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Fantasy Hockey Friday: The Hot List

Jan 13

Posted by Chris in Fantasy | No Comments

The Hot List provides a small sampling of players putting up big numbers over the last week who are flying under the radar in Fantasy Hockey leagues and could be worth a look if you need an extra boost in your stat categories.

The Hot List:

Saku Koivu (forward): Someone on the Anaheim roster needs to score, and evidently it’s Koivu’s turn. Four goals and three assists over the last seven days including a hat trick against Dallas earlier this week. Koivu missed a big chunk of December thanks to injury, but has tallied 11 points in his last five games.

Kyle Turris (forward): The Ottawa Senators have been a big surprise this season, and the addition of Turris raised some eyebrows after he underachieved for several seasons with the Phoenix Coyotes. Since joining the Sens, however, Turris has posted eight points in 11 games – including seven assists. Turris appears to be the number two center the Sens have been coveting.

Adam Henrique (forward): Hard to believe this rookie is still available in 62 percent of Yahoo Fantasy Hockey leagues. Three goals and three assists over the last seven days, including two shorthanded goals and 12 shots on goal. Henrique now has 34 points in 40 games and is making a strong case for rookie of the year.

Marcel Goc (forward): Goc hasn’t done much this season, but he has four points in his last three games – including a power play goal against the Canucks earlier this week. Take his recent success with a grain of salt, however, as Goc had only two points in 17 games in October and November.

Francois Beauchemin (defense): Three assists in the last week, but was a plus-6 and also contributed 18 penalty minutes. If you need defensive depth, or help in the PIM category, Beauchemin might be worth a look.

Jonas Gustavsson (goalie): Four straight wins and two shutouts in the past week. Could “The Monster” finally be showing his true potential?

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2011-12 NHL Season Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs

Sep 8

Posted by EB in Season Previews | 3 Comments

Key Offseason Additions: Tim Connolly, Matthew Lombardi, John Michael-Liles, Cody Franson

Key Offseason Losses: Kris Versteeg, Jean-Sebastian Giguere

Last Season Ranking: 10th in East

Offense: The Toronto Maples Leafs have made two impressive off-season additions that should greatly foster their offensive talent.

First, Tim Connolly. Connolly is a top line center who battled injuries last year with the Buffalo Sabres. With a healthy season, Connolly could set up winger Phil Kessel, easily combining for over 120 points. The key though, if Connolly can stay healthy.

The second addition, which many will underrate, is that of Matthew Lombardi. Lombardi has had a really up and down career, with his 2009-2010 season with the Phoenix Coyotes a career high of 19 goals, 34 assists to total 53 points. But, like Connolly, the key is for him to stay healthy. Lombardi missed nearly all of last season with a concussion. Concussion symptoms are no joke, Sidney Crosby has brought light to that.

The remainder of the supporting cast is surprisingly good. Joffrey Lupul looks to bounce back from back problems, Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur both look to better last year’s career high performances, and young talents Tyler Bozak and Nazem Kadri look to balance out the third line with talented depth.

Defense: General Manager Brian Burke did a good job to better the defense with veteran John-Michael Lieles and young talent Cody Franson. Last year’s seasons combined totaled 14 goals and 61 assists. The stats do not lie, both players can move the puck.

Toronto's fate rests on the hands of goaltender James Reimer. Will he follow the sophomore curse?

The additions will put a much needed pressure on big name player Dion Phaneuf. Phaneuf had trouble in Calgary before coming to Toronto, often perceived as an arrogant player. It is still a debate if he is all that he hyped up to be, but with only 8 goals and 22 assists last year, expect him to step up his game this upcoming season.

Luke Schenn is coming into his 4th season with the Maple Leafs and will most likely improve upon his 5 goals and 17 assists last year. Schenn is a young, big 6′-2″ defender who has some hands and some speed. Possibly paired with Phaneuf, his stock is rising in playoff pools. Sure he won’t be your top defender, but looking for some depth, he will most likely put up 25 assists this year.

