Chris Nichols

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

Twitter: @Nichols_NHLPool/ Email: chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

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The Edmonton Journal passes on that Ales Hemsky is still here; 490 games, 10 years and eight National Hockey League seasons after the Edmonton Oilers made him the 13th pick in the 2001 entry draft.

And that's worth noting, because only three other players from that first round are wearing the same jerseys they modelled on such a pivotal day in their hockey lives -Ottawa's Jason Spezza, Florida's Stephen Weiss and Minnesota's Mikko Koivu -underscoring the transient nature of the game as much as the crapshoot element in the draft.

It is also remarkable because Hemsky survived the first truly unnerving trade deadline of his career Monday; knowing for certain he was on the block, unsure only of where he might land if indeed he took off his Oiler togs. He had a pre-deadline conversation with GM Steve Tambellini, who didn't try to snow him. If the deal was there, Hemsky was on the move, a tenured soldier sacrificed to the rebuild. But the offers were not substantial enough for the Oilers to trade the man Tambellini called their best player.

So there he was Tuesday, still the second-longest serving Oiler behind captain Shawn Horcoff, fielding queries about his future and that of the only NHL team for which he has played.

"I understand the business. I understand if they get something that will work out for the future because it's still a young team and they could do it. I don't have a hard feeling about that," said Hemsky, in his trademark quirky mix of tenses.

"It doesn't bug me. I didn't think about it and I'm still here and that's my only focus.

"I was on the block. I can't say I wasn't. But yeah, they show they want me here and I want to be here. I never said I don't want to be here."

The Journal points out that Dustin Penner didn't ask for the door either, but he is sunning himself in La-La Land today and Ales still lives here, happily, he stressed several times, in the city that global warming forgot. After playing against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, he is exactly 100 regular season games away from unrestricted free agency that might make him richer elsewhere but he doubts would make him any happier than he is in Edmonton.

After a decade here he has good friends, a girlfriend, teammates and coaches he likes, an owner and a general manager he respects for the upbeat environment they have created despite a fifth straight year without playoffs. He has played in only two post-seasons and that is a definite downer, but he is happy with the direction of the team.

Happy enough to commit longterm? That will depend, he said, on many things.

"We have time. I still have a (contract) year left. I'm keeping my options open. I don't really think about it now. I want to finish the season. It's up to a lot of things. It depends on where the team will go. A lot of things.

"I want to see this team moving forward. I am here for a long time, I'm here to win. I want to get in the playoffs. It's not fun to not play playoffs. But I know I have to help too and hopefully they (management) can give us some help too. It's tough to see Pens go because he was a good player and you don't see that many guys score 30 goals or 25 goals every year."

Head coach Tom Renney offered this to The Journal: "I think this is a better competitor than I think he gets credit for."

"He's got more character than people want to chronicle," Renney continued. "The bottom line is that there are times when you become disengaged because you are frustrated or whatever and that's a global thing, that's not 83. That's any player. I hope everybody picks it up. I hope everybody takes these 19 games as seriously as they possibly can and I expect my leaders to lead the way. And he's a leader."

The Journal goes on to say that over the course of a decade you would expect him to change as a person and a player and that has indeed happened. Just two years ago he said he felt like a checker under then head coach Craig MacTavish's stifling system, but that was a burst of frustration and came off as self-serving. He hasn't given in to the temptation again since.

"From that time, I think I grow up hockeywise. You get a little smarter, so that's probably the different thing," he said. "I like MacT. Sometimes you get frustrated. We went through good things and bad things and it just make you stronger, you know. I grow up as a hockey player and as a person. This team give me a lot. I grow up here, pretty much."

He also believes he has amassed his points this year despite a serious shift in his on-ice focus.

"I have changed a little bit. I'm trying to be more, how do you say it, more of an accomplished player. I'm not focused for the offence now. I got better as an accomplished player. I don't want to be known just as an offensive player, up and down. More all-around, yeah. I think I have improved on that."

In Edmonton. Where he is happy. Still.

LA Kings Insider ran an interview with newcomer Dustin Penner yesterday afternoon. Here are some of the highlights:

Question: Watching from afar, and playing against them, what have your impressions been of the Kings?

