Fantasy Hockey Advice

Open Ice: Are you for real?
0 Comment
November 19
ESPN.com
 columnist Sean Allen
"For real or not for real? That is the question. As we hit the quarter mark on this NHL season, we have a decent enough sample to take a close look at some hot and slow starts to determine whether or not the trend will continue for those players for the rest of the season. A few notes here: PR stands for the ESPN Player Rater value of each player prior to Tuesday's games. Percentage owned is, obviously, the percentage of ESPN leagues the player is owned in. "For real" means the player's stats this season are a realistic indication of what he will do from here on out. "Not for real" means the player's output this season is either higher or lower than what he will do from here on out. ..."
Open Ice: Are the big three free agents worth roster slots?
0 Comment
November 18
ESPN.com
 columnist Sean Allen
"Discussions and news this week have heated up about what can be referred to as the final three big fish in the free-agent pond. Fantasy owners, in varying degrees, are still hanging on to the three free agents in question while hoping the players might contribute to their team sometime before the calendar flips to 2009. Are they worth a roster spot, though? Brendan Shanahan, LW Most linked teams: Flyers, Penguins, Blackhawks Owned in almost two-thirds of ESPN leagues, Shanny is rumored to be the closest of the three to making a decision. All indications point to his signing with the Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins were thought to be a close competitor but recently were quoted as not ..."
The Fantasy Hockey Expert - Nov. 17
0 Comment
November 17
Toronto Sun
 columnist Rob Higgins
"Okay, so let me get this straight. When it comes to the Eastern Conference, Toronto's beloved Maple Leafs are battling the Stanley Cup finalists, the Pittsburgh Penguins, for the distinction of having scored the most goals, yet have given the most up. Huh? They possess the East's best power play, yet have THE WORST penalty kill. What? Didn't we expect Ron "I refuse to keep Marleau and Thornton together" Wilson to clean up this joke of a PK? (a head shake) These are the Bizarro-Leafs! Don't think so? Just wait until Brian Burke gets thrown into the mix. I've been saying this for months, (much to the chagrin of the other on-air personalities at XM, as well as most of my friends) and I'm ..."
Wales Watching -- November 16, 2008
0 Comment
November 16
SportsGrumblings.com
 columnist Pete Colaninno
"Drop 'em, Shop 'em or Keep 'em Invariably, there are going to be players on your team that you drafted because of certain expectations but for reasons unknown, they are under performing. Additionally, perhaps you picked a player off of the waiver wire early in the season that has cooled off. Should you cut them loose? Should you hold onto them? Below are a few players that have either not lived up to expectations thus far, or were grabbed from the waiver wire while they were putting up points. Sergei Samsonov - Carolina Hurricanes - Samsonov has been somewhat of an enigma the past few years. He excelled in Boston and Edmonton; faltered in Montreal the following season, stunk it up in ..."
Week 7 Fantasy Hockey Planner
0 Comment
November 15
CBSSports.com
 columnist Michael Hurcomb
"Teams with four games: Boston, Vancouver Teams with three games: Anaheim, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, N.Y. Islanders, N.Y. Rangers, Ottawa, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Washington Teams with two games: Atlanta, Columbus, Dallas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Jose, St. Louis, Toronto Fantasy Week 7 (Nov. 17-23) It's a definite light week of hockey Week 7 as just two teams have four games and eight teams are playing only twice. Also, 12 teams only have to worry about back-to-back slates. Editors Note: Projections are for Nov. 17-23 games and all stats are through Thursday This week's news and ..."
Fantasy Hockey Grumblings -- Power Play Pickups -- November 13, 2008
0 Comment
November 14
SportsGrumblings.com
 columnist Jamie Lance
"So we're about a month in to the season now. Who's been the most surprising player? As far as positive surprises go, I'm going to suggest Thomas Vanek, Alexander Semin and Patrick Marleau. All three players have had success in the past and were coming off down seasons. Despite their collective poor showing last year, they were all considered prime bounce back candidates considering their age and talent level. Vanek's 12 goals put him on pace for a career high. Semin's got an incredible 22 points including 14 goals. Marleau is back to his point per game ways from seasons past, although playing on a line with Joe Thornton can have a positive affect on one's career. For those of us that ..."
Waiver Wire: You go, Slava
0 Comment
November 13
CBSSports.com
 columnist Michael Hurcomb
"Slava Kozlov sat on a wall Slava Kozlov had a great fall All the Thrashers' doctors and all the Thrashers' men Could put Slava together again Ok, so it's not as timeless as the 18th century nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty, but it helps illustrate a point. Unlike all the king's horses and all the king's men that couldn't bring Humpty back to life, the Thrashers have had much more success reviving Kozlov's hockey career. The 17-year veteran has had a renaissance to begin the 2008-09 season and a little nip/tuck action has played a big part. Kozlov opted for offseason shoulder and knee surgery after a disappointing 2007-08 campaign and the 36-year-old winger appears to have the pep of a ..."
Hockey Grumblings -- Campbell Corner -- November 12, 2008
0 Comment
November 13
SportsGrumblings.com
 columnist Scott Williams
"Let's look at some players who should be available in most leagues and produce in specific fantasy categories Andy McDonald, St. Louis Blues (Assists, Power play points) McDonald has been a key contributor to the Blues second-ranked power play. Nine of his 12 assists have come on the man advantage. He had only 34 assists a year ago but had 51 in each of the two previous seasons. R. J. Umberger, Columbus Blue Jackets (Goals) The center may be available in many leagues and for good reason. It took eleven games for Umberger to score his first goal but he is having a hot November with five goals in six games. It took Umberger a while to find chemistry with his new teammates but he is now back ..."
The Fantasy Hockey Expert - Nov. 10
0 Comment
November 10
Toronto Sun
 columnist Rob Higgins
"The winds of change? Did you hear Al Strachan on Saturday night say the current injury disclosure policy sucks for the "millions" of poolies out there? That's right, Al. You go, girl. Tell it like it is. Why create something that would, in any way, impede the flow of a FREE grass-roots marketing phenomenon that practically RUNS ITSELF? Fantasy hockey's next achievement: Changing freakin' rules. SNAP SHOTS: Yes, owners are already missing Marty Brodeur. No doubt. But Patrick Elias is REALLY missing Brian Rolston. They were going to be so happy together ... Last week, like many of you, I had 3 Red Wings with only 1 game on the schedule. So I decided to sit Datsyuk and Lidstrom, and keep ..."
Week 6 Fantasy Hockey Planner
0 Comment
November 9
CBSSports.com
 columnist Michael Hurcomb
"Teams with four games: Los Angeles, Montreal, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Washington Teams with three games: Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton, Nashville, New Jersey, N.Y. Islanders, N.Y. Rangers, Ottawa, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, San Jose, St. Louis, Toronto Teams with two games: Anaheim, Atlanta, Calgary, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Vancouver Fantasy Week 6 (Nov. 10-16) It's hard to believe we have already churned through five weeks of the Fantasy Hockey season, but here we are in mid-November and preparing to set lineups for Week 6. Hopefully you have had a successful first few weeks. If not, there is still plenty of time to make up ground. It is a ..."
Fantasy Hockey Grumblings -- Power Play Pickups -- November 7, 2008
0 Comment
November 8
SportsGrumblings.com
 columnist Jamie Lance
"Last week I took a quick look at shooting percentage. There is another indicator of future and present success, which can be used; simply, shots on goal. Even though shooting percenta