Dein erstes Forum » y owners picked up WR Cameron Meredith this past week.

The nickname for the new Las Vegas franchise will be announced on Tuesday, so its as good a time as any to look at some of the decisions ahead for other teams as they strategize for Junes expansion draft.Teams can either protect 7-3-1 (seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie) or eight skaters and a goalie. Teams also must expose a minimum of four players (two forwards, one defenseman, one goalie) who meet the games-played and contractual requirement.I looked at four teams that will likely have to make decisions, both in terms of where things stand today as well as what might have to happen before the expansion draft. Keep in mind that there will be lots of moving parts between today and June. But lets have some fun with this now:Anaheim DucksMany rival executives point to the Ducks as having to make some interesting decisions before the expansion draft. Thats a compliment, in part because it means they have drafted and developed players so well that they just cant keep everyone.Four Ducks have full no-movement clauses who must be protected: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler and Kevin Bieksa. The contract of the veteran Bieksas could be an issue. I think the Ducks are going to need to do something with him in order to protect all the defensemen they want for the expansion draft.If Anaheim protects eight skaters and a goalie, its protection list would look like this: Getzlaf, Perry, Kesler, Rickard Rakell,?Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, Cam Fowler, Josh Manson and John Gibson. (Promising young defensemen Shea Theodore and Brandon Montour are exempt from the expansion draft because they are second-year players on entry-level contracts.)First, the 4-4-1 list I picked would mean the Ducks found a way to get Bieksa to waive his no-move for a trade or to be exposed in the expansion draft. The other option would be to buy out Bieksa, who has one more year left on his deal, at $4 million next season. (Some league executives werent sure if buyouts would be allowed before the expansion draft, but a league source confirmed on Monday that they would be. So that could be interesting on several fronts.)Theres also the Fowler factor. The top-four blue-liner will be one year away from unrestricted free agent status. If the Ducks cant sign him to an extension, I wonder if they wont once again listen to trade offers for him after the season. That would either allow Bieksa to be kept on board in Anaheim or for the Ducks to go 7-3-1 on their protection list.Going with the 4-4-1 plan would mean that good forwards?Jakob Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano are among those left exposed for Vegas.No matter how you spin it, the Ducks have some juggling to do between now and next June.Chicago BlackhawksNo team will likely have more players on the leagues protected list than Chicago. Artem Anisimov, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Corey Crawford?-- count them, eight! -- all have no-movement clauses.Of course, its pretty likely the Blackhawks would have protected those players anyway, right? The reality is that Chicago is in pretty good shape in terms of the expansion draft. And heres a nice break for the Blackhawks: Scoring winger Artemi Panarin is exempt from the expansion draft as a second-year pro, so Chicago doesnt even have to add him to its list. First-year blue-liners Gustav Forsling and Michal Kempny are also exempt, as are all the Blackhawks rookie forwards.The big question mark will be forward Marcus Kruger, who has two more years on his deal after this season at a $3.08 million cap hit. Kruger is a very good penalty killer, yes, but is he a guy Chicago would really protect? Because remember, they have to come up with at least four players to expose who meet the criteria, and Kruger would perhaps fit the bill as one of their two forwards. As it stands, I think?Trevor van Riemsdyk?will be the defenseman left exposed.Regardless of the Kruger decision, the Blackhawks will need to sign and/or trade for another forward or two who meets the exposure criteria (or extend some of their own expiring unrestricted free agents, such as?Andrew Desjardins and/or Jordin Tootoo). They cant currently fill the exposure requirements.Same goes for goalies. Scott Darling doesnt qualify because he will be a UFA on July 1. So either Chicago signs him expressly for that purpose or goes elsewhere to find that exposable goalie. Lots of teams are in the same boat, in terms of not having four players who meet the criteria that they can exposure in the draft. And since there is plenty of time between now and June, and these arent difficult moves, its really just housekeeping for the Blackhawks.Detroit Red WingsThe Red Wings have only one player with a full no-move, and thats Frans Nielsen?