then she bursts into tears.
• Monday the Rangers play the Blues. You have to hope the Rangers will tell John Davidson to stop running the team and go back to simply calling the games.

While the NHL trade deadline is just under a month away, fantasy leagues all over are getting to the point where rosters have to be frozen. If you find you’re lacking in a specific category, we’re here to help — and not in a Christian Bale career-advice kind of way.

• Are you hurting when it comes to +/-? Boston Bruins players are the leaders in that category, and considering the B’s overall record, it’s not too surprising. However, the New Jersey Devils are a pretty good honorable mention, and some of their players might be available on the waiver wire. While Travis Zajac (43 points, +26) and Zach Parise (59 points, +21) are probably happily owned by fantasy GMs, Jamie Langenbrunner (42 points, +19), Mike Mottau (10 points, +18), and Colin White (11 points, +17) may be more under the radar.
• And if you need someone who’s essentially a bonus player at this point, Brendan Shanahan’s off to a good start with his new/old team.
• Power play points are always a tricky thing to look at because they come and go in waves depending on whether or not a team is hot or cold. While most key power play performers are notable players who are generally unavailable, a few guys are putting up special teams numbers despite mediocre regular seasons. Minnesota’s Marek Zidlicky hasn’t equaled his output from Nashville, but he’s still one of the top power play goalscoring defensemen in the league. Up front, seven of teammate Owen Nolan’s 12 goals are power play markers, and eight of Kyle Wellwood’s 14 goals have come on the man advantage.
• The league’s leaders in shorthanded points are mostly familiar names (Simon Gagne, Patrick Marleau, Mike Richards). However, a few surprises stand out, like Chicago rookie Kris Versteeg . You’ll notice that a bunch of players are tied around the 2-3 shorthanded point mark…the common denominator with a lot of those players? Obviously, they get a lot of PK time, but it’s also important to note that they’re all pretty fast skaters. After all, if you’re busting past the defense on a shorthanded scoring chance, you usually need good wheels to do it. While it’s hard to say that someone like Richard Park will outdo Shane Doan in this category, it’s important to look at traits like speed and PK ice time when trying to get some fantasy shorthanded points.
• I always like it when fantasy leagues count shots on goal as it’s pretty easy points and allows the wealth to be spread around outside of the usual suspects. We all know that Alexander Ovechkin and Vincent Lecavalier just love shooting the puck, but there are a few other players that put a lot of pucks on net (unfortunately, they have low shooting percentages). Check out players like Dustin Brown, Jason Blake, and Bill Guerin – players having OK seasons on mediocre teams, but who shoot the puck a lot.
• Finally, a quick injury report: Tomas Holmstrom’s groin is being repaired through the miracle of sports hernia surgery. The cost? Three-to-five weeks. Eric Staal left Carolina’s Thursday night victory against San Jose early with a lower body injury that has left him day-to-day while teammate Rod Brind’Amour is out at least a week to rest his ailing back. Paul Stastny should return to the Colorado lineup in about two weeks, and our favourite future Hall-of-Famer, Martin Brodeur, will be ready to steal the crease back from Scott Clemmenson in about 2-to-3 weeks. Do I hear a goalie controversy coming up?

The Week Ahead

• Just about every game matters now when it comes to Western Conference jockeying. Key four-point games include Edmonton at Minnesota (Sunday), Colorado at Columbus, and Phoenix at Dallas (Wednesday).
• In the Eastern Conference, fewer teams are in the playoff race. In the matchup that everyone can avoid, don’t tune in to Atlanta at Tampa Bay (Tuesday) unless you’ve got fantasy points involved.
• Saturday, the Kings, desperately trying to claw their way back into the playoff picture, head to the Swamplands to take on a scorching Devils squad. We’re talking about a poor road team that’s among the lowest scoring teams in the league going up against the hottest teams in the NHL, and one of the best defensive squads. But wait, the Kings have found their goal-scoring groove. After managing just four goals in four games, they’ve suddenly lit the lamp 25 times in past six games. Good sign No. 2 for the Kings: Anze Kopitar, who’s been a big disappointment this season, ripped two goals and an assist Thursday for his first three-point game since December 11. If he heats up, he’ll again be a must-own player, and will go a long way towards helping LA gain some ground in the tough Western Conference.
• Your main event for the week: No. 1 Western seed San Jose at No. 1 Eastern seed Boston, Tuesday night.

Last weekend was the All-Star Game and while it was great to read that RotoRob actually stepped away from the computer, from a fantasy perspective it was kind of buzzkill. Gaudy offensive numbers that didn’t count for anything. I could barely watch.

Coming back to the real world of fantasy hockey, though, I think we all know the big story this week: Mike Cammalleri.

How hot is this Calgary Flame? He’s put up eight goals in the past four games and nine goals in the past three weeks. Just to give you some context, New York Ranger Scott Gomez has 10 goals this season.

So yeah, Cammalleri is doing some crazy fantasy stuff this week. And amazingly, with no assists. He’s just looking to shoot the whole game.

As we head toward the trade deadline, a lot of players who aren’t as exciting or prolific as Cammalleri can be expected to change teams. And sometimes that change of scenery is enough to jump start a player.

Take St. Louis’ Keith Tkachuk. His 15 goals and 16 assists are nice, but if the Blues move him, and they do tend to love to move older players for younger ones and/or draft picks, Tkachuk could find himself on a playoff-bound team and start really putting up numbers. Pittsburgh is still looking for a big body to replace Ryan Malone. The Florida Panthers might want some veteran leadership if they find themselves more firmly entrenched in their playoff spot. And the Rangers desperately need someone who can maintain position in the slot for their awful power play. So Tkachuk is someone to watch.

Also, Bill Guerin seems a lock to leave the Islanders via a trade. His 14 goals and 18 assists aren’t much, but they could dramatically amplify on a solid team where he’s not the primary scoring option. Because, for all the talk about how the Islanders are in a youth movement, he’s still playing over 15 minutes a night and has the ears of everyone in the room. Guerin plays under a lot of pressure.

Of course, the older-player-to-new-team gambit doesn’t always work. For every Brendan Shanahan, who put up two goals in his first four games with New Jersey, there’s a Mats Sundin who has the same number of goals, plus one more assist, in his first eight games back.

Oh. And goalie Ollie Kolzig is out for the season in Tampa. He wasn’t playing very well, but he was a warm body for your fantasy roster. I’d say that goalie Mike Smith will get more work because of the injury, but he was already doing the lion’s share of the goaltending in Tampa.

The Week Ahead

• Saturday, the Rangers take on Bruins. Which Rangers team will show up? The tight defensive team or the pressing run-and-gun team that can’t score and gives up soft goals?
• Saturday also sees Florida take on the Islanders. Florida is desperate to stay in the playoff picture so you can bet it’s grateful to be playing the Isles. Speaking of the Panthers, All-Star Jay Bouwmeester scored his 11th goal of the season Thursday, continuing his development as a real goal-scoring threat from the blueline. The six-year vet has an excellent chance to put up his first 20-goal season.
• Tuesday, Phoenix plays Nashville. It’ll be nice. Both teams can discuss how they feel about leaving the American south for Canadian cities. Because it’s going to happen. Of course, in Phoenix’s case, it will be a homecoming.