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Part one in a seven-part review takes a look at the teams that failed to reach the postseason and what kind of impact each of them will have on your keeper-league squad. This week, we take a look at Atlanta and Buffalo.
The major junior ranks are wayyyy ahead, with the CHL's leagues already playing their respective finals in preparation for the Memorial Cup. We start out west in the Dub, where two #3 seeds have gone all the way to the Ed Chynoweth Cup.
Do all fairy tales have happy endings? Can playoff dark horses turn into regular season thoroughbreds or do they turn into pumpkins at the stroke of midnight, like Cinderella’s carriage? Post-season legends are created by exceptional playoff performances from unexpected sources.
Kevin Lowe, GM of the Oilers, made splashes around the league last season when he made two stunning offers to two restricted free agents during the off-season. Prior to Lowe’s two incidences last off-season, there wasn’t too much drama with restricted free agents except for the Ryan Kesler incident in 2006, but generally GM’s tend to believe that it is an unwritten rule that restricted free agents are hands off to other GMs, until Lowe came along last season that is… Below is a list of the notable eligible restricted free agents taken from the website, www.nhlscap.com along with their current salaries at the end of this season.
Il n’arrive pas souvent que quelqu’un de 24 ans se fasse repêcher. À cette étape, si le joueur est assez bon pour se faire repêcher, il y a 30 équipes qui auraient pu le signer n’importe quand dans les années précédentes.
Mais en 2004, les Red Wings ont encore fait le coup obtenant Johan Franzen, 24 ans, au 97ème rang. Ses 30 points en 49 rencontres dans la Ligne d’Élite de Suède constituaient une nette progression des six points qu’il avait amassés lors de la précédente campagne.
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It’s not often that a 24 year old gets drafted. At that point, if the player is good enough to be drafted, then there are 30 teams who could have just signed him at any time during the preceding few years.
But in 2004, the Red Wings were at it again, grabbing 24-year-old Johan Franzen 97th overall. His 30 points in 49 contests in the Swedish Elite League that year was a big jump from the six points that he had in the preceding campaign.
It's not only the NHL playoffs that can turn zeroes into heroes- and vice versa. With round one of the American League post-season in full swing, some forgotten names have exploded back onto the radar and some big names have fallen flat.
Round 1 is complete, and it's time to check in on the DobberHockey Expert Panel. Find out how they fared through the quarterfinals, and who they've seen in their crystal balls for Round 2.
With the first round wrapping up on Tuesday night, that does not leave much time until the puck drops on Thursday for the start of the second round of the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
It may not surprise you to know I am participating in several playoff hockey pools this year.
Playoff pools are completely different from the usual fantasy leagues. For the most part, they are less complicated. Generally, you aren’t making any roster moves after the post-season begins and you would be hard-pressed to find a playoff pool that tracks stats any more complicated than goals and assists.
(Originally pubished by The Hockey News on April 11)
