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

Just before publication today, the Toronto Maple Leafs traded defenceman Francois Beauchemin to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Joffrey Lupul, defenceman Jake Gardiner and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in the 2013 Entry Draft.

This should finally give Lupul something better than a third line role, where he was wasting away with the Ducks when healthy. He'll surely be encouraged to shoot, which is the strength of his game. Ideally that'll help create more offence for a team that needs it. He won't necessarily be able to turn it right back on, but if he can earn and keep a top six role with the Leafs then his chances for success offensively are much better in Toronto than they were with the Ducks. This may just be a case of his production coming around next season, once he has a full training camp under his belt and can start the season off normally. Chances are fairly decent that you'll have better FA options at the moment, unless it's a really deep league.

Beauchemin has had stints where he can be a useful depth fantasy defender, but his main value will come as an actual defender with both his physicality and his ability to move the puck. Jonas Hiller owners should feel at least a little better... when he's finally back between the pipes. More on that further down in today's blog.

I quickly dug this Gardiner quote out from the Orange County Register archives from then-Ducks GM Brian Burke at the 2008 entry draft: "The thing that leaps out when you watch him, according to our scouts and other teams I've talked to since we drafted him, is he can really skate. This kid fits our psychological profile to a tee, and he can really fly."

"The thing that sold it for us is that Wisconsin is a top program for developing players."

The Montreal Gazette believes the Canadiens have weathered the loss to Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges in part because P.K. Subban has emerged as a top defenceman in his rookie season. He has been paired with Hal Gill and credits the veteran with helping him develop.

“He’s a veteran guy in this league and he’s done it all,” said Subban. “He’s won championships. He’s been teaching me every day to be a better pro, whether it’s on the ice or off. He’s definitely made the game easier for me.”

The 21-year-old Subban said it’s difficult to explain the relationship between himself and the 35-year-old Gill.

“It’s more like big brother, little brother but he is a father,” said Subban. “He has a number of years on me and I’m sure that he sees me as a kid and he’s looking out for me. When I make mistakes out there, he’s the first guy to pick me up.”

Subban said Gill isn’t the lone of source of wisdom about how to play the game.

“The best piece of advice someone gave me was don’t go out and try to win the game, just go out and play,” he said. “A team that taught me patience was Philly in the playoffs. They’re an experienced team, which waits for you to make mistakes and they capitalize on that and I thought maybe I should play the same way.”

More than ever before, The Ottawa Sun posits, it is apparent that the Senators are becoming Jason Spezza’s team.

Ottawa’s top centre and offensive catalyst has returned from a six-week injury absence in full stride and, despite missing a total of 20 games to date, is still the best bet to lead the club in scoring this season. Currently, he’s only nine points off the pace set by Daniel Alfredsson.

“There’s a lot of little areas he’s done a very good job at,” coach Cory Clouston said of the past two games for which he has had Spezza, who watched the Senators slip into oblivion with a 1-14 record in his absence. “He hasn’t shown a lot of rust.”

Spezza didn’t score his first night back, but he had four shots on goal and another eight blocked by the Islanders. He was also a dominating 16-7 in the faceoff circles, suggesting his shoulder was 100%. When the Senators played the Canucks in Spezza’s second game, he was the best player on the ice from either side. And that included all the twins who were suited up. Spezza had a goal and an assist, seven shots on net.

“Timing is always an issue, but I felt better last game,” said Spezza. “And usually you can be a little tentative when you’re coming back. But (Monday) night I didn’t really think about my shoulder at all.”

The Sun relays that Alfredsson believes the Senators missed Spezza both on and off the ice. It is such an endorsement by the captain that he’d also recommend Spezza to take over his ‘C’ when he retires.

“Off the ice, the energy he brings to the rink, just being a leader for us,” Alfredsson said of Spezza’s attributes. “He’s been around for quite a while and he’s one of the guys we always look to here as well. He brings a lot off the ice, to the locker room. To all the guys.

“I think being away a little bit, he comes in and has a fresher look than maybe we have, through a tough grind. he brought a lot of energy. He’s played really well.”

Motivating Spezza for the final 28 games is the burning desire to get the team winning again. For future worth, yes, but also for the present.

“It’s getting pretty frustrating to come out of the backend with a loss every night,” said Spezza. “The good efforts just aren’t cutting it anymore. I think you can tell yourself that so much, but we want to start winning games. We’re a little bit embarrassed by how the season has gone, frustrated, and want to start winning games in order to start feeling better about ourselves in the room.

“It’s to send a message for (next season) and this year, too. We’ve got guys in this room that are all frustrated. We want to show ourselves we’re a better team too. It’s easy to say we’re a better team than our record is, but we have to win more games to prove it.”

