Michael Nylander's picture on his Yahoo page gives me the impression that he'd make a great monk. that's just what i think when i see him.
Nigel Dawes is lining up with Jaromir and Shanny and will be for a long time by what i can tell. he should be added in every format imaginable, ok maybe not in shallow 8 team leagues or something.
Devin Setoguchi lined up with Joe Thornton and Milan Michalek last night. if that continues then he'll be a very nice add too, probably shorter term than Dawes though.
Mike Ribeiro leads the Dallas Stars in points/game. did you see that coming? he gets significant PP time for the Stars and their defensive play is making him a lot more defensively responsible than he was as a Hab.
Niklas Hagman is going to where he belongs, the realms of mediocrity. his game was "hot out of the oven" now it's just plain stale.
Dan Boyle is back on the ice for the Lightning. he only played 12 minutes or so last night but that's going to go up to 20 minutes very soon. Paul Ranger will see a decrease in ice time accordingly.
if any lady is reading this blog i'd love to hear her opinions about who are the ugliest guys in the NHL. it was an idea i tried to get Victoria Matiash to write about for TMR.com last season but it was never got to. i still think it'd be a great read.
how does Marcel Hossa (not the good Hossa) get 19 minutes of ice time on any night? i just don't get that. the Rangers do realize they have the less talented brother right?
the Rangers need to trade for an offensive defenseman and they still have Al Montoya in their minor leagues wasting away. i've got to think that Montoya could land any available offensive D on the market and it's not like they're going to have room for Montoya anyway, Lundqvist will be their goalie for the next decade.
stupid Capitals. how dare you embarrass my Maple Leafs like that. and on home ice too. oh wait, maybe that's the reason, the Leafs need to be on the road before then can seem to win.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Monday, October 29, 2007
MillerTime
well folks, let me introduce you to Paul Miller. Paul actually has been emailing me several times over the last couple seasons about hockey stuff. dude knows his puck very well but still, he's playing in a kickass keeper league that anyone would have have trouble staying on top of. and he's doing well too. i thought about taking a run at Paul's team last year, very late in the year, but it didn't work out and frankly the league scares me. there's so much stuff to watch here. it's a 10 team league with 25 man rosters and Paul's got another 20 (!) guys on his bench and in the minor leagues. holy freaking cow! now i already said it's a keeper league and that there are salaries and keeper rules to worry about but quite frankly, i'm going to let Paul worry about them and just try to help him win THIS year. if i remember correctly he won this league a couple years ago and has been rebuilding toward making another run. right now he sits in 4th. let's see if we can help him there.
It's a 10 team roto league, simple categories but the depth makes the whole experience extra challenging. The categories are: G, A, P,+/-, PIM, Goalie Wins + 2x shutouts. that's interesting, no? like i said, they start 25 guys; 15F, 7D, 3G but there aren't any ratios to worry about with G's. so when evaluating a goaltender, if you win, you're in. having F options instead of breaking down by position gets everyone away from having to search for viable options at weaker positions like LW, so that's interesting too. you can set your lineup weekly only. the league is hosted at tqstats which looks like a solid game engine to run on. it also appears to be a pay option.
without further ado (not adieu as some may think), here's MillerTime.
F Ilya Kovalchuk - A-: when he's on there's little better combination of speed and sniper-ism in the game (that is too a word).
F Daniel Alfredsson - A: i think he's the consummate leader and can't believe he was ragged on for so long in OTW. steady production that won't get you in trouble.
F Daniel Briere - A: firestarter. you need a boost for your team? he'll kick your team in the butt or pick it up on his small frame and carry it around.
F Evgeni Malkin - A+: plenty of skill that gets overshadowed by Sid the kid. some were projecting him to finish 2nd in the scoring race this year and that could just happen.
F Zach Parise - B+: looks like everyone else in Jersey is asleep but Parise is gonna be something special. nice to have him in a keeper league like this.
F Brian Rolston - B+: with Gaborik and Demitra hurt (short term) then once again the offense will flow through Rolston. people overlook him but there's a reason he was made captain, he fills it up and shows the way.
F Brendan Morrow - B-: i'd like to believe again. if he gets into a couple scraps or pulls off a Gordie Howe hattrick (a G, an A, and a fight) it might go a long way to making me a believer once more.
F Brian Gionta - B-: he has a history of scoring, i'm just not sure that he's got the touch anymore.
F Brendan Shanahan - B+: dude only has 2 goals but last i checked he leads the league in SOG/game. he'll score, oh boy will he score.
F Keith Tkachuk - B: a favourite whipping boy in the past just cuz i think he's a bit of a jerk but i'll say this much, there aren't many better power forward options in the game and he's been among the best PF options for a decade now.
F Michal Handzus - C+: remember the long mullet hair on Handie? ah the 1980's. what, that was last year that he had that? really? well ... he cut it and maybe that affects his skills like it did Samson. i'm not so sure that he's the best starting option for your team. i continue to have injury concerns and he's never been a really offensive guy in the first place. he's a great checker but you don't want to rely on him to score much for you.
F Chris Kunitz - B-: he's shooting the puck. he's in the top 50 guys in SOG right now. more and more of those shots will start to go in.
F Glen Murray - B-: traditionally a goal scorer. i have concerns about whether he still "has it" though.
F Tomas Holmstrom - A-: i love this guy, yes in that way, ok maybe not but i love how he just plants himself in front and spends 3 hrs taking out the garbage. he'll get close to 40 goals this year. yes i know he's never done better than 30 before but i said it anyway.
F Jeff Hamilton - B: getting loads of opportunity on an all forward PP in Carolina and he's making good use of the opportunity too. he's a strong start right now.
D Dion Phaneuf - A-: there are few D i like more than PIMy D (i call him PIMy D). he shoots, he scores, he throws forwards against the wall like they're spaghetti and he's testing to see if they're done.
D Matt Carle - B-: smart play in a keeper. you'll have this guy a long time and he won't disappoint you.
D Sami Salo - B-: the man's a shooter and if healthy then his grade goes WAYYY up.
D Alexei Zhitnik - C-: i think his time has passed but i understand why some still believe. i see his PP time continue to go to Tobias Enstrom.
D Michal Roszival - B-: he's the best option the Rangers have right now i guess.
D Brett Clark - B: underrated option. i like him for 40 pts which ain't bad for the bottom of your roster.
D Brent Burns - B+: kid can play. logging over 20 mins ice time per night and contributing across the board.
G Kari Lehtinen- he's young, he's got skills, he's got brittle leg muscles apparently. he has a groin issue right now and needs to sit on your bench.
G Ryan Miller- people are still down on him but i rank him top 8ish for G's in the entire league. stick with him, he'll be fine.
G Manny Legace- underrated contributions while backstopping an improving team. his GAA last year was 2.5 while he shut the door in front of a brutally defensive squad last year. the Blues D is improving and Manny will keep shutting the door.
Bench
Steve Sullivan, Nicklas Backstrom, Sergei Kostitsyn, Derek Brassard, Todd White, Johan Franzen, Ville Peltonen, Ryan Malone, Mark Bell, Kyle Calder, T.J. Hensick, Robbie Schremp, Patrik Berglund, Claude Giroux, Drew Miller, Igor Makarov, Jakob Voracek, Mike Van Ryn, Magnus Johansson, Marc Denis.
with such a large bench i just figured i'd highlight the guys that i figure have extra value down the road since i assume that you did all your homework by drafting all these guys with a reason.
Nicklas Backstrom (he has the "c" in his first name so that's how i know he's the C in Washington and not the goalie) is going to be a special player. we've already had a couple email conversations about him so you know that i believed at the start of this year that i figured he'd by RoY by season's end. it's not looking like that'll be the case to start things off but i still think he'll be a special player for a lengthy career. Steve Sullivan has value to your team this year after he's back from his back troubles, or he may be a nice trading chip sometime soon. the future is bright for Kostitsyn, Brassard, Hensick (very bright actually), Schremp (i like him too), Berglund, Giroux, Miller, and Voracek. you'll probably have to wait a little longer for Makorov and everybody else is a short term roster fill-in or a trading chip to help yourself out now and and down the road.
ok, i love your starting F's and most of your D's, your G's need some work though as you probably realize. it looks as though the needs of your team right now center around Goalie wins + shutouts where you presently have 2.5 pts and +/- where you have 4 pts.
