Defense!
Wisnewski -- 1 assist.
Coburn -- 8 shots on goal.
Zidlicky -- GWG.
Campbell -- +3
Other notes:
PIT is very streaky, but doing well tonight.
FLA vs TOR -- FLA dominates. That Weiss-Booth line is getting good.
CHI 5 goals and counting.
Nabokov losing vs. CAL, but he loses big a few times each year, and CAL is a strong opponent.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Sunday, January 4, 2009
It's time for helmet rules
Hockey player death prompts helmet talk
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3807147
A minor league player has died from injuries after hitting his head on the ice during a fight. I assume that he was unconscious when he fell and was unable to break his own fall. I've seen that happen in the NHL.
The NHL has to act but I'm not confident because the NHL isn't really concerned with blows to the head.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=3807147
A minor league player has died from injuries after hitting his head on the ice during a fight. I assume that he was unconscious when he fell and was unable to break his own fall. I've seen that happen in the NHL.
The NHL has to act but I'm not confident because the NHL isn't really concerned with blows to the head.
Monday, December 29, 2008
How to Keep Rotisserie Interesting: Multipliers
Here's how I would keep NHL Rotisserie interesting:
Split the season into two-week blocks. At the end of every two weeks, points are tallied. Each position has limits over two weeks. Goalie minimums can be enforced or not.
First week counts x1, second week x2, etc. Thus, the final month counts for about half of the competition, and nobody is out until the end.
The first few weeks are odd anyway, and fantasy managers adjust to new lineups and a new season.
But the most important point here is keeping everyone in the game.
Split the season into two-week blocks. At the end of every two weeks, points are tallied. Each position has limits over two weeks. Goalie minimums can be enforced or not.
First week counts x1, second week x2, etc. Thus, the final month counts for about half of the competition, and nobody is out until the end.
The first few weeks are odd anyway, and fantasy managers adjust to new lineups and a new season.
But the most important point here is keeping everyone in the game.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Selanne's on IR
His injury is a clean cut and his recovery should be predictable. I've got him on IR in both the leagues I'm in, but if you're in a league where someone dropped him, especially if the league is Roti, grab him and put him on IR.
Game notes, December 23
FLA 3 NSH 0
Frolik -- 2 goals, and 9 shots, even tho the players I'd expect to see do well are Stillman, Weiss, Zednik, Horton, and Booth.
CAR 2 MIN 3
Brindamour and Whitney -- 2 points each.
Who plays on the Koivu-Gaborik line?
DAL 8 TOR 2
Cannot figure out Dallas this year, but the centers delivered in this game -- Modano, Ribiero, and Richards -- as did Lehtinen. Don't know the kids: Brunnstrom, Neal, Ott, Grossman.
For Toronto, Grabovski and Stempniak were the only +1.
TB 2 PIT 0
I suspect that PIT lost this game, rather than TB won it.
DET 4 STL 1
All Det big players clicking: Zberg, Holms, Datsuyk, Lidstrom.
Berglund the lone STL goal. I would have Berglund in deeper leagues (16 teams, instead of 12 or 6).
CLB 0 LA 3
Wish I had the goalie in this one. What's going on with the goalies in LA? Glad I had O'Sullivan in one of my leagues. If he gets more time with Kopitar -- great!
Picked up Quick -- but there are up to five goalies competing for a spot there.
Revealing comments here (h/t goaliepost.com).
OTT 4 PHI 6
As the commentators on Versus said, OTT had one line tonight (Pizza line) and PHI had two -- Richards Gagne line and the Carter Lupul Hartnell line. Maybe the Rangers will get Briere?
WAS 5 NYR 4
NYR score 4, then WAS ties it up and wins in overtime. 13 shots for Ovechkin.
Will Victor Kozlov make his mark before Fedorov returns?
ATL 4 NYI 2
ATL has one line: Little, Kozlov, Kovalchuk. The team has many good D, but none stands out. I thought that Hainsey plus Enstrom would deliver a great power play and penalty kill, but it has not happened yet.
BOS 2 NJ 0
I watched this, and it was a 1-0 game with an empty net goal. Thomas made spectacular plays that looked lucky, but he's been doing it all year and you cannot call it luck anymore.
Frolik -- 2 goals, and 9 shots, even tho the players I'd expect to see do well are Stillman, Weiss, Zednik, Horton, and Booth.
CAR 2 MIN 3
Brindamour and Whitney -- 2 points each.
Who plays on the Koivu-Gaborik line?
DAL 8 TOR 2
Cannot figure out Dallas this year, but the centers delivered in this game -- Modano, Ribiero, and Richards -- as did Lehtinen. Don't know the kids: Brunnstrom, Neal, Ott, Grossman.
For Toronto, Grabovski and Stempniak were the only +1.
TB 2 PIT 0
I suspect that PIT lost this game, rather than TB won it.
DET 4 STL 1
All Det big players clicking: Zberg, Holms, Datsuyk, Lidstrom.
Berglund the lone STL goal. I would have Berglund in deeper leagues (16 teams, instead of 12 or 6).
CLB 0 LA 3
Wish I had the goalie in this one. What's going on with the goalies in LA? Glad I had O'Sullivan in one of my leagues. If he gets more time with Kopitar -- great!
Picked up Quick -- but there are up to five goalies competing for a spot there.
Revealing comments here (h/t goaliepost.com).
OTT 4 PHI 6
As the commentators on Versus said, OTT had one line tonight (Pizza line) and PHI had two -- Richards Gagne line and the Carter Lupul Hartnell line. Maybe the Rangers will get Briere?
WAS 5 NYR 4
NYR score 4, then WAS ties it up and wins in overtime. 13 shots for Ovechkin.
Will Victor Kozlov make his mark before Fedorov returns?
ATL 4 NYI 2
ATL has one line: Little, Kozlov, Kovalchuk. The team has many good D, but none stands out. I thought that Hainsey plus Enstrom would deliver a great power play and penalty kill, but it has not happened yet.
BOS 2 NJ 0
I watched this, and it was a 1-0 game with an empty net goal. Thomas made spectacular plays that looked lucky, but he's been doing it all year and you cannot call it luck anymore.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Game notes. December 10
DET 4 CAL 3 (OT)
Phaneuf played 33 minutes in the loss, and got 2 assists.
Until now, Glencross has been the extra winger who gets points, but tonight it was David Moss in CAL's second line with 1 G 1 A.
Lidstrom got the OT GWG.
So the two defensive heroes, Phaneuf and Listrom, showed up and played well.
Keeping an eye on Holmstrom, who got only 12 minutes (1A). Cleary did better.
PIT 1 NJ 4
PIT played well. Malkin was on fire. But NJ got the goals.
Parise's goal was a backwards backhanded work of art. Parise managed an astonishing 9 SOGs. Clemmensen played well, but the D was a team effort, with every forward contributing. Only one Penguin came out positive in +/-: Matt Cooke. But Cooke's work was entirely Malkin's work.
TB 2 BUF 4
Vanek and Pominwille! A great win for Buffalo, and the team leaders, Pominville, Vanek, Roy all contributed. Stafford who has had an up and down season got the other goal. Pominville and Hecht combined on the key short handed point.
For TB, Stamkos gets another point.
BOS 1 WAS 3
Ovechkin, Semin, and Backstrom lead WAS again. Chara and Lucic appeared to have been the best for BOS, as Savard was blanked.
NYR 3 ATL 2
Well, I don't understand either of these teams, but Redden did well tonight. How do you not give him a star when he gets 3 As in a 3-2 win???
CHI 2 OTT 0
Shutout for Huet!! I dropeed him long ago. Otherwise, the star of this game in fantasy hockey was Chris Neil with 7 PIMs.
PHO 5 DAL 3
Okay, Max, Hanzal was a good pickup. I still don't know who he is. I have Yandle. I don't know who Yandle is either.
Ribiero not doing well with Morrow out.
STL ANH still ongoing.
I wanted Backes to get PIMs in this game. So far, Crombeen, with a goal and a fight, is the best fantasy player.
Phaneuf played 33 minutes in the loss, and got 2 assists.
Until now, Glencross has been the extra winger who gets points, but tonight it was David Moss in CAL's second line with 1 G 1 A.
Lidstrom got the OT GWG.
So the two defensive heroes, Phaneuf and Listrom, showed up and played well.
Keeping an eye on Holmstrom, who got only 12 minutes (1A). Cleary did better.
PIT 1 NJ 4
PIT played well. Malkin was on fire. But NJ got the goals.
Parise's goal was a backwards backhanded work of art. Parise managed an astonishing 9 SOGs. Clemmensen played well, but the D was a team effort, with every forward contributing. Only one Penguin came out positive in +/-: Matt Cooke. But Cooke's work was entirely Malkin's work.
TB 2 BUF 4
Vanek and Pominwille! A great win for Buffalo, and the team leaders, Pominville, Vanek, Roy all contributed. Stafford who has had an up and down season got the other goal. Pominville and Hecht combined on the key short handed point.
For TB, Stamkos gets another point.
BOS 1 WAS 3
Ovechkin, Semin, and Backstrom lead WAS again. Chara and Lucic appeared to have been the best for BOS, as Savard was blanked.
NYR 3 ATL 2
Well, I don't understand either of these teams, but Redden did well tonight. How do you not give him a star when he gets 3 As in a 3-2 win???
CHI 2 OTT 0
Shutout for Huet!! I dropeed him long ago. Otherwise, the star of this game in fantasy hockey was Chris Neil with 7 PIMs.
PHO 5 DAL 3
Okay, Max, Hanzal was a good pickup. I still don't know who he is. I have Yandle. I don't know who Yandle is either.
Ribiero not doing well with Morrow out.
STL ANH still ongoing.
I wanted Backes to get PIMs in this game. So far, Crombeen, with a goal and a fight, is the best fantasy player.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Game notes, Thursday Nov. 20
Chi vs. Dal
Will Turco survive this season? Time to bring in the backup.
Dustin Byf did not play tonight. Will he respond with a big game on Saturday or will he be benched again?
Versteeg is for real!
NJ vs. Fla
Clemmensen! Elias!
PIT vs. Atl
Sykora and Satan show up on the score sheet.
Van vs. Minn
Mikko Koivu, hero in a losing effort, including one SHP.
Vancouver's top line of Demitra and the Sedin twins is doing what it was supposed to do: winning games.
Cal vs. Col
Colorado cannot score! Langkow playing well on Cal's top line gets the game winner.
Det vs. Edm
Visnovsky and Souray looked strong in the loss. Hudler and Lidstrom looked good in the win. Lidstrom's 4 PIMs an extra bonus for Lidster owners.
Kronwall, Holmstrom, and Cleary were all scratched. Holmstrom had back spasms and Kronwall had an ankle problem. Only Zetterberg, Datsuyk, and Lidstrom have been reliable so far. Hossa did not show up on the score sheet but was the number three star. Why?
Will Turco survive this season? Time to bring in the backup.
Dustin Byf did not play tonight. Will he respond with a big game on Saturday or will he be benched again?
Versteeg is for real!
NJ vs. Fla
Clemmensen! Elias!
PIT vs. Atl
Sykora and Satan show up on the score sheet.
Van vs. Minn
Mikko Koivu, hero in a losing effort, including one SHP.
Vancouver's top line of Demitra and the Sedin twins is doing what it was supposed to do: winning games.
Cal vs. Col
Colorado cannot score! Langkow playing well on Cal's top line gets the game winner.
Det vs. Edm
Visnovsky and Souray looked strong in the loss. Hudler and Lidstrom looked good in the win. Lidstrom's 4 PIMs an extra bonus for Lidster owners.
Kronwall, Holmstrom, and Cleary were all scratched. Holmstrom had back spasms and Kronwall had an ankle problem. Only Zetterberg, Datsuyk, and Lidstrom have been reliable so far. Hossa did not show up on the score sheet but was the number three star. Why?
Thursday, November 6, 2008
dropped wideman
and he just got an A and G today. So if he's available in your league, pick him up.
I like the SH teams of PHI and SJ. Grier, and the PHI D, and Mike Richards are good. Tonight, Crosby also has an SHP.
I like the SH teams of PHI and SJ. Grier, and the PHI D, and Mike Richards are good. Tonight, Crosby also has an SHP.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Keep an eye on these defencemen who may be available in your NHL fantasy league
Roszival: While the Rangers have had a wonderful start to the season, Girardi has more points and Wade Redden has more buzz (both positive and negative). But Roszival has more ice time and _if_ the Rangers continue to do well, he will get his points.
Vancouver D: Almost every player in Vancouver contributes in points, +/-, and PIMs. All are worth looking at. With Salo injured, other players will get ice time. If Bieksa, who usually gets the most PIMs, is available in your league, you should take him. Ohlund, Edler, and Mitchell are all good. Edler gets the most ice time and gets the best +/-; Ohlund has the highest potential for PIMs in a season.
Ruslan Salei is one of the nastiest defencemen in the league. As a rookie, he won his roster spot with the Mighty Ducks (as they then were) by slashing someone in the face -- in the pre-season. He seems to be restrained so far.
Other truly unpleasant characters include O'Brien of Vancouver, who isn't getting much ice time, and Montador in Anaheim. Because of Anaheim's slow start, Montador doesn't show up on the radar of many people, but you can expect Anaheim to lead the league in fighting majors.
Colin White is more of a foolish retaliator than an instigator, but that also gets the PIMs, and so far he has a decent number of PIMs, assists, and +/-. No Devils defenceman is at the top of anyone's fantasy rankings, however.
The Flyers' D is hurt and in trouble, but Coburn and Timonen should be reliable. Coburn will get PIMs and Timonen will get points on the power play. However, both will have problems with +/-.
Mike Van Ryn, currently in Toronto, put up reasonable numbers in Florida, an equally bad team, and is doing well so far this year.
Preissing was an astonishing fantasy surprise last year, finishing the year at +40 with the Senators, but is expected to be a healthy scratch in his next game.
This early in the season, it's difficult to predict who will be the best D. There's not much data. The most revealing stat, in my mind, is shots on goal
http://tinyurl.com/6qpc44
The list of leaders in shots on goal, I believe, is a good predictor for who will lead the league in offence.
The top four are: Phaneuf, Boyle, Blake, and Green. If they're available if your league, grab them now.
There's a surprise appearance by Beauchemin of Anaheim in this list. He's a risk. He's already scored three goals in nine games, but Anaheim's having a strange season. Take a gamble on him if you wish, but only if other options are not available.
Vancouver D: Almost every player in Vancouver contributes in points, +/-, and PIMs. All are worth looking at. With Salo injured, other players will get ice time. If Bieksa, who usually gets the most PIMs, is available in your league, you should take him. Ohlund, Edler, and Mitchell are all good. Edler gets the most ice time and gets the best +/-; Ohlund has the highest potential for PIMs in a season.
Ruslan Salei is one of the nastiest defencemen in the league. As a rookie, he won his roster spot with the Mighty Ducks (as they then were) by slashing someone in the face -- in the pre-season. He seems to be restrained so far.
Other truly unpleasant characters include O'Brien of Vancouver, who isn't getting much ice time, and Montador in Anaheim. Because of Anaheim's slow start, Montador doesn't show up on the radar of many people, but you can expect Anaheim to lead the league in fighting majors.