If hockey is a results-driven business, not to mention a stats-driven exercise, The Edmonton Journal wonders if rookie goalie Devan Dubnyk shouldn't be getting two out of every three starts in the Edmonton Oilers net now. Veteran Nikolai Khabibulin hasn’t won a game in almost two months.

You go with the goalie that gives you the best chance to win and right now that’s Dubnyk. He's 6-5-6 with a 2.74 goals-against average and .917 save percentage. Khabibulin, who injured his groin against the Blackhawks in a 5-0 ­November drubbing here and missed two weeks, is 8-24-2 with a 3.46 ­average and .891 save percentage. He’s clearly distressed about his ­inability to win since a 6-3 victory over Columbus Dec. 16.

“Devan’s had his ups and downs this season, like the whole team, but he’s developing nicely. You have to like the way he’s using his size (six-foot-five), the way he’s becoming more and more comfortable at this level on a consistent basis, great work ethic … it’s exciting,” said associate coach Ralph Krueger, who will run the bench tonight and Saturday (vs. the Ottawa Senators) with head man Tom Renney leaving to attend his father Joe’s funeral in Cranbrook, B.C.

“Devan’s confidence level and aggressiveness (in the net) is increasing as the season goes on. He’s a strong first shot goalie, very mechanical with his style,” said Krueger, who didn’t deny Dubnyk reminds him of his Swiss national team goalie Jonas Hiller. Both huge backstops, although Dubnyk is a couple of inches taller. “Both butterfly goalies, they cover a lot of net down low.”

The Journal notes that Krueger won’t go so far as to map out the goaltending for the last 29 games, however. Dubnyk has played in 19 games, Khabibulin in 34. Khabibulin might have played more if he hadn’t got hurt.

“Both goalies are going to get their opportunity in what has become a very, very small picture,” said Krueger, who says the non-playoff team can only look that way until April.

Dubnyk isn’t trying to rush things because he’s new to the NHL party. When asked how many games he thought he’d play in the last 29, he said, “10 to 15? Maybe more, maybe less. I’m sure that’s not the answer you want to hear, but I don’t want to let thoughts creep into my head about how many I’m going to play. I’m still a young goalie. I still need to be earning my ice time.”

The article points out that Dubnyk had an economical game last year, too, when he shared duties with Jeff Deslauriers when Khabibulin needed back surgery, but he looks even quieter in the net this year.

“At my size, working with Freddie (goalie coach Chabot), we’ve tried to keep it simple. It is true that less is more, especially in tight. I’m trying to minimize the holes. Obviously I’m a big guy. That’s an advantage, for sure, but you still have to be in the right position. If you’re not, you may as well be five-foot-five,” said Dubnyk, who admits he was watching his Nashville counterpart, Pekka Rinne, in Monday’s game, even if the six-foot-five Rinne had an off night.

“For sure, I’m trying to take things from other goalies, even better if they’re the same stature and they’re dealing with the same dimensions as me. I like Rinne. He’s an exciting goalie. He’s intense and maybe more athletic than me. He’s on top of things, lots of emotion. His stats and his success are obvious,” said Dubnyk.

The Denver Post writes that Colorado's Chris Stewart, in nine games since his return, has one goal — a largely meaningless score with 11 seconds left in a 4-3 loss at home to the Wild last Thursday — and three assists. He has been playing most of the time on a line with Matt Duchene and Milan Hejduk, and the line's lack of production is only part of the reason for the Avs' recent slide. Colorado has lost six of seven games heading into tonight's rematch with the Wild at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center.

In fact, the Avalanche hasn't scored since Stewart's late goal against the Wild in Denver, and has suffered consecutive shutout losses to Anaheim and Phoenix.

"It's not just Chris Stewart," coach Joe Sacco said. "It's everybody. We're all in this together. Yes, Chris needs to be better, but so do a lot of other players.

"He's still battling back from the injury, and I think it's taking him a little bit longer probably than he expected. He's a big part of our team, a key player for us. No question, he has to be better."

The Post indicates that Stewart shrugs off the hand injury and his six-week absence as factors in his recent problems. "You have to take responsibility," he said after the Monday game. "You have to take a serious look in the mirror and ask yourself if you did everything to help your team win. Tonight, I didn't."

Earlier in the day, he asserted he was "still getting chances. And when things aren't going your way, you have to simplify your game. I'm playing with Duchene and Hejduk, and my job on that line is to get them the puck, create room for them, play a power forward game and go to the net."

Stewart said he couldn't be concerned with whether the injury derailed his rise to stardom — one that came suddenly, when he was in danger of being written off as a first-round bust as recently as early last season, when he briefly was exiled to the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League.

"You have to play with the cards that are dealt you," Stewart said. "You have to put all of that behind you. It's a 30-game season now, and that's how I have to look at it."

The Orange County Register reports that a continued bout with fatigue and lightheadedness prompted the Ducks to put star goalie Jonas Hiller on injured reserve, but he is eligible to come off it Thursday and is only ruled out for Wednesday night's game at Vancouver.

