KL Week in Review - Week 13 (plus a couple transactions)

Not a heck of a lot of action in the NHL over the past week owing to the Xmas break:

Big weeks from the Micahleks and the Fylanders have started to close the gap on 1st place. 

As well, the race for that final money spot is as tight as its ever been, with only 11 points separating 8th and 4th place.

On the other end, both the Schizzarks and the Stefans remain in free-fall with the two worst weeks in the league (11 and 15 points respectively. The Schizzarks are actually on pace to end up in last place by the end of next week, with the Stefans following soon thereafter.

Let's just all take a moment and appreciate that we are not the Mackhawks. I'm not sure I've seen 6 injuries on a roster before - and these are key players:

Transactions

A couple minor Xmas transactions:

Dec-23-13
The Schizzarks drop Matt Donovan and add Andy Greene

Dec-29-13
The Mackhawks drop Pascal Dupuis and (re)add Wayne Simmonds

Interesting note: the Dicklas Lidstroms are the only team to have not used or traded a FA add/drop.

KL Week in Review - Week 12

Its Xmas time so this is late and boring: 

Of note: 

• The G-Phil's Flyers continue to be really good without Malkin.
• Relatedly, the Micahleks had a terrible week and failed to make up much-needed ground
• The Powder Rangers are still in 4th!
• The Krupuls have had a stunning week with 45 points, putting them in spitting distance of the playoffs
• The Patrik Stefans and Schizzarks continue to flounder.

Free Agent Targets

In this second instalment of free, unsolicited and perhaps unwanted fantasy advice, I present a few more free agents I would consider adding if I needed to address an injury or jettison Dany Heatley dead weight. I also check in on the five recommendations I made last week to see how they have fared. 

Add this guy:

F Michael Raffl, PHI - The Austrian winger cut his teeth in the Swedish First Division before coming to the Flyers as a 25 year-old rookie. He only has eight points this year, but seven of those points have come in the last seven games, not coincidentally around the time he moved up to the top line with Giroux and Voracek. Adding him would be a gamble for sure, but he was a near-point-per-game player in the SEL so it's a calculated gamble. 

F Andrew Cogliano, ANA - Cogliano is on pace for 45, which is exactly what he scored in his rookie year for the Oilers before following it up with five disappointing seasons. More importantly, Cogliano benefits from the Ducks' offence-oriented coaching philosophy and offensive depth. He has ten points in his last ten games, including three assists last night.

Last week's recommendations:

F Wayne Simmonds, PHI - Four games last week; one goal. That gives him four points in his last eleven games. Garbage recommendation. 

F Scottie Upshall, FLA - Four games; one assist. Upshall is coming back down to Earth - GMs in the Keeper League are too savvy to fall for Scottie's tricks. 

F Matt Stajan, CGY - Five games; one goal. As the Great One would say, that recommendation was a "crock o' crap."

D Andy Greene, NJD - Three games; one assist. Actually not far from the pace we would expect, and it's a small sample size. Call this one a tentative pass?

D Matt Bartkowski, BOS - Four games, zero points, no increase in ice time as predicted. Failblog. 

That's a combined four points in 20 man-games. Welp, enjoy this week's recommendations guys.

KL Week in Review: Week 11

I was pretty hungover yesterday and didn't do this.

So here we go! Standings as of the end of play Saturday, December 14th:

Rank	Team Name	TTL	PLN
1	G-Phil's Flyers	350	8
2	Milan Micahleks	325	5
3	Fylanders	313	4
4	Powder Rangers	311	13
5	Mackhawks	306	5
6	Moilers	300	7
7	Winter Claassics	296	9
8	Los Samjawors Kings	290	8
9	Dicklas Lidstroms	284	4
10	Teeyotes	284	2
11	Patrik Stefans	276	7
12	Joshfrey Krupuls	273	10
13	Schizzarks	271	10
14	Quebec Rordiques	264	3
15	Vanrooser Canicks	251	10
16	W-Benham/Scranton Parkers	249	3

A few notes:

• The Vanrooser Canicks have been one of the hottest teams in the league lately. Last week they were 28 points back of 15th - now they are 3 points up on the WBS Parkers.
• A big week from the Los Amjawors Kings has put them in a playoff spot. They also completed a soon-to-be-announced trade that will provide additional depth down the stretch. 
• The Powder Rangers are not letting go of a money spot without a fight, with a huge Saturday night
• The G-Phil's Flyers are falling to earth a little bit, and with an injury to Malkin, the Micahleks are salivating
• The Fylanders are finally in the money
• Ben fuckin' Bishop is now second only to MAF for KL goalie points. A wonderful pickup for the Teeyotes, and a somewhat ironic result for the Quebec Rordiques, whose 42 points from Niemi is now good for 3rd in goalie points.

