Some quick injury news and notes...
Marc Andre Fleury is day to day with a lower body injury. Its difficult to know what this is going to mean for Pittsburgh beyond the short term without knowing the severity, location, etc of the injury but for now Dany Sabourin will get the start in net. The Pens are not a spectacular defensive team, even with the addition of Philippe Boucher, and Sabourin is not a shutdown netminder. If Flery is out for any stretch of time don't expect Sabourin to be a Conklin.
Andy McDonald, one the real feel-good comeback players of the year is going to miss the next 8 weeks or so with a broken leg suffered in St. Louis' shootout loss to Montreal on Sunday. McDonald slid feet first into the boards in the first period and fractured his left leg. St. Louis is looking less and less like a playoff contender this year so expect the team to show extreme patience with McDonald's injury. He, and the also injured Paul Kariya, will not be rushed back. Look to Lee Stempniak, Patirk Berglund and Davod Perron to step it up in their abscence.
Joe Sakic is skating again with the Avalanche but will reportedly sit tonight against Calgary. It does look like Sakic is close though, so take heart Burnaby Joe owners.
An undisclosed upper body injury sidelined the league's second leading scorer Alexander Semin in Saturday night's game against the Devils. We'll keep our eye on this for you.
Kevin Bieska, who has been spectacular for Vancouver when healthy, will miss another two weeks with a broken foot. Mattias Ohlund and Sami Salo should step up to fill the offensive voide in Bieska's abscence and might be a good short term add.
Showing posts with label Colorado Avalanche. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Colorado Avalanche. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Ice Fishing: Keepers and Tossers of the Week
Let me come right out and apologize for not getting this up yesterday. I sustained a severe Rock Band 2 injury(my GM has asked me not to disclose the specifics but I am allowed to say that it is an upper left hand injury) and my typing was suffering as a result. I'm still not at 100% but the swelling has subsided enough that I've been cleared to surf the net and engage in some short article typing. I'm a gamer though so I'm going to bring it to you today until I literally cannot do it anymore.
You'll notice the title of the add/drop column has changed to a slightly more creative and undeniably more fanciful title. I like it. The content is the same however. Let's have a look at which players are good pickups this week in your fantasy hockey league, and which you should just throw back.
Grab 'em:
Todd Bertuzzi
LW, Calgary
Don't look now but big Bert is scoring goals again. His shot totals and +/- are ugly but his 10 PIM and 5 goals in 5 games make up for it. He's also seeing significant powerplay time. I'm not sure if this is going to keep up but for now Bert's a good add.
Milan Hejduk
RW, Colorado
Holy crap is it 2001 in here this week? Well, looking at Hejduk's career this WOULD be the time for him to have a 70+ point season. Hejduk is also seeing powerplay time, 3 PP goals in 6 games, and has been the biggest beneficiary of a healthy Paul Stasny so far this season. The Stasny/Hejduk/Smyth line is red hot and Hejduk is probably the only one on it who MIGHT have gone undrafted. If you are in need of a RW, or if you just want to bench Selanne for a while, he's worth a look.
Mikko Koivu
C, Minnesota
Minny is red hot right now as well, undefeated through their first four. They are scoring an uncharacteristic number of goals without Marian Gaborik's services. This won't last but I suspect that Koivu is the real deal. Think of him as a short term addition or a bench player for now, but if this keeps up you don't want to be the guy who passed on him.
Phil Kessel
RW, Bos
Kessel was the Bruins 5th overall pick in 2006. Translation he's supposed to be good. Kessel had some early setbacks in his career when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Translation he's overcome adversity. Despite all of that Kessel continued to play a gritty game upon his return. This season he is logging more ice time and has moved up to the second line with Marc Savard, who, we can all agree, dishesthe puck like few others. When I recommend guys I like to recommend guys that are supposed to be as good as they look. Kessel was always supposed to be THIS good. Enjoy him, even if he is from Boston.
