You draft players to your fantasy squad, not coaches. But coaching obviously can alter a team’s on-ice personality and impact their performance. So what happens to a team when a defensive-minded coach takes over?
Let’s take a look at how Jacques Lemaire’s return to New Jersey has affected your beloved Devils.
Every December, the best junior players from around the world gather to play in one of the most exciting hockey tournaments on earth – the World Junior Hockey Championship. For fantasy hockey owners, it is a great time to check up on keeper league prospects, as well as to see the cream of the undrafted crop. However, it also is a great opportunity to engage in some fantasy hockey arbitrage. The strategy that I am about to lay out for you is one that I have used very successfully year after year (unfortunately, writing an article about it probably will halt my ability to use it in the future, as the majority of my competition reads this site).
Last year, I began the column by discussing a widely debated topic in fantasy hockey. Do defensemen really make a difference in fantasy pools? As much as many fantasy poolies want to deny it, defensemen do play an important role on influencing the outcome of your fantasy league. Let’s visit this example:
The true test of a warrior’s valor is not if his skin gets pierced, but how he fights when the blood flows from his body.
So far this season, goaltending has been nothing short of a battle for sheer survival. Heavy traffic in front of the net, blatant crease-crashing, bad bounces, even elusive factors like the H1N1 virus, a skate blade to the inner thigh, a cracked rib and more are turning positive performances into terrible outings in an instant.
Whenever I struggle for a topic, a nice and easy way out is to just speak of many things. Call it more in-depth ramblings, but I prefer to think of it as “the column about nothing” and capitalize on any lingering Seinfeld popularity…
Last week proved to be another terrific week. Thunder and I managed to call 10 out of 15 games each, including a BOS-OTT tie, and the Avalanche beating the Wings by two at home. Unfortunately the Sabres scored with 17 seconds left against the Lightning from the corner, and Vincent Lecavalier clanked a backhand off the crossbar to deny me over $300. Thunder, after getting her ID checked (she’s six, so 36 in dog years) at the convenience store, should have stayed away from the battle of Alberta, as the Oilers ruined her gambling debut. The season is roughly 15 games old so hopefully some teams are starting to settle into a groove. 13 games on tap for tonight, damn I love Saturday nights!
Having trouble setting your lineup for this coming week? Want to know what teams play the most games? Want to know what teams have the easiest schedules? Crazynuck delivers the goods once again!
Notch is up this week - running down the Saturday NHL games and giving you his winners...
Back by popular demand, for the next four weeks we’ll run through a series of columns that will highlight players who are earmarked for success, based on a few selected criteria, along with those who should be on your list as a potential sell-high candidate. We’ll begin this series by examining the two top goalies from each of the 15 Western Conference teams.
Every couple of weeks during the 2009-10 season I will roll out my High Five/Low Five. The list is open to teams, players, coaches, and fans – basically anything hockey-related qualifies. The High Five are five things that have impressed me (with an emphasis on recent games), while the Low Five are five things that have me shaking my head.
