Final games of 2011 are tonight.
12/31/2011
12/30/2011
12/27/2011
Last Line-ups of 2011 - Week 13
I guess we shall return to a classic image to end this year...The Severed Heads are slowly picking up steam and now own a 20 pt lead entering this week. Let's see if it grows or the group catches up... Emails pasted to the Blog. Thanks to Rob, Chris, Cam and Doug for their help as I was internet-free during part of the holidays...
Week 13 below...and happy new year!
12/25/2011
Week 12 Stats - Merry Christmas Edition
Merry Christmas everyone. Charlie is up having a nap (mommy and daddy are thinking of joining him) and Sophia is playing with Santa's latest contributions.
Here is hoping that everyone has a great day with family and friends.
Congrats to the Severed Heads and Great Whites for their respective Predator Cup and Challenge Cup leads. Congrats also to the Knights Templar who have coached their 10th placed Predator Cup team into a home-ice slot for the Challenge Cup playoffs.
Line-ups are due by Boxing Day at 6:00 Mountain - so if you are watching Canada-Finland, you are too late :-)
12/23/2011
Challenge Cup Standings
Here we are with the Challenge Cup Standings. The weekly totals may be different than what I had previously posted as I discovered errors along the way but if you have any questions, please ask. Week 12 concludes tonight so the standings are as of Week 11 with the ongoing game, a neutral site game, being the current score as of last night's games.
Happy Birthday Bob and Merry Christmas everyone.
12/21/2011
12/20/2011
Week 12 Gets Underway
I've corrected the Wolves' total from Week 11 (had neglected that they were playing a few +/- players). I also discovered that I was pulling M.Richards' TG pts from the wrong place - hence depriving Cam of 4.25pts of TG. That now has been corrected so Merry Christmas Cam.
I am going with Mike G's line-up from last week with the two changes he sent from his iPhone not the just e-mailed amount.
12/19/2011
FunHL Xmas Edition - Week 12 Line-ups
Well as most of our teams trudge across the snow like zombies during the pre-Xmas rush, one team woke up and the Severed Heads find themselves in 1st with somewhat of a lead...Congrats for now...
Week 12 Rosters will poster here...
12/18/2011
Saturday Night Special
Utterly massive evening. I am almost breathless by the evening's events;
- Teemu Selanne returns to Winnipeg. Wow. Peggers blew the roof off for Selanne. All. Game. Long. He was clearly moved to tears by the events, but also managed to float a rainbow long bomb pass to spring Nik Hagman for a goal, and collect another assist along the way. He also made it clear in an interview this is his last season. Too bad. He leads the Ducks in scoring.
- The long dark nightmare is over! Kyle Turris was finally traded to Ottawa for David Rundblad and a 2nd rnd pick. Given that Rundblad was himself previously aquired by Ottawa for a 1st rnd pick, that makes the cost for Turris a 1st and a 2nd rnd pick. Overpay IMO. Calgary was a possible destination for him, so I'm glad to see it was Ottawa that got fleeced and not us.
- The most awesome goals of the night not involving Teemu Selanne were Henrik Zetterberg's picking the very top corner with a backhand laser beam, and Pavel Datsyuk's calculated tip. Just sick.
- Malkin goes supernova against the Sabres to the tune of 3 goals and 2 assists for 5pts.
- Teemu Selanne returns to Winnipeg. Wow. Peggers blew the roof off for Selanne. All. Game. Long. He was clearly moved to tears by the events, but also managed to float a rainbow long bomb pass to spring Nik Hagman for a goal, and collect another assist along the way. He also made it clear in an interview this is his last season. Too bad. He leads the Ducks in scoring.
- The long dark nightmare is over! Kyle Turris was finally traded to Ottawa for David Rundblad and a 2nd rnd pick. Given that Rundblad was himself previously aquired by Ottawa for a 1st rnd pick, that makes the cost for Turris a 1st and a 2nd rnd pick. Overpay IMO. Calgary was a possible destination for him, so I'm glad to see it was Ottawa that got fleeced and not us.
- The most awesome goals of the night not involving Teemu Selanne were Henrik Zetterberg's picking the very top corner with a backhand laser beam, and Pavel Datsyuk's calculated tip. Just sick.
- Malkin goes supernova against the Sabres to the tune of 3 goals and 2 assists for 5pts.
12/15/2011
12/14/2011
Week 11 Shadow Falls Over League - Tuesday Night Stats
Great start to the week for both the Shadowmen and the Severed Heads. Both rocket up the standings with the Shadowmen not leading the race.
Two changes to my final week 10 stats. I was not counting Miller's pts for week 10 (ooops) so Collin gains 1.81 pts. And though I'm not sure how or where, I apparently shorted Dan 5pts last week. I've double checked and can't see where I am was in error (which is rather disconcerting, I'm ok with making the mistakes but I like to know what I did wrong on this one I can't figure it out) that said, I have corrected his stats as well.
If anyone spots anything that looks amiss, let me know.
IIHF WJC Tickets
Ok all - last attempt to find takers...
If you (or someone you know) would like tickets, or if you have XMas presents to buy for those difficult-to-please people :-) let me know. Otherwise I will likely be selling them through other channels. Happy to discount prices to face value if you want multiple tickets...