Alexander Edler
D, Vancouver
He's doing a little bit of everything for the Canucks right now. In the last game he logged 20:34 of ice time. That was second only to Sami Salo. He leads the team with a +6, which is spectacular when you consider that the Canucks have only won three of their six games, giving up 20 goals and only scoring 21. Edler is playing solid D, taking shots, getting PIM and seeing powerplay time. If you are short a D-man Edler is worth a roster spot. Its only going to get better in Vancouver.
Weigh 'em:
Aaron Voros
LW, New York Rangers
9 points in 9 games is nothing to sneeze at, particularly from a big guy that will get you some PIM as well. That said he owes all of that to Dubinsky and Zherdev. Also all of those points were scored at a time when the Gomez line and the Naslund line were not clicking. Voros will slow down. (crosses fingers) Another thing to remember... the numbers may look impressive but the Rangers have played almost twice as many games as everyone in the league.
Mike Modano
C, Dallas
Modano has 6 points through Dallas' first six games. He is also playing point on Dallas' number 1 power play unit (at least until Zubov comes back) and looks comfortable in that role. Its hard to hate on a guy that literally put USA hockey on the map but Modano's time is coming to a close. He will have several bursts like this throughout the season but he is, now, a glorified third line center.
Ales Kotalik
RW, Buffalo
Buffalo is red hot. No one is hotter then Thomas Vanek. But a close second to Vanek is Ales Kotalik who has 4 goals, 3 assists, and 6 PPP to start the season. Kotalik's success is underscored by the relatively quiet seasons that are being had by Jason Pominville and Derek Roy, Buffalo's 80 point players of a year ago. Maybe Buffalo is going to trade that mantle back and forth between lines each year, but more likely Buffalo's second line is stepping up while the first line adjusts to new defenses.
Annti Miehtinen
RW, Minnesota
I'm Anti-Miehtinen. Now that I've got that out of the way... I said above that I like to recommend players that are supposed to be as good as they look. I was looking squarely at Annti here when I said that. Minnesota is not a high scoring team, but their stars will obviously do fairly well. Mikko Koivu is one of their stars. Annti Miehtinen... used to play for the Stars. He was drafted in the 7th round. In three seasons he has never put up more then 35 points and that was on Stars teams that needed wingers as badly as Minnesota does. Also, while Miehtinen is receiving top line minutes and powerplay time now, he is usually third on the depth chart to the injured Pierre Marc Bouchard and Marian Gaborik. This too will pass.
Toss 'em Back:
Chris Drury
LW/C New York Rangers
Yes its time to panic. Through nine games Drury has 2 assists. Ouch. He's still a great hockey player and is bound to have a streak or two here and there but Chris is settling into the second half of his career. He's a 60 point player at best now and its starting to look like breaking 50 might be a stretch.
David Booth
LW, Florida
Mea Culpa. Maybe I got carried away on this one. My bad.
Steven Stamkos
C, Tampa Bay
Unless you are in a keeper league, Stamkos looks like he isn't going to have much value this year. Melrose is barely playing the young center, who frequently looks like the best player on the ice and relegating him to third line duty with no ice time on the powerplay. Whether this is a wise move or a foolish one it does seem to be the direction the Mullet is going. So long as that stays as is, Stamkos will be a "keep in mind for next year" kinda guy. Put him back in the pond. Let him grow.
That's all for this week. The BTT injury report and some other random news and notes will be coming your way later on today.
You'll notice the title of the add/drop column has changed to a slightly more creative and undeniably more fanciful title. I like it. The content is the same however. Let's have a look at which players are good pickups this week in your fantasy hockey league, and which you should just throw back.
Grab 'em:
Todd Bertuzzi
LW, Calgary
Don't look now but big Bert is scoring goals again. His shot totals and +/- are ugly but his 10 PIM and 5 goals in 5 games make up for it. He's also seeing significant powerplay time. I'm not sure if this is going to keep up but for now Bert's a good add.