Transaction

Pretty big stack of players moving teams yesterday (and this close to the Christmas break - for shame). 

The Dicklas Lidstroms send:
Jakob Silfverberg, Dougie Hamilton, Artem Anisimov

To the Milan Micahleks for:
Justin Williams, Slava Voynov and Steve Downie

I confess to being a bit confused by this trade for the Micahleks. They are trading three guys who have combined for 52 points for guys who have a combined 27 points. Also, Hamilton and Silfverberg are both currently injured. 

Presumably the Micahleks want a top 2 finish, but in the short term the Lidstroms get the edge in this trade. Long term, the Micahleks are well positioned with a couple of good young players. 

Here's my assessment from the outside looking in:


Silfverberg has long term upside and could be a PPG player, but not this year. He had 7 points in 11 games, but that was at the start of the season when the Ducks were pouring goals into the net. If he hits 45 points I will be surprised. 

Justin Williams, on the other hand, has 22 points in 33 games. Much of that can be attributed to Jeff Carter's absence, but he is good for 50 points this year.

This year: Williams = Silfverberg
Two years from now: Silverberg >> Williams

Dougie Hamilton is a long-term keeper and should be a 45-50+ pt d-man - but again, not this year. He is on pace for 20 points and sits on the IR with a lower body injury. He is, however, prospect-eligible.

In exchange, the Micahleks give up Voynov - who should also be a 45-50+ pt d-man longer term. Remember, this dude led the Kings in scoring in the playoffs last year and is tied with Wayne fucking Gretzky for 2nd place in franchise history for playoff GWGs.

This year: Voynov > Hamilton
Two years from now: Voynov = Hamilton

Lastly, Steve Downie has 17 points in 28 games to Anisimov's 13 in 32. These guys actually have remarkably similar career numbers to date. Anisimov probably has more top end talent but is an "enigmatic Russian" - also he plays for the Blue Jackets. 

This year: Downie > Anisimov
Two years from now: Downie = Anisimov

Free Agent Targets

In 2010/2011 it was Jeff Skinner. In 2011/2012 it was Adam Henrique. In 2012/2013 it was Nazem Kadri. Each year there is a young guy who flies under everyone's radar at the draft but emerges as a fantasy stud, only to be too young to qualify as a free agent under our rules. Skinner went first overall the following year, ahead of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Henrique went third in 2012, before David Perron and Alex Galchenyuk.* This year, Kadri went second, the only player selected in the top five who was not part of the 2013 NHL draft class.

This season, we are still waiting for that coveted young player to emerge. I like to think that we are becoming better scouts, that Tomas Hertl is this year's Jeff Skinner and that we (okay, Rome) got him. In fact, nine of the current top 10 rookie scorers were owned or drafted before the season began.

One early candidate for the player we all want but can't have is Reilly Smith. Acquired from the Dallas Stars as part of the trade that saw Boston give up Tyler Seguin, Smith is a a relatively unheralded third-round pick that later developed into a sniper in college. In his last two collegiate years he netted 58 goals in 77 games. College success does not always translate to NHL success (as Smith's former college teammate and 71-point scorer, Andy Miele, knows all too well), but Smith had 35 points in 45 games as a rookie for the AHL's Texas Stars, so we know that he can play the professional game. Projected as a third-liner this year, Smith has been promoted at times to the second line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. He is on pace for 54 points.

Another candidate is Eric Gelinas, a New Jersey Devils defencemen you've probably already noticed if, like everyone except Greg, you're desperately looking for help on the blueline. Although ineligible as a free agent, the second-round pick is scoring at a 45-point pace (which is almost certainly unsustainable, although it's not too far off from his AHL pace).

I have a few other candidates in mind but I'll save them for future posts.