Ticket prices are per PAIR of tickets
Four tickets available except where noted
Monday, December 26, 2011
2 03:30 PM MT SWE - LAT A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair
4 08:00 PM MT RUS - SUI A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair (2 tix left only)
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
6 08:00 PM MT LAT - SVK A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
8 03:30 PM MT SUI - SWE A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair
10 08:00 PM MT SVK - RUS A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair (2 tix left only)
Thursday, December 29, 2011
12 08:00 PM MT RUS - LAT A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair
Friday, December 30, 2011
14 03:30 PM MT SVK - SWE A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair (2 tix left only)
16 08:00 PM MT LAT - SUI A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair (2 tix left only)
Saturday, December 31, 2011
18 04:00 PM MT SUI - SVK A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair
20 08:00 PM MT SWE - RUS A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair
Monday, January 2, 2012
21 11:00 AM MT 4A - 5B - Relegation Saddledome $30.00/pair
22 03:00 PM MT *2A - 3B - Quarter-final Saddledome $90.00/pair
23 07:00 PM MT *2B - 3A - Quarter-final Saddledome $90.00/pair
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
24 11:00 AM MT 4B - 5A - Relegation Saddledome $30.00/pair
25 03:00 PM MT **1B - W(G22) - Semifinal Saddledome $130.00/pair (2 tix left only)
26 07:00 PM MT **1A - W(G23) - Semifinal Saddledome $130.00/pair (2 tix left only)
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
27 11:00 AM MT 5A - 5B - Relegation Saddledome $30.00/pair
28 03:00 PM MT 4A - 4B - Relegation Saddledome $30.00/pair
29 07:00 PM MT L(G22) - L(G23) - 5th Place Saddledome $30.00/pair
Thursday, January 5, 2012
30 01:30 PM MT L(G25) - L(G26) - Bronze Saddledome $140.00/pair (2 tix left only)
If you (or someone you know) would like tickets, or if you have XMas presents to buy for those difficult-to-please people :-) let me know. Otherwise I will likely be selling them through other channels. Happy to discount prices to face value if you want multiple tickets...
Ticket prices are per PAIR of tickets
Four tickets available except where noted
Monday, December 26, 2011
2 03:30 PM MT SWE - LAT A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair
4 08:00 PM MT RUS - SUI A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair (2 tix left only)
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
6 08:00 PM MT LAT - SVK A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
8 03:30 PM MT SUI - SWE A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair
10 08:00 PM MT SVK - RUS A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair (2 tix left only)
Thursday, December 29, 2011
12 08:00 PM MT RUS - LAT A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair
Friday, December 30, 2011
14 03:30 PM MT SVK - SWE A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair (2 tix left only)
16 08:00 PM MT LAT - SUI A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair (2 tix left only)
Saturday, December 31, 2011
18 04:00 PM MT SUI - SVK A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair
20 08:00 PM MT SWE - RUS A Preliminary Saddledome $40.00/pair
Monday, January 2, 2012
21 11:00 AM MT 4A - 5B - Relegation Saddledome $30.00/pair
22 03:00 PM MT *2A - 3B - Quarter-final Saddledome $90.00/pair
23 07:00 PM MT *2B - 3A - Quarter-final Saddledome $90.00/pair
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
24 11:00 AM MT 4B - 5A - Relegation Saddledome $30.00/pair
25 03:00 PM MT **1B - W(G22) - Semifinal Saddledome $130.00/pair (2 tix left only)
26 07:00 PM MT **1A - W(G23) - Semifinal Saddledome $130.00/pair (2 tix left only)
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
27 11:00 AM MT 5A - 5B - Relegation Saddledome $30.00/pair
28 03:00 PM MT 4A - 4B - Relegation Saddledome $30.00/pair
29 07:00 PM MT L(G22) - L(G23) - 5th Place Saddledome $30.00/pair
Thursday, January 5, 2012
30 01:30 PM MT L(G25) - L(G26) - Bronze Saddledome $140.00/pair (2 tix left only)
12/12/2011
FUNHL WEEK 11 LINE-UPS
WELL AS THEY SAY...EVERYONE IS ON THE HUNT FOR FIRST!
THE DIFFERENCE OF 1ST TO 9TH IS 29 POINTS. SMALL COMFORT, INDEED! AND THE BEST WEEK WAS IN 10TH, NOW 36 BACK.
The hunt is on [hence this week's pic], but they also say that turnabout is fair play and the predators "poof" are Prey...
Line-ups here please
12/11/2011
12/10/2011
Week 10 - Friday Night Stats
As usual, thanks to Bob for putting all the line-ups on the Blog. I think we are good to go now but if your numbers are different from mine, let me know and we will figure it out.
12/07/2011
NHL approves new conference realignment format
NHL approves new conference realignment format
Thoughts?
Personally I'd like to see a wild card after the top three teams in each new conference rather than simply the top four qualifying...
Thoughts?
Personally I'd like to see a wild card after the top three teams in each new conference rather than simply the top four qualifying...
12/06/2011
Omnivore Update
Once again, minor variation to goalie stats. Looks like the Highlanders and GW's are leading on the strength of the draft and prospects, while the Bladerunners have improved through trade, as have the Cavemen to a lesser degree. Top team out of the gate before trades remains the Highlanders...
12/05/2011
Post-WD1 FUNHL Week 10 Rosters
With shiny new/ or not-so-new players, we begin the the 2nd part of this 3 act play we call the FUNHL and the race for the Predator...Some say this segment will be the make or break section of the season - or some of us will be caught tilting windmills, staring in the Village of the Damned (he he)
Enjoy the show...Special thanks to Doug and the stats as well as Brian and his spreadsheets...
Week 9 Stats - Bladerunners hold 12pt Lead, Great Whites with best week
Great Waiver Draft everyone. The two outstanding stats issues that I knew of (Corey and Rob) have been addressed but if anyone spots anything else from before or ongoing, please let me know.
The big challenge for me now will be entering in all the post-WD changes but I will then get to work on bringing the Challenge Cup stats up to date. Thanks for everyone's patience.
12/03/2011
12/02/2011
Thursday Night Stats
Here is what I have as of last night's games. Corey and Rob had suggested that I may have a couple of past numbers wrong. I haven't had a chance to double check those yet so if mistaken, the mistake remains.
I don't believe that the thought was that the numbers would impact on Waiver Draft Order. That said, please let me know if you think anything here is out of whack.
Off to a meeting out of the office. Later.
11/29/2011
Week 9 Gets Underway - Monday Night Stats!
As always, let me know if you spot something amis. For example, why did Crosby get a point last night when the Pens didn't play? Well they NHL has credited him with a second assist from Saturday's game in Montreal, which just showed up today. Voila. Back to my trial.
