Chris Nichols

­Chris Nichols is Sportsnet.ca's fantasy hockey writer.

@Nichols_NHLPool on Twitter for timely NHL & poolie info, along with occasionally snarky comments.

Live blogging nightly: line combos, defensive pairings, analysis, statistical trends and more from every game on the NHL docket. Refresh the 'Live NHL Recap' page while the games are on to get new info as it is added.

Send in a brief fantasy hockey question, including all relevant league info, and it may be included in a future Hockey Hearsay blog during the week. One per person, please. Send it via Twitter for a possible response in the blog, or send via email (include your first name and hometown to represent!) if you'd prefer. chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

Tomorrow's Winter Classic is almost here and there'll be plenty of coverage on it already, so today's Hockey Hearsay has some of the other news and notes from around the league.

There are nine games on this evening's New Year's Eve slate, followed by another six Saturday in addition to the Pens/ Caps clash.

And remember that if you want a second opinion on anything related to your fantasy hockey team, just drop me a line at chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com. We'll continue to do Q&A during the Hockey Hearsay blogs each and every weekday as long as there are questions to answer. Need advice on a trade offer? Potential free agents? Which guy to drop to make a roster move? It's all fair game.

James Wisniewski told The Montreal Gazette he was playing Call of Duty: Black Ops Tuesday when he received a call from Islanders general manager Garth Snow, who told him he had been traded.

"It was something that was a really big shock," said Wisniewski, who signed a one-year deal as a free agent in the off-season and is eligible to become an unrestricted free in July. "Maybe in February, closer to the trading deadline if we didn't get a deal done, but it came out of the blue. But I'm excited to be a Montreal Canadien. Every hockey player's dream is to be able to put a Habs jersey on."

Wisniewski, 26, had kind words for the dysfunctional Islanders organization but said he was happy to be coming to a Stanley Cup contender. The Canadiens have been anything but over the past two weeks, but they're hoping the addition of Wisniewski will give them added depth on the blueline and some punch to the power play.

"Chicago gave me a great opportunity and Anaheim came in and I got to play with Scott Niedermayer, who is probably one of the best defenceman of all time, and I got to learn from him for a year and a half," said Wisniewski of his NHL travels. "I got some playoff experience, going to Game 7 and losing to Detroit in the second round."

Wisniewski had a chance to use some of that experience last night when he was paired with rookie Yannick Weber. As expected, Wisniewski was also on the first power play unit.

“We all left the bench extremely frustrated and we couldn’t enter the third playing that way, so we talked about it,” Sharks coach McLellan told The San Jose Mercury News of last night's second period period intermission, just prior to which his team had given up two quick goals at 19:37 and 19:59 to knot the score at 3-3. “We mentioned that players were getting tested for whatever reason and we needed to man up and get out there and try to find a way to overcome it.”

The Miami Herald believes that for one reason or another, Stephen Weiss just wasn't himself earlier this season.

Weiss contends he never lost confidence in his game, although it didn't look that way. Not only wasn't Weiss scoring as he had in the past, but he also wasn't making plays, either. His passes were weak and he was soft along the boards.

Was Weiss putting too much pressure on himself?

"Perhaps subconsciously,'' he said. "After the way the year went last year and having a new GM and all that stuff, you want to do well and take the team on your shoulder, do it yourself. Sometimes that's not the way to go about it at all. I put more pressure on myself than anyone. I wanted to get off to a good start. I had a great summer. It didn't happen. What do you do? You kick yourself in the butt and you turn it around.''

The Herald says that's exactly what has seemed to happen.

The old Weiss, the one the Panthers so desperately need to be on for them to find success, has returned. Coach Pete DeBoer kept Weiss centring the Panthers' top line, even though at times it didn't look like Weiss deserved to be. But Weiss has rewarded his coach's faith in him, responding with five goals and six assists in the past nine games. Florida has gone 5-3-1 during that span.

"I don't know if you can point to one thing to his start, but we survived it,'' said DeBoer, who coached Weiss a decade ago with the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League.

"He's come out of it. It's no secret we have the record we have when he plays like this. He has the pressure here to produce for us to be competitive. It's that simple. That's not an easy thing to hang on someone, but that's the fact around here right now. He's in a good spot physically and mentally right now. He needs to keep that going.''