Colin White is more of a foolish retaliator than an instigator, but that also gets the PIMs, and so far he has a decent number of PIMs, assists, and +/-. No Devils defenceman is at the top of anyone's fantasy rankings, however.
The Flyers' D is hurt and in trouble, but Coburn and Timonen should be reliable. Coburn will get PIMs and Timonen will get points on the power play. However, both will have problems with +/-.
Mike Van Ryn, currently in Toronto, put up reasonable numbers in Florida, an equally bad team, and is doing well so far this year.
Preissing was an astonishing fantasy surprise last year, finishing the year at +40 with the Senators, but is expected to be a healthy scratch in his next game.
This early in the season, it's difficult to predict who will be the best D. There's not much data. The most revealing stat, in my mind, is shots on goal
http://tinyurl.com/6qpc44
The list of leaders in shots on goal, I believe, is a good predictor for who will lead the league in offence.
The top four are: Phaneuf, Boyle, Blake, and Green. If they're available if your league, grab them now.
There's a surprise appearance by Beauchemin of Anaheim in this list. He's a risk. He's already scored three goals in nine games, but Anaheim's having a strange season. Take a gamble on him if you wish, but only if other options are not available.
Gainey's Idea Would Reduce Injuries
NHL to consider shot-blocking rules to increase offense?
The idea is to forbid players from sliding full length along the ice to block shots. I think that reducing blocked shots is a good idea because it injures players but Gainey just wants more goals in the NHL.
The idea is to forbid players from sliding full length along the ice to block shots. I think that reducing blocked shots is a good idea because it injures players but Gainey just wants more goals in the NHL.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Don't Panic, Nabokov Owners
The bad news: he gave up six goals tonight, and he often has bad nights on the road in pairs. The good news: for the first time in memory, he gave up six goals and WON!
Expect a pair of shutouts next week
Expect a pair of shutouts next week
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Mark Eaton: Surviving
This defensive defenseman, with a sad history of injury, is playing a key role for the Penguins now that Gonchar and Whitney are out. Don't pick him up on your fantasy team -- he's not going to score much -- but I'm glad to see he's healthy and hope he gets a chance to shine
Chicago: real or not?
Is Chicago a real deal or a work in progress? Huet was weak tonight, but he has a great defense and offense in front of him. The team should be able to win games -- but it has not yet done so.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Check out these players
Voros
Nylander
Keith
Vanek
...
and if, for any reason, Phaneuf is not owned in your league, take him immediately.
...
Keep an eye on
Hamrlik, Spacek, Rivet, and the entire Vancouver D.
Bernier, Setogouchi, Krejci, Tkachuk, Booth.
Nylander
Keith
Vanek
...
and if, for any reason, Phaneuf is not owned in your league, take him immediately.
...
Keep an eye on
Hamrlik, Spacek, Rivet, and the entire Vancouver D.
Bernier, Setogouchi, Krejci, Tkachuk, Booth.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
This is a very good list of players
Looking for a list of hockey players? Check out the draft in Yahoo's Friends and Family league:
http://hockey.fantasysports.yahoo.com/hockey/52090/draftresults?drafttab=team
And here's Q&A with Janet Eagleson, who got the number one pick.
Notes:
round 2: surprised Lundqvist went before turco and giggy, but that probably has a lot to do with injury fears and Lundqvist's number of SOs.
I believe that players should draft D early. Some experts did and others did not.
round 5: Nathan Horton and Pominville (round 4) finally getting the respect they deserve.
round 6: Bryan McCabe -- overrated? Underappreciated? Time will tell.
round 7: Huet will be a steal if the Hawks can convince Khabi to play in Russia this year. I picked him and I'm hoping that happens. Biron, I believe, is overrated. Stastny still doesn't get respect. A lot of goalies in this round. Goalies go in bunches, but not necessarily in any particular round.
round 8: IMO, Wade Redden's overrated. I expect Kronwall and Liles, for example, to do better.
round 12: I pick Ryan Clowe as sleeper -- if he can make the top line in SJ and also have a lot of PIMs.
Sami Salo underappreciated.
Jordan Staal's value rises as he gets time on the PK or PP. I hope he gets it.
round 13: I dropped Duncan Keith (I expect him to be the stay at home guy, and Campbell the power play quarterback) and kept Kuba, who has 2 assists in each of his first two appearances. I expect him to do very well. Pick him up if he is available.
round 14: Ray Whitney, if healthy, is the steal of this round.
round 15: I'm betting on Lupul, but that was a nasty injury last year. I'm also keeping an eye on Bernier -- everyone wants to know who will fit on the top line with the Sedin twins. So far, defencemen seem to be getting the extra points on Sedin goals.
round 16: Vermette delivers an interesting combination of PIMs and SHP.
http://hockey.fantasysports.yahoo.com/hockey/52090/draftresults?drafttab=team
And here's Q&A with Janet Eagleson, who got the number one pick.
Notes:
round 2: surprised Lundqvist went before turco and giggy, but that probably has a lot to do with injury fears and Lundqvist's number of SOs.
I believe that players should draft D early. Some experts did and others did not.
round 5: Nathan Horton and Pominville (round 4) finally getting the respect they deserve.
round 6: Bryan McCabe -- overrated? Underappreciated? Time will tell.
round 7: Huet will be a steal if the Hawks can convince Khabi to play in Russia this year. I picked him and I'm hoping that happens. Biron, I believe, is overrated. Stastny still doesn't get respect. A lot of goalies in this round. Goalies go in bunches, but not necessarily in any particular round.
round 8: IMO, Wade Redden's overrated. I expect Kronwall and Liles, for example, to do better.
round 12: I pick Ryan Clowe as sleeper -- if he can make the top line in SJ and also have a lot of PIMs.
Sami Salo underappreciated.
Jordan Staal's value rises as he gets time on the PK or PP. I hope he gets it.
round 13: I dropped Duncan Keith (I expect him to be the stay at home guy, and Campbell the power play quarterback) and kept Kuba, who has 2 assists in each of his first two appearances. I expect him to do very well. Pick him up if he is available.
round 14: Ray Whitney, if healthy, is the steal of this round.
round 15: I'm betting on Lupul, but that was a nasty injury last year. I'm also keeping an eye on Bernier -- everyone wants to know who will fit on the top line with the Sedin twins. So far, defencemen seem to be getting the extra points on Sedin goals.
round 16: Vermette delivers an interesting combination of PIMs and SHP.
Monday, August 18, 2008
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
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
Thursday, August 7, 2008
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.
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.
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.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Violence Wins Again
Whether it's Avery hitting Brodeur's head and slashing him in the face, or the takeout hit on Marleu, the NHL seems determined to allow blood on the ice and injuries to marquee players.
The blood has to stop and Campbell has to go.
The blood has to stop and Campbell has to go.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Playoffs -- and injuries -- start tomorrow
Will Campbell allow players to harm each other? Alfredsson is out due to a head shot. End head shots now! And I don't even like Ottawa!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
End Touch Up Icing Now
Europe doesn't use it. We don't need it. It slows games down and it's dangerous.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Fix Disciplinary Process!
Burnside is right. The process needs to be more open.
3 games for Laraque and 8 for Pronger mean they will do it again.
No more head shots!
And absolutely no skate blade stomping.
3 games for Laraque and 8 for Pronger mean they will do it again.
No more head shots!
And absolutely no skate blade stomping.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Glad I Didn't See This
For once, I'm glad the Sabres weren't televised. This is wrong. Laraque should be suspended.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Turned Off the Rangers Sabres Game
Avery should have gotten five for intent to injure. That was just sick. The NHL should be sued for promoting injuries and concussions.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Hooray for Rob Blake, Fight Stopper
From the AP:
Jack Johnson had injured Avalanche leader Ryan Smyth on a clean hit. Avalanche's fistfigher came over to him in response. Then the typical hockey narrative changed, thanks to the respect both teams have for Rob Blake, currently a leader of LA, former stanley cup winner in Colorado.
So there it is: some of that respect that people are complaining doesn't exist in the game anymore.
Jack Johnson had injured Avalanche leader Ryan Smyth on a clean hit. Avalanche's fistfigher came over to him in response. Then the typical hockey narrative changed, thanks to the respect both teams have for Rob Blake, currently a leader of LA, former stanley cup winner in Colorado.
“The kid knew exactly where I was coming from,” Laperriere said. “He wanted to fight and Blake came right in there. I have so much respect for Blake. I knew he wasn’t going to punch me.”
So there it is: some of that respect that people are complaining doesn't exist in the game anymore.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Corruption in the NHL
Refs are biased in PHI's favor in tonight's Sabres game. There have been allegations of corruption for years. They must be investigated and the referees who rig the games need to be held accountable.
Boxscore notes, Feb 24, 2008
1) I'm glad to have Selanne! Five point night!
2) Panthers were slain by the Rangers. Is Jokinen really going to go?
3) J. Williams in action for Chicago, did well. Will he return to his point per game form?
4) How will Detroit survive the injuries to its top three defensemen?
5) Paul Martin is underrated. Oduya is improving fast.
6) What happened to Paul Stastny tonight? Was he a healthy scratch?
2) Panthers were slain by the Rangers. Is Jokinen really going to go?
3) J. Williams in action for Chicago, did well. Will he return to his point per game form?
4) How will Detroit survive the injuries to its top three defensemen?
5) Paul Martin is underrated. Oduya is improving fast.
6) What happened to Paul Stastny tonight? Was he a healthy scratch?
Friday, February 22, 2008
Boxscore notes, Feb 22, 2008
Sens top line fails to score -- second line, with Stillman on it, comes through. Why was Foote tossed at the end of the game? Vyborny might be available in CLB, but Federov and Zherdev should not be traded.
Tampa Bay shut out, third time this year -- second time by the Islanders.
Atlanta's still Kovalchuk, Hossa, and Kozlov -- and Recchi. Where's Enstrom?
Cullen's getting the ice time -- has he really recovered? He's not scoring. Staal stepping up nicely in place of Brind'Amour.
Cheechoo scores again, and so does Knuble -- and I bench Nabokov in his first win in a while.
Pittsburgh and Montreal -- would be a great postseason series.
STL 1 LA 5, full of surprises, such as the emergence of O'Sullivan, long touted. But the biggest surprise is one win for Cloutier. Don't add him to your fantasy team just yet.
Tampa Bay shut out, third time this year -- second time by the Islanders.
Atlanta's still Kovalchuk, Hossa, and Kozlov -- and Recchi. Where's Enstrom?
Cullen's getting the ice time -- has he really recovered? He's not scoring. Staal stepping up nicely in place of Brind'Amour.
Cheechoo scores again, and so does Knuble -- and I bench Nabokov in his first win in a while.
Pittsburgh and Montreal -- would be a great postseason series.
STL 1 LA 5, full of surprises, such as the emergence of O'Sullivan, long touted. But the biggest surprise is one win for Cloutier. Don't add him to your fantasy team just yet.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Who is Willie Mitchell?
While preditable goal scorers like Dumont and Jagr and Kovalev made their mark tonight, some surprises hit the net as well.
In ice time, Willie Mitchell notched 27 minutes, ahead of Sami Salo and M. Ohlund.
For the Senators, Vermette had a goal, and assist, and another goal in the shootout.
Ryan Malone, a rising star, got two of PIT's three third period goals.
Speaking of comebacks -- MON came from 5-0 down to win it in overtime. Of course, it was against the flameout team, the Rangers, for whom a big lead is bad news.
In Toronto, a bunch of promising kids got the points, tho Sundin had one. Maybe the team could survive trading him and Blake? Coliacovo (second goal of the season) had more ice time than Blake.
In ice time, Willie Mitchell notched 27 minutes, ahead of Sami Salo and M. Ohlund.
For the Senators, Vermette had a goal, and assist, and another goal in the shootout.
Ryan Malone, a rising star, got two of PIT's three third period goals.
Speaking of comebacks -- MON came from 5-0 down to win it in overtime. Of course, it was against the flameout team, the Rangers, for whom a big lead is bad news.
In Toronto, a bunch of promising kids got the points, tho Sundin had one. Maybe the team could survive trading him and Blake? Coliacovo (second goal of the season) had more ice time than Blake.
Monday, February 18, 2008
More violence
The NHL claims to be selling players like Crosby, Ovechkin, and Thornton -- but they really seem to be selling Downie, Hollweg, and Laperriere.
The Laperriere hit on Lidstrom was clean . . . but I still did not enjoy seeing it.
The hit to the face of Filpula, on the other hand, was not.
Both plays were Intent To Injure and deserved five minutes.
The Laperriere hit on Lidstrom was clean . . . but I still did not enjoy seeing it.
The hit to the face of Filpula, on the other hand, was not.
Both plays were Intent To Injure and deserved five minutes.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Pacific Divison
While everyone's complaining about the weakness of the Southeast Division, I'd like to point out that the Pacific Division has astonishing strength.
Want to fix the problems? Realign the divisions and change the postseason:
NE: BOS, MON, BUF, OTT, WASH
Atlantic: PHI, PITT, NYI, NJD, NYR
South: CAR, FLA, TB, ATL, DAL
Central: NSH, CHI, CLB, DET, TOR
NW: MIN, STL, COL, CAL, EDM,
Pacific: VAN, LA, ANH, SJ, PHO
A key element here: every conference (except South) has at least one Canadian team. Also, DET and TOR get to play each other.
Everyone plays 4 games against own division (20 games) and 2 against everyone else (50 games) for 70 games.
End of season: league rankings. No Conferences, just Divisions.
Or: 3 Divisions, with league rankings making the postseason.
4 games against division (36 games) plus 2 aginst everyone else (40 games) for 76 games.
In either case, first month of the season is cross-divisional play. Last few weeks, as this year, are within the division.
Want to fix the problems? Realign the divisions and change the postseason:
NE: BOS, MON, BUF, OTT, WASH
Atlantic: PHI, PITT, NYI, NJD, NYR
South: CAR, FLA, TB, ATL, DAL
Central: NSH, CHI, CLB, DET, TOR
NW: MIN, STL, COL, CAL, EDM,
Pacific: VAN, LA, ANH, SJ, PHO
A key element here: every conference (except South) has at least one Canadian team. Also, DET and TOR get to play each other.
Everyone plays 4 games against own division (20 games) and 2 against everyone else (50 games) for 70 games.
End of season: league rankings. No Conferences, just Divisions.
Or: 3 Divisions, with league rankings making the postseason.
4 games against division (36 games) plus 2 aginst everyone else (40 games) for 76 games.
In either case, first month of the season is cross-divisional play. Last few weeks, as this year, are within the division.
Boxscore notes, Feb 14, 2008
Brodeur STOOD ON HIS HEAD. He's back to playoff peak performance. Great for him! Dropped Commodore for Robidas before the game and could have used Commodore's 5 PIMs. But otherwise, fantasy hockey misses value of players like Commodore. It's all about hits and blocked shots.
Don't know what happened to the Sabres today but I watched the game and I can tell you they played weak today. They were outmuscled by the Rangers. The opening play reminded me of the outdoor game when Crosby scored early. Today it was Jagr with the muscle and Avery with the finish.
Dustin Brown scored again for LA. They really should give up on Cloutier. He'll make a popular minor leaguer somewhere. La Barbera, OTOH, is quite good.
