FUNHL Trading season is now open

Anahiem Wins

Congrats to Anahiem Ducks for they were mighty. They dominated the final series and made Ottawa look like Minnesota. While the last game lacked the intensity of the first four games the second period did have lots of action. It is to bad that Emery did not have enough support as he made each game close prior to last night.

Now the big questions for the Ducks. Does Selanne retire on a winning note? Can you afford Giguere with Pronger and Neidermeyer each making 6+ million? Can they repeat?

Franchise player poll!

Who will be the FUNHL's first new Franchise player?
	Miika Kiprusoff
	Marian Gaborik
	Vincent Lecavalier
	Jason Spezza
	Henrik Zetterberg
	Rick Nash
pollcode.com free polls

Bye Bye Yashin

The Snow-man authorizes the buyout of YASHIN's final 4 year /10 year-90million$USD contract.

Its a cap hit but n0w they have a chance of re-signing Blake and Smyth.

Yay! Yashin is out!

I have landed

Hello everyone, thought I'd post here to note that I have a new job. Property Administrator at Rogers. (Yay)

And congratulations Cameron on moving to an address Google does not believe in. (And the whole bigger family thing... well done!)

Richard.

CIV 3 Canadian Edition..

Ok this isnt hockey related but i found it mildly entertaining enough to waste your time on creating this post :)

http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2007/05/31/tech-historicanada.html

FUNHL Lottery-Awards Ceremony

We have reached that time again, where we fete the winner of the Predator Cup, pull numbered chits from a hat to determine where people draft, and otherwise open the trade flood-gates for the off-season.

I am now officially ensconced into my new digs in Lethbridge (and those of you wishing to question the wisdom of moving with a newborn are free to do so - it was a completely insane decision, but one that we nevertheless made and followed through on), so depending on when it is held, I should be able to attend.

That said, I do have trips to Sk this week (likely Tue/Wed/Thur), and I believe the Highlander's GM is in similar straits to attend any potential dates this week.

So, might we bend the rules a little and hold the ceremony some time next weekend, or next week? If someone who has had more than 4 hours sleep in a row for the last month could e-mail out this discussion and round up opinions it would be much appreciated by Severed Heads Mgt.

Thoughts?

Season Reviews

Hey Doug, Any chance of finishing the 5 reviews needed to be done. I have enjoyed reading them.

FUNHL News and Notes

Ottawa in 6

Why? Because Spezza is the equal of Selanne, and there is no other forward in the class of Alfreddson or Heatley on the Ducks (Bob agrees - and Bob will be live-blogging this FUNHL News and notes as I create it).

Because goaltender Ray Emery is the toughest guy on the Senators, and that includes rumble worthy behemonths Chris Neil and Brian McGratten.

Because given the circumstances of his departure from the Oilers after signing a franchise defenseman deal. Chris Pronger is either evil or somewhere in a galaxy beyond pussywhipped. He's a loser, and losers lose. Like the Oilers.

Bob ranks the top ROY candidates as:

1. Backstrom: it's his to lose. Centres 50+ sniper Ovechkin or 40+ goal gunner Semin. Or both.

2. Erik Johnson: weak team, will munch minutes, won't win because Backstrom will be much more dominant.

3. Jack Johnson: Will be tutored by Rob Blake. Downside is he might lose ice-time if Sheldon Souray arrives.

4. Jonathon Toewes: Coming off a great World Championships playing against men, and will be centering high speed talents Ruutu and Havlat in Chicago.

5. Bobby Ryan-R Anaheim.

6. James Van Riemsdyk : Safe player, low expectations, but his size and speed make him a better fit to succeed early in the NHL.

Cameron ranks the top 5 ROY

1. Niklas Backstrom-Wsh. Peter Forsberg your clone has arrived. Will have the line-mates from God.

2. Jonathon Toewes-Chi. Could be handed the top line duties early on, and the team desperately needs him to be a star.

3. Nikolai Kulemin-Tor. He's an under the radar Russian winger. Alexander Steen with a better gun-sight.

4. Bobby Ryan-R Anaheim.

5. If I'm the GM of the Hawks, Jonathon Toewes would be grafted to 1st overall winger Jakub Voracek and groomed together as 2-3rds of a kid line.

6. My dark, dark horse candidate is Cherepanov as an LA King. Anze Kopitar gets a playmate.


From the 'Things that make you go 'WTF'?' here are the Top 5 World Hockey Championship Scorers:

R	Name	Team	Pos	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM	+/-
1	DAVIDSSON Johan	SWE	F	9	7	7	14	2	+3
2	MOROZOV Alexei	RUS	F	7	8	5	13	6	+9
3	ZINOVIEV Sergei	RUS	F	9	3	10	13	12	+10
4	LOMBARDI Matthew	CAN	F	9	6	6	12	4	+4
5 .	ZARIPOV Danis .	RUS .	F .	9 .	3 .	9 .	12 .	6 .	+10

Where did Johan Davidsson come from?

