October 12, 2014
Dobber
2014-10-12
Subbing in for Drance with a marathon of a Sunday Fantasy Hockey Ramblings, including lots of Isles talk …
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Dobber here, covering for Drance who will grab my ramblings on Wednesday. So you have me back to back!
The season has started and I’m pretty happy with how things are going. I’m in three keeper leagues this year, plus I put together a team for Dobbernomics just because I enjoy that game and I just put myself in a random league. (It’s not too late to join). I have yet to put my team in my own free pool (details here), but I will be taking care of that before the Tuesday deadline.
But I’m happy with how things are going. For me, happiness not only lies in how my leagues are going, but also in how my prognostications are doing. When thousands of poolies are riding on things that you say, you sure as hell hope you’re right more often than you’re wrong. And regardless of whether two games have been played, or two hundred – you still hope for the best. My three leagues are doing well and there is no reason at this point to believe things will change, barring injury of course. So my focus is on how my ramblings – both in the Guide and here on the site – are looking….
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I’m happy about Jiri Tlusty. If I were to single out a player who I’ve been beating the drums about when it comes to a breakout season and/or a comeback year, it’s Tlusty. My position was that he had a strong year down the stretch of 2012-13 playing with Staal and Semin, but last year was a setback because a) he was injured or b) Staal was injured or c) Semin was injured. I think the trio had like three healthy games together. That, combined with the fact that Tlusty is entering his prime, bodes well. I was unable to get him in my Dobber League (that I’m commish) because of rules regarding reacquisition of a player within 11 months of trading him. In my Forecaster League I drafted him. In my 26-year-old league I had the Tlusty owner tell me he was available and I told him that I would give him the eighth overall pick for him if my player wasn’t around at that point. He accepted that, and I was told by several owners that I was crazy for giving up such a high pick – but it’s a two-round draft and I didn’t have any second rounders. It turns out that my guy was indeed around – Kasperi Kapanen. So I didn’t get the deal done.
I’m kicking myself for that.
Tlusty is going nuts and frankly, he’s been the best player on that line (mind you it was my secondary game, not my primary game – but he was pretty awesome). While 164 points on the season is unlikely, if he can play 80 games (unlikely because he’s injury prone, a little) he can post in the high 60s. He would also need Eric Staal to be healthy (update – which apparently didn’t happen, as he left the game with an upper body injury)
Speaking of Staal, did I see on Hockey Night in Canada that scouts were watching Staal and he could be in trade talks? Forget the trade talks for a moment, because I’m not big on that stuff, but…what? Why in the hell would scouts be watching Eric Staal? It’s Eric Staal! What do you need to see? If your GM is asking you to scout Staal…what is he asking you to look at? His skating? Talent? Hockey sense? Leadership? If I’m a team owner, I fire that GM for wasting scouting dollars. There are about 50 players you just don’t need to scout, come on.
Keith Yandle had three assists last night and saw nearly 30 minutes of ice time. So far he is behind only Doughty, Keith and McDonagh in average time on the ice.
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Goalie Post has some great new features, including a Ramblings! The first Ramblings at Goalie Post was published Saturday – and I wrote them. Take a look! And again – bookmark the site for both your starting goalie information as well as the Ramblings written by yours truly as well as Justin Goldman.
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I want to refund your Fantasy Guide that you bought from me earlier. Details on why I want to do that, can be found here.
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Is Erik Johnson getting suspended for this hit on Erik Haula in a collision between Eriks with a ‘k’? Word is that Haula says that he wasn’t hit with the elbow, but rather the hand.
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If you haven’t put in a team for Dobbernomics, it’s never too late. Spend your $50 million budget and join a random league – see if you can get that team budget up to $70 million by the end of the year by buying low and selling high!
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James Neal is pointless in two games. Saturday he played with Gabriel Bourque and Mike Ribeiro. But so far his trade counterpart is badly outscoring him. I tried so hard to trade him for Hornqvist in the summer and I’m kicking myself for not having pushed even harder. (I did eventually move him along with some other pieces for Joe Thornton so I can’t complain too much).
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My two favorite teams – Toronto and Pittsburgh – played Saturday. I don’t have a lot to comment on it, other than the outcome is as expected. The Penguins hammered them. Which makes me wonder why Toronto fans are in a frenzy over all the changes that need to be made now. Relax. We’re two games in. They’ll have hot streaks and cold streaks. They’re learning a new system and when that happens it usually results in some losses early on, especially when playing superior teams. But it will come. Phil Kessel won’t suck forever – you know that. And Jonathan Bernier is not this bad – you know that too. And Toronto’s third and fourth lines are a huge upgrade over last year. It will come. Likely not “playoffs come”, but it will come.
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Another Dobber favorite is doing well – Cam Atkinson. Three goals already in just two games. But even more interesting to me is that rookie Alexander Wennberg averages more ice time (17:04) than any other forward including Johansen! I thought this would just be a cup of coffee for the talented freshman, but the ice time is indicating otherwise.
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I went into the forum last night just after midnight (so earlier today I guess) to look for a post I typed up at 6pm…I clicked “New Posts” and found my post on the fifth page. (????) Wow – the forum has really come along, if 80 posts were discussed, often several times, in seven hours! I took a look at the top posters and it looks like, at the current pace, 60 people will have 100 posts in October. The record is 59 in November of 2011. The point is – if you need fantasy hockey help or just want to bounce some ideas off of people (including myself), that’s the best place for a quick answer. And multiple answers.
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I wish I had more time, but it’s 2:30 am, I’m already pushing 2500 words and I feel like I’ve only gotten to half the topics I wanted to hit. Good thing I’m back again for the Monday Ramblings, I guess. I’ll leave you with this gorgeous pass from Daniel to Vrbata (and Vrbata is getting the twins rolling, as we all figured):