What's wrong with Atlanta? The Islanders do play well occasionally but 10 shots in one game is unforgivable. Hossa needs to be traded. Perhaps a pending trade situation with Campbell led to the blowout against the Rangers today? It would serve Sabres management right if they lost Campbell on the free agent market after failing to make the playoffs. And I'm a fan of the team (just not the management).
I'm a Devils fan first, however, and am thrilled by the recent performance of the whole defence corps. Martin is playing like an all-star, Oduya is playing well, and everyone else is doing what they're supposed to. Asham did extremely well today.
Don't know what happened to the Sabres today but I watched the game and I can tell you they played weak today. They were outmuscled by the Rangers. The opening play reminded me of the outdoor game when Crosby scored early. Today it was Jagr with the muscle and Avery with the finish.
Dustin Brown scored again for LA. They really should give up on Cloutier. He'll make a popular minor leaguer somewhere. La Barbera, OTOH, is quite good.
What's wrong with Atlanta? The Islanders do play well occasionally but 10 shots in one game is unforgivable. Hossa needs to be traded. Perhaps a pending trade situation with Campbell led to the blowout against the Rangers today? It would serve Sabres management right if they lost Campbell on the free agent market after failing to make the playoffs. And I'm a fan of the team (just not the management).
I'm a Devils fan first, however, and am thrilled by the recent performance of the whole defence corps. Martin is playing like an all-star, Oduya is playing well, and everyone else is doing what they're supposed to. Asham did extremely well today.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Robidas Replaces Zubov?
When I lost Zubov, I assumed that I needed to look to another team. I've currently got Commodore, recently traded from Carolina to Ottawa. But Robidas is tempting.
Players Who Performed Well When Their Teams Did Not
Last night:
Nasville: 1 Goal. Jason Arnott: 1 Goal
Pittsburgh: 3 Goals (in loss). Lupul 1 G 1 A.
Nasville: 1 Goal. Jason Arnott: 1 Goal
Pittsburgh: 3 Goals (in loss). Lupul 1 G 1 A.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Boxscore notes, Feb 13, 2008
New Jersey beat Ottawa tonight, as I'd hoped, but I expect Ottawa to have integrated the new pieces by Saturday and to crush NJ then. That would be a good time for NJ to play Weekes (poor Kevin). Did Heatley and Alfredsson come back too early?
Lang and the Blackhawk defense show up and trounce Columbus and poor Leclaire got pulled. Hainsey fought Ruutuu (The Dirty Finn -- all the other Finns play clean). Yay Hainsey. Kane scored. Should I pick up Dustin Byf? Too many shots in the loss to Edmonton.
Buffalo beat Toronto 1-0 in spite of being outshot 35 to 20. Sabres need to do better. My guess is that Connolly should have rested and Stafford should have played. If Paetsch can play, he deserves at least a few minutes. This was supposed to be an easy game for Buffalo, but this is hockey and no game is easy. Buffalo's now in seventh place -- I hope they don't meet NJD in the first round of the playoffs -- Carolina would be an ironic opponent, Ottawa the most hated.
Carey Price is back!!! And another win for him. I'm thrilled I have Kovalev.
Poor Conklin. Looks like he played well and the Penguins let him down. Malkin, of course, got the only goal. Tim Thomas continues an astonishing season, but can Boston make the playoffs -- and if they do, will Chara? Because of Chara, a BOS-OTT round 1 matchup would also be interesting.
Lang and the Blackhawk defense show up and trounce Columbus and poor Leclaire got pulled. Hainsey fought Ruutuu (The Dirty Finn -- all the other Finns play clean). Yay Hainsey. Kane scored. Should I pick up Dustin Byf? Too many shots in the loss to Edmonton.
Buffalo beat Toronto 1-0 in spite of being outshot 35 to 20. Sabres need to do better. My guess is that Connolly should have rested and Stafford should have played. If Paetsch can play, he deserves at least a few minutes. This was supposed to be an easy game for Buffalo, but this is hockey and no game is easy. Buffalo's now in seventh place -- I hope they don't meet NJD in the first round of the playoffs -- Carolina would be an ironic opponent, Ottawa the most hated.
Carey Price is back!!! And another win for him. I'm thrilled I have Kovalev.
Poor Conklin. Looks like he played well and the Penguins let him down. Malkin, of course, got the only goal. Tim Thomas continues an astonishing season, but can Boston make the playoffs -- and if they do, will Chara? Because of Chara, a BOS-OTT round 1 matchup would also be interesting.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
VISORS NOW!!!!!
After the Zednik incident, some are calling for neck guards for all NHL players -- and maybe they should have neck guards -- but they should definitely have visors.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW: The other timeless protection debate
Yes, Freak accidents are unavoidable in NHL, but they would be less harmful if players were protected. The correct attitude to quadriplegic youth hockey players is not complacency. Action is needed.
Bettman and Campbell should learn from this incident, but history shows they won't change anything. After all, injuries give the NHL press coverage, and that's more important than a player's life and future health.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW: The other timeless protection debate
Yes, Freak accidents are unavoidable in NHL, but they would be less harmful if players were protected. The correct attitude to quadriplegic youth hockey players is not complacency. Action is needed.
Bettman and Campbell should learn from this incident, but history shows they won't change anything. After all, injuries give the NHL press coverage, and that's more important than a player's life and future health.
Lehtinen
Lehtinen is one of my favorite players and he's back and clicking with Modano. . . if I were looking for points, I'd pick him up, but I'm not looking, so no action.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Commodore
Dropped Timonen for Commodore.
So whom should I drop to make room for Stastny? I'll keep him on IR for a bit.
So whom should I drop to make room for Stastny? I'll keep him on IR for a bit.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
ELIAS
Picked up Patrick Elias. He has 32 points in 48 games. He has 10 points in the last 6 games and 22 points in the precending 42 games.
What happened? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
I'm going with it.
What happened? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
I'm going with it.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The All Star Game?
It sucked.
Next time, please, at least, be able to time the races and allow some skills events to be ties.
Next time, please, at least, be able to time the races and allow some skills events to be ties.
There Must Be Consequences for Ruutu's Hit on Kovalchuk
Even during the Olympics, I nicknamed this guy "the dirty Finn" because there was only one Finnish player playing like this. Now he eliminated one of the young stars with a dirty hit. Colin Campbell has been practically begging for more dirty play, and the result is more hits like this.
In the past, he's certainly condoned it during the playoffs (see Hartnell on Cheechoo, Tucker on Hecht).
The league claims to be investing in players like Malkin, Crosby, Staal, and Savard; but it actually wants more of Downie, Hartnell, Avery, and the dirty side of Ovechkin.
The league will eventually be sued by an injured player, and the tool that will condemn the head office is called Digital Discovery. His own words, in his own e-mails, will condemn him.
In the past, he's certainly condoned it during the playoffs (see Hartnell on Cheechoo, Tucker on Hecht).
The league claims to be investing in players like Malkin, Crosby, Staal, and Savard; but it actually wants more of Downie, Hartnell, Avery, and the dirty side of Ovechkin.
The league will eventually be sued by an injured player, and the tool that will condemn the head office is called Digital Discovery. His own words, in his own e-mails, will condemn him.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Preparing for the end of the season in head to head NHL fantasy leagues
Assuming you make the final playoff round, the last week of the season is extremely important.
Here's how the last six days end (April 1 2 3 4 5 6)
ANH 5 @LA 6 PHO
ATL 1 FLA 5 TAM
BOS 2 @NJ 4 @OTT 5 BUF (yikes!)
BUF 1 @TOR 3 @MON 5 @ BOS (BUF has a favorable FEB MAR APR schedule)
CAL 1 @EDM 3 @MIN 5 @ VAN
CAR 1 @ WAS 2 TAM 4 FLA == very favorable, and if I understand the rules correctly, you could drop CAR players and pick up ANH players but could not trade.
CHI 2 DET 4 NSH 6 @DET (yikes!)
COL 1 @VAN 6 MIN
CLB 3 @DET 5 @STL 6 STL (I don't understand this team)
DAL 3 @PHO 4 PHO 6 SJ (depends on how tough PHO is)
DET 2 @CHI 3 COL 6 CHI (very favorable and note that CHI plays on 4 while DET plays on 3)
EDM 1 CAL 3 @VAN -- season ends early, as it will.
FLA 1 @ATL 4 @CAR 5 @WAS == not easy to be predict -- advantage could go either way.
LA 1 @SJ 3 SJ 5 ANH (yikes!)
MIN 3 CAL 6 @ COL (only two games, neither good -- COL and CAL are the two toughest stadiums, IMO)
MON 1 @OTT 3 BUF 5 TOR == not bad
NAS 1 @STL 3 STL 4 @CHI == ends early
NJ 1 @NYI 2 BOS 4 @PHI 6 NYR -- 4 games! Generally favorable. Good to not have PIT in the final week.
NYI 1 NJ 3 NYR 4 @ NYR == NYI owns these teams -- season ends early
NYR 3 @NYI 4 NYI 6 @NJ == in previous years, this would have been fine, but this year, they'll be lucky to score against these teams, let alone win a game.
OTT 1 MON 3 @ TOR 4 BOS == the NHL gave this team such a favorable schedule because they want to give the Senators a head start on the path to the cup == BEST
PHI 2 @ PIT 4 NJ 6 PIT == favorable games to win, but this team will lose at least one player in the final week (and so will PIT or NJ)
PIT 2 PHI 6 @ PHI == only two games, but the final one should be ADV PIT because of the rest (but rests can also slow down a team -- they'll need to survive the first five minutes and then they'll be ok)
SJ 1 LA 3 @LA 6 @ DAL == two LA games!!!! great!
STL 1 NAS 3 @NAS 5 CLB 6 @CLB -- too many games in too short a time with too intense rivalries. STL and CLB and NAS had better not be fighting for the 8 spot, or there will be blood
TAM 2 @CAR 3 @WAS 5 @ATL == this team had better learn how to win away games
TOR 1 BUF 3 OTT 5 @ MON == this team won't win any in the last week
VAN 1 COL 3 EDM 5 CAL nice home stand, esp. good for Luongo owners, but the last game will not be easy
WAS 1 CAR 3 TAM 5 FLA == nice home stand but every game in this division is up for grabs -- I think the first game, vs. CAR, will be the most important
Here's how the last six days end (April 1 2 3 4 5 6)
ANH 5 @LA 6 PHO
ATL 1 FLA 5 TAM
BOS 2 @NJ 4 @OTT 5 BUF (yikes!)
BUF 1 @TOR 3 @MON 5 @ BOS (BUF has a favorable FEB MAR APR schedule)
CAL 1 @EDM 3 @MIN 5 @ VAN
CAR 1 @ WAS 2 TAM 4 FLA == very favorable, and if I understand the rules correctly, you could drop CAR players and pick up ANH players but could not trade.
CHI 2 DET 4 NSH 6 @DET (yikes!)
COL 1 @VAN 6 MIN
CLB 3 @DET 5 @STL 6 STL (I don't understand this team)
DAL 3 @PHO 4 PHO 6 SJ (depends on how tough PHO is)
DET 2 @CHI 3 COL 6 CHI (very favorable and note that CHI plays on 4 while DET plays on 3)
EDM 1 CAL 3 @VAN -- season ends early, as it will.
FLA 1 @ATL 4 @CAR 5 @WAS == not easy to be predict -- advantage could go either way.
LA 1 @SJ 3 SJ 5 ANH (yikes!)
MIN 3 CAL 6 @ COL (only two games, neither good -- COL and CAL are the two toughest stadiums, IMO)
MON 1 @OTT 3 BUF 5 TOR == not bad
NAS 1 @STL 3 STL 4 @CHI == ends early
NJ 1 @NYI 2 BOS 4 @PHI 6 NYR -- 4 games! Generally favorable. Good to not have PIT in the final week.
NYI 1 NJ 3 NYR 4 @ NYR == NYI owns these teams -- season ends early
NYR 3 @NYI 4 NYI 6 @NJ == in previous years, this would have been fine, but this year, they'll be lucky to score against these teams, let alone win a game.
OTT 1 MON 3 @ TOR 4 BOS == the NHL gave this team such a favorable schedule because they want to give the Senators a head start on the path to the cup == BEST
PHI 2 @ PIT 4 NJ 6 PIT == favorable games to win, but this team will lose at least one player in the final week (and so will PIT or NJ)
PIT 2 PHI 6 @ PHI == only two games, but the final one should be ADV PIT because of the rest (but rests can also slow down a team -- they'll need to survive the first five minutes and then they'll be ok)
SJ 1 LA 3 @LA 6 @ DAL == two LA games!!!! great!
STL 1 NAS 3 @NAS 5 CLB 6 @CLB -- too many games in too short a time with too intense rivalries. STL and CLB and NAS had better not be fighting for the 8 spot, or there will be blood
TAM 2 @CAR 3 @WAS 5 @ATL == this team had better learn how to win away games
TOR 1 BUF 3 OTT 5 @ MON == this team won't win any in the last week
VAN 1 COL 3 EDM 5 CAL nice home stand, esp. good for Luongo owners, but the last game will not be easy
WAS 1 CAR 3 TAM 5 FLA == nice home stand but every game in this division is up for grabs -- I think the first game, vs. CAR, will be the most important
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Boxscore notes, Jan 24
The night before the long All Star weekend.
Radulov is playing on the Dumont-Arnott line in Nashville (replacing whom?). And doing well.
Vrbata continues to do well.
Boyle is back! 2 goals in the 8-4 loss to the Sens, during a night that may be Alfredsson's best ever: a double hat trick consisting of 3 goals and 3 assists.
Brodeur was crushed by the Canadiens. Did someone complain to the Devils about their boycott of the All Star game? I think it was a good idea for Brodeur and Sutter to skip it.
The Roy-Stafford-Vanek line is FINALLY clicking. Needed to get rid of Afinogenov. Trade him now!
In the absence of Stastny and Crosby, Svatos and Malkin are awesome, but can their teams win?
I cannot figure out Edmonton. Horcoff's been carrying the team and tonight Stoll shows up, gets 2 goals -- and then Horcoff scores the GWG in the shootout.
Radulov is playing on the Dumont-Arnott line in Nashville (replacing whom?). And doing well.
Vrbata continues to do well.
Boyle is back! 2 goals in the 8-4 loss to the Sens, during a night that may be Alfredsson's best ever: a double hat trick consisting of 3 goals and 3 assists.
Brodeur was crushed by the Canadiens. Did someone complain to the Devils about their boycott of the All Star game? I think it was a good idea for Brodeur and Sutter to skip it.
The Roy-Stafford-Vanek line is FINALLY clicking. Needed to get rid of Afinogenov. Trade him now!
In the absence of Stastny and Crosby, Svatos and Malkin are awesome, but can their teams win?
I cannot figure out Edmonton. Horcoff's been carrying the team and tonight Stoll shows up, gets 2 goals -- and then Horcoff scores the GWG in the shootout.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Ducks, Canes Rising
Hurricanes and Ducks should rise. Both teams feel a mission to do better than they are doing.
Red Wings continue to dominate.
Senators are showing interesting cracks.
Southeast is wide open, and Atlantic is close.
Sabres need to sign some players.
Paul Kariya is the odd man out in St. Louis. Could the Ducks get him back?