PENNER: “I started playing against them six years ago, and that’s when Anze (Kopitar) came into the league. I could see the talent he had then. Every year, I think, this team and this organization and the guys who have been there since then, they’ve gotten better. Obviously they’ve made great draft choices, getting (Drew) Doughty, picking up (Jack) Johnson from Carolina and a bunch of other guys. Getting (Wayne) Simmonds and picking up Smytty [Ryan Smyth]. They’ve got a big, strong, offensive-minded team that knows how to play defense. They’re good at controlling the puck, and that’s the type of team I think you need in the playoffs, one that gets a lot of offensive-zone time and second and third chances. It’s not one-and-done.”

Question: The fact that you played in Anaheim, and already know the area a bit, does that help the transition?

PENNER: “Obviously, if I had to get dealt this is where I want to be. I have my house and I have a car and friends down here. The familiarity is very convenient for me and my family.”

Question: You know, there are some Kings fans who are anxious about the whole Anaheim thing…

PENNER: “Yeah, I know. [smiles] I think I read where somebody is going to boo me no matter what, because they boo everybody from the 2007 Ducks team. The best part for me — and I think Greener can relate — is that there’s always a guy who sits behind the visitor’s bench (at Staples Center) and he’s always all over me. I remember seeing something in Edmonton about how he’s probably one of the best `chirpers’ out there. He was always all over me, saying, `You’re not going anywhere Penner. We don’t need you.’ I’ll ask him if he likes my jersey now. [laughs]”

Question: Things weren’t always easy in Edmonton. Are there things that you learned from that experience, things you take with you going forward?

PENNER: “I’ve definitely learned a lot from my four years there, starting with the offer sheet and the tumultuous second year. It’s the old saying of, `Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ I’ve been through a lot of adversity in my life, and that was another way I view that year, and the four years there. There were ups and downs, and I think I’ll get a better perspective on it in the years to come, not just initially, now, after I’ve left. I think I grew a lot as a person and as a player.”

Question: Of course, you were teammates with Stoll and Greene, and lived with Greene for a while. That must have been an experience…

PENNER: “I looked all over Edmonton for a house, for three months, while we sat in his basement playing Guitar Hero. Then one popped up on the cul-de-sac, across from his house. It was too good to be true, so I bought it. Then he snapped his ankle, trying to go end-to-end against the Red Wings — which wasn’t a smart decision — and he got traded shortly after. Then pretty much everybody got traded there, so it was awfully lonely.”

Question: You mentioned Kopitar earlier. If you end up playing with him, do you have an idea of how your two styles might mesh together?

PENNER: “If I do get a chance to play with him, obviously he’s a big body and I think our styles would blend well together. We can both hold onto the puck and gets pucks to the net. I think, for any offensive-minded team, it’s not always the first shot that’s most important. It’s the second and third opportunities, and that’s what this team, as a whole, gets. They’ve got the D to keep the pucks in, and make those plays at the blue line. Then their forwards, 1 through 12 — and beyond that — are all very skilled and very tough to play against.”

In an article on the quiet style of leadership used by Flyers captain Mike Richards, Philly.com points out that he realized last February in Vancouver - while representing Canada at the Winter Olympics with the weight of the country on his team's shoulders - that he already has what it takes to be a successful leader in the NHL.

"He's pretty guarded with his personal life," teammate Chris Pronger said. "But when you spend 3 weeks with a person, almost 24 hours per day in a dormitory setting, you learn a lot about them. I think the Olympics were a big step for him, being in that atmosphere and having those types of players around to see what kind of dedication it takes.

"That translated how he approached the team after the Olympics."

When he returned to the Flyers - who went on to lose eight of their final 12 games of the regular season but made the playoffs on the final day - Richards changed by not changing at all.

"I think that experience, what we went through last season, allowed us to be much more comfortable with each other," Richards said. "I think we're a lot more open in this locker room now. Losing streaks aren't usually constructive, there's rarely anything positive said. But I think you have to lose to get to where you want to be."

Skating off the ice on June 9, with the Blackhawks hoisting Lord Stanley's treasured chalice in the background, was the antithesis of tasting Olympic gold medal success on home soil less than 4 months earlier.

Richards, though, will be the first to tell you that he has matured as a person and as a captain since that heartbreaking loss.

"I think I've done a lot of growing up," Richards said. "For me, I've never been a big believer in embarrassing people in front of their teammates. I'm more subtle, I'd much rather pull you aside. When you embarrass people and yell at them, that's when you start to have problems.''

