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WEEK 24: Fantasy Competition Recap

Fantasy Competition Recap

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WEEK 23: Fantasy Competition Recap

Fantasy Competition Recap

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WEEK 22: Fantasy Competition Recap

FANTASY COMPETITION RECAP

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Week 21: Fantasy Competition Recap

FANTASY COMPETITION RECAP

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Week 20: Fantasy Competition Recap

2 months remaining in the season and the top 5 positions have remained unchanged for the past 5+ weeks. Do you think anyone will catch up to Team Savard this season?

Led by Crosby, Eichel and Burns, Team Savard might go all the way this season!

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WEEK 19: Fantasy Competition Recap

FANTASY COMPETITION RECAP

This is getting boring to write week after week … Team Savard still in first, top 5 positions unchanged BUT look at Hockey GM Advice making a run at 5th place! I would expect to see him take over 5th by next week if this run continues!

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WEEK 18: Fantasy Competition Recap

FANTASY COMPETITION

Not much to update about this week. Lets wait until next!

Make your guess now, will Team Savard hold first place for the entire season?

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WEEK 17: Fantasy Competition Recap

FANTASY COMPETITION

Not much happened between week 16 & 17 but there has been a lot of trade proposals within the last few days. Getting into the back half of the season, are we going to see another blockbuster trade? Will Team Savard hold first all season long? Will Drayton Valley choke? We will have to wait a few weeks and see!

Brought to you by

Prospective Hockey Central

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The Never Happened League: Peter Chiarelli

FAN SUBMISSION

The NHL is a tough league. A bad decision can have long-lasting and far-reaching implications for a franchise and its fans. Those decisions are made all the time, and we can only sit back in agony and watch. That’s why we’ve created a new NHL, the Never Happened League. In our new league, your teams’ GM always makes the right trade or draft pick, your coach always knows the right lineups to put in, and the lottery balls always fall your way.  Today, we take a look at what could have been if the Edmonton Oilers spent their Peter Chiarelli days in the Never Happened League.  We received news early Wednesday morning that Peter Chiarelli had been relieved of his duties as Edmonton Oiler’s general manager. It was a move that many saw coming, and that many more hoped would have come sooner. The timing may not have been as swift as some desired, but it still allows for this team to conduct a thorough search and not have their trade deadline mired by panic moves.  Disconcerting is a very kind way of describing his handling of trades and the salary cap. Very few moves he made outside of drafting Connor McDavid have panned out and made a positive difference for his team. He paid with his job, and rightfully so.  It made me think: with seemingly every move he made being the wrong one, what would things be like if we simply flipped the switch? Things are never so black and white (at least not in the real NHL), with position changes, personality fits, and numerous other factors coming into play. But still, it never seems as though a GM has made so many wrong decisions consecutively. For all the flack they get, even guys like Marc Bergevin – whose team is playing surprisingly well this year – and Doug Armstrong – whose trade record is actually pretty darn good – have some notches in their respective belts. But Chiarelli has one surefire draft pick to his credit, that’s really it. Before we see how the team is constructed, let’s look at the fixes:  • 2015  At the 2015 draft, Chiarelli doesn’t trade the Oilers’ 16th and 33rd overall picks to the New York Islanders for defenseman Griffin Reinhart. He instead hangs on to the picks and drafts forward Mathew Barzal 16th overall.  On July 1, 2015, Chiarelli doesn’t sign defenseman Andrej Sekera to a 6-year, $33 million contract. Sekera has posted solid point totals in Edmonton, but below-average possession and shot suppression numbers that certainly don’t fit his contract. The Oilers instead go with a shorter-term option, like Johnny Oduya, with less cap implications.  • 2016 At the 2016 draft, Chiarelli passes on Finnish winger Jesse Puljujarvi and opts for Mathew Tkachuk.  On June 29, Chiarelli doesn’t compete with the Subban/Weber headlines and the deal that would send Taylor Hall to New Jersey in exchange for Adam Larson falls through because he realizes how freaking stupid it is. In a sudden epiphany he sits on his All-Star winger and salivates over the havoc he and Connor McDavid can wreak together.  On July 1, Chiarelli doesn’t sign winger Milan Lucic to a 6-year, $42 million contract in the hopes that he can be an all-in-one finisher and protector for his generational center. He has no need to fill the position, because he didn’t trade Taylor Hall and Tkachuk gives his team the edge it lacked before.  • 2017  On June 22, Chiarelli doesn’t make what he sees as a lateral trade and send Jordan Eberle to the Islanders. He realizes Ryan Strome’s production won’t match Eberle’s, and he won’t fit as well in the lineup either.  On June 23, Chiarelli doesn’t sign defenseman Kris Russell to a 4-year, $16 million contract extension and instead lets him walk into free agency. With a big hole on the blue line, he swings and misses at the big fish – Kevin Shattenkirk, who wants to play close to home – and signs Karl Alzner instead, who may have said something about wanting to win a Stanley Cup.  The resulting lineup (via capfriendly.com) looks like this: 