Here is the next 3 guys;

6	NASH Rick	CAN	F	9	6	5	11	4	+8
7	FROLOV Alexander	RUS	F	9	5	6	11	0	+4
7	GABORIK Marian	SVK	F	6	5	6	11	14	+6

A group that makes a lot more sense, but then we have things like;

- Oleg Antonenko has the tournament of his life; 5goals, 3 assists, and 8 points in just 6 games for Belarus. He's 35.

- Lee Stempniak is the best American forward (10pts, good for 10th overall). Paul Stastny (8pts in 7 games) is next (18th overall) A generation of American stars is passing before our eyes (Mullen, Lafontaine, Hull, Modano, Roenick), and the top guy for the US is Lee Stempniak. Theirs your Gretzky generation for ya; Gionta, Gomez, Statsny, and Stempniak.

- 'Ask and ye shall recieve'. Morten Ask leads Norway with 3g, 6A, 7 pts in 6 games. 10PIM on top of that. Better stats than...

-Phil Kessel (30th overall), 7 pts in 7 games. Or exactly Half of Swedish softee Johan Davidsson. And with this jibe I've fulfilled my mocking of Phil Kessel quotient for the FUNHL news and notes - which means we are almost home.

Bob and I also spoke about the Balsillie purchase of the Predators.

- The guys a billionaire and can buy any toy he wants. I'm sure he would prefer to buy the Leafs, but he can't - they are not for sale. So he does the next best thing, he buys an NHL hockey team. And when he gets his chance, he'll move it to just outside of the Toronto 50 mile radius where compensation will be a factor and instead of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Balsillie will have the Kitchener Predators.

- Of the teams/cities that will be hurt the most by this;

Buffalo (Sabres)
Toronto (Raptors)
Kansas City (missed opportunity)
Ottawa (Senators)
Toronto (Leafs)
Nashville

Allright you've been a marvelous audience - we're out

First Round Picks Available

I am going to be trading my first round Prospect draft picks for 2007. I have my own ,7th, and Brian's , 11th. Last year I got a first rd pick for the 12th pick over all and a first round plus a player or pick for a mid first round pick. I will be looking for something similar this year.

the highlanders 3rd is also available.

Hockey Vids

My predictions for who will be the best FUNHL players from the upcoming NHL ED:


1- Voracek
The explosive Halifax winger is reminiscent of Hossa. Let's hope its Marion and not Marcel. If I'm Chicago or Philadelphia and have the top pick, he's the guy I want.

2- Cherepanov

Has everything but break-away speed.

3- Kane

Gets compared to Daniel Briere. Which means if you wait on him till his late 20's you too can reap the rewards of having him waived through the league (not to mention several years in Phoenix).

4 - Vanriemsdyk

RJ Umberger part II. However, this draft class is very week, he's the only player of above average size AND skating ability in the top 5, his likely position is as a wing player, and there is a solid chance he'll end up on a not so crapola team because the players ahead of him are more proven off, so he is intriguing. Bonus points for having a last name that is A: Dutch, and B: sure to generate a replacement nickname from Bob for all media and trade negotiations. Something like Van Dyke Rammer'.

5- Turis

I've seen his name mentioned everywhere from 1-10. Undeniable skills, but is he Todd White?

6- Gagner

Is even less defensively aware than ex-linemate Robbie Schremp. Add a year or two to his development curve unless the team that takes him is absolutely desperate for offense.

7- Esposito

Voracek simply made him his bitch in head to head matchups. Didn't crack Canada's Jr squad. Got compared to Alexander Daigle...That all said, he may be the closest thing to a franchise player talent in the draft.

8 - Couture

If I'm lucky he's Ales Hemsky. Whoo-pee.

9-Mayorov

Another waterbug in the mold of Gionta or Gomez, so expect New Jersey to be one of the teams that sniffs at him as players with his pedigree tend to slip and get snatched up by Lamouriello (also see: Parise). Guys like this also tend to get seasoned in College for a year or more, so you might want to pass on him depending on the team that takes him.

