"Discussions and news this week have heated up about what can be referred to as the final three big fish in the free-agent pond. Fantasy owners, in varying degrees, are still hanging on to the three free agents in question while hoping the players might contribute to their team sometime before the calendar flips to 2009. Are they worth a roster spot, though?

Brendan Shanahan, LW

Most linked teams: Flyers, Penguins, Blackhawks

Owned in almost two-thirds of ESPN leagues, Shanny is rumored to be the closest of the three to making a decision. All indications point to his signing with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins were thought to be a close competitor but recently were quoted as not having any interest, while other suitors seem to be in the background compared with Philly. The Flyers waived Lasse Kukkonen this week with the intention of freeing up enough cap space to ink Shanahan, and the deal was supposed to be announced Wednesday. Then it was supposed to be announced Friday. Yet, here we are on Monday with no deal in place. Still, the signing appears imminent.

Shanahan would be the only player on the Flyers' roster with a Stanley Cup ring and would serve as a veteran presence in the locker room, but what of his actual production for fantasy purposes? Philadelphia might be the best place for him in that respect. The Flyers have three strong centers, allowing enough flexibility for Shanahan to play with plenty of talent no matter which line coach John Stevens uses him on. He also could easily spell Mike Knuble as the other right-handed shot on the first power-play unit with Daniel Briere, Mike Richards and Simon Gagne. Given 60 games, projecting Shanny for 25 goals and 25 assists certainly looks like a basement assessment given this talented Flyers team. That would make him a No. 3 left winger in even shallow fantasy leagues, and the remaining 35 percent of ESPN leagues should look to scoop him up now.

Mats Sundin, C

Most linked teams: Senators, Ducks, Canucks, Rangers, Lightning, Leafs, Flyers, Blackhawks

Half of ESPN leagues have a team with Sundin on its roster, meaning he's a free agent in the other half. That seems about right at the moment, as Sundin continues to train in Los Angeles and contemplate his future. Gleaning anything intelligible from the mishmash of news reports about Captain Mats' future is difficult, but it seems that he plans to release a short list of possible destinations later this month and would be back on the ice before Christmas. Then again, there also have been subtle hints from him that this year might even be used as a sabbatical from hockey, and he would return for the 2009-10 season. Given the ridiculous extremes of the two scenarios, his 50 percent roster ratio seems about right.

Whether he'll be a No. 1 center for fantasy purposes absolutely depends on where he decides to play hockey. The Lightning and Blackhawks would be the least fantasy-friendly destinat