Totally cap compliant, with over $5 million to spare that can be used in the future for guys like Barzal and Eberle, or in the present to address the admittedly thin defense. But dear lord, that forward group. Does anyone think the Oilers would be a collective minus-53 without Connor McDavid on the ice while fielding this team? Does anything think they’d need him to put up Hart and Art Ross numbers every year just to get to .500? I sure as hell don’t. The shear wow-factor of that lineup with three legit top-line centers and wingers who can actually score is plain impressive. In the not-so-impressive category, it paints a damning picture of just how badly Chiarelli mismanaged this roster and how much talent he let escape under his watch.  The “Decade of Darkness” ended in Edmonton, and now the “Reign of Terror” – okay, I’m the only person I know who calls it that but it’s definitely accurate- has as well. Only bright days lie ahead for teams in our league, but with this move Oilers fans can have the same hope with the real deal.

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Week 16: Fantasy Competition Recap

FANTASY COMPETITION

Not much to say about this week, the Ageing Veteran has now fallen behind 800 points, and Hockey GM Advice has slipped to 8th from 6th after weeks of climbing the standings.

Team Savard helped extend his lead by a huge night from his San Jose and Washington players last night!

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What moves should the Toronto Maple Leafs make?

HOCKEY GM ADVICE

The Maple Leafs came into this season as a favourite to win the Stanley Cup after acquiring superstar John Tavares via Free Agency, giving the Leafs arguably the best depth at center in the league with Matthews, Tavares, Kadri. But there is still questions about the teams defence and if it can stand up well enough in the playoffs to go all the way.

We saw with the Golden Knights last year that it does not take a superstar back end to make it to the cup finals, but it certainly does help!

Currently the leafs roster looks like this:

With injuries to Ennis, Gardiner & Johnsson.

Adding them to the lineup it would look like:

Hyman - Tavares - Marner

Marleau - Matthews - Kapanen

Johnsson - Kadri - Nylander

Lindholm - Gauthier - Brown

Rielly - Hainsey

Gardiner - Zaitsev

Dermott - Ozhiganov

So now lets get to where they should add.

First off, the Leafs are making a trade with the St. Louis Blues. Long holdout RFA William Nylander signed a contract that in his 20 games since returning, he has not lived up to, with only 4 points. The Leafs will be sending him to the Blues. While many will think the return will be Alex Pietreangelo, and that would be the move that helps the team immediately, it does not in the long-term if they intend on keeping him as Pietreangelo is only signed for one more season after this year and he will be demanding a contract of 8+ Mil per season, which will put the Leafs back in cap hell. So who i believe they should receive in return is Colton Parayko who is a great two-way defenceman and has a cannon of a shot, who is capable of 10+ goals per season. Parayko is signed to a friendly 5.5 mil cap hit contract for an additional 3 years after this season and would be a great addition for the Leafs. A one-for-one hockey trade gets this done. Freeing up 1.4 Mil in cap space for the Leafs next season.

Next trade I believe they should make is with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Leafs trade defencemen Nikita Zaitsev to the Flyers for defencemen Radko Gudas + 3rd round pick (Devils pick). People may be a bit confused with this trade and no it is not a Peter Chiraelli trade, the purpose of this trade is to add some strength to a relatively small lineup for the playoffs. Also this frees up an additional 1.15Mil in cap hit for next season, giving an additional 2.55Mil to use to resign Matthews, Marner & Gardiner.

Leaving the Leafs lineup looking like:

Hyman - Tavares - Marner

Marleau - Matthews - Kapanen

Johnsson - Kadri - Brown

Lindholm - Gauthier - Ennis

Rielly - Hainsey

Gardiner - Parayko

Dermott - Ozhiganov/Gudas

What do you guys think?