-- so hes automatically on their protection list. As a second-year player, forward Dylan Larkin is exempt from the expansion draft.I see the Wings going with a 7-3-1 protection list because they have so many forwards eligible for the expansion draft, even with Larkin exempt. Forward?Anthony Mantha and Andreas Athanasiou, for example, are eligible for the expansion draft as third-year pros, so the Wings have to either protect them or expose them.Detroit has tough choices up front. Lets assume they protect Nielsen, Henrik Zetterberg, Gustav Nyquist, Justin Abdelkader, Tomas Tatar and Riley Sheahan.?That leaves them with one spot, for either Mantha, Athanasiou, Darren Helm or Luke Glendening. Three of those guys will have to be exposed.On defense, its more obvious, where the Wings will protect?Danny DeKeyser?and Niklas Kronwall and then one of the following:?Mike Green,?Alexei Marchenko, Jonathan Ericsson, Xavier Ouellet or?Ryan Sproul.Now, let me throw this out there: If youre the Red Wings, do you consider exposing aging stars Zetterberg or Kronwall? Zetterberg is 36, with four more years on his deal after this season at a $6.08 million cap hit. Kronwall, 35, has two more years at a $4.75 million cap hit. Would Vegas take them? And regardless of that decision, is it too delicate for the Wings to even consider, given what these two legends have done for the franchise??Either way, I predict the Wings will try to beef up their blueline before March 1 -- because thats been a goal for a while anyway -- and trade away a forward or two in doing so, which obviously will influence their expansion-draft decisions.In goal, the Wings must decide whether to protect?Jimmy Howard or Petr Mrazek. A year ago, that would have seemed like an easy choice, as Howard wasnt on top of his game. But Howard has been terrific this season, which has spiced up that decision. Detroit also has minor-league options, so trading one of its NHL goalies before the expansion draft is another potential route.Montreal CanadiensThe Canadiens have only two players on the NHLs protection list, I believe, in Carey Price and Jeff Petry. So the Habs arent too hamstrung at all by no-move clauses.But Montreal will still have very interesting decisions to make, and Im ready to be a little bold here. Im predicting that the Canadiens will go with a 7-3-1 protection list: pending UFA Alexander Radulov (whom I think theyll re-sign), Max Pacioretty, Andrew Shaw, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk, Paul Byron, Phillip Danault, Shea Weber, Nathan Beaulieu, Petry and Price.OK, theres lots to chew on here. First, these decisions mean they would expose two veterans in center:?Tomas Plekanec (one more year at $6 million) and defenseman Alexei Emelin (one more year at $4.1 million).I know it seems crazy to protect unheralded guys such as Danault and Byron over Plekanec, but I also think that teams are going to have to gamble a bit with this process. Would Vegas want to bring in a 34-year-old center in Plekanec making six bills when hes not really producing much offense anymore?Now, Vegas has a minimum cap floor total to reach, so maybe it would take Plekanec. And if so, that would create $6 million in cap room for Montreal, which the Canadiens can use moving forward, for sure.The debate on defense for me was between Beaulieu and Emelin -- and again, I went with the younger, cheaper guy, although Beaulieu will be a restricted free agent and will need a new contract. And who knows, really, what his future is long-term with Montreal? In the meantime, I think the Cup-contending Habs will try to upgrade their top four on defense before March 1. And if they do, it might be that the player acquired needs protecting for the expansion draft, which would mean exposure for both Emelin and Beaulieu. Again, who knows?It should be noted that youngsters Charles Hudon and Jacob De La Rose are among those who are not exempt for the expansion draft because theyre third-year pros. So the Habs must either protect them or expose them (or use them as trade chips this season).Montreal, by the way, doesnt currently have a goalie to expose in the expansion draft since backup Al Montoya will be a UFA on July 1, and minor-leaguers Charlie Lindgren and?Zachary Fucale?are exempt as second-year pros.So either the Habs will extend Montoya just for that reason or redo the contract of veteran farmhand Yann Danis, who is currently Montreals AHL backup but on a minor-league deal. It would be an option to sign him to an NHL deal and expose him. Cheap Nike Air Max Canada . