z-Archives (other articles)

The third annual Prime Cuts roster is set to be unveiled starting Friday, April 9^th. Check out the Prime Cuts rosters from 2007-08 and 2008-09. The thinking process that goes in to selecting the team is similar to Pierre McGuire’s “Monsters” for TSN (I promise that is the first and only time I will compare my thinking process to Pierre’s). Since this is a fantasy hockey site, the selection process favours players that have had strong seasons on the score sheet, obviously. However, not just goals and assists are weighted – perhaps a player has started to shoot the puck more, or play better defensively. Intangibles like heart, grit, and determination factor in to the selection process as well. It is far and away my favourite article to write each year, and I hope you will all enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it!

Another season of instability between the pipes has once again come and gone for the Philadelphia Flyers. After trading for Chris Pronger last summer, the Flyers were forced to go digging in the bargain bin for a starting goaltender, as Pronger’s salary pushed them very close to the cap. They signed Ray Emery, hoping that a year in exile playing in the KHL would make him a better goalie on the ice and a more stable person off of it. Emery started the 2009-10 season very well, winning 10 of his first 14 starts. However, his level of play dipped in December and January, and his season (and potentially career) was abruptly ended early in February when he suffered a severe hip injury.

The final week of NHL action is almost upon us, and what better way to celebrate than with a contest? The entrant with the most points at the end of the week running from April 5 until April 11 will receive a signed 8x10 photograph of Dallas Star captain and Team Canada gold medalist Brenden Morrow. To reward our loyal DobberHockey members, those with over 1000 posts on the forums will be given a slight advantage in winning. However, if you make a shrewd selection this week, it won’t matter if you don’t even post at all.

Before every NHL regular season comes to an end, I like to reflect on the progression of goaltending from a league wide perspective, as compared to this point last year. It’s a good way to formulate a solid scope of what we might expect in the playoffs, while also taking a snapshot of the goaltending position, one that constantly evolves.

The trade deadline has come and gone in the NHL and the same holds true for most fantasy hockey leagues. For those of you in contention for first place, more time is now spent focusing on which categories you need to improve during the final few weeks, and if there are any players available on the waiver wire that can help you in that regard. For those of you who have no shot at winning this year, now is the time to focus on next season (provided you are in a keeper league, of course). Once trading opens back up in the summer, the build for the future will continue. Trading for unproven prospects and young players is always a risk, but there are ways to mitigate that. (Reading DobberHockey is a great start!) There are several young players who are ready to step in and produce next season in the NHL, and you may be able to get a few of them below value this summer.

The Fantasy Managers’ hunt for talent in Russia goes on. After Viktor Tikhonov’s return people are waiting for Nikita Filatov, but there are other names. There is a big chance that we will finally see Kirill Petrov, and this might be the year for Montreal fans to see Russians actually report, as Maxim Trunev and Alexander Avtsyn may this summer.

The current state of Edmonton Oilers goaltending is a somewhat gloomy and shallow affair. There are a few bright spots in the organization, but overall, the depth chart is considered a weak one. This season could even be viewed as a small disaster, as Nikolai Khabibulin’s back problems have kept him out of the lineup for most of the year. That led to him making the news recently for another unfortunate reason – an intoxicated run-in with the Arizona authorities.

As of next Monday, there will be three weeks left in the NHL regular season. Beginning last week, we are running weekly contests here at DobberHockey. Each week, there will be a list of players provided with a specific scoring system. The entrant with the most points at the end of each week will receive an autographed 8x10 photo (Ribeiro, Sullivan, Boyes, or Spezza). To reward our loyal DobberHockey members, those with over 1000 posts on the forums will be given a slight advantage. However, if you make a shrewd selection, it won’t matter if your post count is low.