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

This is a fluid story, but you may have heard the Wings and Evgeny Nabokov's camp have been talking about a possible contract today.

We'll know more on this as the day progresses, naturally, which is another great use for Twitter. In the meantime, all we know is that if he and the Wings agree on a deal then he'll need to clear waivers. The likelihood of him being claimed by someone else may well depend on what sort of contract comes to fruition, both in terms of money and length. Length may be the key term here.

Chris Osgood, who is currently sidelined for up to two months following sports hernia surgery, will be a UFA this summer and may be retiring anyway. So theoretically, the Wings could use Nabokov to complement Jimmy Howard for the next few years while Thomas McCollum develops. What impact that would have on Howard's fantasy value remains to be seen and it's interesting to note that he'll also be a UFA this summer.

For now, it's finally worth a bench slot in any format (H2H included) to add Nabokov and we'll see how this situation plays out in the next few days. While a back-up role wouldn't be ideal for his poolie worth, at least the Wings are a fantastic team for any goalie to play and who knows how things might shake out in the coming months?

Will he even end up with the Wings? Will someone else claim him? How many games might he start? It's been awhile since he left the KHL and actually played, so how long will it take him to find his stride between the pipes?

Stay tuned. The fun is just beginning.

He is the former Stanley Cup-winning franchise goalie who was told that he wasn't needed anymore, but Jean-Sebastien Giguere told The Orange County Register he harbors no grudges.

His stay with his current team figures to last for only a few more months, if not weeks. But Giguere is not lamenting how his career has shifted into a new phase after he once was considered of the NHL's best money goaltenders.

The days of being a top-flight netminder might be in the past, but the best goaltender in the history of the Ducks plans to do what he's always done — make the best of the situation he's in.

This time, it's with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"What's most amazing is wearing that jersey," Giguere said of the Leafs. "All the history that comes with it. I think you've got to take pride in that. Not everybody gets to play for an Original Six team. It's something that I'll cherish the rest of my life."

The Register notes that Giguere, 33, is trying to show the league he's still a viable option and he'll get the chance to have another golden moment when the Leafs take on the Ducks, the team he spent parts of nine seasons with, Thursday at Air Canada Centre.

It is a game he has looked forward to since the schedule came out last summer.

"I'm going to be really excited to play against them," Giguere said. "Obviously, I know so many guys on that team. It's going to be fun to suit up and compete against those guys that I used to play with. It's going to be some kind of day for sure."

JSG ended up with the Leafs after Anaheim decided to go with the younger Jonas Hiller as their No. 1 goalie, but Giguere understood it and offered this looking back:

"This is not how I was hoping my future in Anaheim were to go," Giguere said. "But I didn't really take it personally. At the end of the day, I think they picked Jonas over me. And I probably would have done the same thing.

"He's a young goalie. That's just the nature of the beast. You get beat by some young guys. The older guys just need to keep fighting to keep their job. This is the way it is. We all find ourselves in that way at some point."

He also told The Register that he's thrilled at his successor taking his game to a level that earned him a spot in the upcoming NHL All-Star game.

"I truly believe Jonas is one of the top five goalies in this league," Giguere said. "I have all the respect in the world for Jonas. He didn't do that by not working. He's worked extremely hard. I'm super excited for him and I think he's deserving of it."

The San Jose Mercury News writes that when the Sharks face the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena, Kyle Wellwood will be making his debut in teal as a third-line centre - the same role he played for Vancouver at his previous NHL stop.

At times he can expect to be staring across the faceoff dot at Manny Malhotra, who filled that same third-line role for the Sharks a year ago before becoming Wellwood's successor in Vancouver. But, no, Wellwood doesn't see it as an individual showdown between himself and Malhotra.

"I don't take it like that. Guys change teams all the time," the 27-year-old centre said. "Manny's a different player than me."

Though Wellwood's stint with Vancouver lasted only two seasons, they were eventful ones. He arrived in 2008 as the target of jokes about being overweight and left last spring as a much-admired playoff performer.