Senators should offer Randy R to Sabres for Campbell.
Red Wings continue to dominate.
Senators are showing interesting cracks.
Southeast is wide open, and Atlantic is close.
Sabres need to sign some players.
Paul Kariya is the odd man out in St. Louis. Could the Ducks get him back?
Senators should offer Randy R to Sabres for Campbell.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Sometimes I Make a Trade Too Many
Dropped Kariya == that was a good move.
Then I dropped Pominville for Langkow, dropped Langkow for Kariya, dropped Kariya for Dumont -- Dumont is good.
Hearing that Cullen and Hedican were back for the Canes I decided to take a big gamble and dropped Elias for Cullen and Kronwall for Stillman. Then Brind'Amour did well and I dropped Cullen for Brind'Amour. Then Stillman did poorly and I dropped him for Pominville.
This sort of circular trading is just too much.
And I had considered Langkow -- he had a hat trick tonight. Please, somebody, please take Langkow.
Then I dropped Pominville for Langkow, dropped Langkow for Kariya, dropped Kariya for Dumont -- Dumont is good.
Hearing that Cullen and Hedican were back for the Canes I decided to take a big gamble and dropped Elias for Cullen and Kronwall for Stillman. Then Brind'Amour did well and I dropped Cullen for Brind'Amour. Then Stillman did poorly and I dropped him for Pominville.
This sort of circular trading is just too much.
And I had considered Langkow -- he had a hat trick tonight. Please, somebody, please take Langkow.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
More Changes
Dropped Kariya and Kane. Kane scored 2 goals and had an assist today! Aaargh. I see Cullen might return soon. It's tempting to pick up him and Stillman.
I have Jason Williams on IR, so I still have one CHI player.
Picked up Elias and Dumont. We'll see how Elias does. Dumont is quietly amassing a powerhouse season.
Red Army got Hartnell and tonight he had a goal and 12 PIMs!!! Wow.
I have Jason Williams on IR, so I still have one CHI player.
Picked up Elias and Dumont. We'll see how Elias does. Dumont is quietly amassing a powerhouse season.
Red Army got Hartnell and tonight he had a goal and 12 PIMs!!! Wow.
Injured Reserve
What's the definition of Injured Reserve? Why are players like Heatley (and, recently, Zubov and Holmstrom and others) injured but not on IR?
The Wikipedia definition of the term suggests that teams are unwilling to put players on IR because they must stay there for a minimum of 7 days. I strongly believe teams in fantasy leagues should be able to put Day to Day players on Fantasy IR.
The Wikipedia definition of the term suggests that teams are unwilling to put players on IR because they must stay there for a minimum of 7 days. I strongly believe teams in fantasy leagues should be able to put Day to Day players on Fantasy IR.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Sabres need to trade
1) Trade Afinogenov to San Jose for Mike Grier
2) Trade Vanek to the Avalanche for John Michael Liles
2) Trade Vanek to the Avalanche for John Michael Liles
Duncan Keith
of CHI played 34 MINUTES TONIGHT!!!!
BTW, I hate it when the stats come out of the arena wrong. The listed +/- for the LA -NASH game is all messed up.
BTW, I hate it when the stats come out of the arena wrong. The listed +/- for the LA -NASH game is all messed up.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Notes for Jan. 8, 2008
1) Flyers suck and the NHL wants them to make the playoffs to insure that there's blood on the ice.
2) Andy McDonald!!! Doing well in St. Louis. But I'm glad I dropped Kariya.
3) Arnott and Dumont are available in my league. Should I sign either?
4) All star lineups in the West show that besides the CA teams, the two best are DET and CAL. DET has many heroes. CAL has two.
5) Dropped Pominville (yes, he scored tonight). But Roszival had 2 PPP.
6) My team now:
C: Crosby, Stastny, Langkow
C,W: Horton
W: Alfredsson, Holmstrom, Kane, Kovalev, (Selanne)
D: Zubov, Gonchar (picked up off waivers!!), Roszival, Spacek
G: Brodeur, Nabokov
IR: Bieksa, Jason Williams
Now, When J Williams comes off IR, what should I do? Drop Langkow? I'm not sure what to do.
2) Andy McDonald!!! Doing well in St. Louis. But I'm glad I dropped Kariya.
3) Arnott and Dumont are available in my league. Should I sign either?
4) All star lineups in the West show that besides the CA teams, the two best are DET and CAL. DET has many heroes. CAL has two.
5) Dropped Pominville (yes, he scored tonight). But Roszival had 2 PPP.
6) My team now:
C: Crosby, Stastny, Langkow
C,W: Horton
W: Alfredsson, Holmstrom, Kane, Kovalev, (Selanne)
D: Zubov, Gonchar (picked up off waivers!!), Roszival, Spacek
G: Brodeur, Nabokov
IR: Bieksa, Jason Williams
Now, When J Williams comes off IR, what should I do? Drop Langkow? I'm not sure what to do.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Dallas Needs Rob Blake
They keep acquiring great D (i.e. Norstrom) but the moment Zubov tweaks a pinkie, the team collapses. Trade Turco to LA for Blake.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
A few trades I'd like to see
Using The Hockey News salary reference
http://www.thehockeynews.com/salaries/team_listing.html
1) Buffalo trades Afinogenov and Vanek ($10M) to Atlanta for Zhitnik and Holik and re-signs Campbell.
2) Anaheim trades Doug Weight to St. Louis for a conditional draft pick and signs Selanne
3) LA trades Rob Blake to Detroit for Hasek, trades Hasek to Tampa Bay for Richards and a goalie.
4) The Devils miraculously acquire Krog, Erik Johnson, Randy Robitaille, and Bobby Holik in exchange for Elias, Matvichuk, and White.
5) Chicago signs Belfour as a number 3 goalie.
6) Dallas. . . well, I like Lehtinen, but few other players on the team.
7) Buffalo miraculously re-acquires Grier and Peca.
http://www.thehockeynews.com/salaries/team_listing.html
1) Buffalo trades Afinogenov and Vanek ($10M) to Atlanta for Zhitnik and Holik and re-signs Campbell.
2) Anaheim trades Doug Weight to St. Louis for a conditional draft pick and signs Selanne
3) LA trades Rob Blake to Detroit for Hasek, trades Hasek to Tampa Bay for Richards and a goalie.
4) The Devils miraculously acquire Krog, Erik Johnson, Randy Robitaille, and Bobby Holik in exchange for Elias, Matvichuk, and White.
5) Chicago signs Belfour as a number 3 goalie.
6) Dallas. . . well, I like Lehtinen, but few other players on the team.
7) Buffalo miraculously re-acquires Grier and Peca.
Friday, January 4, 2008
If you own Toews
Here's some advice I gave to a colleague:
Toews is about to go on IR for a few weeks
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/12380-Blackhawks-get-good-news-as-rookie-Toews-avoids-knee-surgery.html
so when he's IR-eligible, use that status and pick up any of the following:
Ty Conklin (goalie)
Pierre-Marc Bouchard (who stands out because he's c,w)
Any available Red Wing of your choice (but I like Filppula (C), pundits seem to like Cleary (W) and Kronwall (D))
I don't understand why nobody picked up Langkow. He works with Iginla.
The Yahoo! computer seems to like Shane Doan, but I don't know why.
The league's best power play is Montreal (again, I don't know why) and Saku Koivu is available but listed as DTD.
There are plenty of NSH players available but for good reason but Arnott and Dumont are good.
Zherdev is viable any time Nash is on a hot streak.
Dustin Brown is the top goal scorer among available players but he's with LA which had a good power play but terrible +/-, which is why I dropped Visnovsky, who is very good.
Byfuglien (D, Chicago) is still available and doing well and I dropped Erik Cole who is okay. Other Canes available: Cullen and Brind'Amour. Canes have lost 5 of the last 7 but should do well again at some point.
I dropped Paul Kariya because he takes lots of shots and doesn't score but he leads the Blues and the day I dropped him he had a hat trick.
The players I would recommend based on recent hot streaks are:
Recchi, Vrbata, and Nagy, but all play for teams that are not likely to make the playoffs. Atlanta's tough to figure out.
Toews is about to go on IR for a few weeks
http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/12380-Blackhawks-get-good-news-as-rookie-Toews-avoids-knee-surgery.html
so when he's IR-eligible, use that status and pick up any of the following:
Ty Conklin (goalie)
Pierre-Marc Bouchard (who stands out because he's c,w)
Any available Red Wing of your choice (but I like Filppula (C), pundits seem to like Cleary (W) and Kronwall (D))
I don't understand why nobody picked up Langkow. He works with Iginla.
The Yahoo! computer seems to like Shane Doan, but I don't know why.
The league's best power play is Montreal (again, I don't know why) and Saku Koivu is available but listed as DTD.
There are plenty of NSH players available but for good reason but Arnott and Dumont are good.
Zherdev is viable any time Nash is on a hot streak.
Dustin Brown is the top goal scorer among available players but he's with LA which had a good power play but terrible +/-, which is why I dropped Visnovsky, who is very good.
Byfuglien (D, Chicago) is still available and doing well and I dropped Erik Cole who is okay. Other Canes available: Cullen and Brind'Amour. Canes have lost 5 of the last 7 but should do well again at some point.
I dropped Paul Kariya because he takes lots of shots and doesn't score but he leads the Blues and the day I dropped him he had a hat trick.
The players I would recommend based on recent hot streaks are:
Recchi, Vrbata, and Nagy, but all play for teams that are not likely to make the playoffs. Atlanta's tough to figure out.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Jan 4 liveblogging comments
Hooray for Horton! 2 G and 1 A in a 3-2 game so far!
Gaborik is on fire again.
What's wrong with Dallas? Do they rely on Zubov that much? Turco is being shelled. Perhaps it's the rumors that they're going to trade him to Tampa for Lecavalier?
Salei is nasty! It may not be showing up in PIMs, but he hits after the whistle.
Gaborik is on fire again.
What's wrong with Dallas? Do they rely on Zubov that much? Turco is being shelled. Perhaps it's the rumors that they're going to trade him to Tampa for Lecavalier?
Salei is nasty! It may not be showing up in PIMs, but he hits after the whistle.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Mark Eaton, Jinxed
Eaton's season ends again due to injury. And Gary Roberts falls during an awards ceremony and then during the game, breaking his leg.
Penguins get nothing from Lady Luck but still beat the Sabres. Looking forward to Jan. 1! Hope the weather report is right and that it's cold because with global warming, we could have seen a hockey game on sod!
Penguins get nothing from Lady Luck but still beat the Sabres. Looking forward to Jan. 1! Hope the weather report is right and that it's cold because with global warming, we could have seen a hockey game on sod!
Watch those highlights
Two veterans, Modano and Kariya, put on a show last night in Dallas.
Meanwhile Ovechkin was performing in Ottawa as Senator veteran and captain Alfredsson and rising star Mike Fisher did great work. Caps won, tho.
Meanwhile Ovechkin was performing in Ottawa as Senator veteran and captain Alfredsson and rising star Mike Fisher did great work. Caps won, tho.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
The Blended HTH Rotisserie Format
Next year, I'd like a blended Head to Head and Rotisserie format. Here's how it works: Each week, each player gets Rotisserie style points for their performance in each stat. They come out of the week with x points, and then everybody starts from zero again the following week. So the format is like HTH, but the scoring is Rotisserie.
Player with the most points at the end of the year wins.
Player with the most points at the end of the year wins.
Phew I'm Back
Moved house but I'm back on the blog. Just a few miscellaneous notes:
1) GABORIK. With his return, all of the other players have improved. Most notable is Pierre-Marc Bouchard.
2) Byfuglien. Still worth taking until he returns to D. Also of note, Dandenault is a D sometimes playing forward (but not doing well enough this year to make a real impact).
3) Zherdev continues to impress, but is Nash injured?
4) How does Havlat's return alter the Chicago lines? Will Kane get to play with him?
5) Mike Smith is doing well. Budaj is recovering his form (but could lose it again).
6) Hooray for Brodeur. A bad in Vancouver is followed by a very good one in EDM. I hope he gets the night off on the visit to Calgary.
7) I dropped Visnovsky for Ohlund. V was a negative every week and his shooting percentage is terrible, but if your league rewards shots instead of SH%, he's a keeper.
8) I traded Osgood for Alfredsson. Good trade or bad? Time will tell.
9) I'm gambling on Selanne. But I'm tempted to drop him for Pierre-Marc Bouchard. It's been tempting to drop Kovalev but I don't get enough goals.
10) Detroit dominates! Other dominant teams are in the Northwest (MIN, COL, VAN, CAL), plus SJ and OTT. Hooray for the return of Buffalo.
11) What's wrong with PIT? I think Ryan Whitney was promoted too far too fast. Eaton deserves ice time. Sydor was supposed to stabilize the blue line. PIT should try to acquire Beauchemin or someone like him.
12) Rumors of a Sundin trade. I'd like to see him go to Buffalo, which needs a captain right now.
13) Randy Robitaille is the most unexpected overperformer of the moment, in my mind. I knew he was very good, but OTT has depth, especially at Center.
1) GABORIK. With his return, all of the other players have improved. Most notable is Pierre-Marc Bouchard.
2) Byfuglien. Still worth taking until he returns to D. Also of note, Dandenault is a D sometimes playing forward (but not doing well enough this year to make a real impact).
3) Zherdev continues to impress, but is Nash injured?
4) How does Havlat's return alter the Chicago lines? Will Kane get to play with him?
5) Mike Smith is doing well. Budaj is recovering his form (but could lose it again).
6) Hooray for Brodeur. A bad in Vancouver is followed by a very good one in EDM. I hope he gets the night off on the visit to Calgary.
7) I dropped Visnovsky for Ohlund. V was a negative every week and his shooting percentage is terrible, but if your league rewards shots instead of SH%, he's a keeper.
8) I traded Osgood for Alfredsson. Good trade or bad? Time will tell.
9) I'm gambling on Selanne. But I'm tempted to drop him for Pierre-Marc Bouchard. It's been tempting to drop Kovalev but I don't get enough goals.
10) Detroit dominates! Other dominant teams are in the Northwest (MIN, COL, VAN, CAL), plus SJ and OTT. Hooray for the return of Buffalo.
11) What's wrong with PIT? I think Ryan Whitney was promoted too far too fast. Eaton deserves ice time. Sydor was supposed to stabilize the blue line. PIT should try to acquire Beauchemin or someone like him.
12) Rumors of a Sundin trade. I'd like to see him go to Buffalo, which needs a captain right now.
13) Randy Robitaille is the most unexpected overperformer of the moment, in my mind. I knew he was very good, but OTT has depth, especially at Center.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
NHL Central
When Nashville dropped out of the running, I assumed that Detroit would rule this Division. I was wrong.
Chicago has done well against Detroit, led by Patrick Kane (and, the other day, by Patrick Sharp). The team has always had good goaltending. Now it can score.
St. Louis is led capably by veterans on the top scoring line (including Kariya and Tkachuk) and a young defensive core, some of it currently injured. Who'd have thought that Legace would be this dependable in goal?
Columbus has always underachieved, which is another way of saying that the team has always had talent. Nash is one of the best, as is Federov when he cares enough to play. Goaltending has been a weakness in the past but seems to be good now. The defense appears to be great, and Hainsey is underrated.
