As the NHL season shuffles along we — the fantasy pool junkies — are zeroing in on whose drowning, whose keeping afloat and whose found land safely.

Now, just past the quarter point of the season, things are really starting to clear up. Those eager-beavers with a hot start are cooling off, those who started cold are heating up, injuries have opened up spots and line changes and coaching changes have made an effect.

Here's a quick ranking of the NHL's biggest market movers, from the obvious to the not-so-obvious. Names like Vincent Lecavalier, Sidney Crosby, Dany Heatley, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jarome Iginla and Henrik Zetterberg will be left off this list simply because their value is always sky high. Especially this season. I'll still be focusing on big name players (like Daniel Briere) but also guys that make you do a double-take when you check out the NHL points rankings (like Cory Stillman). Let's get on with the show:


Pittsburgh Penguins, C
Comment: How can you ignore a 15-game point streak? If it wasn't for two back-to-back scoreless games (Oct. 19 and 20), Malkin would have this streak dating back to the start of the season. With all the offensive woes Pitsburgh supposedly has and with Crosby overshadowing everything in a 20-mile radius, people tend to forget that Malkin is 11th in the league in scoring at 29 points and is only four points back from Sid the Kid (fifth overall).

Philadelphia Flyers, C
Comment: Briere has proved that he's money well spent, easily becoming the best free agent acquisition this season. He led the league in scoring with five goals and eight points last week and hasn't shown any signs of slowing down. Just like teammate Mike Richards, Briere will only benefit from Simon Gagne's return this month.

Philadelphia Flyers, C
Comment: He's been absolutely blazing. Everyone expected this year to be Jeff Carter's coming out party, but Richards has stolen his thunder and ran away with it. Three multipoint efforts in his last six games has him leading all Flyers in points, inching just ahead of Daniel Briere. With Simon Gagne coming back in December things can only get better for Richards — he'll either have Gagne or Scott Hartnell to play alongside of.

Boston Bruins, C
Comment: Savard is an assist machine. He's riding a seven game point streak where he's racked up two goals and 11 assists for the Bruins. With Patrice Bergeron likely out for a while, someone's got to pick up the slack. Savard will be getting a lot more playing time and his team is scoring goals. What more can a pass-first player ask for? Even when Bergeron does return it will only mean good things for Savard. Opposing defense will have to spread themselves out, opening things up for him again.

Carolina Hurricanes, LW
Comment: Stillman is a key cog in Carolina's offensive machine. He's consistently putting numbers on the board and has a chance to be explosive at any moment. Injuries should be the only thing that keeps Stillman at bay this season; he seems to be feeding off playing with the ageless Rod Brind'Amour.

Dallas Stars, LW
Comment: Rick Nash is scoring more and climbing the points chart faster, but Morrow has more going for him right now. Firstly, he's been great on the powerplay (seven of his last 10 points have come with a man advantage) and he has scored those ten points in his last ten games, staying mightily consistent. He likes streaks, going off for long periods after a two-three game scoring drought. More importantly, however, the Stars are a hockey club that has found its groove and is finding the offense that most of the hockey world thought was gone.

Calgary Flames, D
Comment: He might not be putting up Lidstrom, Pronger or Gonchar type numbers but he's one of the best all around fantasy defensemen (if not THE best). He has 13 points on the year and more than half of them have come off the powerplay. Plus, he can get you a ton of penalty minutes. When Calgary, as a team, starts clicking you can bet that Phaneuf's offensive productivity will jump from average to outstanding as the year progresses.

Tampa Bay Lightning, D
Comment: Ranger's value is through the roof right now. It's very possible that Ranger logs this much ice time even after Dan Boyle returns. How can coach Tortorella ignore someone who's stepped in like this? He has no powerplay specialist (only two PP) but he's maintaining one of the top plus/minus ratings in the league (on a team that likes to let in a lot of goals). Ranger has made it onto this list because this is the height of his stardom. His value can get no higher than it is (unless he surprises everyone and starts chipping in with the man advantage). Sell high and do it now.

New Jersey Devils, G
Comment: The best goalie in the game is returning to form. He's riding a five-game win streak and has settled down, falling back into his nearly unstoppable groove. Colin White's return to the blueline has surely helped calm down the usually defensive Devils, and it's showing as Brodeur is finally getting some help in his own end.