He added: "I always have confidence in myself no matter how things are going. When things aren't going your way, it looks like you have no confidence. You have to relax, not think about it. When things are going your way, you're at the right place at the right time. Your feet are light, your head empty. It's just happening. That's the key. When things aren't going right, you start wondering what's wrong. Everyone does.''

The Buffalo News indicates that Tim Connolly's nose surgery was a success and he will return to the lineup Saturday against Boston after a four-game absence. He is the unquestioned No. 1 middle man with Derek Roy lost for the season after quad surgery this week. The Sabres will need Connolly to produce points.

"He's going to have to, if you look at it," coach Lindy Ruff said after practice in Northtown Center in Amherst. "They're our two most creative offensive players [Roy and Connolly], and when you're looking for production you've got to look to those guys first."

It's no surprise, then, that Ruff has inserted Connolly on the top line with goal-scoring leader Thomas Vanek and promising rookie Luke Adam. Connolly also is expected to assume Roy's spot at the point on the power play.

"It'll give us some help on our power play," Ruff said. "It'll give us one more guy who's a little bit more creative in the middle. Hopefully, if we can play him with Van it can help create a few more opportunities."

The News observes that Connolly has six goals and 14 points in 25 games. He has played just three of the last 15 after suffering a groin pull in late November and the broken nose Dec. 18 in Tampa Bay.

"Everybody else, along with myself, is going to have to pick it up and chip in and do what we can to score some goals out there, get the power play going and create some offence," Connolly said.

The Tampa Tribune reports that RW Steve Downie returned to practicing with the team on Thursday, taking part in the morning skate wearing a red jersey. Downie has been out since suffering a high ankle sprain on Dec. 2, and he could return to the lineup next week when the team starts a four-game road trip in Washington on Tuesday.

"It was good to be back with the boys,'' Downie said. "I'm not there yet, a couple more skates maybe."

Downie said he didn't hold much back on the ice during the skate, wanting to see how much he could withstand during movements on the ice.

"I push it to see what I can handle and what I can't,'' he said. "So far, it's been pretty good, pretty cooperative, but at the same time I don't want to push it too hard and end up right back where you started.''

The Orange County Register reports that centre Ryan Getzlaf was placed on injured reserve Thursday because of multiple nasal sinus fractures and will miss games Friday against Philadelphia and Sunday against Chicago. He'll undergo further testing and while he would be eligible to come off injured reserve Tuesday, that seems unlikely and the team is preparing for a stretch without their second-leading scorer.

"There's not a tree in the backyard in our farm team that you go, 'Oh, we've got one of those,'" coach Randy Carlyle said. "You get other people that have to step to the forefront and give us more than what they've given us here in the last little while."

Carlyle pointed to the team's other top nine forwards as Bobby Ryan will take Getzlaf's place centring the top line and on the first power play unit with Corey Perry, Teemu Selanne on the wings.

The Register notes that Ryan, who was tried at centre in the preseason and recently on the third line, said he is still not entirely comfortable there. Carlyle said Ryan needs to improve on being on the puck in both zones and on faceoffs. But Carlyle likes Ryan's size in the middle and Ryan is familiar with Perry and Selanne.

"I know the feeling they have," Ryan said. "I know what they all like to do on the power play. I'll try to get open and I'll try to make plays through the middle like Getzy does so well and you just hope it comes together. But obviously he's the guy that holds that power play together."

The Raleigh News & Observer relays that 'Canes GM Jim Rutherford said he has been impressed with the all-round play of forward Zach Boychuk, who was recalled Dec. 17 following Jiri Tlusty's upper-body injury. Boychuk replaced Tlusty on the fourth line, but with Jussi Jokinen out, Boychuk was used on Brandon Sutter's line, assisting on Pat Dwyer's winning goal against the Leafs and then scoring twice in the first period against the Senators.

"If he continues to play like that, he'll only be visiting Charlotte and not playing in Charlotte," Rutherford said. "It's still too early to tell, but he may have the opportunity to stay. We'll make the roster adjustments after [Jokinen and Tlusty] get back."