Waiver Wire Options
Alex Auld G - PHX - the only G on the wire with any value at all, and you need some help at G. hopefully it'll only be short term.
Nigel Dawes F - NYR - he's been moved up to first line duty and should skate with Jaromir Jagr a lot more in the near future. he's as close to a must add in every format right now as there is.
Vernon Fiddler F - NAS - love the name, especially in Nashville. decent option for a bottom of the roster or bench guy.
Jiri Tlusty F - TOR - kid's got skills and must be considered an add in any keeper like yours.
Niklas Hagman F - DAL - hot start. i don't think it's going to continue though.
Jared Boll F - CBS - old school PIMs. won't get many pts in other areas but he'll get loads of PIMs every night.
Mike Peca F - CBS - first line duty. if Rick Nash keeps scoring then he'll need some help.
Martin Hanzal F - PHX - keeper option but this would be a bench guy at best for your team this year.
Bret Hedican D - CAR - i suggest him because of +/- and some PIMs. he won't give a terrible lot of pts but 30 pts might be an attainable goal for him.
Derek Morris D - PHX - some point potential but also a PIMy add. he might never return to the offensive potential he showed in Colorado back in the day.
Karel Rachunek D - NJ - with a D that doesn't have a real PP point man amongst them then Rachunek could still contribute the occasional PPP.
add Alex Auld for Marc Denis - you need a G3 option pretty desperately right now and Auld ... well, he's a starter. this is a band-aid solution at best and you'll want to trade for a better G3.
add Nigel Dawes for Ville Peltonen - i actually debated with myself who should be your drop since i don't want to suggest any of your kids and several of your NHL options garner stats very similarly. i just think there's more upside for Mark Bell, Johan Franzen, Ryan Malone and Kyle Calder. Dawes will be a better option than any of them though if he gets to continue to play with Jagr.
you'll need to keep an eye on the bottom of your D roster. Zhitnik, Van Ryn and Roszival all have the potential to disappear statistically. the Rangers have been rumoured to be shopping for an offensive D (Ed Jovanovski and Derek Morris have been mentioned many times) and if they make a move like that then Roszival's time on the point will be cut drastically. the PP time for Zhitnik has already been cut and i don't like his prospects for stats going forward. i was seriously considering a suggestion where you add Morris for Zhitnik and i could easily see a time where that add would be suggested for you. Van Ryn is your best option of the 3 you should be watching.
Trading Options
trade one of your young stud forwards to B-Turf for one of his stud goalies- earlier this month B-Turf put Luongo on the block and he still has him there. if he'll take 2 young studs to get Luongo then do it and don't blink. if he wants 3 then still consider it. B-Turf also has Josh Harding and Martin Gerber on his roster that you can make a run at. getting Harding would help you in the short term and it certainly wouldn't hurt to have him at the bottom of your bench since he's going to be the Wild's stud goalie within a season i expect. historically the Wild ride their goalies until they get to a big payday then they trade them off and go with the next stud option. Robbie Schremp for Josh Harding may be enough to get it done, maybe not. another option is to offer Glen Murray and a throw-in to him for Martin Gerber. there are question marks with both guys but you do need another G and B-Turf needs offense pretty badly. there are some possibilities here with B-Turf, hopefully something can get done since he fits best as a possible trade partner for you in your league.
trade Glen Murray to Hockeydoc for JP Dumont - i find it interesting sometimes the sorts of moves that people make with their teams. Nashville is in the midst of a 4 game week, your league allows you to set your lineup weekly and yet doc decided to bench Dumont prior to this week. now he did just make a trade and perhaps wanted to find out what his new players are capable of but when i notice things like that i think that he may be down on Dumont at the moment. if he is then you should strike. if he's down on him than this might work, if he's not down on him then this might just be a conversation piece for the two of you.
trade Alexei Zhitnik to IFK Helsinki for Jason LaBarbera - you need a goalie and the price for Labarbapapa is about right. i realize he was the NHL's 1st star last week but if that comes up in your trade negotiations then just point out how the man stunk it up for so long prior to last week. i personally don't think that the Kings' defense is going to continue to be swiss cheese like it was for a good chunk of October. their play will pick and i fully expect them to contend for a playoff spot in the West this season. you can afford this move, the price isn't too steep and you definitely need a goalie.
trade Michal Handzus, Brian Gionta and Magnus Johansson to Silver Seven for Brad Boyes, Joffrey Lupul and Tobias Enstrom - i'd understand your reluctance to offer up Gionta here but let me try and make a case for this deal. Lupul has been moved up to the top line on a squad that is going to score more than Gionta's squad anyway, this offer makes your team a lot younger and Tobias Enstrom is among the league leaders for PP time on ice for defensemen. Enstrom is well liked by his GM and is in fact taking much of the PP ice time away from Alexei Zhitnik. by offering Gionta you give Seven something to want in this deal, after all Gionta did pot 48 goals in '05-06. if this is accepted then that is so freaking HUGE for you.
Conclusions
it's hard to evaluate a league like yours because there is SO much going on. the only thing that would make it easier would be if you decided to add a couple expansion teams.
you've laid some excellent groundwork up front for yourself but you're pretty bare-assed on the back end (pun intended). since Lehtonen went down you've had to rely on Marc Denis as your G3 and your G situation went from bad to dismal in one fell stroke. Ryan Miller is definitely going to help you out, Lehtonen will be a nice option at G2 when he's back and i still like Manny Legace as a very nice sleeper pick to contribute some more than adequate stats. the way you're forced to run it now though, with Denis in there as a G3? that's bad. very bad. Denis isn't going to contribute, he barely starts and he doesn't give you good stats when he does start. i'd even trust Phoenix's goaltending ahead of Denis, and that's the first suggestion for you.
once that band-aid is in place you need to comb around for some better options in goal. if that means trading for Jason LaBarbera then so be it, that isn't a bad option; if that means trading some young studs to land Bobby Lou in Vancouver then absolutely do that. Luongo is on the block so at least find out what the price tag would be. the same guy with Luongo also has Harding and Gerber and either of those guys would be fine stop-gaps until Lehtonen is ready to go again. you should know that both Harding and Gerber will be backups once the main guy is ready to go again but they also both have a decent shot at a better starting slot through trade. in a keeper league Harding is going to be a very good goalie down the road and may be able to help you a lot now too.
the other trade suggestions are attempts to tweak your lineup a little and stir up some discussion with your leaguemates. you're shooting for some +/- help without hurting your total offense much.
pray that Steve Sullivan can come back healthy soon. he'll be a nice trading chip for you and if not then he'll help your offense in the least.
It's a 10 team roto league, simple categories but the depth makes the whole experience extra challenging. The categories are: G, A, P,+/-, PIM, Goalie Wins + 2x shutouts. that's interesting, no? like i said, they start 25 guys; 15F, 7D, 3G but there aren't any ratios to worry about with G's. so when evaluating a goaltender, if you win, you're in. having F options instead of breaking down by position gets everyone away from having to search for viable options at weaker positions like LW, so that's interesting too. you can set your lineup weekly only. the league is hosted at tqstats which looks like a solid game engine to run on. it also appears to be a pay option.
without further ado (not adieu as some may think), here's MillerTime.
F Ilya Kovalchuk - A-: when he's on there's little better combination of speed and sniper-ism in the game (that is too a word).
F Daniel Alfredsson - A: i think he's the consummate leader and can't believe he was ragged on for so long in OTW. steady production that won't get you in trouble.
F Daniel Briere - A: firestarter. you need a boost for your team? he'll kick your team in the butt or pick it up on his small frame and carry it around.
F Evgeni Malkin - A+: plenty of skill that gets overshadowed by Sid the kid. some were projecting him to finish 2nd in the scoring race this year and that could just happen.