Goaltending: If it is one thing that the Maple Leafs are lacking it is goaltending. Losing veteran Jean-Sebastian Giguere is going to hurt, even if he only did put up a 11-11-4 record and a 2.87 goals against average. His veteran presence will be missed, especially if James Reimer has to carry the load.

Reimer last year had a remarkable rookie season with a 20-10-5 season and a 2.60 goals against average. The problem now is that he is in his sophomore year, and if anyone knows anything, the second year for goaltenders tend to take nose dives.

Playing backup will be big 6’3″ Jonas Gustavsson. Gustavsson has the talent to be a great goaltender, but last seasons 13 loses trumping his 6 wins, he needs to step it up. Throwing out a wild prediction, factoring in Reimer’s sophomore status, Gustavsson will become the number 1 goalie.

HWB Playoff Prediction: Not playoff bound. It is the Leafs after all.

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Hockey World Blog Season Previews 2010: Toronto Maple Leafs

Sep 8

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Losses: None

Key Offseason Additions: Colby Armstrong, Jerry D’Amigo, Jonas Gustavsson, Brett Lebda, Marcel Mueller, Kris Versteeg

Last Season Ranking: 15th, East

Marcel Mueller could be a sleeper pick for fantasy owners this year with his impressive resume from the German Hockey League.

Marcel Mueller could be a sleeper pick for fantasy owners this year with his impressive resume from the German Hockey League.

Offense: The Toronto Maple Leafs are a talented team on paper, young, fast and very talented. However, come game time, the team struggles to put the pucks in the net, resulting in the 5th least goals for amongst the league.

Toronto has one goal 30 goal scorer on the team, Phil Kessle. Thereafter though lies the problem, second closest in goals was Nikolai Kulemin with 16. Ouch!

Brian Burke has recognized this and has added some more young talent to the mix. Most notable are Jerry D’amigo from the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) and Marcel Mueller from the German Hockey League (DEL). D’amigo has a good resume, having a point per game production in the ECAC as well as winning a gold medal for the Men’s Junior United States team. Mueller has perhaps an even better resume with 24 goals and 32 assists in 53 games last season with Koln, all while serving 122 penalty minutes. Imagine if he stayed out of the box.

Lastly, Burke has added veteran depth in Stanley Cup winner Kris Versteeg from the Chicago Blackhawks and Colby Armstrong from the Atlanta Thrashers. Versteeg had a balanced 20 goals and 24 assists in 44 games. Armstrong had a down year with 29 points last season in comparison to 40 points the year before but should be able to at least get 25 goals if set up with play-making linesman. Both should add the much needed depth and experience to help the young team compete this year.

Defense: The Maple Leaf’s defensive is in need of some work despite having some well known and talented players. Dion Phaneuf, Thomas Kaberle, Francois Beauchemin and Luke Schenn are the top two lines with Mike Komisarek anchoring the third pairing.

Despite being known and talented players, not much needs to be said except that the Leafs allowed 263 goals last season, second worse only being beaten out by the Edmonton Oilers. Practice makes perfect and practice these guys need.

Goaltending: Jean-Sebastian Giguere and Jonas Gustavsson will split time in net this year. Gustavsson was battling an irregular heartbeat last season, but all is behind him and his focus will now be on winning games for the team. Giguere starts the season without the headaches of the Anaheim Ducks and should settle in this season with his new team. The two should have a friendly competition for game time, a competition that should play to the benefit of the team with both players trying to make a claim for the dominant goalie.

Season Outlook: It really is hard to say what one should expect from the Toronto Maple Leafs this upcoming season. On paper, the team looks to have 2 solid forward lines that finally have some goal scorers besides Phile Kessle. Defensively, the team has talent, but they just need some more practice together. As for goaltending, what is not to like with the J.G. duo fighting for the number one spot. Still though, with the added pressure of the media, always playing in front of a sell out crowd despite not having the performance to earn that honor, it will all come down to how well the team buys into the system and how well they click.  I would not expect a playoff spot this season, but I do believe the team will make it worth your while to watch them this year with all the young talent.

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Toronto Wins!

