With between four and seven games played per team in the NHL, you can now identify some of the players you drafted that will not be playing the prominent roles you expected. Lines will be juggled all season long and injuries will help fluctuate players' values, but there are still some players who are simply not in a good position to succeed, and the smart thing to do is to try and cash in now, leaving another owner to hope for a positive outcome.
Sure, Cory Murphy could be struck down with a season-ending injury and Jay Bouwmeester would be forced to quarterback the Panthers' power play. But is it likely? If Murphy remains healthy this season, Bouwmeester is going to be worth no more than a hill of beans to any fantasy hockey owner. Yet he is owned in most leagues, isn't he?
Bouwmeester is the kind of player whose name value should be cashed in right away, for whatever you can get. I am not talking about players like Jonathan Cheechoo. His situation remains perfect and the fact he has yet to register a point as of Monday is irrelevant to his value. He'll come around. Bouwmeester, on the other hand, will not.
Casing the Joint
Let's identify several players who are in a bad situation but still carry some name value that you should try to deal.
Frantisek Kaberle, D, Hurricanes: With the Canes enjoying so much success deploying a five-forward power play, Kaberle won't have any opportunities to put up points. Carolina remains a team that doesn't score a lot off the rush, instead using its size and skill in the corners. That means the defense, regardless of its passing ability, doesn't get assists on breakout passes or on cycling plays in the offensive zone. Therefore, the power play was the only solace for Carolina defensemen. Jeff Hamilton and Matt Cullen, however, have solidified their roles on the point with the first power-play unit, rendering Kaberle -- or any other D-man in Raleigh -- completely useless to fantasy owners. Not everyone will note that though, so play up the fact that he is the Hurricanes' only defenseman with offensive acumen and try to deal him away. Be sure to mention that he leads Carolina defensemen with over three minutes of power-play time per game, just don't mention that he ranks 10nth on the team in that category.
Roman Hamrlik, D, Canadiens: Hamrlik still carries around a positive reputation, but this is one 40-point defenseman you want to try and pawn off for whatever you can get. Sure, Hamrlik still plays more than 20 minutes a game and trails only Andrei Markov for ice time among Habs, but there is no chance he approaches his totals from last season. The Flames used Hamrlik extensively as a puck mover on the power play, which is not something the Canadiens have given any indication they're willing to do. For Calgary last season, Hamrlik only trailed Jarome Iginla and Dion Phaneuf for power-play time per game, logging almost five minutes a night. For Montreal this season, Hamrlik is only out there for an average of just more than two minutes per game with the man advantage, which ranks behind nine other Montreal players and three other defensemen. A lot of owners in your league will still view Hamrlik as an unspectacular but solid No. 3 or No. 4 defenseman. In reality, he is waiver-wire fodder in even the deepest leagues. Get what you can.
Alexander Steen, LW, Maple Leafs: Playing for the most talked-about team in the NHL helps Steen maintain some name value, despite the fact that he's never done anything of note. His ownership in ESPN leagues hovers around 65 percent, a testament to the fact that people believe in Steen developing into a high-caliber player. The merits of that belief are inconsequential to this discussion. What matters is that people believe, and if you own Steen, you need to exploit that. The Leafs have several players who look to be doing the "breakout" thing this season, notably Nik Antropov, Alexei Ponikarovsky and (based on just a couple of games and the preseason) Simon Gamache. That leaves little creative freedom for Steen to muster his "breakout" season. His current status as a top-line winger with Mats Sundin and Jason Blake should only help you sell another owner on his value, which I assure you, will be nil this season in fantasy. Steen is 10th on the Leafs in power-play time this young season, further proof he is not being depended on for much in Toronto.
Some other players to consider selling on name value include:
Wojtek Wolski, LW, Avalanche: He has been hyped as a great prospect, but is absolutely buried on the offensive depth chart.
Michael Peca, C, Blue Jackets: Peca is an afterthought in Columbus who kills penalties. He played just 30 seconds of power-play time in his first couple of games.
Jere Lehtinen, RW, Stars: The youth movement has begun and Lehtinen is not going to be used in offensive situations for Dallas this season. He won't approach his expected 30-goal season.
Ladislav Nagy, LW, Kings: He was a big-name acquisition in the offseason, but is playing no more than a checking role for the Kings, even though he is healthy.
Doug Weight, C, Blues: Paul Kariya, Brad Boyes and Keith Tkachuk are the only offensive players worth noting in St. Louis. Weight is still regarded as a prime set-up guy, but with no one to set up, it doesn't matter.
Now, you have to sell these guys for something, right? So with that in mind, here are some of the players to target in a name-value trade, mainly because they don't have any name value.
Ales Kotalik, RW, Sabres: A write-off in the preseason, Kotalik has thrived as the point man on the Sabres' power play.
Andrei Zyuzin, D, Blackhawks: Someone has to quarterback the power play, and right now it's Zyuzin.
Richard Zednik, RW, Panthers: He's getting a lot of power-play time, and if he stays healthy it'll show in the stat line.
Peter Schaefer, LW, Bruins: Plenty of ice time with the best of the best in Boston.
Kris Russell, D, Blue Jackets: Even though it hasn't shown in the box score, Russell is playing more time on the power play than fellow blueliner Ron Hainsey.
Micki Dupont, D, Blues: This power-play specialist is doing just that in St. Louis, leading all Blues defenseman in power-play time in the past two games. He is just a fill-in for Erik Johnson right now, but he may catch on.
Pulling the Job
I didn't have any trades go through in my experimental leagues, so here is a story from Dave in Winnipeg, Manitoba:
"I drafted Martin Havlat knowing full well he's a ticking time bomb, because the manager who really wanted him couldn't make the draft and I knew he'd hate his auto-picked team. After the draft was over, he posted that he wanted to trade the Sedin twins, so I offered him Havlat and Michael Nylander for the twins and he took it. No one protested the trade (I was paper thin at left wing and deep at center, so losing Nylander for Henrik wasn't much; I also have Sidney Crosby, Ryan Getzlaf and Scott Gomez). Two weeks later, Havlat is injured (no shock) and Nylander isn't playing on a line with Alexander Ovechkin anymore."
I wanted to share Dave's story because it's a great example of turning those injury-prone players into steady, productive offense. One of the best ways to dish off a Havlat or a Todd Bertuzzi is to pair them up with another good player in a 2-for-2.
Of course, Dave is going to want to go back and try to reacquire Havlat if the injury persists for a couple of months, but that is another GTR column all together.
Until next week, don't just win your league. Steal it.
Sean Allen and a fantasy baseball and hockey analyst for ESPN.com. You can E-mail him here.