June 7, 2010
Dobber Sports
2010-06-07
Fantasy Prospects Report – check it out HERE.
Talk about bad luck – so Boucher comes in twice this series when the game is out of hand and the Flyers come back just enough to earn him the loss each time.
So now Ville Leino has 19 points in his last 16 games during the rigors of the postseason. If you had to say one or the other – does he get 30-35 points, or 65-plus points next year. No in between. What would it be?
Daniel Briere is a point out of the scoring lead. If Chicago wins this in seven and the scoring race goes: 1. Briere 33; 2. Toews 28; 3. Kane 27 – would you consider giving Danny the Conn Smythe? Keep in mind, Toews, Kane and Keith would really split the voting.
Simon Gagne has just two points in his last seven contests. Also minus-5. His points-per-game have now dropped down to the level that it was in the regular season – two points for every three games.
Antti Niemi has allowed four or more goals in four of the five games. Not exactly money. He’s been good enough, but not the reason Chicago is where they are.
I think at the draft you are going to be surprised with how few goalies are drafted – and how late they are drafted. Campbell aside, the NHL needs to be cognizant of the fact that only the elite drafted goalies seem to get to the show, and that they can just sign a European in his mid-20s. Just off the top of my head Hiller, Thomas, Niemi, Ersberg, Gustavsson, Backstrom were all signed as forgotten or overlooked free agents. And then there are the career AHLers who just needed a chance, such as Craig Anderson and Michael Leighton. So if I can’t get Jack Campbell, I’m shoring up the other spots at the draft. Same strategy goes with your run-of-the-mill keeper league. The main goalies are taken, why draft a kid? Other than Campbell, you could just sign a Jussi Rynnas.
Interesting read – Ken Campbell’s article in a recent THN about the size of NHL players. The average height is down 0.2 inches since before the lockout and about 2.5 pounds. The three biggest teams in the league – St. Louis, Columbus, Atlanta – did not make the playoffs. Maybe we are trending smaller after all…