Milan Hejduk
RW, Colorado
Holy crap is it 2001 in here this week? Well, looking at Hejduk's career this WOULD be the time for him to have a 70+ point season. Hejduk is also seeing powerplay time, 3 PP goals in 6 games, and has been the biggest beneficiary of a healthy Paul Stasny so far this season. The Stasny/Hejduk/Smyth line is red hot and Hejduk is probably the only one on it who MIGHT have gone undrafted. If you are in need of a RW, or if you just want to bench Selanne for a while, he's worth a look.
Mikko Koivu
C, Minnesota
Minny is red hot right now as well, undefeated through their first four. They are scoring an uncharacteristic number of goals without Marian Gaborik's services. This won't last but I suspect that Koivu is the real deal. Think of him as a short term addition or a bench player for now, but if this keeps up you don't want to be the guy who passed on him.
Phil Kessel
RW, Bos
Kessel was the Bruins 5th overall pick in 2006. Translation he's supposed to be good. Kessel had some early setbacks in his career when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Translation he's overcome adversity. Despite all of that Kessel continued to play a gritty game upon his return. This season he is logging more ice time and has moved up to the second line with Marc Savard, who, we can all agree, dishesthe puck like few others. When I recommend guys I like to recommend guys that are supposed to be as good as they look. Kessel was always supposed to be THIS good. Enjoy him, even if he is from Boston.
Alexander Edler
D, Vancouver
He's doing a little bit of everything for the Canucks right now. In the last game he logged 20:34 of ice time. That was second only to Sami Salo. He leads the team with a +6, which is spectacular when you consider that the Canucks have only won three of their six games, giving up 20 goals and only scoring 21. Edler is playing solid D, taking shots, getting PIM and seeing powerplay time. If you are short a D-man Edler is worth a roster spot. Its only going to get better in Vancouver.
Weigh 'em:
Aaron Voros
LW, New York Rangers
9 points in 9 games is nothing to sneeze at, particularly from a big guy that will get you some PIM as well. That said he owes all of that to Dubinsky and Zherdev. Also all of those points were scored at a time when the Gomez line and the Naslund line were not clicking. Voros will slow down. (crosses fingers) Another thing to remember... the numbers may look impressive but the Rangers have played almost twice as many games as everyone in the league.
Mike Modano
C, Dallas
Modano has 6 points through Dallas' first six games. He is also playing point on Dallas' number 1 power play unit (at least until Zubov comes back) and looks comfortable in that role. Its hard to hate on a guy that literally put USA hockey on the map but Modano's time is coming to a close. He will have several bursts like this throughout the season but he is, now, a glorified third line center.
Ales Kotalik
RW, Buffalo
Buffalo is red hot. No one is hotter then Thomas Vanek. But a close second to Vanek is Ales Kotalik who has 4 goals, 3 assists, and 6 PPP to start the season. Kotalik's success is underscored by the relatively quiet seasons that are being had by Jason Pominville and Derek Roy, Buffalo's 80 point players of a year ago. Maybe Buffalo is going to trade that mantle back and forth between lines each year, but more likely Buffalo's second line is stepping up while the first line adjusts to new defenses.
Annti Miehtinen
RW, Minnesota
I'm Anti-Miehtinen. Now that I've got that out of the way... I said above that I like to recommend players that are supposed to be as good as they look. I was looking squarely at Annti here when I said that. Minnesota is not a high scoring team, but their stars will obviously do fairly well. Mikko Koivu is one of their stars. Annti Miehtinen... used to play for the Stars. He was drafted in the 7th round. In three seasons he has never put up more then 35 points and that was on Stars teams that needed wingers as badly as Minnesota does. Also, while Miehtinen is receiving top line minutes and powerplay time now, he is usually third on the depth chart to the injured Pierre Marc Bouchard and Marian Gaborik. This too will pass.
Toss 'em Back:
Chris Drury
LW/C New York Rangers
Yes its time to panic. Through nine games Drury has 2 assists. Ouch. He's still a great hockey player and is bound to have a streak or two here and there but Chris is settling into the second half of his career. He's a 60 point player at best now and its starting to look like breaking 50 might be a stretch.