Oct 27

Posted by EB in News | 10 Comments

Niklas Hagman took first star in their first win of the year against the Anaheim Ducks. The face says, "Yay we won, but we still are bad."

Niklas Hagman took first star in their first win of the year against the Anaheim Ducks. The face says, "Yay we won, but we still are bad."

The fans of blue and white had something to cheer about as the Toronto Maple Leafs finally posted their first win of the season.

Sure the Leafs beat a struggling “…not worth my time” Anaheim Ducks, but the win is still a win and it gives hope to the fans. Ok… maybe not that much hope, but a little.

The game itself was relatively back and forth, as through two periods only a goal separated the two teams as the Leafs were on top 2 – 1. The third period though was the straw that broke the camel’s back as the Leafs came out on fire. Two goals in under 7 minutes, and another for safe measures just past the 10 minute mark to end their scoring for the night. Anaheim did make an attempt to come back, but only scored one more time with only 7 minutes not enough time to go in the game. The final score was Toronto 6, Anaheim 3.

The highlights of the night were Niklas Hagman’s abnormal hat trick, Tomas Kaberle’s helping hands, and Jonas Gustavsson’s return from the injured reserved.

Hagman put up three goals for the night, leading the scoring charge for the Maple Leafs. All three of those goals came on the power play, one in each period.

Kaberle assisted on four of the six goals, as well as netting a goal himself. Fantasy owners were jumping for joy as all his assists were on the power play, and his goal was a power play goal also.

Gustavsson posted his first win in the NHL, saving 25 of the 28 shots against. Not incredible numbers, but nonetheless, he will remember this one forever. Gustavsson afterwards commented, “It’s late in Sweden; I don’t know if they’ll all stay up, but I hope they saw some of it”.

Colton Orr (TOR) and George Parros (ANA) dropping the gloves 3 minutes into the game was a bit of foreshadowing as the two teams had an incredible amount of penalties between them. Orr took a 10 minute misconduct for pushing the linesman away from stopping their fight. Parros, not to be out doen, took a 10 minute misconduct as well later in the game. Twenty-seven penalties totaling 76 minutes. Twenty three of those were minor penalties with the majority of them being roughing. Five of the six goals scored by Toronto were on the power play, an impressive 83% conversion rate. Oddly enough though, because of all the penalties, only 1 player from Toronto ended up with a +1 while the rest were at zero or negative. On the flip side, Anaheim had 7 players with a positive plus minus rating, two of which were +2.

The game was emotional for both teams, both showing their frustrations with their losing seasons. Neither team are going to build any momentum off of this game, only to later have more frustrations when they play better caliber teams.

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How Would You Build Your Team?

Oct 7

Posted by Eddie in Fantasy, Round Table | 6 Comments

Every hockey fan will go through this discussion. “If I were to build my own team, I would have (insert player names here).” Well it got Hockey World Blog thinking, “Build a team with 1 forward, 1 defenseman, and 1 goalie, who would you pick?”

Eddie:

Forward: Pavel Datsyuk

If I were to build my team, I would keep it young in terms of age and experience, but I’d throw in a few guys in that 30-35-year-old range to provide leadership on and off the ice. Datsyuk is one of those players who can score a highlight reel goal every time he touches the puck. At age 31, Datsyuk has won two Stanley Cups and was a finalist for the Heart Trophy this past season. On my team, he would be that perfect combination of experience and offensive threat. Not to mention he’s a great two-way player as he won the last two Selke Trophies.

Defenseman: Mike Green

Mike Green has the perfect combination of scoring and defensive presense for a young player.

Mike Green has the perfect combination of scoring and defensive presence for a young player.

What a first-round draft the Capitals had in 2004. With the No. 1 overall pick, they take Alexander Ovechkin. And at No. 29 they take a young defenseman in Mike Green. They are amongst the best forward-defenseman combinations in the league. Both can light the lamp at anytime. What I like about Green is  that he’s grown into a much better player the last two seasons. Last year he scored 31 goals. That’s an insane amount for a defenseman. But what attracts me to him is his +/- rating. His +24 rating was tied for fifth in the league last season.

