July 24, 2011
Dobber Sports
2011-07-24
Those who follow me on Twitter have been tracking my progress with the fantasy guide. I Tweet occasional tidbits that will be in the guide, and throughout the last two weeks you've noticed those Tweets centering around Anaheim, then Boston, then Buffalo…and so on until yesterday it was on the Penguins. Just some interesting stuff like Letang's 36 points in the 41 games that Crosby was in the lineup last year. Or just general thoughts, such as when I mused that if the site was called RumorHockey then I would have 50,000 Twitter followers, in reference to this Twitter account called NHLSourcesSay.
Many took that as a statement about Eklund, which is partially true. But I don't have a problem with Eklund. I don't read the site, I don't follow him, but I respect what he does. What does he do? He gets traffic. Lots of it. Hockey fans are like old ladies in a hair salon. They love their gossip. So he gives it to them and they froth at the mouth and beg for more – so he gives them more. I think it's brilliant. And I especially love the guys who say "I just go there for the laugh". Yeah right – there are thousands of comedian sites out there that would provide you with more laughs. They go there for the gossip. All 85,000 of them. Nothing wrong with it, but call a spade a spade.
NHLSourcesSay I have a problem with. That's some regular Joe either taking a shot in the dark, or getting the information the same way anyone else does, and then tweets it quickly. His site hasn't been updated since February. And yet – 13,000 people follow him. That was why I mused about RumorHockey. Jealousy? Disgust? Confusion? Mostly the latter two, but I'm sure deep down the first one exists too. But I would prefer 13,000 people stop following that joke more than I would prefer 13,000 follow me – that's the truth. Anyway, I really veered off there. My intent was to speak of the Fantasy Guide and Twitter!
Here is a great interview on Puck Daddy – Ted Leonsis, who has a blog where he is very candid and open (I'm actually a regular reader of it, because besides his sports teams he writes about his other business interests that I often find fascinating).
Sabres Edge blog opines that Brad Boyes should be on a month-to-month lease, implying that if a move is made to get under the cap via trade, it will be him who goes.
Right now, the Islanders are negotiating with Josh Bailey. Either he sees the Yashin talks and gets scared into dropping his price yet extending his term…or if they actually do sign Yashin then Bailey will see the reduced role that he is in for. Either way, from a business standpoint, I can see the point. If you can get Yashin for one year at $1 million, then why not? As a 2A or 2B center he could still get 50 points I'm sure. And in the meantime, it takes the pressure off a Bailey as a second-line pivot who needs to produce right now. And let's face it, Frans Nielsen is a great two-way player, but to me that makes him an ideal third liner. And what's in it for Yashin? Either he sparks KHL interest with these talks, or he returns to the Island where I think, frankly, he enjoyed himself.
I'm just trying to bring SOME sense/logic to this. I hope I helped. Probably not, but I hope.
Interesting stats regarding Chris Osgood, when arguing with pro-Hall people:
– Without the shootout, he would have 391 wins, not 401
– The Red Wings had a .629 win percentage with him in net, but .640 when he wasn't in the net
– During Osgood's career, the average save percentage of all goalies in the NHL was 0.9059. Osgood's was 0.9051. Call it even. But that means half the goalies were better, half worse.
– On Osgood's various teams, his career GAA was 2.49. The other goalies on those teams during that time boasted 2.47.
– While he was the DET goalie, he won three cups in 14 seasons (one as a backup). But during the three years that he was not in Detroit, they still won one. So winning Cups 21% of the time with him there (less if you consider he was backup once)…versus winning the Cup 33% of the time with him not there.
– He's eighth in career playoff wins. He's also 11th in career playoff losses.
– He's clutch? His regular season win percentage is .603. His playoff win percentage is .574. He is 2-4 in Game 7 games. Yes, pretty clutch
– In 13 games where his team could be eliminated, he was 5-8 with a .893 SP.
– He lost the starting gig to Manny Legace and Garth Snow. I don't think a Hall-of-Famer ever lost his starting job to anybody ever while in his prime.
I like Osgood. And the criticism is hardly fair, since he just called it quits on a great career. So it sucks that things like this have to have a light shone on them to bring some people back to reality. He deserves to be remembered as a great goalie and a winner. Just not a Hall-of-Famer.
Evgeni Nabokov plans on being in training camp this year. I believe, if the Isles trade him before the season starts, he will not have to clear waivers first. Brilliant move by them, as they could get a third-round pick out of the deal. For now, I still have him as a risk. I don't believe he plays for the Islanders this year, which makes Montoya still a safe pick – but now you could pick him lower, due to the threat.
David Rundblad, ladies and gentlemen…
Keep firing me YouTube clips!