10- Alzner

If I were an NHL GM with the top pick, I'd see if I could make a profit by moving out of first and dropping down to #4 or #5 where I would select Alzner. He's the top rated D-man in the draft, and while he isn't sexy (i.e. he doesn't have obvious offensive mega-stardom in his future), he is still a probable top 4 guy. The kind you win with in the real world. That said, as a FUNHL GM he's all but radioactive to me. Still, he's got better upside than Chris Phillips ever did so someone will take him. As a top 4 defenseman in the NHL he'll be good enough to draft somewhere in the FUNHL - but it may just be as a 5-6 filler guy.

11. Sutter.

If I can't have Voracek, Cherepanov, or move down to take Alzner I'd see if someone at the 10-11 spot is desperate to move up, and slide back to take Brandon Sutter. He's 6'3" and he's the son of Brent - perhaps best remembered as the one Sutter brother with well above average offense, but the facts are that his own offense was less than awesome for a draft year. Needs seasoning. Outside possibility he slips all the way down to Calgary.

Me? Well the Severed Heads with the first pick overall (thanks Colin!) will be taking this guy.
(And if I couldn't have him, I'd take this guy).

****************

Here's a great video recap of some of the best shoot out goals.

And another collection that purports to be the top 10 all-time.

Mario (and just because he is that ridiculous, some more Mario) and Jagr both make the list. As it should be.

Anyone other than Bob (who insisted I find a copy) else catch this gold medal winning example of 'fear my wingspan' from Rick Nash at the World Championships?!?!? AWESOME

Here's the thing, as much as I love Nash, he's not someone I could endorse as a SeveredHeads FP until he picks up his assist totals. But ohmygoodness does that man light the lamp in a pleasing way.

Thanks for all congratulations and well-wishes regarding Oliver, and my best of luck to Richard in the battle of the sexes. Haidee, Oliver and I are moving to Lethbridge in the coming few weeks and there is a very good chance I can make it to Calgary one night mid-week as part of my business trip (it's equally possible I will be confined to the Hotel and forced to endure the horror that is extended socializing with my co-workers, but if Wednesday night works for everyone...I'll see what I can do)

The Shadowmen deny Highlander accusations

First of all, I will start by saying congratulations to Cameron! I certainly agree with the Highlander GM that young Oliver Fraser Hilton is going to be a star in the NHL and certainly will be the consensus future watch number one prospect for the 2025 draft. However, we were quite offended in the Shadowlands at the suggestion that we were trying to trade to obtain the rights of the Severed Heads GM's first born son. We deny vehemently that we would ever try to do that despite of the Hilton bloodline. Nor did we ever make such offers to the GM of the Great Whites when Riley his first born son was born.

However, it is true we have made offers to help in the development of both Riley in the past, and currently with Oliver. We have offered to sponsor skating, type of skate, commercials with "Shadow-ade", etc. We will admit back in 1999 after purchasing the Severed Heads' GM's soul he went on to win the FUNHL predator cup back to back but we digress.

Regardless of any rumor or innuendo we want to set the record straight.

Lost Boys Update

Hello everyone.

First: Congratulations Cam.

Second: Where things are now.

At the end of February, my pretty cool job at the bank came to an end. The department had successfully restructured, and that meant the work I was doing was no longer desired. And though they wished they could keep me what they really wanted was another senior analyst. I am many things, but qualified to be a senior analyst for a bank is not one of them (yet.)

The day my job came to an end... well... give her credit. The Monday after my job ended Jennie broke up with me. Two things to learn: 1) Ouch, cold. Try have more heart than that. 2) It wouldn't have worked. She was a fundamentalist, and things were just going to get messier for us.

And then of course, autopilot turned out to be a fiasco for the Lost Boys, and we finished much lower in the ranks than I had planned, or common sense would suggest. Highlight of the season: I drafted Bieksa.

Still, there is always next season. Plenty of RFAs yet to go.

But, two months unemployed will absolutely savage your wallet, and that is what happened to mine. So my initial savings for Europe vanished as basic grunt jobs failed to come through for me. (I, apparently, have a great drunken rant about employment agencies, and how their economy seems to be based on fairy dust... or is a front for the Genevan mob. Swiss goalies.)

So, the good news is that this all seems to be coming to an end, and I can re-emerge from my desperate state to enjoy watching Ottawa lose the cup. I have two job offers that seem to be bearing fruit--knock on wood--and will give me enough stability to keep going. Not only that, job offers that seem to be lined up with my overall plans and goals.

So, when I get one, I'll let you all know. By the way... these jobs... rock.

Until then, consider which of your RFAs you're willing to trade me. As far as I'm concerned, it's not possible to have too many.

When do we know draft order?

Richard
GM of the Lost Boys.

+++

Dum spiro, spero.
While I breathe, I hope.