The Dallas Morning News writes that when Trevor Daley signed a six-year contract extension for $19.8 million Wednesday, he quietly said it was a happy day when he could proudly say he was a core player for the organization. But longtime road roommate Steve Ott knew that the feelings ran much deeper.

"He's not a real outwardly emotional guy, so you don't get to see it from him, but we've talked a lot over the year, and I knew exactly what he was going through," Ott said. "This is the only team he's ever played for, and he's beyond ecstatic and beyond honoured to be able to say he'll be a part of this for a long time.

"It's a great thing for us, too, because you know how much he cares about this team and how important this is to him."

Ott went through the same situation last year when he signed a contract extension just before the trade deadline. It was a strong gesture from general manager Joe Nieuwendyk that team chemistry and intangibles rank high on his list of qualities he wants to see in a player.

"He's one of our leaders and one of our core guys, and we think it's important to build around those players," Nieuwendyk said of Daley.

Added coach Marc Crawford: "We've got a real good character guy who cares about the Dallas Stars, and that's probably the most important thing about him. Those are the type of people you want to build upon."

The Morning News points out that, of course, it doesn't hurt that Daley, who just turned 27, ranks second on the team in time on ice (22:53 per game) and third on the team in plus-minus (plus-9) and is starting to mix the skating and skill that should fit perfectly for a defenceman in the Crawford system.

"We've all known Trevor a long time, and I think his game is suited to the way the league is going, with the puck-moving, mobile defenceman," Nieuwendyk said. "He's probably our best at doing a lot of those things, so I think it's an important piece for us."

Daley said confidence is a big part of the formula that has resulted in him having a big season.

"I have more confidence, and I think the confidence the coaches and the management have shown in me ... that does help me," Daley said. "I think they showed that here with the extension."

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that defenceman Marek Zidlicky, who hurt a shoulder after being hit in the second period Wednesday by the Sharks' Jamie McGinn, will be out at least two weeks, coach Todd Richards indicated. "He's going to be out for some time," the coach said. "He won't be back in the next two weeks, that's for sure. I can guarantee that."

It is a big blow. Zidlicky plays in all situations, and has four goals and 16 assists this season.

The Wild recalled Jared Spurgeon from AHL Houston and he could be in the lineup Friday.

"He's one of our better puck-moving guys on the back end," Richards said of Zidlicky. "One of the important things about being good offensively is making that first pass. I don't know if we have anybody who does it better than him."

Also in that piece from the Star-Tribune was a good note on winger Chuck Kobasew, who has scored key goals in consecutive games and is also a plus-3 in those two games.

It's been a long time coming for Kobasew. After a slow start last season, the Wild traded a second-round draft pick and a prospect to Boston for Kobasew, who had scored 20-plus goals in consecutive seasons. But Kobasew's 2009-10 season was marred by a knee injury that cost him 32 games. At the start of this season, he had to deal with a nagging groin muscle injury. But he has been rounding into good health, and his game is following.

"The last few games, to me, he looks fast," coach Todd Richards said Thursday, after the Wild practiced at St. Thomas Academy. "He looks quick. In Columbus he was on pucks, creating in the offensive end, creating turnovers."

Kobasew scored the first goal in Columbus, a game that ended with the Wild losing in a shootout. Wednesday, Kobasew's goal tied the score 3-3 in the third period. The goal came a little more than a minute after the Wild had failed to score on a four-minute power play.

"That goal was vital for us," Richards said. "It was crucial. Because you go through the power play, you don't score, and you wonder where the game is going to go. Huge goal."

The winger said this: "I've just been trying to simplify things and go to the net. And, as a team, I think we're doing a better job of getting the puck to the net."

The Philadelphia Daily News observes that fFor the first time in 209 days, since Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals, Michael Leighton is back in the win column. It may not have been pretty, but Leighton settled down after two goals against in the first 11 minutes as the Flyers rallied for a 7-4 win over the Kings at Staples Center.

“The team really saved my butt tonight,” Leighton said. “I’m really not too excited about the way that I played. It was good to get back. We got a win and they did a great job scoring some goals for me.”

Leighton said he wasn’t nervous in the first period, in his first NHL game since June 9, but rather that he was probably a little over-excited. He may - or may not - have chugged a few ‘5 Hour Energy’ drinks before the game.

