DobberBaseball was hacked this morning. It is fine now – everything is okay (you may need to refresh, or open/close your browser), although I still need to change some site passwords. Spammers added a couple of redirects which sent the visitor to a spam site, for some reason believing that fantasy baseball enthusiasts would [...]
A September '09 article of mine explained how NHL teams like to transition potential scoring forwards from the AHL to the NHL. Since the lockout, most teams have developed a three-season program for transitioning proven AHL producers to scoring NHL forwards. It's a fairly simple formula but it's amazingly consistent.
I want to run my own hockey team. Living the dream, to me, would be just that. The next Mike Gillis. The effort to live vicariously through your fantasy hockey team mellows the burning desire live it out in the real. Adding dimensions to your hockey pool can simulate an office job with a city view, while working for your favourite team. The salary cap satisfies the statistic nerd in all of us and increases the difficulty level of running a team.
Fantasy Impact: The Anaheim Ducks have acquired forward Andrew Cogliano from the Oilers for a second-round draft pick (2013).
Tough and surprising news for Dustin Jeffrey owners - he signed a two-way deal for this season, with it becoming a one-way deal next year. The guy is NHL ready. He has proven that he belongs...but this opens the door for an AHL demotion. Meanwhile, Pascal Dupuis, who isn't fit to tie Jeffrey's skates, [...]
Goldie Says: To better evaluate Semyon Varlamov's fantasy value for this season, please read Paving Varlamov's Path. I go in-depth on the steps he and the Avs must take to eliminate his injury issues. Also, my info on Jordan Pearce in School of Block today is kinda a wash as Joey MacDonald agreed to a new two-year deal this morning. He was signed [...]
Sean Kelly wins the Oakley’s shades and now he needs to contact me in order to get them! Florida acquires prospect defenseman Keith Seabrook in a minor swap. The offensive rearguard had big WHL seasons, but has yet to translate that into the AHL. The Panthers acquired three players yesterday, I noted Shirokov [...]
The absolute pinnacle of "drafting against the grain" is General Manager Doug Wilson of the San Jose Sharks. San Jose's strategy since the 2000 draft has been abundantly clear and abundantly strange. In the nine years between 2000 and 2008, San Jose drafted 12 goalies exclusively in the middle rounds or later. The earliest pick was Tyler Sexsmith in 2007 who was drafted early in the fourth round. To make matters even more strange, four of the 12 goalies were Germans playing in the Bundesliga. Thomas Greiss, a German, taken early in the fourth round in 2004, is the only goalie yet to pan out and it appears the Sharks have abandoned the practise and haven't taken a goaltender since 2008. Patterns like this are interesting and fun to follow, but other teams have patterns that have worked out better than San Jose's and it's worth examining what they were up to in the most recent drafts.
Fantasy Impact: The Winnipeg Jets have acquired power forward Eric Fehr from the Washington Capitals for Danick Paquette and a fourth-round draft pick.
I’m still hoping that Sean Kelly contacts me, as he won the Oakley’s sunglasses. Shades can be seen by clicking here. The Panthers have acquired Sergei Shirokov from Vancouver for Mike Duco. As you know, the Panthers' roster is already filled with modest contracts and Shirokov will not steal a job. However, if [...]