Prospective First Overall 2025

Versitile powerforward with a nose for the opposing net and an aversion to his own, Oliver Fraser Hilton, rocketed to to top of the ISS 2025 Future Watch rankings on Sunday May 13th with his birth. Tipping the scales at 8lbs 4oz, the pint-sized phenom is already exceeding most scouts expectations. "He does things you just can't belive until you see it for yourself!" exclaimed Severed Heads' GM and new father Cam Hilton.

See for yourself at Cam's Blog:

http://antiphonrising.blogspot.com/

There has been no confirmation of the rumour that the Shadowmen have already attempted to trade for his rights, though they are clearly watching his progress as is everyone in the FunHL. Congrats man!

NHL Draft Predictions

This year's NHL Entry Draft is the most wide-open in years. It is also viewed as one of the most suspect in terms of talent in recent years too.

All the more reason to see where the FunHL mental giants peg the crop.

Please provide your predicted top 5 (the order they will be selected and the order they should be selected,if you figure the pros are going to look silly down the road - remember that Jagr went 5th in his year).

My predictions (subject to revision) are as follows:

Prediction of draft:
1- Chicago - Pat Kane RW, 5'10", 162lbs, London OHL
2- Philadelpia - James VanRiemsdyk LW, 6'3", 191lbs, USHDP
3- Phoenix - Kyle Turis C, 6'0", 162lbs, Burnaby BCJHL
4- Los Angeles - Jakub Voracek C, 6'1", 188lbs, Halifax QMJHL
5- Washington - Alexi Cherpanov RW, 6'0", 183lbs, Omsk RSL

(edited to add, without intending to I apparently have anticipated the top five from ISS' just released final rankings for this draft crop - predicting them in order with the top three and flipping 4 and 5)

Prediction of best players (5 years out)
1- Voracek
2- Cherpanov
3- Kane
4- Karl Alzner D, 6'2" 210lbs, Calgary WHL
5- Turis

Bonus prediction:
Columbus, host of the draft and owner of the #7 pick, will make a trade on draft day to move up into the top 3.

Petition to Save Doan

Go sign the petition showing our disgust with parliament at

www.savedoan.ca

The Highlander exorcizes the Hex And other FUNHL Endnotes

Finally.
A married GM with a child has won...triumphed through the Gathering of 12 and has broken the curse of the ring or the Hex. Congratulations to Doug and the modern-era Highlander team that struggled for 14 LONG years since their early back-to-back year 2 and 3 victories.

He joins Dan and the Great Whites franchise to win 3 Predator cup trophies.

Plus he had the swagger to join Cameron of the Severed Heads to win the Triple Crown, by collecting the Challenge Cup and the Omnivore Award. ALSO, the fact that he had no major long-term injuries the entire season meant the Fates smiled on him and the Furies smiled on the rest of the FUNHL.

Brian of the Bladerunners traded and traded, including Malkin and attempted to trade before the deadline to maintain a lead the diminished, fluctuated, and was lost. A valiant effort and perhaps most years would have been sufficient. Defending this Champion title is difficult and Brian tried everything in his power, but a gaping hole at centre undermined his year in the end.

Dan of the Great Whites decided it was more prudent to build for next year, than make a run for the top. Having never actually having the lead all year he geared up with obtaining top prospects like Kessel, Carter and the Lost Boys 1st prospect pick [3rd overall]. The fact fact Gaborik didn't play {groin injury} for 40+ games didn't help.

The Shadowmen took over 1st for several weeks around Xmas and the injuries pounded the team, no matter what trading they did. A fourth place finish is where they landed.

The Knights Templar provided a dramatic rise in the standing from 10th to finish 5th. A well-built team with a plethora of prospects that make up for mediocre FPs. But Vanek, Weber, Radulov among others brings power for next year.

Similarly, the Wolves managed to snag Hart-nominee FP Luongo and improve his prospects by obtaining Stastny, Parise and Eminger to go along with Toews, Phaneuf, Suter among others. After a shaky start, Rob finished 6th, but a well-drafted team recovered and he has built a great prospect launch for winning next year.

The Personal Vendetta had problems right from the draft. Injuries ravaged the team and Darrell was left asking: oh Forsberg, oh Forsberg, why hast thou forsaken me? [again] Foppa or Floppa really hurt Darrell on the FP front and his usual gem draft picks were average. Question: Will Forsberg finally be dropped as an FP? One thing is certain, however, an off-year for the Personal Vendetta means Vengence Inc. next year - regardless of rfas or prospects 0wned.

Corey and the Cavemen {Ramapithicines} had another tough year with injuries abound and prospect patchwork...His FPs were saviours in Chara and Turco. Still he drafted well enough to keep himself afloat but I suspect he'll never draft Bertuzzi again -> the 1st rnd bust of only 13 games [oh my back!]

