Nick Fruscello: Hello everyone and welcome Fantasy Friday once again. We have reached the half way point of the NHL season and with that, the half way point of your fantasy hockey season. How confident are you with your team? Are you stars playing like stars or are your second tier players carrying you? Are you goalies reliable enough for you that you can take them into the playoffs or are you looking for that call up from the minors that could get hot? Do you have a struggling superstar that you're hoping will get traded and help him get back on track? Hit me with your questions and I'll help you out.

BIGRED: I AM THINKING ABOUT PICKING UP CONKLIN AND DROPPING MILLER.OTHER GOALIES ARE TURCO AND HASEK. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Nick Fruscello: Ty Conklin is on fire right now and is by far playing the best hockey of his career. But hot goalies come and go and the real deals consistently perform well. Conklin is a great short term solution, but I can't recommend dropping any of those goalies for him. Miller isn't having his best season for the Sabres, but in the end, you'll be happy that you kept him because I can't see Conklin lasting into March.

BIGRED: I AM GIVING UP WADE REDDEN FOR CHRIS PRONGER? GOOD TRADE?

Nick Fruscello: Oh yeah!! Redden is a steady defensemen, one I wouldn't mind having on my team, but Pronger is one of the elite defensemen in the league. Fantasy wise he gets you a lot of assists, power play points, plus/minus and the sometimes difficult to get penalty minutes.

MJ: With the Patriots weak linebacker situation, do you think Jacksonville will come out ahead with its running game offense?

Nick Fruscello: I don't think its so much of a "weak" linebacker situation as it is an "old" linebacker situation. Seau is almost 40, Bruschi is going to be 34 this year and even Vrabel is going to be 33 this year. Jacksonville is very physical especially running the football and it actually works in favor of JAX that the game is in cold Foxboro stadium. I see the Jags being able to run the ball very effectively and upsetting the Pats.

MJ: I am in a keeper league. Who do you think has the biggest potential in the long run, L. Tomlinson or A. Peterson? I am leaning towards LT but Peterson showed some real talent this year. What do you think?

Nick Fruscello: If he can stay healthy, Adrian Peterson will someday break the all time rushing record, I'm 100% sure of that. But that is a BIG IF. Peterson has had injury troubles going back to his college days at Oklahoma. LT has been great right from the start and should continue to be a steady producer of yards, TD's and fantasy points for the rest of his career. Between the two, I would take LT.

Luigi_Zamboni: Would you recommend dropping Ilya Bryzgalov for Ty Conklin?

Nick Fruscello: Hmmm more Ty Conklin fans. Bryzgalov is on a bad team, but he's actually putting together a pretty nice season and talent wise, he's much more talented than Conklin. For all you Ty fans, this is only a hot streak, I seriously doubt he will be able to keep this up. He played for 3 teams last year (one was the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL) and had a goals against over 3.30 on all of them. Before that, he had a very average 18 games in Edmonton. I hope he does end up being the real deal for the Pens sake, but right now, I don't see it. He's a good short term solution.

marcus: I have been offered a trade that is pretty close and am not sure whether I should take it. The offer is Hedjik from Col for Holmstrom.On the surface I think it benefits him, but I want to diversify my players more less from one team. I have 3 Senators and 3 Detroit players now. What do you think?

Nick Fruscello: It makes sense, but at the same time, if you have players from the two best teams in the league, how could you go wrong? Holmstrom is currently projected to get more goals, assists, PIM and PPG than Hejduk, so you're going to want to reject that one. Besides, as a Red Wings fan, I don't think I could ever advise someone to trade a Red Wing for a stinkin Avs player. BLAH

marcus: I am also in a head to head league. For this weekend, who should I start, pick two: Nabokov, Conklin, or Osgood?

Nick Fruscello: Nabokov simply because you know he'll play and he has a good defense in front of him and Conklin. If you have him, ride that hot streak for as far as it will take you.

Caleb: Will Conklin be the goalie for the Pens, when Fleury gets better?

Nick Fruscello: Really depends on how well Conklin is playing at that point. I think even when Fleury gets back, at the very least they'll be splitting time.

marcus: Do you think Patrick Willis should be Defensive Rookie of the year?

Nick Fruscello: Yeah, I didn't see any reason why he shouldn't have won that award. He was very good on a bad 49ers defense and lead the NFL in tackles. He gets my vote

Caleb: Do you see the Cowboys getting upset by the Giants, with Owens having a sprained ankle and is limping around?

Nick Fruscello: Its very difficult to beat a team twice, let alone three times. I think the Giants near victory against the Pats has given them something a bye week cannot and that's confidence and momentum. The Giants looked good against the Pats, they went into Tampa Bay and beat the Bucs and now they get a Cowboys team that hasn't looked good in recent weeks, has injury problems with one of their stars and hasn't been playing in a meaningful game for awhile.

marcus: You seem like you don't think Ty Conklin is the best thing since sliced bread. Why?

Nick Fruscello: HA!! Well I can definately say he's not the best thing since sliced bread. I've just seen enough of Conklin throughout the years, especially in Edmonton, that lead me to believe the best he can be is a good backup. People in Edmonton would probably argue that point with Game 1 of the 2006 Stanley Cup still stinging when he gave the puck away and then a goal at the end of the game.

Caleb: What do my Steelers need in the draft more, a defensive line or an offensive line?

Nick Fruscello: Offensive line. With Ben running for his life on every pass play and with Faneca leaving the team, offensive line is a big concern right now. Defensive line is pretty solid with Hampton and Smith.

SGP: Do you think Cam Ward is on the verge of a hot streak?

Nick Fruscello: Actually Cam may be on the verge of losing or at least sharing his job as Hurricanes starting goaltender. The Canes recently called up Michael Leighton from the AHL and he's played pretty good in both games thus far. I have a feeling Ward will eventually win out, but for now there's a little bit of a controversy

Wizard_of_Osgood: I noticed that Mike Modano is on my league's waiver wire. Mike Modano!! Has his production really dropped off that much or is this a steal of the season?

Nick Fruscello: I wouldn't classify Modano as a steal, just a solid pickup that won't hurt you if one of your forwards get injured. Mikey Mo had a 3 assist outburst against the Hawks a couple nights ago, but before that he had one point in his last 5 games. The Stars have handed over the reigns of the top offensive center to Mike Ribeiro

Wizard_of_Osgood: Is Alexander Semin going to turn it around this year?

Nick Fruscello: Semin is extremely talented and he should flashes of that last year, but in 24 games this year he hasn't shown anything. If you can find a better option on waivers, I would go with it, but keep an eye on Semin in case he starts to go back to his 06-07 form.

Wizard_of_Osgood: Shawn Horcoff, Saku Koivu, Patrick Elias or Mike Comrie? Which two of those are the best?

Nick Fruscello: Koivu and Comrie. Elias has really disappointed this year so far and Horcoff has cooled off after his fast start.

Wizard_of_Osgood: I need a goon for my PIM category but he needs to be pretty good in other areas too and I had Sean Avery a couple times, but he keeps getting hurt. Is there someone else I can turn to for similar production?

Nick Fruscello: Scott Hartnell of the Philly has 10 goals and 10 assists with 93 PIM and Corey Perry is someone who gets a lot of points and a fair amoutn of PIM as well. Hartnell is your better bet to find on waivers though. You may just want to stick it out with Avery.

Wizard_of_Osgood: Osgood for Vezina!!!

Nick Fruscello: His 19-2-2 record, 1.82 GAA and 92.6 save percentage say it all. There is no one better right now, so why not?

Nick Fruscello: Its been fun, but I gotta go. Love the hockey questions, keep them coming. See you all next week!!