The Top Fantasy Hockey Moments of 2014
Dobber
2015-01-03
Dobber counts down the 10 most impactful moments in fantasy hockey in 2014…
10. Jason Spezza Traded to Dallas
Spezza has just 26 points so far and has been in a pretty deep spiral since the start of November and Alex Chiasson has just 15. These are numbers that aren’t exactly rocking the fantasy hockey universe. But when the trade went down it had the buzz of the second biggest trade of the year. Which it was.
9. Slava Voynov Suspended Indefinitely
Six games into the season, Voynov was suspended indefinitely by the NHL for alleged domestic abuse. Voynov, 24, was probably looking at a 40-point season. But he has the upside of a 55-point blueliner and fantasy owners had high hopes. Now his fantasy value is worthless. If Voynov is found guilty and given jail time, there will be Visa issues such as what we experienced with Bob Probert and Mike Danton in years past. It’s a very real threat to his NHL career (but would have little impact on, say, a KHL career – hint hint).
8. Alex Ovechkin Nearly Scores 50 and Goes Minus-50
Ovechkin scored 53 goals in 2013-14 and was also a minus-34. But there was one point midseason where many speculated the “what if” scenario. What if he scored 50 and was minus-50? After 76 games he was minus-35 and even then there was still a chance – he had been a minus-5 in the three games leading up to that point. In leagues that counted both categories, you can imagine the frustration. After 37 games this year under a new coach, Ovechkin was a plus-8.
7. Mumps Invasion
Mumps. Ranks right up there with scurvy on the list of illnesses you thought were long gone. But when Corey Perry was hit with it on November 5, it impacted fantasy owners. Perry ended up missing five games, Sidney Crosby missed three games, Derick Brassard missed two games – those were the names with the biggest fantasy impact. But in all (so far), 21 confirmed cases hitting five NHL teams (Pittsburgh, New Jersey, NY Rangers, Minnesota and Anaheim).
6. Young Players Break Out – Tarasenko, Kucherov, Johnson, Forsberg, Gaudreau
In what seems like an unprecedented wave of young players breaking out, the NHL scoring leaders are dotted with new names. Tyler Johnson (Tampa Bay) and Vladimir Tarasenko (St. Louis) lead the wave of newcomers, with both of them still firmly in the Top 10 after 37 games. But Nikita Kucherov, Filip Forsberg and Johnny Gaudreau could all be in the Top 25 at the end of the season. Of the five, Tarasenko is the only one to reach the 43-point mark prior to this year. Just imagine the boost this gives the fantasy team that likely picked one (or more) of these guys in the 10th or 15th rounds.
5. Kris Letang‘s Stroke
4. Bye-Bye Pugilists
There are no more meatheads and hamfists on a fantasy hockey roster. To get your penalty minutes now, you need to pick up a power forward or an agitator. And nowhere was this more exemplified then in Toronto, as the team cut both Colton Orr and Fraser McLaren out of training camp. Now the Leafs are the highest scoring team in the NHL, in large part because they can roll out four lines that can score. Right now, Anaheim’s Tim Jackman is the only player with fewer than five points among the Top 20 PIM players – and he has four.
3. James Neal traded to Nashville for Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling
Poolies went from “ho hum” about a player to suddenly frothing at the mouth to acquire 
him. And this happened in the span of a micro-second. As soon as the words “for Patric Hornqvist” appeared on your screen on June 27, his appeal to your fantasy team increased exponentially. And he hasn’t disappointed, as he already has 29 points and is on pace for 69. Easily a career high. Meanwhile, Spaling is on pace for 33 which is also a career high. And as expected, James Neal‘s pace is for just 53 points. The biggest single day drop or rise in value of two players in 2014.
2. Nashville fires Barry Trotz, Hires Peter Laviolette
Really, any of these top three could have made it to the top. But I like this move as No.2 because of the severe shift in attitude in the fantasy world when it comes to the Predators. I’m still having trouble adjusting, as my instinct when I see a Preds player offered to me in a trade is still “no” before I catch myself. They sit 13th in offense and they boast a player (Mike Ribeiro) on pace for 69 points and another player (Filip Forsberg) on pace for (gulp) 80! Suddenly, that Nashville prospect you were offered has so much more appeal to you. He’s no longer “capped” at 55 points. Now his upside is as high as it would be on any other team!
1. John Tavares tears MCL at Olympics
I’m not the only one who lost a run at the title for owning Tavares last season. Thousands of poolies went through the same thing. Injuries to players of this magnitude are champion-killers. Impossible to recover from, you can only hope to have made a few good moves to staunch the bleeding, and that you had a big enough lead that you could hold on.
Honorable Mention (1A?): Dobber launches new player profile pages just in time for 2015! Click on any player name above and see for yourself – everything you need to research a player without opening five different websites to get it. Includes game-by-game stats in previous years, exhibition, hits, blocked shots, line production and more!
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