Filed under: Weekly Notes
With the holidays coming posts may be a little slower here, but rest assured we’ll still be doing them. The next few weeks will be a great time to snag the prime waiver prospects while the rest of your league is busy spending time with their families. As a true fantasy hockey guru though, you’ve got to be willing to sacrifice the little things ( like family and showers) to stay on top. Here’s who I’m busy watching while you’re out there leading productive lives and interacting with people without a keyboard in between.
Before we get to that though, I want to do a special, one time section:
Players named Alex worth keeping an eye on:
Alex Goligoski is getting set to return.
Alexander Edler is declining into a sad disappointment. He’s still putting up OK numbers, but nothing like where you drafted him or what you expected out of him.
Alexei Ponikarovsky is technically an Alex, so I don’t want to hear your bitching. He’s also got 11 goals and is only owned in 50% of leagues. Get on that.
Alex Kovalev has only managed 4 goals so far for the Sens. Buy Low. Buy Very Low.
Alexei Kaigorodov is in the minors for Phoenix, and probably won’t see any playing time this year – but I bet you can’t pronounce his name 5 times fast. Try it.
Week 9 Watchlist
I just picked up Nick Antropov in an attempt to raise my dismal plus minus rating. He’s out there in a lot of leagues, and actually has value now that he’s not playing in Toronto.
Brian Boucher is taking over as the Flyers goalie for the next 6 weeks or so while Ray Emery is out injured. Stop reading now and go submit your waiver request if you owned Emery or desperately need help in net. Go ahead, I’ll wait. You don’t want what happened in my league, where a fellow Cheesehole editor who already has 3 prime goalies beats you to the waiver wire….. yes Carp, I hate you.
Mikael Samuelsson has been moved down to the 3rd line, and is seeing less ice time, but hasn’t stopped producing (10/10 with 5 on the PP as of today) His demotion may have caused some paranoid owners to drop him. It may also make him ripe for an under-value trade proposition.
LA is hot right now, and much of that is due to their goaltending, but many of their forwards like Stoll, Simmonds, and Williams are starting to gain traction. Ride them while they’re hot, or trade them if you can. I’m not sure how long this will sustain itself. Personally, I might take a chance on Dustin Brown.
I’ve mentioned him before, but Kyle Okposo (who?) is still only owned in 29% of Yahoo leagues. Yes, he plays on the craptastic Islanders, but he’s got 18 points, 16 PIM, and he plays on the powerplay. He’s not a bad off-day option.
Cam Ward returns from injury today, and may have been dropped in your league. His numbers haven’t been great so far, but I have a feeling he may rebound. He can probably be attained for little more than a bag of pucks right now in your league. It’s worth a shot.
Jimmy Howard is slowly taking over the starter role from Chris Osgood. It’s really tough to own Wings goalies in fantasy. They’re always good for Wins, but Detroit lets up so little shots against that they’re not really worth it for SV% and other categories. But, if you need wins….go wings.
Ryan Whitney has slowly been raising his stock with 13 helpers from the blue line – yet is still seeing a sub 50% ownage rate.
Marek Zidlicky shouldn’t be available in your league. For some reason he is in mine. Waiver claim submitted.
December 9, 2009
The season is now officially past the 25% mark, so now is a good time to address injuries and strategy regarding injured players. We’ll probably have a “first quarter grade” style post coming in the next few days, but for now let’s look at the guys who are sitting on your IR spot, or who may be available as waiver pickups or cheap trades.
Nicklas Kronwall will be out for up to 8 weeks, and is definitely worth picking up in deeper leagues if somebody drops him. He’s a #3 defenseman but he sees his fair share of powerplay time and was on fire before going down last Saturday. On a side note, both Stuart and Erickson should see increased ice time and powerplay chances in his absence. Stuart may be worth a flex play.
Chris Kunitz has been pulled out of the Pens lineup for 2 weeks or so, and despite only having 3 goals (9 assists) to date, he should be good for 20 goals or more this season.
Brian Gionta has a broken bone in his foot and will be out indefinitely. There’s no telling when he’ll return, but these type of injuries usually take a bit of time. I would definitely use an IR spot on him.
Alexander Semin is also out for a while with a wrist injury. He’s a top 20 forward who may now be attainable for a top 50 style player. If you can rip off another owner for him while he’s hurt, do it. Nothing should stop you from trying to acquire Semin… Giggity.
Marc Savard should return to the lineup this week. I wouldn’t play him in weekly leagues, but feel free to roll him out after Monday in daily leagues.
Eric Staal is not only hurt, but he’s slumping too. He should return next week, and might be worth throwing out some trade fliers for frustrated owners.
Andre Markov is still out for another 4 months or so. He’s not worth holding onto, but look out come playoff time when he’ll be the hockey defenseman equivalent of Pedro Martinez – He’ll provide adequate stats for a couple of weeks to a team with an already low waiver priority – thus rendering himself useless.
Rob Blake should be back after thanksgiving.