Philly.com notes that he says he leads the same way his predecessors did growing up in Kenora, Ontario.

"If I'm not blocking shots, I can't ask other players to go block shots," Richards said. "If I'm not giving my best effort, I can't ask anyone else to do the same."

Within the Flyers' locker room, Richards is known as a protector. Though he does not offer much in the way of a quote with the media, Richards is aware of what is being said and what is being written about his teammates. They say that he often comes over to offer a brief word of encouragement after a mistake, turnover or loss.

"Because he's such a good player, his influence goes a long way," coach Peter Laviolette said. "He constantly sticks up for teammates. If somebody had a bad game, or somebody had a bad shift, he makes sure that he goes around and smoothes things out. He's good that way, that he goes around and gives someone a pat and a positive response or positive feedback. I see that a lot with him.

"That's part of being a good leader, to motivate and help others. I think he does a good job at that."

Laviolette told Philly.com that Richards' leadership style and play are "contagious."

"I think Mike is one of those guys that, the bigger the game or the situation, the bigger he responds," Laviolette said. "The biggest thing about what we do here is that we're unwavering in our approach to each game. And I think that stems from our leadership and from Mike.

"Since I've been here, he has not changed based on the fact that he is the captain of the team. It doesn't change from Game 1 to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals. That's who he is as a person."

The Orange County Register reports that Jonas Hiller practiced Tuesday but did not make it all the way through as vertigo symptoms continue to haunt him.

Coach Randy Carlyle said the plan is to increase Hiller's workload and that it was encouraging to extend his practice time.

Hiller, though, didn't sound as sunny afterward and called the ordeal depressing.

"It's still not the way I want to," he said. "I still have the symptoms and I still don't feel right. It still feels like I've got something slowing me down and it seems like I'm always behind the play. It doesn't hurt or anything, but it's definitely not a nice feeling."

Hiller didn't consider it a setback but said that "it's definitely (taking) longer than I thought and longer than I wanted to."

With the symptoms still alive, Hiller said the strategy is to "provoke" the feelings of panic and slowness in order to get used to it. But he said it's not something he can play through. He can handle simple movement where he doesn't have to follow the puck but not much else. Hiller likened it to watching television and being a couple of frames behind.

"If I have to turn my head too often, then it seems like panic mode in my head and I feel all over the place," he said. "It feels like I'm always like a second late. It takes me a second to realize what's going on, especially on plays from behind the net. That's a terrible feeling. I always feel like I'm late and trying to catch up."

The Register indicates it appears the Ducks will have to catch up in the playoff race without Hiller, who sounded like he could use a spiritual pickup as well.

"It's kind of depressing because nothing's really aching," he said. "I can't say I have less headaches than last night. ... It's definitely better than I would have liked a week ago or a week-and-a-half ago, but I still can't say it's gone."

The Buffalo News relays that new tradee Brad Boyes met the Sabres on the plane to New York on Monday evening, part of a whirlwind day that featured arriving in Buffalo from St. Louis, getting a physical and heading straight out of town. Boyes will have plenty of time to get to know the guys during the seven-game road trip.

The first game was Tuesday night and Boyes wasted no time, scoring his first goal as a Sabre against the New York Rangers. Boyes, who started at right wing alongside centre Tim Connolly and left wing Tyler Ennis, converted on the power play in the second period. It was his only shot in 14:54 of ice time.

While most of Boyes' teammates are unfamiliar to him, he does know a bit about his new city. The native of Mississauga, Ont., played junior hockey in Erie, Pa., so he drove through Buffalo quite a bit.

"I don't know if I see the glamorous parts of it," said Boyes, who didn't let the blight spots temper his excitement about the town. "Buffalo is one that I heard about [in trade rumors], and I was actually pretty excited."

The News points out that he'll be in touch with Lindy Ruff and the rest of the Sabres' coaching staff quite a bit. The Sabres play a different system than Boyes' previous team, St. Louis, so they've been taking time to get plays straight.

"You listen to how St. Louis played the game, you talk about the differences on how we want to play," Ruff said. "Some of it is in the offensive-zone responsibilities, some of it is in the neutral zone. You've got power-play routes that are different, entries are different. We worked on some of that, went through a lot of it just on a dry-erase board.

"I think that he'll sort some things out, some stuff he'll need help with. We're quite a bit different than them. He's got some adjustments. He's excited about his new linemates and about playing. I think a new system sometimes excites a player."

