WEEK 8 LINE-UPS

The Line-ups for Week 8 Are Due by 6pm MST

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Week 7 Stats, Now With Challenge Cup Standings

Head to Head Results Week 1-6

	Team	W	L	T	PTs
1	Great Whites	4	1	1	9
2	Bladerunners	4	2	0	8
3	Edge	3	1	2	8
4	Severed Heads	3	2	1	7
5	Personal Vendetta	3	3	0	6
6	Shadowmen	3	3	0	6
7	Barbarians	3	3	0	6
8	Scourge	2	3	1	5
9	Highlanders	2	3	1	5
10	Knights Templar	2	3	1	5
11	Ramapithicines	2	3	1	5
12	Wolves	1	5	0	2

Week Seven Line-Ups

Please post your line-up in the comments.  Thanks Bob for doing this for everyone.

Week 6 Stats

Week Five Stats

FUNHL WEEK SIX LINE-UPS and impending WD1

Please Post Your Week 6 Lineups here!

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PS WD1 is coming soon...Weekend of Dec 6-7 after Week 9 OR Weekend of Dec 13-14 after Week 10

Again Thank you for any thoughts on this matter

Re-Branding NHL Awards

Source ESPN>COM - Pierre LeBrun


Here's an example of how it could look like: 
Hart Trophy (MVP) -- Wayne Gretzky trophy 
Art Ross (points leader) -- Gordie Howe trophy 
Norris (D-man) -- Bobby Orr trophy 
Calder (rookie) -- Mario Lemieux trophy 
Lady Byng (sportsmanship) -- Jean Beliveau award (a man who’s all about class) 
Selke (defensive forward) -- Bob Gainey trophy 
Jack Adams (coach) -- Scotty Bowman award 

I wouldn't change the Vezina since that trophy is actually named after a former player. And I wouldn’t change the Conn Smythe because that’s a more recent award. 

Agree or disagree folks? 

The Shadowmen

The Shadowmen

L: Lucic-Bos FP, Parise-Min FP, Foligno-Clb RFA, Pearson-LA P1, Raffl-Pha P1

Rating: 4.5

Lucic is the perfect combination of brute force and goal scoring touch. As a TG, he's over a PPG for the last few years and has been mostly legit as an FP. Parise however, has had his ups and downs, but still has to be considered one of the top LWs in the game, with the biggest downside being a propensity for collecting injuries. Foligno is a replacement level player with backup toughness, andshouldn't see much ice-time so long as Pearson is lighting it up. Pearson is part of the 'next wave' of Kings forwards, boasting terrific hands and a solid two-way game. Raffl might be the best Austrian born player in NHL history, so he's got that going for him.

C: Kreicji-Bos, Datsyuk-Det, Koivu-Min, Carter-LA RFA, Hayes-NYR P1, Lazar-Ott P1, Rackell-Ana P1

Rating: 3

When your team isn't blessed with having an FP at the center spot, you have to adapt. The Shadowmen adapted by drafting three quality 2nd line (FUNHL speaking) Cs. Kreicji is about as solid as they come, but his ceiling isn't particularly high. Datsyuk has the high ceiling, but is at the stage of his career where he is injured, recovering from injury, or preparing to get injured. Koivu shares the same health concerns as Datsyuk, but has the lower ceiling of Kreicji as well. Still, no C FP, no cry. Carter is an excellent 4th liner and if he gets hot (like he is right now) he could be the best on the roster. Biggest issue with him is that he is way, way beyond streaky and will go ice-cold for months at a stretch. Hayes, Lazar, and Rackell were all detailed in my prospect review, no help forthcoming from these guys.

R: Hornqvist-Pit, Ericksson-Bos, Purcell-Edm RFA, Boyes-Fla RFA, Nieto-SJ P1

 Rating: 2.5

Hornqvist looks like a nice fit in Pittsburgh, but he is the definition of 'line dependent'. The good news is there are two good lines in Pitt for him to be dependent on, and only two bad. Ericksson is a multi-talented weapon who can play both sides of the ice, a lower-case Marian Hossa. He also suffers from the same unfortunate frequency of hospital visits. Purcell is a nice fit on the 3rd line, and should get lots of burn in Edmonton as they figure out what they have in the big winger. Boyes is a pure sniper whose wheels are fading away. Nieto was covered in my prospect review, and no help is forthcoming from him.

