The Dobotomy

We were riddled with big moves last week and now we have had a chance to see a couple of games from the fallout of those transactions. Let’s take a look at some of the teams with recent changes and what has happened so far.

In two of my keeper leagues, the draft pick is pretty important. In one of them, a team has already traded their 2014 first rounder. The 2012 first rounder has been moved in each of them. But there could be an NHL Entry Draft coming very soon that will be so weak that a first round pick in your keeper league will be the equivalent of a late second rounder this past summer.

Spezza vs. Toews

What started as an innocent email from a reader has grown into a full-blown debate. In a keeper league that counted only points, who would you rather own? Jason Spezza of the Ottawa Senators or Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks. It is my position that Spezza is the better player to own, but that is clearly the opinion of the minority, given the overwhelming response.

One of the dissenters was McKeen’s contributor and old friend of DobberHockey Gus Katsaros. He suggested creating a piece on the subject, giving our different viewpoints. I thought it was a good idea, and so without further ado – Spezza vs. Toews…

The Isles looked to be in trouble. Losers of seven in nine – and they didn’t own a winning record to start with, the team was flailing. John Tavares hit a wall and that brought fantasy-surprise Matt Moulson down as well. The strong play of goaltender Dwayne Roloson was being wasted. But things have changed lately because the focus on offense has shifted from one first round draft pick to another.

After poring over second-half statistics for the 2008-09 season, as well as this season so far, not to mention polling the members of DobberHockey’s forum, I have whittled the list down to 15 events of the past year that had the greatest impact on fantasy hockey in 2009.

I wonder about things. These thoughts often inch towards the borders of insanity. Thankfully, they’re confined to the realm of fantasy hockey, so I don’t need to check myself in anywhere. But I’ll look at what a player has done in one game or in one league or in one month and a crazy thought will appear in my head – often too nutty to even ramble about in my daily blog.

It started out so promising. So how did things go south for Peter Mueller so quickly?

After averaging a point-and-a-half per game in the Western League and putting on WJC show overshadowed only by Jonathan Toews. He made the NHL as a 19 year old and potted 54 points, with the bulk of those coming in the second half. Then the bottom dropped out.

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…

I hate missing guys. I’m not talking about the guys who, after a few years you write off and then they explode from out of nowhere (right, Dustin Penner?). Those guys are players who – at one time or another – I have already formed an idea in my head where their potential is at. Even if I have since changed my mind, like with Penner, I can always change it back.

No, it’s the players who I didn’t see coming in the first place that get to me. The examples that come to mind are Milan Hejduk (I was so blinded by Chris Drury’s impending arrival that I didn’t think much of Hejduk’s upside), Patrice Bergeron (was off my radar when he came to camp as an 18-year-old) and Mike Richards. I knew Richards was coming and I knew he would be good – but only 70-point good. Now we have another one. Colorado forward Ryan O’Reilly.