Ed Jovanovski will most likely play on this current 2 game road trip – not sure which game though.
Cam Ward will be returning in the first week of December (you can bet it will be a home game) but I’m leary of how well he’s going to play. Prior to being injured he wsa 2-9 with a 2.97 / .899 in the save category. Those aren’t stellar numbers, and I’m not confident that the team in front of him has gotten any better.
Nikolai Khabibulin’s sore back would be worth monitoring only if his 3.03 GAA was worth a spot on your roster.
November 23, 2009
Let’s face it, quite a few high draft pick goalies aren’t performing well to start the season. (see: Osgood, Price, Ward, Mason, Toskala, Vokoun) You’re probably stuck with one of these guys (or like me, 2 of them) and wondering what to do. You really want to drop them, but you’re afraid that they’re going to inevitably turn their season around.
Some of these goalies will actually do that (I’d keep Ozzie, he’s going to get wins when his team is healthy – but I’d show Toskala the door.)
Here’s some easily attainable (owned in <50% of yahoo leagues) goalies who can get you quality spot starts while you wait out your starters:
Andrew Raycroft is still available in 80% of leagues and has played solidly in replace of Luongo. He got lit up the other night, but should still continue to put up decent numbers in his starts.
Ty Conklin Almost had his 2nd shutout the other day, but is continuing to improve in his limited starts. Sadly, the W’s will be few and far between unless he gets some better goal support.
Antero Niittymaki has 4 wins already and a GAA under 2. He’s also starting tonight against the Wild and makes an excellent play in daily leagues.
Tuukka Rask will also most likely get the Nod for the Bruins next, and also has a good likely hood of getting you some W’s
Dwayne Roloson has been on fire lately, posting 5 wins, but is only owned in about 40% of leagues.
Martin Biron, the other Isles goalie, is an even more interesting case. He’s going to be traded eventually, and he’s probably going to end up somewhere like Detroit or Montreal where he will become an instant upgrade and post much better numbers when he has an actual NHL caliber team playing in front of him. If you’ve got bench room, start thinking about stashing him away.
Jonas Gustavsson is healthy and looking like he’ll soon be the #1 man in Toronto. If he’s still on waivers in your league, I’d consider picking him up.
Rick DiPietro can’t obviously provide instant help, but he’s one I’ve got my eye on. He’s practicing again and will instantly resume the #1 role on the Island as soon as he’s healthy enough to do so. If he ever gets back to game shape he’s one that can steal W’s all by himself – which, he’s going to have to do given the talent in front of him.
Ondrej Pavelec is having a Terrible November, but it’s mostly the fault of lackluster defense not clearing the net and letting him see shots. If ATL ever figures out how to play in their own end, Pavelec will see the benefit.
Nikolai Khabibulin is not having a great year, but he’s still top 12 in wins right now.
Semyon Varlamov, while techincally a backup, is probably one who I’d tier with the starters. He’s 6-1 so far this year and the team in front of him is playing well. He’s a rookie though, so tread carefully. If it were me though, I’d run him out there every game he plays.
November 12, 2009
Those who play fantasy hockey with me know that I keep one of the most accurate and up to date watch lists that there is. Chances are if you just picked up a player, he was already on my watch list. I’m the guy that snagged Peverly before he got hot and traded him for a top tier player. I’m the guy who had Quick sitting on the bench before you heard of him – and lucky for you I’m the guy who’s going to tell you who the next pickups in your league will be.
Cam Ward is out for 4 to 5 weeks and the Canes have called up 36 year old Manny Legace to be their go to guy in his absence. Legace’s played 6 games for the AHL Wolves so far, and has posted a dismal 3.21GAA with a .898 SV%. Carolina is struggling though, and Legace is of interest because if he plays good, he may just stick around and steal some starts from Ward. Never underestimate the veteran who feels like he’s got something to prove.
Milan Michalek was dropped in a lot of leagues at the start due to his poor performance, but the LW has 10 points through 12 games and should be owned in every league out there but is only owned in about 70% of Yahoo leagues. If he’s not owned in your league pick him up before somebody else does.
David Clarkson (owned in 40% of leagues) is seeing a lot of pickups now, but his role on the PP will probably decrease as soon as Elias returns to playing full time. I’d look elsewhere for powerplay help.
Antero Niittymaki is starting to see increased playing time with Mike Smith Struggling, and he’s making the best of it. Antero is 4-1 with a 1.95 / .940 but it only owned in 30% of leagues. If you’re stuck with a struggling Carey Price or Chris Osgood, Nittymaki may be the reason you’re looking for to leave those guys on the bench against tougher matchups.
Update:Okposo has just been quarantined from the team since it was discovered he’s also come down with the H1N1 swine flu. Given that, I’d leave him benched in daily leagues for a while. Kyle Okposo has really benefited from playing alongside Tavares and has managed to put up 10 points in the last 12 games as well. As a general rule, I tend to avoid drafting anybody on the Islanders (mainly because I haven’t heard of any of them) but Okposo should see some heavy ice time and powerplay chances as the season goes on. He’s worth stashing away on the bench on daily leagues. I wouldn’t quite play him in weekly format yet though.