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Arizona drafts, what could have been!

HOCKEY GM ADVICE

So the Coyotes have not been a competitive team for awhile and with the high draft picks they have had recently, they should have rebounded and been a playoff contender by now. Let’s take a look at the Coyotes first round picks from the past few seasons and what they could have gotten instead.

Let’s start all the way back in:

2004:

The Coyotes chose with the 5th overall pick: Blake Wheeler GP826 P666

Wheeler was the best available pick for the Coyotes, but after attending University he refused to sign with the Yotes so they lost him for nothing. Players that could have been taken instead are:

Mike Green

David Krejci

Andrew Ladd

2005:

The Coyotes chose with the 17th overall Pick: Martin Hanzal

Should have chosen:

Paul Stastny

James Neal

Keith Yandle

T.J. Oshie

Kristopher Letang

2006:

The Coyotes had the 8th and 29th overall pick choosing Peter Mueller & Chris Summers

Players could have chosen with 8th:

Claude Giroux

Brad Marchand

Nick Foligno

Picks with 29th:

Michael Frolik

Artem Anisimov

2007:

The Coyotes selected with the 3rd overall pick: Kyle Turris

Later traded for David Rundblad and a 2nd round pick.

Players they should have chosen:

Jamie Benn

Jakub Voracek

Logan Couture

David Perron

Max Pacioretty

P.K. Subban

2008:

The Coyotes selected with the 8th overall pick: Mikkel Boedker

Players they should have chosen:

Erik Karlsson

Jordan Eberle

Derek Stepan

John Carlson

Roman Josi

2009:

The Coyotes selected with the 6th overall pick: Oliver Ekman-Larsson

They nailed this pick.

2010:

The Coyotes selected with the 13th overall pick: Brandon Gormley

Players they should have chosen:

Vladimir Tarasenko

Evgeny Kuznetsov

Mark Stone

Jaden Schwartz

Cam Fowler

2011:

The Coyotes selected with the 20th overall pick: Connor Murphy

Players they should have chosen:

Nikita Kucherov

Johnny Gaudreau

Vincent Trocheck

2012:

The Coyotes selected with the 27th overall pick: Henrik Samuelsson

Players they should have chosen:

Shayne Gostisbehere

Colton Parayko

2013:

The Coyotes selected with the 12th overall pick: Max Domi

Later traded to Montreal, this was the correct pick.

2014:

The Coyotes selected with the 12th overall pick: Brendan Perlini

Players they should have chosen:

David Pastrnak

Dylan Larkin

Brayden Point

Viktor Arvidsson

2015:

The Coyotes selected with the 3rd and 30th overall picks: Dylan Strome & Nick Merkley

Players they should have chosen with 3rd overall:

Mikko Rantanen

Mitch Marner

Sebastian Aho

Mathew Barzal

Zach Werenski

Brock Boeser

Ivan Provorov

Thomas Chabot

Players could have chosen with 30th:

Sebastian Aho

Anthony Cirelli

Brandon Carlo

We will stop the list here as The past 3 drafts are still to early to determine. But here is what a roster could have looked like between 2004-2015

Benn - Point - Kucherov

Marchand - Aho - Marner

Keller - Krejci - Tarasenko

(4th line of current players)

OEL - Karlsson

Gostisbehere - Letang

Chychrun - Hjalmarsson

This is all what ifs, and the draft position would change depending on the success of players, but its amazing to see how many times teams blow a draft pick.

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Week 15: Fantasy Competition Recap

FANTASY COMPETITION

Was an interesting week in the Fantasy Competition this past week. A blockbuster trade took place! See below the players involved in the trade.

Who do you think won the blockbuster trade? Ageing Veteran or the Defensive Liability?

Oh… and Incase you didn’t notice, Team Savard is still #1. … Snooze.

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Jake Gardiner gets emotional in press conference after game

HOCKEY GM ADVICE

Jake Gardiner, you either love or hate the guy. Last night Gardiner got beat on a play and the fans began to boo him every time he touched the puck. See below the play he got beat on.

Gardiner had Soderberg tied up and he just happened to get a shot off, in my opinion here, its as much Andersen’s fault here as it is Gardiner’s.

Gardiner is one of the Leafs most consistent defencemen and even put up 52 points for the Leafs last season. It’s tough to see a fanbase boo a player for a mistake when he did everything he could to prevent a shot.

