Yakkin’ ’bout my fantasy hockey team. Click on cut to read at own risk.
After surveying whom I got stuck with after the auto-pick draft, I started making a bunch of changes to the ol’ roster. As of today, I’ve made 11 moves (which I think counts both dropping and adding a player as separate counts). Here’s the list, the top being most recent and so forth.
I've been busy. I lead my league with transactions.
Yeah, I picked up some folks and then dropped then soon after. ::shrug:: It happens. You have to go with who is hot and cut ties with those that are bringing you down, or ain’t on a streak any longer. I was happy to get Steve Sullivan at first, as he’s a proven 60+ point scorer and has been Nashville’s best forward…hm…ever. However, Sully is off to a slow start, as is most of Nashville, so I had to move on.
Derek Morris was on my team for maybe 48 hours before I saw how great Matt Carle is doing while being paired with Chris “How Many Different Teams Can I Take to the Finals” Pronger. Samsonov–slow start and inconsistent. Gone. Kostitsyn, slow too.
Other cuts: Sykora, a slow start, groin problems and being placed on injured reserve. Bye. Hated to cut Lenio, but, Benn from Dallas has been doing a lot better. I think Lenio might pick it up eventually, as the Red Wings are now dealing with losing Franzen for several months, and having Datsyuk out against the Avalanche didn’t help matters at all. I’m keeping an eye on Lenio. If he starts to pick up, I’ll try and grab him again.
The free agent pick ups:
D-men – Johnson, 7 points, +4. Doughty, 6 points, +1. Carle, 8 points, +5. Doughty, 6 points, +1 is reaping the benefits of LA having a hot start. Carkner, 2 points, +6, is still on probation, as I just picked him up at the end of my first week. He’s on pace for over 200 PIMs this season, which is something I need–and better still, he’s eligible to play at RW or D, which is great. He’s getting around 19 minutes a night with an Ottawa squad that seems to be surviving losing Dany Heatley (5-2, at the top of the Northeast division).
Wingers – Justin Williams, 9 points, has been one of my better waiver wire steals so far this season. He is clicking with his linemates Smyth and Kopitar big time. He’s a much better RW option than what I started with. Benn, 7 points, has been tearing it up with follow Dallas rookie James Neal, 7 points–another pick-up of mine.
Neal is taking a bunch of shots, 27 so far, and is third behind Malkin on my team (36–who had 12 last night alone, yikes) and Vrbata (32 shots). Heatley, my goal leader with 6, only has 23 shots on goal so far. Brunette has been a great addition too–he’s second on my team with 5 goals (8 points total), but his +/- could be better (-5).
Goalies – If’in it ain’t one thang, it’s another. Two of my goalies, Gustavsson and Theodore, were injured early on. Thankfully, Theodore was only day to day (he should be back soon) and at least The Monster was put on IR, allowing me to snatch a new goalie without dumping someone. I picked up Atlanta’s Ondrej Pavelec (3-1, 2.37 GAA, .929 SV%) and I am glad I did. I might try and hang on to him after the Monster comes off IR. Carrying four goalies might be overkill, but with neither the Monster nor Theodore for sure starters, it probably ain’t a bad idea.
Bumps an’ Bruises: The big news this week is that my top D-man, Sergei Gonchar (8 points, 5 of which were on the powerplay) is injured and could miss 4 to 6 weeks. ARGH. I’m hoping he gets put on IR and that I can drop him down there at the same time Schneider comes off (which should be soon), meaning I wouldn’t have to cut someone or try to find a new d-man.
Aw, Man: Boston’s #1 center, Savard, is out–I don’t have him, but I have his wingman, Marco Strum. Savard is out 4 to 6 weeks and this means Strum’s value drops big time. Playing with a center who averages 80 assists a season makes Strum a decent LW, but without Savard’s playmaking, how good will he be? (case in point: Boston beat Nashville tonight 3-2 , Strum had zero points and one shot on goal)
The sting here is that I cut Lenio over Strum for the reason that Strum plays with Savard (and there is no guarantee that Lenio will play with Datsyuk or Zetterberg).
Standings after week one: 11th place (5-10-2) out of fourteen teams.
I got destroyed in week one, 10 to 5. Weak goaltending, aided by two goalies getting injured, and Heatley having a bad week, did me in.
Through Tuesday, I am leading in this week’s match-up, 9 to 6. I’d like to get above .500, and soon.
Marked for the Chop:
Marco Strum, LW. See above.
Scott Gomez, C, (4 points in 8 games) really needs to kick it up a notch (bam?). But then the same could be said of the rest of the Canadiens. I’d hate to cut Gomez, as he at least gets a bunch of face-offs won, but I’m center-heavy and would like to get rid of one eventually (ideally, via a trade for a winger).
Radim Vrbata, RW, 4 points in 7 games. Despite being second on my team with 32 shots, Vrbata is on a 5 game point slump–he hasn’t scored a point since the second game of the season. However, he gets special consideration (to a point), since decent RW’s are hard to come by. But he better get it going. If he got the token goal against the Red Wings on Thursday (and the Wings won) I’d be happy.
Tomas Kaberle, D, 4 points in 7 games, -4. OK, the Maple Leafs have yet to win a game this season, which is reason enough to cut someone. But, Gonchar going down this week will probably cause me to keep Kabbie around for a bit longer–and he’s a fairly consistent scorer over the years, averaging 0.58 points a game over his career. Not bad. And things could pick up if/when Kessel finally skates with his new team. (Yes, Ryan Whitney, another of my d-men, has the same amount of points in as many games–but Whitney is +3 and gets penalty minutes).
Escaped the Ax:
Derick Brassard, C, 5 points in 7 games–but he’s on a four game point streak, including two points in one game on the 20th. Nice. He plays with Rick Nash, how can he not rack up the points?
