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FANTASY MINI TRADE IMPACTO:
So the 11 games last night did not make the biggest impact necessarily but a trade did. Michael Cammalleri was sent to the Calgary Flames along with Karri Ramo and a 5th round pick in 2012. Montreal’s return was Rene Bourque, Patrick Holland, and a 2nd round pick in 2013. It seems both teams clearly get what they want here. The Flames needed a player who could play alongside Jarome Iginla and Cammalleri’s best years were with Iginla. Montreal wanted a player who could score “the filthy goal” and Rene Bourque does fit that bill to a point.
Now Cammalleri was struggling for Montreal in the man advantage department with only one goal and five assists there (9 G 13 A in 38 games overall). Bourque has three power play goals on the year but only three assists overall in also 38 games. Sure he has 13 goals on the year but on only 91 shots. That is 2.5% above his normal shooting percentage (approximately).
Line projections seem to indicate the obvious that Cammalleri will be put on the first line with Jarome Iginla and as for Rene Bourque, he should be on the second line in Montreal. Both players should see an uptick in production but Cammalleri is the clear fantasy winner in this trade. He goes from the carnival in Montreal to a less circus-like atmosphere in Calgary where he can just concentrate on playing and getting Iginla the puck. Cammalleri will see his scoring chances go up also. He is capable of 30-40 goal seasons and around 80 points.
Do not be surprised to see Cammalleri pot about 35-40 points in the second half with Bourque potting around 20 points. Those seem to be the early projections. Cammalleri will see the bigger rise in power play numbers playing with Iginla of course. Michael Cammalleri and his owners are the huge fantasy winners here but keep an eye on Karri Ramo. Ramo could be a wildcard for Calgary as soon as next year.
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SCHEDULE TIME:
Friday, January 13, 2012 |
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| Teams | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tampa Bay | at | Washington | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Phoenix | at | Columbus | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Toronto | at | Buffalo | 7:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Pittsburgh | at | Florida | 7:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Anaheim | at | Edmonton | 9:30 PM | Gameday | ||
It is a light night with only five games but these will set up your Saturday games as well. There are two pretty big divisional games on the horizon. Can Ryan Miller show up tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs? Will Derek Roy finally start playing like Roy or does he get traded before that finally happens? There are a lot of questions about that game and the Tampa-Washington game as well. Can Washington play the bend but no break defense they did against Pittsburgh? Who will step up in Tampa to stop this moribund season from getting worse? There seem to be a lot more questions than answers on this Friday Night in the NHL.
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KEEP AN EYE ON:
Jonas Gustavsson, G, Toronto Maple Leafs — Gustavsson has two shutouts in his last four games played and has been the hot hand unexpectedly over normal #1 James Reimer. This is a road test in Buffalo however against a Buffalo team that is extremely desperate to say the least. Going up against Ryan Miller will not be an easy task even under the circumstances Buffalo finds itself in. When a team is backed in a corner, they usually come out swinging so Buffalo should bring it tonight and “The Monster” will have to absolutely be on his game to get two points for Toronto in this tilt.
The Morale Boost? — So apparently Sidney Crosby is traveling with the team while he recovers from his latest concussion. The Penguins have won only two games since Christmas and fantasy wise even Evgeni Malkin has started to suffer along with Marc Andre-Fleury. Can Crosby provide that “fantasy boost” that these players need to perform and help their fantasy teams? I will say this. This surely cannot hurt in the least. Yes there will be the Crosby questions (there always are) but maybe this will be the impetus to get your fantasy Pittsburgh players going in the right direction. Owners could certainly use it.
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Good luck with your fantasy leagues tonight as we will be live tweeting the action once again. Even Videos Before Bedtime and the Scott Gomez counter will be active tonight. Thanks again everyone and keep the fantasy faith!
