Khurram Sher writes Eastern Edge every week, where the focus is on Eastern Conference teams and players. Khurram has also written for GoaliePost.
The hockey season is now two months old and it’s time to update the Dobber Experts pool. It’s been interesting to say the least. As of November 30th, The Comish had a big lead (16.5 points), sitting first in six of the ten categories and second in three others.
Hockey players can be a superstitious lot. Many players will wear the same T-shirt, socks or even underwear long past their expiry date, all in the name of luck. Others need to put on their equipment in exactly the same order every time. Some guys will find a lucky stick and use it until it literally falls apart.
With the arrival of the NHL All-Star ballots, our thoughts can now turn to who are the most deserving players to represent their respective conferences. These are my choices for Eastern Conference Fantasy All-Stars (positions based on Yahoo eligibility) at the quarter mark of the season (all statistics are prior to last night’s games):
Sean Avery. NHL’s 'biggest a-hole' or 'misunderstood mucker'? Hollywood celebrities certainly see something in the NHL’s resident bad boy, as he has been romantically linked to Rachel Hunter, Elisha Cuthbert and most recently Mary-Kate Olsen.
Last week, we had a look at which players were under-performing. This week we’ll focus on which players should be traded while their value is high. It is difficult to be completely confident that you are doing the right thing when trading a guy who is doing so well. Will he continue to play at this level or will his point production slow down? Maybe there’s a history of getting hurt and you’re constantly scanning the injury reports for his name. A lot depends on your level of comfort. Timing is essential on these guys. It’s easy to hold on to players when they are lighting it up. Leave it too late and their value plummets. It’s a good idea to trade them away for someone you believe has a better chance to succeed.
I’ve heard that dogs can smell fear. The same is true of great fantasy hockey owners. Are you that shivering nervous little Chihuahua, afraid to make a move for fear of getting eaten alive by the big bad dogs of your pool? Top dogs can sniff out a potential meal. You need to be able to swiftly identify those players that are under-performing and go after them. Here are some early season morsels to chew on from the Eastern Conference.
I thought I’d start off this week with a quote from former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics”.
We often use stock market jargon when discussing the game of hockey. A player’s stock is rising or falling, buy low, sell high, blue chip prospect, etc. Not surprisingly, both the NHL and its players frequently refer to hockey as a business.
It’s only been a week and I sense that some fantasy owners are starting to get antsy over the slow starts by some established players. Ok, so Sidney Crosby has started slowly, why even Marek Malik has more points than the former Art Ross and Hart trophy winner does at the moment. It is definitely time to panic; I think we’re seeing the real Crosby here. Now that he’s signed his fat long term contract, he’s turned into Sendme Cashby.
For the Crosby owners in my fantasy leagues, I’d gladly take him off your hands at a fair price.
What’s in a name? Plenty I say.
There are several NHL players with two first names. Players like Duncan Keith, Chris Simon, Bill Thomas, Bryan Allen, Chris Kelly, Tom Gilbert and Ryan Craig. You would think their parents might have noticed that and given them a unique first name.