Ian White, despite being a the #3 defenseman in Toronto, has been seeing his fair share of powerplay time. The leafs are still god awful, but White may be worth taking a flyer on in deep daily (ones with 5 or more D per team) leagues. I wouldn’t use a high waiver here though.
Jay McKee is currently one of the top 100 players in the league. I never thought I’d say that, but he does usually lead in blocked shots and always posts a positive plus minus. With Letang being out for about 2 weeks, McKee should see a slightly increased role as well. If you’re really hurting in the +/- and PIM category, you could do a lot worse than McKee. Just don’t expect too much offensive stats – as shown by his 5% ownership in Yahoo leagues.
Chris Neal is somebody who a lot of people will end up picking up based on rank alone. That rank is due to his extremely high number of penalty minutes – which are artificially inflated by his 21 minutes against Tampa. Pass on Neal and laugh at those who only play based on Yahoo ranks.
Alexei Ponikarovsky is the guy you’ll want to target if you insist on owning a Maple Leaf this year – but unless you’re one of those who likes to draft players who you can watch regularly on CBC, I wouldn’t touch anybody on Toronto’s roster. Even Blake is a free agent in my league (and he’s the only one worth drafting.) Still, 8 points in 12 games and powerplay time… there are lots of worse players you could pick up. See above.
Mike Comrie has come back to life after a long battle with the flu to score 2 goals last week. Look for him to heat up and get back to his regular self once the Oilers can finally get past their flu outbreak. Keep him off your bench for now to avoid infecting your other players, but keep an eye on him in the coming weeks. A 7% ownership is way too low for him – diseased or not.
Ryan O’Reilly 14 points in 18 games, and whopping +13. The Avs are hot and the 2nd round draft pick is off to an even hotter start. Eventually Colorado is going to simmer down and O’Reilly won’t be able to sustain these numbers, but for now things look good so pick him up if he hasn’t already been added and try to trade him for somebody who’s slumping. You may get a hell of a deal from an Elias, Lecavalier, or Datsyuk owner who has grown impatient with their high round draft choice.
Niklas Kronwall should see some increased powerplay time now that Jason Williams is out. Brad Stuart also becomes the #4 D man on the PP. Kronwall is 2/4/-1/16 so far this year while Stuart is posting a 1/1/-3/6. There’s better D out there than Stuart, but Kronwall is worth a serious look in most leagues.
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November 10, 2009
A new NHL season is among us, and with that a new NHL fantasy hockey website is needed. Join us each week as we share our player specific insights, tips for dominating your fantasy league, expert picks, general hockey musings, and hatred for whoever is playing against the Wings and Islanders.
John Tavares had many people wondering just how much offense he could produce on the lackluster islanders, but after watching him play it’s certain that he’s going to be a beast on the powerplay this year. Tavares is a must-start in any league that values PPP. He may struggle at first, so trade for him now while his value is low.
Vesa Toskala had a rough start – posting an abysmal .800 save percentage through the first couple of games. Now may be a good time to pick up Gustavsson just in case, or think about abandoning the Leafs goalies for now.
Brooks Laich was only drafted in about 20% of leagues, but that number is sure to skyrocket after his 5 point week. Laich plays alongside the talented Semin and gets his fair share of powerplay chances. With opponents putting their best D out against the Ovechkin line, Laich should be in store for a breakout season.
John-Michael Liles. Normally I wouldn’t even draft an Avalanche player – let alone a former Spartan who was -19 last year – but Liles seems to have stepped up his play this year and could emerge as a top offensive defenseman. Somebody on the Avs has to score goals, and it’s certainly not the bunch of scrubs they currently have playing forward.
Michael Del Zotto, the Rangers first round pick, scored his first goal, but I wouldn’t pick up a Rangers defenseman in a New York teams only league.
Jordan Staal opened the season on the 3rd line for the Pens and is quickly being dropped in a lot of leagues. Pit is deep at center this year, and that doesn’t look good for Staal. Look for them to deal somebody at the trade deadline to try and boost up their defense. At this point I’d only own Staal if you also had Crosby and Nash and wanted to name your team “Crosby, Staals, and Nash” without having to give up anybody good to acquire Eric Staal. Of course, you could also go with Marc Staal, in which case I refer you to the above “Del Zotto” paragraph.
Wojtek Wolski may sound like something something from an Elmer Fudd cartoon, but the 3rd year player is off to a hot start for Colorado. He’s put up 3 goals in 2 games while playing on the top line (which puts him on pace for 117 if he can keep it up,) but don’t expect it to last all season. This is a guy who hasn’t reached the 20 goal plateau yet in his career. Trade him now while he’s got value and then try to stay away from drafting Avs or Blues.
October 5, 2009