Hiller took regular turns in net Tuesday in Vancouver during practice but is not well enough to be available to the club.

"It still doesn't feel 100 percent, but it was good to be back on the ice," Hiller was quoted as saying in Edmonton. "I guess we have to see how it develops tonight, if I still feel all right or what's going to happen. It seems all right right now, but I'm still not there."

Hiller was shut down the previous five days because of an unexplained case of fatigue shortly after his most recent start, against San Jose last week. He was scratched from starting Saturday's game at Colorado.

"The aura around him is a little bit concerning for everybody," Coach Randy Carlyle said. "But it seems like now he's on his way to recovery."

The Register indicates that the Ducks are otherwise content to ride McElhinney, who is coming off his second career shutout and has stopped 42 of the past 43 shots.

"He's a great goalie," defenceman Andy Sutton said. "He's getting a chance to play and you see how good he is. He's phenomenal for us.

"We know Curtis. It's always great to have depth on the team. It's nice to know we have him when Jonas is out."

The article also noted yesterday's news that Ray Emery cleared waivers and was assigned to the Ducks' AHL affiliate in Syracuse, although he must get immigration paperwork straightened out to report.

Emery's next game will be his first in more than a year and he said he needs adequate preparation in front of professional shooters.

But he was mostly appreciative of a comeback opportunity after he underwent major hip surgery last April that threatened his up-and-down career.

"It's kind of a continuous journey," Emery said on a conference call. "There have been some tests along the way. I learned from everything. I made a few mistakes and had a few setbacks. I wouldn't take it back.

"After going through something, the next time you know exactly how to take that situation. You can build on all those missteps. I'm really excited to be back. I definitely appreciate things more. I appreciate my body more, knowing that it's not always going to be there for me and having that scare of thinking I might have played my last game."

The Register says that Emery, a Stanley Cup finalist goalie four years ago, signed a one-year, two-way deal Monday that will pay him $105,000 with Syracuse

"I'm just excited to be back playing again," he said. "I realize I had a tough operation and been away from the game for a while. I felt Anaheim and their organization was a good spot for me to come back. They seemed interested. I'm just lucky to be back."

The Detroit Free Press believes there's disagreement among the Red Wings whether Jiri Hudler's season abroad impacted his return to the NHL, but no argument that he seems at last to have found his groove.

Hudler helped ensure the Wings would enter tonight's game against Nashville on a winning note with a goal and an assist in a 3-2 victory over the Rangers on Monday night. The goal was Hudler's fifth of the season, the assist his 15th. While 20 points in 48 games isn't impressive for someone making $2.875 million, it looks better when held up against the 12 points Hudler produced in his first 36 games.

"He's been better, for sure," coach Mike Babcock said. "He's starting to compete more and more on the puck. It took him awhile to get going, longer than he anticipated, or longer than I anticipated, but we've always known he's a good player, and hopefully he's going to help us."

Hudler, 27, spent last year in the Kontinental Hockey League, but after things soured with Moscow Dynamo, the Wings welcomed him back and Babcock figured Hudler would contribute around 70 points. Instead, Hudler had two goals in his first 30 games, rotating as a healthy scratch.

The Free Press notes he has become a regular thanks to numerous injuries, but he has made good on his time with eight points in the past 10 games and looked especially dangerous Monday with Danny Cleary and Pavel Datsyuk.

"When you look at it in the big picture, the guy went to Russia, which is a different level and speed than the NHL, and he had from March till October off," Cleary said of Hudler. "It takes time to get back. He's playing a lot better, he's handling the puck better, he's making more plays, he's stronger on the puck. We said all along we're going to need this guy, and he's definitely playing well."

Hudler said he feels better than he did in the fall, but disagreed his slow start is Russia's fault, saying, "I never thought my season in Russia was a reason for the slump."

Hudler did say his recent output was helped by a Russian export, however, as playing with Datsyuk has a way of making anyone look good.

"The best thing about Pav is, he's very strong on the puck," Hudler said. "If you take it from him, he'll take it back right away. To play with Pavel Datsyuk, it's really, really great."

“Any time you have two players out of their lineup, it’s very unfortunate for the game, first of all," Kings coach Terry Murray told LA Kings Insider ahead of Thursday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who continue to be minus superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. "The National Hockey League needs the premier guys in the game and playing at their best. It’s what it’s all about. It’s entertainment. It’s exciting for the NHL and for the fans, and it’s great for us to come in, as a visiting team, and to (face) the best lineup. You never want to see anybody hurt, but certainly not the premier guys in the game. It’s very unfortunate. Hopefully they will get back quickly. Then, on the other side of it, when those two players are out of the lineup, you have to make sure that, emotionally, that you’re going in with the right attitude, not backing off the gas pedal at all. These are very important games for the L.A. Kings, and we have to come out and play the same game, as hard, intense and focused as if they had a full and healthy lineup.”

