Hartley Fired!
Dobber Sports
2007-10-17
Atlanta has fired their head coach Bob Hartley after the team suffered through six regulation losses to open the season. This has huge repercussions on the fantasy world.
Let's ignore whether or not the firing was fair (myself, I would have given it three more games) and let's focus on what this does to the team.
Marian Hossa will be the same player with or without Hartley – he's just that kind of star. As he gets back to 100 per cent, his numbers will come and with his numbers, Todd White's and Slava Kozlov's will come too.
Ilya Kovalchuk, on the other hand, strikes me as a player who is in need of a new environment. That means either a trade or a new coach. A new coach will now come in. GM Don Waddell will be the temporary coach, but whoever it ends up being – Kovalchuk will be treated like a king. He'll respond as such, too. He is a 100-point player and now you will see him play like one. At least for a dozen games!
The other big change is this – Hartley was a little reluctant to play the younger players…but he was very reluctant to play smaller players. See Paul Kariya for details. With him out of the picture, Brett Sterling should see a lot more ice time (plus he's Waddell's pet). Ditto for Tobias Enstrom. AHL star Darren Haydar may actually get a chance now and is worth taking a flyer on. The only thing that can stop these players from producing now is if the team brings in Pat Quinn – who is just as reluctant to play the young guys and just as reluctant to play the small guys. See Steve Sullivan for details.
Overall – this is a good thing for owners of Atlanta players.
Agree? Disagree? Comment in the fantasy hockey forum . Thousands of others are!
Related Posts
UPCOMING GAMES
CAR
FLAStarting Goalies
Top Skater Views
BUF
EDM
DALTop Goalie Profile Views
ANA
COL
LINE COMBOS
| Frequency |
 MTL Players
| |
|---|---|---|
| 19.6 | BRENDAN GALLAGHER CHRISTIAN DVORAK JOSH ANDERSON | |
| 13.8 | NICK SUZUKI JURAJ SLAFKOVSKY COLE CAUFIELD | |
| 12.4 | ALEX NEWHOOK JAKE EVANS IVAN DEMIDOV | |
DobberHockey Podcasts
Fantasy Hockey Life: Pittsburgh Penguins with Josh Yohe
Josh Yohe is here to report on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Jesse and Victor interview Josh about returning pros Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, Evgeni Malkin, Tommy Novak, Rutger McGroarty, Ville Koivunen, Erik Karlsson, Matt Grzelcyk, Kris Letang, Owen Pickering, Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic. In Cat’s Instincts, Cat Silverman of InGoal mag breaks down […]
Fantasy Hockey Life: Seattle Kraken with RJ Eskanos
RJ Eskanos of Emerald City Hockey is here to report on the Seattle Kraken. Jesse and Victor interview RJ about returning pros Jared McCann, Chandler Stephenson, Jaden Schwartz, Jordan Eberle, Kaapo Kakko, Shane Wright, Matty Beniers, Andre Burakovsky, Eeli Tolvanen, Jani Nyman, Vince Dunn, Brandon Montour, Ryker Evans, Joey Daccord, and Philipp Grubauer. In Cat’s […]
Keeping Karlsson: KK Leagues Report – 2025 Champs!
Derrick talks to the big winners of the various Keeping Karlsson leagues from this past season. He’s first joined by the new KKUPFL Ultimate Champion Ian and the reigning fast-track winner Alec. Then Derrick is joined by the year 1 KK Dynasty League champions Ian (different Ian), Saqib, and Brett, aka the “Good ol’ Ottawa Boys”.
Fantasy Hockey Life: Anaheim Ducks with Derek Lee
Derek Lee of the Hockey News is here to report on the Anaheim Ducks. Jesse and Victor interview him about returning pros Troy Terry, Mason McTavish, Trevor Zegras, Frank Vatrano, Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier, Sam Colangelo, Jackson LaCombe, Olen Zellweger, Pavel Mintyukov, Radko Gudas, Jacob Trouba, Lukas Dostal, and John Gibson. In Cat’s Instincts, Cat […]
Fantasy Hockey Life: Fluto Shinzawa Boston Bruins Preview
Fluto Shinzawa of the New York Times joins the show to break down the Boston Bruins. Jesse and Victor ask him about David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha, Elias Lindholm, Casey Mittelstadt, Matthew Poitras, Fraser Minten, Charlie McAvoy, Mason Lohrei, Hampus Lindholm, Jeremy Swayman, and Joonas Korpisalo. Cat’s instincts covers prospect goalies Brandon Bussi and […]