F Zach Parise - B+: looks like everyone else in Jersey is asleep but Parise is gonna be something special. nice to have him in a keeper league like this.
F Brian Rolston - B+: with Gaborik and Demitra hurt (short term) then once again the offense will flow through Rolston. people overlook him but there's a reason he was made captain, he fills it up and shows the way.
F Brendan Morrow - B-: i'd like to believe again. if he gets into a couple scraps or pulls off a Gordie Howe hattrick (a G, an A, and a fight) it might go a long way to making me a believer once more.
F Brian Gionta - B-: he has a history of scoring, i'm just not sure that he's got the touch anymore.
F Brendan Shanahan - B+: dude only has 2 goals but last i checked he leads the league in SOG/game. he'll score, oh boy will he score.
F Keith Tkachuk - B: a favourite whipping boy in the past just cuz i think he's a bit of a jerk but i'll say this much, there aren't many better power forward options in the game and he's been among the best PF options for a decade now.
F Michal Handzus - C+: remember the long mullet hair on Handie? ah the 1980's. what, that was last year that he had that? really? well ... he cut it and maybe that affects his skills like it did Samson. i'm not so sure that he's the best starting option for your team. i continue to have injury concerns and he's never been a really offensive guy in the first place. he's a great checker but you don't want to rely on him to score much for you.
F Chris Kunitz - B-: he's shooting the puck. he's in the top 50 guys in SOG right now. more and more of those shots will start to go in.
F Glen Murray - B-: traditionally a goal scorer. i have concerns about whether he still "has it" though.
F Tomas Holmstrom - A-: i love this guy, yes in that way, ok maybe not but i love how he just plants himself in front and spends 3 hrs taking out the garbage. he'll get close to 40 goals this year. yes i know he's never done better than 30 before but i said it anyway.
F Jeff Hamilton - B: getting loads of opportunity on an all forward PP in Carolina and he's making good use of the opportunity too. he's a strong start right now.
D Dion Phaneuf - A-: there are few D i like more than PIMy D (i call him PIMy D). he shoots, he scores, he throws forwards against the wall like they're spaghetti and he's testing to see if they're done.
D Matt Carle - B-: smart play in a keeper. you'll have this guy a long time and he won't disappoint you.
D Sami Salo - B-: the man's a shooter and if healthy then his grade goes WAYYY up.
D Alexei Zhitnik - C-: i think his time has passed but i understand why some still believe. i see his PP time continue to go to Tobias Enstrom.
D Michal Roszival - B-: he's the best option the Rangers have right now i guess.
D Brett Clark - B: underrated option. i like him for 40 pts which ain't bad for the bottom of your roster.
D Brent Burns - B+: kid can play. logging over 20 mins ice time per night and contributing across the board.
G Kari Lehtinen- he's young, he's got skills, he's got brittle leg muscles apparently. he has a groin issue right now and needs to sit on your bench.
G Ryan Miller- people are still down on him but i rank him top 8ish for G's in the entire league. stick with him, he'll be fine.
G Manny Legace- underrated contributions while backstopping an improving team. his GAA last year was 2.5 while he shut the door in front of a brutally defensive squad last year. the Blues D is improving and Manny will keep shutting the door.
Bench
Steve Sullivan, Nicklas Backstrom, Sergei Kostitsyn, Derek Brassard, Todd White, Johan Franzen, Ville Peltonen, Ryan Malone, Mark Bell, Kyle Calder, T.J. Hensick, Robbie Schremp, Patrik Berglund, Claude Giroux, Drew Miller, Igor Makarov, Jakob Voracek, Mike Van Ryn, Magnus Johansson, Marc Denis.
with such a large bench i just figured i'd highlight the guys that i figure have extra value down the road since i assume that you did all your homework by drafting all these guys with a reason.
Nicklas Backstrom (he has the "c" in his first name so that's how i know he's the C in Washington and not the goalie) is going to be a special player. we've already had a couple email conversations about him so you know that i believed at the start of this year that i figured he'd by RoY by season's end. it's not looking like that'll be the case to start things off but i still think he'll be a special player for a lengthy career. Steve Sullivan has value to your team this year after he's back from his back troubles, or he may be a nice trading chip sometime soon. the future is bright for Kostitsyn, Brassard, Hensick (very bright actually), Schremp (i like him too), Berglund, Giroux, Miller, and Voracek. you'll probably have to wait a little longer for Makorov and everybody else is a short term roster fill-in or a trading chip to help yourself out now and and down the road.
ok, i love your starting F's and most of your D's, your G's need some work though as you probably realize. it looks as though the needs of your team right now center around Goalie wins + shutouts where you presently have 2.5 pts and +/- where you have 4 pts.
Waiver Wire Options
Alex Auld G - PHX - the only G on the wire with any value at all, and you need some help at G. hopefully it'll only be short term.
Nigel Dawes F - NYR - he's been moved up to first line duty and should skate with Jaromir Jagr a lot more in the near future. he's as close to a must add in every format right now as there is.
Vernon Fiddler F - NAS - love the name, especially in Nashville. decent option for a bottom of the roster or bench guy.
Jiri Tlusty F - TOR - kid's got skills and must be considered an add in any keeper like yours.
Niklas Hagman F - DAL - hot start. i don't think it's going to continue though.
Jared Boll F - CBS - old school PIMs. won't get many pts in other areas but he'll get loads of PIMs every night.
Mike Peca F - CBS - first line duty. if Rick Nash keeps scoring then he'll need some help.
Martin Hanzal F - PHX - keeper option but this would be a bench guy at best for your team this year.
Bret Hedican D - CAR - i suggest him because of +/- and some PIMs. he won't give a terrible lot of pts but 30 pts might be an attainable goal for him.
Derek Morris D - PHX - some point potential but also a PIMy add. he might never return to the offensive potential he showed in Colorado back in the day.
Karel Rachunek D - NJ - with a D that doesn't have a real PP point man amongst them then Rachunek could still contribute the occasional PPP.
add Alex Auld for Marc Denis - you need a G3 option pretty desperately right now and Auld ... well, he's a starter. this is a band-aid solution at best and you'll want to trade for a better G3.
add Nigel Dawes for Ville Peltonen - i actually debated with myself who should be your drop since i don't want to suggest any of your kids and several of your NHL options garner stats very similarly. i just think there's more upside for Mark Bell, Johan Franzen, Ryan Malone and Kyle Calder. Dawes will be a better option than any of them though if he gets to continue to play with Jagr.
you'll need to keep an eye on the bottom of your D roster. Zhitnik, Van Ryn and Roszival all have the potential to disappear statistically. the Rangers have been rumoured to be shopping for an offensive D (Ed Jovanovski and Derek Morris have been mentioned many times) and if they make a move like that then Roszival's time on the point will be cut drastically. the PP time for Zhitnik has already been cut and i don't like his prospects for stats going forward. i was seriously considering a suggestion where you add Morris for Zhitnik and i could easily see a time where that add would be suggested for you. Van Ryn is your best option of the 3 you should be watching.