David Booth
LW, Florida
Mea Culpa. Maybe I got carried away on this one. My bad.
Steven Stamkos
C, Tampa Bay
Unless you are in a keeper league, Stamkos looks like he isn't going to have much value this year. Melrose is barely playing the young center, who frequently looks like the best player on the ice and relegating him to third line duty with no ice time on the powerplay. Whether this is a wise move or a foolish one it does seem to be the direction the Mullet is going. So long as that stays as is, Stamkos will be a "keep in mind for next year" kinda guy. Put him back in the pond. Let him grow.
That's all for this week. The BTT injury report and some other random news and notes will be coming your way later on today.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
TEAM PREVIEWS: COLORADO AVALANCHE
Introduction:
So with Joe Sakic back I took a look at Colorado's roster again. And at first I was wondering why everyone is so down on this team. They are two scoring lines deep. They picked up a more than adequate checker in Darcy Tucker. They held onto John Michael Liles after a subpar season expecting, I think rightly, that he'll rebound. Salei, Foote and Leopold are all fine defenders... and then I see it. Right. Raycroft and Budaj in net. Yeesh...that could be a problem.
I think the West is too good for Colorado to be a playoff team. I actually think that Edmonton may be a better team, but they will still be fun to watch.
Key Departures:
Jose Theodore
Peter Forsberg?
Theodore had something of a career resurgence last year splitting time with Budaj. The only thing he split this offseason was town. Theodore wasn't any kind of long term answer for this team but his departure does hurt their chances this season.
Forsberg, the Racer X of hockey at this point, was barely there to begin with last season, and may be gone again. There are rumors swirling around this week of another comeback attempt. Personally I'd like Foppa to hang up the skates. I love the man to death. Hell my last girlfriend was from Denver originally. For Christmas I got her, amongst other girlie things, a Blue Forsberg Nordiques jersey because she was getting into hockey and I thought the fleur de lis would appeal to her international sensibilities. But back to Peter. I think he's one of the better hockey players I have ever seen ... when he was healthy and in his prime. That time has long since passed for Forsberg, and I personally would like to see one of my hockey heroes enjoy the rest of his life with ankles that still work and without having to suffer on and off the ice.
FACT: I want to remember Peter like this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYsLM06hRuI The goal about 1:55 in, where he carries it around the entire zone before popping it top shelf is the stuff of legend. Do you see how many goalies (good ones like Kipper, Nabakov, Brodeur, Richter, Lundqvist, Osgood and Kolzig in their primes) he makes look stupid in that video? Do you see how he can't be knocked off the puck? That is pure and simple greatness.
New Faces:
Andrew Raycroft
Darcy Tucker
The reclamation project of the year has got to be Andrew Raycroft. Raycroft is the owner of one really good season of statistics, 1 mediocre season in which Mats Sundin won 37 games for him, and two really really god awful seasons. Raycroft will be, in theory, splitting time with Budaj behind what could be the best team he's played for since his Calder season in 03-04. It will be interesting to watch.
Tucker is an interesting addition. He's had a surprising number of offensively good seasons for a guy known more for his antics then his hands. He's not a bad option for PIM as he'll get you about 150 while still getting some points but don't be expecting 60... or even 40. Those seasons came when Toronto let him play the powerplay because they had no other options. Thats not the case on this team. Third line duty all the way for Darcy.
The Offense:
You want to Draft:
Paul Stastny
Joe Sakic
Milan Hejduk
This is Stastny's team. Sakic's return doesn't change that. Two excellent seasons in a row show that Stasny is no fluke (he was on his way to a 85ish point season last year before going down to injury). He'll have a split of about 30 goals and 50 assists this season, doing a lot of damage on the powerplay. The knock on Stastny at this point is that he doesn't shoot the puck so be aware that you will have to make up for that elsewhere if Stastny is your number one center.
FACT: Ok so you know that his father is Hall of Famer Peter Stastny who played for the Avalanche when they were still the Nordiques... but did you know that Paul is one of the only NHL players that still uses a wood stick? Bet you didn't.
