After clearing waivers on Wednesday, the end of the line has come for RW Miroslav Satan. With just 17 goals this season, the Penguins demoted Satan to Wilkes-barre/Scranton of the AHL. This is a shocking turn of events, but according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was done to clear room for the arrival of Bill Guerin.
Satan was signed to a 1-year deal in the hopes he would mesh with Sidney Crosby. When that didn't happen, Satan was bounced around the lineup, settling the past few months on the third line. While it's understandable the Penguins were disappointed with the former 40 goal scorer, Satan had already scored one more than he did last year for the lowly Islanders last year when they demoted him. An even bigger question is why Satan was demoted when Petr Sykora has only 6 more goals and 8 more points despite having played a majority of the season on Malikn's wing. Seems a little wierd to me.
Fantasy wise, drop Satan immediately if you haven't already. While i think he'll be back in the NHL this year, either via are-entry claim or by getting recalled by the Pens, he's not worth hanging on to in the hopes he does. If Kunitz doesn't mesh with Sid, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Pens move Kunitz back to Jordan Staal's wing (where he spent the first few games of his tenure) and make some room to recall Satan and put him back on Sid's wing. If the Penguins can roll three offensive lines they'll be a tougher team to play, and with Billy Guerin on the opposite side, pehaps Miroslav can make some noise again.
Daniel Briere, meanwhile has been on the shelf for most of the season, missing 51 games with a variety of ailments that had finally seemed healed. Seemed.
Last night vs. Calgary, Briere finally returned and played just 10 minutes before leaving with - you guessed it - a strained groin. Coming just a day after the Flyers dealt popular left wing Scottie Upshall to Phoenix for Dan Carcillo in what was described as a salary cap necessitated move, the Flyers suddenly look thin up front. This of course, is just days after the Flyers lost two players to waivers while making room for Briere's big contract.
Luckily, the injury appears to be not that serious.Instead of re-injuring the groin, Breire apparently tore through an muscle adhesion (scar tissue) and believes he could play Tuesday night.
Fantasy Wise, If you activated him, sorry about that. If it's any consolation, So did I. If Briere can get through this minor setback, he will make it worth your while down the stretch. Better than a point per game over the last two season combined, a healthy Briere will go a long way. If someone in your league dropped him, snag him for Tuesday and thank me later.
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