Roos Lets Loose

 
Despite never having laced up a pair of skates (except for those of his two young sons) and growing up in Red Sox crazed Massachusetts, Rick Roos has been a huge hockey fan nearly all of his life.  Inspired by often wearing a Canadiens jersey to the old Boston Garden (it’s a long story…) and living to tell about it, Rick started to join fantasy hockey leagues back in the 90s, where he found himself waiting eagerly by a fax machine for weekly stats updates.  He has since been in – and won – leagues featuring elite fantasy hockey writers. In real life, Rick is an attorney, which made him the perfect choice to write his previous “Holding Court” column on DobberHockey, where he debated both sides of a fantasy hockey issue and rendered a verdict for readers to debate. Later, for several years, he did similar for the popular “Cage Match” series. Today, Roos is freewheeling through a variety of monthly pieces: Forum Buzz takes a look at some hot topics our readers are discussing in the forum; Mailbag allows readers to write in to Roos with fantasy hockey questions; Goldipucks and the Three Skaters takes a look at three players (in the spirit of the old Cage Match, except Roos determines who is too hot, too cold…and ju-u-ust right); The Tournament is where Roos polls the readers and the forum community on a certain topic, just the way Tourneys ran in the old Cage Match, until a winning player in that topic is declared.
 
  

Cage Match – the Tournament!

By |2015-07-24T09:03:34-04:00February 15th, 2012|Roos Lets Loose|

Cage Match

 

The most daunting question in the world of fantasy hockey is: who is the best player in fantasy hockey?

 

This would have made for a great Cage Match except there is no consensus top two to pit against each other. I am not sure there is even a consensus top four. The field is wide open. The league is booming with young talent and the combination of injuries and parity has the effect of evening out the playing field. To single out just two players would be silly so to do it up right would call for a Royal Rumble of a Cage Match. That would simply be madness. There is only one solution: harness the madness.

 

With that in mind I am proud to introduce to you the inaugural Cage Match Tournament!

 

PA Parenteau vs. Matt Moulson

By |2015-07-24T09:03:56-04:00February 8th, 2012|Roos Lets Loose|

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PA Parenteau vs. Matt Moulson - Draft position is one of the greatest deceivers in fantasy sports. It is a nice guideline (particularly in and around draft time) but the farther away you get from the NHL draft the less that draft position means. That is because the draft provides only a snap shot in time of the perceived value of all the drafted players. You think it matters any more that Datsyuk was a sixth round pick? That Zetterberg was a seventh? It most certainly does not.

 

Jarome Iginla vs. Martin St. Louis

By |2015-07-24T09:04:09-04:00February 1st, 2012|Roos Lets Loose|

igg

 

Cage Match - Iginla vs. St. Louis: Now that the All-Star Break has passed it is time to gear for your championship run. Whether you are playing head-to-head or rotisserie identifying the most productive players over the final 30 or so games is crucial. This means it is time to start loading up on proven options. Sure there are other strategies out there but like that classic TLC song says, “Don’t go chasing waterfalls, just stick to the rivers and the lakes that you’re used to.”

 

Marian Gaborik vs. Alexander Semin

By |2015-07-24T09:05:00-04:00January 18th, 2012|Roos Lets Loose|

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Gaborik vs. Semin: I am going to let you guys in on a little secret; I loathe Band-Aid Boys. What’s the use in owning a player who could, at any moment, spontaneously combust? Sure, anyone could go out for an extended period in today’s “Noggin Hurts League” but there is still something off-putting about knowing that there is a high probability a player will miss 20+ games. With Band-Aid Boys it is basically a coin flip. Heads you get Jekyll, tails you get Hyde.

 

Ryan Kesler vs. Jonathan Toews

By |2015-07-24T09:05:33-04:00January 12th, 2012|Roos Lets Loose|

jt

 

The Blackhawks-Canucks rivalry is truly a thing to behold. Over the past three seasons no two teams have faced off against one another in the playoffs as much as these two have. The result is a familiarity that breeds tight-checking, hard-hitting action even in regular season contests and yet, the Blackhawks and Canucks are among two of the most skilled teams in the league so in the midst of their tightly contested matches there is plenty of skill, speed and creativity on display.

 

Dion Phaneuf vs. Dustin Byfuglien

By |2015-07-24T09:06:27-04:00December 28th, 2011|Roos Lets Loose|

Byfuglien

 

Happy Festivus everyone! It truly is a Festivus miracle that every year the NHL shuts down for two days around the holidays. It is the perfect time to gather your fantasy squad around the aluminum pole and take part in the airing of grievances. Here is an excerpt from my Festivus dinner this past Friday evening:

 

Jamie Benn vs. Evander Kane

By |2015-07-24T09:06:48-04:00December 21st, 2011|Roos Lets Loose|

Benn

 

Cage Match: Jamie Benn vs. Evander Kane

 

The single toughest aspect of fantasy hockey is analyzing breakouts. Obviously you want to get ahead of the game but pre-season estimates are hit and miss. You just can’t know for sure until you see the product on the ice. Once you see a breakout in action you need to quickly decipher its validity and the future implications. In this week’s Cage Match we look at to players in the midst of breakout seasons and analyze what these breakouts mean going forward. It’s Jamie Benn vs. Evander Kane – and no, it is not a boxing match.

 

Ryan Callahan vs. Dany Heatley

By |2015-07-24T09:07:59-04:00December 7th, 2011|Roos Lets Loose|

Callahan

 

Callahan vs. Heatley - I wish I could have gotten this week’s Cage Match out before the start of the season. I feel like it could have saved you all some pain. Much like last week’s Filppula vs. Ribeiro Cage Match I will be comparing an in-decline veteran with an up-and-coming youngster. This week it is Dany Heatley vs. Ryan Callahan. Does the vet have anything left in the tank? Is the youngster ready to usurp him? Let’s find out. Ring that bell!

 

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