JOE! I'm so happy he's coming back. How good is Joe Sakic? So good. No really. Sakic has 1629 points in 1363 career games. Last season he was on pace for a 70-75 point year before being sidelined by hernia surgery. His 40 points scored in 44 games was the first time Sakic finished a season at less then a point a game since 2001-2002 (when he finished with 79 points in 82 games). Sakic takes a fair amount of shots, and sees loads of time on the powerplay. Given this team's goaltending and Joe's waining speed he might be a minus and he won't get you many penalty minutes... but they still don't come much better then Burnaby Joe. Draft him expecting a little less then a point a game and you shouldn't be disappointed.
FACT: Sakic is 8th all time in total points, 14th in goals scored, 11th in assists, 15th in game winning goals.
FACT: One more reason to like Sakic... This is what he had to say about Lindros when he refused to sign with the Nordiques. "We only want players here who have the passion to play the game. I'm tired of hearing that name. He's not here and there are a lot of others in this locker room who really care about the game."
FACT: Joe Sakic has NEVER missed a Penalty Shot.
FACT: Joe Sakic and I both use an Easton Synergy SL composite stick.
Hedge-duck is consistently inconsistent. His numbers were hurt last season by the lack of a Joe Sakic to receive passes from. He will be better this year, scoring somewhere between 60 and 70 points taking around 230 shots and getting about 25 or so points on the powerplay. He is a good second option at RW.
FACT: Hejduk's 98 point year was an incredible anomaly. He scored 50 goals and his shooting percentage was 20.8%... 6 percentage points higher then his usual 14%.
You Want to Keep an Eye On:
Ryan Smyth
Marek Svatos
Wojitek Wolski
Smyth is a darling of smart hockey fans, we'll call them Spuckheads, because he's a gritty player that tends to step it up when it matters most. Unfortunately for Smyth owners, there's no fantasy stat for that. One of these years Smitty will stay healthy and he'll score 40. He doesn't do much else, fantasy wise, besides score goals though and he's hurt way too often for my taste. You draft him though. Have fun. I'll be the guy over here looking for you younger, healthier left wingers.
FACT: Smyth has played for 13 years and has only compiled 4 complete seasons.
Svatos has been a full time NHL-er for three seasons and has yet to break the 70 game plateau as well. He's not much of a passer. If Svatos can stay healthy he also has the potential to be a 40 goal winger.
FACT: Svatos' ice time, at 13:30 minutes or so, is abnormally low for a guy with 40 goal potential. It signifies a lack of faith on behalf of the coaching staff.
Wolski had a terrible year last year. No other way to slice it. Still he has tons of potential that has yet to shine on the NHL level. With Brunette's departure Wolski should see more time on a scoring line this year and should be monitored as a result.
FACT: Wolski had 128 points in 59 games his last season in the OHL and holds 14 franchise records for his OHL team, the Brampton Battalion.
The Defense:
You Want to Draft:
John Michael Liles
Liles is capable of 40-50 points with half of them coming on the powerplay. Like the rest of the team his points took a dive with the loss, for significant periods of time, of stars Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny. He'll rebound this year. There is no one else to qb the powerplay here.
FACT: Liles was a finalist for the Hobey Baker award, the trophy awarded to the best player in college hockey, for his play with the Michigan State Spartans.
The Powerplay:
Joe Sakic
Paul Stastny
Milan Hejduk
Ryan Smyth
John Michael Liles
Its a good unit, one that, with all the injuries, never really got a chance to be tested last season. The second unit is going to be kinda scary looking though.
The Goalie(s):
How do you recover from the loss of a franchise player at the most crucial position in the entire sport? You don't. The Devils will face this question in a few years with Martin Brodeur. The Canadiens may have finally put that question to bed in the last few years, but we won't know until we see what Carey Price can do in an full season. New York took several seasons to rebound from the loss of Mike Richter. No one has suffered like the Avalanche though.