In the meantime, here are some eligible free agents I would consider adding if I needed to patch up an injury or just shake things up (I don't, my team is awesome):

F Wayne Simmonds, PHI - The Mackhawks let this beloved keeper go after a slow start. As the Flyers have righted the ship, Simmonds' fantasy game has improved, earning 10 points in his last 14 games. He's working the top powerplay unit with Claude Giroux. I recommend adding him and rubbing it in the Mackhawks' face.

F Scottie Upshall, FLA - One of my favourite hockey-isms is when guys have nicknames as first names, like Scottie, Dougie, and Johnny. That aside aside, injury-prone Upshall has never had any fantasy Up-side-at-all, until this year. On pace to demolish his career best 32 points, Upshall presently has 17 points, all but one of which have come in the last 19 games(!). The veteran is getting it done with Huberdeau and Bjugstad on the Panthers' top line and top powerplay unit. Add him and cross your fingers that he stays hot and stays off the IR.

F Matt Stajan, CGY - This pass-first centre will not get you a lot of goals, but he is second amongst Flames' forwards in TOI per game, averaging 19.5 minutes. After missing most of October, Stajan has been scoring at a 55-point pace, although he does not play with the man advantage.

D Andy Greene, NJD - Veteran Andy Greene once put up 37 points, but that was four seasons ago. This season he's on pace for exactly 37 again. Two encouraging signs are that Greene is manning the second powerplay unit and he has found 11 of his 14 points in the last 16 games. He's putting up points despite the Devils' difficulty scoring goals (28th in NHL).

D Matt Bartkowski, BOS - The 25-year-old had seen just 20 NHL games over the past three seasons, but has dressed for 16 games this year and earned 6 assists. The main reason he warrants consideration is that the Bruins blueline has been decimated by injuries. With Adam McQuaid, Johnny Boychuk and Dougie Hamilton all out, Bartkowski simply has to get more time and will certainly feature on at least the second powerplay unit.

*Schizz was probably the only person who would have taken Henrique in the first round.

10 Weeks, 2013

One of my very favourite posts from the golden age of this blog was this one, in which Commissioner Micah charted out our positions in Excel.

I've tried my best to recreate that, updated for the current year. 

I call this one simply "Spoons"

I call this one "A Tale of Two Teams":

 

I call this one "A Child Printing a C"

 

This one I call "Every Stock Bubble Chart Since the Tulip Bulb Crash of 1636-37" (the Rordiques are just entering the "Capitulation" portion of the "Blow-off" stage):

This one is called "Tender Love in a Field of Forget-me-nots"

"That Scene in Cliffhanger When Sly Almost Saved That Girl's Life But His Grip Was Not Strong Enough":

I call this one"The Dictatorship of the Bourgeoisie":

"Two Fates Intertwined" or "The Chart That Looks the Most Like a Chart in a Stock Photograph of a Board Room"

And last, I call this one "As Close as a Line Chart Can Possibly Get to Representing Matt Schissel's Thought Process"

 

 

KL Week in Review: Week 10 (also a transaction)

The standings 10 weeks in:

We're starting to enter the NHL winter hockey doldrums, where the playoff races aren't yet particularly interesting, the trade deadline is ages away, and even the on-ice product lacks a lot of energy. 

That's why we have the KL, though, right??? 

Even here, we have much the same as last week:

• The Vanrooser Canicks are still exactly 111 points out of 1st place (which is actually remarkable, since it means they have had a stellar week). 
• The gap between 8th and 9th has grown from 9 points to 10 points. 
• The top 5 is unchanged, with the Fylanders just barely out of the money again
• The Flyers are still about 30 points ahead of everybody

That said, there are a few changes of note:

• The Moilers have had a strong week, breaking a three-way tie for 6th on the strength of a 30 point week. In typical December hockey fashion, this doesn't actually change their position at all, they just get to say "I'm in sole possession of 6th" instead of "tied for 6th"
• Uh I guess the WBS Parkers and the Quebec Rordiques switched positions
• Seriously that it

Transaction


Dec-7-13 The Schizzarks drop Cory Conacher and add Nick Bonino

Conacher hasn't scored a point in 8 games and hasn't scored a goal since October 15. The dude has seen his ice time slashed and he may be playing his way out of a job. 

Bonino on the other hand has 22 points and would be a key part of any KL team's roster had he been drafted at the start. 

Great pickup -- I was wondering when someone was going to pull the trigger.