Trading Options
trade one of your young stud forwards to B-Turf for one of his stud goalies- earlier this month B-Turf put Luongo on the block and he still has him there. if he'll take 2 young studs to get Luongo then do it and don't blink. if he wants 3 then still consider it. B-Turf also has Josh Harding and Martin Gerber on his roster that you can make a run at. getting Harding would help you in the short term and it certainly wouldn't hurt to have him at the bottom of your bench since he's going to be the Wild's stud goalie within a season i expect. historically the Wild ride their goalies until they get to a big payday then they trade them off and go with the next stud option. Robbie Schremp for Josh Harding may be enough to get it done, maybe not. another option is to offer Glen Murray and a throw-in to him for Martin Gerber. there are question marks with both guys but you do need another G and B-Turf needs offense pretty badly. there are some possibilities here with B-Turf, hopefully something can get done since he fits best as a possible trade partner for you in your league.
trade Glen Murray to Hockeydoc for JP Dumont - i find it interesting sometimes the sorts of moves that people make with their teams. Nashville is in the midst of a 4 game week, your league allows you to set your lineup weekly and yet doc decided to bench Dumont prior to this week. now he did just make a trade and perhaps wanted to find out what his new players are capable of but when i notice things like that i think that he may be down on Dumont at the moment. if he is then you should strike. if he's down on him than this might work, if he's not down on him then this might just be a conversation piece for the two of you.
trade Alexei Zhitnik to IFK Helsinki for Jason LaBarbera - you need a goalie and the price for Labarbapapa is about right. i realize he was the NHL's 1st star last week but if that comes up in your trade negotiations then just point out how the man stunk it up for so long prior to last week. i personally don't think that the Kings' defense is going to continue to be swiss cheese like it was for a good chunk of October. their play will pick and i fully expect them to contend for a playoff spot in the West this season. you can afford this move, the price isn't too steep and you definitely need a goalie.
trade Michal Handzus, Brian Gionta and Magnus Johansson to Silver Seven for Brad Boyes, Joffrey Lupul and Tobias Enstrom - i'd understand your reluctance to offer up Gionta here but let me try and make a case for this deal. Lupul has been moved up to the top line on a squad that is going to score more than Gionta's squad anyway, this offer makes your team a lot younger and Tobias Enstrom is among the league leaders for PP time on ice for defensemen. Enstrom is well liked by his GM and is in fact taking much of the PP ice time away from Alexei Zhitnik. by offering Gionta you give Seven something to want in this deal, after all Gionta did pot 48 goals in '05-06. if this is accepted then that is so freaking HUGE for you.
Conclusions
it's hard to evaluate a league like yours because there is SO much going on. the only thing that would make it easier would be if you decided to add a couple expansion teams.
you've laid some excellent groundwork up front for yourself but you're pretty bare-assed on the back end (pun intended). since Lehtonen went down you've had to rely on Marc Denis as your G3 and your G situation went from bad to dismal in one fell stroke. Ryan Miller is definitely going to help you out, Lehtonen will be a nice option at G2 when he's back and i still like Manny Legace as a very nice sleeper pick to contribute some more than adequate stats. the way you're forced to run it now though, with Denis in there as a G3? that's bad. very bad. Denis isn't going to contribute, he barely starts and he doesn't give you good stats when he does start. i'd even trust Phoenix's goaltending ahead of Denis, and that's the first suggestion for you.
once that band-aid is in place you need to comb around for some better options in goal. if that means trading for Jason LaBarbera then so be it, that isn't a bad option; if that means trading some young studs to land Bobby Lou in Vancouver then absolutely do that. Luongo is on the block so at least find out what the price tag would be. the same guy with Luongo also has Harding and Gerber and either of those guys would be fine stop-gaps until Lehtonen is ready to go again. you should know that both Harding and Gerber will be backups once the main guy is ready to go again but they also both have a decent shot at a better starting slot through trade. in a keeper league Harding is going to be a very good goalie down the road and may be able to help you a lot now too.
the other trade suggestions are attempts to tweak your lineup a little and stir up some discussion with your leaguemates. you're shooting for some +/- help without hurting your total offense much.
pray that Steve Sullivan can come back healthy soon. he'll be a nice trading chip for you and if not then he'll help your offense in the least.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Sunday morning armchair
well, we're going to have another suspension in Philly. Randy Jones forced Patrice Bergeron to do his "bug on the windshield" impression. Bergeron broke his nose and Jones was "remorseful" without saying he did anything wrong. i watched "Behind the Mask" with Kelly Hrudey in the 1st intrmssn of the 2nd game (i believe) and Hrudey says that stuff like that will continue while coaches at all levels teach people to turn their backs to other players as a way to protect the puck. he's right and Jones is going to sit for a bit because of it. i'm betting it won't be much though, 5 games perhaps? Marco Sturm might get 30 goals, Mike Richards too. Richards pocketed his 2nd shortie of the season. if you count SHP in your league then absolutely look at Richards for some help in a very rare cat to find. Joffrey Lupul got one too, i told you he'd been moved up and he'll get lots in the near future. Simon Gagne missed his 2nd straight game with dizziness.
the Blue Jackets sure look to be clogging things up this year. they only gave up 17 shots on the night to a powerful San Jose offense. Joe Thornton got a goal and i can't seem to find anything else interesting to see here. i'm thinking that Pascal Leclaire isn't the "sell high" option that i thought he was when he started hot off the top of the season.
Marc Andre Fleury was ineffective last night against Montreal and Dany Sabourin took the Pens into a shootout only to eventually lose to Andrei Markov. Markov got himself a PP marker and the shootout winner (which doesn't really count) for the win. a lot of people expected that the Habs signed Roman Hamrlik this offseason to offset the loss of the now injured Sheldon Souray but in reality Markov bided his time and he's now the Habs best D. i have him on at least one team and am very pleased that i do. this just in ... Evgeni Malkin and his 3 assists is really good. Petr Sykora went 1 and 1, which is really good too and he should be able to suck at the teet of greater talent all season long.
it seems that all my Leafs needed was to get away from some home cooking. maybe a road trip will develop some defensive chemistry, maybe they all have to start meeting at a Toronto hotel before every home game so they can bus to the game together and give themselves the idea that they're actually on the road, maybe they just need to clear the front of their own net better and cover the off wing. at any rate, they beat the vaunted Ranger offense. Kaberle (the lynchpin) had 2 assists, Kubina and Kilger (nothing to see here, move along) went 1 and 1. the Leafs lead the league in offense and they also lead the league in worst defense. if they keep playing well on the road maybe they'll start insisting they stay on the road. prior to yesterday Brendan Shanahan was leading the world in SOG/game but he's only got 1 goal to show for it. strike while he's cold, those shots are going to go in.
i heard some talk about how Jersey was going to beat Ottawa last night and my reaction before the game was, "fat chance". there is such a huge difference between how these two teams are playing right now. things won't be so lean for NJ this season but i don't care if the season opener or not, you're not going to beat Ottawa with the way you've been playing so far. i don't like that Martin Gerber continues to play so well, he's getting in the way of my playing Ray Emery. it also looks like Mike Fisher potted 2 yesterday and as a C3 option in deep leagues he's an excellent add.
Mike Sillinger got a goal, played 19 minutes and was -6. it wasn't even cold outside yesterday and he's -6. ewwwwww. Carolina took the boots to the Isles yesterday. Rod the bod with a hattie plus an assist, Erik Cole with 3 assists and Ray Whitney with 2 and 2. Chris Campoli did get 2 assists for the Isles (and was -3) and is still a nice option as a D4, particularly now that Bryan Berard is shelved and someone has to man the point on the PP more often.
i had pegged Nathan Paetsch as a sleeper this season. ok, i wasn't the only one pegging him as a sleeper but i still added him to one of my teams. anyway, Paetsch has disappointed so far this season but went 1 and 1 yesterday. if you're looking for a bottom end D who just might explode for some offense a little bit then Paetsch continues to be a possible option. i think Campoli is a better option right now but if CC isn't available then look for Paetsch. Vinny Lecavalier went 1 and 1 and didn't get into a fight, my isn't novelty nice? i'll continue to take the unexpected PIMs though if he wants to throw'em out there. Marty St. Louis has quietly put 11 pts together, still only 2 goals but he's still contributing. Tomas Vanek and his $10M salary scored his 3rd goal on the season. he'll explode eventually.
Vernon Fiddler scored his first 2 on the season and could get up toward 20 if given a chance at some ice time. he's got a great name playing for a Nashville team eh? Martin Erat got over 21 minutes of ice time last night and bears watching in case that time turns into goals coming up. he might be a guy you could trade for that wouldn't cost you too much. Radulov got 2 assists last night and i'm still pegging him as a decent RW3 option. Olli Jokinen and Cory Murphy each had 2 pts last night, go figure. the offense in Florida will filter through one or both of them this season.