Check out his post game press conference where he gets a little emotional below:

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Hockey Promotions Mid-Season Power Rankings

FAN SUBMISSION

Check out this mid season power rankings by one of our fans!

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (Preseason ranking: 2)  The Lightning are on pace for an astounding 130 points in the regular season, which would be the third-best mark of all time. They’re loaded up and down the board and boast the league’s top power play. We expected them to be good, but probably not this good. It really is hard to find a legitimate weakness with this group. Until the real test starts in the spring, it’s unlikely they’ll be bounced from this spot.  2. Pittsburgh Penguins (Preseason Ranking: 5)  The Penguins looked nothing like the cup contender they were labelled as for the first two months of the season, and then flipped the proverbial switch, going 15-4-1 since the start of December. Kris Letang is quietly putting together a Norris-Caliber season, Sidney Crosby is back to his old self, and the depth is pulling some weight finally. The scariest thing could be that they’ve made these drastic improvements without Justin Schultz and with Evgeni Malkin mired in a slump of poor play. Cutting down opponents’ shorthanded opportunities will be a priority going forward; they’re on pace to give up 18 this year.  3. Washington Capitals (Preseason Ranking: 1)  What Stanley Cup hangover? The Caps have picked up right where they left off last season and look hungry to repeat. There isn’t much to say about this team that we don’t already know. The league-worst faceoff percentage is a little concerning, but they make up for it in the other facets of their game; if it’s a huge issue, their play doesn’t show it. Todd MacLellan will be looking for this year’s Michael Kempny at the deadline.  4. Toronto Maple Leafs (Preseason ranking: 6) Toronto is just as good as everyone expected. JT and the kids are scoring at a torrid pace, Morgan Reilly is making himself known as a true no. 1 defenseman (if he wasn’t already) and Freddy Andersen has been playing at his usual high level. The perceived problems on the blue-line haven’t materialized and the Leafs are getting solid contributions from their depth forwards, as well. Everything’s in place for them to take the next step forward. Oh, and we’ve gone more than a month now without hearing about William Nylander!  5. Winnipeg Jets (Preseason Ranking: 3)  The Jets sit here despite a couple of concerns. Connor Hellebuyck has been more pedestrian this year after being the Vezina runner-up, but he hasn’t played poorly enough to sink the Jets. Patrik Laine’s inconsistency is a little alarming, but a goal is a goal and he’s got 24. It also helps having two of the league’s top-10 scorers to go with Laine. And a top-5 power play. Yeah, they’ll be just fine. 6. Nashville Predators (Preseason Ranking: 4)  I really struggled picking between Nashville and Winnipeg, but two things made it a little easier: special teams and discipline. Nashville’s power play only connects at a 15.1% clip, 26th in the league, and they’re penalized at the second-highest rate in the league. The good news is they still have half of the season to address those warts either internally or with a trade, and their defense-first style helps negate a lot of the bad stuff. Could Nashville-Winnipeg be the new Pittsburgh-Washington type playoff matchup that we look forward to every year?  7. Boston Bruins (Preseason ranking: 7) This just about does it for the “well what did you expect?” section of the rankings. Through a rash of injuries and some inconsistent play, the Bruins are still positioned to challenge for home-ice in the first round of the playoffs. Their “big line” of Bergeron, Pastrnak, and Marchand is finally reunited and back to wreaking havoc on opponents. I don’t see the Bruins as being as good of a team as those above (the top-6 is really a toss-up outside of Tampa), but they’re close.  8. Columbus Blue Jackets (Preseason Ranking: 9)  Panarin and Bobrovsky’s contract situations be damned, the Jackets look good. They seem to be in that purgatory of “always good enough to make the playoffs, but after that who knows?” Regardless of what transpires with their Russian stars, they look poised to make this an all-in season and make the answer to the “who knows” part of my question better than “eliminated in the first round”. A lot is riding on this year for Columbus, and they’re playing like it.  9. San Jose Sharks (Preseason Ranking: 13)  Just another season in sunny San Jose. The old guard is playing well. The young guys are stepping up. Erik Karlsson has found his stride (even if the puck isn’t going in for him). The Sharks might be the ultimate “call me when the playoffs start” team, and this year doesn’t look very different. The most curious aspect of this team may now be how things work out with a Karlsson extension, until April at least.  10. Calgary Flames (Preseason ranking: 24)  Some of these bits will have moments of silence built in for you to make fun of my preseason rankings, and this is the first. Good? Alright. Much like Winnipeg and Nashville, my ranking between Calgary and San Jose hinged on a couple factors, this time goaltending and, again, discipline. I expected Bill Peters approach to make the Flames more disciplined, and it has in some ways, but they take by far the most penalties in the league which doesn’t help anybody. Their goaltending duo of David Rittich and Mike Smith doesn’t inspire much hope, but they’ve been solid, albeit inconsistent. An upgrade in net and staying out of the box could work wonders for a team that has probably already exceeded expectations.  