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Fantasy hockey players who could make an unexpected impact

Oct 7

Posted by Chris in Fantasy | 3 Comments

Looking to make a few tweaks to your Fantasy Hockey lineup or compensate for unexpected injuries? Take a look at your waiver wire to see if some of these players might be available.

Forwards:

Rich Peverley: Peverley (pictured) will skate on a line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. Peverley has good hands and the capability to put up good numbers. However, his time in Atlanta allowed him to fly under the radar for most Fantasy owners. He looked good in the season opener and a 50+ point season might not be out of the question if he stays on the second line.

Vinny Prospal: As expected, the veteran winger will start the season on the top line in Columbus with Rick Nash and Jeff Carter. Injuries limited Prospal to just 29 games last season, but he managed to post 23 points in that time with the Rangers. Expect a bounce back season in terms of health and production for Prospal this season – especially if he sticks on the top line with Nash and Carter.

Wojtek Wolski: Wolski was originally slated to start on the top line for the Rangers alongside Brad Richards and Marion Gaborik. However, rumors now predict that Brandon Dubinsky will have the honors, but expect coach John Tortorella to rotate Wolski in there at some point. Dubinsky is a solid second-line center. Remain cautiously optimistic that he eventually finds his way back to that role allowing Wolski to bump up to the top line.

Petr Sykora: After a season away from the NHL, Sykora went from training camp longshot to a roster player for the New Jersey Devils. In fact, Sykora will play on the top line alongside Patrik Elias and Zach Parise. Looking back, Sykora was largely ineffective during his last NHL outing with the Wild (3 points in 14 games), but the Wild played a very defensive-minded system. Sykora put up 20+ goals in each of the three seasons prior to his flirtation with the Wild. Don’t hop on Sykora right away, but monitor his play aggressively to see how he clicks in New Jersey.

Blake Wheeler: Wheeler posted 17 points in 23 games for Winnipeg (formerly Atlanta) last season after getting traded from Boston. An increase in ice time should make Wheeler relevant for Fantasy owners this season.

Rookie Watch:

Gabriel Landeskog: Not only does he have a fun name to say, but he was also largely viewed as the most NHL-ready of all the top draft picks from the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. It’s uncertain exactly where he will fit into Colorado’s lineup this season, but if he sees time in the top-six he could put up solid rookie numbers. Fifty points? Perhaps. Add him to your watch list and wait and see where he fits in.

Ryan Johanson: Johanson will be one of several rookies lacing up for Columbus opening night. He has good size and boasted huge numbers in the WHL last season with 92 points in 63 games. Columbus expects big things from him this year. You should too.

Defenseman:

John Carlson: With rumors swirling that Marc Staal could miss the first month of the season thanks to concussion symptoms, Carlson could be a solid replacement pickup. Carlson posted 37 points last season and was a plus-21. If Washington’s offense gets back up to the level fans are used to, Carlson could post 40+ points this season.

Ian White: Another defensive replacement, White scored the golden ticket this offseason by signing with Detroit and then getting paired with Nicklas Lidstrom. White was strong on the power play in the preseason and could post career highs in points. Expect big power play numbers this year.

Goaltender:

Tuukka Rask: Bruins coach Claude Julien stated earlier this week that the Bruins don’t have a number one goalie – they have two. Basically, to cut through the coach-speak, expect Julien to use Thomas a tad more sparingly this season in order to keep him fresh for the playoffs. Rinne will benefit and see more games this year and could see spurts of consecutive starts if he gets hot. He would be a solid addition to any Fantasy lineup if he’s available.

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Reports state that Rangers will buy out Drury’s contract

Jun 9

Posted by Chris in Rumors | No Comments

The Brad Richards to the Rangers rumors are heating up today amid speculation that the Rangers are looking to shed salary and create cap space through buyouts of several players – most notably captain Chris Drury.

