We're 60 days into 2016, and I thought it would be insightful to first look at which NHLers are performing the best in the calendar year. As a testament to this season's unpredictability, look who finds himself at the top:
After a quick scan of the list, it comes as little surprise that the Fylanders, Stefans, and Rangers have had the strongest past two months in the KL. And it comes as tragic fate that the Stefans declared their playoff aspirations early in the new year, but the teams holding down the 8th and 9th spots at the time were precisely the Fylanders and Rangers. It is all the more tragic that the Stefans' GM still believes he has a viable chance at the post-season.
| Fylanders | 245 |
| Patrik Stefans | 243 |
| Powder Rangers | 241 |
| Moilers | 234 |
| Milan Micahleks | 232 |
| G-Phil's Flyers | 227 |
| Dicklas Lidstroms | 222 |
| Teeyotes | 222 |
| Los Amjawors Kings | 219 |
| Winter Claassics | 216 |
| Joshfrey Krupuls | 214 |
| Quebec Rordiques | 203 |
| Valeri Nickrooshkins | 197 |
| W-Benham/Scranton Parkers | 191 |
| Mackhawks | 181 |
| Schizzarks | 147 |
What's remarkable to me is just how much some teams have battled back into being in the thick of things (not mine), while others that looked to be sure playoff locks, and money contenders even, are falling with acceleration. I haven't run any historical numbers, and I'm not going to, but it seems to me that by the end of December, gaps between our league's best and worse teams only widen, outside of perhaps one or two exceptions. This season appears to be a bit different.
Continuing to be driven by my own self-loathing, I thought to ask a question I asked near the end of last season (you may recall a video blog post): what if the KL didn't allow trades or any other acquisitions? I compiled the rosters as they were post-draft and ran the numbers last Friday as if this league were truly as "set it and forget it" format. I found sooommmmme comfort seeing the two-way battle at the top of that universe.
| Moilers | 590 |
| Milan Micahleks | 585 |
| Dicklas Lidstroms | 562 |
| G-Phil's Flyers | 562 |
| Powder Rangers | 555 |
| Patrik Stefans | 553 |
| Fylanders | 551 |
| Los Amjawors Kings | 546 |
| Quebec Rordiques | 533 |
| Joshfrey Krupuls | 532 |
| Teeyotes | 520 |
| Mackhawks | 502 |
| W-Benham/Scranton Parkers | 498 |
| Winter Claassics | 481 |
| Valeri Nickrooshkins | 475 |
| Schizzarks | 418 |
It is worth noting that the "would be" totals for the Flyers and the Lidstroms are exactly what they are in our present day reality. If only they had found some moxie... it's not too late, guys!
In the process of calculating the numbers above, I had to combine subrosters of keepers, draftees, and prospects, so just for fun, I provide you with the totals, listed by keeper strength:
| Team | Keepers | Draftees | Prospects | Total |
| Dicklas Lidstroms | 467 | 200 | 22 | 689 |
| Fylanders | 459 | 201 | 16 | 676 |
| Milan Micahleks | 442 | 273 | 0 | 715 |
| G-Phil's Flyers | 430 | 215 | 41 | 686 |
| Patrik Stefans | 413 | 249 | 27 | 689 |
| Moilers | 412 | 365 | 4 | 781 |
| Quebec Rordiques | 395 | 253 | 62 | 710 |
| Joshfrey Krupuls | 391 | 151 | 15 | 557 |
| Teeyotes | 391 | 229 | 42 | 662 |
| Los Amjawors Kings | 383 | 261 | 28 | 672 |
| Wilkes-Benham/Scranton Parkers | 362 | 185 | 68 | 615 |
| Mackhawks | 355 | 161 | 51 | 567 |
| Winter Claassics | 341 | 228 | 51 | 620 |
| Powder Rangers | 323 | 342 | 58 | 723 |
| Valeri Nickrooshkins | 316 | 276 | 23 | 615 |
| Schizzarks | 313 | 171 | 8 | 492 |
Granted, their draft numbers are a bit skewed by both needing two goalies, but the Moilers and Rangers absolutely dominated us on October 4th, and it wasn't even close. The Moilers' draft is outperforming SIX keeper rosters, while hilariously, the Rangers' draftees have outperformed HIS OWN keepers.
One final observation I make is the contributions from prospects. Neither of our two front-runners have gotten anything out of their protected two in Pouliot and Nylander (though I guess he fetched some trade value, which could ultimately prove to be the difference). But more to the point, I really don't think we have the system right yet. The numbers above appear to belie the presumption of any advantage in carrying protected players into the draft with the hope that they "break-out" at precisely the right time and meaningfully contribute to a KL championship.
And with all of that not-so-helpful information, do as you may to eff things up for yourself in the week ahead!
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