"That's certainly exciting to go back to Vancouver and play them right away," he said shortly after the Sharks acquired him. "The fans will get a good laugh out of that, I'm sure."

Wellwood told The Mercury News he wasn't upset by Vancouver's decision to go a different direction.

"I didn't want to sign there. They didn't offer anything, but I was hoping to get out of the media spotlight," he said. "I got tired of it."

Was it as simple as being under the Canadian print, TV and digital microscope?

"No," he said. "I just wanted a change. Certainly, I didn't want to go to Russia, but then I ended up here -- a good spot, hopefully."

On his stint in the KHL: "It's OK over there, but there's the language and smoking everywhere," Wellwood said of the experience of playing in a town 20 miles outside Moscow for a coach who spoke no English.

Wellwood said he went there "thinking it was something I'd like to do long-term because it's a lot more money than I would have made staying in North America. But the trade-off isn't worth it."

The Edmonton Journal conveys that when Shawn Horcoff injured his right knee on Dec. 7, he was hoping that the Edmonton Oilers would be pushing for a playoff spot when he eventually returned to the lineup.

At that time, the Oilers were flirting with the .500 mark. More than six weeks later, the Oilers captain is ready to return to a team that went 4-12-2 in his absence.

Discouraged? Doesn’t sound like it.

“Just because you’re out of the playoffs doesn’t mean you can’t put emphasis on hockey games,” said the veteran centre, who will likely skate between Taylor Hall and Dustin Penner in Thursday’s home game against the Dallas Stars at Rexall Place.

“Just because you’re out of the playoffs doesn’t mean you have nothing to play for. You have a job to play for,” he continued.

“We’ll just have to be creative and find some ways to push each other, to make sure every game is competitive. You have to work toward something. You still have to develop these kids, you have to develop your system play, you have to develop your team.

“When you finish the season strong, that has a tendency to carry on to the next one. We want to go into this summer feeling good about ourselves.”

The Journal reports that Horcoff, who injured his medial collateral ligament in a collision with the Anaheim Ducks Corey Perry, will wear a knee brace. He admitted that it could take four to six months before the knee is fully healed.

Still, it’s a calculated risk to return now. But, if he had been given a choice, he would have been back on the ice long ago.

“We miss the wherewithal of navigating 200 by 85 on both sides of the puck and, obviously, his energy is something we all draw off,” said head coach Tom Renney, who will have a stabilizing presence in the lineup but will be without winger Ales Hemsky, who is out with a concussion.

“His ability to think the game, see the ice, make the right decisions are all really important to us. The things he says on the bench, on the ice, in the dressing room are really relevant. We miss that. He helps others stay buoyant when we’re in tough. We miss that. He’s our leader and we miss him.”

Fire & Ice relays that Devils coach Jacques Lemaire said this morning that Ilya Kovalchuk came to him after he returned to coach the team on Dec. 23 and asked him to help him become a more well-rounded player.

““He wants to learn,” Lemaire said. “He asked me to talk to him about the game and what I want him to do and he said, ‘I want to improve.’ And I think he’s improving big time, big time.”

How has he improved?

“Now, he’s aware of the defensive game,” Lemaire said. “He’s been scoring and thinking about the defensive game, which is good. Before he was thinking about the offense and he wasn’t scoring. So, it’s great. He wants to learn. He wants to do it. He wants one day to kill penalties. That’s what he wants. He never did it. That’s what he wants. And he will.”

The blog notes that Lemaire has already started mixing Kovalchuk in a little on the penalty kill. He had a shift on it in Monday’s 5-2 with Islanders and a handful of others over the last two weeks.

“I talked to him about killing and he seemed excited,” Lemaire said. “So I said, ‘I’ll be on your (rear end) if you want that.’ He said, ‘Oh, I don’t mind.’ So, I did it. We’ll see how long he’s going to last.”

Lemaire said he is “not at all” surprised that a two-time 52-goal scorer like Kovalchuk would express a desire to learn more about the defensive game.

“He wants to be a better player,” Lemaire said. "It’s good.”