11/28/2011
Omnivore Stats as of Week 8
With slight inaccuracy to baseline goalie totals. Can't make Doug do ALL the work ;-)
Week 8 Stats and WD1 Draft Order
Welcome back Mr. Crosby! Though the result is meaning I now draft 11th on Sunday, oh well that week was worth it. Now if only we can get some other sick-bay types like Markov to get back into the same sort of form...
I'm about to start a two day trial so I think it unlikely that I will be able to get nightly stats out (or start to get caught up on Challenge Cup or Omnivore stats) but this should get us through the weekend. Please let me know if you think I have made an error with respect to your stats (or someone else's) and we can try and work it out. Please let me know if you spot something that might impact WD draft order ASAP. Thanks again to Bob for posting the line-ups on the blog - can't tell you how huge a time-saver that is.
Talk to you on Sunday - trade lines are always open, unless you want Sid :-)
Week 9 Rosters and Provisional WD1 drop lists
Well WD1 is upon us all...stats are more or less caught up, wd1 drops are due but these waiver drafts can be deceptive! One makes a wish, a pick and the evil Jinn (above) rather than nice Genies come to wreak havoc on your team...
Beware of your choices! Be Careful who you drop.
Week 9 LineUps are due Today...
11/27/2011
WAIVER DRAFT 1 - Sunday Dec. 4, 2011
So, via revised consensus, Sunday, Dec 4th will be the dated for WD1...
Time will be at 11 AM MST.
BECAUSE OF THE SUNDAY WD1, FINAL WD1 DROP LISTS ARE DUE BY SATURDAY, DEC 3RD AT NOON.
WD1 TRADE MORATORIUM ALSO OCCURS AT THAT TIME AND ENDS ONCE WE START WD1...
PROVISIONAL DROP LISTS WITH YOUR WEEK 9 LINE-UPS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
NOW THAT WE HAVE OFFICIAL WEEK 7 STATS, AVERY-L NYR IS AWARDED TO MIKE G AND THE TEMPLAR FOR WEEK 9 SUBMISSIONS...
BY THE WAY, BRAVO! TO DOUG, FOR HIS MASTERFUL CATCH-UP AND THE ORDER FOR WD1 WILL BE BASED AS PER USUAL ON THE UPCOMING WEEK 8 STATS!
THX TO BRIAN FOR THE MASTER TEMPLATES AND CONGRATS! TO THE BLADERUNNERS FOR LEADING THE PACK CURRENTLY...
ANY COMMENTS, WE WELCOME...
BC FOR THE DC
Time will be at 11 AM MST.
BECAUSE OF THE SUNDAY WD1, FINAL WD1 DROP LISTS ARE DUE BY SATURDAY, DEC 3RD AT NOON.
WD1 TRADE MORATORIUM ALSO OCCURS AT THAT TIME AND ENDS ONCE WE START WD1...
PROVISIONAL DROP LISTS WITH YOUR WEEK 9 LINE-UPS WOULD BE APPRECIATED.
NOW THAT WE HAVE OFFICIAL WEEK 7 STATS, AVERY-L NYR IS AWARDED TO MIKE G AND THE TEMPLAR FOR WEEK 9 SUBMISSIONS...
BY THE WAY, BRAVO! TO DOUG, FOR HIS MASTERFUL CATCH-UP AND THE ORDER FOR WD1 WILL BE BASED AS PER USUAL ON THE UPCOMING WEEK 8 STATS!
THX TO BRIAN FOR THE MASTER TEMPLATES AND CONGRATS! TO THE BLADERUNNERS FOR LEADING THE PACK CURRENTLY...
ANY COMMENTS, WE WELCOME...
BC FOR THE DC
11/25/2011
Revised Week 6 and now Week 7 Stats!
Ok, one quick correction on Chris's totals (had the wrong name for one of his TGs but I think it is corrected now). This should get us to the point of any Waiver Wire bids for this week.
I will see if I can get up to date stats done before the weekend is out. Thanks again for everyone's patience and a big thanks to Bob for posting all the line-ups to the blog and to Brian for doing the "unofficial" stats to date (and for his promise to double check my work).
A big congrats to Brian who has not always had the best week but has been consistently solid enough to give him a very healthy 25pt lead on the pack as we move towards the Waiver Draft. Very impressive.
Week 6 Stats
Ok, busy morning so I'm not caught up yet but I still have a chance to finish off the day in style. Here are the stats as of Week 6 and we are getting some separation as a few teams are poised to cross the 200pt mark while the Edge and the defending champions are sitting at the bottom. Nice week by the Fishies, BTW.
As always, please let me know if you notice any discrepencies between my numbers and the numbers you may have.
11/24/2011
Revised Week 3 Stats and Week 4 Stats; and now Week 5 Stats
Only one mistake that I quickly caught with Corey's stats from Week 3, posted below, I had him playing Chara and Meszaros for both points and +/-. Now they are correctly only for +/-. Collin gets hammered on his +/- call in Week 4 (Lydman goes -4 for a loss of 8pts, ouch!).
I also previously posted Rob with 3 TGs in Week 4 but that is now corrected.
More weeks to come, to be sure, but hopefully we are getting caught up quickly. In any event, let me know if you spot any other errors.
Week 3 Stats
Ok, we are up to Week 3 now. As before, if you think that I have made an error here please let me know.
11/23/2011
Week 1 and Week 2 Stats - Revised
Big shout out to Corey for helping to identify an error with my goalie formula. I think I have it corrected now. As a result, we are stalled at Week 2 but I hope to keep plugging away at the stats moving forward. Please let me know if anyone sees any other mistakes or potential mistakes.
Week 2 Stats
Ok, now we are cooking with gas. Here are week two stats. Haven't checked to see if anyone else has noticed any errors with my week one stats but I did notice that I had Dan playing two goalies in week one - that has now been corrected.
Back to the salt mines here but will try and get a couple more weeks out by the end of the day.
Week One Stats?!?! Really?
I believe I have found away around a huge, and annoying, techincal issue with the Yahoo site and now have begun to churn the butter. Let me know if you see any errors along the way.
