To be short and sweet, it’s time for another School of Block fantasy mailbag! So head on over to the forums and drop us your burning and most pertinent fantasy goalie questions. And even though I didn’t have a full-blown diatribe for this week, there were five interesting fantasy topics that caught my eye last week, as I continue to wait with great anticipation for August to expire.
Listen for the soft steps of the Diabolical Backups, lest you fall victim to a sneak attack! Those pesky, conniving, crafty, devious teammates are like a swarm of locusts digging into your skin. They test the patience, irritate the mind and eat away at one’s focus. They pressure starters to play at their best on a nightly basis, and like a virus, can exponentially destroy confidence from within. The diabolical backups - they force other goalies to keep their foot on the gas. The diabolical backups - anything can happen when a starter’s playing time is cut in half.
After signing Martin Gerber to a one-year, two-way deal on Friday, the Edmonton Oilers now have quite the interesting fantasy goalie situation heading into the season. Since it happened on an otherwise boring summer day, tons of interesting depth chart topics came bubbling to the surface from hockey writers and Oilers analysts everywhere.
The Chicago Blackhawks walked away from Antti Niemi’s one-year $2.75 million arbitration ruling this morning and promptly announced they agreed to terms with Marty Turco for what’s reported as a one-year deal worth between $1 and $1.5 million. Niemi is now an UFA and is free to deal and sign with any team and any price thrown his way.
School of Block held a fantasy forums mailbag last week and the quality of questions I answered was just outstanding. The volume was even more impressive, as I gladly spent my entire day answering…well…almost all of them.
The only question left unanswered was a request from Leafs2010. He asked me to list the Top-10 goalies for a one-year fantasy league using the common statistical categories. I realized automatically that a question of such magnitude and importance deserved more time and focus than the others, so I pondered it for the whole week. Lo and behold, my ranking of the 10 best goalies to own for this season, if you’re playing in a one-year league that uses the common scoring categories.
With The Current State of Predators Goaltending being pushed back another week due to the free agent frenzy and my annual summer tournament here in Colorado,I wanted to quickly provide you with some fantasy advice pertaining to Mark Dekanich’s bid for the backup job.
If there was one subject I loved more than any other in high school and college, it was world and state history. Whether it was the fight for the Alamo or the Civil War, not a day went by where I didn't ponder a country or society’s fight for independence. It was not just a lesson in history’s wild timeline, but a lesson in life and in human nature.
Hidden amidst the madness that was the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, a subtle trade took place that could have major implications on next season's fantasy goalie scene. The Calgary Flames quietly acquired Färjestad's Henrik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks for a sixth-round draft pick. Although he has no experience in North America, fantasy managers could really benefit from owning Karlsson, who just might be Miikka Kiprusoff’s newest backup.
Evgeni Nabokov’s reign in San Jose has finally come to an end. The Russian from Kazakhstan has won more games in the last three years than any other goalie, but now joins at least 20 UFA goalies seeking a new empire. I won’t speculate on where he goes or who they bring in as a replacement, but I will discuss what this does to San Jose’s goalie prospects, from a fantasy perspective of course.
Who amongst us can resist the lazy days of summer? And who doesn’t love the feeling you get when first arriving at a friend’s BBQ? You’re instantly hit with the mouth-watering aroma of freshly cooked meat and proceed to eat like a starved pig until you can’t see straight. To be honest, the current state of Florida’s goaltending is…yeah…a lot like that. From top to bottom, their goalie grill is loaded with plenty of succulent talent just bursting with fantasy flavor.
