Baertschi might be worth stashing late.Trending up

PHILADELPHIA -- Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford is expected to miss up to three weeks after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Saturday, forcing him to miss his scheduled start against the Philadelphia Flyers.His procedure went pretty well today; hes probably going to be out two to three weeks, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said after Chicagos 3-1 loss. Thanks to our medical staff and the Flyers medical staff today, they did a great job of helping us out.Crawford, 31, led the Blackhawks to Stanley Cups in 2013 and 2015. Before Saturday, he had started in 20 of the Blackhawks 25 games, going 12-6-2 with a 2.27 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and two shutouts. He ranked second among NHL goalies in wins.With Crawford unavailable, the Blackhawks inserted backup Scott Darling as their starter against the Flyers and signed 23-year-old Eric Semorski to an amateur tryout contract.Darling allowed three goals on 30 shots in the loss. He fell to 4-1-1 and is expected to start most of Chicagos games leading up to Christmas.Its a huge loss, Darling said. Hes the best goalie in the league. He and Carey Price are in a category of their own. Hes been great every night and great for us all year. Hes also a great guy, one of the boys. We missed him in the room today for sure. I hope hes getting better.Hes a good friend, and I want him to be well and be able to play to help the team.Semorski is from Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, and currently lives in Philadelphia. He was a goaltender for the Temple University club team and played for the Empire Junior Hockey Leagues Jersey Wildcats in 2010-11.Semorski said he received a phone call from the Flyers a little after 11 a.m. and arrived at the Wells Fargo Center around 12:30 for the 1 p.m. game.I hit some traffic, of course, but I got here as fast as I could in my street clothes, Semorski said. No time to put on a tie.Quenneville said he thought about putting Semorski into the game after the Flyers scored the goals in the second period.You almost saw it, the coach said with a smile.Said Semorski: That probably would have been a mistake.Semorski said that if the Flyers had scored into the empty net near the end of regulation, Quenneville would have inserted him into the net for the final seconds.That would have been so cool, Semorski said. But I wouldnt change a thing. The experience was awesome. Clearance Kobe Bryant Shoes . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. Kobe Bryant Shoes For Sale . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. https://www.cheapkobebryantshoes.com/ .ca! Kerry, Two nights after the Scott-Eriksson incident in Buffalo, the Bruins returned home to play San Jose. In that game, Zdeno Chara put a check on Tommy Wingels that clearly targeted his head. Kobe Bryant Shoes Deals . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. Wholesale Kobe Bryant Shoes . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. ESPN is bringing you quick-hitting team previews ahead of the 2016-17 fantasy season, with a spin through each division. Well look at whats new, upward and downward trending players, and the goaltending situation for all 30 teams.The goaltender index is a rating from one to 10, with one being your workhorse starters that face no threat whatsoever to their expected workload of 60-plus games, and 10 being a situation that is already a full-blown timeshare between two goalies.Anaheim DucksWhats new: Welcome back, Randy Carlyle! Previously with the Ducks from 2005 to 2011, Carlyle guided the team to the playoffs in five of his six full seasons, capturing one Stanley Cup along the way. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry had some of the more productive seasons in their careers with Carlyle at the helm, and should have little trouble recapturing that magic.After Getzlaf and Perry, however, the team is mostly bit players for fantasy purposes. Ryan Kesler still stuffs most categories, while Rickard Rakell has the inside track to build on his chemistry with Getzlaf and Perry from last season. The defense is led by Sami Vatanen, but Hampus Lindholm (once he signs a contract) will also be a factor. Jakub Silfverberg remains a sleeper for untapped offensive potential, too.Trending up: Rickard Rakell, W: Settling in as the third member of the Ducks top line last season, both on and off the power play, Rakell turned in a 20-goal campaign. It would have been better had the Ducks not tinkered with their lines early in the campaign during a slow start. Hes coming off abdominal surgery this offseason, but the thought is that hell still be there for opening night.Trending down: Antoine Vermette, C: With Getzlaf and Kesler down the middle, Vermette will start the season as a third-line center for the first time in a few seasons. That should bring a run of fringe fantasy relevance to a close, especially given his lack of power-play time, as the Ducks are quite loaded with other options.Goaltender index: 2. This would be a 1 if John Gibson had a full season under his belt already, but it doesnt appear hes at risk of losing his starting job early. The main concern is the heavier workload the young goaltender is expected to shoulder as the