“I wasn’t too nervous,” he explained. “I was just more excited to get out there. That obviously backfired a little bit. The first goal was pretty weak.”

His head coach offered this: “I think that when you’re off for a long period of time, and you’re coming off from surgery, and you’re coming back to the National Hockey League [his emphasis] without a lot of work, you’re probably going to have to feel your way around a little bit,” Peter Laviolette said. “And I’d say anyone’s got to do that. But then it really makes it tough on a goaltender.

“It was good for him to get through it, get us a win and get us back on track.”

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes that Eric Tangradi, a big, strong left-winger, has been one of the Baby Penguins' best players in recent weeks following a nearly month-long slump after he was sent down from the NHL club. He had scored 15 points in the past 14 games going into Thursday's game against Hershey. He scored just three points in his first 12 games with the Baby Penguins.

"When he first came down, he was disappointed he came down," Wilkes-Barre/Scranton coach John Hynes said.

Tangradi said his confidence was shaken during his time in Pittsburgh and immediately after being sent down to the Baby Penguins, and only recently has he regained the swagger he said he needs to be successful.

"Right when a negative happened, I let it hit me hard," he said.

"Being young, I didn't really know how to react to those kinds of situations."

He said his confidence really started to sag in his last three games with the Penguins.

"That's not something you can play with during the season," he said.

After struggling early with the Baby Penguins, Tangradi took a new approach that appears to have paid off.

"When I first came back, I kind of focused my game on just getting points, and I thought that was going to get my game back to where it needed to be," he said.

"But, really, I just needed to go back to the basics, back to my foundation. Doing those things, I was able to get to the net, and from that, I've gotten a lot of chances, a lot of goals in front."

The Post-Gazette says Pens coach Dan Bylsma acknowledged the difficulties that can come with a step down.

"Going back down is a hard thing sometimes to swallow," he said. "He had to have some adjustments to that."

Bylsma agreed that Tangradi is on the right track though.

"That's what he's going to eventually end up growing into -- in a jersey with a little older Penguin on it. It's good to see him out here tonight and know he's progressing well."

PJ, London: "Hey Chris, Have an opportunity to land Brodeur cheap, while his value is, well... almost nothing. Should I do it? My trading partner is after my Backstrom(WAS). But since our pool is about positions, he's including J.Carter my way and I'd be sending Varlamov ( a 1a/1b goalie?) over to him. Is this trade worth the risk because of Brodeur? He does play every game, which are points every night even in a loss. (W, sv, SO) Thoughts?"

Chris: It'd be nice to know more about your pool's dynamics for the forwards too here, but on whole if this offer is Brodeur & Carter to you for Backstrom and Varlamov then I really wouldn't consider that much of a deal to land Brodeur while his stats are so bad. Backstrom and the Caps are going to get going offensively - it's only a matter of time. Varlamov, even if he splits time with Neuvirth, will still net a lot of wins. You're right that Brodeur will be netting you saves nightly since he'll be playing more often.

Do I think Brodeur and the Devils are going to respond in such a way that'll be good for his stats in January and beyond? Yes, I do. I just think you're putting too much on the line in that deal, so unless you can downgrade from Backstrom to a different, less valuable centre; I'd rather you pass on that one.

Lisa in Spruce Grove, AB: "Chris, I was wondering what you thought about why Fleishmann is doing so well with Colorado now? Hope it lasts 'cuz he's doing really well for my team. Thanks and love the blog!"

Chris: Thanks Lisa, I appreciate it. We'll see if Fleischmann is able to continue this sort of point-per-game pace, but on the whole I think he might be finding success because he seems to have a specific role with the Avs in terms of being a winger depended on for offensive production. I made the analogy several times when he was with Washington - in a positive light for him - that he was used as duct tape by Bruce Boudreau. Sometime he'd be a winger on L2 or L3, but then he was also tried as centre for stints and he was moved all around... trying to patch up where the latest hole sprang up. In Colorado he seems to have a pretty consistent PP1 role too, whereas with the Caps he had that for awhile last year and then was supplanted by Brooks Laich as the fourth forward on that unit.

And let's face it - sometimes just a change of scenery can help a player produce.