July 23, 2011
Jeff Angus
2011-07-22
Some of the best glove saves of all time – the Nabokov save on Richards from 2008 is still the best save I have ever seen in live action.
Saturday ramblings up early – I'll have some more stuff added throughout the course of the day.
I'm knee deep in my writing for the DobberHockey Fantasy Guide (out in just over a week). I don't do any of the number projections for this one, but I'll have a ton of my own content in the guide (my Prime Cuts selection for each team – basically my sleeper pick, a handful of PIM players to watch for, as well as some sleepers with one-way contracts).
I'll also have a few other published pieces – one on residual fantasy value, which has been interesting to research.
Doing the research required for my writing and guide contributions helps me immensely in my own pools, and it also helps me notice some interesting situations around the league that I don't get regular access to.
Since there is so little news trickling in today, I am going to start the ramblings with 10 thoughts/questions, and I'd love your answers.
1) Rank Washington's top three defensemen in terms of production. How much does Wideman hurt Carlson (or vice versa)? All three of their offensive blue liners are right handed shots.
2) It is game 41 tomorrow. Assuming everyone is healthy, what does Pittsburgh's top six look like? Mine: Malkin-Crosby-Neal, Jeffrey-Staal-Sullivan.
3) Christian Ehrhoff created a lot of offense for the Canucks with his skating and shooting ability. He also benefitted a lot from playing a ton of his shifts with fantastic players (he also had very easy zone starts, which means the majority of his shifts started in the offensive zone). Does him leaving affect the Sedins much? Who fills the void?
4) Who is LA's highest scoring winger in 2011-12? Penner? Williams? Brown? Gagne? Parse?
5) Who leads Winnipeg in scoring? I am looking for a big season from the top line center, Brian Little. Not sure Evander Kane is ready to become "the guy" yet. Is Zach Bogosian traded? (OK, this is two questions in one).
6) Is there a team better set up to win for a long time than Boston? Goaltending, check. Defense, check (save for Joe Corvo). Forwards ready now, check. Prospects ready soon, check. The Bruins are fully stocked with every kind of player at every position.
7) Points only – Getzlaf or Kopitar next season? Why?
8) I don't think many poolies understand the significance Mark Streit will have on the production from the likes of Tavares, Okposo, Moulson, Hamonic, etc. Streit is one of a handful of truly elite, pure puck movers who can also wire the puck from anywhere on the ice. Streit has AVERAGED 57 in his past three seasons. That being said, does Tavares hit 40 goals this season?
9) If their youngsters on defense can play reasonably well, I see no reason why the Rangers can't contend for the Eastern Conference title. From a fantasy perspective, Richards is going to help Gaborik tremendously. One of Anisimov/Boyle/Stepan will lose out, as there is only so much ice time to go around. Who would you put alongside Gaborik and Richards? Can the Rangers really go with a defense featuring six youngsters: Staal/Girardi/ Erixon/McDonagh/ Sauer/Del Zotto?
10) Does Evgeni Malkin still hold the edge over Stamkos in keeper league drafts? If you are in a standard keeper and have the third overall pick, who do you take?
Looking forward to reading some answers!
Philly could have a new nut in the lineup this year: