In the weekly piece “Eastern Edge”, TJ Branson breaks down the latest fantasy information from the standpoint of the Eastern Conference – the streaks, the slumps, the line combinations and much more.
This week we'll take a gander at each of the Eastern Conference teams remaining games and opponents and try to identify which players (marks) might give you an added edge down the stretch. The games remaining include Thursday nights games.
There used to be a time when power forwards were not deemed necessary for a championship fantasy hockey roster. But with post-lockout rule changes aimed at opening up the game, power forwards have become increasingly attractive. However, with the prototypical power forward taking longer to develop, we often give up too early.
A few days ago we took an inside look at players who have performed significantly better at home over the season and have more home games left on the season than road games. This information could set expectations for your playoff run and reveal who is worth playing or benching, depending on which town they're skating in. To build on that logic, I will now look into the road warrior, a player who has performed better on the road than at home this season.
I was going to title this article Flight of the Condra as we might be witnessing Erik Condra's career starting to take off, but when I heard that some are calling him AnaCondra, well that's golden.
There are a few players in the league who are dominant no matter where they are playing. Jarome Iginla is a good example. He has 66 points in 68 games this season and of those, 33 have been recorded both at home and on the road. Another example is Rick Nash, who has 29 points at home and on the road, but not every player is wired this way. Many perform either better on the road or better at home and in this two part series, I'll look at both.
This week I was going to take a look at Eastern Conference teams player acquisitions and losses via the trade route and analyze some of the fantasy fallout, but that's been done to death. Instead I'll present my ramblings on a six pack of teams and a shot.
The Ottawa Senators are in an enviable position. At least that's how I view their situation at this point in the season. Listening to some of the radio stations in the city, I hear fans and on-air personalities saying that they hope the Sens can turn it around this year. No, no, no, a nice winning streak is one of the WORST things that could happen to the team right now. I would call that "pulling a Toronto"; being out of contention most of the year and then winning just enough games to finish ninth or tenth in the Conference. That only provides false hope and gives the team the worst possible draft position without the reward of playoff games/experience.
With the 2011 NHL trade deadline approaching quickly, many fantasy GMs run into their own dilemmas at their deadline, especially if it's a deep keeper league. Is it time to sell the veterans for some youth? Is it better to move a few young pieces and bring in that proven veteran with a few years left in hopes of winning a league title? What type of player should I be investing in? While these might sound like relatively easy decisions, most will concur they are not.
Let's take a closer look at the hottest player in the league over the past calendar month. He had 15 goals and 21 points in that span, more points than the next best Olli Jokinen (17 points) and a whopping six more goals than the next best - a three way tie between Drew Stafford, Ryan Kesler and Curtis Glencross.
With the recent flurry of trades in the NHL, many have offered their opinions and insight, flooding the market with a substantial amount of surface level detail. Prior to Kris Versteeg's recent trade to Philadelphia, I've always been a skeptic. This trade forced me to take a closer look though and determine some realistic expectations.