I can't fully convey how crazy busy I have been of late but know that I am as eager as everyone for stats to get out and get out soon. Now that I have this big issue resolved it is simply a question of inputting line-ups (which I am working on doing now - as it is far more enjoyable than what they pay me to do). Hopefully we should be caught up in very short order.
Again, please check your mileage - no body should know your stats better than you so please double check ASAP so we can correct my errors or (shudder) errors in the spreadsheet right away. Thanks again everyone for your patience.
Doug the Stats Guy
11/22/2011
11/21/2011
Week 8 LineUps...
And here we go, 2 weeks to WD 1, now officially on Sun Dec 4th, time still TBA
Please insert available gun in mouth...he he
Seriously though, Week 8 rosters below from emails etc...
11/17/2011
11/13/2011
Week 7 Line-Ups
In memory of one the great all-time spy tv-series-MI-5 or Spooks closes on top after 10 seasons...
Now Week 7 Line-ups if you please for our game for the ultimate prize...
Waiver Draft now still a long 3 weeks off...
11/12/2011
FUNHL News and Notes
- Philadelphia vs Tampa's 1-3-1
I get it, everybody hates the trap, it's boring, and kills the fun in the game. But Philly's response to seeing the Bolts passively lineup in the neutral zone was far worse - they simply stayed in their own zone and refused to move the puck up the ice. The trap is as old as hockey, it's not illegal, and even the highest scoring teams use it on occasion, so the decision by the Flyers to try and embarrass the Bolts into attacking by making a boring defensive scheme even more boring - the hockey equivalent of pouting like a four year old, justifiably causes concern.
Just the Flyers being the typically dickish Flyers I guess.
The 'solution' is two-fold;
1. After 10 sec of dicking around in their own zone call a delay of game on the Flyers. Teams with the puck don't get to dictate the defense the other team uses. A second violation earns a bench minor on top of the delay of game.
2. If you really want the trap to disappear invent an 'illegal defense' penalty. But good luck with that. The NBA has experimented with illegal zone defenses to mixed and controversial results, and however you feel about the trap, it is nothing new or outrageous to retreat into the neutral and defense zones when you don't have the puck.
- Ovechkin's numbers have been in modest decline the last two years, but I'd argue he's a much more complete player now. As a rookie he could fly the zone and cherrypick whenever he wanted because they weren't competitive if he didn't. Now the team is a Cup favourite and Ovie is playing all 200ft of the rink. Bad for his stats, but better for his Cup chances.
- Tim Connolly is hurt again. Moving on.
- Uh oh, Mike Green is back on IR this time with a knee injury. I said previously that he needed a healthy year to guarantee another contract with the Caps, and I'm betting now he won't get one. I also don't think he'll finish the season as a Great White FP.
- Some pundits are getting down on the Mike Richards experience in LA, pointing to his lack of goal production as a sign of the apocalypse. The truth is you just need to look at Kopitar's numbers to see the benefit a back alley knife fighter like Richards brings. By checking the other teams top unit Kopitar now gets butter minutes against softer opposition, and the result is more production from Kopitar, especially at home where the home team gets last change. Richards is the Kesler to Kopitar's Hank Sedin.
- Who would make a better FP, Kopitar or Getzlaf?
- Kane or Giroux?
- I was sceptical that it could happen, but Ollie Jokinen as the Flames heavy lifting 2nd line center is working out. It's the first line center job (Morisson hurt/sucking, Stajan sucking, Backland hurt) that has been an utter disaster.
- I asked Kent Wilson (uber Flames blogger) three questions on last weeks Lowetide radio program;
1. How is the Flames 'slow motion' rebuild working out vs the Oilers 'scorched Earth rebuild'?
2. What do the underlying advanced stats say about Jokinen as the 2nd line center?
3. How has John Wisebrod influenced Feaster in the aquisitions if Byron, Horak, and Butler?
His answers;
1. He doesn't think the Flames are rebuilding yet (I disagree)
2. Jokinen's stats indicate his new role is working out well.
3. Doesn't know.
Go to Oilers Nation Radio and check out the Kent Wilson segment (segment #5) for Nov 5th for the full discussion.
- I think Feaster has already started the rebuild for several reasons;
1. The Regehr/Kotalik trade that brought back Butler and Byron gives the Flames two young pieces and a tonne of capspace, but it is not the type of trade you make when you are 'going for it'.
2. Feaster hired John Wisebrod away from the Bruins. Bringing in fresh eyes to oversee scouting and talent procurement was a definite necessity. The Flames have had a HORRIBLE farm and talent development system (from Kobasew in 2001 to Tim Erizon in 2010, Phaneuf is the only potential All-star, and Backland the only first rounder actually on the team), and all rebuilds start with the farm.
3.Feaster's first draft was a polar opposite to Darryl Sutter's. Can you see Sutter drafting an undersized Swiss scoring forward in the first round? How about Sutter selecting a pint sized (5'6") scoring machine like Gaudreau in the 4th? Never would have happened. Sutter liked coke-machine shaped (Pelech, Nemisz, Chucko) kids with scar tissue on their knuckles, and was allergic to taking guys who might actually be top line forwards (Backland being the exception - but lets be honest, how well has he actually turned out?)
4. Hagman on waivers, rather than Pierre Luc Letourneau-Leblond. Why? Because Hagman clears more capspace than PL3.
5. The Kyle Turris chase.
So as I said, the 'rebuild/retool' is already on.
- I think Feaster could take runs at everyone from Parise to Weber as the year goes on, but I actually think he'll find a way to end up with Spezza.
- Iginla will not be traded. He loves it in Calgary and mgt loves him, and he has a NMC. As much as the fans may want to think Iggy 'deserves a chance elsewhere', it isn't going to happen (it's also a backhanded way of saying 'I'd prefer to have some high draft picks'). He may never win a Cup, but I think he'll die with his boots on as a Flame.