D: Pietrangelo-StL, Muzzin-LA, DelZotto-Pha RFA, J.Johnson-Clb, Stralman-NYR RFA, Bogosian-Wpg RFA, deHaan-NYI RFA, Tanev-Vcr RFA, Hanifin-USNTDP P1, Ouellette-Det P1

Rating: 3.5

Peitrangelo is an all-round stud and borderline FP. Muzzin is emerging as a fancystats darling (he plays against the best of the best and the river is getting pushed back), but he has yet to fully emerge as a FUNHL scorer. DelZotto is a nice bet to rediscover his offense in Philly who are so shorthanded on the blue that DZ will get as much ice-time as he can reasonably, or unreasonably, handle. As much as the fancystats love Muzzin, they detest Jack Johnson. A modern day Al Iafrate, Johnson is somehow much, much less than the sum of his parts. Bogosian has the tool kit to be an all-round monster, but injuries have persistently derailed him. If he needs another wrist surgery it might be career threatening. deHaan has nowhere to go but up on the emerging Islanders team, he might even be protected through WD1. Tanev is a solid, and utterly unspectacular replacement level defensman. Hanifin is prime trade bait. His name will be the third mentioned all year long when pundits talk about the upcoming draft, and Bob will surely use that popularity to extort something nice in a deal. Isn't dressable for three years. Ouellet is an offensive defensman being slowly decanted in the RedWings cloning factory, an on any given day he could wake up and know kung-fu.

G: Quick-LA, Jones-LA RFA

Rating: 5

Normally I'd prefer to hand out a 5 when a team has two starter quality goaltenders, but Quick is barring injury, the best goaltender in the league given enough starts. Should Quick get hurt, Jones is the guy who will get to play behind Drew Doughty and reap the benefits.

Overall: 18.5

An encore from a future FP?

A future FP?

The Wolves

The Wolves

L: Drouin-TBay FP, D.Sedin-Vcr, vanRiemsdyk-Tor, Prust-Mtl RFA

Rating: 3

Unfortunately, Drouin just isn't an elite anything as of yet. Currently mired on TBays 4th line, he's got no chance of being productive until he makes a bigger jump. That said, having D.Sedin around mitigates the damage of carrying a weak FP at LW, Sedin is a total stud (and future HOFr) and slots easily into the #1 role. vanRiemsdyk comfortably slots into the #2 role, giving the team an average set of LWs all things considered. Prust is a face-puncher only, but if Drouin struggles expect him to draw in.

C: Couture-SJ, Stastny-StL, Kesler-Ana RFA, Zibenejad-Ott RFA, Horvat-Vcr P2, Bennett-Cgy P1

Rating: 3

Whether by design or accident, the Wolves managed to build a pretty decent centre-ice corps without an FP in the role. Couture is a solid, if below average #1C. Stastny would have been in the same range, but with less solidity due to injury prone-ness. Kesler is the third of the 'above average average' C's, and compliments his offense with some secondary PIMs. Zibenejad is still being groomed for bigger things, but the clock is likely to run out on his contract before he can contribute. Horvat is a future 2way pivot, but the ceiling on his offense doesn't appear to be very high. Bennett though, has the tool kit to be an All-Star at C for the Flames. Sadly, a shoulder injury (that he had played through for more than a year) will keep him on the shelf for the next 6 months or so. He'll make the Flames out of camp next year, and eventually take over as the teams #1 C.

R: Eberle-Edm, Tarasenko-StL, Smith-Nsh RFA, Doan-Arz RFA, Silverberg-Ana P3, Colberg-NYI P1

Rating: 3.5

Eberle is a decent player on a horrible team, and the Wolves are likely praying that Eberle is the first off of the sinking ship that is the Oilers. Tarasenko is finally flexing the offensive muscles, and is tearing it up. He could be making the leap to FP quality scoring forward. Smith's game is as non-descript as his last name, but he has enugh offense for the Preds that he makes a fine 3rd liner. Doan is playing out the string now, but he could step in for a swan song season where he produces just enough PIMs and points to remain relevant. Sifverberg has struggled to move his game up to the next level in Anaheim, but he has a skillset that Anaheim could definitely use. Time is running out on him now. Colberg I dealt with in my prospect review, but suffice it to say I don't see him contributing now, or in the future.

