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Fantasy Hockey Draft Preparation 2010 – Left Wings

Aug 28

Posted by Chris in Fantasy | No Comments

With NHL training camps set to begin about four weeks from now, it’s time for fantasy hockey managers to start reengaging their brains and begin planning for their upcoming Fantasy Hockey Draft. Most drafts will take place in the latter-half of September, but it’s never too early to start looking for that gem of a late-round pick, the underrated talent who is set for a breakout season or the veteran presence who is due for a rebound year.

Today’s Position: Left Wing

Left Wing has some very talented players, but be diligent in your drafting because these players go very quickly and very high in the draft – and you definitely do not want to lose out on some of these names.

If You Have a Top 3 Pick – Take Ovechkin. Don’t ask why, just do it.

If You Can’t Take Ovechkin – Then definitely consider Ilya Kovalchuk. Again, this is a no-brainer as Kovalchuk netted 40 or more goals in each of his past five NHL seasons and will probably continue that pace this year.

Phoenix+Coyotes+v+New+Jersey+Devils+rLtNBLrL2yZlThe Secret Is Out On – Zach Parise (pictured). Despite a breakout season in 2008-09 where Parise posted 94 points, he was still somewhat of a wild card. Well, his 84-point season last year showed that he isn’t a fluke and you can expect him to tally 30+ goals and 80 or more points this season as well.

Still Under the Radar Is – Simon Gagne. With potential to top the 70 point plateau, Gagne suffers from inconsistency and is somewhat injury-prone, which keeps him off the radar for many fantasy owners. With 40 points in 58 games last season, if Gagne can stay healthy he might shoot back up near 70 points if he plays on one of Tampa Bay’s top two lines centered by either Lecavalier or Stamkos.

Look for a Rebound Season From – Alex Tanguay. After a disappointing outing with Tampa Bay last season, Tanguay will return to Calgary where he did quite a bit of damage offensively in 2006-07 with 81 points. The Flames are hoping that Tanguay can recover that scoring touch and help boost the team’s struggling offense and will probably be given every opportunity to succeed.

Look for a Breakout Season From – Ville Leino. After being traded to the Flyers at the trade deadline, Leino came alive when the pressure was on in the playoffs and tallied seven goals and 14 assists in 19 playoff games. Look for Leino to benefit from playing on a team that is deep and very talented offensively. Fifty points could be within reach if Leino works hard for it.

Keep An Eye On – Taylor Hall. As the number one overall selection in the 2010 Entry Draft, Hall will be given every opportunity to succeed in Edmonton. Chances are he will immediately land a spot on one of the top two lines and Hall is expected to score a lot of goals in an Oilers uniform. Keep an eye on him to see if those goals start coming as early as this season.

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Zherdev’s Fantasy Profile

Jul 14

Posted by EB in News | No Comments

Forward Nikolai Zherdev has been signed by the Philadelphia Flyers for the upcoming year. Will he produce or will he flop? Here’s my take and why.

Zherdev played last season over in Russia and posted 39 points in 52 games. With only a +3 rating and a team leading 79 penalty minutes leave not much to be desired. Yet looking at the previous two seasons in the NHL, Zherdev posted a team leading 58 points in a Rangers uniform and 61 points for Columbus, 8 points less than NHL All Star Rick Nash. And in both seasons his penalty minutes were much more curved than in the KHL. His NHL seasons are much more like his 1st round 4th overall draft in 2003 prediction of talent.

Zherdev is a solid player despite the naysayers. Sure he needs to be whipped every now and then to make sure he is playing day in and day out, but who better than the Philadelphia Flyers? Captain Mike Richards and big veteran defenseman Chris Pronger are just the players to do it, not to leave out beastly Scott Hartnell for backup. What so many fans fail to realize is that prior to his trade to the Flyers, backbone of the playoffs Ville Leino only put up 7 points in 42 games with the Detroit Red Wings. Leino’s poor production was a direct result of his lack of effort on the ice. Leino, in a nutshell, was transformed once he went to the Flyers into a hard working, corner digging offensive powerhouse in clutch times. Zherdev will follow suit.