- The Tim Erixon fiasco could turn out to be one of those rare deals that blow up completely....in our favour. Erixon is a real nice package defenseman in that he has size, speed, and both offensive and defensive ability. He reminded me of Wade Redden when I saw him play for Sweden (the Senator's verison of WR, not the AHL version). But he punked the Flames by stalling on a deal, and then asking to be moved at the last minute. Fine. F%#$ you Tim Erixon, but fine. In the trade to the Rangers Calgary got 2 2nd rnd picks, and Roman Horak. At the time of the deal I said 'two 2nds for a late first isn't a bad deal on paper, but Roman Who'?. Turns out that the 2 2nd rnd picks are Markus Granlund (another skill scoring forward - NICE!) and Tyler Wortherspoon (a project defensive defenseman, but late in the 2nd round is exactly when you should draft them *cough* Matt Pelech *cough*). But it's Horak who's already proved he may make the trade lopsided. Ticketed for the AHL to play with former linemate Ryan Howse (they were in Chilliwack together) Horak was no doubt a player already heavily scouted by the Flames. Now he's made the team (did not see that coming, I thought Byron might be closer), while Erixon finds himself out of the regular lineup in New York. Horak looked like a mercy pick up for the Abbottsford Flames to me at the time, but he's already better than Matt Stajan.
- Of the remaining big ticket signings in Nashville, I think Suter stays and they deal Weber. I also think the haul for Weber will be substantial, and may include a much needed scoring forward.
- The Bluejackets are just a mess. Whatever pain Flames fans feel at the moment, spare a thought for the lowly Jackets. They are currently trapped in that special region of hell where Freddy Brathwaite is your goaltender and Theo Fleury has to score 2pts every night by himself for the team to win. If the GM and coach are gassed, look for Nash to ask out.
- Says here the Bolts don't go past the first round without finding a #1 goalie younger than Gump Worsley to rely on.
- The injury to Enstrom's collar-bone pretty much seals all the hopes of making the playoffs that Winnipeg fans might have had into a ferro-concrete box, and then buries that box deep below the Earth's mantle.
- Which young core do you like better:
Colorado: Duchene, Stastny, Landeskog, E.Johnson, Varlamov,
Edmonton: Hall, Eberle, The Nuge, Paajarvi, Dubnyk
Islanders: Tavares, Okposo, Strome, De Haan, Montoya
Despite not having two first overall picks, I think the Av's have the best group of the three.
- If Jagr had played the last three seasons in the NHL he'd have well over 700 goals now. Watching him split the Toronto D in full flight to score on a breakaway was like stepping into a time machine, except the uniform was all wrong and there wasn't a mullet.
Not one, but two 'fear my wingspan' snipes to the top shelf. Pure concentrated Boneronium.
I get it, everybody hates the trap, it's boring, and kills the fun in the game. But Philly's response to seeing the Bolts passively lineup in the neutral zone was far worse - they simply stayed in their own zone and refused to move the puck up the ice. The trap is as old as hockey, it's not illegal, and even the highest scoring teams use it on occasion, so the decision by the Flyers to try and embarrass the Bolts into attacking by making a boring defensive scheme even more boring - the hockey equivalent of pouting like a four year old, justifiably causes concern.
Just the Flyers being the typically dickish Flyers I guess.
The 'solution' is two-fold;
1. After 10 sec of dicking around in their own zone call a delay of game on the Flyers. Teams with the puck don't get to dictate the defense the other team uses. A second violation earns a bench minor on top of the delay of game.
2. If you really want the trap to disappear invent an 'illegal defense' penalty. But good luck with that. The NBA has experimented with illegal zone defenses to mixed and controversial results, and however you feel about the trap, it is nothing new or outrageous to retreat into the neutral and defense zones when you don't have the puck.
- Ovechkin's numbers have been in modest decline the last two years, but I'd argue he's a much more complete player now. As a rookie he could fly the zone and cherrypick whenever he wanted because they weren't competitive if he didn't. Now the team is a Cup favourite and Ovie is playing all 200ft of the rink. Bad for his stats, but better for his Cup chances.
- Tim Connolly is hurt again. Moving on.
- Uh oh, Mike Green is back on IR this time with a knee injury. I said previously that he needed a healthy year to guarantee another contract with the Caps, and I'm betting now he won't get one. I also don't think he'll finish the season as a Great White FP.
- Some pundits are getting down on the Mike Richards experience in LA, pointing to his lack of goal production as a sign of the apocalypse. The truth is you just need to look at Kopitar's numbers to see the benefit a back alley knife fighter like Richards brings. By checking the other teams top unit Kopitar now gets butter minutes against softer opposition, and the result is more production from Kopitar, especially at home where the home team gets last change. Richards is the Kesler to Kopitar's Hank Sedin.
- Who would make a better FP, Kopitar or Getzlaf?
- Kane or Giroux?
- I was sceptical that it could happen, but Ollie Jokinen as the Flames heavy lifting 2nd line center is working out. It's the first line center job (Morisson hurt/sucking, Stajan sucking, Backland hurt) that has been an utter disaster.
- I asked Kent Wilson (uber Flames blogger) three questions on last weeks Lowetide radio program;
1. How is the Flames 'slow motion' rebuild working out vs the Oilers 'scorched Earth rebuild'?
2. What do the underlying advanced stats say about Jokinen as the 2nd line center?
3. How has John Wisebrod influenced Feaster in the aquisitions if Byron, Horak, and Butler?
His answers;
1. He doesn't think the Flames are rebuilding yet (I disagree)
2. Jokinen's stats indicate his new role is working out well.
3. Doesn't know.
Go to Oilers Nation Radio and check out the Kent Wilson segment (segment #5) for Nov 5th for the full discussion.
- I think Feaster has already started the rebuild for several reasons;
1. The Regehr/Kotalik trade that brought back Butler and Byron gives the Flames two young pieces and a tonne of capspace, but it is not the type of trade you make when you are 'going for it'.
2. Feaster hired John Wisebrod away from the Bruins. Bringing in fresh eyes to oversee scouting and talent procurement was a definite necessity. The Flames have had a HORRIBLE farm and talent development system (from Kobasew in 2001 to Tim Erizon in 2010, Phaneuf is the only potential All-star, and Backland the only first rounder actually on the team), and all rebuilds start with the farm.