Lemaire laughed when someone asked if he planned to stick around for 15 years so he could continue to teach Kovalchuk over the duration of his contract with the Devils.

“My contract is shorter than that,” Lemaire joked.

Fire & Ice also notes that Lemaire has been trying to find ways to get Kovalchuk more ice time, like double-shifting him at times. Lemaire said he hasn’t been riding him too much, though.

“A little bit,” Lemaire said. “Not too much. He wants it. He likes it. So, I like it too.”

"You hear about Dubi and then you find out that Feds is going to be out, and for a second you go, 'Oh, man, those are important pieces,' " Brandon Prust told The New York Post following last night's 7-0 over the Toronto Maple Leafs, referencing the expected month-long losses of Brandon Dubinsky and Ruslan Fedotenko. "But you can't let that last too long.

"We've never used injuries as an excuse all year and we're not going to now. When guys have gone down, other guys have stepped up. That's what we've been about."

The Boston Globe indicates that for Bruins winger Milan Lucic, success comes when two elements are clicking: his legs are jack-hammering and his mind is positive. Lately, even before he suffered an undisclosed injury that knocked him out for three games, neither had been in synch.

“After five games when I didn’t score, I was breaking sticks. I was harping on myself,’’ Lucic said. “I was getting frustrated, getting down. It’s not the right way to go about things.

“I wanted to make sure that the main thing coming back was getting back to feeling positive and feeling good about myself. Getting hard shots to the net and just relaxing. You relax and do the little things, and the bigger things will come.’’

With his third-period winner in Tuesday’s 3-2 road triumph over Carolina, Lucic hopes he has found the groove he lost late in December.

The Globe notes that prior to that goal, Lucic hadn’t found the back of the net since Dec. 16. Too often, he was chasing the game. He was late to pucks. By being a step behind the play, Lucic couldn’t gain puck possession and was left hustling to catch up, which is hardly a strength of his game.

The Bruins have been able to weather Lucic’s lack of production. In their last five games, they’ve scored 25 goals. As he’s usually done when Lucic first returns from injury, coach Claude Julien eased him back into the lineup. Lucic, formerly the No. 1 left wing, has skated on the third line the last two games with David Krejci and Tyler Seguin. Once Lucic finds his pace and timing again, he could regain top-line duty.

“It’s never going to be perfect,’’ Lucic said. “But I think I’m taking strides in the right direction to get it back. It seemed like the main thing was that I wasn’t moving my feet as much. That’s what was causing me the most problems.’’

The Buffalo News reports that Sabres forward Drew Stafford will likely miss the next two games with a minor groin injury, which was construed as good news Wednesday. Coach Lindy Ruff initially feared his most effective right winger would be lost for an extended period while they continued chasing the final playoff spot.

"It is a relief," Ruff said after practice in HSBC Arena. "He's walking fine, and his strength is pretty good. It all bodes well for coming back quickly."

Stafford, who had 15 goals in 30 games and missed 15 other contests with injuries, did not practice Wednesday.

The Sabres play four games in six nights starting Thursday evening. Ruff hoped Stafford would be back after the Sabres play the Islanders on Friday at home.

After a day off Saturday, the Sabres again face the Islanders on Sunday afternoon on Long Island and finish up at Ottawa on Tuesday night.

Ruff and General Manager Darcy Regier huddled before deciding to summon Marc-Andre Gragnani from AHL Portland late Wednesday evening.

Interesting note for poolies: Gragnani is a smooth-skating defenceman-turned-forward who had five assists Saturday against Worcester. In 38 games, he had seven goals and 30 points. While this brief call-up with the team may not result in much, it'll be a situation to keep in mind going forward since he'll likely be registered as a defenceman in your fantasy league but will be logging minutes in forward situations with - hopefully - more offensive chances.

As a former first-round draft pick, The Chicago Tribune believes that expectations for Jack Skille to have a big offensive season for the Blackhawks soared as the season began.

No one expected more from Skille than himself, who now realizes he was playing under too much self-imposed pressure.

