A Downer for Downie

The AHL board of governors have voted to uphold a suspension to Steve Downie of the Norfolk Admirals.

Read the complete TSN article here.

Fantasy Outlook: Steve Downie was suspended for 20 games on March 5 for striking an official with his stick. The initial suspension was appealed by Norfolk but the decision was upheld.

Fantasy owners may have thought that Downie being moved from the deep Philadelphia organization to the thin Tampa squad would result in more playing time. Since being traded to Tampa, Downie has played in 23 games. Not a scoring threat, he has 3 goals and 3 assists with the Lightning. Downie has also amassed 54 penalty minutes in that time. While in Norfolk, Downie has 8 goals and 17 assists, along with 107 PIMS.

Owners should beware when drafting Downie next year. If your league rewards PIMs and you can grab him in a late round in your draft, do it. That being said, don't expect him to be a full-time player. The NHL is moving towards greatly reducing fighting, and that could severly penalize Downie's fantasy value. He has the ability to be a character guy but he has a target on him. Any slip up in the NHL or AHL and he will be looking at another lengthy suspension.

Mark