workhorse netminder. Gibson had sparkling ratios in his 40 games last season, and should get pushed toward starting 60-plus this season.With his ratios and a winning formula in front of him, Gibsons a lock for No. 1 fantasy goaltender numbers, with the upside for a top-five finish if the extra work doesnt slow him down, especially later in the season. Jonathan Bernier doesnt need to be drafted if you take Gibson, but he is expected to thrive if called upon, now that he is out of Toronto and not trying to win games by himself anymore.Arizona CoyotesWhats new: The near-lock addition of Dylan Strome and possible addition of Christian Dvorak gives the Coyotes two more young offensive dynamos to add to the pile with Anthony Duclair and Max Domi. Strome is clearly the teams No. 1 center for 2017-18, but whether he ascends to that role this season is not clear.Aside from the addition of more bodies from their elite prospect pool, the Coyotes added veterans Jamie McGinn, Radim Vrbata and Alex Goligoski as possible fantasy role players.Trending up: Anthony Duclair, W: With a big rookie season in the books, Duclair will look to translate more ice time and responsibility into even better numbers. A drop in goals in the second half was just his shooting percentage coming back down to Earth (although he still finished a bit high, at 19 percent). Duclair had success with Martin Hanzal, and will continue to work there until Strome shows hes ready to take over the top line.Trending down: Martin Hanzal, C: In the same way Auston Matthews is coming into the Toronto Maple Leafs fold, Strome is joining the Coyotes with the knowledge that its only a matter of time before hes the teams No. 1 pivot. Does he play there out of the gate? Does it take two months? Is it when (not if) Hanzal is hurt for the first time this season? Its going to be one of those, and Strome will finish at the top of the teams depth chart this season. Drafting Hanzal, who has been a fantasy-relevant player when healthy, is essentially putting blinders on to the inevitable.Goaltender index: 4. Mike Smith continued his trend of a quality-ratios season following one of utter disaster. His numbers were OK again, as he put together a great late-season run to finish with more wins in just 32 games than he won in 2014-15 while playing 62. Smith is the incumbent, but if the every other season trend continues, hes due for another bad one. Louis Domingue was good enough last season that hell start getting more work at the first sign of Smiths struggles.All of this said, the Coyotes are due for another date in the draft lottery, and neither goaltender will offer much to season-long fantasy players.Calgary FlamesWhats new: While there is a new coach in town, and that will have a big impact, the headline here is the arrival of Brian Elliott. In one of the most obvious moves of the offseason, the team with the worst save percentage in the NHL stole the starting goaltender from the team with the best save percentage in the NHL. At the very least, that means a middle-of-the-road finish for the Flames when it comes to keeping the puck out of the net. At best, Elliott will prove it wasnt just the system in St. Louis that bred his success.The arrival of coach Glen Gulutzan also signals a sweeping change in the way the Flames will play hockey. Former coach Bob Hartley sent out a run-and-gun offense that played into the wheelhouses of the teams talented studs like Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Gulutzan will bring a more possession-based approach that could mean we just saw Gaudreaus career high for points last season. Dont get us wrong, hes still close to a point-per-game player and overall improvement should stabilize his elite fantasy value. We are just not projecting Gaudreau into the top 10 for fantasy forwards without Hartleys reckless abandon for the attack behind him.But note that the Flames finished in the bottom 10 for goals allowed and the top 10 in goals, and were are anticipating both of those numbers to draw toward the mean with the additions in net and behind the bench.Trending up: Troy Brouwer, W: A punishing power forward projected to skate with Gaudreau and Monahan on a regular basis, Brouwer has big potential for multi-category fantasy impact this season with the Flames. Hes done it before, dominating on the power play with Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom in 2013-14 and kicking butt on a line with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews in 2009-10. Brouwer knows how to work with stud forwards, and should push toward another season of 20-plus goals and 40-plus points.Trending down: T.J. Brodie, D: Unfortunately for Brodie, Dougie Hamilton has stolen the second chair for fantasy defensemen on the Flames going forward. Following a 2014-15 with 11 goals and 133 shots, Brodie took a step back offensively, with just six goals and 79 shots last season. Hamilton and Mark Giordano patrolled full-time on the power play together. Even though his point total was higher last season, the difference in how Brodie got those points was the difference between being a No. 2 fantasy defenseman and being a back-end No. 4 fantasy defenseman.Goaltender index: 2. The starting job is Elliotts to run with in Calgary, with the only note of caution being that he hasnt had a full