The Severed Heads thought it was going to be his year, the 1st pick, Kipper, Spezza, awesome FPs in Jagr (97pts) and Heatley (a 50G/50a) year repeat! But he learned the hard way, drafting defense helps. The other Achilles Heel was what everyone else seemed to suffer at some point [except the Highlanders], deep cutting long term injuries like Havlat and Ruutu.

The Lost Boys finished 10th. 5 pts behind the 'Heads. Richard was a new GM, finishing in that 7th to 10th group. -40+ pts out of 6th. 2 goals he had set...top 6, beat the'Heads. It goes without saying that meant no Herbivore, please. He improved his FP situation to Kovalchuk and B.Richards. He amassed a plethora of decent rfas. Despite some questionable trades [see Gonchar for Kovalev], which hindsight gives us pause, the Lost Boys had a good debut season.

The Scourge avoided the basement thanks to Preissing' plus/minus, a career points season from FP Tanguay and both Datsyuk and Zetterberg waking up in the 2nd half of the season. He placed 2nd for the Omnivore, but managed to avoid the Herbivore. FP Sundin days are numbered but Chris will pick 2nd in the prospect draft. Time to build from 11th and as the 2nd new GM this year, the future can only look bright through a better prepared draft and more confidence in trading.

Alas the Herbivore -> 12th. The Edge and Collin had multiple life changing events, the injuries to the team hardly seem fair, but alas it was meant to be. Will FP Elias be dropped? Drafting with confidence will be key next year. My Condolescences Funhl-wise.

I could go on, but I'll let the Highlanders to their very detailed ad hoc post season analysis...

So why these few reflections? A very brief season in review.

Doug and I have chatted about winning, repeating and preparing...

M- So you did it! How do you feel?

D- Well, yes , its great, and finally [whew]....but I want start again - I want to keep winning.

M- Do you mean making up for lost time?

D- I guess, but I will enjoy this victory...I have battled mediocry for so long that the concentration and obsession to win took energy that I loved but, now I enjoy the off-season with my family who was truly supportive.

M-Montagne says "Obsession is the beginning of either Genius or Madness". What if you lost?

D- Only you would ask that! I didn't. But it would have been maddening if I had and would be questioning and second-guessing a lot of the moves I made to secure to win. [or failed to]

M-At the beginning of the season we talked about the 1200 rule or using 1200 as the benchmark number of points needed to win. You came close to 1200 pts...

D- The 1200 pts threshold is a theory not a rule. Both Brian [of the Bladerunners] and myself got to >1100pts. But as we talked in the pre-season, maybe you can draft that team...we always talk about Darrell drafting to win - and thank goodness I didn't have to deal with him too in this race - think though, goalie 100 pts, 3 centres 300 pts, 3 rw at 200, 3 lw at 200 and 6 d at 300 plus 2 tgs with an extra 100 pts total. That's ideal, but possible, maybe -> but 1200 pts. And if you are in-between 1050 and 1150pts, why not a winning formula?

M- Ideal, barring injury, and some of the baseline omnivore scores bears this out.

D- Yes

M- Injury broke my team among many others, how did you avoid it?

D- I sold my soul to the devil [what soul?] -> or dumb luck.

M- Okay GM Faust...

D- Always Doug, I GM and coach andd develop my team, unlike you and your outsourcing for coaches, fighting the future etc

M- My apologies, Doug, enough.

D- Hey, joking around, but you should develop a farm team, keep FPs or I can't see you winning, as start always behind.

M- Perhaps you're right, last question before I bore the blog...2 parts a. you got pretty self-congratulatory towards the end of the season and b. is that because you picked yourself to win after the draft?

D- Ouch. I was excited at the end and doing the stats updates and commentary, I guess I got a bit over-exuberant, I didn't mean to come off as arrogant and as for b. as you said players predictions are only as good as the paper.

M-Like my mistake in picking Richards overLeCavalier as an FP.

D- I made draft errors too. We both made trading errors at one point or another.

M-You finally sacrificed the future to win -> M.Staal, J.Carter, Kessel.

D- Earlier you spoke of Madness - I'm glad I won

M-1st time since expansion in a true 12 player league. You may have 3 Championships now, but this one must be special.

D-Believe me - after 14 years, this one is sweet.

M- Congratulations Doug...as they say "Mission Accomplished". ALSO, good luck defending.

D- Thanks.

This interview was designed for the blog. I congratulate Doug on his win, and sympathizes with Brian who sacrificed a lot for only 2nd.

2006/7 NHL AWARDS and predictions...

