(Cover image by Jana Chytilova/Freestyle Photography/Getty Images)

With the NHL All-Star draft only a week away (January 26^th), I thought I would offer my first-half fantasy winner, loser, bust and sleeper awards. And for those of you that cannot identify the difference between loser and bust, in my opinion, the bust’s season is beyond repair. No, Marc Savard is not a candidate. Goaltenders have been excused from this portion.

Lets begin!

WINNER

Evgeni Malkin (Pit): With 22 goals, 30 assists, 34 PIMs, 18 PPP, 6 GWG and a +7 plus/minus rating, Malkin has proven to be the best overall fantasy performer so far this season. He also has managed to do all this while missing 7 of Pittsburgh’s games and with the majority of the teams other top playmakers on the shelf with their own injuries. Props to those of you who drafted Geno this season.

LOSER

Bobby Ryan (Ana): I was expecting big things from the Ducks forward but as the team has struggled, Ryan has followed suit. The left-winger has only managed 28 (17-11) points on what is arguably the best line in hockey. He has also only accumulated 25 PIMs, 3 PPP, 1 SHP, 1 GWG and a -5 plus/minus rating. Inexcusable for a high-end fantasy player and draft pick. His season is not entirely lost but it is definitely not what owners had wished for.

BUST

Mike Green (Was): I know he has been injured most of the year but let’s tell it like it is; Mike Green is one of the biggest busts in recent fantasy hockey memory. For the last 2 years he has been touted as the one of the top fantasy defensemen in the league and both years, especially this year, he continues to find ‘DTD’ or ‘IR’ next to his name. Injuries or not, this guy is as big of a bust as they come.

SLEEPER

Joffrey Lupul (Tor): Yes, James Neal and Erik Karlsson would have been fabulous choices here as well but honestly, at the beginning of the season, who expected what we are getting out of not only the Maple Leafs, but journeyman Joffrey Lupul? Not even Leaf fans did. 20 goals, 28 assists, 40 PIMs, 14 PPP, 3 GWG and a +3 plus/minus rating is pretty darn good for a guy that was probably picked up off of the waiver wire. Did someone say keeper?

And there you have it, my mid-season fantasy hockey awards (good and bad). Do you have any other choices? Agree or disagree with mine? Send us your opinion on Twitter to @2ForBoarding or @DBraemer, leave us a comment on our 2FB Facebook page or in the comments section below.

(Trade of the Week, your fantasy stars, busts, and sleepers are all after the jump!)

TRADE OF THE WEEK

***Joffrey Lupul for Tyler Seguin***

With both players playing at levels we most certainly did not expect, at least this season in Seguin’s case, chances are this decision will boil down to whom you would want on your team next season. Lupul is getting older (28) but Seguin’s team is getting older (13 of 22 active skaters 26 years of age and older). Lupul has Kessel by his side, and a possible trade for another top star looming, while Seguin has a well-rounded crop of players surrounding him. This most certainly is one of the toughest trades I have proposed this season. As always do not forget to share your thoughts with the 2FB crew.

TRENDING UP

Will the real Craig Anderson please stand-up?

What has happened in the capital city of Canada? My best explanation would have to be “Bizarro World” but I am fully aware that outside of a comic book and television show, that reasoning is highly unlikely. If you do not follow the NHL regularly and more so just the news, you would think that the Ottawa Senators are an elite team. Four players (Alfredsson, Spezza, Karlsson and Michalek) chosen to go to the all-star game and Craig Anderson playing like he did… in one playoff game.

Dating back to December 30 (11 games), Anderson is 9-1-1 with a sparkling 1.67 GAA, .947 SV% and 1 shut-out. Those numbers are outstanding for a guy whose stats looked like this up until December 30^th: 15-12-3, 5.92 GAA, .895 SV%, 0 SO.

Anderson was probably drafted in the mid-to-late rounds of all drafts depending on the size of your league and how many goalie stat categories your league accounts for. With the way Ottawa as a team has been playing lately I would not be surprised to see Anderson keep this play up at a half-decent level. If you have a solid set of goalies to begin with, shop Anderson. But because finding a reliable goalie for cheap is very rare, I would suggest holding on to him and hope for this to continue in the second-half.

If the Los Angeles Kings were waiting on Justin Williams to be the catalyst for the turnaround of their scoring woes all along, the wait is over. Start riding that Kings bandwagon folks because Justin Williams is on fire! In his last 5 games Justin Williams has tallied 7 (3-4) points, 4 PIMs, 5 (2-3) PPP and has a +2 plus/minus rating. He has also let loose 25 shots in his previous 6 games.

In all seriousness, these are not eye-popping statistics, nor is Justin Williams going to take the league by storm, but if the Kings actually are relying on someone to spark a fire underneath them, Williams very well could be that guy. Chances are the fantasy trade market is not screaming for Justin Williams, so I would advise you to not waste your time looking for any buyers. Enjoy this spark of production and if anything go look to trade or pick-up any other Kings players that may be available.

TRENDING DOWN

The month of January has not been too kind to the Buffalo Sabres and forward Thomas Vanek.

Since December 31, the Sabres are 2-5-2 and have been outscored 16-31. In that stretch Thomas Vanek has been almost invisible for the Sabres accounting for only 2 (1-1) points, 4 PIMs, 0 PPP and a –3 plus/minus rating. Aside from the 2006-2007 campaign, the Austrian Wonder has always had problems with long-term consistency on the score sheet so you could simply view this as a regular stumbling block for Vanek and have nothing to worry about.

I personally have never put any faith into Vanek being an elite fantasy option and will continue to feel that way. With that being said, do not unload him for nothing in return. There is significant value held next to his name and if you want to avoid these unfortunate slumps for the remainder of the season, see how other owners feel about Vanek and try to work a trade with him involved. If you are on the other side of the fence, see if the owner that has Vanek on their team is not feeling these slumps and maybe you could get him on the cheap. It is a roll of the dice with Thomas Vanek and fantasy hockey.

SLEEPER ALERT

If the public is going to back the Ottawa Senators as a serious contender in the second half of the season, I might as well follow right along.

Colin Greening is my sleeper selection for the week. He is currently slotted in as the third line center for the Senators but has also played some time on the left wing. And if Nick Folingo continues to play as recklessly and irresponsibly as he has been lately for the Senators, I expect Greening to get some serious playing time alongside all-stars Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson. Greening does not have much of a background and has amassed a modest 24 (9-15) points this season with the Senators, but as of late has showed some real promise for the up and coming Senators. Greening would definitely be a good speculative pick-up if you were already planning to drop someone on your team. Do not expect huge fantasy lines every night for Greening, but if he catches fire alongside the Senators other all-stars, the pay-off could be very pleasant.

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In closing, I am not entirely sure what the overall thoughts are on how the NHL now conducts its all-star weekend. In my opinion, I think it is the best amongst the four major sports. I may be biased considering how much I enjoy the concept behind fantasy sports and “drafting” players, but it seems to me that the NHL took advantage of how much fantasy sports has grown over the years and brought it to reality for the fans.

Where it may not be the best idea for the NBA, what with teams only have 12 players on them to begin with, I think it would be in the MLB and NFL’s best interest to at least try to follow the NHL’s lead for their respective all-star games. It certainly adds a new dimension to the game another great new way to promote their product.

Good luck in the rest of the week and as always…

Don’t forget to set your line-ups!