3.Feaster's first draft was a polar opposite to Darryl Sutter's. Can you see Sutter drafting an undersized Swiss scoring forward in the first round? How about Sutter selecting a pint sized (5'6") scoring machine like Gaudreau in the 4th? Never would have happened. Sutter liked coke-machine shaped (Pelech, Nemisz, Chucko) kids with scar tissue on their knuckles, and was allergic to taking guys who might actually be top line forwards (Backland being the exception - but lets be honest, how well has he actually turned out?)
4. Hagman on waivers, rather than Pierre Luc Letourneau-Leblond. Why? Because Hagman clears more capspace than PL3.
5. The Kyle Turris chase.
So as I said, the 'rebuild/retool' is already on.
- I think Feaster could take runs at everyone from Parise to Weber as the year goes on, but I actually think he'll find a way to end up with Spezza.
- Iginla will not be traded. He loves it in Calgary and mgt loves him, and he has a NMC. As much as the fans may want to think Iggy 'deserves a chance elsewhere', it isn't going to happen (it's also a backhanded way of saying 'I'd prefer to have some high draft picks'). He may never win a Cup, but I think he'll die with his boots on as a Flame.
- The Tim Erixon fiasco could turn out to be one of those rare deals that blow up completely....in our favour. Erixon is a real nice package defenseman in that he has size, speed, and both offensive and defensive ability. He reminded me of Wade Redden when I saw him play for Sweden (the Senator's verison of WR, not the AHL version). But he punked the Flames by stalling on a deal, and then asking to be moved at the last minute. Fine. F%#$ you Tim Erixon, but fine. In the trade to the Rangers Calgary got 2 2nd rnd picks, and Roman Horak. At the time of the deal I said 'two 2nds for a late first isn't a bad deal on paper, but Roman Who'?. Turns out that the 2 2nd rnd picks are Markus Granlund (another skill scoring forward - NICE!) and Tyler Wortherspoon (a project defensive defenseman, but late in the 2nd round is exactly when you should draft them *cough* Matt Pelech *cough*). But it's Horak who's already proved he may make the trade lopsided. Ticketed for the AHL to play with former linemate Ryan Howse (they were in Chilliwack together) Horak was no doubt a player already heavily scouted by the Flames. Now he's made the team (did not see that coming, I thought Byron might be closer), while Erixon finds himself out of the regular lineup in New York. Horak looked like a mercy pick up for the Abbottsford Flames to me at the time, but he's already better than Matt Stajan.
- Of the remaining big ticket signings in Nashville, I think Suter stays and they deal Weber. I also think the haul for Weber will be substantial, and may include a much needed scoring forward.
- The Bluejackets are just a mess. Whatever pain Flames fans feel at the moment, spare a thought for the lowly Jackets. They are currently trapped in that special region of hell where Freddy Brathwaite is your goaltender and Theo Fleury has to score 2pts every night by himself for the team to win. If the GM and coach are gassed, look for Nash to ask out.
- Says here the Bolts don't go past the first round without finding a #1 goalie younger than Gump Worsley to rely on.
- The injury to Enstrom's collar-bone pretty much seals all the hopes of making the playoffs that Winnipeg fans might have had into a ferro-concrete box, and then buries that box deep below the Earth's mantle.
- Which young core do you like better:
Colorado: Duchene, Stastny, Landeskog, E.Johnson, Varlamov,
Edmonton: Hall, Eberle, The Nuge, Paajarvi, Dubnyk
Islanders: Tavares, Okposo, Strome, De Haan, Montoya
Despite not having two first overall picks, I think the Av's have the best group of the three.
- If Jagr had played the last three seasons in the NHL he'd have well over 700 goals now. Watching him split the Toronto D in full flight to score on a breakaway was like stepping into a time machine, except the uniform was all wrong and there wasn't a mullet.
Not one, but two 'fear my wingspan' snipes to the top shelf. Pure concentrated Boneronium.
Week 6 Line-Ups
I guess it was Gut Fawkes Week to start Week 6...Line-ups posted from the Blog for Doug...
11/10/2011
Howling at the Moon
Special analysis of the Wolves courtesy of the Nexus.
The Wolves are in a close battle vs the Bladerunners in week 1 of their Head to Head matchup (Wolves 15, Bladerunners 17.86 thru Thur). But are they really that good?
The Nexus contacted some in the know candidates and asked "What do you think of the Wolves?"
* Don Cherry - "A Frenchie is their best player. Ya, I love em"
* Darrell Dexter - 'We love the Wolves - they are our biggest contributor!"
* Alpaca Spokesperson - "Baaaaaaadddddd"
* Sherlock, Bladerunners spokesperson - "The Wolves? Are They that team from Newfoundland? Sorry, we don't know a lot about them"
The Wolves are in a close battle vs the Bladerunners in week 1 of their Head to Head matchup (Wolves 15, Bladerunners 17.86 thru Thur). But are they really that good?
The Nexus contacted some in the know candidates and asked "What do you think of the Wolves?"
* Don Cherry - "A Frenchie is their best player. Ya, I love em"
* Darrell Dexter - 'We love the Wolves - they are our biggest contributor!"
* Alpaca Spokesperson - "Baaaaaaadddddd"
* Sherlock, Bladerunners spokesperson - "The Wolves? Are They that team from Newfoundland? Sorry, we don't know a lot about them"
Feel good story about Kipper
http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2011/11/08/after-multiple-brain-surgeries-calgary-teen-receives-special-gift-from-miikka-kiprusoff
A typical feel-good read where Kipper does something really nice.
But the best part of the story is the kids goalie mask!
A typical feel-good read where Kipper does something really nice.
But the best part of the story is the kids goalie mask!
11/07/2011
An Update On Stats
Hi Gang,
I was hoping to start putting out the "Official Stats" as of this morning but the past week of working with the spreadsheet has finally exposed why I have been stymied in my efforts to replace the annoyingly unreliable CBSsportsline source with the far more reliable Yahoo.com.