The Avalanche have never recovered from Patrick Roy's retirement. Since they lost the best (second best?) goaltender in the history of the game the Avalanche have had an identity problem in net. Its not so much that they couldn't find anyone to do what Patrick did (other then Marty no one can) its that they haven't even been able to get an adequate replacement.
Neither Budaj nor Raycroft are the answer here. Colorado knows this, which is why they have been taking the build from within approach to rebuilding. It will be a while before a goaltender emerges that can fill Roy's pads... but Colorado at this point would settle for one that can fill his blocker. Say the fans, "Not even the glove! Just give us one Roy-hand! A finger? An eyelash? Come on!"
Budaj will once again be serviceable as he splits time for the third straight year. Expect no heroics though. Either of these goalies could be fine for "third goalie spot start" duty but neither is a viable fantasy option.
FACT: Andrew Raycroft's save percentage rose above .880 only once in the last three seasons...when he posted a save percentage of .894! No good. Not even remotely acceptable.
The Verdict:
The Avalanche are a talented offensive team that will suffer defensive problems and stretches of complete mediocrity from their goaltending. Its going to be a long year in Colorado but Joe and Paul should at least make it pretty exciting.
So with Joe Sakic back I took a look at Colorado's roster again. And at first I was wondering why everyone is so down on this team. They are two scoring lines deep. They picked up a more than adequate checker in Darcy Tucker. They held onto John Michael Liles after a subpar season expecting, I think rightly, that he'll rebound. Salei, Foote and Leopold are all fine defenders... and then I see it. Right. Raycroft and Budaj in net. Yeesh...that could be a problem.
I think the West is too good for Colorado to be a playoff team. I actually think that Edmonton may be a better team, but they will still be fun to watch.
Key Departures:
Jose Theodore
Peter Forsberg?
Theodore had something of a career resurgence last year splitting time with Budaj. The only thing he split this offseason was town. Theodore wasn't any kind of long term answer for this team but his departure does hurt their chances this season.
Forsberg, the Racer X of hockey at this point, was barely there to begin with last season, and may be gone again. There are rumors swirling around this week of another comeback attempt. Personally I'd like Foppa to hang up the skates. I love the man to death. Hell my last girlfriend was from Denver originally. For Christmas I got her, amongst other girlie things, a Blue Forsberg Nordiques jersey because she was getting into hockey and I thought the fleur de lis would appeal to her international sensibilities. But back to Peter. I think he's one of the better hockey players I have ever seen ... when he was healthy and in his prime. That time has long since passed for Forsberg, and I personally would like to see one of my hockey heroes enjoy the rest of his life with ankles that still work and without having to suffer on and off the ice.
FACT: I want to remember Peter like this... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYsLM06hRuI The goal about 1:55 in, where he carries it around the entire zone before popping it top shelf is the stuff of legend. Do you see how many goalies (good ones like Kipper, Nabakov, Brodeur, Richter, Lundqvist, Osgood and Kolzig in their primes) he makes look stupid in that video? Do you see how he can't be knocked off the puck? That is pure and simple greatness.
New Faces:
Andrew Raycroft
Darcy Tucker
The reclamation project of the year has got to be Andrew Raycroft. Raycroft is the owner of one really good season of statistics, 1 mediocre season in which Mats Sundin won 37 games for him, and two really really god awful seasons. Raycroft will be, in theory, splitting time with Budaj behind what could be the best team he's played for since his Calder season in 03-04. It will be interesting to watch.
Tucker is an interesting addition. He's had a surprising number of offensively good seasons for a guy known more for his antics then his hands. He's not a bad option for PIM as he'll get you about 150 while still getting some points but don't be expecting 60... or even 40. Those seasons came when Toronto let him play the powerplay because they had no other options. Thats not the case on this team. Third line duty all the way for Darcy.
