Fantasy Hockey - Fantasy Harder with a Vengance

[Flubber]

ooops dp

[Asher]

I recognize that the Oilers are more injury prone this year, but I do not recognize that as a valid excuse for their performance. Hell, their record without Smyth and Hemsky isn't much different from their record with.

There are much larger problems with the Oilers than a couple injuries to their forwards. Their defense is the biggest one.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Asher
The road play will come around, I'm not worried. It's not a fundamental problem with the team, which Edmonton and Toronto need to deal with.

I agree somewhat. The road bugaboo is an attitude and confidence thing but that is not to be discounted.

The Flames big weakness has been secondary scoring except for Iginla. That has come around and they now have two solid lines that score a bit. PLus the Defence chips in pretty well.

But I think they need a little third line scoring but I just don't know where they will get it. Ritchie has never been a scorer even though some nights he seems to be all around the net and Yelle is good for maybe 10 goals in a good year. Friesen was a 20 goal man a fair number of years back but he has suffered injury problems since the lockout. Heck in 24 games he has one assist only and he plays 15 minutes a game!!

The only potential scorer on the horizon may be Dustin Boyd. He seems to do well in Omaha but I don't know that he is ready for the big time

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Asher
I recognize that the Oilers are more injury prone this year, but I do not recognize that as a valid excuse for their performance. Hell, their record without Smyth and Hemsky isn't much different from their record with.

There are much larger problems with the Oilers than a couple injuries to their forwards. Their defense is the biggest one.

True-- Frankly I expected more offense form their collection of forwards even beofre this rash of injuries. Their defense seems inconsistent.

I know you love to slam their goaltending but I think its ok. They have a backup that can/will play more games than what the Flames have. I know you don't believe in Rolosen, but I disagree. While I don't think he will be as good as Kipper over the season, I do believe he is a legitimate good #1 these days

[Flubber]

On to Toronto


While they seem to have a fine set of forwards, I too do not believe in their defense. While Mccabe is nowhere near as bad as Asher would lead people to believe, he does have defensive problems and is nowhere near as good defensively as the top d-men in the league. I also see a question mark with their goaltending-- Frankly its unproven. Its possible that their current keepers will do the job but I just see a lot of ups and downs on that front

[Asher]

McCabe is an expensive pylon.

[Flubber]

Originally posted by Asher
McCabe is an expensive pylon.

Asher --he has 26 points and is a +1 on a team that has given up 9 more goals than it has scored.... I don't intend to get into a lengthy defense of MaCabe but I think the Leafs maybe have one d-man with a better plus/minus than that

[Asher]

Yeah, he's not the worst d-man out there, but for his price, I'm not sure there's anyone else who gets paid as much for so little. Perhaps Kubina is up there. OR Hal Gil. Either way, the Leafs lead the league in awful d-man choices.

[Asher]

The allstar voting is sooooo screwed up. Scott Hannan (0g 9a -2) has more votes than Dion Phaneuf (7g 11a +16).

[Asher]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16208603/

Maple Leafs are headed for change
Struggles could see Sundin, others dealt by trading deadline

By Bill Clement
MSNBC contributor


Bill Clement

With the Mats Sundin era winding down in Toronto, clearly the Maple Leafs have to be rebuilt.

The question is when that rebuilding process begins.

By January if Toronto is not looking at a playoff spot or something very close to a playoff spot, I would be surprised if Maple Leafs general manager John Ferguson kept his job.

Toronto is a fanatic market when it comes to NHL hockey so there is pressure on Ferguson to win now. If he can't win now -- and that doesn't end up costing him his job -- he has to start laying the foundation for the future because a serious run at a Stanley Cup will not happen with this group.

All those players who are not under long term contracts in Toronto had better not sign the mortgage papers on a new home as the Maple Leafs could start to clean house before the trading deadline.

Seeking Sundin's successor
Now 35 and in his 12th season in Toronto, Sundin, an outstanding center, has been the impact player the Maple Leafs have been built around for years.

All roads to success or failure for this team go through Sundin, who is on the downside of a great career. He can't give Toronto what he used to as he doesn't have the same explosiveness, and he's not physically dominant the way he was in the past. The impact he is able to provide is obviously lessening with each passing year.

And Sundin doesn't have much of a supporting cast, especially offensively.

Toronto has teased its fan base over the years, but the Maple Leafs haven't really been picked to do anything in the playoffs for over a decade.

So now Ferguson and the organization have to ask themselves how long they want to keep Sundin as their focal point. If there was someone on the Toronto roster who could emerge as the next Mats Sundin, he would have already done so.

The Maple Leafs have some decent, serviceable NHL players, but no one dynamic player. They need to look outside the organization for Sundin's successor.

They can't win big with Sundin as their centerpiece, and he is the kind of guy the Maple Leafs can get something for in a trade. He'll be a free agent after the season, and when it comes to Toronto making deals that could improve its roster, Sundin's not safe, no one is safe -- other than goalie Andrew Raycroft and probably winger Darcy Tucker.

I say Tucker because I don't think in dealing him Toronto could get back a player in return who means so much to a franchise because he can score goals and also possesses a junk-yard dog mentality.