The Columbus Dispatch observes that two new Blue Jackets employees called their boss Monday night to say they would be late for the first day of work because they were stranded in Las Vegas.

It sounds like the makings of a road-trip comedy with a Mike Tyson cameo. But it was the NHL trade deadline travel adventures of winger Scottie Upshall and defenceman Sami Lepisto.

After two connecting flights and a night spent in a Las Vegas hotel, the players arrived in Vancouver yesterday and made their Jackets debuts last night against the Canucks. Upshall and Lepisto were acquired from Phoenix for defenceman Rostislav Klesla and minor-leaguer Dane Byers.

Lepisto said there was no all-night revelry. It was simply a quiet dinner in their hotel before hopping an early flight to Salt Lake City on the way to Vancouver.

"We were pretty good boys," he said. "We went for dinner and laughed about the whole thing."

Pro athletes are used to flying on team planes and charters but must step into the more unpredictable world of commercial travel on days like Monday. The duo's plane from Phoenix was delayed by more than an hour. They landed in Vegas just as their connecting flight was departing, Upshall said.

Yesterday morning, one of their early-morning options was actually flying back to Phoenix for a layover.

"We weren't taking that one," Upshall said.

They arrived in Vancouver about 2 p.m. local time. After an hour nap and lunch, Lepisto and Upshall received a few video primers on the Jackets' system and were handed their new uniforms.

"I'm actually feeling pretty good," Upshall said two hours before faceoff. "Once the game starts, the adrenaline will kick in."

Upshall scored in his debut.

Michigan Live says that Wings coach Mike Babcock is delighted with the progress of rookie defenceman Jakub Kindl.

“I said to (assistant coach) Brad McCrimmon on the ice today, (Kindl) is a different person,” Babcock said. “From training camp to this point ... it’s unbelievable. It may be the greatest transformation I’ve ever seen.

“I don’t know why, but I think Rusty (defence partner Ruslan Salei) has been real good with him. Brad’s doing a good job, and (Kindl’s) put in a lot of time in the gym and he’s stronger and more confident.”

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Kindl is playing with more poise and has been more physical lately.

“What you try to do is take baby steps. Then you end up moving in and taking somebody’s job, and that’s what he’s trying to do,” Babcock said. “So good for him and good for us.”

Asked about Kindl’s upside, Babcock said, “Does he have a chance to be a top-four D-man? I don’t know the answer to that. That will be determined by how hard he works and how much time he spends in the gym.”

“He comes with a lot of speed and makes you back off, but I don’t think he did anything special,” Pekka Rinne told The Edmonton Journal following last night's game, where Linus Omark added another goalie to the list of people from whom he won't be receiving a Christmas card with a sweet winning goal. “He made a nice move, but I thought he fanned on the shot. He was trying to go upstairs and fanned on it and I was leaning a little bit.”

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune believes that when you walk into Nassau Coliseum and take a deep breath, there's a distinctive smell.

It's not a wretched smell. It's just a smell unique to the Coliseum, one that takes any Long Islander back to his youth.

Last March, after three years playing for the Calgary Flames, Eric Nystrom finally made his first visit to the Coliseum. Before playing his first game inside the arena he spent so many childhood mornings skating around with his father, Islanders legend Bob Nystrom, Eric inhaled a gigantic whiff of that Coliseum air.

"I said, 'That's Nassau Coliseum,'" the 28-year-old Nystrom said, laughing. "Who knows if we should be breathing that in, but I remember that smell from when I was a little kid. I don't know what it is, but I love it."

Nystrom, who grew up in the Long Island town of Syosset, returned home with the Wild for the first time Tuesday afternoon. After scoring a goal and an assist in last year's homecoming with the Flames, Nystrom will play in the Coliseum for the second time Wednesday night in front of scores of family and friends, including his dad, mother, Michele, and older sister, Marisa.

"He's definitely pumped," Bob Nystrom said. "He's spent many a day down there with me, and to come back and play in that building is a thrill for him and me to watch. It's not easy to come off Long Island and make it to the pros. He's worked his tail off."

The Star-Tribune observes that playing the Islanders is always surreal for Eric Nystrom. His dad is "Mr. Islander." Known for his feisty, tenacious play, Bob Nystrom scored clutch goals, especially in the playoffs, including the overtime winner that clinched the first of four consecutive Stanley Cups for the Isles in 1980.