Brad Boyes has 8 goals already this season. i actually drafted him as a C3. pretty pleased about that. Mike Green will continue to contribute to the Caps offense this season as long as Brian Pothier and/or Tom Poti can't seem to prove that they can consistently contribute. the Caps can't seem to find a reliable D to play over 20 minutes/game.
in my PPTOI piece last week i noted that Tobias Enstrom is among the league leaders for PPTOI for D this season. he played over 23 minutes yesterday and got an assist. if you're ignoring him still you won't be able to much longer. Ilya Kovalchuk with 3 pts (told you he'd explode, this will continue), Slava Kozlov with 2 goals (should also continue), and Jason Williams had 2 pts (quietly has 10 on the season). Patrick Kane is also pretty good and the diminutive stuff doesn't seem to get in his way, perhaps his coach has given him a couple pointers in that area.
some power forwards to note in Phoenix last night; Carcillo got a goal and 6 PIMs, Doan with a goal and 2 assists, and Brendan Morrow with 3 assists. Mike Ribeiro also had a goal and 2 assists but he doesn't qualify as a power forward. Martin Hanzal had over 20 minutes of ice time yesterday and is definitely worth a look in deep leagues and keepers.
finally, there's a new commercial on Sportsnet that talks about how many out here in the West can't seem to stand the "Toronto Sports Network"'s hockey coverage since they don't seem to focus on Western teams at all. i personally love the focus on Toronto cuz that's where all the teams in the other sports i watch are based and i just happen to be a Leafs fan. anyway, last night the Kings were hosting the Oilers on the back end of HNIC's double-header and i actually found myself cheering for the Kings. i don't know what it is about the Oilers and Flames but i just can't cheer for them. i really can't stand them much at all and i personally get all bothered by Sportsnet's focus on the Flames and Oilers out here. anyway, Jason Labarbera has been showing that he's going to be the guy for the Kings over the last week. ignore all my other prognostications about JS Aubin. my bad. Raffi Torres is playing really well over the recent past. i'm in one informal league with Victoria Matiash of ESPN's fantasy hockey and she named her team "I love Lubomir". now she's a wonderful girl and can really put away the beer and i just want to say that i agree about Visnovsky. i don't think we feel the same about him since i'm not sure she's talking about hockey but still the guy is the Kings best option from the back and he really doesn't get the print he deserves.
my football season is almost over, i only have one more on-field game to officiate. i enjoyed the whole experience and want to encourage you to consider officiating as an option where you are.
the Blue Jackets sure look to be clogging things up this year. they only gave up 17 shots on the night to a powerful San Jose offense. Joe Thornton got a goal and i can't seem to find anything else interesting to see here. i'm thinking that Pascal Leclaire isn't the "sell high" option that i thought he was when he started hot off the top of the season.
Marc Andre Fleury was ineffective last night against Montreal and Dany Sabourin took the Pens into a shootout only to eventually lose to Andrei Markov. Markov got himself a PP marker and the shootout winner (which doesn't really count) for the win. a lot of people expected that the Habs signed Roman Hamrlik this offseason to offset the loss of the now injured Sheldon Souray but in reality Markov bided his time and he's now the Habs best D. i have him on at least one team and am very pleased that i do. this just in ... Evgeni Malkin and his 3 assists is really good. Petr Sykora went 1 and 1, which is really good too and he should be able to suck at the teet of greater talent all season long.
it seems that all my Leafs needed was to get away from some home cooking. maybe a road trip will develop some defensive chemistry, maybe they all have to start meeting at a Toronto hotel before every home game so they can bus to the game together and give themselves the idea that they're actually on the road, maybe they just need to clear the front of their own net better and cover the off wing. at any rate, they beat the vaunted Ranger offense. Kaberle (the lynchpin) had 2 assists, Kubina and Kilger (nothing to see here, move along) went 1 and 1. the Leafs lead the league in offense and they also lead the league in worst defense. if they keep playing well on the road maybe they'll start insisting they stay on the road. prior to yesterday Brendan Shanahan was leading the world in SOG/game but he's only got 1 goal to show for it. strike while he's cold, those shots are going to go in.
i heard some talk about how Jersey was going to beat Ottawa last night and my reaction before the game was, "fat chance". there is such a huge difference between how these two teams are playing right now. things won't be so lean for NJ this season but i don't care if the season opener or not, you're not going to beat Ottawa with the way you've been playing so far. i don't like that Martin Gerber continues to play so well, he's getting in the way of my playing Ray Emery. it also looks like Mike Fisher potted 2 yesterday and as a C3 option in deep leagues he's an excellent add.
Mike Sillinger got a goal, played 19 minutes and was -6. it wasn't even cold outside yesterday and he's -6. ewwwwww. Carolina took the boots to the Isles yesterday. Rod the bod with a hattie plus an assist, Erik Cole with 3 assists and Ray Whitney with 2 and 2. Chris Campoli did get 2 assists for the Isles (and was -3) and is still a nice option as a D4, particularly now that Bryan Berard is shelved and someone has to man the point on the PP more often.
i had pegged Nathan Paetsch as a sleeper this season. ok, i wasn't the only one pegging him as a sleeper but i still added him to one of my teams. anyway, Paetsch has disappointed so far this season but went 1 and 1 yesterday. if you're looking for a bottom end D who just might explode for some offense a little bit then Paetsch continues to be a possible option. i think Campoli is a better option right now but if CC isn't available then look for Paetsch. Vinny Lecavalier went 1 and 1 and didn't get into a fight, my isn't novelty nice? i'll continue to take the unexpected PIMs though if he wants to throw'em out there. Marty St. Louis has quietly put 11 pts together, still only 2 goals but he's still contributing. Tomas Vanek and his $10M salary scored his 3rd goal on the season. he'll explode eventually.
Vernon Fiddler scored his first 2 on the season and could get up toward 20 if given a chance at some ice time. he's got a great name playing for a Nashville team eh? Martin Erat got over 21 minutes of ice time last night and bears watching in case that time turns into goals coming up. he might be a guy you could trade for that wouldn't cost you too much. Radulov got 2 assists last night and i'm still pegging him as a decent RW3 option. Olli Jokinen and Cory Murphy each had 2 pts last night, go figure. the offense in Florida will filter through one or both of them this season.
Brad Boyes has 8 goals already this season. i actually drafted him as a C3. pretty pleased about that. Mike Green will continue to contribute to the Caps offense this season as long as Brian Pothier and/or Tom Poti can't seem to prove that they can consistently contribute. the Caps can't seem to find a reliable D to play over 20 minutes/game.
in my PPTOI piece last week i noted that Tobias Enstrom is among the league leaders for PPTOI for D this season. he played over 23 minutes yesterday and got an assist. if you're ignoring him still you won't be able to much longer. Ilya Kovalchuk with 3 pts (told you he'd explode, this will continue), Slava Kozlov with 2 goals (should also continue), and Jason Williams had 2 pts (quietly has 10 on the season). Patrick Kane is also pretty good and the diminutive stuff doesn't seem to get in his way, perhaps his coach has given him a couple pointers in that area.
some power forwards to note in Phoenix last night; Carcillo got a goal and 6 PIMs, Doan with a goal and 2 assists, and Brendan Morrow with 3 assists. Mike Ribeiro also had a goal and 2 assists but he doesn't qualify as a power forward. Martin Hanzal had over 20 minutes of ice time yesterday and is definitely worth a look in deep leagues and keepers.
finally, there's a new commercial on Sportsnet that talks about how many out here in the West can't seem to stand the "Toronto Sports Network"'s hockey coverage since they don't seem to focus on Western teams at all. i personally love the focus on Toronto cuz that's where all the teams in the other sports i watch are based and i just happen to be a Leafs fan. anyway, last night the Kings were hosting the Oilers on the back end of HNIC's double-header and i actually found myself cheering for the Kings. i don't know what it is about the Oilers and Flames but i just can't cheer for them. i really can't stand them much at all and i personally get all bothered by Sportsnet's focus on the Flames and Oilers out here. anyway, Jason Labarbera has been showing that he's going to be the guy for the Kings over the last week. ignore all my other prognostications about JS Aubin. my bad. Raffi Torres is playing really well over the recent past. i'm in one informal league with Victoria Matiash of ESPN's fantasy hockey and she named her team "I love Lubomir". now she's a wonderful girl and can really put away the beer and i just want to say that i agree about Visnovsky. i don't think we feel the same about him since i'm not sure she's talking about hockey but still the guy is the Kings best option from the back and he really doesn't get the print he deserves.
my football season is almost over, i only have one more on-field game to officiate. i enjoyed the whole experience and want to encourage you to consider officiating as an option where you are.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
goals of the week
Jonathan Toews, good Winnipeg lad.
