Matt Bugg’s Draft Primer – Tuesday Edition
At 1pm ET, Matthew Bugg will be here live to field your questions about this year's crop! Bugg's LIve NHL Draft Primer chat - Tuesday
Goalie Class is Deceptively Deep
With my focus shifted to the NHL Entry Draft this weekend at the XCEL Energy Center, I wanted to post my thoughts on the crop of domestic and international goalies available this summer. Although everyone is looking towards the two Gibson’s as the biggest story for the goaltenders, the 2011 class is actually much deeper than it appears.
2011 Draft Preview- Atlantic Division
The Atlantic Division has been one of the league’s most successful in the past five years, with two of the last five Cup finalists- and one winner- coming out of the division. However, one former powerhouse is experiencing its first shot at lottery talent, while another is hoping that their lengthy rebuild is finally coming to an end.
Matt Bugg’s Draft Primer – Monday Edition
I know we said Tuesday and Wednesday...but why not a 'surprise' bonus one?
The Roberto Luongo Conundrum
It will take months to dissect the bitter ending to a spectacular 2010-11 season for the Vancouver Canucks. On the surface, Roberto Luongo hardly seems like the guy to blame for Vancouver’s loss against Boston. He received only eight goals of support in the seven game series, and two of his three wins were of the shutout variety. Upon closer look,a trend that has been developing over the past few years reared its ugly head once again – Luongo’s mercurial and moody off-ice personality having a negative effect on the team.
The Top 100 Roto Players – June 2011
Age, upside, value, team and positional requirements, among other influences, impact where players are ranked. As expected, those who continually fill up multiple roto categories are favoured and active roster players are the focus. Salaries and contracts are not in effect.
This is not a player-to-player draft guide simply because the flow of draft, positions required and many other needs come into play. Each month players will get shuffled up and down the standings based on pace, monthly performances, consistency and potential.
Sam Gagner vs. Derrick Brassard
Maybe this is the Oil fan in me, but I believe the sixth overall pick is cursed. Ever since the Oilers drafted in that spot three straight years back in the mid 90’s (and more specifically, inexplicably passed on Shane Doan in favour of Steve Kelly at the ’95 draft) the sixth overall pick has been cursed. I don’t really know how to explain it. That draft position just keeps churning out flops. Oh you may get a reasonably good NHL player but if your dream is a star, you can kiss that dream goodbye. Since the curse came into effect only Minnesota’s 2001 selection of Mikko Koivu at #6 has yielded a star calibre player. Teams expect much more from such high picks so the hype is big. The return, however, has been consistently disappointing.
The Thin Blue Line
The clock begins its countdown. Your buddies stare at you with a look of anticipation on their faces as you clumsily shuffle your papers around, trying to judge which remaining player on the board represents the highest value for your pick. You finally identify Mike Green and Rick Nash as potential candidates for the respected and esteemed spot on your roster. However, the counter on your internet browser turns red and you only have 10 seconds left! Its become a question of positional value now as your cursor hovers over and ultimately clicks, with one second to spare, the...
Reactions, Rawlings and Rankings
Last Monday, I revealed one way in which fantasy managers can get a pulse on some future top-flight prospects via the Hockey Canada Program of Excellence goalie camp. As a result, we all learned about the viable long-term future of guys like Mark Visentin, Tyler Bunz and the small but fiery Alex Dubeau.
Name Of The Game: Blake Geoffrion
The passion for the game of hockey is passed down through some generations of families. We’ve seen success from the Howe, Dineen, Hextall, Sutter, and of course the Geoffrion lineages. The Geoffrion family is certainly one of the most successful families to play in the NHL, from Howie Morenz to Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion to Dan Geoffrion. Both Howie (7) and Boom Boom (5) have their numbers retired side-by-side in Montreal, and the two Hall of Famers share nine Stanley Cups. While Dan’s career was short-lived, he was still a heck of a hockey player and after his retirement, he moved to Nashville and raised four boys, one of which is Blake Geoffrion.