"I mean, I wasn't just a fan of the team growing up," Eric Nystrom said. "I'd go down there on Saturdays with my dad and skate on the ice at 6:30 in the morning, just the two of us, with just tons of pucks. I knew all the players. I was entrenched, man."

It has been a trying year for Eric Nystrom. His first month after signing a three-year, free-agent contract, Nystrom seemed to be scored on every time he hit the ice. Defensively and physically, he actually has played well the past three months. But snakebit all year, he has scored three goals -- two in the past few weeks.

The article notes that's where he has leaned on his dad.

"He tells me he had 20-goal seasons. I said 20's like five these days," Nystrom said, laughing. "Seriously, my dad knows the exact time when I'm at the breaking point of frustration."

Added his father: "Eric's probably one of the most positive people I've ever met. God bless him for it, because to be honest, I was quite different as a player. But there are times I feel I need to call when I see things. I don't want to weigh in too much, but I just try to tell him to slow down because working harder isn't always working smarter."

Bob Nystrom was ecstatic when Eric signed in Minnesota. He believes the Wild can make waves in the playoffs, and father's dream is to one day witness son win the Stanley Cup.

It might never be four. But one would be sweet.

"Eric did get a chance to sit in the Cup as a baby," Bob Nystrom said, proudly. "Marisa did three years prior, so for me to get that photo of Eric in the Cup in 1983 was really important.

"And I hope he can hold it above his head one day."

This is not, Mark Letestu told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, what he was expecting when he reported to training camp in September.

And it's not just that he didn't see himself as the Penguins' No. 1 centre as they entered the stretch drive.

"I didn't know if I'd be here in March," he said Tuesday, "let alone playing with [Alex] Kovalev."

Letestu, of course, would not be the first choice to work with Kovalev and James Neal on the Penguins' top line. Not under normal circumstances, anyway.

But normalcy was removed from the equation long ago -- when Evgeni Malkin's season was ended by a knee injury, not long after Sidney Crosby's season was put into jeopardy by a concussion.

So when playing Jordan Staal with Neal and Kovalev for two games didn't yield satisfactory results, coach Dan Bylsma decided to plug Letestu into that spot, with Staal returning to his usual place with Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy, for the Penguins' game tonight at Toronto.

The Post-Gazette says that the good thing is, Letestu won't have to waste any playing time introducing himself to his linemates. Kovalev acknowledged Tuesday that while he knew nothing about Letestu -- not even that he existed, apparently -- before being acquired from Ottawa Thursday, but said he quickly came to appreciate his skill level, and the way Letestu finds holes and takes straight-line paths to the net.

Neal, meanwhile, said he was well aware of Letestu long before general manager Ray Shero brought him in from Dallas last Monday.

"I know he's underrated, a very skilled guy," Neal said. "Good shot. Great skill. Just from watching the Penguins, he's a guy you don't hear much about.

"He's a skilled guy. He brings guys to him and dishes the puck. He does those little things well."

Trying to help Neal regain his goal-scoring touch will be one of Letestu's first big challenges. Shero traded for Neal, in part, because of his scoring ability, but Neal had only one goal in his final 11 games with the Stars and none in his first three with the Penguins.

While no one seems overly concerned about Neal's dry spell -- he noted that he has run hot and cold throughout his career --there's sure to be some relief when he breaks out of it. Which, Neal reckons, could happen pretty soon.

"Obviously, it's been an adjustment here, but I've felt I had good chances and am shooting the puck well, going to the net well," he said.

"I just haven't found that one bounce that I need, but I'm sure it will come here soon. At the same time, you can't dwell on it, that you're not scoring. As long as the team's winning, you're happy."

Then again, the chances of the Penguins winning with any sort of regularity figure to be linked, in part, to how often Neal can score.

Scoring goals isn't quite as critical a part of Letestu's job description, but he believes playing with Neal and Kovalev will give him the chance -- and obligation -- to be more involved with the offence.

"They're dangerous," he said. "Every time they get the puck, you get the feeling that something's going to happen.

"Now that I have a chance with two pretty skilled players, there are no excuses for me. I have to put up some points."

No disruptions, no distractions and no looking back.

The Tampa Tribune observes that was the attitude of the Lightning on Tuesday as the team returned to practice at the Prudential Center one day after the NHL trade deadline.