Drury has one more season remaining on his contract with a cap hit of just over $7 million a season. A buyout would save the Rangers $3.3 million toward next season’s salary cap and allow the 34-year-old center to become a free agent on July 1. Drury initially signed a five-year $35.25 million contract with the Rangers in 2007 after a career season with Buffalo where he posted 37 goals and 69 points in 77 games. However, Drury has been increasingly ineffective for the Rangers culminating in an injury-plagued season last year in which the captain only played in 24 games.

Rumors are also circulating that Rangers GM Glen Sather may buy out the contract of forward Wojtek Wolski as well. Wolski, who also has another year remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $3.8 million, failed to have the breakout season that many expected last year by posting only 35 points in 73 games. Wolski split time between the Phoenix Coyotes and Rangers last year after getting traded mid-season.

The NHL’s buyout period begins next week and runs through June 30.

The idea of buying out Drury’s contract makes perfect sense. After all, the Rangers way overpaid for Drury’s services by offering roughly $7 million per year to a player who has only scored 30 or more goals three times and scored 60 or more points twice in his career. Add in the numerous injuries over the years and the team would be dumb not to buy out Drury’s remaining year and apply the leftover cap space to a free agent that can contribute on a nightly basis.

However, it might be a little suspect for the team to buy out Wolski’s contract. Sure, almost $4 million a season is a bit much to pay for a player whose potential thus far has topped out at 40-50 points a season, and Wolski had a down season last year, but can you blame a guy for poor production when he’s played for three different teams in two years? When he’s on his game, Wolski is capable of providing offensive depth and good secondary scoring.

If the Rangers do land Richards and give up Wolski, the team will be relying mostly on Richards and Gaborik for offense. Gaborik struggled last season for long stretches of time and is fragile as glass, so if he goes down with an injury the team will rely mostly on Richards and Dubinsky for offense. After a breakout season last year Dubinsky showed he is capable of shouldering the load, but the team won’t make it far without secondary scoring. Plus, signing Richards might mean forfeiting some of the team’s top-notch defense – most of whom are free agents of some variety this summer.

Rangers have many questions heading into the free agency period, which begins in roughly three weeks. Richards remains by far the best offensive talent available on the market this year, but as such doesn’t necessarily mean he is the best fit for the team in the long run. Still, it appears as if the Rangers are looking to spend big this summer and it will be fun to watch how they maneuver the draft and free agency period.

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Phoenix Coyotes Tops the Pacific Division

Nov 24

Posted by EB in News, Soap Box | 1 Comment

As if you thought I would not touch on this topic?

The Phoenix Coyotes are now the new leader in the Pacific Division. With a record of 11-5-5 for 27 points, the team seems to have settled in. Things did not come easy though for the Coyotes as in the month of October they were a sad 3-4-3, 9 points out of a possible 20. Some were worried, even myself, that maybe the team was a fluke last year.

This is not the case as the team is currently on a tear with a 7-1-2 record in their last 10 games played. Goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is starting to regain form; 6 wins in a row. New addition Ray Whitney leads the team with 15 points, Wojtek Wolski is getting his scoring hands back and forwards Radim Vrbata and Lee Stempniak each have 13 points a piece and a +6/+5 rating.

The team is playing well and still has some room to grow. Youndg defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson is still finding his way, forward Scottie Upshall has not been up to his normal scoring ways, and even captain Shane Doan has yet to lead the team as a captain should.

The Phoenix Coyotes are back on track and look to keep up their impressive streak of wins. The Pacific division is tough with the likes of the Los Angeles Kings and the slumping San Jose Sharks, but expect the Coyotes to contest for the top spot throughout the whole year. Come playoffs, the only thing these desert dogs have to worry about is not matching up against the Detroit Red Wings.

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Phoenix Coyotes Slow Start

Nov 17

Posted by EB in Guest Article | No Comments

HWB is reaching out to local fans bringing their thoguhts and opinions about their home team to HWB readers. Here is one of them from guest writer Jenna @ Hipchecks.com.

