Fantasy hockey: Don't stop checking

I might be in rebuilding mode when it comes to my dynasty league and concentrating on picking up youngsters, but never can a fantasy owner pass up a bargain.

In this case, that'd be Sami Salo. The Canucks defenseman was on the waiver wire when he came back from a groin injury that had sidelined him for a week. He averaged nearly 25 minutes in three games, including over 3 minutes of power play time. The 35-year-old has flown a little under the fantasy radars for years, mostly because he's had the potential tag on him for so long due to his big booming shot and not produced as desired. But he was 2-5-7 in 8 January games with a plus-6 for the No. 3 team in the Western Conference.

I was able to add another player, one whom I had teased about two posts ago: Tyler Bozak. The 23-year-old was a prized free agent after starring at the University of Denver for two years. The Maple Leafs won the race for his signature and gave him an extended look in January, where he was a 1-4-5 in 10 games that month. The thing that was encouraging about Bozak was that he was given a lot of power-play time. Now he's centering Phil Kessel after the trade of Matt Stajan to the Flames, and he's promptly responded with a line of 1-3-4 in 3 February games, including back-to-back ones against the stingy Devils. He's also been averaging a healthy 19 minutes of ice time.

I've got one more player I'd like to stash before his value might heat up in the offseason, but I've got to find another player on my roster that I can afford to buy out.

Fantasy baseball: Let the bidding begin

The first of February has come, and that means the start of free agency bidding in my dynasty baseball league.

Even though I've got a pretty full roster that I could start the season with if needed, it's still fun to check our message board to see the bidding process. It's done, auction-style, with winning bids needing to stand for a full 7 days (we do have provisions for bids done toward the end of the bidding process and that can't stand for the 168 hours).

It can be nerve-racking to see whether any of the other 19 owners have decided to top your bid. I found it's best to avoid topping a bid right away -- especially if you know the other owner is online. That leads to confrontation, and a lot of times owners will bid right back. Getting into a bidding war most likely will drive up the price on a player artificially too high -- much to the delight of the other 17 or 18 owners. Given that we work with a payroll system with luxury tax, overspending $1 million or two can be costly.

It's tough to find good values in free agency bidding. I'll likely wait toward the end of the period, which ends March 22. Once the big players are rostered and there are fewer roster spots to fill, bargains will begin to emerge.