Chris Nichols

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

That's a wrap for today's Q&A. More on Monday.

Have you got a brief fantasy hockey question? Drop a line to chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com within 24 hours or so of any Q&A (to keep your league info relevant) and your email may be included in the blog, which will begin live at 3pm et/ 12pm pt on Mondays and Thursdays. One per person, please. Don't forget to include your first name and hometown to represent!

Posted at 3:43pm et
STEWART OR BERGERON?
Dave in Edmonton
"Chris, would you hang onto Chris Stewart or Patrice Bergeron in a standard keeper league where positions matter? 13 keepers per team and I've already got two studs at centre. It's H2H, if that matters."

Chris
It's not a slam dunk Dave, but it's hard to turn away Chris Stewart with his PIM and ability to produce points. The fact that he's a winger gives him an edge over Bergeron, since centres are just generally easier to find. Stewart really needs to follow up this year's success to rise in the ranks, but having either Paul Stastny or Matt Duchene as a pivot option is great."

Posted at 3:35pm et

NASH'S STATUS
Ron in Vancouver
"Chris, what's the deal with Rick Nash? Is he playing tonight?"

Chris
No, apparently not tonight Ron. He's still considered day-to-day at this point, so we just have to wait and see. He's on my roster too."

Posted at 3:28pm et
CLOSING D
Dexter in Livonia.
"Hi Chris, I'm a bit worried about my defensemen for the next 4 weeks in my one year, 14 team pool. G, A, +/-, PIM, PPG, PPP & GWG. Myers is slowing down, Salo is affected by Edler and soon Bieksa while Yandle has JayBo and soon Schneider. Stay the course or pick up one or more of these FA: Hamhuis, Cumiskey, Orpik, Rozsival, Burns, Morris, Gleason, Oduya, Rome, Colaiacovo, Allen, Regehr, Grebeshkov, Jackman, Ohlund, Lydman, Jones, Whitney, Lepisto, Russell, Alberts, O'Byrne, Bouillon, Hendry, Gervais. Thanks."

Chris
Yeah, it's not a killer group of defencemen there. But did Myers's game last night change your mind about potentially cutting him? Hamhuis has been surprisingly hot lately, but I really don't see anything that stands out as an absolute upgrade over your current guys.

Posted at 3:21pm et
MYERS OR EMERY?
Andy in Toronto
"Chris, we keep eight guys per team with 12 teams in the league. Standard stats. I've got Henrik Lundqvist as my number one goalie, but only have Ray Emery as a possible keeper option beyond him. But if I keep Emery, I'd lose Tyler Myers. I'm thinking Myers has to be the guy, right?"

Chris
Yep, absolutely. Emery's healthy status is in question and Myers is a legit contender for the Calder with pretty sweet upside in any format. What he's done in his first year is really special, so you imagine how he may project years down the line. 

Posted at 3:14pm et
MORROW'S SORROWS
G
"Chris,
The final push has begun and I am very weak at LW. I traded Loui Erikkson for Anze Kopitar last week, leaving Morrow as my only LW player. I have been loyal to a fault with Morrow and feel the time has come to cut bait. Ryan Clowe is currently available on the FA list in my league, as is Ruutu and Perron. Each adds the necessary pim/pts combo I need to replace Morrow. In your view, which of the four, including Morrow, is the most likely to deliver down the stretch."

Chris
Ruutu has been the hottest lately, so I guess you could give him a shot over Morrow at this point. If Ruutu wasn't on this current streak, Clowe would have been my first choice for you.

Posted at 3:07pm et
IR MOVES
BFG in PA
"Chris,
In my 10 team H2H standard scoring w/pims league, I have two players on IR that I can't decide on if I should put one or both back on my squad. The two players are Hejduk and Horton(not off IR yet but soon).  We play2C, 2RW, 2LW, 2F, 1Util, 4 D and 2 goalies a night.  The possible swap/swaps could include any of the following: Fleischman, Malone, Antropov, Havlat, Frolov, C. Stewart, and/or one of these goalies Leighton, Turco, Backstrom.  The rest of my squad who I am not considering are the Sedin twins, Heatley, Spezza, Backstrom(Wsh) and D men S. Niedermeyer, Kubina, T. Kaberle, E.Johnson plus Olympic MVP R.Miller. Thanks again for your time."

Chris
Fleischmann's value is still up in the air and until Bruce Boudreau locks in his line-up, which should happen soon, it's a question mark. Will he stay as an L2 winger on the Semin line like last night, or on L3 like he's been recently? At this point, I'd give Fleischmann an edge over Ryan Malone if you're looking to bring in Hejduk, who at least is a top six lock. Then you've got a little time to decide on Horton, whom you might want to bring in at the expense of either Fleischmann or Frolov if Frolov has cooled off by then.  I'm not much of a fan of Frolov because of consistency concerns, but he has done well lately.

Posted at 3pm et
KEEPER CHOICES
The Suffering Oracle of Oro Valley
"Chris,
Need more help. Thanks for the Myers advice. I got him. Securely sitting in 5th place with little hope of moving up. Have 5 of 9 keepers locked....Crosby,Getzlaf,Spezza,Phaneuf and Weber. Can keep 2 goalie max.

Other keeper contenders Price,Thomas,Emery,Leighton, EJ,Myers,Kesler,Mueller(just picked up for Doan),Booth,Ericksson,Downie.

Suppose I have to keep 2 goalies then probably EJ and either Kesler or Downie. Will try to trade up to improve keeps, of course, but no guarantees. Advice, sir?"

Chris
I think it'll really come down to what happens this summer. Will Price or Halak get moved? Thomas? Goaltending is certainly important with nine keepers, so you'll be intently watching those situations. And what'll happen with Emery? Short of his injury issues, he really had a chance to resurrect his career with a good team.

Is Kesler going to re-up in Vancouver or go somewhere else where he might be a number one centre? Downie is intriguing with the point/ PIM combo, but it's really difficult to keep up that sort of pace. Just ask Sean Avery. Erik Johnson has stud potential, but you can only hang onto so many D. Myers, as we've discussed, could even sneak into your keepers by you potentially dealing someone like Weber and player B to upgrade a keeper slot. Then you'd have an open spot for Myers, who could win the Calder.