The Coyotes season has not been off to as great of a start as we thought it would be. I am thinking we need to change the marketing campaign from Don’t Blink to Don’t Panic. As several people have pointed out, this is not the worse start. It’s not great and there is still a lot of hockey to play yet.

The biggest problem seems to be the penalties. I don’t know what they have in the penalty box this season but it must be pretty good since the guys love to take a 2 minute rest. Beyond that, we can’t string together a consistent 60 minutes and we seem to have lost our physical edge. The Coyotes are a much better team when they play aggressively. They seem to have forgotten how to finish a check.

The Coyotes are finding ways to get a point here and there but I would much rather take the win in regulation. The team seems to be starting to gel a bit now. Tippett put the Czech line back together for the win against Chicago and Wolski has remembered he has skills. I am hoping we can string together some wins. LaBarbera put up a good game Wednesday and gave Bryz a much needed rest. This could be a turnaround point.

Enough about the on ice problems, what about the attendance? Personally, I think it sucks right now. I can give you all the excuses in the world for. Trust me, I know them all and have recited them quite a bit. I can also tell you I have yet to buy a single game ticket. I used to be a season ticket holder. Why haven’t I bought a ticket? I can’t afford it. I have not received a raise in three, going on four, years. The economy is brutal right now.

A couple of the players have made comments about the attendance. Paul Bissonnette stated on twitter that he thought it was dress like a seat night while Ray Whitney gave extensive quotes to some news story. The difference is Bissonnette was making a joke and has made it apparent how much he appreciates the loyal fans. Whitney just threw us all under a bus. Maybe if Whitney could score a few more fans would show up. Just a thought.

The fact that we don’t have an owner doesn’t help attendance either. It’s very unstable right now. I know I have talked to a lot of people that are waiting for the whole mess to sort out. There is no easy answer. With an owner, we can have a real marketing department with a real budget. There is almost no advertising now except at the market that already watches the game. We have guys that should be out in public. Shane Doan is like the Steve Nash and Kurt Warner of hockey. He is already in the community a lot but he is no where near the Steve Nash or Kurt Warner level in Phoenix and he should be.

Speaking of the ownership situation… Did anyone see the interview with Hulsizer during the Chicago game? It was quite positive. He has already talked to the coaching staff about making the transition and he referred to the assistant GM as “our GM”. He is already thinking about the team as his. I also liked the way he spoke about hockey and owning a team. It’s not about the money for him. He is very passionate about this sport and wants to see it prosper in Arizona. He said a deal is imminent. I believe we will hear the big announcement by the end of 2010.

If you would like to write a guest article about your home team, please contact any member of the HWB team and we would be happy to make that possible.

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Hockey World Blog Season Previews 2010: Phoenix Coyotes

Sep 17

Posted by EB in Season Previews | No Comments

Key Offseason Losses: Matthew Lombardi, Zbynek Michalek

Key Offseason Additions: Adrian Aucoin, Eric Belanger, Martin Hanzel, Taylor Pyatt, Lee Stempniak, Ray Whitney, Wojtek Wolski

Last Season Ranking: 4th, West

Offense: The Phoenix Coyotes surprised a lot of fans last year and look to wow a few more this upcoming season. The team has 4 solid lines that all can score. Those expected to top the points for the Coyotes are Wojtek Wolski, Shane Doan and a healthy returning Scottie Upshall. Added last year Lee Stempniak looks to continue his point per game production (18) with the club after netting only 30 points in 62 games played with Toronto last season. New comers from free agency veteran Ray Whitney and playmaker Eric Belanger look to add the depth and skill to make the Coyotes one of the most deep teams in the NHL.

Rookie defensman Oliver Ekman-Larsson will be a player worth watching at the young age of 19 this season with the Coyotes.

