May 18 2015
Dobber
2015-05-18
Thoughts on Simon Despres, Finnish star Joonas Donskoi, the Worlds and more …
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In Canada, we love our Saturday hockey. Sunday night hockey? Bonus. Afternoon hockey? Pfffft.
The dinosaurs at NBC are swinging too big a stick. Sportsnet is paying the NHL $433.3 million for rights. NBC is paying the NHL $200 million per season. Yet…what NBC says – goes. So first thing is first. Sportsnet – you’re a wuss. Way to roll over and show your belly. Second – NBC, get the grandpa dinosaurs out of your head office and do what’s best for your station. Nobody is going to watch hockey on a Sunday or Saturday afternoon. Yes, that formula worked for football – but that was in the winter. I assure you, if the football season extended into late May, the ratings would suffer. At this time of year, most people are outside not watching hockey. And then around seven or eight at night, they filter into the house and flip on the TV, looking for some sports.
And so I missed both weekend games, although I did catch the USA bronze game Sunday, and I did see the last half of the third period of the Anaheim -Chicago game on my phone. But it was a bright, sunny day and I could barely see the screen.
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Simon Despres has six points in the playoffs for the Ducks. But still no PP time. That went to Fowler, Beauchemin, Lindholm and Vatanen. I think Bruce Boudreau should consider Despres over Beauchemin here. Despres was an offensive rearguard in the Q and again in the AHL. At least worth a look, no?
Jiri Sekac got into the first playoff action of his career. He played just nine minutes and was held without a point or even a shot.
Jakob Silfverberg posted his third consecutive two-point game for Anaheim. He already has a third of the points (13) in the playoffs that he had in the regular season (39). With 13 points he’s behind only Corey Perry in playoff scoring (tied with Johnson, Kane and Getzlaf).
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Brad Richards was fourth in ice time among Chicago forwards on Sunday. He also saw three minutes of PP time to Teuvo Teravainen‘s zero minutes. Richards did score the lone Chicago goal, so I can’t be hard on the decision. But TT deserves a slice of those PP minutes.
Brandon Saad has three points in the postseason and just one in his last seven games. This is a guy who had 16 points in 19 playoff games last year.
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The rest of the WC All-Star team – Burns and OEL on defense. Spezza, Hall and Jagr up front.
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Regarding the Rangers – Lightning series. I think TB has very little chance of winning this thing if they continue playing the low-risk style they’ve successfully employed throughout the postseason. Because the Rangers will “out low-risk” them (lower risk?). That being said, I don’t think opening it up and firing on all cylinders will win either. I’d love to see one game where they do that though, just to see how it goes. But I’m guessing the playoffs isn’t the time to test things. So yeah, I can’t suggest a solution. Good thing I’m not a coach.
Onward we go with the 2-1 games.
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San Jose has reportedly signed Finnish star Joonas Donskoi to a two-year deal. Donskoi was a fourth-round draft pick in 2010 by Florida, but they failed to sign him and he was allowed to walk. Now, after eight points in eight games at the Worlds, and he was tied for fourth in Liiga scoring, Donskoi signs. With San Jose. Which is a better fit as the Sharks can work him into the lineup, especially if they move a body in the offseason. Donskoi is worth keeping an eye on – and perhaps the best bet of all the FA signings I’ve seen so far this year. I like this one better than Casey Bailey (Toronto) and Steve Moses (Nashville).
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Two weeks ago I launched the Draft Kings promo of the Ultimate Fantasy Pack. If you’ve never signed up for Draft Kings before, you can do so and for $10 you get my Ultimate Fantasy Pack. Details here.
I didn’t yet add the packages to accounts yet. I went to do that on Friday, but ran into an annoying issue in my shop that I had to get fixed. It’s ready now so I’ll be adding these packs to your account this week. I want to do them all at once rather than a few here and a few there. No rush, since the first guide in the pack isn’t out until June 1.
The regular stuff – the Ultimate Pack, the Keeper League Pack, or just the Fantasy Guide or Prospects Report – are now available for sale (for those who are already with Draft Kings). The FPR is out in two weeks.
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Frederick Andersen is in the zone here (and all postseason, for that matter)…