"I was in the beginning of the year," said Skille, who was the Hawks' top selection (seventh overall) in the 2005 entry draft. "You're coming in as a young guy and you're trying to provide right away. You want to score a lot of goals. In reality, you have to play smart and make sure you're not a liability. It's a learning process still."

Helping the learning process was playing 17 games into the season before scoring his first goal. Since that time the 23-year-old has had seven in the next 27 contests primarily playing on the fourth line.

"I learned that my role on this team right now is they want me to play an energy role and just be smart," said Skille, who has added nine assists and is a plus-5 in 44 games. "I'm going to keep playing smart. Lately, just playing smart like that and being in the right place at the right time has helped me out a lot. I'm learning every day and just trying to get better."

The Denver Post writes that while there are some NHL goalies who prefer to play deep in their crease and do so effectively, one general rule of thumb in the sport is that the deeper a goalie is playing in his net, the less confident he feels and the worse he tends to be playing.

It is a retreat defence mechanism rut that even the best of goalies can fall into, and one that Avalanche goalie Craig Anderson has found himself in at times this season.

But after watching lots of video of himself in game situations, and a lot of consultation with new Avs goalie coach Kirk McLean, Anderson is starting to feel and play like his 2009-10 self again.

In his last two starts, victories over Minnesota and Vancouver, Anderson has stopped 72-of-76 shots and has been more aggressive in coming out of his crease to challenge shooters. The closer one moves to someone, the bigger they appear. But when goalies aren't feeling confident, often they'll stay within the protective cocoon of the net — and too often end up playing 'small'.

"You're going to be bigger when you're further out, but you've got to read the play too," Anderson said. "If there's a guy backdoor, you can't play the shooter as strongly. But right now, I think I'm reading the play the best I have in a while. To me, it's just read and react. Seeing game film, and going back and watching where you're at, sometimes you don't even realize where you're playing until you look at it."

The Post notes that Anderson, whose save percentage has crept up to .906 and goals-against average dropped to 2.98, was benched for two consecutive games last week — the first time that had happened while healthy since he signed with the Avs in 2009.

Avs coach Joe Sacco, who said Anderson will start tonight, has noticed his better play.

"From my standpoint, he seems to be more square to the puck," Sacco said. "A lot of that has to do with confidence too. I think challenging the shooter now has become more of a focus for him and that it's helping his game."

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette indicates that dating to last summer, the Penguins had a plan for their top three forwards; but it requires all three to be in the lineup at the same time.

That hardly has happened and tonight in a game at New Jersey, the team will be down to one of those three - centre Jordan Staal.

All-Star winger/center Evgeni Malkin did not practice Wednesday and did not travel with the Penguins to Newark because of what is believed to be a leg injury, perhaps more problems with his left knee. He will be out at least until doctors determine the exact nature and extent of the injury.

"We don't know if it's going to be a day or if it's going to be through the All-Star break or what," coach Dan Bylsma said.

Sidney Crosby (concussion, indefinite), Malkin and Staal have been the team's top three centres the past four seasons, but the Penguins planned to break that up some this season by promoting Staal to second-line centre and shifting Malkin to right wing on that line. Staal missed the first 39 games of the season, however, because of a foot infection and then a broken hand.

The three big-name forwards played in the same game just twice before Crosby left the lineup because of a concussion. There is no timetable for his return.

"We're hoping [Staal] has some good food [Wednesday night] and can play in the game [tonight]," Bylsma cracked.

Philly.com notes that Danny Briere's replacement of Jarome Iginla (ailing grandma) allows the league to silence the outcry wondering how the leading scorer on the NHL's top overall team was not one of its All-Stars.

"There's politics involved," Briere shrugged. "That's what I was told and I understand how it is sometimes. There are things you can't understand, I was told, and decisions that have to be made. It is what it is, but the one thing I can tell you is that I am really excited to have the chance to take my kids to it."

Briere leads the Flyers with 24 goals and 41 points. Right behind him is Mike Richards with 40 points. Richards is not an All-Star.