Rookie defensman Oliver Ekman-Larsson will be a player worth watching at the young age of 19 this season with the Coyotes.

Defense: Like the offense, the team’s defense is also one of the deepest defenses. Last season the Coyotes were one of the top goals scored by defense. The team is lead by tough nose Ed Jovanovski, a strong supporting cast, and better yet, top defensive team point getter Keith Yandle is expected to line with rookie Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Oliver, at age 19,  is a player to watch for this season coming from Sweden. A skilled puck handler and playmaker offensively, as well as a very sound positioning defensive style that likes to pick some pockets.

Goaltending: As if it could get any better, it most certainly does. Netminder Ilya Brysgalov very well could be one of the top goaltenders next season. Posting a 42-20-0 record in 69 games started, was 6th best in goals against average (2.29) as well as second to only Martin Brodeur in shutouts with 8. Backup netminder Jason LaBarbera will be a solid replacement when Ilya needs some rest.

Season Outlook: Perhaps my viewpoint of the Coyotes is a little biased, this I am aware of. Despite that, in a non-biased assessment, the Coyotes could very well put up another 100 point season, lead the Pacific Division over the tough San Jose Sharks, and perhaps even challenge for Western Conference leader.

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Lee Stempniak Re-Signs with the Phoenix Coyotes

Aug 30

Posted by EB in News | No Comments

This may have been the case for the St. Louis Blues and the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the Phoenix Coyotes are far from a sub-standard team. Expect big numbers from Lee Stempniak in this upcoming season.

This may have been the case for the St. Louis Blues and the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the Phoenix Coyotes are far from a sub-standard team. Expect big numbers from Lee Stempniak in this upcoming season.

Right wing Lee Stempniak agreed to a 2 year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Stempniak, at the age of 27, is coming into the prime of his career. Last season he split time with both the Toronto Maple Leafs and then ending with the Phoenix Coyotes.  Stempniak played 62 games with Toronto and 18 with Phoenix.

With Toronto Stempniak posted 14 goals, 16 assists for 30 points and a -10 rating. What is amazing is in the 18 games played with Phoenix, he matched his goal count at 14, added 4 more assists for an average of a point per game, as well as a +10 rating.

Lee Stempniak is a key addition to a young and talented Phoenix Coyotes. Pair him up with a healthy Matthew Lombardi and an extremely hard working Wojtek Wolski, Stempniak could be posting some serious numbers next season.

Combined he totaled 48 points in 80 games, 28 goals and 16 assists.

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Phoenix Coyote’s Trade Deadline Acquisitions Paying Off

Mar 8

Posted by EB in News | 1 Comment

Wojtek Wolski looking good in his new uniform with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Wojtek Wolski looking good in his new uniform with the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Phoenix Coyote’s made a big splash on NHL trade deadline day. The team, who was expected to be run out of town this year, has had an impressive year thus far. Coyote’s fans were a little down after then team point leader Scottie Upshall was hurt and not to return for the rest of the season,  but now fans can cheer as the Coyote’s stocked up not only for the rest of the season, but for the upcoming playoff run. Here is a run down of those additions.

Wojtek Wolski has 2 goals and an assist in the two games played under a new jersey. In addition, he has a +3 rating and the game winning goal against his former team the Colorado Avalanche. Wolski was a stud in his Junior career earning the Ontario Hockey League’s MVP in the 2006 season. The trend seems to be continuing, and at the young age of 24, it is only expected he will get better and better.

Derek Morris returns home as he played with the Coyotes for 5 seasons from 2003-2009. The tough defenseman has put up a power play assist, +3 rating, and has already been in a fight. Morris’ physical presence in front of the net will assist in keeping it clean for goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

Mathieu Schneider has yet to play a game with the Coyotes and is currently playing with their AHL affiliate the San Antonio Rampage. The veteran defensman has been in question of his capabilities at his age, but optimist think he will be a good addition especially come playoff time.

