In order to provide a balanced view, I'll be following the lead of my Western counterpart and look at the top two goalies from each of the 15 Eastern Conference teams. Each goaltender will be labeled Buy, Sell or Hold.
While the echo of the sensational hat trick by Maxim Kitsyn still goes on, this week let’s try and track down Russian players in the CHL. Many players from the Motherland crossed the ocean this summer and it’s interesting to see how they are doing.
Back by popular demand - players who are earmarked for success. We’ll label the players as stand pat, buy or sell candidates based on what we’ve seen so far this campaign. We’ll begin this series by examining the two top goalies from each of the 15 Western Conference teams.
Now that we’re three solid weeks into the NHL season, I’ve been able to re-affirm a number of trends I’ve witnessed and better understand another puck-stopping dynamic that separate a pro goalie from an elite goalie. Today’s lesson should go a long way in acting as a theoretical guide for what I’ve learned and truly help you make better fantasy decisions with your own goaltenders. It will also teach you how the brilliant Tim Thomas shatters this dynamic to the point he’s once again the best goalie in the NHL.
The St. Louis Blues are a team rich in offensive talent. They lack a high end superstar, but they have seven or eight quality top six forwards. As a poolie looking to draft or trade for a St. Louis forward, the depth is both a good and bad thing. The positive aspect is that the quality of linemates is high for the top three lines. The negative aspect is that there is only so much ice time to go around. If there are two or three equal offensive units, no player on the team is going to see the kind of minutes required to produce at an elite level in the NHL (19+ minutes with ample power play time). For those of you who either own Blues forwards or are looking to acquire one, figuring out how the lines and roles break down is the key.
How have the top seven forwards faired to date?
There will never be another Stratford Streak to rival Howie Morenz -- known in his heyday as the Babe Ruth of hockey.
But there’s this kid from Stratford -- Joey Hishon -- whose playing style makes you want to call him the Stratford Streak, even though his talent does not rival that of Morenz.
Once again, no teams play one game over any of the upcoming seven day schedules, but there are a few anomalies worth pointing out. In the weeks starting on Sunday and Tuesday, there are only two teams that play four games: Carolina and Vancouver in the Sunday-Saturday schedule and Detroit and Phoenix in the Tuesday-Monday schedule. In the week starting this Saturday, there are only three teams with a four game week: Carolina, NY Rangers and New Jersey.
Last week, we had a look at early season success stories. This week, we'll cover 10 slow starting veteran players based in the Eastern Conference and try to figure out if this is simply a slow start or a sign of things to come.
Zach Bogosian: Has His Time Come?
With Steve Stamkos and Drew Doughty, two of the top-three picks from the NHL's 2008 entry draft, already lighting the fantasy world on fire, its natural to wonder what's happening with Zach Bogosian, the number three pick from 2008.
We’re into the fourth week of the NHL season and there have been plenty of surprises as well as disappointments so far. Much like the last few weeks, I’ll toss out a few of my thoughts on all 15 of the Western Conference teams to generate some discussion.