NHL announces 2006-07 trophy finalists
NHL.com
May 1, 2007, 1:03 PM EDT

Our choices are within.

NEW YORK -- Goaltender Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils, center Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and goaltender Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks have been voted finalists for the Hart Trophy as League MVP as the NHL announced today the nominees for eight annual awards.Crosby and Luongo each received his first career Hart Trophy nomination, Brodeur his third. All three Hart finalists are nominees for multiple awards; Luongo also is a nominee for the Vezina Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award, Brodeur for the Vezina and Crosby for the Pearson.

For the first time since the inception of the NHL Awards Television Special in 1983, there are more than the traditional three finalists for an NHL trophy. A third-place tie in balloting for the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the League's top goaltender as voted by NHL General Managers, has resulted in invitations to four finalists for that honor.Following are the finalists for each trophy, in alphabetical order:

CALDER MEMORIAL TROPHY (outstanding rookie): Evgeni Malkin, Penguins; Jordan Staal, Penguins; Paul Stastny, Avalanche.

Our vote is for Malkin

FRANK J. SELKE TROPHY (outstanding defensive forward): Rod Brind'Amour, Hurricanes; Samuel Pahlsson, Ducks; Jay Pandolfo, Devils.

Our vote is for Pahlsson

HART MEMORIAL TROPHY (most valuable player to his team): Martin Brodeur, Devils; Sidney Crosby, Penguins; Roberto Luongo, Canucks.

Our vote is for Luongo

JACK ADAMS AWARD (outstanding coach): Lindy Ruff, Sabres; Michel Therrien, Penguins; Alain Vigneault, Canucks.

Our vote for Ruff

JAMES NORRIS MEMORIAL TROPHY (outstanding defenseman): Nicklas Lidstrom, Red Wings; Scott Niedermayer, Ducks; Chris Pronger, Ducks.

Our vote is for Lidstrom

LADY BYNG MEMORIAL TROPHY (sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct): Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings; Joe Sakic, Avalanche; Martin St. Louis, Lightning.

Our vote is for Sakic

LESTER B. PEARSON AWARD (most outstanding player as voted by fellow members of the NHLPA): Sidney Crosby, Penguins; Vincent Lecavalier, Lightning; Roberto Luongo, Canucks.

Our vote is for Luongo

VEZINA TROPHY *** (outstanding goaltender): Martin Brodeur, Devils; Miikka Kiprusoff, Flames; Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers; Roberto Luongo, Canucks.*** tie for third place in balloting; four finalists named

Our vote is for Luongo

All voting is conducted at the conclusion of the regular season. The Professional Hockey Writers’ Association votes for five trophies (Hart, Norris, Selke, Calder and Lady Byng). The NHL General Managers vote for the Vezina Trophy. Members of the National Hockey League Players' Association select the Lester B. Pearson Award winner and the NHL Broadcasters’ Association votes on the Jack Adams Award. Results are tabulated by the accounting firm Ernst & Young.Two other trophies, the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey) and the King Clancy Memorial Trophy (leadership and humanitarian contribution to his community) also will be presented at the Awards ceremony.Sidney Crosby, who captured the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL scoring champion, Tampa Bay Lightning center Vincent Lecavalier (Maurice Richard Trophy, League's top goal-scorer) and Minnesota Wild goaltenders Niklas Backstrom and Manny Fernandez (William Jennings Trophy, goaltenders for the club finishing the regular season with the fewest team goals against) will receive their respective trophies at a media luncheon to be held during the 2007 Stanley Cup Final, date and site to be determined.


Who else has an opinion? Anybody surprised by Staal for the Calder? 2 goalies for the Hart?

Season in Review: Great Whites

There was much promise and potential surrounding the Great Whites at the start of this past season but it never quite crystalized into a serious push to the top. Still, the team finished a very respectable 3rd overall with just shy of a 1000 points on the season and, as a result of further efforts to retool for the future, the Great Whites remain one of the serious contenders for the Predator Cup going into next season and there is reason to believe that this time the promise will be fulfilled.

FPs: The Great Whites boast the greatest FP to ever play in the FunHL - Martin Brodeur (142.13pts). The man is simply a points factory. This year he was not only the best goaltender in the FunHL but was also the top pointing player in the league by over 20pts! If your FP is supposed to provide elite performances for your team then this is the player you should compare your FP to - don't be alarmed if your FP comes up wanting by the comparison, he's supposed to. Brodeur just broke Bernie Parent's record for wins in a season so there is no reason to expect that he won't continue to be minding the nets for the Great Whites for the next half-dozen years. The sad day is coming where GM Ross will need to ponder replacing Brodeur but that day is still a long ways off. The other FP that the Great Whites started the season with was defenseman C.Pronger (59pts). For reasons best understood by the Great Whites, Pronger was traded during the course of the season for, among others, FP center P.Marleau (78pts) but injuries aside, Pronger had done nothing to suggest he was not providing the elite level defensive presence demanded of him.

