Wild Stock Market Report: Week 4

You ever look at a stock chart and notice that there seems to be an awful lot of up and down with that line? They call that a "volatile" stock, and it is dangerous, because you never know what that thing is going to do. It could shoot up 50 points in a day, making day traders millions. It could plummet fifty points and send those same traders off the side of the new 35W bridge.

Or... it could simply continue to go up and down for long, painful stretches of time, eventually making you wonder why you invested anything in it at all.

Make the jump for who's up and who's down.

Mikko Koivu (KAPT): Koivu has not had a good week. Sure, he had a handful of points, but he just did not look like himself out there. He lost a couple key faceoffs, and he was beaten several times in battles for the puck. Certainly, there is no reason to panic, as everyone hits a rough patch every now and again, but it is also good to note when blue chips slip a bit. It could foretell something more sinister.

Rating: Buy

Matt Cullen (TWI): If you haven't bought into this guy yet, you missed the boat. You are now in "buy high" territory, and that is usually not how the payoffs are had. On the flip side, we want to know... if you haven't bought in on Cullen yet, why not? No really. Why not?

Rating: Strong Buy

Clayton Stoner (GOAT): Stoner may qualify for the rare ticker symbol change if he keeps up his play. Looking like a serviceable third pairing, shut down type d-man this week, Stoner certainly played at least as well as Cam Barker, and for a whole lot less money. Who knows, maybe the stumbling and bumbling seen in the first few games was a fluke, and his time in the press box to think about it helped clear things up a bit.

Rating: Hold

NIklas Backstrom (BAX): Here again, it may be too late to buy in without being dubbed a bandwagoner, but Backstrom showed this week that he still has what it takes. The performances against the Capitals and the Blackhawks were nothing short of amazing, and with a little help from his team, both of them certainly could have been shutouts. He is, without a doubt, the sinlge most important reason why this team is at .500 and not three games below right now.

Rating: Strong Buy

Martin Havlat (CZCH): What to say here without piling on? When your agent goes to the media to light up your team for not using you effectively, and then your team ups your TOI and gives you stronger linemates, the spotlight is on you. This was your time to shine, and instead, you wilted. Not sure what kind of chance you were looking for, but there are about 400 other guys in the NHL who would kill for the chances you have been given in the past week.

Rating: Sell

Todd Richards (SUIT): Let's get something straight. I'm a big Todd Richards guy. His system would be amazing if the players could execute it more than one game at a time. However, the up and down nature of this team, the inconsistency in effort, the fix one issue only to have another pop up... it will bite him in the end. It shouldn't, but it will. Players don't get fired, coaches do. In this case, that is very unfortunate. And I hope I'm wrong about it.

Rating: Sell