workload, like, ever. Hes started more than 40 games twice in a nine-season career, and never started more than 50.However, his potential to carry over elite ratios for a team with a strong offense could push Elliott into the top-five for fantasy goaltenders. Weve got him just outside the top 10 based on concerns with workload, and whether it was the goalie or system that earned Elliott the best goals-against average in the NHL for the past five seasons combined.Edmonton OilersWhats new: Wed say whats new with the Oilers was the injection of another top-three talent from the NHL draft (yes, Jesse Puljujarvi should have gone third) and renewed optimism to break a 10-year playoff drought. But, you know, thats the story line every year here!There is otherworldly talent mixed in as deep as three lines for the Oilers, leaving fantasy owners with nine names to know, but only supreme confidence in one of them. Connor McDavid is a rockstar, and it doesnt matter how the lines are deployed; hell be among the leagues scoring leaders. Everyone else will be situationally dependent on the lines and how their linemates are playing, but within that, there are some fantasy stars in waiting. Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle are the most obvious, as both are expected to play with McDavid out of the gate. But Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Puljujarvi, Leon Draisaitl, Benoit Pouliot, Nail Yakupov and maybe even Kris Versteeg are all names to remember later in your draft.Trading Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson was much criticized, but it addressed a need for the club.dddddddddddd Just dont go around thinking this defensive group is on par with the forwards. Oscar Klefbom might have some fantasy value, and Larsson has an outside shot at improving, but probably still not enough to warrant attention.Trending up: Milan Lucic, LW: While we admit the plus-26 rating is not repeatable for Lucic on this Oilers team, its still important to note that his numbers last season with the Kings landed him as the 55th-best fantasy player in the ESPN standard game. He may give up that lofty plus/minus, but playing with McDavid will bring an influx of other stats to counter that. Lucic does it all in fantasy, and could be on his way to his best overall season if he finds a home next to McDavid for the long haul.Trending down: Leon Draisaitl, C: Something has to give with this Oilers team down the middle. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins comes into this season on his last chance to produce consistently and, given his pedigree and talent, we think he can finally come through. That scenario would leave Draisaitl, although talented in his own rights, with the scraps of the third line. There will be some flip-flopping through the season between these two, but RNH has tenure and should come out on top if he stays healthy. One other possibility: Draisaitl moves to the wing. In other words, this is one situation well have to consistently monitor.Goaltender index: 2. After a shaky start, Cam Talbot certainly held his own in his first season as a full-time starter, especially considering how often he was thrown to the wolves by the team in front of him. The crease is his again this season. Jonas Gustavsson wasnt brought in to challenge him, but rather spell him when the need arises. That said, you can do better than a fantasy goalie from a rebuilding franchise with a suspect defense.Los Angeles KingsWhats new: Lucics departure leaves a gaping hole in the top six, where Lucic played on the Kings best line last season with Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli. Can Toffoli replicate that success with new linemates? Does he stay with Carter or move to the wing with Anze Kopitar? How does the prodigal Teddy Purcell fit into the picture now that hes more experienced as a scoring-line winger?Kopitar is a top-20 forward, Drew Doughty a top-10 defenseman and Jonathan Quick a top-five goaltender. Those are the facts we know, and the rest of the answers will be sorted out through the early part of the campaign. Just be aware that there are several moving pieces at play here in the early going.Trending up: Tyler Toffoli, W: The Kings only 30-goal scorer last season built on each of his previous two NHL campaigns to finish with 31 goals and 58 points in 2015-16. The question with Toffoli is whether he can get it done without Lucic, as he rarely set foot on the ice without him last season. Luckily the Kings have a fellow named Kopitar whos pretty adept at running an offense, and only spent a portion of Toffolis ice time with him. Increased minutes with Kopitar, chemistry with Carter, more power-play time -- the list of positive possible variables for Toffoli is a long one headed into this season. While we cant yet nail down how he will get the job done, rest assured we know he wont disappoint.Trending down: Marian Gaborik, W: Hurt before the season even starts? Yes, thats Gaborik for you. But its not just the injuries that are the concern. If Gaborik still got us 30 goals in 54 games or so, we could take the injuries in stride. But last season, Gaborik only managed 12 goals and 22 points in 54 games. Thats nowhere near the kind of elite production were used to do from Gaborik, even in his injury-shortened campaigns. Its been four