Practice Drafts!

Now being offered by CBS. That's a freebie that got me to register, and almost any other giveaway would have left me cold.

They're here:

http://mockdraft.1.hockey.sportsline.com/

Do this a few times and you'll see that picking first is a huge advantage, even over picking second.

Also, a normal strategy is to go HERO, G G D D whereas I think this year it might be better to go HERO D D G G

Heroes: Ovechkin, Malkin, Crosby, Iginla, Datsuyk, Zetterberg, Thornton, Lecavalier

I would say top seven in points

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/statistics?stat=nhlscoring&sort=pts&season=2008&seasontype=2

unless your league puts a serious premium on goals, in which case

the top three or four are extremely important:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/statistics?stat=nhlscoring&league=nhl&sort=goals&order=true&qual=true&season=2008&seasontype=2&pos=all

The top 11 defencemen are special and Phaneuf pays a special PIM dividend and DET defencement provide wonderful +/-

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/statistics?stat=nhlscoring&season=2008&seasontype=2&pos=d

The New Schedule

This is a step in the right direction. They felt they needed 82 games, so there are three "wild card games". That's wrong. They should have gone with 79 games. The players are injured as it is.

But if you're going to have "wild card games" why not play them all during week 1? Then they would matter less.

Better still would be 4 games vs conference teams (16) and two games vs other conference (30) and two games vs other teams in conference (20) = 66 games.

OR

1 game against each team in the other conference to start the season (15)

6 games against division opponents (24)

4 games against conference oppoenennts (40)

= 79 games

No need for the extra three! Give the boys a rest. And use the shoter schedule in Olympic years.

Changes in Phoenix and Tampa

Tampa has the most new players of any team -- 14! -- but that is overstating it, because some of those players are on a PHI - TAM rotation. CBS Sportsline has a great summary of moves, sorted by team, split between Eastern and Western Conference.

In the East

http://www.sportsline.com/nhl/transactions/playermove/EAST

Tampa stands out, but Prospal's been here before and Recchi and Roberts should fit right in. Little noticed: the team's collecting tough guys. First O'Brien, now Koci.

Strangest addition: Kolzig, unless they want him in the future as a goalie coach, giving Tampa their Godzillas of the future.


In the West, Phoenix is building, and will benefit from the pain in Anaheim of the loss of Selanne and in San Jose of the loss of some key Defense. But most of all, Phoenix will benefit from LA's decision to play for the top draft pick this year.

Biggest beneficiary -- Shane Doan, who gets to play with Jokinen and if that doesn't work out, will get to work with rookie Mueller who had 54 points in a surprise season on a bad team.

The big question mark for PHO is how will Dallas be this year.