Goalie: Steve Mason

 In looking for a goalie, I want someone young who can be my franchise goalie, in the way that Chris Osgood was for Detroit and Martin Brodeur was for New Jersey. Living in the Central Division, I got to see a lot of the Blue Jackets and Steve Mason. He helped guide a team that was once the laughing stock of the NHL to a playoff birth last season. His 10 shutouts was the most in the league last season. If Columbus can get a couple more quality defenseman in front of him Mason can rise to one of the best goalies in the league.

EB:

Forward: Jarome Iginla

The boy can score, set up plays, fight and can even do commericals! Iginla is a class act, both on and off the ice. He is an ambassador for Kidsport Calgary which which donates $2,000 for every goal he scores. The money aides disadvantaged families by purchasing equipment as well as registration fees. He also supports many other causes through time and money, ranging from hockey diversity initiative to literacy programs. Sure you are widely known for the work you display on the ice, but to have a franchise player, you want someone well rounded both on and off the ice.

Jonathan Ericsson finishes a hit and already has eyes back on the play.

Jonathan Ericsson finishes a hit and already has eyes back on the play.

Defense: Jonathan Ericsson

Perhaps my biased Wings fan is showing, but Ericsson is going to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame one day. Currently under Nicklas Lidstrom’s leadership as a defenseman, I expect nothing but great things to come from this kid and would be more than willing to put a franchise with him at the center. The 6’4″ 206 lb. hard hitting and shooting player is a treat to watch at his young age. His agility and coordination improves daily it seems, with the natural unteachable poise of play that he possesses, and willingness to drop the gloves when he needs to.

Goalie: Jonas Gustavsson

Any player with the nickname “The Monster” is bound to gain attention. Coming into his first year and already with the media following would only mean $$$ for the owner. Fans would come far and wide just to get a glimpse of his enormous size only to be matched by his enormous talent. With the feeling that he alone could defeat a team with his quick reflexes, you could only imagine that he increases your chances of making playoffs as well as the possibility of getting some cups.

 

Chris:

Forward: Alexander Ovechkin

Give me a goal-scorer like Alexander Ovechkin any day of the week to build my offensive program around. This guy can score from his knees, while he’s diving, forward or backward. He is one of the most dynamic forwards in the NHL right now because of his speed, skating ability and his capacity to shoot mid-stride and catch both goalies and defenders off guard. Ovechkin has topped the 50-goal plateau three times in his four NHL seasons, only missing out on 50 by four goals in 2006-07. Plus Ovechkin is young. At just 23 years of age, this sniper has a long NHL career ahead of him.

Defenseman: Dion Phaneuf

If I get one player to build my defensive core around, I want a guy like Dion Phaneuf standing on my blue line. At 6’3 and 214 pounds, this guy is big, scary, and mean. He plays physical and is no stranger to throwing a few bone-crunching checks. His physical style of play has landed him with 90 penalty minutes or more in each of his four NHL seasons, topping out at 182 PIM during the 2007-2008 season. Phaneuf has an offensive prowess, too. In 323 NHL games, Phaneuf has accumulated 206 points, including 141 helpers. At the tender age of 24, Phaneuf has all the makings of a star blue liner.

Goalie: Ryan Miller

For a starting goalie, I like Ryan Miller. While he may not be cozying up to any goaltender records anytime soon, this is a guy who is solid between the pipes and gives you a chance to win every night. While he isn’t a tender young pup anymore at the age of 29, he definitely still has several quality years left in him to backstop a team to the Cup. Miller sports a career goals against average of 2.66 and a save percentage of 0.910. Not every team can draft a Marty Brodeur or Roberto Luongo, but Miller will make the saves he’s supposed to and probably stop a few that he shouldn’t. If nothing else, he will give you a chance to win night in and night out.

 

Matt:

Forward: Alex Ovechkin

Alexander Ovechkin is a scoring machine, plain and simple. As time goes on, however, he is solidifying himself as a more responsible defensive player as well. In fact, Alex finished his 2009 playoff campaign with a +10 rating in 14 games played. He is evolving into a terrific leader, and a player who wants nothing more than to win the Stanley Cup.