Even Nashville is doing well, starting with Mason and Ellis in goal.
Detroit -- Lidstrom is the best fantasy D this year, Rafalski is good this year too. Datsuyk is good, but take a look at the wings, Zetterberg and Holmstrom.
Chicago has done well against Detroit, led by Patrick Kane (and, the other day, by Patrick Sharp). The team has always had good goaltending. Now it can score.
St. Louis is led capably by veterans on the top scoring line (including Kariya and Tkachuk) and a young defensive core, some of it currently injured. Who'd have thought that Legace would be this dependable in goal?
Columbus has always underachieved, which is another way of saying that the team has always had talent. Nash is one of the best, as is Federov when he cares enough to play. Goaltending has been a weakness in the past but seems to be good now. The defense appears to be great, and Hainsey is underrated.
Even Nashville is doing well, starting with Mason and Ellis in goal.
Detroit -- Lidstrom is the best fantasy D this year, Rafalski is good this year too. Datsuyk is good, but take a look at the wings, Zetterberg and Holmstrom.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
My Team Now
C
Crosby, Stastny
C,W
Nathan Horton
W
Kariya, Rolston, Kane, Pominville, Holmstrom
D
Visnovsky, Zubov, Rivet
G
Brodeur, Budaj, Osgood, Nabokov
I'm finding in the HTH league that it's nice to have extra G. Also, we went with a "W" position instead of LW and RW so there are four W slots and it pays to have spare W.
Players I like who are FA: Spacek, Stillman, Cole, Langkow.
Postscript. AAGH. I cannot stop changing the team. I dropped Rivet and picked up Spacek, a sentamental favorite.
Crosby, Stastny
C,W
Nathan Horton
W
Kariya, Rolston, Kane, Pominville, Holmstrom
D
Visnovsky, Zubov, Rivet
G
Brodeur, Budaj, Osgood, Nabokov
I'm finding in the HTH league that it's nice to have extra G. Also, we went with a "W" position instead of LW and RW so there are four W slots and it pays to have spare W.
Players I like who are FA: Spacek, Stillman, Cole, Langkow.
Postscript. AAGH. I cannot stop changing the team. I dropped Rivet and picked up Spacek, a sentamental favorite.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Stats That Should Be In Fantasy Hockey
Fantasy hockey, with its focus on fighting and goal scoring, fails to track which players are truly vital to their team. It also fails to track which players are being harmed by the enforcement of mediocrity, the clutching and grabbing -- and, now, intent to injure -- that goes unpunished or lightly punished in the league. I therefore think the following statistics should be followed by every fantasy league.
1) PIMs drawn
Unless penaties are coincidental, the player who is fouled should get credit for the PIMs the opposition takes. Players like Brind'Amour, Briere, Kariya, Lecavalier, and Dvorak are targets for the opposition and this stat would recognize that.
2) Time on Ice
Ice time is a key measurement of a player's importance to the team, and his coach's opinion of him. A key example is Kurtis Foster, keystone to Minnesota's impressive D, who plays a significant amount of ice time each night. Among forwards, the Tampa Three (Lecavalier, Richards, and St. Louis) play an astonishing amount of ice time.
3) Shots Blocked
The unsung heroes of the NHL include Colin White, who often blocks 8 shots in one night. If Brodeur's save percentage is 92.5, then 8 shots x 7.5 percent goals = 0.6 goals blocked by White in Brodeur's favor. It's not only an important stat, it's also an indication of courage and those players who lead the league in blocked shots deserve recognition.
4) Game Tying and Go Ahead Goals (GTGAG)
Everyone agrees that GWG is a meaningless stat but nobody knows what to replace it with. Obviously, there would be more GTGAG in close games, but that's the point! Close games are great and the back in forth in them deserves recognition.
5) Short Handed, Penalty Shot, and Empty Net Points (SHP) / Penalty Shot Saves
Short Handed Points are too rare to stand alone, as are penalty shots and empty nets, but all are game changing events and deserve recognition. Penalty Shot points and saves in a shootout could count too. The game winning penalty shot, of course, would be the Go Ahead Goal.
Empty Net Points would not count as SHP if the scoring team was on a power play -- they would count as PPP.
6) Hits
WHY ISN'T THIS A STAT!!!!! Because it's unofficial? Folks, fantasy hockey's a game. Let's treat it like one, by including this unofficial but very fun stat.
1) PIMs drawn
Unless penaties are coincidental, the player who is fouled should get credit for the PIMs the opposition takes. Players like Brind'Amour, Briere, Kariya, Lecavalier, and Dvorak are targets for the opposition and this stat would recognize that.
2) Time on Ice
Ice time is a key measurement of a player's importance to the team, and his coach's opinion of him. A key example is Kurtis Foster, keystone to Minnesota's impressive D, who plays a significant amount of ice time each night. Among forwards, the Tampa Three (Lecavalier, Richards, and St. Louis) play an astonishing amount of ice time.
3) Shots Blocked
The unsung heroes of the NHL include Colin White, who often blocks 8 shots in one night. If Brodeur's save percentage is 92.5, then 8 shots x 7.5 percent goals = 0.6 goals blocked by White in Brodeur's favor. It's not only an important stat, it's also an indication of courage and those players who lead the league in blocked shots deserve recognition.
4) Game Tying and Go Ahead Goals (GTGAG)
Everyone agrees that GWG is a meaningless stat but nobody knows what to replace it with. Obviously, there would be more GTGAG in close games, but that's the point! Close games are great and the back in forth in them deserves recognition.
5) Short Handed, Penalty Shot, and Empty Net Points (SHP) / Penalty Shot Saves
Short Handed Points are too rare to stand alone, as are penalty shots and empty nets, but all are game changing events and deserve recognition. Penalty Shot points and saves in a shootout could count too. The game winning penalty shot, of course, would be the Go Ahead Goal.
Empty Net Points would not count as SHP if the scoring team was on a power play -- they would count as PPP.
6) Hits
WHY ISN'T THIS A STAT!!!!! Because it's unofficial? Folks, fantasy hockey's a game. Let's treat it like one, by including this unofficial but very fun stat.
1.8 PPG!
Just a few posts ago I wrote that nobody was breaking 1.5 PPG in the modern era -- I was wrong! Zetterberg is average 1.8 points per game for the astonishing Detroit Red Wings. The Wings are good, and their performance is aided by the decline of regional foe Nashville, but the other NHL Central teams -- Columbus, St. Louis, and Chicago -- are doing very well.
So filter your player rankings by points per game to find hidden gems. Cory Stillman is available in my league and doing well (he missed a few games).
Spacek is due back from a shoulder injury -- we'll see if he regains his point per game performance, which is great for a defenceman.
Crosby tonight had a goal and three assists in a 4-2 win over defense-oriented Minnesota. That's leadership! Malkin did great too, with three points.
Can Carolina keep winning blowouts? If so, Hurricanes players will be valuable in depth. On most teams, only the top few players are worth having (even more so if the leader is a D), but on teams that score a lot of goals (DET, CAR), players who rank lower are worth having. Last year it was ANH -- ANH is not so good this year.
So filter your player rankings by points per game to find hidden gems. Cory Stillman is available in my league and doing well (he missed a few games).
Spacek is due back from a shoulder injury -- we'll see if he regains his point per game performance, which is great for a defenceman.
Crosby tonight had a goal and three assists in a 4-2 win over defense-oriented Minnesota. That's leadership! Malkin did great too, with three points.
Can Carolina keep winning blowouts? If so, Hurricanes players will be valuable in depth. On most teams, only the top few players are worth having (even more so if the leader is a D), but on teams that score a lot of goals (DET, CAR), players who rank lower are worth having. Last year it was ANH -- ANH is not so good this year.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Daniel Briere
I had Daniel Briere in rotisserie last year and I felt pain when I did not get him this year, but I'm glad I did not and maybe Sabres fans shouldn't be too upset about the loss of him too. He's scoring a great deal but too often these days he ends up a net minus. Is he not playing defense? Is the problem his line mate Gagne? Something's wrong there.
The PPG Player
When choosing fantasy hockey players, keep in mind that you don't need a player who has a multi-point night every night. Gretzky retired years ago and Mario was never the same after the cancer (though his metamorphosis from dude into owner has been impressive and his post-hockey career is arguably more impressive than those of Gretz and Mess). These days, a player who averages a point per game is excellent, one who gets 0.75 is good, and one who gets 0.5 is still above average (but few fantasy leagues are deep enough to require you to know you 0.5s).
That average means that you're either looking for a player who gets a point almost every game, or for a streaky player who scores in bunches and then has scoring droughts. So be patient.
A few players appear to be seasonal. Some are famous for starting well and then fading (Satan?) while others come on strong late in the season (Holmstrom).
The most impressive statistical anomaly was Claude Lemieux, who is retired and therefore irrelevant to fantasy hockey players, but he appears to be the only player in hockey history who scored at the same rate (slightly over 0.5 PPG) no matter how intense it got, and as a result he holds one record: career overtime goals. Claude! Devils fans miss you (Avs fans too, I suspect).
That average means that you're either looking for a player who gets a point almost every game, or for a streaky player who scores in bunches and then has scoring droughts. So be patient.
A few players appear to be seasonal. Some are famous for starting well and then fading (Satan?) while others come on strong late in the season (Holmstrom).
The most impressive statistical anomaly was Claude Lemieux, who is retired and therefore irrelevant to fantasy hockey players, but he appears to be the only player in hockey history who scored at the same rate (slightly over 0.5 PPG) no matter how intense it got, and as a result he holds one record: career overtime goals. Claude! Devils fans miss you (Avs fans too, I suspect).
Patrick Kane
Last night, the Blackhawks lost to the Blue Jackets 7-4, but Patrick Kane had 2 goals, 2 assists, and was a +2. Thus, with Kane on the ice, Chicago won 4-2, but the rest of the team participated in a 5-0 loss. In a recent post, I said fantasy hockey players should pay attention to players who do well when their team does not, but I cannot recall as clear a case as this.
In the game between the Rangers and the Penguins there was only one goal: Malikin, assisted by Crosby and Whitney. Those three (plus Gonchar) are the key players of the Penguins. Everyone expects them to start scoring a great deal, especially on the power play, and some people are willing to take peripheral players (I had Jordan Staal for a while). But those four are the key to the team.
Daymond Langkow continues to lead the league in goals. Worth looking at, even though he's a C (I'm not willing to drop Crosby or Stastny but if you have a lesser C, consider him).
In some leagues, Ottawa's D may be available. Also worth noting is this week's pundit's favorite, PHI D Randy Jones.
Pominville has another goal. He's my gf's favorite player, so I had to have him but I'm glad I do. She also liked the kindness and intelligence of Adrian Peterson but who doesn't think their gf has special powers of observation? After all, she picked you, didn't she?
In the game between the Rangers and the Penguins there was only one goal: Malikin, assisted by Crosby and Whitney. Those three (plus Gonchar) are the key players of the Penguins. Everyone expects them to start scoring a great deal, especially on the power play, and some people are willing to take peripheral players (I had Jordan Staal for a while). But those four are the key to the team.
Daymond Langkow continues to lead the league in goals. Worth looking at, even though he's a C (I'm not willing to drop Crosby or Stastny but if you have a lesser C, consider him).
In some leagues, Ottawa's D may be available. Also worth noting is this week's pundit's favorite, PHI D Randy Jones.
Pominville has another goal. He's my gf's favorite player, so I had to have him but I'm glad I do. She also liked the kindness and intelligence of Adrian Peterson but who doesn't think their gf has special powers of observation? After all, she picked you, didn't she?
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Quick notes, Oct 21, 2007
1) The Sabres have recognized reality. The signing of Jochen Hecht before the end of the season is something the team specifically said they wouldn't do last year, and the result was the loss of Drury and Briere.
2) I'm playing an HTH league. I have one (C,W) player (Horton). I have one extra C, two extra W, one extra D, and one extra G.
3) I added Kariya, Kane, and Rivet. Rivet is having an astonishingly good season. On a team with one 0f the best groups of D in the league, it's astonishing to see him emerge, a player who was too slow years ago. He must be smarter than I thought.
2) I'm playing an HTH league. I have one (C,W) player (Horton). I have one extra C, two extra W, one extra D, and one extra G.
3) I added Kariya, Kane, and Rivet. Rivet is having an astonishingly good season. On a team with one 0f the best groups of D in the league, it's astonishing to see him emerge, a player who was too slow years ago. He must be smarter than I thought.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Players of special value in Yahoo! NHL fantasy league
Special note: Nathan Horton is currently eligible for both C and W positions, making him especially valuable.
Horton is currently the highest ranked player eligible for both positions, but Malkin and Parise should rise in the ranks. I'm hoping Jordan Staal also becomes eligible for C,W.
Ales Kotalik of Buffalo has only played in two Buffalo games -- both wins -- and has four points. Keep an eye on him. His performance was irregular last season.
Horton is currently the highest ranked player eligible for both positions, but Malkin and Parise should rise in the ranks. I'm hoping Jordan Staal also becomes eligible for C,W.
Ales Kotalik of Buffalo has only played in two Buffalo games -- both wins -- and has four points. Keep an eye on him. His performance was irregular last season.
My watch list
Players currently not taken in my league, performance so far this season:
| (TB - C)  |  | FA | 195 | 11 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 2 | .278 | ||
| (Cgy - C) | | FA | 85 | 21 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | .385 | ||
| (Buf - C)  | | FA | 173 | 38 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 4 | .083 | ||
| (Nsh - C) | | FA | 142 | 44 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 4 | 3 | .250 | ||
| (StL - W) | | FA | 96 | 54 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 2 | .000 | ||
| (Mon - C) | | FA | 162 | 60 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | .250 | ||
| (Cgy - W) | | FA | 101 | 70 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2 | .000 | ||
| (Nsh - D) | | FA | 341 | 76 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .071 | ||
| (Pit - W) | | FA | 113 | 108 | 1 | 3 | -1 | 2 | 3 | .091 | ||
| (NJ - C) | | FA | 105 | 119 | 2 | 2 | -4 | 0 | 3 | .111 | ||
| (Ott - D) | | FA | 218 | 126 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 1 | .125 | ||
| (Nsh - W) | | FA | 154 | 128 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 4 | 1 | .333 | ||
| (Pit - C,W) | | FA | 138 | 144 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .133 | ||
| (TB - D) | | FA | 365 | 147 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | .000 | ||
| (Cls - D) | | FA | 181 | 155 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .286 | ||
| (Nsh - D) | | FA | 179 | 194 | 0 | 3 | -4 | 2 | 3 | .000 | ||
| (Det - D) | | @LA | FA | 840 | 307 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | .143 | |
| (Was - C) | | FA | 117 | 326 | 0 | 3 | -1 | 0 | 2 | .000 | ||
| (Anh - W) NA | | Min | FA | 149 | 979 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
Rankings | Goaltending | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Action | Opp | Owner | |||||||
| (Bos - G) | | FA | 331 | 112 | 2 | 1.34 | .957 | ||
| (Det - G) | | @LA | FA | 388 | 385 | 1 | 2.01 | .905 | |
| (Min - G) | | @Anh | FA | 261 | 412 | - | - | - | |
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Choosing Players
A few simple rules:
1) Every team has a leader
Note that while some teams have a leader that's easy to predict (Sundin, Lecavalier), if you scroll through the ESPN roster, you'll find a few surprises. If you're reading this, Nick, check out Prospal, who's currently tied with Lecavalier.
