Eastern Edge

In this case, M*A*S*H stands for Miller’s Avoidance of Seriously Hurt players from the Eastern Conference. There seems to be a rash of serious injuries going around the NHL these days. Maybe it’s just being over-reported and us, being the fantasy hockey junkies we are, start to get worried when we are constantly being bombarded with injury information.

Last season, only one NHL team (Columbus) scored fewer goals than the New York Islanders. So why you ask, should you even consider selecting someone who plays in Long Island when some consider it to be a fantasy wasteland? Now I can hear some of you snickering, but there are some decent selections on the Isles if you happen to be in a deeper draft.

In honour of Canada’s newest favourite Olympic sport, let’s look at some silver medal picks to rebound for the coming season.

I started this column by doing research on how players headed into free agency did. The thought being that with the added motivation, they would be primed to do as well as they possibly could in order to have the numbers to support a big contract. What I found were a bunch of players who broke out in their third year. It’s typically been a player’s fourth NHL season that we see them breakout offensively. Is this a new trend developing or just a blip on the screen?

The following are some examples of Eastern Conference pending free agents that had a breakout in their third NHL season:

In looking back on the 2007-08 season, I came across some interesting statistics that I would like to share:

Do all fairy tales have happy endings? Can playoff dark horses turn into regular season thoroughbreds or do they turn into pumpkins at the stroke of midnight, like Cinderella’s carriage? Post-season legends are created by exceptional playoff performances from unexpected sources.