Defense: Mike Green

Does this guy not just remind you of Bobby Orr a little bit? At least in terms of his skating and scoring? If there is another defenseman to crack the 100 point barrier anytime soon, my money is on Mike Green. Last season he had 31 goals and another 42 helpers, for 73 points on the season, in only his third full year in the NHL. He is young, he is talented, and he will win a Norris Trophy and a Stanley Cup before his career is over.

Goalie: Roberto Luongo

They say that goalies tend to reach their peak performance level a bit later in their career than most other players. Well, if that’s the case, at 30 years young, Roberto Luongo is a guy you want on your squad. He has proven himself as a guy who can handle a heavy workload, playing more than 70 games in four of the past five seasons. Along with that, he’s posted a .919 save percentage throughout his career. As the current captain of the Vancouver Canucks, you know the man has tremendous leadership ability, and that is vital to the construction of any team.

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Toronto Maple Leafs

Sep 8

Posted by EB in Season Previews | 4 Comments

Bran Burke's decisions to add grit and size may leave him all alone in thought depending on the teams success this year.

Bran Burke's decisions to add grit and size may leave him all alone in thought depending on the teams success this year.

The Toronto Maple Leafs look to be better this season as general manager Brian Burke intends on rebuilding the team similarly as he did the Anaheim Ducks; big and strong.

Offensively, the team added free agents Colton Orr from the New York Rangers in addition to acquiring Wayne Primeau in a trade with Calgary. Last season Primeau missed 56 regular season games as well as 6 playoff games with a broken foot, which will be a concern for the team as in the last two seasons he has only played a total of 67 games out of the 164 games possible. Orr will add the much needed enforcement to the Leafs as in the ’08-’09 season he had a respectable 193 minutes in 82 games played. This will allow defenseman Pavel Kubina, who led the team in penalty minutes last season with 94, a break from the box as his 40 points was best amongst defenseman and is much more needed than roughing it up.

Defensively the Leafs added free agents Francois Beauchemin from Anaheim and Mike Komisarek from Montreal. Once again similar to Primeau, Beauchemin missed 63 games last season with a torn ACL and will be a concern for the upcoming year. When healthy, expect him to be an average defenseman who hovers around zero in the +/- department, but will add 6’ 0” and 207lbs of clearing people out in front of the net. And similar to Orr, Komisarek will add even more enforcement as last season the defenseman put up 121 penalty minutes in 66 games. Komisarek, who stands 6’ 4” and weighs 243lbs, will also be able to assist in clearing people out from in front of the net.

With a 1 year contract, all eyes will be on Jonas "the monster" Gustavsson to be the goalie of the future.

With a 1 year contract, all eyes will be on Jonas "the Monster" Gustavsson to prove he is the goalie of the future.

The last spot to mention is that of goalie, as the team has signed Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson. The goaltender stands 6’ 3” and weighs 192lbs, but is as agile as any goalie within the league. With all the hype surrounding the 24 year old Swedish goaltender, if it proves to be accurate, he may be the next Martin Brodeur. Last season in the Swedish league in 82 games played, he had an astonishing 1.96 goals against average and a .932 save percentage. This is nothing compared to last year’s playoffs, where he allowed 14 goals in 13 games played. That equates to a 1.03 goals against average and a .961 save percentage. In those games, the Monster recorded 5 shutouts. He has already been quoted as wanting the starting position that currently belongs to Vesa Toskala, which is to be expected as Gustavsson only signed a 1 year contract with the team. With the addition of backup goaltender Joey Macdonald, it is not farfetched that a goalie battle is going to happen. The battle between who is the question. Both Toskala and Macdonald become unrestricted free agents as Gustavsson is a restricted free agent at the end of the season.

Burke has added size in all positions, even goaltender, however with the mentality of speed is the new way to go, it will be interesting to see how everything panes out. It did work for the Anaheim Ducks; maybe it will work for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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