2) Some players do well even when the team does not.
Commentators have pointed out that Sundin's having a great year even though Toronto is not, on the other hand Pittsburgh appears to require Crosby to do well. In San Jose, Thornton should be scoring more and San Jose is suffering as a result. On the other hand, Dumont and Arnott had a good game during their team's 7-4 loss to Calgary.
Look for players who will produce points even when their team loses.
The one exception is the +/- stat. Your players, especially your Defence, will do well in this stat if the team wins and do poorly if the team loses.
3) The Goalies are particularly dependent on team performance.
Chris Mason is an astonishingly good goalie but his numbers don't always reflect that. Budaj has had a tough time but did well in the Olympics. Lundqvist is a gold medal goalie but the Rangers D is not as good as Team Sweden.
4) Check ice time. A player who is respected by his coach will get good ice time. A player who is not respected by his coach will lose ice time. Ice time -- and especially time on the power play -- are key to a good performance in a fantasy league.
1) Every team has a leader
Note that while some teams have a leader that's easy to predict (Sundin, Lecavalier), if you scroll through the ESPN roster, you'll find a few surprises. If you're reading this, Nick, check out Prospal, who's currently tied with Lecavalier.
2) Some players do well even when the team does not.
Commentators have pointed out that Sundin's having a great year even though Toronto is not, on the other hand Pittsburgh appears to require Crosby to do well. In San Jose, Thornton should be scoring more and San Jose is suffering as a result. On the other hand, Dumont and Arnott had a good game during their team's 7-4 loss to Calgary.
Look for players who will produce points even when their team loses.
The one exception is the +/- stat. Your players, especially your Defence, will do well in this stat if the team wins and do poorly if the team loses.
3) The Goalies are particularly dependent on team performance.
Chris Mason is an astonishingly good goalie but his numbers don't always reflect that. Budaj has had a tough time but did well in the Olympics. Lundqvist is a gold medal goalie but the Rangers D is not as good as Team Sweden.
4) Check ice time. A player who is respected by his coach will get good ice time. A player who is not respected by his coach will lose ice time. Ice time -- and especially time on the power play -- are key to a good performance in a fantasy league.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
NHL Team Summaries: Southeast
Atlanta Thrashers
What's wrong here? Hossa's hurt, and that's part of it. The goalie isn't posting good numbers, but that's not all of it. Part of the problem may be that the other four teams on this list have improved markedly. I'm not dropping Zhitnik yet, however.
Carolina Hurricanes
This team has rediscovered its Stanley Cup form. The team isn't quite as fast as it was in the postseason of its Stanley Cup year, but the fans are behind it and the team believes. Brind'Amour is a solid leader, Cole and Staal are playing very well, and the second line is as good as most other teams' first lines.
There may be some weakness on defence, but most of the time, so far, Cam Ward, the closest thing this league has to Brodeur after the man himself, is making up for any problems.
Many of these players have injury histories, and we'll have to see how they last as the season continues.
Florida Panthers
I expected this team to be better. I have Nathan Horton. I expected Horton and Weiss to be doing more. To date, this team remains the Olli Jokinen show (although tonight it's the Olesz show),
Vokoun has had a bad season but is playing well tonight. If he's not playing through injury (you never know), he'll be up and down the whole season. The rest of the team is very good. The Panthers are one of the few teams in the NHL with a defence I find adequate. Bouwmeester and Van Ryn are good (Bouwmeeter's overrated but he's still good). Ruslan Salei is one of the most gratuitously nasty players in the NHL, which is useful on D, although I suspect he'll be suspended at some point. I don't know the rest of the Panthers D, but any lineup that cannot find space for Montador and Mezei is impressive.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Vincent Lecavalier -- will history see him as better than Crosby? With the retirement of Teemu Selanne and the return to mediocrity of Jaromir Jagr and the perplexing underperformance of Crosby (and Thornton too), Lecavalier is the best player in the NHL (although Stastny has more points).
This team has won games without their star defenceman, Boyle, who was injured in one of the most bizarre sports incidents I've ever heard of.
I don't understand why the goalie is doing better. I don't know why teams aren't scoring on Tampa Bay. With everyone else so much stronger, I expected this team to start the season with a letdown.
That has not happened.
Washington Capitals
Ovechkin has a sadness and cynicism to him that makes me wonder about his philosophy. This is the guy who tried to destroy Briere last year, who has failed to wor k well with teammates for years, whose puck selfishness is evident in that he usually leads the league in shots.
Olaf Kolzig is a similarly troubled individual, nicknamed "Godzilla" for his temper, famous for breaking golf clubs in the offseason. . .
but the team is winning.
The stats seem to say that Viktor Kozlov deserves much of the credit, but I suspect an upgraded defence featuring Tom Poti is part of the answer. The O may get the credit but the key is the D.
What's wrong here? Hossa's hurt, and that's part of it. The goalie isn't posting good numbers, but that's not all of it. Part of the problem may be that the other four teams on this list have improved markedly. I'm not dropping Zhitnik yet, however.
Carolina Hurricanes
This team has rediscovered its Stanley Cup form. The team isn't quite as fast as it was in the postseason of its Stanley Cup year, but the fans are behind it and the team believes. Brind'Amour is a solid leader, Cole and Staal are playing very well, and the second line is as good as most other teams' first lines.
There may be some weakness on defence, but most of the time, so far, Cam Ward, the closest thing this league has to Brodeur after the man himself, is making up for any problems.
Many of these players have injury histories, and we'll have to see how they last as the season continues.
Florida Panthers
I expected this team to be better. I have Nathan Horton. I expected Horton and Weiss to be doing more. To date, this team remains the Olli Jokinen show (although tonight it's the Olesz show),
Vokoun has had a bad season but is playing well tonight. If he's not playing through injury (you never know), he'll be up and down the whole season. The rest of the team is very good. The Panthers are one of the few teams in the NHL with a defence I find adequate. Bouwmeester and Van Ryn are good (Bouwmeeter's overrated but he's still good). Ruslan Salei is one of the most gratuitously nasty players in the NHL, which is useful on D, although I suspect he'll be suspended at some point. I don't know the rest of the Panthers D, but any lineup that cannot find space for Montador and Mezei is impressive.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Vincent Lecavalier -- will history see him as better than Crosby? With the retirement of Teemu Selanne and the return to mediocrity of Jaromir Jagr and the perplexing underperformance of Crosby (and Thornton too), Lecavalier is the best player in the NHL (although Stastny has more points).
This team has won games without their star defenceman, Boyle, who was injured in one of the most bizarre sports incidents I've ever heard of.
I don't understand why the goalie is doing better. I don't know why teams aren't scoring on Tampa Bay. With everyone else so much stronger, I expected this team to start the season with a letdown.
That has not happened.
Washington Capitals
Ovechkin has a sadness and cynicism to him that makes me wonder about his philosophy. This is the guy who tried to destroy Briere last year, who has failed to wor k well with teammates for years, whose puck selfishness is evident in that he usually leads the league in shots.
Olaf Kolzig is a similarly troubled individual, nicknamed "Godzilla" for his temper, famous for breaking golf clubs in the offseason. . .
but the team is winning.
The stats seem to say that Viktor Kozlov deserves much of the credit, but I suspect an upgraded defence featuring Tom Poti is part of the answer. The O may get the credit but the key is the D.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Pre-draft Rankings
Here's a list of 119 good players. My biases are in favor of Sabres, Devils, Penguins, and Sharks, and against Hurricanes, Senators, Flyers, and Rangers.
I think the Bruins and Oilers and Blue Jackets will have a bad year.
I disliked having a Minnesota goalie last year because the coach pulls his goalie too early and he never says in advance what his plans are.
The order is not exact (except perhaps for the top 25):
1. Sidney Crosby
2. Martin Brodeur
3. Roberto Luongo
4. Joe Thornton
5. Vincent Lecavalier
6. Lubomir Visnovsky
7. Ryan Whitney
8. Miikka Kiprusoff
9. Sergei Gonchar
10. Sergei Zubov
11. Evgeni Malkin
12. Marian Hossa
13. Ilya Kovalchuk
14. Marian Gaborik
15. Thomas Vanek
16. Jason Pominville
17. Dan Boyle
18. Ryan Miller
19. Dominik Hasek
20. Evgeni Nabokov
21. Jean-Sebastien Giguere
22. Maxim Afinogenov
23. Martin St. Louis
24. Jarome Iginla
25. Paul Kariya
26. Chris Neil
27. Sean Avery
28. Marc-Andre Fleury
29. Martin Havlat
30. Olli Jokinen
31. Pavel Datsyuk
32. Daniel Briere
33. Tomas Holmstrom
34. Daniel Sedin
35. Jordan Staal
36. Chris Pronger
37. Marc-Andre Bergeron
38. Kevin Bieksa
39. Shane O'Brien
40. Brian Campbell
41. Brian Rolston
42. Joe Sakic
43. Saku Koivu
44. Henrik Sedin
45. Andy McDonald
46. Zach Parise
47. Ryane Clowe
48. Patrik Elias
49. Pavol Demitra
50. Tomas Vokoun
51. Paul Stastny
52. Milan Hejduk
53. Stephen Weiss
54. Robert Lang
55. Patrice Bergeron
56. Philippe Boucher
57. Zdeno Chara
58. Jason Spezza
59. Ian Laperriere
60. Sami Salo
61. Marc Savard
62. Patrick Marleau
63. Keith Tkachuk
64. Andrew Brunette
65. John-Michael Liles
66. Rob Blake
67. Alexander Radulov
68. Teemu Selanne
69. Dion Phaneuf
70. Bryan McCabe
71. Slava Kozlov
72. Brian Rafalski
73. Gary Roberts
74. Nathan Horton
75. Dany Heatley
76. Jaromir Jagr
77. Daniel Alfredsson
78. Henrik Zetterberg
79. Jonathan Cheechoo
80. Kristian Huselius
81. Milan Michalek
82. Simon Gagne
83. Matt Carle
84. Alexei Zhitnik
85. Alexander Ovechkin
86. Tim Connolly
87. J.P. Dumont
88. Christian Ehrhoff
89. Brad Richards
90. Mats Sundin
91. Derek Roy
92. Drew Stafford
93. Joe Pavelski
94. Jason Blake
95. Christopher Higgins
96. David Koci
97. Chris Mason
98. Marty Turco
99. Alexander Frolov
100. Kari Lehtonen
101. Rod Brind'Amour
102. Ryan Getzlaf
103. Brian Gionta
104. Mathieu Schneider
105. Alex Tanguay
106. Chris Kunitz
107. Jamie Langenbrunner
108. Anze Kopitar
109. Peter Budaj
110. Petr Sykora
111. Tomas Kaberle
112. Jason Arnott
113. Scott Niedermayer
114. Sean O'Donnell
115. Nathan Paetsch
116. Niklas Backstrom
117. Mathieu Dandenault
118. Peter Forsberg
119. Roman Hamrlik
Exclude Rankings
Martin Biron
Sheldon Souray
I think the Bruins and Oilers and Blue Jackets will have a bad year.
I disliked having a Minnesota goalie last year because the coach pulls his goalie too early and he never says in advance what his plans are.
The order is not exact (except perhaps for the top 25):
1. Sidney Crosby
2. Martin Brodeur
3. Roberto Luongo
4. Joe Thornton
5. Vincent Lecavalier
6. Lubomir Visnovsky
7. Ryan Whitney
8. Miikka Kiprusoff
9. Sergei Gonchar
10. Sergei Zubov
11. Evgeni Malkin
12. Marian Hossa
13. Ilya Kovalchuk
14. Marian Gaborik
15. Thomas Vanek
16. Jason Pominville
17. Dan Boyle
18. Ryan Miller
19. Dominik Hasek
20. Evgeni Nabokov
21. Jean-Sebastien Giguere
22. Maxim Afinogenov
23. Martin St. Louis
24. Jarome Iginla
25. Paul Kariya
26. Chris Neil
27. Sean Avery
28. Marc-Andre Fleury
29. Martin Havlat
30. Olli Jokinen
31. Pavel Datsyuk
32. Daniel Briere
33. Tomas Holmstrom
34. Daniel Sedin
35. Jordan Staal
36. Chris Pronger
37. Marc-Andre Bergeron
38. Kevin Bieksa
39. Shane O'Brien
40. Brian Campbell
41. Brian Rolston
42. Joe Sakic
43. Saku Koivu
44. Henrik Sedin
45. Andy McDonald
46. Zach Parise
47. Ryane Clowe
48. Patrik Elias
49. Pavol Demitra
50. Tomas Vokoun
51. Paul Stastny
52. Milan Hejduk
53. Stephen Weiss
54. Robert Lang
55. Patrice Bergeron
56. Philippe Boucher
57. Zdeno Chara
58. Jason Spezza
59. Ian Laperriere
60. Sami Salo
61. Marc Savard
62. Patrick Marleau
63. Keith Tkachuk
64. Andrew Brunette
65. John-Michael Liles
66. Rob Blake
67. Alexander Radulov
68. Teemu Selanne
69. Dion Phaneuf
70. Bryan McCabe
71. Slava Kozlov
72. Brian Rafalski
73. Gary Roberts
74. Nathan Horton
75. Dany Heatley
76. Jaromir Jagr
77. Daniel Alfredsson
78. Henrik Zetterberg
79. Jonathan Cheechoo
80. Kristian Huselius
81. Milan Michalek
82. Simon Gagne
83. Matt Carle
84. Alexei Zhitnik
85. Alexander Ovechkin
86. Tim Connolly
87. J.P. Dumont
88. Christian Ehrhoff
89. Brad Richards
90. Mats Sundin
91. Derek Roy
92. Drew Stafford
93. Joe Pavelski
94. Jason Blake
95. Christopher Higgins
96. David Koci
97. Chris Mason
98. Marty Turco
99. Alexander Frolov
100. Kari Lehtonen
101. Rod Brind'Amour
102. Ryan Getzlaf
103. Brian Gionta
104. Mathieu Schneider
105. Alex Tanguay
106. Chris Kunitz
107. Jamie Langenbrunner
108. Anze Kopitar
109. Peter Budaj
110. Petr Sykora
111. Tomas Kaberle
112. Jason Arnott
113. Scott Niedermayer
114. Sean O'Donnell
115. Nathan Paetsch
116. Niklas Backstrom
117. Mathieu Dandenault
118. Peter Forsberg
119. Roman Hamrlik
Exclude Rankings
Martin Biron
Sheldon Souray
Pre-draft Rankings
Here's a list of 120 good players. My biases are in favor of Sabres, Devils, Penguins, and Sharks, and against Hurricanes, Senators, Flyers, and Rangers.
I think the Bruins and Oilers and Blue Jackets will have a bad year.
I disliked having a Minnesota goalie last year because the coach pulls his goalie too early and he never says in advance what his plans are.