I won't bore you with a long history of my spreadsheet but suffice it to say that a few years ago EPSN and the NHL sites moved from being able to copy and paste the entire list of players (and pts, pim and +/-, and the goalie equivilants) to only being able to do this for 15-25 players at a time. This change made the difference between a single copy and paste to 25+ copies and paste. Big change so I looked for an alternative. For some reason I wasn't able to get Yahoo to work for me so I went with CBSsportsline, and it worked quite well, most of the time, but would frequently be delayed - sometimes for days at a time - whenever American holidays (or Super Bowl Coverage) clearly preoccupied the good people at the CBSsportsline IT department. Frustration was frequent so I committed to doing what was needed to get Yahoo to work.
Last week I found out why Yahoo had been causing me such grief - the selfish bastards at Yahoo it want to so I can't do exactly what I have wanted to do all along.
Yahoo enters the player names into the first column of stats with a "space" before the name. That little addition is enough to trip up the Vlookup function that I have been using all these years on my spreadsheet. Now it doesn't do it all the time (not sure why that is) but does it enough that I will need to manually take a space away from each name (or at least each name that we need - approximately 216 names each calculations plus any +/- players). So much for saving me time :-( Once done, the problem is fixed but it probably makes the daily stats less likely, though I should be able to get the weekly stats done once we are all set up and ready to go.
Long story short - I'm working on it and I appologize for the delay.
I was hoping to start putting out the "Official Stats" as of this morning but the past week of working with the spreadsheet has finally exposed why I have been stymied in my efforts to replace the annoyingly unreliable CBSsportsline source with the far more reliable Yahoo.com.
I won't bore you with a long history of my spreadsheet but suffice it to say that a few years ago EPSN and the NHL sites moved from being able to copy and paste the entire list of players (and pts, pim and +/-, and the goalie equivilants) to only being able to do this for 15-25 players at a time. This change made the difference between a single copy and paste to 25+ copies and paste. Big change so I looked for an alternative. For some reason I wasn't able to get Yahoo to work for me so I went with CBSsportsline, and it worked quite well, most of the time, but would frequently be delayed - sometimes for days at a time - whenever American holidays (or Super Bowl Coverage) clearly preoccupied the good people at the CBSsportsline IT department. Frustration was frequent so I committed to doing what was needed to get Yahoo to work.
Last week I found out why Yahoo had been causing me such grief - the selfish bastards at Yahoo it want to so I can't do exactly what I have wanted to do all along.
Yahoo enters the player names into the first column of stats with a "space" before the name. That little addition is enough to trip up the Vlookup function that I have been using all these years on my spreadsheet. Now it doesn't do it all the time (not sure why that is) but does it enough that I will need to manually take a space away from each name (or at least each name that we need - approximately 216 names each calculations plus any +/- players). So much for saving me time :-( Once done, the problem is fixed but it probably makes the daily stats less likely, though I should be able to get the weekly stats done once we are all set up and ready to go.
Long story short - I'm working on it and I appologize for the delay.
10/31/2011
10/28/2011
10/27/2011
Waiver Drafts and Waiver Wires...
Waiver Drafts
WD1
During week 9 = Sat, Dec 3 around 19 am mst place tba or skype...seems to the consensus
WD2
During Week 19 = Sat, Feb 11 same time seems to be the consensus.
By the way, the NHL trade deadline is FEB 27 meaning the FUNHL traded is the monday lineups are due a week after FEB 27th.
Waiver Wire
Rule 25 Plain Language version will be written to clarify issues.
JUST TO REVIEW:
Hi Cam,
Thanks for the endorsement of my interpretation.
There was some suggestion that we may want to revisit the waiver-wire rules in the off season and that may be a good idea but for now, thanks everyone for chipping in while I’ve been away. I normally don’t have the stats going until about week 4 but this year I will be a bit behind – sorry. That said, thanks Brian for helping out as you have been. I can say that I have been able to get the stats captured on time from Yahoo so once the spreadsheet is up and running I should have the right data to include, which is good, and hopefully we won’t have the same problems that we had last year with CBSportsline.com
One suggestion that Bob made that I want to put out there to also think about for next year would be changing the week start from Mondays to Wednesdays. We have Mondays as our week start because that was the “start” of the week when the stats would come out in the paper on Tuesday – as of Sunday evening. Talk about a relic from the past. Given that Mondays are frequently holidays with games starting in at noon, the idea of moving the start of the FunHL week to the middle of the week so that weekend injury updates are out, work holidays don’t interfere with internet access, NHL schedules line-up, etc. makes some sense to me and I just wanted to float the idea now so it doesn’t get lost.
Anyhow, up to my eyeballs in the work that I had left behind but wanted to pop in and let you know that I have survived my trip and look to get cracking on the stats here ASAP.
Doug
Douglas McLachlan
Barrister and Solicitor
Family Law Office - Edmonton
Direct Line: 780-427-4139
Note: This e-mail address is not a valid address for service pursuant to Rule 11.21 of the Alberta Rules of Court. If you need to serve legal documents on the Family Law Office, as lawyer of record, please do so by courier, recorded mail or fax.
From: Cameron Hilton [mailto:cameron.a.hilton@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 3:11 PM
To: Doug McLachlan
Cc: Collin Sanderson; Brian Wansleeben; Bob Chaudhuri; Cameron Hilton; Chris Erickson; Corey Milne; Darrell Mann; Dan Ross; Doug McLachlan; Mike Breakenridge; Mike Getta; Rob Woods
Subject: Week 3 Stats + Waiver wire results
Ok, I think I have a grip on this now having read Doug's explanation below:
- Dan gets both Filpulla and Gagne, as he bid on both and is the lowest team in the standings, and as such conditional bids aren't necessary given both players bid on are at different positions.
- Collin gets Steen (only bidder)
- The DC should review the language of the covenant on this issue and make a clarification reccomendation to be voted upon at next Entry draft.
- Given I and Doug are on the Dc (as statistician) barring an objection from Bob (unlikely based on my conversation with him the other night), or Mike Getta, the third member (sic). the DC effectively endorses Doug's evaluation/reading of the relevant rules on the matter. If there is an objection to his interpretation please let me know asap.
