Fantasy Hockey - The Reckoning

[notyoueither]

The Oilers have gone to 5 and 2 on 10 periods of good hockey.

The good sign is they have shown signs of knowing how to punish a team for over pressing (2 D to forward passes for breakaway goals).

The bad news is that the PP looks like an open try-out for a pee-wee team.

[Kontiki]

Clarke resigns; Hitch fired
Oct. 22, 2006. 11:13 AM
DAN GELSTON
ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA - Flyers general manager Bob Clarke resigned and coach Ken Hitchcock was fired in a major shake-up with Philadelphia off to its worst start in more than 15 years, the team announced Sunday.
Assistant coach John Stevens will lead the team as head coach. Assistant general manager Paul Holmgren will be the new general manager, owner Ed Snider said at a news conference.

Clarke said he had become burned out and tired recently.

“The decisions that had to be made, I was letting other people make them,” Clarke said. “I deeply regret not being able to bring a Stanley Cup here. ... I didn’t deliver.”

Snider said he started evaluating the status of the team after an embarrassing 9-1 loss to Buffalo last week and decided that change was needed.

“Over the last several weeks it has become clear that it was time to make a change,” Snider said in a statement. “This is not easy for anyone involved, but we have to do what is best for this team.”

The Flyers are 1-6-1 and have the fewest points in the NHL. Their five-game losing streak is the worst in five seasons.

Clarke never matched the success as a general manager that he had as a Hall of Fame player when he led the Flyers to Stanley Cup championships in the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons. Clarke was in his 13th season in his second stint as general manager, after handling the GM role in the 1980s.

“Bob Clarke has been the heart and soul of the Flyers for nearly 40 years,” Snider said. “Bob was the driving force behind our Stanley Cups as a player, and as president and general manager, he built the Flyers into one of the premier franchises in hockey. I will always think of Bob as the `Ultimate Flyer’ and there is always a position within our organization for Bob Clarke.”

Hitchcock signed a three-year contract though the 2008-09 season in training camp and was in his fourth season with the Flyers. He led the Flyers to the conference final in 2004, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, who later won the Stanley Cup.

Before Hitchcock was hired, the Flyers used five different coaches in the previous six seasons.

In 10 NHL seasons with Dallas and Philadelphia, Hitchcock is 408-249-100. He is 66-51 in playoff games and won the Stanley Cup with Dallas in 1999.

Stevens, 40, was the head coach of the Flyers’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Philadelphia Phantoms, for the past six seasons, leading the team to the Calder Cup in 2005.

“John Stevens has quickly proven that he can coach in the National Hockey League,” Snider said. “He worked very closely with many of our younger players when he coached them as Phantoms. We believe that we have a core of great young talent and we think that John is the right guy to coach this team.”

Philadelphia’s 1-6-1 start is their worst since the 1989-90 season. The Flyers have scored only 15 goals in eight games, and five of them are from Simon Gagne. The played Friday’s loss at Florida without captain Peter Forsberg, who has a sprained wrist.

They are a woeful 4-for-55 on power-play chances this season.

The Flyers play again Thursday at home against Atlanta.

Philadelphia was bounced in the first round of the playoffs by Buffalo last season, and has seemed ill-equipped to win a Stanley Cup in the new-look NHL. Many of the same problems they had last season have lingered into this season, including a plodding defence that has yet to score a goal.

The Flyers waived three players last week after the blowout loss to the Sabres, including Nolan Baumgartner, their lone free-agent signing to bolster the defence.

With a shaky defence and little offensive punch, the goaltenders have struggled, especially opening night starter Robert Esche. Esche has allowed 13 goals in two winless starts.

Clarke played for the Flyers from 1969-1984 and scored 358 goals and 1210 points, finishing his career as their career leader in assists (852), points (1210), and games played (1144). He was captain of the famed “Broad Street Bullies” teams in the 1970s.

Clarke immediately went from playing into management, holding the GM role from 1984-1990. He returned to the position in 1994, famously feuding with Eric Lindros in the late 1990s.

Hitchcock also led Dallas to two Stanley Cup final appearances — winning the title in 1999 and going back the next year — and five straight division titles.

[Sparrowhawk]

I picked up Rob Niedermyer for todays game with the slim hope that he might get a goal in today's game but he didn't and Joncha beat me in goals (as expected).

Still a good week, will be interested in seeing the final outcome of the other matchups to see who is in first after this week!

/me

[notyoueither]

Is it just me, or is the number of injuries piling up getting a bit extreme?

[Asher]

Poor Yelle.

[Kontiki]

Originally posted by Sparrowhawk
I picked up Rob Niedermyer for todays game with the slim hope that he might get a goal in today's game but he didn't and Joncha beat me in goals (as expected).

Still a good week, will be interested in seeing the final outcome of the other matchups to see who is in first after this week!

* Sparrowhawk

You can just use the stat tracker to see up-to-the-minute scores. Today is the last free day.

[Sparrowhawk]

Does anyone here pay for that? And does anyone think it is worth it?

/me

[Hot Mustard]

Originally posted by Sparrowhawk
Does anyone here pay for that? And does anyone think it is worth it?

* Sparrowhawk

I usually do it - it's not that much for a full season's worth of live stats. But then, I have two pools to follow, not just this one, and the other one is for money. If you have buddies you can trust (to not mess with your team), you can also just pay once and give everyone the password for one account.

[Asher]

I do it, but I've got multiple pools too.

[Sparrowhawk]

Great!

So what's your password?
















just kidding

Sounds good enough to me, if only I didn't have a fear of paying for anything online I would do it. Still worth considering however. Have to see how much I miss having the stats.

/me

[notyoueither]

From last year I did not miss them much.

NHL.com is where the stats come from and you can keep track of the scores and stats yourself if you like.

[joncha]

W00t! I'm no longer in last place!

[Kontiki]

I PMed Pekka again about his team. He left alot of points on the table, and should have taken a couple of more categories this last week. If he doesn't start setting his roster, I'm going to jump in and make sure his players actually play.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Kontiki
I PMed Pekka again about his team. He left alot of points on the table, and should have taken a couple of more categories this last week. If he doesn't start setting his roster, I'm going to jump in and make sure his players actually play.

Nobody with Afinogenov last week has any excuse not to have kicked my ass

3G, 7A, +5, 1PPG, 2PPA

[Sparrowhawk]

1st place for the third straight week

But can I hold on for another week? Have to wait and see!

I am not going to start working on an Avatar for all of you...............yet

/me