Rick Nash is gonna be a superstar. 50 goals every year for a decade isn't out of the question.
Friday, October 26, 2007
blogging through the boxscore
i'm trying to think of ongoing titles for certain days of the week so that i don't have to try and be creative EVERY day. so far Wednesday is my review day and Sunday i have the Sunday morning armchair, i'm thinking Tuesday will be my stat review day. if you have suggestions then ... suggest them.
see the bloodbath that was Koci last night? Zdeno Chara schooled him good. it seems that Koci broke his nose in the previous game so you gotta respect the fact that he stuck that broken nose right back in harm's way again. Chara is a mean dude. that gets missed sometimes because he contributes offensively more than most D but his PIM levels are always rather nice for a fantasy team. the big drawback for Chara is +/- ever since he left Ottawa and went to Boston. with the Bruins improved play of late though i'm hoping that +/- isn't an issue for Zdeno this season and beyond.
did i tell you the story of Zdeno Chara when he first came to North America? his english was non-existent but he was befriended by a veteran in Long Island, Ray Ferraro. Ferraro used to refer to him as "big dummy" and Zdeno is 6'9" tall without a clue what Ferraro was calling him. eventually Chara figure it out and went to find Ferraro saying "I KNOW BIG DUMMY!", that'd be enough to make a guy the size of Ferraro crap his pants on the spot. no word as to whether that actually happened or not, the crapping part that is, i have it on good authority that the other stuff happened.
anyway, i like Chara and i have a bit more respect for Koci too. now if only both guys would score a little more.
Rick Nash scored a pretty one last night. side of the net, stick back between his legs and then top corner. if i can find a copy of it i'll embed it here, if i can't then you just plain missed a nice one. Pascal Leclaire got his 4th shutout and like i said in posts past, he's really benefitting from a defensive style being put in place by Ken Hitchcock. Jared Boll is becoming a really nice PIMy option for fantasy. old school.
speaking of nice ones, the goal that Ales Hemsky scored in the shootout last night to win the game was NOT a nice one. he lost the handle and it slid between Backstrom's pads. oh well, they all count like that. Horcoff had a 4 pt night and comes up with those but the guy to watch in Oil country of late has been Raffi Torres. dude's getting ice time, bangs around the boards and carries the extra value because he's eligible at LW. if you need some help at LW3 then this may be the way to go.
i've liked Phil Kessel a lot to start this season and he's going to have a career high in pts and surprise many as a secondary scoring threat in Boston.
Jari Tlusty debuted for the Leafs and pocketed 2 in his first night on NHL ice. actually i think he Foligno'd one of them but that counts too. i picked him up as an LW3 flyer-type since i'm behind the curve at LW. it could go either way for me, it could be HUGE or disastrous. i still can't believe that Antropov is putting together a season like this but ride it while you can. Alex Steen is a viable option for secondary scoring in TO but it would be better if he got eligibility on the wing for fantasy purposes. Sid and Gene (that would be Malkin) each with 2 pts and Pitt only gets 2 on the night. i guess that says something that we already know, the offense flows through those 2 guys in Pitt.
man do i ever want Vinny Lecavalier to explode offensively. it's looking like Brad Richards and Vinny Prospal are getting all the gravy. don't worry though, it'll happen. i just want it to be yesterday or sooner. i still say that TB should trade for a goalie and they'd be a world beater. picture Huet in a lightning bolt. that's just spitballing though, i've heard no rumours.
Dan Ellis with a shutout for the Preds last night. Ellis' pic on Yahoo makes him look like a hobbit. attaboy Bilbo. nothing to see here with this guy imo. some guys are still down on Radulov but his ice time is increasing and stats along with it. it still seems like the offense is running through JP Dumont, Legwand and Arnott though. the Tootoo twain went 1 and 1 and is good option if you're in the market for a pest, unfortunately he doesn't get enough ice time to really be useful except in really deep leagues.
McDonald and Kunitz were the 2nd and 3rd stars in a game where the Ducks were shutout by the Yotes. i don't see why. how do the champs get shutout by the worst team in the league? that's supposed to be a gimme boys. think the coach is gonna bag skate 'em? why not? wake 'em up.
Labarbera held off the Stars and won 2-1. i was pulling for Aubin to win that job but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. i actually dumped Labarbera in one league today though in the hopes that Jimmy Howard starts more than pundits are really saying he's going to. if Jimmy starts more than i'd much rather roster the Wings starter than the Kings starter. it's a gamble. hope it pays off.
Mike Cammalleri had less ice time than Frolov, Kopitar AND Brown last night. what's up with that? i still love Camm for elite numbers and i think he'll be carried there by the magic that is Anze Kopitar. if you can get either and stomach some minor aches over +/- then you'll be pleased.
see the bloodbath that was Koci last night? Zdeno Chara schooled him good. it seems that Koci broke his nose in the previous game so you gotta respect the fact that he stuck that broken nose right back in harm's way again. Chara is a mean dude. that gets missed sometimes because he contributes offensively more than most D but his PIM levels are always rather nice for a fantasy team. the big drawback for Chara is +/- ever since he left Ottawa and went to Boston. with the Bruins improved play of late though i'm hoping that +/- isn't an issue for Zdeno this season and beyond.
did i tell you the story of Zdeno Chara when he first came to North America? his english was non-existent but he was befriended by a veteran in Long Island, Ray Ferraro. Ferraro used to refer to him as "big dummy" and Zdeno is 6'9" tall without a clue what Ferraro was calling him. eventually Chara figure it out and went to find Ferraro saying "I KNOW BIG DUMMY!", that'd be enough to make a guy the size of Ferraro crap his pants on the spot. no word as to whether that actually happened or not, the crapping part that is, i have it on good authority that the other stuff happened.
anyway, i like Chara and i have a bit more respect for Koci too. now if only both guys would score a little more.
Rick Nash scored a pretty one last night. side of the net, stick back between his legs and then top corner. if i can find a copy of it i'll embed it here, if i can't then you just plain missed a nice one. Pascal Leclaire got his 4th shutout and like i said in posts past, he's really benefitting from a defensive style being put in place by Ken Hitchcock. Jared Boll is becoming a really nice PIMy option for fantasy. old school.
speaking of nice ones, the goal that Ales Hemsky scored in the shootout last night to win the game was NOT a nice one. he lost the handle and it slid between Backstrom's pads. oh well, they all count like that. Horcoff had a 4 pt night and comes up with those but the guy to watch in Oil country of late has been Raffi Torres. dude's getting ice time, bangs around the boards and carries the extra value because he's eligible at LW. if you need some help at LW3 then this may be the way to go.
i've liked Phil Kessel a lot to start this season and he's going to have a career high in pts and surprise many as a secondary scoring threat in Boston.
Jari Tlusty debuted for the Leafs and pocketed 2 in his first night on NHL ice. actually i think he Foligno'd one of them but that counts too. i picked him up as an LW3 flyer-type since i'm behind the curve at LW. it could go either way for me, it could be HUGE or disastrous. i still can't believe that Antropov is putting together a season like this but ride it while you can. Alex Steen is a viable option for secondary scoring in TO but it would be better if he got eligibility on the wing for fantasy purposes. Sid and Gene (that would be Malkin) each with 2 pts and Pitt only gets 2 on the night. i guess that says something that we already know, the offense flows through those 2 guys in Pitt.
man do i ever want Vinny Lecavalier to explode offensively. it's looking like Brad Richards and Vinny Prospal are getting all the gravy. don't worry though, it'll happen. i just want it to be yesterday or sooner. i still say that TB should trade for a goalie and they'd be a world beater. picture Huet in a lightning bolt. that's just spitballing though, i've heard no rumours.