The Offense:
You want to Draft:
Paul Stastny
Joe Sakic
Milan Hejduk
This is Stastny's team. Sakic's return doesn't change that. Two excellent seasons in a row show that Stasny is no fluke (he was on his way to a 85ish point season last year before going down to injury). He'll have a split of about 30 goals and 50 assists this season, doing a lot of damage on the powerplay. The knock on Stastny at this point is that he doesn't shoot the puck so be aware that you will have to make up for that elsewhere if Stastny is your number one center.
FACT: Ok so you know that his father is Hall of Famer Peter Stastny who played for the Avalanche when they were still the Nordiques... but did you know that Paul is one of the only NHL players that still uses a wood stick? Bet you didn't.
JOE! I'm so happy he's coming back. How good is Joe Sakic? So good. No really. Sakic has 1629 points in 1363 career games. Last season he was on pace for a 70-75 point year before being sidelined by hernia surgery. His 40 points scored in 44 games was the first time Sakic finished a season at less then a point a game since 2001-2002 (when he finished with 79 points in 82 games). Sakic takes a fair amount of shots, and sees loads of time on the powerplay. Given this team's goaltending and Joe's waining speed he might be a minus and he won't get you many penalty minutes... but they still don't come much better then Burnaby Joe. Draft him expecting a little less then a point a game and you shouldn't be disappointed.
FACT: Sakic is 8th all time in total points, 14th in goals scored, 11th in assists, 15th in game winning goals.
FACT: One more reason to like Sakic... This is what he had to say about Lindros when he refused to sign with the Nordiques. "We only want players here who have the passion to play the game. I'm tired of hearing that name. He's not here and there are a lot of others in this locker room who really care about the game."
FACT: Joe Sakic has NEVER missed a Penalty Shot.
FACT: Joe Sakic and I both use an Easton Synergy SL composite stick.
Hedge-duck is consistently inconsistent. His numbers were hurt last season by the lack of a Joe Sakic to receive passes from. He will be better this year, scoring somewhere between 60 and 70 points taking around 230 shots and getting about 25 or so points on the powerplay. He is a good second option at RW.
FACT: Hejduk's 98 point year was an incredible anomaly. He scored 50 goals and his shooting percentage was 20.8%... 6 percentage points higher then his usual 14%.
You Want to Keep an Eye On:
Ryan Smyth
Marek Svatos
Wojitek Wolski
Smyth is a darling of smart hockey fans, we'll call them Spuckheads, because he's a gritty player that tends to step it up when it matters most. Unfortunately for Smyth owners, there's no fantasy stat for that. One of these years Smitty will stay healthy and he'll score 40. He doesn't do much else, fantasy wise, besides score goals though and he's hurt way too often for my taste. You draft him though. Have fun. I'll be the guy over here looking for you younger, healthier left wingers.
FACT: Smyth has played for 13 years and has only compiled 4 complete seasons.
Svatos has been a full time NHL-er for three seasons and has yet to break the 70 game plateau as well. He's not much of a passer. If Svatos can stay healthy he also has the potential to be a 40 goal winger.
FACT: Svatos' ice time, at 13:30 minutes or so, is abnormally low for a guy with 40 goal potential. It signifies a lack of faith on behalf of the coaching staff.
Wolski had a terrible year last year. No other way to slice it. Still he has tons of potential that has yet to shine on the NHL level. With Brunette's departure Wolski should see more time on a scoring line this year and should be monitored as a result.
FACT: Wolski had 128 points in 59 games his last season in the OHL and holds 14 franchise records for his OHL team, the Brampton Battalion.
The Defense:
You Want to Draft:
John Michael Liles
Liles is capable of 40-50 points with half of them coming on the powerplay. Like the rest of the team his points took a dive with the loss, for significant periods of time, of stars Joe Sakic and Paul Stastny. He'll rebound this year. There is no one else to qb the powerplay here.
FACT: Liles was a finalist for the Hobey Baker award, the trophy awarded to the best player in college hockey, for his play with the Michigan State Spartans.
The Powerplay:
Joe Sakic
Paul Stastny
Milan Hejduk
Ryan Smyth
John Michael Liles
Its a good unit, one that, with all the injuries, never really got a chance to be tested last season. The second unit is going to be kinda scary looking though.
