How long has it been since the last Max Pacioretty Cage Match? Long enough that Andrew Ladd was his previous opponent! Facing MaxPac is Taylor Hall, who was covered a bit more recently, but as an Olier. Can Pacioretty stay on pace to achieve his first 70+ point season? Does Hall have what it takes, [...]
This week I’m trying something new. The idea is to take the “pick a winner” concept of Cage Match and make it appeal to a wider audience. How? Covering more players (three, instead of two) and focusing on each player individually (versus by comparison) within a shorter column, yet still providing the thorough information [...]
Like last week, today’s battle is between one player (Sean Monahan) who achieved early success but has yet to take that all-important next step, and another (Charlie Coyle) who had disappointed for his entire career but has broken out this season. Can Monahan improve; and if so, when might he turn a corner? Can Coyle [...]
This week’s battle is between Mark Stone and Mikael Granlund. For Stone, 2016-17 could be his third straight 61-65 point season, while for Granlund it would represent the first time he’s bested even 44 points. Does Stone have another gear, or has he peaked? Is Granlund breaking out, or is his 2016-17 production entirely - [...]
This week we take a break from the usual battle to cover a question that’s come to the forefront of fantasy hockey due to the production of Sam Gagner. Thanks to Gagner’s 60-point scoring pace over his first 45 games - despite averaging only 13:38 of Total Ice Time per contest - he’s been [...]
Some of my most favorite Cage Matches are what I call “will the real [insert names] please stand up” battles. What I mean is, I like to cover players whose production has varied considerably from year to year, since the analysis in this column usually can reveal who the real version of each player actually [...]
Also in this article - the results of the 'slumping player least likely to rebound' tournament... Before our regularly scheduled Cage Match column, I want to announce that, by your votes, Bobby Ryan, Jake Muzzin, and Reilly Smith were named the players least likely to achieve their 2016-17 expected production this season or in [...]
Cage Match Tournament, Week 2: Which of these slumping players is least likely to bounce back? What better way to help celebrate the official arrival of 2017 than by another winter cage match tournament! After your votes last week crowned Connor McDavid, Mark Scheifele, and Nikolaj Ehlers as the players with the most sustainable [...]
Vote for the most sustainable breakouts in our Cage Match Tournament! […]
It’s been months since I last did a defensemen match-up, so I’m teeing up a rearguard battle here before returning next week with a perennial DobberHockey favorite - winter cage match tournaments. I’m also doing something I’ve rarely done, which is repeating a cage match - Ryan Suter vs. Duncan Keith. But considering their [...]