- Thanks should go to Brian for handling the waiver wire/stats in Doug's absence, and for his dilligence in trying to follow a tricky set of rules.
Cameron
-
On Tuesday, October 25, 2011, Doug McLachlan wrote:
> Hi guys,
>
> I think the confusion, while understandable, comes not for the waiver wire rule per se but from the rule on conditional waiver wire bids and an unfortunately drafted example.
>
> Essentially the conditional bid rule doesn't enter into it for Dan (but does for Collin re his conditional bid for Steen).
>
> As I read the rule there is on LWer being bid upon, Gagne, and the Great Whites get him. Simple.
>
> At center there are multiple bids for multiple players (Filpulla and Steen) so the conditional rules may come into play here - though since there is only one bid on Steen it actually doesn't matter. Again the GW's get Filpulla and, as the only bid, the Edge get Steen. No the Bladerunners do not win a bid here.
>
> The rule would have come into play had the Bladerunners put in a bid on Steen ahead of their bid for Filpulla - gaining his rights while everyone is squabbling over Filpulla, but not a factor here.
>
> Clear as mud, right?
>
> I think the rule is clear but the "clarification" example does just the opposite so I am agreed that we want to redraft this.
>
> Tired and dazed in Seattle now but should be home in a few more hours. Talk with you all soon.
>
> Doug
>
> Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
> Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.
>
Any thoughts or comments on these issue please post here. Especially with respect to the upcoming WD1
Thank you,
Bob for the DC
WD1
During week 9 = Sat, Dec 3 around 19 am mst place tba or skype...seems to the consensus
WD2
During Week 19 = Sat, Feb 11 same time seems to be the consensus.
By the way, the NHL trade deadline is FEB 27 meaning the FUNHL traded is the monday lineups are due a week after FEB 27th.
Waiver Wire
Rule 25 Plain Language version will be written to clarify issues.
JUST TO REVIEW:
Hi Cam,
Thanks for the endorsement of my interpretation.
There was some suggestion that we may want to revisit the waiver-wire rules in the off season and that may be a good idea but for now, thanks everyone for chipping in while I’ve been away. I normally don’t have the stats going until about week 4 but this year I will be a bit behind – sorry. That said, thanks Brian for helping out as you have been. I can say that I have been able to get the stats captured on time from Yahoo so once the spreadsheet is up and running I should have the right data to include, which is good, and hopefully we won’t have the same problems that we had last year with CBSportsline.com
One suggestion that Bob made that I want to put out there to also think about for next year would be changing the week start from Mondays to Wednesdays. We have Mondays as our week start because that was the “start” of the week when the stats would come out in the paper on Tuesday – as of Sunday evening. Talk about a relic from the past. Given that Mondays are frequently holidays with games starting in at noon, the idea of moving the start of the FunHL week to the middle of the week so that weekend injury updates are out, work holidays don’t interfere with internet access, NHL schedules line-up, etc. makes some sense to me and I just wanted to float the idea now so it doesn’t get lost.
Anyhow, up to my eyeballs in the work that I had left behind but wanted to pop in and let you know that I have survived my trip and look to get cracking on the stats here ASAP.
Doug
Douglas McLachlan
Barrister and Solicitor
Family Law Office - Edmonton
Direct Line: 780-427-4139
Note: This e-mail address is not a valid address for service pursuant to Rule 11.21 of the Alberta Rules of Court. If you need to serve legal documents on the Family Law Office, as lawyer of record, please do so by courier, recorded mail or fax.
From: Cameron Hilton [mailto:cameron.a.hilton@gmail.com]
Sent: Thursday, October 27, 2011 3:11 PM
To: Doug McLachlan
Cc: Collin Sanderson; Brian Wansleeben; Bob Chaudhuri; Cameron Hilton; Chris Erickson; Corey Milne; Darrell Mann; Dan Ross; Doug McLachlan; Mike Breakenridge; Mike Getta; Rob Woods
Subject: Week 3 Stats + Waiver wire results
Ok, I think I have a grip on this now having read Doug's explanation below:
- Dan gets both Filpulla and Gagne, as he bid on both and is the lowest team in the standings, and as such conditional bids aren't necessary given both players bid on are at different positions.
- Collin gets Steen (only bidder)
- The DC should review the language of the covenant on this issue and make a clarification reccomendation to be voted upon at next Entry draft.
- Given I and Doug are on the Dc (as statistician) barring an objection from Bob (unlikely based on my conversation with him the other night), or Mike Getta, the third member (sic). the DC effectively endorses Doug's evaluation/reading of the relevant rules on the matter. If there is an objection to his interpretation please let me know asap.
- Thanks should go to Brian for handling the waiver wire/stats in Doug's absence, and for his dilligence in trying to follow a tricky set of rules.
Cameron
-
On Tuesday, October 25, 2011, Doug McLachlan
> Hi guys,
>
> I think the confusion, while understandable, comes not for the waiver wire rule per se but from the rule on conditional waiver wire bids and an unfortunately drafted example.
>
> Essentially the conditional bid rule doesn't enter into it for Dan (but does for Collin re his conditional bid for Steen).
>
> As I read the rule there is on LWer being bid upon, Gagne, and the Great Whites get him. Simple.
>
> At center there are multiple bids for multiple players (Filpulla and Steen) so the conditional rules may come into play here - though since there is only one bid on Steen it actually doesn't matter. Again the GW's get Filpulla and, as the only bid, the Edge get Steen. No the Bladerunners do not win a bid here.
>
> The rule would have come into play had the Bladerunners put in a bid on Steen ahead of their bid for Filpulla - gaining his rights while everyone is squabbling over Filpulla, but not a factor here.
>
> Clear as mud, right?
>
> I think the rule is clear but the "clarification" example does just the opposite so I am agreed that we want to redraft this.
>
> Tired and dazed in Seattle now but should be home in a few more hours. Talk with you all soon.
>
> Doug
>
> Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
> Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.
>
Any thoughts or comments on these issue please post here. Especially with respect to the upcoming WD1
Thank you,
Bob for the DC
10/26/2011
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