Draft: The Great Whites had two solid FPs and a bevy of prospects, promoted prospects and talented rfas entering the 2006 Entry Draft. The challenge, when everything looks promising, is fulfilling that promise and the Great Whites, at least as far as draft day goes, did just that. The would end up with the third-highest Omnivore baseline of any team in the league at 1051.63pts but that may under-state how good their drafting was. In some respects, the top end of their draft was disappointing in that M.Gaborik (57pts) and J.Cheechoo (69pts), matched with Great White's first two selections, both underpointed, the result of injury in the case of Gaborik, or simply got off to a very slow start, in the case of Cheechoo. The disappointment continued when the Fish took M.Zidlicky (30pts) with their third pick, it wasn't a horrible selection but the defender was far less productive than was hoped for given the high pick. There could be no disappointment with their fourth selection, M.Savard (96pts), who flirted with the scoring lead for a while this season. What is so impressive about the Great Whites' draft was how they finished the draft getting almost as many points with their final 4 selections (240pts) as the got with their first 4 (252pts). Then again, when you are able to promote and then select Ales Hemsky (53pts), Rick Nash (57pts), Alexander Frolov (71pts) and Ryan Whitney (59pts) with your last four picks, your drafting skills are bound to look formidable.

Moving forward: Given all the strength of this team coming out of the draft a fair question to ask was how was it that the Great Whites didn't win? Unfortunately some of the strength of the team never got going all at the same time. Gaborik was injured almost immediately and Cheechoo's performance was very disappointing to start. While both finished strong, by then it was too late for the Great Whites who had either dealt their top assets or were in the process of doing so. Their Omnivore rating
(-56.25pts) is not a true reflection of the Great Whites' success on the trade front, as most of those negative points were collected in the final weeks of the year following their big sell-off, the fact remains that the aggressive trades even good teams need to pull off to win never materialized for GM Ross. Still, this is a good team with a lot of returning assets. If they can draft as well next September, they could again be in the hunt for some hardware.

FPs: The Great Whites belong to M.Brodeur (142.13pts). As noted above, he is the greatest FP in FunHL history and shows no signs of slowing down. Expect Brodeur to retire as a Great White, he isn't going anywhere. The same can not be said of recently acquired FP c Patrick Marleau (78pts). When acquired for C.Pronger barely a month into the new season a lot of eyebrows were raised. Pronger's production from the back-end was seen as part of the Great Whites' long-term plan and while the trade for the talented pivot may have addressed an immediate need for better production down the middle, it was still surprising for a team that always seemed concerned with the long-term.

Marleau is no slouch by any means. At 28 he is entering his prime years and his point total this year was his second highest ever and still over a point per game. Yet he does not seem poised to become an elite center in the same way that Pronger was an elite defenseman. Pronger, even with his injuries, was a top 6 defenseman while Marleau finished 15th among centers. If the opportunity presents itself, expect the Great Whites to try and make a trade to deal Marleau and fill that FP slot with either a high selection in the Entry Draft or, potentially, from one of the high end rfas currently under contract such as Ryan Whitney (59pts), Joni Pitkanen (43pts), Alexander Semin (73pts), Alexander Frolov (71pts) or even Rick Nash (57pts). Given the potential the Great Whites have to win it all this year may give Marleau some breathing room this season. Even with all the talent assembled by the GM Ross, replacing an FP is always a real hit to a team and the decision may be made to simply hold on to Marleau for this run and try and deal him during the course of the season or wait until next year to replace him.

Prospects: What a collection of assets. The "graduating" class of p4s likely to be selected as rfas this year may not equal last season's quartet but they are still impressive in their own right. Alexander Semin (73pts) and Nathan Horton (62pts) should both be selected by the Fish and make contributions next year. If both continue to progress, then their contribution may be more integral to a potential cup run than they were this season - though both were the highest pointers on their respective wings for the Great Whites this past year.

