Thanks to the other members of the Awards Committee (Past-Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner) for your assistance in putting your thoughts together on this like, months ago.
So without further ado, here are the award winners for the 2013 season!
Calder:
The best fantasy player drafted for the first time in the Keeper League.
This year's trophy goes to Braden Holtby and the team that drafted him, the Powder Rangers. Holtby put up 60 points as a goaltender, which was good for 2nd in the league (behind only Antti Niemi's 61).
HM: The Mackhawks' Justin Schultz, with 27 pts - not only was that good for 12th in the league in defensive scoring, but put him within 4 points of the rookie scoring lead (as a defenceman).
Doug Wilson:
Awarded to the most active GM.
In perhaps the least surprising result in this entire ceremony, Fy Virani wins this one by a landslide, with 15 discrete transactions entered.
I have to share an email I got that describes, perfectly and hilariously, the stages Fy's trading partners go through (I'll leave it anonymous but if the author wants to take credit, step forward):
1. Denial ("No, I won't even consider it.");
2. Anger ("How can he insult me with an offer like that?");
3. Bargaining ("He's right, swapping my 9th for his 8th does make this fair.");
4. Depression ("OMG everyone is laughing at me. I suck at GMing");
5. Acceptance ("Write it off. Fy got me this time, but next year will be different!")
1. Denial ("No, I won't even consider it.");
2. Anger ("How can he insult me with an offer like that?");
3. Bargaining ("He's right, swapping my 9th for his 8th does make this fair.");
4. Depression ("OMG everyone is laughing at me. I suck at GMing");
5. Acceptance ("Write it off. Fy got me this time, but next year will be different!")
HM: The Columbus Blue Jaworskis (before their relocation to sunnier climes) were very busy as well, with 9 entered transactions.
Ken Holland:
Best draft pick.
This one is was very hard as there were a LOT of candidates and the Awards Committee struggled mightily. At the end of the day:
The Teeyotes with Evgeni Nabokov (drafted in the 10th round, 159th overall). Nabokov earned 59 points for the Teeyotes, good for the 3rd best goalie in this format.
HMs: Many, but of note, the G-Phil's Flyers got 211 points out of players drafted between 149th and 195th overall. The Mackhawks snagged Brendan Gallagher 194th overall and got 28 points out of him. Relatedly, the Powder Rangers drafted Lars Eller in 189th, earning 30 points. The Powder Rangers actually ended up
dropping Eller, but it doesn't change the fact that the selection itself
was inspired.
Rick DiPietro:
Worst draft pick.
No competition - Chris Krieder, chosen 6th overall by the Winter Claassics. Krieder earned three points in his 2013 campaign. Hilariously chosen AGAIN by the Claassics at the most recent draft, it is worth pointing out that he has 10 points in 11 games so far.
HMs: None.
George McPhee:
Best Free Agent signing.
Jiri Tlusty may be the most added/dropped player in the league, but in 2012, the Patrik Stefans dumped Craig Smith for him, earning 18 points in the process.
HMs: Milan Micahleks' Jonathan Blum for Paul Martin (a difference of 13 points).
Glen Sather:
Worst free agent signing.
There was no one even close - the Vanrooser Canicks used their first FA add/drop to dump Toffoli for Kovalev. Then they used their last FA add/drop to dump Kovalev and add Toffoli.
HM: Hard not to mention the Powder Rangers, who picked up Damien Brunner (26 points) and dropped Lars Eller (30 points). As noted by the Powder Rangers GM, if he had have dropped Latendresse instead of Eller, he would have won last year. Oops.
Mike Milbury:
Biggest fleecing.
On February 6, 2013, the Fylanders sent Nikita Nikitin and a 6th round draft pick to the Columbus Blue Jaworskis for Dion Phaneuf and a 9th round pick. Phaneuf, a one-time 60 point defenceman, coming off a 44 point season and scoring at a similar pace at the time, in exchange for Nikita "healthy scratch" Nikitin. The return - a 3 round bump at the draft - is statistically negligible.Welcome to the big leagues, rookie.
GM of the Year
The G-Phil's Flyers. As noted above, Bobrovsky, Boyes, Conacher, Eakin,
Brouwer were all late-round steals that produced all season-long. There was no panic moves after a season-ending injury to Karlsson and slow starts with Malkin and Ovechkin, thought the vultures were indeed circling. Though this team probably had the best protected roster to start the season, a combination of very good drafting and patience won the Flyers their first championship.
HMs: The Powder Rangers exceeded expectations and continued to improve (8th-5th-2nd). Keepers coming into this season included five forwards that we probably all considered borderline keepers
(of those guys, Kunitz has proven himself a fantasy powerhouse and
Fleischmann and Ryder also made the top six). His Holtby gamble paid off.
Wrote an impassioned concession speech.
The Moilers - Showed steady improvement - 10th to
6th to 3rd. Actually made one trade this year, Luongo for Crawford, but otherwise steadfastly sticks by her men.
The Fylanders continue to get excellent value in trades, and are consistently a threat. The Fylanders GM takes the opposite approach to the league than the Moilers, in that their team rarely looks anything like the team that starts the season.
Oh the ignominy of the Mike Milbury award. I've been there, Sam.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this, G-Phil, although next year I would like a video with you in a suit, with a lengthy and humorous introductory monologue.
Also everyone should know G-Phil did not want to give GM of the year to himself, but we insisted. I don't think the award will always go to the winner, but probably the majority of the time. You're doing something right if you win this highly competitive league.
For the record, I didn't pick Chris Kreider again this year, he was a prospect, and he could pan out in the long run, which potentially means you may need to revisit that decision.
ReplyDelete