Dan Ellis with a shutout for the Preds last night. Ellis' pic on Yahoo makes him look like a hobbit. attaboy Bilbo. nothing to see here with this guy imo. some guys are still down on Radulov but his ice time is increasing and stats along with it. it still seems like the offense is running through JP Dumont, Legwand and Arnott though. the Tootoo twain went 1 and 1 and is good option if you're in the market for a pest, unfortunately he doesn't get enough ice time to really be useful except in really deep leagues.
McDonald and Kunitz were the 2nd and 3rd stars in a game where the Ducks were shutout by the Yotes. i don't see why. how do the champs get shutout by the worst team in the league? that's supposed to be a gimme boys. think the coach is gonna bag skate 'em? why not? wake 'em up.
Labarbera held off the Stars and won 2-1. i was pulling for Aubin to win that job but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. i actually dumped Labarbera in one league today though in the hopes that Jimmy Howard starts more than pundits are really saying he's going to. if Jimmy starts more than i'd much rather roster the Wings starter than the Kings starter. it's a gamble. hope it pays off.
Mike Cammalleri had less ice time than Frolov, Kopitar AND Brown last night. what's up with that? i still love Camm for elite numbers and i think he'll be carried there by the magic that is Anze Kopitar. if you can get either and stomach some minor aches over +/- then you'll be pleased.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
what you looking at?
watch the baseball game last night? i didn't. i wanted to but decided to go out to the movies with a buddy instead. we went to see Transformers. i know, i know it's been out for months and should go to video any day now but there's a cheapie movie theatre that i go to here in the Peg. if you're looking for a movie review, you're not getting one, other than i didn't really like the movie much. there's no way that the hot chick even has anything to do with the high school dweeb though. that's a different blog though. i came back from the movie to see that the Evil Empire Red Sox were wayyyyy up and had put down a spanking on a couple kid Rockies last night. i stopped watching soon after i started. turned it on to Letterman instead. gotta love the Top Ten before you crash for the night eh?
anyway, a little hockey for you. i've been searching around at some blogs i've found and i'm seeing a lot of homer-itis. what's the point of blogging about your favourite team only? what use is that to anyone? i'll try to provide some competent advice about fantasy hockey for you and i'll try to broadbase it as much as i can. you don't want to read about my favourite team all the time and i don't really want to just write about them. it's more interesting to me to try and help people figure out how to an NHL fan and use that kick their buddie's asses in their fantasy league.
Chris Clark. he hadn't been heard from until last night, want to know why? he was just put on Alex Ovechkin's line again. that move is going to create more room for AO as Clarkie clogs up the front of the net or bangs around in the corners. Clark got himself 2 last night and they both count even though the 2nd one Foligno'd off of his skate. i say that because Mike Foligno used to score the garbagest of goals (that is so a word, i just made it up). i remember a playoff game where Foligno was trying to regain his balance in front of the net, leaned over and the puck caromed off his ass into the opponent's net. classic moment. Clark is a Foligno type, except with more skill and plenty of PIMs opportunity.
there was a rare Vinny Lecavalier fight with Shaone Morrissonn (dude's got way too many letters in his name). Vinny scored himself 19 PIMs. now that he's got that out of the way he can take those knuckles and snap himself the 50 goals i'm expecting out of him. i actually saw some rankings with Vinny in the 2nd round this season. i personally snapped him up at the bottom of the 1st round in a keeper league and i thought i had myself a steal. and i did.
why are people worried about the Sabres? yes they only have a couple wins on the season but Ryan Miller is a great goalie, they still have most of their young snipers and they have adequate replacements to pass them the puck. they got beat up by the Canes last night but the Hurricanes aren't the same team they were last year. Cam Ward may take a run at the Vezina trophy the way he's playing and wins are going to be plentiful. Jason Pominville with 2 goals (easily projecting 30 on the season) and Eric Staal with 3 pts (this might be the year he's a scoring leader and is well over 100 pts).
Vancouver/Detroit was on tv last night while i squirmed in my theatre seat and tried to figure which guy was an autobot and who was a decepticon. apparently Dom Hasek was taken out of the game at some time and Chris Osgood faced zero shots while he was on the ice. i couldn't find a reason why that was, but it was. Sami Salo debuted for the Nucks. Sami is extremely underrated, has a more than decent blast from the point and sees the ice very well. Salo shouldn't be on your waiver wire but if he is then snap him up. in the very least activate him, i'm expecting goals in the teens for him again, if he's healthy. Tomas Holmstrom is already what Chris Clark wants to be and what Mike Foligno never even dreamt of being.
did i blog that i read somewhere that Mike Knuble has been taken off Gagne/Briere's line and replaced by Joffrey Lupul? it's true best i can tell. if you want to make a play for Lupul then nows a good time since his value is about to go up again. to start the season both Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were on many waiver wires. they aren't anymore and they won't be seen there for a LOOOOOOOOOONG time. they got skills and provide a more than adequate secondary scoring for the Flyers, who i can't stand but have to admit that they're going a long way this year. Simon Gagne was staring at cartoon birdies after getting rocked by Jay Bouwmeester last night. he'll be fine, i hope. i have no news so it may just be wishful thinking. speaking of Bouwmeester, i LOVE the Cats D. they have themselves a stableful of stud D for the next decade. oh and Olli Jokinen is fab too don't you think? he looks weird though. still dude can score and shoots a ton so he can be on my team anytime.
Calgary handed Minny it's first "real" loss. they loss previously in a shootout but this one was a real loss. the Wild had a 3-0 lead after 1 and the Flames scored 5 unanswered by the end of the night, only 1 on the PP. Iginla with 3 pts, Tanguay with 3 (about time), Phaneuf absolutely destroyed Veilleux in a fight and underrated Aucoin chipped in a couple assists while leading his team in ice time. Kipper bounced back from getting pulled in San Jose the other night and held off the Wild for 2 periods. that's what star goalies do. some are pretty down on Kip but don't you be!
anyway, a little hockey for you. i've been searching around at some blogs i've found and i'm seeing a lot of homer-itis. what's the point of blogging about your favourite team only? what use is that to anyone? i'll try to provide some competent advice about fantasy hockey for you and i'll try to broadbase it as much as i can. you don't want to read about my favourite team all the time and i don't really want to just write about them. it's more interesting to me to try and help people figure out how to an NHL fan and use that kick their buddie's asses in their fantasy league.
Chris Clark. he hadn't been heard from until last night, want to know why? he was just put on Alex Ovechkin's line again. that move is going to create more room for AO as Clarkie clogs up the front of the net or bangs around in the corners. Clark got himself 2 last night and they both count even though the 2nd one Foligno'd off of his skate. i say that because Mike Foligno used to score the garbagest of goals (that is so a word, i just made it up). i remember a playoff game where Foligno was trying to regain his balance in front of the net, leaned over and the puck caromed off his ass into the opponent's net. classic moment. Clark is a Foligno type, except with more skill and plenty of PIMs opportunity.
there was a rare Vinny Lecavalier fight with Shaone Morrissonn (dude's got way too many letters in his name). Vinny scored himself 19 PIMs. now that he's got that out of the way he can take those knuckles and snap himself the 50 goals i'm expecting out of him. i actually saw some rankings with Vinny in the 2nd round this season. i personally snapped him up at the bottom of the 1st round in a keeper league and i thought i had myself a steal. and i did.
why are people worried about the Sabres? yes they only have a couple wins on the season but Ryan Miller is a great goalie, they still have most of their young snipers and they have adequate replacements to pass them the puck. they got beat up by the Canes last night but the Hurricanes aren't the same team they were last year. Cam Ward may take a run at the Vezina trophy the way he's playing and wins are going to be plentiful. Jason Pominville with 2 goals (easily projecting 30 on the season) and Eric Staal with 3 pts (this might be the year he's a scoring leader and is well over 100 pts).