Among p3s, the big prize is likely J.Carter (37pts-prorated to 49pts without injury) who will be relied upon far more next season in Philadelphia. If he hits his potential, he could be amazing. J.Jokinen (48pts) is solid, talented and may also show that he has another level, beyond the shootout, but being in Dallas tempers my enthusiasm for him somewhat. Speaking of tempered enthusiasm, p3 M.Svatos (30pts) had a very disappointing season with the Avs but can hopefully bounce back. Colorado has a slew of young talent gelling into an impressive core, Svatos had a 50pts in his rookie season so the skill is there but he needs to show that he belongs in their top six or his production will continue to suffer. Expect the Great Whites to give him another opportunity. Other p3s such as A.Ladd (21pts) and A.Miettien (25pts) have yet to reach their potential but will probably get one more shot with the Great Whites.

That leaves two players who may have fallen a bit in some estimations. First there is p2 c P.Kessel (29pts) whose numbers are not impressive but given that he had to fight cancer as well as NHL checking assignments put those numbers in a whole new light. Kessel finished the year looking much more like the player scouts once spoke of in the same breath as Sidney Crosby. The Great Whites are not banking on him being that good but believe that had he played the whole year the way he did the last two months then there would be some Calder buzz around him - they may be right. The other remaining p2 is A.Esposito who will be drafted in this NHL Entry Draft. His stock has fallen since last season but that may be the case of overexposure and unrealistic comparisons, again, to Crosby. Don't be fooled, he will be a fine NHLer before his prospect status expires though don't expect much impact from him this season. If he does surprise, this is one prospect who might be dealt in order to fuel a cup run.

Prospect picks: The Great Whites, barring trades, have one pick. The Lost Boys' first round selection, number 3 overall. With seven returning prospects, that should work out just fine. The expectation is that the Severed Heads will select J.Tavaras and the Scourge will take the presumptive 1st overall NHL selection in P.Kane before the spotlight falls to the Great Whites. The temptation will be to select a player who can step in right away but that may not be possible. The top available forwards A.Cherpanov, J.Voracek and J.Vanriemsdyk are all posibilities but I would expect that the Great Whites may surprise by either dealing the pick for help this season or by going more long term such as selecting a potential replacement for M.Brodeur in C.Price.

RFAs: RFAs can provide depth or they can provide strength and the Great Whites have both holding the right to match on eight players. On defense and left-wing the potential contribution of top-end rfas will be very noticable, particularly as there is little chaff mixed in with the wheat. The defense list is led at the top end by Ryan Whitney (59pts), J.Pitkanen (43pts) and P.Boucher (51pts + 26tg pts). In addition, N.Boynton (11pts + 34.5tg pts) can provide sufficient toughness from the backend to compensate for his suspect offensive production. Toughness is an issue because the one sour note in the Great White rfa collection is right-winger M.Barnaby (7pts + 31.75tg pts). Barnaby suffered a concussion in January and did not return to play after. Some reports have speculated that he may, at 33 years of age, have played his last NHL game.

Forwards who can still make a contribution to the Great Whites next season include left-wingers A.Frolov (71pts) and R.Nash (57pts). Both will likely be matched when bid upon as both are expected to perform even better next season. Frolov is already threatening to be a number one left-winger, ranking 13th this season, while Nash is only two seasons removed from his Rocket Richard trophy win. What is interesting is that this season, seen by some as a bit of a disappointment, garnered him as many points as he got when he won the goal-scoring award - 57. The final piece of the puzzle may be the hardest call for the Great Whites - M.Fisher (48pts). Fisher's point totals were the best of his 6 year career but are really not high enough to warrant matching for anything more than a late round injury replacement.

Overall: The Great Whites are one of the Predator Cup contenders headed in to the Entry Draft, just as they were last season. It would not take too much to fall their way to convert contender to favorite. Given their long history of success and the desire to restore their unique status as winningest franchise ever, I wouldn't bet against them.

So Now What?

The Flames' Stanley Cup parade will have to be rescheduled, again, but up the highway we are wishing our team been able to play two playoff games too. Still, the Oiler's demise was clear for a while but the Flames (following a very solid road-trip near the end of the season) looked like they had slayed their road demons only to discover that, like a bad horror flick, that they weren't quite dead afterall.

Bob, to anyone that will listen, is calling for Playfair's head but I predict (and have a coke-bet with Bob on this point) that Playfair will be back on the Flames' bench calling the shots come October. Playfair only did what Suter himself did last season - lose in the first round - so you can hardly fire him for that. Still, the Iginla/Kipprusoff window may be closing quickly and they need to get it done soon.

Chris Drury may be the best option for the Flames if they can pry him free from the dozen or so teams (including the Sabers) who feel he is the answer to all of their problems. Iginla needs a real center and Conroy never was the guy. They also need to re-sandpaper up. McLennon can only be counted on for 18 seconds every few games and they need more than that come crunch time. I know that Edmonton is targeting S.Hartnel but he would be a good fit in Calgary as well.

Suggestions?