Transaction

A minor free-agent add/drop to announce:

Dec-04-2013
The Moilers drop Francois Beauchemin and add Niklas Hjalmarsson

The good: Beauchemin has been disappointing thus far (and is currently hurt), with 6 points since the start of the season. Hjalmarsson, on the other hand, looks poised to smash his previous best (17 points) with 13 points so far.

This provides the Moilers with some good depth on the back end as a bit of a gap develops between 8th and 9th. 

The bad: It serious took me like 8 tries to get these guys names right. Could the Moilers have picked a harder pair of names to spell?

November Awards

This is the second of a series of monthly awards recognizing some of the high points in the month gone by. If you missed October's, check out the link to "All Monthly Awards" on the left side of this post. 

Offensive Player of the Month The criteria for this is not simply the player with the most points, but rather the player who has most significantly impacted their GM's roster by playing above expectations, being incredibly hot, etc.  

This award isn't always going to go to the player who scores more points than anyone else in a given month, but this month it simply has to go to the G-Phil's Flyers Evgeni Malkin.  He scored 25 points in 14 games - a run that coincides with the return of James Neal.

HMs: James Neal, who has 16 points in 12 games and providing a much-needed boost to the Milan Micahlek's forward ranks. Also Johan Franzen, who has returned from injury and been an impact player for the Mackhawks with 12 points this month. I also have to mention Chris Kreider - remember when we made fun of the Winter Claassics for picking him last year, and kept him this year? Yeah, that no-talent hack had 13 points this month and its impossible to hear a Calder conversation without his name coming up.    


Defensive Player of the Month As above, the criteria is not merely the most points, but the player with the biggest impact relative to expectations.

Duncan Keith. With 16 points this month, he is not only the most productive defenceman, but one of the most productive players period. While Keith does have a 69 point season under his belt, his second-highest scoring season was 45. In a way its a shame he having what may be a personal-best season while on the 15th place WBS-Parkers - who need a 1st overall pick more than they need a 2nd or 3rd. 
 

HMs: Torey Krug. The Patrik Stefans were pretty high on this kid and for good reason. His 9 points keep him 2nd in rookie scoring - as a defenceman. Also, the Joshfrey Krupuls continue to get excellent production for Ryan McDonagh, who had10 points in 15 games. Not bad for a kid whose best year to date was 25 points.

Goaltender of the Month

Ben Bishop takes this award for the Teeyotes. With 20 more points this month, this trade continues to pay dividends and could be the difference between a playoff team and a lottery team - heck, with continued production from Bishop, a money spot is not out of the question for the Teeyotes. 

HMs: Undrafted Marek Mazanec would have provided 16 points for a team in the KL, had he been picked up. Also Semyon Varlamov put up very respectable numbers for the Los Amjawors Kings Quebec Rordiques, considering he's an alleged felon. 

GM of the Month This is a subjective award based not so much on activity, but on a general sense of how the moves (or in some cases, the lack of moves) made during the month benefits the team both now and in the future. 
 
Congratulations to the Powder Rangers. In a vacuum, Hagelin for Stamkos is the worst trade in the history of fantasy hockey. However, the Powder Rangers managed to keep Stamkos (and I know the sharks smelled the blood in the water) and are somehow maintaining 3rd place.   

HMs: The G-Phil's Flyers, who shored up a serious goaltending problem by grabbing Jaroslav Halak. Also the Fylanders, who probably got an upgrade from Timonen in Boyle, and then managed to put Monahan into his non-scoring roster while he heals up. 

KL Week in Review: Week 9

Here we are, 9 weeks in:

The top 4 remains the same as last week. The G-Phil's Flyers continue to pull away from the pack, with 41 points this week (and 164 points in the month of December). 

There is a bit of separation developing between the top 3 and the rest of the league - the 4th place Mackhawks, amazingly, are closer to 15th place then they are to 1st. The Mackhawks can't rest on their laurels though (that is for the Powder Rangers GM) - the Fylanders have moved into sole possession of 5th place and are 1 point back of a money spot.

Sticktaps to:

• The Moilers, who have moved from 13th to a 3-way tie for 8th on the strength of a league-leading 44 point week
• The Los Amjawors Kings, who have leapfrogged several teams to 9th place, from 14th

The Gary Bettman Boo to:

• The Quebec Rordiques 15 point week.  Wow.