So, my overall prediction for the newly acquired Flyers Zherdev: Pick him late in the draft. He will put up at least 60 points this season, perhaps even more depending on who he plays with, although I foresee him winging with Leino forming a one two punch that will contest with any second line in the NHL. Factor in his previous seasons production, as well as only being signed to a one year “tryout” season, Zherdev will be looking to increase his pay of 2 million to much more.

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Playoff Ramblings

May 17

Posted by Matt in Soap Box | No Comments

Here are some thoughts on the playoffs over the past couple weeks:

My post praising Miroslav Satan’s performance during the playoffs must have been the ultimate jinx. He carried a six game point streak when I wrote about how excellent he had been. In the four games that followed, and an epic collapse by the Bruins, Satan posted zero points, was a minus one, and only had nine shots on goal. Good news for the Bruins though, they’re still going to land either Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin in the draft this summer.

Daniel Briere has been huge for the Flyers in the playoffs

Daniel Briere has been huge for the Flyers in the playoffs

The Philadelphia Flyers are the first ever seven seed to end up with home ice advantage in a playoff series. How did they pull this off? Well, I think its fair to say that they aren’t necessarily as bad as their seed and 88 point season may indicate. Remember this team has several young, but experienced, scorers. Mike Richards has been great, and Danny Briere has played his best playoff hockey picking up 17 points so far, with seven multi-point games. On top of that, the Flyers are picking up a lot of secondary scoring, especially in Claude Giroux who has six goals and seven assists in 13 playoff games. Ville Leino, a late season acquisition, has even made his presence felt with nine points in as many games. You certainly can’t forget about the defensive prowess this team has, lead by perennial all star Chris Pronger. He’s more than capable of shutting down the oppositions top scorers.

So perhaps the Philadelphia Flyers are finally molding into the team that many thought they were going to be. Maybe the leadership issues and problems in the locker room are a thing of the past. They have all the confidence and momentum in the world right now, and will be a tough team to handle.

The Chicago Blackhawks are outstanding. Young captain, Jonathan Toews has been very impressive so far with 21 post-season points. Goaltending has not been the huge issue everyone thought it would be. Antti Niemi has been solid, and has out-dueled two very good goaltenders in Pekka Rinne and Roberto Luongo.

Things seem to be clicking on all cylinders for the Blackhawks, minus the presence of two players. Marian Hossa had a very good first round against Nashville, posting six points in the series. But since them, he’s been very quiet, much like last year, with only three points in the seven games played since finishing off the Predators. Along with Hossa, Kris Versteeg has been less productive than I expected so far. His six points and minus two rating seem low for a young player with the talent level he has. Remember, Versteeg posted terrific numbers as a rookie last season, but is perhaps seeing a decrease in ice time with the top line being so effective.

The San Jose Sharks are still very much competitive in the west. It seemed like everyone wrote them off after being crushed by the Red Wings in game four of that series. Did everyone just forget that they still had a 3-1 series lead? Even if they were still the Sharks who choke in the playoffs, they could have surely taken one game and prevented the Wings from going on. But instead, they bounced back like a true contender and eliminated Detroit in five.

Montreal is having one of the most impressive playoff campaigns in recent years that I can remember. First, they squandered the top seeded Washington Capitals in seven games. This is a team that featured several of the world’s top players: Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, and Green. Then, they followed that performance with a seven game dismantling of the defending Stanley Cup champions. Surely a team that can take out two of the top NHL clubs is capable of making it to the finals, right?

Finally, here’s to hoping for an original six match-up in the finals.

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Wings trade Leino

Feb 6

Posted by Chris in News | 3 Comments

leinoThe Detroit Red Wings traded forward Ville Leino to the Philadelphia Flyers today for defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and a fifth-round pick in the 2011 NHL draft.