"Danny's play is deserving of being in the All-Star Game, but how can you argue with the process?" said general manager Paul Holmgren, taking the high road. "You can't get into that."

He added, "We're certainly happy for Danny, that he was added and that his boys will be excited. Hopefully, he can go and have a good time and enjoy that time with his family. It's a unique experience."

The article points out that Briere will be bringing his three children, Caelan, Carson and Cameron. Flyers teammate Claude Giroux will make his first All-Star appearance. Sure to make it an even neater experience for the kids - Giroux lives with Team Briere in their South Jersey home. Giroux is the tall one.

Briere had originally planned to go to Florida to attend hockey tournaments in which his kids were playing.

"I'm sure some of the coaches won't be happy," he chuckled shortly after learning he was an All-Star. "I better start making some phone calls before it comes out.

"They are at a prime age for these kinds of things," Briere continued. "I know they're going to be very excited about it. They're 9, 11 and 12. Three boys. They all play hockey, so, obviously, the All-Star Game is a big thing for them. That's probably the biggest thrill for me, having the chance to share it with them."

This is the second All-Star nod for Briere and his first as a Flyer. In his other appearance, he was the 2007 MVP after notching a goal and four assists while playing on a line with Marian Hossa and Dany Heatley. He was given a new Dodge Nitro, which he gave to his sister. Her family still uses it.

He called that experience one of the greatest personal moments of his hockey career. This year, the trip will be even more meaningful.

"I always promised [the kids] that the next time I would go that they would be there," said Briere, 33. "I'm getting older. How many chances am I going to have to go back and share it with them? That's why I'm excited about it."

Scott (Plymouth, MI): "Hey, Chris - I'm in a 10-team points based league (not a weekly head to head) with scoring categories for G, A, +/-, PPG, SHG, Shots, Shootout Goals, PIMs, and Hat Tricks on the offensive side, and W, Saves, Shutouts, and Goals Against on the defensive side. I'm in second place now and I think my depth at the goaltending position is starting to burn a hole in my pocket. Do you think I should try to dangle Ryan Miller out there to bolster my crop of forwards (targetting Zetterberg or Staal?), banking on Niemi becoming a solid #1 for the rest of the season in SJ? We start 3C, 6 C/W, 6 DEF, 2 G. Here's my roster for reference....

C - Backes, Briere, Stamkos, Toews, Spezza W - D. Jones, Neal, Cammalleri, Downie, Recchi, C. Stewart, Higgins, S. Kostitsyn, Semin D - Bieksa, Carlson, Ehrhoff, Seidenberg, Weber, Wisniewski, Kronwall, M. Staal G - Lundqvist, Miller, Niemi, Neuvirth

Thanks, in advance, for your guidance."

Chris: Scott, Although I think the odds are fairly good that SJ is going to turn things around and that Niemi should benefit from that, I'm a little hesitant to recommend dealing away Miller... especially if in this roto format you can start two goalies nightly and that's your only limit. You're in second place now with two rock-solid No. 1 guys and two other goalies with pretty good upside for the second half.

Offensively, keep in mind you'll be getting Spezza and Semin back before too long and they should also start producing. They've both struggled to date and in many ways, this will be like trading for two offensive studs right there. You've survived without them, so their returns should really help. Cammalleri's loss hurts somewhat, but hopefully you have an IR slot.

What I'd be more inclined to do here, since we know that Lundqvist and Miller will eat up huge start totals, is to either deal Niemi to Niittymaki's owner or Neuvirth to Varlamov's with either a forward or a D to get an upgrade at that position. Only do that if the return is something you're comfortable with and improves your team, obviously.

Conversely, I'd be ok with you dealing Miller if you were able to first secure Varlamov on the cheap to complement your Neuvirth. Lundqvist and the Caps with Niemi as a fail-safe would be great.

Failing that, be content in the fact that you have some insurance in case of an injury between the pipes and that you should be bolstered by Spezza and Semin's hopefully resurgent second halves.