11. Vegas Golden Knights (Preseason Ranking: 11)  In a shocking turn of events, the Knights are what everyone expected them to be. They’re doing it without the fanfare from a year ago, but they’ve played solid hockey and have kept themselves in a good spot in an open Pacific division. Marc-Andre Fleury is putting together another great season and the forward group is getting it done with the “by committee” approach. It got them within a series of the Cup a year ago; it wasn’t broke so they didn’t fix it.  12. Buffalo Sabres (Preseason Ranking: 22) I think it’s fair to omit the moment of silence on this one. Most people expected the Sabres to be better, but not this much better. The youth movement is in full swing, being led by Jack Eichel and Casey Middlestadt. Jeff Skinner has found another gear, and Jason Botterill’s depth acquisitions are proving to be valuable. They’ve hit a skid over their last 10 or so games, but the early season boon has the Sabres positioned to make a run at a wild-card playoff spot, maybe even better. Does this finally mark the end of the rebuild?  13. Dallas Stars (Preseason Ranking: 21) Stars’ president Jim Lites’ expletive-laden tirade about his best players was perhaps the most entertaining thing to happen to the Stars this year, but it did have some truth to it: they are heavily reliant on their, ahem, stars. This team will go as far as they can carry it, and lately they’ve picked it up, helping Dallas to win 6 of their last 10 and breathe new life into their playoff push. Getting healthy will help them, but as the deadline gets closer, an addition to the forward group could prove essential, even if Lites’ press release for that isn’t as entertaining.  14. Colorado Avalanche (Preseason Ranking: 14)  Two weeks ago, the Avs may have been as many as 5-6 spots higher on this list, but a lot can change in that time. A lot has changed, with Colorado losing 8 of their last 10 and their seemingly-unstoppable top line cooling down dramatically. Make no mistake, this is still a good team, but a very top-heavy one that needs its stars to get back to (or start playing to) a very high level if they want to prove that last season – and the first half of this one – weren’t aberrations.  15. Montreal Canadiens (Preseason Ranking: 27)  The Habs have been another surprising turnaround this year, and they’ve only gotten better since Shea Weber returned to the lineup. Their young, fast lineup is challenging every opponent they face. Carey Price looks more like Carey Price lately. Jesperi Kotkaniemi looks like the center Marc Bergevin has been waiting for. They don’t look like a serious playoff threat, but they certainly could get there, which would be a win for a team that had such low expectations after last season. *Insert Bergevin cheering gif*  16. Minnesota Wild (Preseason Ranking: 15)  In the midst of a roller coaster of a season, the Wild find themselves in a competitive position at the halfway mark. They’re not lighting the scorecard up in any certain area, but they’re a solid team with good options at every level and some enviable depth. That’s been enough for 6 straight playoff appearances, and it could very well be 7 this season. The big question is when will new GM Paul Fenton make a move? And will it be the one that gets them out of the first round?  17. New York Islanders (Preseason Ranking: 28)  Barry Trotz is making his presence felt on the Island in a big way: without a stud goaltender or elite defense corps, the Islanders are leading the league in goals against and that has them within striking distance of a wild-card spot. Even with this, they could be sellers at the deadline with a couple attractive pieces on expiring contracts. They probably won’t make much noise the rest of the year, but they’ve done well to calm some of the post-Tavares anxiety.  18. Anaheim Ducks (Preseason Ranking: 18)  The bad news: The Ducks are the league’s most injured team, and they’ve lost 10 straight, the most recent being a heartbreaker where they squandered a 3-0 lead. The good news: the West is wide open in terms of Wild-Card spots and the Ducks could still get there. A 10-game skid would sink most teams, but Anaheim has the good fortune of still being in the hunt in spite of it. They have the star power to get out of this; their guys have been here and done this before, as bittersweet as that may sound.  19. Carolina Hurricanes (Preseason Ranking: 26) *Checks document title* No this isn’t the “most shots” power rankings, so the ‘Canes find themselves at 19th. They’ve made some strides in the right direction, but this is still a young team trying to find its way with a new coach, and it shows. At the very least, they look to be responding to Rod Brind’Amour’s message and having fun doing it. With that, the successful incorporation of Andrei Svechnikov into their lineup, and the young talent they have, they’re set up for a bright future, maybe starting in the second half if the puck goes in a little more for them.  20. Vancouver Canucks (Preseason Ranking: 31)  Another preseason ranking that was completely wrong, albeit pretty fair. Vancouver’s young players are showing the future is now for this team and that while they’re not going to make any noise this year, they could do so sooner than most expected. Elias Pettersson is electrifying to watch and gives this franchise its cornerstone and poster-boy. In the up-and-comer power rankings, Vancouver gets a much more favorable spot.  21. Edmonton Oilers (Preseason Ranking: 20)  After a decent start to the season, and another surge when Ken Hitchcock took over as head coach, the Oilers haven’t been able to gain any positive traction. Pete Chiarelli’s recent dearth of depth trades seemingly equates to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic: you’re addressing the wrong issues on a sinking ship. Hitchcock looks to have them playing better under his tutelage, but they have yet to turn those efforts into consistent wins. They’re still within striking distance of a playoff spot, but the push has to start now if they don’t want to be on the outside looking in for the third time in four years.  