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. 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The bad news this week is youll miss top players like Julio Jones and Melvin Gordon. The good news? Its the last week fantasy players will likely face significant, widespread bye challenges.The fantasy playoffs are getting closer, intensifying each lineup move and roster decision. Even when the pressure is on, youll have your best shot this week by being properly informed and not overthinking your strategies and choices.---RAWLS RETURNSThomas Rawls is finally returning for the Seahawks this week, but rookie C.J. Prosise will start for the second consecutive game and appears to be more of an ideal fit in an offense that is more built around the passing game than it was in the past. Rawls may be eased back into an eventual time share, but Prosise is the preferred starter this week amd you should only use Rawls if you are scraping hard for a running back option for Week 11. His role is very uncertain.WINLESS BROWNSThe Browns are still winless, and will be extra hungry to get their first win at home against the archrival Steelers. Isaiah Crowell will be a key perfomer for Cleveland as the offense tries to control the clock as much as possible against a defense that is the third-worst in the league in fantasy points per game allowed to opposing running backs (24.4). Start Crowell confidently at least as a flex, and use him as one of your two starting RBs if you must.GREEN FOR GATES, GRONKAntonio Gates is on a bye and Rob Gronkowski is looking very uncertain for Week 11. If you need some tight end help, be daring and go with Pittsburghs Ladarius Green, who will go against the Browns in his second game back from a long injury layoff. Cleveland allows the most FFPG to the tight end position (13.1). The Lions allow the most among NFC teams (12.7) and draw Jacksonville, so you can utilize the services of Julius Thomas, who has caught TD passes in three of his past four games.TAYLOR AT QBTyrod Taylor delivered the best performance of his career before last weeks bye, as he scored 25 fantasy points in the process of taking the Seahawks down to the wire at home on Monday night. Taylor lacks high profile receivers, but he is verstaile as a runner and thrower and has not scored less than 17 points in any of his last four starts. The guy with the best nickname in the game (T-Mobile) takes on a Bengals defense that allows the ffifth-most FFPG to quarterbacks (19.dddddddddddd8). He is a very viable start this week, arguably top 10 at the QB position.DOLPHINS D, RUSHINGThe Dolphins are on a four-game winning streak, and they are getting it done with an impressive ground game and improved defensive play. Jay Ajayi has become an obvious must-start, yet in the meantime, the defense has six interceptions in the past two games and 10 sacks in its past three. The Miami unit may be the top start of the week against rookie Jared Goff and the Rams. Wide receiver Devante Parker is looking healthy again and totaled 103 yards receiving last week. He should get strong consideration for your starting lineup as a third wide receiver or flex option.HOPKINS BOUNCEBACK?DeAndre Hopkins has been one of the biggest fantasy disappointments of the year so far, and he has failed to score 10 fantasy points in point-per-reception formats in his past three games. But you can start him with a lot of hope this week. The Texans face the Raiders, who allow 25.5 FFPG to opposing WRs, third-most among AFC teams. Houston will likely have to throw frequently to keep pace with Oakland.JEFFERY SUSPENSIONAlshon Jeffery is suspended, and many fantasy owners picked up WR Cameron Meredith this past week. Meredith had 20 catches for 243 yards in Weeks 5 and 6, so the general thinking seems to be he might be able to rise again with a new opportunity. But those outings came with Brian Hoyer at QB, and current starter Jay Cutler has not shown much of a rapport with Meredith yet. He could prefer throwing to veteran Eddie Royal and Marquess Wilson is back from the PUP list. Only use Meredith if you absolutely must, as we have to see him produce with Cutler.WINSTON VS. KCJameis Winston has come through with four consecutive 20-point outings, but he could be in for a down outing this week. He travels to Kansas City and the matchup does not look good for the Tampa Bay passer. Winston has thrown 10 interceptions this season, the second-highest total in the league, and the Chiefs lead the NFL with 13 pickoffs. Stream another starter this week at QB if you can.---This column was provided to The Associated Press by the Fantasy Sports Network, http://FNTSY.com ' ' '