The order is not exact (except perhaps for the top 25):
1. Sidney Crosby
2. Martin Brodeur
3. Roberto Luongo
4. Joe Thornton
5. Vincent Lecavalier
6. Lubomir Visnovsky
7. Ryan Whitney
8. Miikka Kiprusoff
9. Sergei Gonchar
10. Sergei Zubov
11. Evgeni Malkin
12. Marian Hossa
13. Ilya Kovalchuk
14. Marian Gaborik
15. Thomas Vanek
16. Jason Pominville
17. Dan Boyle
18. Ryan Miller
19. Dominik Hasek
20. Evgeni Nabokov
21. Jean-Sebastien Giguere
22. Maxim Afinogenov
23. Martin St. Louis
24. Jarome Iginla
25. Paul Kariya
26. Chris Neil
27. Sean Avery
28. Marc-Andre Fleury
29. Martin Havlat
30. Olli Jokinen
31. Pavel Datsyuk
32. Daniel Briere
33. Tomas Holmstrom
34. Daniel Sedin
35. Jordan Staal
36. Chris Pronger
37. Marc-Andre Bergeron
38. Kevin Bieksa
39. Shane O'Brien
40. Brian Campbell
41. Brian Rolston
42. Joe Sakic
43. Saku Koivu
44. Henrik Sedin
45. Andy McDonald
46. Zach Parise
47. Ryane Clowe
48. Patrik Elias
49. Pavol Demitra
50. Tomas Vokoun
51. Paul Stastny
52. Milan Hejduk
53. Stephen Weiss
54. Robert Lang
55. Patrice Bergeron
56. Philippe Boucher
57. Zdeno Chara
58. Jason Spezza
59. Ian Laperriere
60. Sami Salo
61. Marc Savard
62. Patrick Marleau
63. Keith Tkachuk
64. Andrew Brunette
65. John-Michael Liles
66. Rob Blake
67. Alexander Radulov
68. Teemu Selanne
69. Dion Phaneuf
70. Bryan McCabe
71. Slava Kozlov
72. Brian Rafalski
73. Gary Roberts
74. Nathan Horton
75. Dany Heatley
76. Jaromir Jagr
77. Daniel Alfredsson
78. Henrik Zetterberg
79. Jonathan Cheechoo
80. Kristian Huselius
81. Milan Michalek
82. Simon Gagne
83. Matt Carle
84. Alexei Zhitnik
85. Alexander Ovechkin
86. Tim Connolly
87. J.P. Dumont
88. Christian Ehrhoff
89. Brad Richards
90. Mats Sundin
91. Derek Roy
92. Drew Stafford
93. Joe Pavelski
94. Jason Blake
95. Christopher Higgins
96. David Koci
97. Chris Mason
98. Marty Turco
99. Alexander Frolov
100. Kari Lehtonen
101. Rod Brind'Amour
102. Ryan Getzlaf
103. Brian Gionta
104. Mathieu Schneider
105. Alex Tanguay
106. Chris Kunitz
107. Jamie Langenbrunner
108. Anze Kopitar
109. Peter Budaj
110. Petr Sykora
111. Tomas Kaberle
112. Jason Arnott
113. Scott Niedermayer
114. Sean O'Donnell
115. Nathan Paetsch
116. Niklas Backstrom
117. Mathieu Dandenault
118. Peter Forsberg
119. Roman Hamrlik
Exclude Rankings
Martin Biron
Sheldon Souray
I think the Bruins and Oilers and Blue Jackets will have a bad year.
I disliked having a Minnesota goalie last year because the coach pulls his goalie too early and he never says in advance what his plans are.
The order is not exact (except perhaps for the top 25):
1. Sidney Crosby
2. Martin Brodeur
3. Roberto Luongo
4. Joe Thornton
5. Vincent Lecavalier
6. Lubomir Visnovsky
7. Ryan Whitney
8. Miikka Kiprusoff
9. Sergei Gonchar
10. Sergei Zubov
11. Evgeni Malkin
12. Marian Hossa
13. Ilya Kovalchuk
14. Marian Gaborik
15. Thomas Vanek
16. Jason Pominville
17. Dan Boyle
18. Ryan Miller
19. Dominik Hasek
20. Evgeni Nabokov
21. Jean-Sebastien Giguere
22. Maxim Afinogenov
23. Martin St. Louis
24. Jarome Iginla
25. Paul Kariya
26. Chris Neil
27. Sean Avery
28. Marc-Andre Fleury
29. Martin Havlat
30. Olli Jokinen
31. Pavel Datsyuk
32. Daniel Briere
33. Tomas Holmstrom
34. Daniel Sedin
35. Jordan Staal
36. Chris Pronger
37. Marc-Andre Bergeron
38. Kevin Bieksa
39. Shane O'Brien
40. Brian Campbell
41. Brian Rolston
42. Joe Sakic
43. Saku Koivu
44. Henrik Sedin
45. Andy McDonald
46. Zach Parise
47. Ryane Clowe
48. Patrik Elias
49. Pavol Demitra
50. Tomas Vokoun
51. Paul Stastny
52. Milan Hejduk
53. Stephen Weiss
54. Robert Lang
55. Patrice Bergeron
56. Philippe Boucher
57. Zdeno Chara
58. Jason Spezza
59. Ian Laperriere
60. Sami Salo
61. Marc Savard
62. Patrick Marleau
63. Keith Tkachuk
64. Andrew Brunette
65. John-Michael Liles
66. Rob Blake
67. Alexander Radulov
68. Teemu Selanne
69. Dion Phaneuf
70. Bryan McCabe
71. Slava Kozlov
72. Brian Rafalski
73. Gary Roberts
74. Nathan Horton
75. Dany Heatley
76. Jaromir Jagr
77. Daniel Alfredsson
78. Henrik Zetterberg
79. Jonathan Cheechoo
80. Kristian Huselius
81. Milan Michalek
82. Simon Gagne
83. Matt Carle
84. Alexei Zhitnik
85. Alexander Ovechkin
86. Tim Connolly
87. J.P. Dumont
88. Christian Ehrhoff
89. Brad Richards
90. Mats Sundin
91. Derek Roy
92. Drew Stafford
93. Joe Pavelski
94. Jason Blake
95. Christopher Higgins
96. David Koci
97. Chris Mason
98. Marty Turco
99. Alexander Frolov
100. Kari Lehtonen
101. Rod Brind'Amour
102. Ryan Getzlaf
103. Brian Gionta
104. Mathieu Schneider
105. Alex Tanguay
106. Chris Kunitz
107. Jamie Langenbrunner
108. Anze Kopitar
109. Peter Budaj
110. Petr Sykora
111. Tomas Kaberle
112. Jason Arnott
113. Scott Niedermayer
114. Sean O'Donnell
115. Nathan Paetsch
116. Niklas Backstrom
117. Mathieu Dandenault
118. Peter Forsberg
119. Roman Hamrlik
Exclude Rankings
Martin Biron
Sheldon Souray
NHL Fantasy Draft
Here's how our draft went:
Round 1
1. Sidney Crosby Bolts!
2. Dany Heatley Macabi NYC
3. Roberto Luongo Wolverines
4. Martin Brodeur Crosby's Con...
5. Jaromir Jagr Red Army
6. Joe Thornton FiveForSlacking
7. Henrik Lundqvist Won't Be Las...
8. Jarome Iginla notsureyet
Round 2
1. Evgeni Malkin notsureyet
2. Miikka Kiprusoff Won't Be Las...
3. Alexander Ovechkin FiveForSlacking
4. Ryan Miller Red Army
5. Vincent Lecavalier Crosby's Con...
6. Martin St. Louis Wolverines
7. Marian Hossa Macabi NYC
8. Jason Spezza Bolts!
Round 3
1. Henrik Zetterberg Bolts!
2. Daniel Alfredsson Macabi NYC
3. Pavel Datsyuk Wolverines
4. Evgeni Nabokov Crosby's Con...
5. Ilya Kovalchuk Red Army
6. Marian Gaborik FiveForSlacking
7. Jonathan Cheechoo Won't Be Las...
8. Dominik Hasek notsureyet
Round 4
1. Jean-Sebastien Giguere notsureyet
2. Chris Pronger Won't Be Las...
3. Niklas Backstrom FiveForSlacking
4. Scott Gomez Red Army
5. Nicklas Lidstrom Crosby's Con...
6. Dion Phaneuf Wolverines
7. Daniel Sedin Macabi NYC
8. Ryan Whitney Bolts!
Round 5
1. Maxim Afinogenov Bolts!
2. Daniel Briere Macabi NYC
3. Ryan Smyth Wolverines
4. Lubomir Visnovsky Crosby's Con...
5. Tomas Vokoun Red Army
6. Olli Jokinen FiveForSlacking
7. Thomas Vanek Won't Be Las...
8. Marc Savard notsureyet
Round 6
1. Milan Hejduk notsureyet
2. Joe Sakic Won't Be Las...
3. Marty Turco FiveForSlacking
4. Sheldon Souray Red Army
5. Sergei Zubov Crosby's Con...
6. Ray Emery Wolverines
7. Sergei Gonchar Macabi NYC
8. Milan Michalek Bolts!
Round 7
1. Pavol Demitra Bolts!
2. Marc-Andre Fleury Macabi NYC
3. Simon Gagne Wolverines
4. Jason Pominville Crosby's Con...
5. Chris Drury Red Army
6. Kristian Huselius FiveForSlacking
7. Slava Kozlov Won't Be Las...
8. Patrick Marleau notsureyet
Round 8
1. Dan Boyle notsureyet
2. Scott Niedermayer Won't Be Las...
3. Alexander Frolov FiveForSlacking
4. Bryan McCabe Red Army
5. Chris Neil Crosby's Con...
6. Zach Parise Wolverines
7. Henrik Sedin Macabi NYC
8. Chris Mason Bolts!
Round 9
1. Alexei Zhitnik Bolts!
2. Matt Carle Macabi NYC
3. Ryan Getzlaf Wolverines
4. Sean Avery Crosby's Con...
5. Mathieu Schneider Red Army
6. Philippe Boucher FiveForSlacking
7. Martin Havlat Won't Be Las...
8. Rick Nash notsureyet
Round 10
1. Zdeno Chara notsureyet
2. Tomas Kaberle Won't Be Las...
3. Jay Bouwmeester FiveForSlacking
4. Steve Sullivan Red Army
5. Paul Kariya Crosby's Con...
6. Kevin Bieksa Wolverines
7. Kari Lehtonen Macabi NYC
8. Rick DiPietro Bolts!
Round 11
1. Brian Rafalski Bolts!
2. John-Michael Liles Macabi NYC
3. Keith Tkachuk Wolverines
4. Paul Stastny Crosby's Con...
5. Markus Naslund Red Army
6. Rob Blake FiveForSlacking
7. Alexander Semin Won't Be Las...
8. Wade Redden notsureyet
Round 12
1. Mats Sundin notsureyet
2. Martin Straka Won't Be Las...
3. Brad Richards FiveForSlacking
4. Eric Staal Red Army
5. Peter Budaj Crosby's Con...
6. Brian Campbell Wolverines
7. Andy McDonald Macabi NYC
8. Andrew Brunette Bolts!
Round 13
1. Michael Cammalleri Bolts!
2. Jason Blake Macabi NYC
3. Martin Biron Wolverines
4. Marc-Andre Bergeron Crosby's Con...
5. Michael Nylander Red Army
6. Justin Williams FiveForSlacking
7. Derek Roy Won't Be Las...
8. Brian Gionta notsureyet
Round 14
1. Olaf Kolzig notsureyet
2. Christian Ehrhoff Won't Be Las...
3. Nikolai Khabibulin FiveForSlacking
4. Cristobal Huet Red Army
5. Brian Rolston Crosby's Con...
6. Anze Kopitar Wolverines
7. Manny Legace Macabi NYC
8. Cam Ward Bolts!
Round 15
1. Shea Weber Bolts!
2. Ed Jovanovski Macabi NYC
3. Kimmo Timonen Wolverines
4. Jordan Staal Crosby's Con...
5. Alex Tanguay Red Army
6. Adrian Aucoin FiveForSlacking
7. Vesa Toskala Won't Be Las...
8. Brett Clark notsureyet
Round 1
1. Sidney Crosby Bolts!
2. Dany Heatley Macabi NYC
3. Roberto Luongo Wolverines
4. Martin Brodeur Crosby's Con...
5. Jaromir Jagr Red Army
6. Joe Thornton FiveForSlacking
7. Henrik Lundqvist Won't Be Las...
8. Jarome Iginla notsureyet
Round 2
1. Evgeni Malkin notsureyet
2. Miikka Kiprusoff Won't Be Las...
3. Alexander Ovechkin FiveForSlacking
4. Ryan Miller Red Army
5. Vincent Lecavalier Crosby's Con...
6. Martin St. Louis Wolverines
7. Marian Hossa Macabi NYC
8. Jason Spezza Bolts!
Round 3
1. Henrik Zetterberg Bolts!
2. Daniel Alfredsson Macabi NYC
3. Pavel Datsyuk Wolverines
4. Evgeni Nabokov Crosby's Con...
5. Ilya Kovalchuk Red Army
6. Marian Gaborik FiveForSlacking
7. Jonathan Cheechoo Won't Be Las...
8. Dominik Hasek notsureyet
Round 4
1. Jean-Sebastien Giguere notsureyet
2. Chris Pronger Won't Be Las...
3. Niklas Backstrom FiveForSlacking
4. Scott Gomez Red Army
5. Nicklas Lidstrom Crosby's Con...
6. Dion Phaneuf Wolverines
7. Daniel Sedin Macabi NYC
8. Ryan Whitney Bolts!
Round 5
1. Maxim Afinogenov Bolts!
2. Daniel Briere Macabi NYC
3. Ryan Smyth Wolverines
4. Lubomir Visnovsky Crosby's Con...
5. Tomas Vokoun Red Army
6. Olli Jokinen FiveForSlacking
7. Thomas Vanek Won't Be Las...
8. Marc Savard notsureyet
Round 6
1. Milan Hejduk notsureyet
2. Joe Sakic Won't Be Las...
3. Marty Turco FiveForSlacking
4. Sheldon Souray Red Army
5. Sergei Zubov Crosby's Con...
6. Ray Emery Wolverines
7. Sergei Gonchar Macabi NYC
8. Milan Michalek Bolts!
Round 7
1. Pavol Demitra Bolts!
2. Marc-Andre Fleury Macabi NYC
3. Simon Gagne Wolverines
4. Jason Pominville Crosby's Con...
5. Chris Drury Red Army
6. Kristian Huselius FiveForSlacking
7. Slava Kozlov Won't Be Las...
8. Patrick Marleau notsureyet
Round 8
1. Dan Boyle notsureyet
2. Scott Niedermayer Won't Be Las...
3. Alexander Frolov FiveForSlacking
4. Bryan McCabe Red Army
5. Chris Neil Crosby's Con...
6. Zach Parise Wolverines
7. Henrik Sedin Macabi NYC
8. Chris Mason Bolts!
Round 9
1. Alexei Zhitnik Bolts!
2. Matt Carle Macabi NYC
3. Ryan Getzlaf Wolverines
4. Sean Avery Crosby's Con...
5. Mathieu Schneider Red Army
6. Philippe Boucher FiveForSlacking
7. Martin Havlat Won't Be Las...
8. Rick Nash notsureyet
Round 10
1. Zdeno Chara notsureyet
2. Tomas Kaberle Won't Be Las...
3. Jay Bouwmeester FiveForSlacking
4. Steve Sullivan Red Army
5. Paul Kariya Crosby's Con...
6. Kevin Bieksa Wolverines
7. Kari Lehtonen Macabi NYC
8. Rick DiPietro Bolts!
Round 11
1. Brian Rafalski Bolts!
2. John-Michael Liles Macabi NYC
3. Keith Tkachuk Wolverines
4. Paul Stastny Crosby's Con...
5. Markus Naslund Red Army
6. Rob Blake FiveForSlacking
7. Alexander Semin Won't Be Las...
8. Wade Redden notsureyet
Round 12
1. Mats Sundin notsureyet
2. Martin Straka Won't Be Las...
3. Brad Richards FiveForSlacking
4. Eric Staal Red Army
5. Peter Budaj Crosby's Con...
6. Brian Campbell Wolverines
7. Andy McDonald Macabi NYC
8. Andrew Brunette Bolts!
Round 13
1. Michael Cammalleri Bolts!
2. Jason Blake Macabi NYC
3. Martin Biron Wolverines
4. Marc-Andre Bergeron Crosby's Con...
5. Michael Nylander Red Army
6. Justin Williams FiveForSlacking
7. Derek Roy Won't Be Las...
8. Brian Gionta notsureyet
Round 14
1. Olaf Kolzig notsureyet
2. Christian Ehrhoff Won't Be Las...
3. Nikolai Khabibulin FiveForSlacking
4. Cristobal Huet Red Army
5. Brian Rolston Crosby's Con...
6. Anze Kopitar Wolverines
7. Manny Legace Macabi NYC
8. Cam Ward Bolts!
Round 15
1. Shea Weber Bolts!
2. Ed Jovanovski Macabi NYC
3. Kimmo Timonen Wolverines
4. Jordan Staal Crosby's Con...
5. Alex Tanguay Red Army
6. Adrian Aucoin FiveForSlacking
7. Vesa Toskala Won't Be Las...
8. Brett Clark notsureyet
Friday, October 5, 2007
NHL Team Summaries: Atlantic
New Jersey Devils:
This team starts with Martin Brodeur, but the real questions are about the people who play right in front of him. Brodeur had such good communication with defencemen Stevens and Niedermeyer that it looked like telepathy. The group that's there now does not.