Vancouver Canucks, G
Comment: The soon-to-be best goalie in the game has also returned to form. November has been Luongo's month, for sure. With seven wins in his last 11 (two overtime losses) and back-to-back shutouts, Luongo couldn't be better. His team is beginning to find its scoring touch and they are still one of the top defensive teams in the NHL. Normally, Brodeur and Luongo wouldn't even need to be placed on such a list (it should be obvious that they are Sky High in value) but this has not been a typical NHL season thus far.


Anaheim Ducks, C
Comment: Unlike former first-line pivot Andy McDonald, Getzlaf is proving he doesn't need an offensive monster like Teemu Selanne to score goals. Getzlaf is solidifying himself as the future of this organization and has turned the jets on in November, notching 15 points in his last 11 games.

Washington Capitals, C
Comment: The numbers aren't necessarily there yet, but the outlook is good. He's finally getting time alongside Alexander Ovechkin which will only lead to his point total shooting up. Expect Backstrom to finally make his way into the Calder race in the next few weeks.

New Jersey Devils, RW
Comment: Was his return all that the Devils needed to be competitive? Seven games, nine points and five straight Devils wins says a lot. He's riding a modest four game winning streak, and when the rest of his offense starts waking up it just means more to pad the stats with.

Boston Bruins, RW
Comment: A slow start will always be in Murray's cards. After a 13-game scoring slump, Murray has found the net five times in his last five games. His recent turnaround is a combination of Marc Savard's hot streak and his trend of picking up the slack around the midway point of the season. With Patrice Bergeron out, Savard will log a ton of minutes and Murray will be out there alongside him doing what he does best: score.

Boston Bruins, RW
Comment: Another Boston player positively effected by Patrice Bergeron's injury, Kobasew hasn't been prolific by any means but he's still getting the job done. Of his so-so 14 points, 10 of them have been goals. And he's been picking them up with more regularity of late. Linemate Phil Kessel has been seeing much more icetime due to Bergeron's injury and so Kobasew has been benefiting from it. If he can just find some more consistency then it's all gravy. He could turn from a decent fourth or fifth winger to a two or three guy with some more productivity.

Vancouver Canucks, LW
Comment: After a so-so start to the season Naslund has decided to kick it up a notch (BAM!) heading into December. He had a hat trick Nov. 21 and has 11 points in his last seven games. Just imagine where the Canucks would be if he had been playing with the Sedin twins the past two seasons? Naslund has turned his game around playing with the flashy Swedes.

Phoenix Coyotes, D
Comment: Ed's value will be shooting up again if he continues his productive ways. He was starting to heat up offensively even before the Coyotes got their early Christmas gift (Ilya Bryzgalov) and, with a more-than-competent goalie behind him, he can start chipping away at that terrible plus/minus rating.

Atlanta Thrashers, D
Comment: Enstrom is turning into one of Atlanta's nice surprises. Okay, it's ONLY nice surprise, which just makes him that much better. After the top ten defensemen in this league it becomes obvious that there are a lot of mediocre defensemen out there. Enstrom is a great grab for those in need of a new D man (he might still be available in your league as of right now). He's seeing plenty of powerplay time and will continue to eat up icetime with the disappointing play of Alexei Zhitnik making him look that much better.

Phoenix Thrashers, G
Comment: It didn't take long for Bryz to turn heads. Just before suffering his first loss of the season last night, Coach Wayne Gretzky practically dubbed him the saviour of the franchise. All this after starting his career in Phoenix with a shutout and a four game winning streak (no small feat for one of the league's worst teams).

Chicago Blackhawks, G
Comment: The Bulin Wall doesn't seem to be chipping away in Chicago this season. Khabibulin is doing his part and more for the resurging Blackhawks, logging only one regulation loss (and two overtime losses) this month. With Martin Havlat back in the lineup they will only get better and Khabi owners will be rewarded.


Toronoto Maple Leafs, C
Comment: He's still productive and healthy — both giant surprises in Toronto. How much longer can this last? Be wary of Big Nik. His powerplay numbers are not there and his only value depends on his point production which is dwindling slightly.

Florida Panthers, LW
Comment: Booth is getting the chance to shine recently, pivoting Florida's second scoring unit and playing alongside Nathan Horton. Booth has turned it up in November, scoring eight points in his last ten games. Although that isn't amazing, he's managed to do it without a lot of help from Horton.

Atlanta Thrashers, C
Comment: No one expected White to be amazing but I was at least expecting him to click with Kovalchuk or Hossa...or both! You've got two of the best players alongside you! Just give them the puck! Since White is the only real offensive center on the team, his value won't drop and so it can (hopefully) only get better once he starts riding Hossa and Kovie's coattails.