The Goalie(s):
How do you recover from the loss of a franchise player at the most crucial position in the entire sport? You don't. The Devils will face this question in a few years with Martin Brodeur. The Canadiens may have finally put that question to bed in the last few years, but we won't know until we see what Carey Price can do in an full season. New York took several seasons to rebound from the loss of Mike Richter. No one has suffered like the Avalanche though.
The Avalanche have never recovered from Patrick Roy's retirement. Since they lost the best (second best?) goaltender in the history of the game the Avalanche have had an identity problem in net. Its not so much that they couldn't find anyone to do what Patrick did (other then Marty no one can) its that they haven't even been able to get an adequate replacement.
Neither Budaj nor Raycroft are the answer here. Colorado knows this, which is why they have been taking the build from within approach to rebuilding. It will be a while before a goaltender emerges that can fill Roy's pads... but Colorado at this point would settle for one that can fill his blocker. Say the fans, "Not even the glove! Just give us one Roy-hand! A finger? An eyelash? Come on!"
Budaj will once again be serviceable as he splits time for the third straight year. Expect no heroics though. Either of these goalies could be fine for "third goalie spot start" duty but neither is a viable fantasy option.
FACT: Andrew Raycroft's save percentage rose above .880 only once in the last three seasons...when he posted a save percentage of .894! No good. Not even remotely acceptable.
The Verdict:
The Avalanche are a talented offensive team that will suffer defensive problems and stretches of complete mediocrity from their goaltending. Its going to be a long year in Colorado but Joe and Paul should at least make it pretty exciting.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Colorado Signs Joe Sakic To a One Year Deal
They will, Forsberg too. They have too much cap space not to. I hear Roy and Bourque might unretire as well. Then they can lose to the Red Wings in five games next May. Sorry.
Mean jokes aside. Sakic should re-sign, I see no reason not to and it certainly seems that Colorado believes he will because they sure have been quiet otherwise.
Colorado Avalanche
While Colorado sits on its thumbs and waits for one of the best centers to ever play the game to make up his mind about next year, they've done little else to improve this team, while crucial pieces of it from last year have fled.
Too many W's Wolski is their biggest signing/re-signing. The kid is only 22 years old and already has a 50 point and 48 point season under his belt.
Darcy Tucker. No. Next.
Kudos to Colorado for not taking any of Jose Theodore's crap. Andrew Raycroft, playing behind the best defense he's ever played for, should be fine in a tandem with Budaj. Raycroft had 37 wins two seasons ago but was abysmal in every other aspect playing for a Toronto team that was experiencing its last gasp of relevance. He's not as bad as his numbers but he's not that good either. I think Budaj remains the better option of the two but if you draft one you almost have to draft the other. If you want to be scared.. Mr. Wolski has as many W's in his name as Raycroft had W's last season (and he started 16 times!). Yikes.
Mean jokes aside. Sakic should re-sign, I see no reason not to and it certainly seems that Colorado believes he will because they sure have been quiet otherwise.
Colorado Avalanche
While Colorado sits on its thumbs and waits for one of the best centers to ever play the game to make up his mind about next year, they've done little else to improve this team, while crucial pieces of it from last year have fled.
Too many W's Wolski is their biggest signing/re-signing. The kid is only 22 years old and already has a 50 point and 48 point season under his belt.
Darcy Tucker. No. Next.
Kudos to Colorado for not taking any of Jose Theodore's crap. Andrew Raycroft, playing behind the best defense he's ever played for, should be fine in a tandem with Budaj. Raycroft had 37 wins two seasons ago but was abysmal in every other aspect playing for a Toronto team that was experiencing its last gasp of relevance. He's not as bad as his numbers but he's not that good either. I think Budaj remains the better option of the two but if you draft one you almost have to draft the other. If you want to be scared.. Mr. Wolski has as many W's in his name as Raycroft had W's last season (and he started 16 times!). Yikes.
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