full seasons since he was a 30-year-old, 40-goal scorer. Dont even worry about stashing him early on this season, as hes out until sometime in November anyway.Goaltender index: 1. Of the 16 goalies who have played in more than 100 games during the past two seasons, Quick is an uninspiring 11th in save percentage, but fifth in goals-against average and second in wins. What does that tell you? Quick plays in a good system, but might struggle outside of it.Luckily that doesnt matter, as the Kings arent looking to supplant Quick anytime soon. Hell once again be aces in two of the three categories that matter, while not killing you in the third. That makes for a No. 1 fantasy goaltender. Remember the note about the system, as an injury to Quick would allow whoever replaces him to thrive -- as weve seen in the recent past for Jhonas Enroth and Martin Jones. For this season, Jeff Zatkoff becomes immediately interesting if Quick gets hurt.San Jose SharksWhats new: There was no reason to reinvent the wheel after pushing into the Stanley Cup finals last season, so the Sharks brought in a couple of bit pieces and will look for another run of success from their aging core.You know the score here: Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns and Martin Jones are elite at their respective positions, with Burns and Pavelski both reasonable takes in the first round of your fantasy draft. Logan Couture and Joe Thornton are also in the mix for top-50 value, though wed feel safer betting on Couture.The new faces will mix in with the established players. David Schlemko probably wont get a chance to be a fantasy factor, but Mikkel Boedker could easily be a sleeper on the right line. The speedy winger will be playing with the best linemates of his career if he makes the Sharks top six in some capacity.Trending up: Logan Couture, C: Missing a good chunk of last season following a broken leg really suppresses Coutures apparent value, especially because fantasy owners can sometimes forget to take a peek at the playoff scoring leaders. Couture led them all with 10 goals and 30 points in 24 games. He should finally shatter the 70-point barrier this season.Trending down: Patrick Marleau, W: Its not as if Marleau didnt get his chances last season. He played 19 minutes per game and was a mainstay on the Sharks deadly power play. But outside of his specialization as a power-play wizard, Marleaus stats were pretty weak, considering the situation. He was a minus-22 on the season, for starters. He managed that while the top line finished at plus-25. Even though he had 25 power-play points, Marleau still finished 171st on the ESPN Player Rater, as testament to just how harmful that terrible plus/minus was. On the right fantasy team, Marleau can have value, but dont take him where his name pedigree might suggest.Goaltender index: 1. Jones proved he could handle the rigors of an NHL starting job in his first chance, finishing tied for fifth in games played and third in wins. The goals-against average was terrific thanks to the Sharks defense, but the save percentage was only OK, at .918. If you are being aggressive on goaltending, Jones and a guy like Cory Schneider -- who will have a high save percentage, but fewer wins -- would be perfect. It might be tough to get them both, though, so a sleeper like Robin Lehner might suffice. Aaron Dell and Troy Grosenick are competing to back up Jones, but we dont need to worry about who they are unless there is an injury.Vancouver CanucksWhats new: The Canucks appear to be stuck in fantasy limbo, with little to get excited about beyond the first line. The only new addition of substance is Loui Eriksson, who gets a chance to return to his first-line production levels which were last truly on display when he was a member of the Dallas Stars. Hell join Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin on the top line, and get a chance to replicate their chemistry from international competition.There are a few other players on whom fantasy owners can take fliers, but not until the end of drafts. Specifically, a rebounding Alexander Edler, potential-realizing Nikita Tryamkin or breakout Sven Baertschi might be worth stashing late.Trending up: Bo Horvat, C: Another such dark horse will be Horvat, who had a spike in both ice time and production in his second season. Given that his offensive upside easily trumps that of Brandon Sutter, Horvat is the guy we want winning the job of second-line center for the Canucks. If he does, we can expect a modest increase to roster-worthy levels of production. But that doesnt happen if the Canucks dont let him leapfrog Sutter.Trending down: Henrik Sedin, C: While Daniel has maintained his fantasy value as the goal scorer of the duo, the downward trend in the Sedins production has all but sapped Henrik of any fantasy relevance. Daniel finished 48th in the ESPN Player Rater last season; Henrik finished 149th.Goaltender index: 8. Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom were a wash last season for reliability, with neither of any interest to fantasy owners. If you are in a deep league and have to pick one, you go with Markstrom because he has upside, but ideally you are getting your goaltending elsewhere. The Canucks appear likely to finish 29th in shots allowed and 23rd in goals allowed again this season. ' ' '