22. Florida Panthers (Preseason Ranking: 17) From a pure talent standpoint, the Panthers may be hockey’s most disappointing team. Their lineup was already playoff-caliber before they added Mike Hoffman. He settled in quickly and the Panthers got off to a hot start, but they’ve played uninspiring hockey since then. They continue to struggle at even-strength and the goaltending has been mediocre. With the playoffs looking more and more like a fantasy with each passing loss, it’s do or die time for the Panthers. They came awfully close in a similar situation last year so it’s not out of the question, but the East is loaded and the top teams continue to separate themselves from the pack.  23. New York Rangers (Preseason Ranking: 25)  In the midst of a full-blown rebuild, no one expected much from the Rangers and they’re living up to it. But they’re doing the rebuild thing immaculately, and deserve credit for it. Sticking to your guns isn’t always easy, as evidenced by their spot in the standings, but it should pay dividends if they can make some savvy decisions along the way. This is a bridge year for them, nothing more, and nothing less.  24. Chicago Blackhawks (Preseason Ranking: 19)  The ‘Hawks fall from grace continues this season, and if it weren’t for the heroic pre-injury efforts of Corey Crawford, things may be worse. They’ve made tweaks around the edges of the roster and, more notably, to the coaching staff, but nothing has given them the spark they need. With playoff position slipping away, perhaps the most pressing issue for this team is now to pick a direction going forward. Here’s to hoping Crawford can return from his latest concussion in good health and give them something positive for the future.  25. New Jersey Devils (Preseason Ranking: 15)  After being one of the league’s pleasant surprises a year ago, the Devils have regressed in a major way. Taylor Hall is no longer playing at an MVP level, but he’s still better than a point-per-game, and Nico Hischier is set to eclipse his point total from last year while improving his two-way play. That’s all well and good, but when you lack any real forward depth – especially at center – and your young players regress, the results suffer. Last year they were a playoff team, this year they’re a basement dweller. Would the real New Jersey Devils please stand up?  26. Philadelphia Flyers (Preseason Ranking: 12) The moment of silence for this one is probably replaced with a mix of boos and expletive-laden chants; it is the Flyers, after all. A new GM and a new coach haven’t been the fixes this team had hoped for, and their promising young players have stagnated or regressed in big ways. Combine all this with the fact that they can’t find solid goaltending – outside of a few good starts from promising youngster Carter Hart – and they’ve floundered their way to 30th in the league. With the talent they have on board, that’s unacceptable. With the playoffs seemingly out of sight, the focus for them should be getting the youngsters ample playing time and getting them back on track. 27. St. Louis Blues (Preseason Ranking: 8) Take your moment of silence. I could write an entire novel on how disappointing the Blues have been and how many things are wrong with them. The most unsettling aspect of this depressing first-half of the season is how they just can’t carry any momentum from game to game. Jake Allen, the defense, and the forwards all seem to be on different pages except for one or two nights when they put it all together, and then lay an egg the next time out. The Blues are so good on paper you’ve probably been waiting for the time it all clicks and they turn it around, but it hasn’t happened and, now past the halfway point, it doesn’t look like it will any time soon.  28. Ottawa Senators (Preseason Ranking: 29)  There hasn’t been much to write about the Senators in the “good” column, on or off the ice. They continue to struggle and do so in vain this season, with their first-round pick belonging to Colorado. They play hard every night, but they don’t have the talent or depth to turn the effort into wins consistently. If any good comes from this season, it has to be that Brady Tkachuk looks promising and Tomas Chabot has stepped into Erik Karlsson’s role almost seamlessly. The Duchene/Stone negotiations will have great bearing on how this team moves forward.  29. Arizona Coyotes (Preseason Ranking: 23) The Coyotes again had a great offseason, and again have followed it up disappointingly. I didn’t expect them to compete for the West, but a wild-card berth didn’t seem out of the cards for a team that tore up the league in the second half of last season, made some good additions and found its starting goalie. Perhaps an even more disturbing trend: only 5 of the Coyotes last 12 Coyotes drafted in the first round are still with the team, and only 3 – OEL, Clayton Keller, and Jakob Chychrun – are contributing in the NHL this year. Rick Tocchet looks like the coach this young team needs, but the bad draft trends need to change if the Coyotes want out of the basement. Unfortunately nothing they can do this year helps that cause.  30. Los Angeles Kings (Preseason Ranking: 10)  Take your final moment of silence. Part of me can’t believe the Kings are this bad, and then the other part of me reminds that part that the Kings barely made the playoffs on the back of a herculean season from Anze Kopitar, and then their only major change was adding 35-year old Ilya Kovalchuk. So it makes some sense, but probably not to this degree. The Kings are old and slow, and the league’s new emphasis on speed literally has other teams passing by them with ease. A hasty retool seems to be in the cards as they still have some good pieces, but they’re just not built to compete in the new NHL as currently constructed.  31. Detroit Red Wings (Preseason Ranking: 30)  The final juncture of these power rankings is perhaps the most predictable. Like the Rangers, the Wings are in the midst of a roster rebuild and their play and record shows it. There isn’t much to say about them; they’re a bad team playing for the future. That future looks bright, with young talent playing at every level of the club. The Wings will look to be the next version of the Avalanche or Maple Leafs, and have the pieces to make it happen. Another could be on his way this summer, depending on how the lottery balls fall.