Without any deals pulled off by General Manager Steve Yzerman, and no new players entering or leaving the locker room, Tampa Bay moves forward with the same group of players in place following Sunday's victory at Madison Square Garden.

With 20 games left in the regular season, including tonight's against New Jersey at the Prudential Center, the Lightning remain in first place in the Southeast Division. And as with the theme of the season, everybody appears to be just fine with forging forward with the same group that has guided the Lightning to the top of the division and has it primed for its first playoff appearance in four years.

"I think everybody here is happy with the way things are going … and we believe in what we can do,'' captain Vinny Lecavalier said.

One of the main factors in Yzerman keeping the status quo revolves around the chemistry that has developed in the locker room. But what exactly does that mean? How do a group of players forge a bond?

It's more than just players hanging out at a team dinner together or having a few drinks after a game. Players, for the most part, can always get along in the locker room, particularly in hockey circles.

The Tribune says that to forge the type of team unity the Lightning appear to have this season goes much deeper than guys holding a fondness for each other.

"It's a willingness to be on the same page, which is something that is very difficult to get,'' Lightning coach Guy Boucher said. "You talk about it, and everybody says it, but you rarely get that. You always get guys on their own agenda, and we don't. So that's a special thing that we have and we want to hold on to it very dearly, and the players know that. Those are all unselfish guys in there and that's very special, so if you bring in somebody that is not like that, you can destroy everything. So I think the players will be the first ones to protect that culture and that chemistry.''

Early in the season, there were signs of things coming together, and much quicker than anticipated. But it wasn't until just before Christmas when it all started to come together in Boucher's eyes as the Lightning found a way to push to the top of the Southeast Division, which was a goal the coaching staff set for the players. As it was accomplished, it was a sure sign to Boucher that this group was capable of coming together.

The article points out that it's a series of those kinds of goals set forth that continue to be attained that shows just what this team is made of.

"You can't get chemistry until you accomplish things,'' Boucher said. "You can just be a bunch of guys that likes to be together, but real chemistry is battling together and accomplishing things together, going through adversity together and getting through it together and finding ways together and getting the feeling that the guy beside you is going be there for you when you are in trouble, fight when it's time to fight and he's not going to fly away or freeze. And we've got that.''

It's a big reason why a team, which started the season with a new coach, new system and half a roster of new players, can be among the top teams in the league when the biggest hope coming into the season was to be in contention for a playoff spot heading into the final month.

"We had good chemistry in the short time that we had together (at the start of the season) and that was impressive in how little time it took for the guys to buy in,'' Boucher said. "But to buy in is one thing; to buy in and execute is very difficult and they have been doing that for a long time. And we've said it, we know that we are not the No. 1 powerhouse team on paper, but we know that we have some intangibles that other teams don't have and that's where we compensate.''

Ricky Vaughn, Cleveland, Ohio: "Chris, Need to do some roster tweaking.Yahoo Roto League, count G, A, +/-, PIMs, SOG, PPPs and GWG and W, SOs, GAA and SV%.

I have a few fringe guys who could go: Turco, Pavelski (not liking his line assignment), J Neal, J Williams, Elias and Downie. I also need to make up some DMan games, so I need to pick up a DMan immediately.

Available: E Johnson, Calvert, Oshie, Marchand, Vrbata, J Johnson, R Suter, T Myers, Purcell, Okposo, Rolston, Recchi, Steen, Kronwall, Gagne, McCabe and A Kostitsyn. Make a move? Thanks."

Chris: I'm following your alter ego on Twitter now. Extremely entertaining. Front-row seat to the train wreck.

Punt Turco (I'm assuming he's not doing your team any good) to add one of three great choices on D with the Johnsons and Suter. Jack might have the best stats overall now, but I like Erik to finish up the year strong and might take Erik over Jack for the stretch drive. Know though, that Suter may be the better choice if you can make up ground in +/-, since he'll also chip in points.

I'd keep Pavelski. Neal I'm on the fence with. New teammates, now already away from Staal and with Letestu. Maybe it'll work. Purcell and Gagne, as an example, have been a bit hotter. Part of me would want to give Neal another few games though, just to see what happens. Steen has been ok too, but I'm so-so on him.

No way you can drop Downie, BTW. Not with PIM in the mix and not with his dream line assignment, which he has earned.