Some key pieces in place
I think highly of the Maple Leafs new coach Paul Maurice, who got the job after Pat Quinn was let go after last season when Toronto missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years. In Maurice I believe the Maple Leafs have a coach who can take them places.

I also feel they have top-notch goaltending in Andrew Raycroft. Obtained from Boston in a draft-day deal, Raycroft can make the Maple Leafs extremely competitive every season.

A young, quality coach, and a young, quality goaltender -- that's a great foundation for future success. But the Maple Leafs -- who last won a Stanley Cup nearly 40 years ago -- may have to sink even lower in the Eastern Conference standings (they placed ninth last season) before they begin to rise.

Toronto has a reasonable foundation on the blue line with its two top defensemen Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe. Both are signed to long term contracts.

Ferguson was active on the free-agent market last summer with his main mission being to build a much stronger defense.
Defenseman Pavel Kubina, whose NHL career consisted of two seasons with Tampa Bay and who a year ago struggled to adjust to the NHL, inked a four-year deal.

I felt the most curious signing was defenseman Hal Gill, a 6-foot-7, 250-pounder. Given Gill's height, he is not very quick. In the new NHL teams are looking for defensemen with more mobility and puck moving skills, but in Gill Toronto went for the classic defensive defenseman.

I'll give Gill credit as he has tried to re-invent himself in the modern game that relies on mobility, foot speed, vision, and passing.
He's done a pretty good job of it, but still to me it's a pretty curious signing.

Wise and unwise moves
While I feel the Maple Leafs have made wise moves in bringing in Maurice at coach and Raycroft in the net, they've also done things that raise some questions like sticking with right wing-center Nik Antropov, Toronto's first-round draft choice in 1998, who has been injury prone and has never realized his potential.

Antropov turned an ankle in practice on Dec. 13. At first it was believed he could be back on the ice in matter of days, but the injury is more serious than originally thought, and it could be weeks before he returns.

And now years after other teams were offering something of quality in return for Antropov, things have changed. He's past his high value stage that's for sure.

It's more like the Russian is spoken about as a player who could have been a good one. He's gone from plenty of potential to being termed a player who could have been a good one. He's at a stage where nobody sees an upside to him any longer.

That's not the case with a pair of younger Maple Leafs in their early twenties, center Matt Stajan and left winger Alexander Steen, who have the ability to be solid players.

Steen, however, has to get it going as after scoring 18 goals a year ago, he had only one goal in his first 32 games this season.

It's younger players like Stajan and Steen who will be key to Toronto's eventual rebuilding, and the big difference in undertaking this task is that where as in the past the Maple Leafs could go out and buy what they needed, they now must produce their own players given the salary cap.

Reasons behind the losing
Toronto went on a pretty good scoring tear earlier in the season, going through a stretch into mid November where they won seven of eight games, and were near the top of the Eastern Conference. It got people thinking what a great story was being written in Toronto.

But hold the presses. In the month following that hot streak, Toronto lost 10 of 13 games. A lack of offense is part of problem. In seven of the games in that month-long stretch they scored a combined nine goals.

Offense comes and goes with all teams. When it goes, those teams that are able to keep their heads above water are those that are good enough defensively to keep games close, and to keep themselves within reach of a win in each game even if the offense is underperforming.

Toronto hasn't exhibited that as during a seven-game losing streak that was snapped with a win against Tampa Bay on Dec. 12,
The Maple Leafs allowed 28 goals in regulation. They were outscored 28-9 during that skid.

The Maple Leafs are trying to implement damage control not only on offense, but also on defense, and that's hard to do. Add to that their penalty killing hasn't been good and you can see why they've struggled for wins.

Maurice was prophetic before the season when he said it was going to be tough for Toronto to make the playoffs. Maurice knows what he has with this team, so the real question is what he will have with the Maple Leafs once the rebuilding is underway.

[Ninot]

Originally posted by Asher
The allstar voting is sooooo screwed up. Scott Hannan (0g 9a -2) has more votes than Dion Phaneuf (7g 11a +16).

Rory

[joncha]

I voted for Rory

[Flubber]

The whole process of online voting is a bit of a joke really. I would feel bad for someone that misses out on a deserved all-star spot since there's a movement to put in a clearly undeserving player . .. but hey they all make millions of dollars to play hockey so BOO Hoooo

[Flubber]

Oh and some of the listed names do not reflect this year's performance-- A simple example from Calgary

Roman Hamrlik has been clearly a better defenseman that Robin Reghr this season and IMHO has been slightly better than Phaneuf . . . Yet hamrlik is a write-in while the other two are listed

[Flubber]

I wonder would Rory actually go to the all-star game. If I were him I would actually be a little embarrassed to be such an obvious joke vote

For anyone that doesn't know -- he logs 15 minutes a game niow and has only played 40 NHL games or more 3 times in an 11 season career. His season highlight is this

SEASON HIGHLIGHTS Logged a season-high 20:16 of ice time and had a plus one rating , Oct


So his highlight is to play 20 minutes in a 60 minute game?? talk about being damned by faint praise . . . oh but lets not forget he managed a plus one.-- Oh ya and he has 9 NHL goals in his CAREER-- wow

Internet movements can be fun but if I were Rory, I would be sick or injured on All-star night.... Or perhaps he will be busy playing with his minor league team