Leino has been the subject of trade speculation for some time now, especially with forward Johan Franzen on the verge of returning to action. The Finnish forward has been a disappointment this season, scoring only four goals and adding three assists in 42 games with Detroit. Leino has often been a healthy scratch and has been called out several times for his poor effort. However, after losing the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes, the Flyers may look to Leino to add some offensive depth for a long playoff run. With the injuries in Detroit this season, more pressure was placed on Leino to perform well. In Philly, the 26-year-old may thrive in a situation with less pressure to perform, especially if he gets time alongside guys like Richards or Carter.

Tollefsen, an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, should add some toughness to the Red Wings lineup and perhaps even help rejuvenate a defensive unit that plays with lackluster effort at times. With Tollefsen not afraid to drop the gloves, this could signal the end of Brad May’s playing time with the Wings. It’s been rumored that the Wings will waive May and send him to the minors where he may finish out the season before retiring.

The Red Wings were expected to drop salary in order to accommodate the return of Franzen this coming Tuesday. If Andreas Lilja returns after the Olympic break, which he is expected to, the Wings will need to clear additional salary cap space to fit them both in. However, the difference in salary between Leino and Tollefsen is only $200,000. This leads me to believe that the Wings aren’t done moving bodies yet. By waiving May, the Wings will gain an additional $500,000 under the cap. Ken Holland has stated several times that he doesn’t want to carry any more than seven defenseman on the roster. By adding Tollefsen, the Wings now have eight (nine when Lilja returns). With all things considered, defensemen Brett Lebda and Derek Meech could both be on their way out of Detroit within the next few days. Moving those two salaries would free up approximately $1.1 million in cap space. Add in the $500,000 from waiving May and the $200,000 cleared in the Leino deal and the Wings are under by almost $1.8 million, which should be enough to fit Lilja and Franzen back under the cap.

* All numbers are salaries according to cap space, not actual salary per season

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Cam Ward and Jason Williams Bit by Injury Plague

Nov 8

Posted by Matt in News | 10 Comments

Cam Ward, of the Carolina Hurricanes, is out indefinitely after Rick Nash's skate lacerated his leg

Cam Ward, of the Carolina Hurricanes, is out indefinitely after Rick Nash's skate lacerated his leg

Despite all of the great hockey we have seen in the 2009-10 NHL season so far, one tremendous downfall continues to plague the league. This season, some of the NHL’s most notable stars have been injured, along with dozens of role players as well. In addition to the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Johan Franzen, Daniel Sedin, Simon Gagne, Marc Savard, Sergei Gonchar, and Valtteri Filppula, two more players have now been sidelined with injuries.

First we have Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes. While Ward is having a sub-par start to his season, his career numbers are good. He helped lead the Hurricanes to the Eastern Conference Finals last season where they were swept by the Pittsburgh Penguins. In 2005-06, Ward lead the team to a Stanley Cup Championship in a 7-game series over the Edmonton Oilers. He went on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs as well.

Against Columbus, last night, Cam Ward’s leg was lacerated by the skate of Blue Jacket Rick Nash. Ward left the game and was taken to the hospital. He remained in the hospital Saturday night, and did not make the flight home with his teammates. There is no timetable for his return, so Carolina will be forced to give Michael Leighton the starts in net. Beyond that, they will either have to call up a goalie from their minor league system, or begin to look at possible trade options to provide added depth.

Just as things we’re beginning to look up for the Detroit Red Wings, winning three straight, they took another huge hit. In the second period of last nights game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Jason Williams suffered a fractured fibula when he lost his balance and fell wrong on the ice. This injury will put Williams out for at least two months. Detroit is already without forwards Valtteri Filppula and Johan Franzen, and another injury obviously hurts the team.

Injuries in Detroit will give players such as Darren Helm, Justin Abdelkader, Patrick Eaves and Ville Leino a great chance to step up and show what they’ve got. The young players bring a tremendous amount of speed and energy to the team, but they have yet to show much on the scoreboard this season. Leino, for example, was considered by many to be in the running for Rookie of the Year honors after netting five goals and four assists in thirteen games when he was called up last season from Grand Rapids.  In fourteen games this season, however, he has two goals and one assist with a minus four rating. If we are to see any more success in Detroit this November, these energy players must begin to produce.

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