[wheelhousehockey-blog1]

Preseason vs Mid Season Predictions

HOCKEY GM ADVICE

Before the season I made my predictions of the standings and well its safe to say that I may have been quite a bit off. But I did match perfectly 4th and 30th!

Pre-season

Capitals

Jets

Lightning

Predators

Leafs

Bruins

Penguins

Blues

Sharks

Blue Jackets

Ducks

Flyers

Kings

Wild

Panthers

Oilers

Sabres

Avalanche

Golden Knights

Devils

Stars

Flames

Coyotes

Hurricanes

Canucks

Blackhawks

Rangers

Redwings

Islanders

Senators

Canadiens

Mid-Season

Lightning

Flames

Golden Knights

Predators

Sharks

Leafs

Jets

Capitals

Bruins

Penguins

Sabres

Blue Jackets

Canadiens

Islanders

Stars

Avalanche

Ducks

Wild

Hurricanes

Canucks

Oilers

Panthers

Rangers

Blackhawks

Coyotes

Devils

Redwings

Blues

Kings

Senators

Flyers

[wheelhousehockey-blog1]

Week 14: Fantasy Competition Recap

FANTASY COMPETITION

Well, Team Savard is still in first. And all of the Wheel House Hockey bloggers have fallen out of the top 4 but lets take a look at the point per game average standings.

Hockey GM Advice: 3.926

Defensive Liability: 3.787

Team Savard: 3.753

Drayton Valley Horwath: 3.660

Springfield Thunderbirds: 3.644

The Goalie: 3.617

Bandwagon Perspective: 3.526

Ageing Veteran: 3.510

Jasper Bearcats: 3.430

Annnnnnd all the way in 10th place is Complete Hockey News: 3.375

Team Savard doesn’t look so mighty with that 160 point lead anymore, does he!