Lee Stempniak entered the league at the tender age of 19 with the St. Louis Blues and posted an impressive 27 points. Since then, he has had a high of 52 points, but averages more around 35 points. Since joining the Coyotes, Stempniak has a point in each of his two games, a +3 rating, and 3 shots each game. Stempniak’s point production should be solid, making the third line even more dangerous than what it is already with the likes of sniper Robert Lang.

I cannot say I know too much about young center Petteri Nokelainen, but it seems he will be playing on the fourth line. Many people overlook the importance of this line thinking of it as less ice time away from better lines. True as that may be, those lines do need rest, and a good fourth line does not only give them that rest, they also keep pucks from going in the net. Nokelainen is currently sporting a balanced +/- rating, not scoring any goals, but not letting any in.

The Phoenix Coyote’s made some great steps to improving their already solid team. As much as I love my home team the Wing’s, I will be rooting for the Coyote’s this year in the playoffs. Let’s go Yotes!

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Colorado Avalanche

Sep 24

Posted by Chris in Season Previews | 1 Comment

The Colorado Avalanche are in the middle of unchartered territory coming into this season. With Joe Sakic retiring over the summer, Colorado has lost pretty much every connection to the almost unbeatable franchise that dominated the hockey world in the mid-to-late 90’s. While things may look gloomy in Colorado this season, the team looks to have a promising future.

stastny.paul Milan Hejduk, the 33-year-old right wing who has been with the Avs since 1998, will come into this season and be counted on to help lead this team both on and off the ice. While Hejduk is no pushover on the ice and is capable of producing 50-70 points this season, the real budding stars of this team is 23-year-old Paul Stastny. In three years with the club, Stastny has accumulated 185 points in 193 games, including 63 goals. This kid has talent and can play both sides of the puck, finishing last season with a plus-17 rating. Already sporting the assistant captains “A”, Stastny very well could be next in line for the “C” when veteran Adam Foote retires.

Wojtek Wolski is another up-and-comer making a name for himself in the NHL. In three seasons with the Avs, Wolski has put up 40 or more points in each season and once reached 50. But he needs to be better at both ends as he sported a minus-13 rating last season. He has moves and he likes to show them off during shootouts. It will be interesting to see how he performs this year when there is more pressure on him to produce.

Defense is probably where the Avalanche looks strongest right now. Adam Foote, Ruslan Salei, John-Michael Liles and Tom Preissing are all veteran names setting up shop on the blue line this season. Kyle Quincey, the much-traveled defenseman who is with his third team in two seasons, enjoyed a breakout year when the Detroit Red Wings dealt him to the Los Angeles Kings at the beginning of last season. With the Kings, Quincy put up 38 points in 72 games. Not bad for a rookie. Quincey should enjoy continued success with the Avalanche this season, especially playing with some of the veteran names listed above.

Craig Anderson will definitely be an upgrade in goal over Peter Budaj, who struggles heavily with consistency. A career backup goaltender, Anderson has proven himself worthy of a number one spot and Colorado gave him his chance. The defense in front of him will be better than he dealt with in Florida, where he spent the last three seasons, so expect Anderson to have a pretty decent year in Colorado.

The X-factor coming into this season may very well be Matt Duchene, the 3rd overall draft pick from this past summers NHL draft. At only 18 years of age, Duchene is fighting hard to make the roster and show what he’s capable of. While it might be advantageous to give him a year or two in the minors to improve his skill, Duchene had a great training camp and has played well in the preseason, too. Expect Duchene to stay with the club for the first few games of the regular season. If he shines, he’ll be up for good. If not, he’s a great asset only a few years away from the big time.

Colorado is used to success, but in the midst of the rebuilding process, success might still be a few years away. The foundation is there for this team to succeed, and once management adds a few more key pieces they could be set for deep runs into the post season. This season may not be their season, but they have a bright future that seems to be in good hands.

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