Vancouver/Detroit was on tv last night while i squirmed in my theatre seat and tried to figure which guy was an autobot and who was a decepticon. apparently Dom Hasek was taken out of the game at some time and Chris Osgood faced zero shots while he was on the ice. i couldn't find a reason why that was, but it was. Sami Salo debuted for the Nucks. Sami is extremely underrated, has a more than decent blast from the point and sees the ice very well. Salo shouldn't be on your waiver wire but if he is then snap him up. in the very least activate him, i'm expecting goals in the teens for him again, if he's healthy. Tomas Holmstrom is already what Chris Clark wants to be and what Mike Foligno never even dreamt of being.
did i blog that i read somewhere that Mike Knuble has been taken off Gagne/Briere's line and replaced by Joffrey Lupul? it's true best i can tell. if you want to make a play for Lupul then nows a good time since his value is about to go up again. to start the season both Mike Richards and Jeff Carter were on many waiver wires. they aren't anymore and they won't be seen there for a LOOOOOOOOOONG time. they got skills and provide a more than adequate secondary scoring for the Flyers, who i can't stand but have to admit that they're going a long way this year. Simon Gagne was staring at cartoon birdies after getting rocked by Jay Bouwmeester last night. he'll be fine, i hope. i have no news so it may just be wishful thinking. speaking of Bouwmeester, i LOVE the Cats D. they have themselves a stableful of stud D for the next decade. oh and Olli Jokinen is fab too don't you think? he looks weird though. still dude can score and shoots a ton so he can be on my team anytime.
Calgary handed Minny it's first "real" loss. they loss previously in a shootout but this one was a real loss. the Wild had a 3-0 lead after 1 and the Flames scored 5 unanswered by the end of the night, only 1 on the PP. Iginla with 3 pts, Tanguay with 3 (about time), Phaneuf absolutely destroyed Veilleux in a fight and underrated Aucoin chipped in a couple assists while leading his team in ice time. Kipper bounced back from getting pulled in San Jose the other night and held off the Wild for 2 periods. that's what star goalies do. some are pretty down on Kip but don't you be!
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
PP TOI/game
i did some simple stat sorting to look at PP TOI (power play time on ice). as you might imagine if you did so you'd fine that there are a whack of forwards listed there that you wouldn't find on your league's waiver wire but the gems found in doing a search like that is when you're sorting for a D who mans the point more than most. i mean PPP is PPP and one really shouldn't look the other way if a resource sits on the waiver wire. then again maybe you're D is stacked and you have no use for this post. let me just highlight some names and numbers for you.
Tom Poti - 6:17/game - and the Caps offense hasn't really taken off yet. Alexander Semin is due back tonight and you just know the PP options down low will take a giant leap. who gets the puck down low? how about the guy lugging the puck up the ice. i've seen Poti turfed on some teams already. mistake.
Filip Kuba - 5:30/game - how this guy gets ignored every year i don't know. he shoots the puck and he's got himself a pretty good offensive squad to feature on the attack. he shouldn't be on a wire but if he is then you've already wasted too much time reading this.
Tobias Enstrom - 5:21/game - who? no seriously, who? well someone has to carry the puck and get it to Hossa/Kovalchuk. Enstrom is ranked 13th in D for PPTOI. definitely a sleeper and you just know that the Thrash's offense is going to explode soon. then again this sleeper pick may just blow up all over you too but that's why we play the game. you want the glory then you have to make the tough calls.
Paul Martin - 5:19/game - i've seen the former Prime Minister on waiver wires too. Sean Allen touted that Karel Rachunek was going to head up the Devils' PP but that's not how it looks to me, 10 games in.
Marek Zidlicky - 5:19/game - Z took a step back last season (Dan Hamhuis took several steps back) and the time to add Z may be past since Shea Weber should be returning soon but for a short term add, this is still a decent move.
Kris Russell - 5:02/game - another who? he's in C-bus and somebody has to fill the void that Bryan Berard left on their PP. we know Adam Foote can't do it anymore. just hand it to Mr. Nash there Kris.
Andrei Zyuzin - 4:56/game - i've watched Zyuzin since he was drafted way back when. he's always been more of a defensive presence than anything else. it seems as though the Hawks need him to be a bit more than a defensive presence though so he may just get some extra time to help out offensively.
Craig Rivet - 4:54/game - i saw him get one in Calgary last night and you just know with all the offensive options in the Sharks he'll get himself his own share of stats this season. he won't be on a waiver wire but you may want to trade for him as a possible D4 or so.
Jaroslav Spacek - 4:51/game - i've never really been a fan but it does seem like he's getting some opportunity. he hasn't shown enough to me to make me want to add him to my team but i understand why guys do.
interesting eh? the rest of the list is chock full of names that you'd expect to be there and there's no hope that you'd find them on a waiver wire anyway. maybe Rob Blake is on there but i figured he was too obvious to list as a sleeper type of option. Francois Beauchemin tops the entire list by the way but i didn't list him as a sleeper either because he isn't and i expect his TOI to come down as Mathieu Schneider and eventually Scott Niedermayer get on the ice.
it's not looking like i'll be getting to a team review this week since i've been strapped for time. i do want more submissions for team reviews though so feel free to fire them in.
Tom Poti - 6:17/game - and the Caps offense hasn't really taken off yet. Alexander Semin is due back tonight and you just know the PP options down low will take a giant leap. who gets the puck down low? how about the guy lugging the puck up the ice. i've seen Poti turfed on some teams already. mistake.
Filip Kuba - 5:30/game - how this guy gets ignored every year i don't know. he shoots the puck and he's got himself a pretty good offensive squad to feature on the attack. he shouldn't be on a wire but if he is then you've already wasted too much time reading this.
Tobias Enstrom - 5:21/game - who? no seriously, who? well someone has to carry the puck and get it to Hossa/Kovalchuk. Enstrom is ranked 13th in D for PPTOI. definitely a sleeper and you just know that the Thrash's offense is going to explode soon. then again this sleeper pick may just blow up all over you too but that's why we play the game. you want the glory then you have to make the tough calls.
Paul Martin - 5:19/game - i've seen the former Prime Minister on waiver wires too. Sean Allen touted that Karel Rachunek was going to head up the Devils' PP but that's not how it looks to me, 10 games in.
Marek Zidlicky - 5:19/game - Z took a step back last season (Dan Hamhuis took several steps back) and the time to add Z may be past since Shea Weber should be returning soon but for a short term add, this is still a decent move.
Kris Russell - 5:02/game - another who? he's in C-bus and somebody has to fill the void that Bryan Berard left on their PP. we know Adam Foote can't do it anymore. just hand it to Mr. Nash there Kris.
Andrei Zyuzin - 4:56/game - i've watched Zyuzin since he was drafted way back when. he's always been more of a defensive presence than anything else. it seems as though the Hawks need him to be a bit more than a defensive presence though so he may just get some extra time to help out offensively.
Craig Rivet - 4:54/game - i saw him get one in Calgary last night and you just know with all the offensive options in the Sharks he'll get himself his own share of stats this season. he won't be on a waiver wire but you may want to trade for him as a possible D4 or so.
Jaroslav Spacek - 4:51/game - i've never really been a fan but it does seem like he's getting some opportunity. he hasn't shown enough to me to make me want to add him to my team but i understand why guys do.
interesting eh? the rest of the list is chock full of names that you'd expect to be there and there's no hope that you'd find them on a waiver wire anyway. maybe Rob Blake is on there but i figured he was too obvious to list as a sleeper type of option. Francois Beauchemin tops the entire list by the way but i didn't list him as a sleeper either because he isn't and i expect his TOI to come down as Mathieu Schneider and eventually Scott Niedermayer get on the ice.
it's not looking like i'll be getting to a team review this week since i've been strapped for time. i do want more submissions for team reviews though so feel free to fire them in.
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