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune says that Marek Zidlicky wore a yellow jersey in Tuesday's practice. That jersey means don't touch, don't even breathe near him. But the fact Zidlicky's wearing a practice jersey at all is a sign that the Wild's most dynamic offensive defenceman may indeed wear a jersey for real again this season.

That seemed a long shot 5 1/2 weeks ago when Zidlicky sustained the second-most severe separated shoulder you can get. Usually, the only option is surgery. When told surgery would mean six months off, Zidlicky chose rehab.

"The doctor told me he can do surgery any time, so this was my decision," said Zidlicky, wearing extra padding on his left shoulder.

Zidlicky says he'll take it "day-to-day." As the Wild begins its latest stretch of "big games" by playing 10 times in 17 days before the Feb. 28 trade deadline, Zidlicky's return could come in a week or two -- or longer. The defenceman won't put a date on a return until he's confident the shoulder is ready. If he's not completely healthy, it'd be easy for the shoulder to separate again.

"It's very important for me that my shoulder's strong and I can take a hit. That's when we'll know for real," he said.

The article notes that Zidlicky's return and potential return of power forward Guillaume Latendresse would help the Wild.

Latendresse is skating on his own and is uncertain when he'll return to practice or game action.

"I'm feeling it in the groins right now. Very sore, but I haven't done a lot of cardio," Latendresse said.

The Washington Post points out the Capitals got back one of their most potent scoring threats last night and although Alexander Semin wasn't able to play at full throttle as he continues to heal from a groin injury, there were at least several encouraging moments.

On the ice for the first time since Jan. 8, Semin led the Capitals with four shots during a 2-0 loss to San Jose at Verizon Center. He also resumed his familiar spot on the power play, leading all forwards with 3 minutes 13 seconds on that unit.

But his physical fitness after the lengthy layoff was such that Semin wasn't able to maneuver as he normally does, and thus he skated fewer shifts and spent less time on the ice as the game extended.

"I didn't think he was sharp. I didn't think he wasn't," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. "The third period he looked a little tired. His shifts were short, so probably the game conditioning isn't where it should be. He had some chances, I thought, but I mean he wasn't sharp or he would have put them in."

The Post notes that Semin remains the team's second leading goal scorer with 18, including three hat tricks, despite having not scored since Nov. 28 and having missed the past 12 games. He's missed 15 games overall this season.

"He hasn't played in a while, so maybe he's not as sharp as he wanted to be," center Mathieu Perreault said. "But I'm sure he's going to get back to his game pretty quickly."

J in Winnipeg: "Hey Chris, 4th in a really tight race, not out of reach and just got Spezza and Getzlaf back this week. We have 5 C each (9 team pool, no keepers, G, A, shots, +/-, Pims, hits) Have Spezza, Getzlaf, Backstrom, J.Staal and Pavelski. Thinking of dropping J.Staal for Forsberg. (I tried trading him in a package to upgrade my D but the race is too tight and teams aren't trading). We all have to have the same amount at each position (5 each except 3 goalies). He seems to be more in a defensive role, and Foppa would likely be on PP. Do you think Forsberg can out-fantasy Staal even with Crosby and Malkin out? Or should I keep Staal and let Forsberg go to a rival potentially. I want to be the first to make a move on this guy if he's worth it."

Chris: Even with Staal becoming this team's top threat down the middle, as of today I'm more inclined to want to gamble on Forsberg because I think he'll be playing with more offensive talent and his odds of contributing more fantasy points are higher... IMO. Naturally you'd be taking on a higher injury risk with the legendary Swede.

I'm also not sure how your league works, but it'd be a crime if Forsberg wasn't awarded wing eligibility because not only did he play that in his last NHL stint, but he'll be doing it this time around again.

@Blumensaat: "Keeper League. G, A, SOG, +/-, Hits, Goalie W. Playoffs count. Please rank Raymond, Ennis, Laich, Grabovski, Seguin, JVR?"

Chris: The short Twitter answer is that for keeper potential, Seguin and JVR are the two pretty easy winners from that group. Not sure if I have a real preference at this point.

To give you a more intelligent answer specific to your situation that a tougher one Marcus and I really don't have enough info to go on. Without knowing how big the league is or how many keepers you have per team, I have no way to gauge the keeper value of a longer-term project like JVR who has immense upside vs. someone who's still young-ish like Grabovski, but is producing really well now (although who won't see playoff action this year).

If you only keep six or seven players in a 10-team league, chances are nobody from that list is keeper-worthy because the talent pool would be so deep for keeper choices. The deeper you go, the more I'd rather sink a roster slot into a potential star. Then you have a guy like Raymond who's starting to produce after a cold spell and he's on a team that could make a deep run in the playoffs.