Rookies Zach Parise (forward) and his goalkeeper older brother Jordon (goalie) could be the future of the franchise.
Johnny Oduya is vastly underrated because rather than being excellent at any one defensive skill, he's very good at everything.
Among the stars that remain, there are huge questions about Elias -- will he be healthy this year? Everyone expects big things from Gionta again. Langenbrunner's injury will hurt the team.
Madden and Pandolfo are a huge part of the team's defensive success, but the Devils have to avoid giving up short handed goals this year.
New York Islanders
The Islanders are playing their first game tonight in Buffalo and the team came out motivated. That's great, but they've also come out a little sloppy. Sillinger will take more penalties than he needs to. The defense seems to sleep occasionally. The Islanders are doing well because the Sabres also seem to be a little sleepy, with passes missing and pucks hopping over sticks. The comentators say it's due in part to unseasonably warm weather in Buffalo.
DiPietro looks very good. Perhaps his irregular performance last year was due more to a team that didn't play every night.
HAT TRICK FOR MIKE COMRIE. That guy is looking excellent tonight. Keep an eye on him. I can see the opening sentance of tomorrow's articles: The Islanders played the Sabres last night but it took a Senator to win. Former Senator Mike Comrie led the Islanders with a hat trick. . . of course, the Sabres have this tendancy to fall behind and win in the third period. That meshes well with the Islanders' tendency to lose games they should win (though the problem is bigger with the Rangers).
The Islanders are built more for the playoffs than the regular season and should do well whatever position (even 8th) they enter the playoffs.
New York Rangers
All that cash seems to be paying dividends. Drury had a great night, and Gomez will do well in a defensive role, if that's what the Rangers want him to do. Jagr remains one of the best players in the world, although for a time in Washington he lacked motivation. Shanahan remains a leader. Lundqvist won a gold medal for Sweden and could win a Stanley Cup. But the Swedish national team's defence is far better than the Rangers'.
The Rangers need a better defence, but if they can keep scoring five goals, as they did in their opener, perhaps they won't need a defence. Rangers Islanders games could see more goals that we've seen since Gretzky left the Oilers.
One more thing: the Rangers don't really have a backup who can replace Lundqvist.
Philadelphia Flyers
Bobby Clarke hates goalies. Playing in Philly has ruined more goalies than I can count on two hands. We'll see how Biron survives the pressure. He's started off well.
The list of new players in Philadelphia is as impressive as it's ever been, but we've seen lists like this fail before. So far, one part that won't fail is clear: the Gagne-Briere-Knuble line, two skill plus one brute who can skate with them, will do well.
The questions here are about defence. Kimmo Timonen captained Nashville last year and was one of the best all-around. Derian Hatcher can still KO opponents, but that's a skill that's more valuable in the postseason, and Philadelphia has to get there.
I have no idea how well this team will do this year. It could be anything from bottom of the barrel to top of the heap.
Given the number of ex-Nashville and ex-Buffalo players on the Flyers this year, games against those two will be particularly interesting.
Pittsburgh Penguins
In their opening game, the Penguins are not doing well. But there are new players in the mix, and perhaps they'll need some time to learn to work together. Sydor was a great defensive addition, but Petr Sykora, brought in from Edmonton, hasn't been the same since Hatcher elbowed his head to the ice in the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals. The Devils brought the Stanley Cup to his hospital bed that night, as he fought off the concussion. I'd like to see him succeed.
Another jinxed player is Mark Eaton. Nobody had a worse season last year. He broke his wrist, he accidentally put the puck in his own net, he was injured for most of the season. But Eaton has a lot of potential and could become one of the best defencemen in the league -- if he survives this season long enough to play. Eaton took the first hit of the season in the opening night game.
Last year, the Penguins mixed up lines a great deal. With everybody gunning for Crosby (a potential Crosby injury makes the title of this blog) the Penguins have to protect him.
The Penguins have other extremely young stars: the goalie Fleury, the phenom Malkin, and the defensive forward Jordan Staal. I have both Staal and Crosby and at the moment they're on the same line, which should work well some nights even though it's not a good thing tonight. But I don't expect Staal to play every shift with Crosby this year.
If the rookies don't get this team going, the veterans who were on the team last year, Gonchar, Recchi, and Roberts, will have to start things up.
This team starts with Martin Brodeur, but the real questions are about the people who play right in front of him. Brodeur had such good communication with defencemen Stevens and Niedermeyer that it looked like telepathy. The group that's there now does not.
Rookies Zach Parise (forward) and his goalkeeper older brother Jordon (goalie) could be the future of the franchise.
Johnny Oduya is vastly underrated because rather than being excellent at any one defensive skill, he's very good at everything.
Among the stars that remain, there are huge questions about Elias -- will he be healthy this year? Everyone expects big things from Gionta again. Langenbrunner's injury will hurt the team.
Madden and Pandolfo are a huge part of the team's defensive success, but the Devils have to avoid giving up short handed goals this year.
New York Islanders
The Islanders are playing their first game tonight in Buffalo and the team came out motivated. That's great, but they've also come out a little sloppy. Sillinger will take more penalties than he needs to. The defense seems to sleep occasionally. The Islanders are doing well because the Sabres also seem to be a little sleepy, with passes missing and pucks hopping over sticks. The comentators say it's due in part to unseasonably warm weather in Buffalo.
DiPietro looks very good. Perhaps his irregular performance last year was due more to a team that didn't play every night.
HAT TRICK FOR MIKE COMRIE. That guy is looking excellent tonight. Keep an eye on him. I can see the opening sentance of tomorrow's articles: The Islanders played the Sabres last night but it took a Senator to win. Former Senator Mike Comrie led the Islanders with a hat trick. . . of course, the Sabres have this tendancy to fall behind and win in the third period. That meshes well with the Islanders' tendency to lose games they should win (though the problem is bigger with the Rangers).
The Islanders are built more for the playoffs than the regular season and should do well whatever position (even 8th) they enter the playoffs.
New York Rangers
All that cash seems to be paying dividends. Drury had a great night, and Gomez will do well in a defensive role, if that's what the Rangers want him to do. Jagr remains one of the best players in the world, although for a time in Washington he lacked motivation. Shanahan remains a leader. Lundqvist won a gold medal for Sweden and could win a Stanley Cup. But the Swedish national team's defence is far better than the Rangers'.
The Rangers need a better defence, but if they can keep scoring five goals, as they did in their opener, perhaps they won't need a defence. Rangers Islanders games could see more goals that we've seen since Gretzky left the Oilers.
One more thing: the Rangers don't really have a backup who can replace Lundqvist.
Philadelphia Flyers
Bobby Clarke hates goalies. Playing in Philly has ruined more goalies than I can count on two hands. We'll see how Biron survives the pressure. He's started off well.
The list of new players in Philadelphia is as impressive as it's ever been, but we've seen lists like this fail before. So far, one part that won't fail is clear: the Gagne-Briere-Knuble line, two skill plus one brute who can skate with them, will do well.
The questions here are about defence. Kimmo Timonen captained Nashville last year and was one of the best all-around. Derian Hatcher can still KO opponents, but that's a skill that's more valuable in the postseason, and Philadelphia has to get there.
I have no idea how well this team will do this year. It could be anything from bottom of the barrel to top of the heap.
Given the number of ex-Nashville and ex-Buffalo players on the Flyers this year, games against those two will be particularly interesting.
Pittsburgh Penguins
In their opening game, the Penguins are not doing well. But there are new players in the mix, and perhaps they'll need some time to learn to work together. Sydor was a great defensive addition, but Petr Sykora, brought in from Edmonton, hasn't been the same since Hatcher elbowed his head to the ice in the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals. The Devils brought the Stanley Cup to his hospital bed that night, as he fought off the concussion. I'd like to see him succeed.
Another jinxed player is Mark Eaton. Nobody had a worse season last year. He broke his wrist, he accidentally put the puck in his own net, he was injured for most of the season. But Eaton has a lot of potential and could become one of the best defencemen in the league -- if he survives this season long enough to play. Eaton took the first hit of the season in the opening night game.
Last year, the Penguins mixed up lines a great deal. With everybody gunning for Crosby (a potential Crosby injury makes the title of this blog) the Penguins have to protect him.
The Penguins have other extremely young stars: the goalie Fleury, the phenom Malkin, and the defensive forward Jordan Staal. I have both Staal and Crosby and at the moment they're on the same line, which should work well some nights even though it's not a good thing tonight. But I don't expect Staal to play every shift with Crosby this year.
If the rookies don't get this team going, the veterans who were on the team last year, Gonchar, Recchi, and Roberts, will have to start things up.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
NHL Team Summaries: Northeast
This will be very freeform but here goes:
Boston Bruins:
Give up now! Manny Fernandez may make this team better, but he won't make it good enough.
Buffalo Sabres:
The pundits are wrong! They have written off this team before the season started but young players like Paetsch and Stafford will have an impact this season.
The power play has to improve, but the five forward power play is a great idea.
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/sabresnhl/story/173901.html
I told Nick, who picked Afinogenov for his fantasy team:
Tim Connolly could make a huge difference this year. He played one regular season game and then had 9 assists (no goals) in 16 postseason games for Buffalo.
And Buffalo is the new hockeytown. The fans are rabid and awesome. It's pretty close to Canada.
Montreal Canadiens
I watched the Montreal-Carolina game tonight on the free NHL Center Ice preview, which rocks. "Puck" is "le rondeau" in French. The Canadiens have a powerful offense when Koivu is on his game, but the defense is weak. They won tonight but I'm still not adding Koivu to my team (though I'll keep an eye on him).
The Canadiens are underrated because they do so poorly against Ottawa and Toronto but they are a very good team.
Ottawa Senators
This year is Ottawa's to lose. The team is in place (although goaltending could be a problem). The defence is hot. The scorers are hot. This team is lucky in addition to being good. Opponents have to realize that even a two goal lead is no security against them.
Opponents will not underestimate this team. They will face a lot of fights, and are already hated in Buffalo.
Starting the season, this is the best team in the East, but I don't like them at all.
Tornto Maple Leafs
What's wrong with Maple Leafs fans? This is a good team but its fans treat it like it's St. Louis. One Canadian guy told me, "people just feel we need a Canadian captain." To which I replied, "like Koivu and Alfreddson?"
Mats Sundin is a bona fide superstar and has always been. The head office has been unable to match him up with equally talented players. The team should get more Swedes, but Jason Blake, who looks Swedish and plays very well, is a good start.
Wellwood's story is compelling http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=2823486 but he might be better off in a town where he would be less well known. I think he'll flourish if traded to, say, Florida.
Last year, this team was hurt by injuries and goaltending uncertainty. Will Toskala play in goal? Would that help?
Boston Bruins:
Give up now! Manny Fernandez may make this team better, but he won't make it good enough.
Buffalo Sabres:
The pundits are wrong! They have written off this team before the season started but young players like Paetsch and Stafford will have an impact this season.
The power play has to improve, but the five forward power play is a great idea.
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/sabresnhl/story/173901.html
I told Nick, who picked Afinogenov for his fantasy team:
If you have a chance to see a Sabres game on TV, watch it just to see Afinogenov in action. Whereas Crosby and Lecavalier project calm leadership on the ice, Afinogenov projects asshole. Every move is a challenge to opponents to keep up with him. He'll juggle the puck under their noses because he can. He's wonderful to watch.
Tim Connolly could make a huge difference this year. He played one regular season game and then had 9 assists (no goals) in 16 postseason games for Buffalo.
And Buffalo is the new hockeytown. The fans are rabid and awesome. It's pretty close to Canada.
Montreal Canadiens
I watched the Montreal-Carolina game tonight on the free NHL Center Ice preview, which rocks. "Puck" is "le rondeau" in French. The Canadiens have a powerful offense when Koivu is on his game, but the defense is weak. They won tonight but I'm still not adding Koivu to my team (though I'll keep an eye on him).
The Canadiens are underrated because they do so poorly against Ottawa and Toronto but they are a very good team.
Ottawa Senators
This year is Ottawa's to lose. The team is in place (although goaltending could be a problem). The defence is hot. The scorers are hot. This team is lucky in addition to being good. Opponents have to realize that even a two goal lead is no security against them.
Opponents will not underestimate this team. They will face a lot of fights, and are already hated in Buffalo.
Starting the season, this is the best team in the East, but I don't like them at all.
Tornto Maple Leafs
What's wrong with Maple Leafs fans? This is a good team but its fans treat it like it's St. Louis. One Canadian guy told me, "people just feel we need a Canadian captain." To which I replied, "like Koivu and Alfreddson?"
Mats Sundin is a bona fide superstar and has always been. The head office has been unable to match him up with equally talented players. The team should get more Swedes, but Jason Blake, who looks Swedish and plays very well, is a good start.
Wellwood's story is compelling http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?columnist=burnside_scott&id=2823486 but he might be better off in a town where he would be less well known. I think he'll flourish if traded to, say, Florida.
Last year, this team was hurt by injuries and goaltending uncertainty. Will Toskala play in goal? Would that help?
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