D: Carlson-Wsh, Barrie-Col, Bieksa-Vcr RFA, Jones-Nsh P3, Schultz-Edm P3, McQuaid-Bos RFA, Hamilton-Bos RFA, B.Smith-Det P1, Doherty-SJ P1

Rating: 2

Carlson and Barrie are not 1st line quality defenders, but they are decent enough. Bieksa needs to be used as a TG to maximize his benefit, and even then shouldn't be in your top 4. Jones is an absolute beast, and mught already be the teams top blueliner. Schultz has not only not shown much progression, he appears to have gotten worse year over year. Lots of skill, he may need a change of scenery. McQuaid is giant face-puncher with unrepeatable +/- stats in his past. Hamilton is only just scratching the surface of his talents, and with the injuries ahead of him on Boston's roster he'll get a chance to gouge deep. Brendan Smith is the perpetual 'he could break out at any time' offensive defenseman, with the oly problem being he has already given us a five year wait to do so. Doherty is meatbomb with little to no upside.

G: Rask-Bos FP, Hilller-Cgy RFA

Rating: 4.5

Rask is the elite of the elite, and Hiller is (so far) a well above average backup.

Total:  16

The Bladerunners

Ok, here are your frequently promised team reviews. All opinions are my own, and thus can be easily ignored whenever convenient, though I will, on occasion, listen to reason.

The Bladerunners

L: Hall, Read-Pha RFA, McGinn-Col RFA, Maroon-Ana RFA, Domi-Arz P2

Rating: 2.5

Hall is arguably the best LW in the game right now, so the top end looks good (if currently injured), but the rest is a mix of not quite 3rd line guys. Read is a decent 4th liner but I'm not convinced that either McGinn or Marroon were draftable. Domi is a very interesting prospect, but failed to make the Coyotes out of camp and is thus likely at least another year away.

C: Stamkos-TBay FP, Staal-Car FP, MacKinnon-Col RFA, Zajac-NJ RFA

Rating: 4.5

Stamkos is as elite as it gets, and is a bona fide #1C. Staal is no longer an elite #1, but has settled rather comfortably into being a very good #2. MacKinnon is the wild card as he could conceivably post seriously crooked numbers sitting in the 3rd line spot. Zajac is an injury-replacement-only kinda player these days.

R: Voracek-Pha, Simmonds-Pha, O'Reilly-Col, ,Brouwer-Wsh RFA, Yakupov-Edm P4, Jaskin-StL P1, Kapenen-Pit P1

Rating: 4

Seems high, doesn't it? Voracek is sneaky legitimate as a #1RW, albeit at the lower end of that category. Simmonds had an elite goon season last year and is a nice blend of toughness and scoring. O'Reilly isn't likely to break out with a 70 point season anytime soon, but he's an exciting talent on the upswing. Brouwer is a waiver action waiting to happen. Yakupov is a guy who might (finally) have his breakout year where he guns 40+, but I don't think it will happen in Edmonton. Jaskin and Kapanen are both mutli-tooled offensive talents who are likely 2 or more years away from being active contributors.

D: Ekman-Larsson-Arz, Krug-Bos, Seabrook-Chi, Josi-Nsh, Franson-Tor RFA, Vatanen-Ana RFA, Daley-Dal RFA, C.Murphy-Arz RFA, Pouliot-D Pit P3, Gormley-D Arz P2, Morrow-Bos P2, Clendening-Chi P1

Rating: 2.5

OEL is only 'ok' as a top line guy, and that weakness both persists and worsens as we move done the roster of D-men. Krug has evovled into a surprisingly good offensive defenseman, but his tiny size is an invitation to injury. Oh look, he's already hurt. Seabrook is still a beast, but at some point is going to lose PP time to Clendening and others. Josi had a huge season last year, but the arrival of Seth Jones as a force is going to cramp his PP time moving forward. Franson is an above average offensive defenseman with frequently poor defense, he's a favourite to be dealt out of TO. Vatanen is a very nice find, a PP QB with excellent upside, if a tad undersized. Daley and Murphy are never going to make this roster barring catastrophic injuries ahead of them. Pouliot is an exciting offensive prospect, but he has been lapped by others in the Pens org like Maata and Depres, so a change of scenery may be required. Morrow is a poential candidate to contribute especially with Krug and Chara out with boo-boos. Gormley has had 3 straight dissapointing prospect years in a row. Make the damn team already. Clendening is a big mobile offensive defenseman in Chicago. Which, should be pretty good some day. But not today.

G: Bobrovsky-Clb RFA, Luongo-Fla RFA

Rating: 2

Because nothing says 'fear me' like Columbus + Florida goaltending.

Total: 15.5

Corrected Week 4 Stats - Collin's week was right but his total wasn't. Changes who won Faulk.

THE FUNHL WEEK 5 LINE-UPS

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Week Four Stats