Tampa Bay Lightning

Smith was traded to the Lightning in the blockbuster that sent Brad Richards the other way, reports the AP. Smith immediately becomes the favorite for starts and should be picked up in any leagues in which he is still available. Karri Ramo will be relegated to backup duties while Johan Holmqvist, who was also part of the deal, heads to Dallas to serve as Marty Turco's backup. Bump up Smith's value considerably while Ramo and Holmqvist are now virtually worthless. Turco's value will stay about the same.

Boyle is still approximately 3-5 weeks away from returning to the Lightning lineup, reports the St. Petersburg Times. He is recovering from wrist surgery and has begun rehabbing with light activities on the ice. Keep Boyle on your radar as he has the potential to be a top-10 defender upon his eventual return.

Lecavalier scored his 25th and 26th goals of the season in a 3-2 loss to the Capitals on Wednesday. The former first overall pick now has a league leading 55 points and after a stellar 2006/2007 campaign, could legitimately be the league's top fantasy forward. If you own him, enjoy the ride.

Ramo had another solid game tonight. Do not be deterred by the four goals allowed. Two of these were empty net. Stopping 33 of 35 shots, Ramo did nothing to lose ground in his attempt to steal #1. This guy is a must have in any league you could use some goalie depth. With all other options exhausted, Karri could easily take over in TB.

Holmqvist stopped 26 of 30 shots but allowed the game winning goal to the Panthers with under two minutes left, reports the AP. While he hasn't been anywhere close to exceptional, his competition in Marc Denis hasn't fared much better so we assume that Holmqvist will continue to grab the majority of icetime in the Lightning net. However, his struggles and John Tortorella's desperation will no doubt lead to a more even split between the two goalies moving forward. Fantasy owners should avoid both goalies.

Boyle returned to the Lightning lineup on Monday after missing most of pre-season and all of the regular season with severed tendons in his wrist, reports the AP. He only saw 12 minutes of icetime but will surely need some games to get back up to speed. Fantasy leaguers should stay patient and wait for the right moment to activate him as a healthy Boyle is one of the league's premier point-producers from the blueline.

He's baaaaaccckkk! 3 more points tonight for the cyclical star. With 9 points in 6 games, it looks like it's safe to say, the trend is continuing. After seasons of 55, 79, 54, 80 and 55 points, Prospal is now on pace for 123 points. But with that pattern, a PPG season looks very likely. Amazing! Before the season began, it was reported that Prospal said he was in the best shape of his career. The production proves it. Here's to hoping for the continuation of one of the strangest career scoring trends. Value him as an 80-point player.

Boyle, out with a wrist injury, took part in some real drills, handling the puck, taking passes and even taking some limited shots, reports the Tampa Tribune blog. While Lightning management hasn't put a timetable on his return, the speculation is that he should be back within two weeks. Keep him stashed away on your bench or injured reserve slot and get ready to activate him soon as a healthy Boyle is an easy top-10 fantasy defenseman.

Holmqvist was named the Lightning's starting goalie for the team's season opener on Thursday, reports the Tampa Tribune. While he wasn't stellar in the preseason, he did just enough to win the job from Marc Denis - who likely was hurt by the preseason finale in which he allowed 4 goals on 14 shots. Denis will definitely still be in the mix for starts, so Holmqvist is far from a sure bet in goal this season. If possible, we would avoid this situation in fantasy leagues.

Denis struggled badly in a loss to the Stars on Saturday, reports the AP. He gave up four goals on only 14 shots and was replaced by Johan Holmqvist, who far superior over the remainder of the game. As noted before, there is a three-way battle for starts in Tampa Bay and it appears that with this latest setback, Denis is definitely behind Holmqvist and in danger of falling behind rookie Karri Ramo for backup duties. In fantasy leagues, it would be wise to avoid the entire Lightning goalie situation altogether.