Dobber Nation February 2013
John Gilbert delivers another sizzling Dobber Nation podcast.
February 26, 2013 - click to listen
This month, Gilbert talks to David Pagnotta from The Fourth Period and Jeff Angus, senior manager of DobberHockey.
The Blackhawks Have Their Swagger Back
The Blackhawks Have Their Swagger Back
It’s not like the Chicago Blackhawks have played poorly since they captured the Stanley Cup during the 2009-10 season, but when you have the type of talent Chi-Town has, expectations are high. Chicago followed their championship with a couple of first round exits from the playoffs, after finishing in eighth and sixth respectively in the West over the last two years. Early round losses aside, the Blackhawks were still a good team, but just not a great one.
Between the Lines – Boyes, Simmonds, Kessel and more
Looking at the hottest line combos in the league right now, including the Tavares, Kessel and Briere lines...
It was a chaotic fifth week in fantasy hockey that featured quite a few injuries along with some painful lessons. There were some pretty amazing performances mixed in with the usual suspects. This all leads into an even crazier Week 6. Now, we go “Between The Lines”.
Geek of the Week: Cody Franson
Cody Franson's hot start is analyzed using the Fantasy Hockey Geek tools.
Throughout the season, I am constantly looking for players who are outperforming expectations and may be available on the waiver wire or at a good price via trade. I try to figure out how sustainable their success is and if the outlook is promising, I try to acquire the player on the cheap to help bolster my team mid-season. Today I am going to take a look at a great example of such a player: Cody Franson.
Forensics: Tyler Myers
Anthony Lancione takes a look at Myers' struggles in Buffalo.
Tyler Myers has certainly been humbled one month into the 2013 season, seeing himself healthy-scratched (for the first time in his NHL career) on consecutive evenings. To say his star value has fallen from his Calder Trophy-winning year over fellow rookies John Tavares, Matt Duchene and Jimmy Howard would be premature. However, one cannot discount that he has not come even close to fulfilling the lofty expectations after he signed a seven year, $38.5 million extension before last season.
Now that he has entered the first year of the new $5.7 peryear deal, there’s no doubt he’s felt the pressure. We can’t forget that Tyler is a very young man, only having turned 23 this month. Learning the hard way at times is the best way to improve, playing to the “take a step backward in order to take two steps forward cliché”.
Fantasy Hockey – Drouin or MacKinnon?
Which Halifax Moosehead will make a more immediate impact in the NHL? Drouin or MacKinnon?
Before major junior hockey started the 2012-2013 season, all eyes were on Portland Winterhawks blueliner Seth Jones and Halifax Mooseheads center Nathan MacKinnon in a race for the number one pick at the 2013 NHL Draft.
Fast forward to February and both Jones and MacKinnon have taken turns flip-flopping between 1st and 2nd in most experts rankings, including ISS, NHL Central Scouting and TSN. (Note that Russian left-winger Valery Nichuskin has snuck into the no. 2 spot behind Jones in ISS’s February top 30 ranking.)
Saturday Picks – February 23, 2013
Anthony checks in with his picks for NHL action on Saturday, February 23rd.
Kudos to our boy Marty last week for A) Doing me a solid, throwing down last week’s picks in my absence while I jetted off to the Windy City to take in the Blackhawks and the visiting Stanley Cup Hangover Boys defending champs & B) Doing so with authority!
He not only nailed all but two of his picks, but also went the extra mile, boldly (and correctly) pegging the Ducks to take the Preds in SOs as well as a blowout for the boys in blue in the Battle of Ontario. Now that I’ve pumped his tires with gratitude, time to dive into this Saturday’s six pack!
Looking Ahead: Week 6
The 'Looking Ahead' series helps you get the edge when setting your fantasy lineups.
A tough decision can be made easier with these charts showing you the best five and worst five schedules for upcoming seven-day periods. Some of you used them last year but for the benefit of new readers here is a refresher. The number next to the team indicates the 'multiplier' to use on a player's point-per-game pace to give you an idea how many points to expect for that week.
Top 10 Left Wingers in the NHL
My look at the best left wingers in hockey. Where does Ovechkin rank? How about Sedin? Any surprises? Read on to find out.
Ducking Out in Anaheim
A look at the new contract for Ducks goalie Viktor Fasth.
As most of you know by now, the Anaheim Ducks signed goaltender Viktor Fasth to a two-year, $5.8-million contract extension yesterday. Opinions are mixed with regard to giving this much money to a player who has a grand total of nine NHL games under his belt. But even more interesting is the status of Jonas Hiller, the apparent backup in Anaheim for the foreseeable future.