New York Rangers, RW
Comment: Jagr? On the bubble? New York, New York...you've got some problems. Sean Avery came into the lineup and energized this team but somebody forgot to pass the memo on to Jagr. Only one goal in his last six games (his only point) is not a good sign. With Martin Straka back we might see a different (or more familiar?) Jagr, but that's why we'll have to wait to see him break out again.

Florida Panthers, C
Comment: Horton had a great start to the season and, by all means, should begin to heat up again. Playing alongside Olli Jokinen helped matters, but now Norton has to prove he can be a threat without Olli's help. If he can start producing then both he and David Booth will begin see their value rise. Horton has the best chance of breaking the bubble because he will see more time with Olli as the season moves on.

Montreal Canadiens, D
Comment: He's not normally known for big offensive numbers but he could find himself notching more points if things start clicking for him. Fellow Canadien Mark Streit is stealing a lot of his powerplay time and is getting a load of points from it too. If Streit starts to falter Hamrlik will step in beside Andrei Markov and could very well see his numbers flourish on the league’s best powerplay.

St. Louis Blues, D
Comment: Johnson is finding more and more icetime as the season moves on and his potential becomes more apparent. He's getting some decent powerplay time and has been much more productive in November — a good sign that something could very well be heating up leading into the midway point of the season.

Carolina Panthers, G
Comment: It's almost guaranteed that Ward will remain the starter for the 'Canes and he'll find the win column more often than not because of his team's potent offense, but Ward's other stats (just as important in fantasy leagues) could start to go sour. He started off great and has been pretty good in November but he's been letting in more goals than expected as of late. If this trend continues into December he'll have fantasy owners grumbling. What would you do with a goalie who wins but has an inflated GAA and a poor SV%?

Atlanta Thrashers, G
Comment: Johan has been great filling in for Kari Lehtonen and has been a great band-aid for many a poolie, but that's all he is: a band-aid solution. When Kari comes back he'll get the nod, especially since he's GM/Coach Don Waddell's golden boy. Even when Kari struggles, expect him to see more net than Hedberg. The only thing that can save Hedberg's value is another Lehtonen injury (a likely scenario), so Hedberg will remain a bubble boy.


San Jose Sharks, C
Comment: There is NO excuse for this type of production (11 points on the year). He could very well turn his game around but he'll need to do it very soon to make any kind of impact in the rankings.

Anaheim Angels, C
Comment: No Selanne equals no production. Maybe a healthy Todd Bertuzzi can help turn things around...but then you'd need a healthy, PRODUCTIVE Bertuzzi for that. Getzlaf is the No. 1 guy in Anaheim nowadays, and it doesn't look like that's going to change at all.

New Jersey Devils, LW
Comment: As of right now, the only value Elias has is his name. When you hear it you automatically think superstar...but then you step back a minute and realize that he's been almost nonexistent this year. Hopefully New Jersey's recent turnaround has him playing up to par again. Oh wait, has he injured himself again?

Pittsburgh Penguins, RW
Comment: The old cowboys of the NHL are still kicking around, barely. Roberts and Recchi are finding themselves to be healthy scratches more often than not these days. Unless an injury hits Pittsburgh, I wouldn't keep these guys on your team if I were you.

San Jose Sharks, RW
Comment: Even worse than Marleau is Cheechoo. He fell back a step last year but still posted respectable numbers. No such luck this year; he may play his way out of San Jose if he keeps this up.

Toronto Maple Leafs, RW
Comment: Okay, we knew he wasn't going to score 40 goals again. We excepted him to at least reach the 30 goal mark though, but if he keeps this up he'll be lucky to break 15. Blake might need a goal more than anyone in the NHL right now.

Atlanta Thrashers, D
Comment: He was probably drafted much higher than he should have been. Actually, if he was drafted at all it was higher than it should have been. Hindsight may be 20/20, but if you were paying attention you would have seen this coming. Last year was definitely an aberration and we are seeing Zhitnik's true colours this year. Two points on the year, a minus-10 rating, one powerplay point. There's nothing good here.

Nashville Predators, G
Comment: He was good when the Preds needed him but it looks like he lost the goalie war that erupted early in Nashville. Chris Mason is their starter and will remain as such all season barring injury.

Phoenix Coyotes, G
Comment: The best thing Tellqvist had going for him was that he would at least get a chance to start. With Ilya Bryzgalov now the saviour of the franchise, Tellqvist's value is nonexistent.

J.P. Del Monte is UPDATE! National Hockey League editor.