The Impact of Guy Boucher

Why did Guy Boucher choose Tampa Bay over Columbus? Elliotte Freidman of CBC sums it up best: “Word is the biggest reason was time, as in he's got more of it in Tampa. When Steve Yzerman took over, he preached patience. “It's going to take some time” was his mantra, repeating it often and to everyone. It's the right path for that organization.” Boucher will have time to build and mold Tampa Bay’s on ice product to his exact specifications. His coaching philosophy is one centered on a consistently aggressive offensive attack. Pushing the puck up the ice is a significant part of that, and it places a huge emphasis on a defenseman’s ability to skate, make plays, and pass the puck quickly and accurately.

I do not hide the fact that I am a fan of the Vancouver Canucks. I (attempt to) remove my bias when helping with player evaluations in fantasy hockey, and to this point I have done a great job of separating my personal bias with how I build my fantasy teams. In my five keeper leagues (I used to be in more, but five is the most I can manage without over-committing myself), I only own one Canuck – Roberto Luongo. I own Luongo in two of the five leagues. I tend to avoid drafting and trading for Vancouver players because I do not want to be clouded by optimism. This has both helped (Steve Bernier) and hurt (Christian Ehrhoff) me over the past few years, but it is a principle that I don’t anticipate myself changing.

Who amongst us can resist the lazy days of summer? And who doesn’t love the feeling you get when first arriving at a friend’s BBQ? You’re instantly hit with the mouth-watering aroma of freshly cooked meat and proceed to eat like a starved pig until you can’t see straight. To be honest, the current state of Florida’s goaltending is…yeah…a lot like that. From top to bottom, their goalie grill is loaded with plenty of succulent talent just bursting with fantasy flavor.

After posting my 2010 Mock Offseason for the Vancouver Canucks on the weekend, I received a few emails from readers asking for my take on their favourite club. Naturally, a significant portion of these messages were from Leafs fans. I decided to tackle the Leafs for other reasons besides the numerous requests – the Tomas Kaberle saga, the need for offense, and Dion Phaneuf’s swagger all drew me to Toronto’s offseason situation.

Right now, the Leafs have a lot of holes up front, a lot of high-paid defensemen, and a stable goaltending situation.