Wild Sign Petr Sykora
The Minnesota Wild have signed winger Petr Sykora to a one-year deal worth $1.6 million.
Seidenberg Signs With Panthers
The Florida Panthers have signed defenseman Dennis Seidenberg to a one-year deal worth $2.25 million
Give your Gut a Chance on Draft Day
Most of us look for an edge in our hockey pools by actively seeking out experts’ advice. We read their articles and we ponder their recommended draft lists (side note: Yahoo has now released their ranking of the 100 top players for the 2009-10 season).
But no matter how many lists you agonize over and bring to your draft, it’s likely that at some point events will overtake your careful planning and you’ll be forced to make some decisions on your own. And often, it’s the stickiest of situations where all we are left with is what our gut is telling us.
10 Fearless Forecasts
A few weeks ago I posted this topic in the Dobber Hockey forums. I rang off 10 bold predictions (fearless forecasts, if you will) for the upcoming season and asked forum members to do the same. I promised to give a free fantasy team audit to anyone who ended up with more correct predictions than me at the end of the season (provided they were not predicting things like Sidney Crosby breaking 90 points). The predictions ranged from conservative and cautious to extremely unlikely (and in some cases laughable, which was appreciated by all). I have had my list posted for over a week now, but without any justification or reasoning as to why I made those predictions. I’ll now dive into further detail.
Undervalued and Unappreciated
Last week my column was related to players who were being overrated in Yahoo Mock Drafts. This week I’m going to do a complete 180 and take a look at players who are undervalued and unappreciated in similar mock drafts. I participated in random Yahoo mock drafts ranging from eight to 14 teams from H2H to Roto leagues with standard settings. This is what I found based on the size of the leagues:
Judge the Blood
A prospect can improve at an incredibly fast rate when someone that mastered the position at the NHL level is constantly providing that prospect with feedback. Especially with a position like goaltending, one that relies on non-stop progression and refinement, having a goalie consultant that understands the nature of the game (especially in 2009) and can relate to today’s elite puck stoppers is the most important factor in developing the goalie depth chart.
At the Rookie Tourney Part IV
Follow Notch's observations all week long at the Leaf's rookie tournament in Kitchener.
Thursday, September 10 @ 7 PM EST
Ottawa vs. Toronto
As I walked in it was obvious that this was the largest crowd in attendance all tourney. A Senators and Leafs matchup tends to bring out the masses to cheer on their favorite Ontario team.
NHL Training Camp Battles Part 1 of 2
Every September, rosters spots are up for grabs and rarely do we consider big an impact the result could be in fantasy leagues. What if Petri Kontiola, who had a very good camp in Chicago last year, beat out Kris Versteeg for that final spot? Would he have later received Calder consideration? Instead of making his fantasy owners look smart, he’s playing in the KHL now. All because of what may have amounted to a couple of exhibition games. There are a dozen examples like that each year and here are some situations to watch for.
Finally. Heatley to Sharks for Michalek and Cheechoo
The Ottawa Senators have sent Dany Heatley to the San Jose Sharks, along with a fifth round pick, for Jonathan Cheechoo, Milan Michalek and a second round pick.
Leafs prospects assessment – 2009 Leafs Rookie Tournament
As the former Leafs writer for Hockey's Future, I can't pass up an assessment of the Leafs top prospects after watching two games at the 2009 Leafs Rookie Tournament in Kitchener this week.