KL Week in Review: Week 16 (plus some transactions)

16 weeks in and things are starting to get a little interesting again:

Notes for the week:

• The G-Phil's Flyers hold on 1st place is increasingly tenuous as both the Fylanders and Micahleks continue to close the gap. 
• The Micahleks have had a huge week with a league-leading 44 points, 11 of which came last night
• The Powder Rangers continue to cling to 4th place - remarkably, though, the Winter Claassics were in 4th place for portions of the last week
• The Los Amjawors Kings have slowed down somewhat but remain a viable playoff team, much to the surprise of early season prognosticators
• The Patrik Stefans are really, really good at holding 12th place. 
• The Schizzarks teased the bottom of the league last week but have managed to pull themselves up to a comparatively respectable 15th place. 

Injury notes :

The Winter Claassics are, remarkably, the only 100% healthy team in the league right now. There are some key injuries to a lot of teams that may result in some shuffling in the standings over the next week or two:

• G-Phil's Flyers - Mike Babcock says not to expect Pavel Datsyuk back "any time soon". With both the Fylanders and Micahleks coming fast, 1st place is very much up for grabs
• Milan Micahleks - Ryan Getzlaf isn't broken but his return date is unknown. The Micahleks expect to win, but these injuries are letting the Fylanders catch up.
• Teeyotes - Standout goaltender Ben Bishop has a sprained wrist. He is experimenting with different taping strategies but his return date is unknown. The Teeyotes are 9 points from a money spot but only 8 points from 9th place - these are critical lost points.
• Mackhawks - Johan Franzen (22 points in 30 games) has been a steady producer for the Mackhawks, but is at least a week or more away from returning from his concussion. The Mackhawks need their depth to hold 8th.
• Moilers - Luongo, Eric Staal, and Patrik Elias are all day-to-day with no real timelines for their return. Lengthy absences from these players could spell doom for the Moiler's playoff chances
• Dicklas Lidstroms - injuries to Koivu and Alex Steen are hurting the Lidstroms playoff chances. Gaborik's injuries woes this season have already started the Lidstroms off on the wrong foot. Word is these guys may even be ready in time for the Olympics.
• Patrik Stefans - Both Couture and Galchenyuk - key young contributors - are out with hand injuries. Both are weeks away from returning.
• Schizzarks - An MCL injury to Parenteau and a foot injury to Parise have been a significant factor in the Schizzark's precipitous fall to the bottom of the league. Neither player is skating and both face lengthy recoveries. 
• WBS Parkers - Evander Kane is expected back shortly, but stunning rookie Thomas Hertl (a possible cornerstone forward for the expansion Parkers) is likely done for the season. The team has not said as much, but estimate as long as 9 months for recovery. There is no guarantee he will come back in the same form either - rough break for this team. 

Transactions:

There have been a few transactions over the last while. 

Jan-2-14
Moilers drop Lee Stempniak and add Andrew Cogliano.

Quickie analysis: Cogliano sucks less than Stempniak. Great mid-season pickup.

Jan-2-14
Patrik Stefans drop Ondrej Pavelec and add Anton Khudobin

Quickie analysis: System's spreadsheets have finally pumped out a winner (why there is a heavy unheralded Soviet bias in System's system is beyond me). Khudobin has filled in admirably for the injured Cam Ward, posting a 6-1-0 with a .936 save percentage this season.

Jan-5-14 - Trade

Joshfrey Krupuls send Joffrey Lupul and a 2014 7th round draft pick to the


Fylanders for Dustin Penner and a 2014 3rd round draft pick

Quickie analysis: The Fylanders dump slumping Penner for (surprise surprise) a Maple Leaf. Lupul is the better player and the Fylanders got him cheap. Headscratcher for the Krupuls but maybe they think Penner's time in the press box will jumpstart his production.

Jan-8-14 - Trade
Quebec Rordiques send Andrew Ladd and Antoine Vermette to the
Los Amjawors Kings for Mikael Grigorenko and Curtis Glencross

Quickie analysis: The Kings can taste a playoff spot and maybe even a money spot. They need depth scoring and got it in Ladd and Vermette. The price was promising youngster Grigorenko. Interestingly, Grigorenko has refused to report to the Q and his NHL future is in question, but his potential is huge. We'll have to wait to see what happens to declare a winner. 

(Belated) 2013 Keeper League Awards Ceremony!

I know, its a bit late and the new season is upon us, but in fairness, last season was a shit-show. It is also kind of fun to look at how some of these award-winners are faring thus far into our new season. 

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!")

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.

October Awards

I've decided to start handing out some monthly awards. We've just completed October so its time to recognize some early gems and interesting GM moves. 

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. 

With that in mind, it is hard to imagine choosing anyone other than Alexander Steen. He has 18 points in 12 games. Stick tap to the Dicklas Lidstroms for snapping him up in the 2nd round, 25th overall (for reference, I chose David "1 point" Desharnais 16th overall).

HMs: Kyle Okposo, who is proving us all wrong for grinding J-Kru's gears with 17 points in 14 games. Also Frans Nielsen, chosen in the 4th round by the Mackhawks and currently sitting 8th in NHL scoring.

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.


Marc-Edouard Vlasic.  His best offensive season was 2008-09 with 36 points and he looks poised to smash that this year. He was snagged off the waiver wire by the Winter Claassics, who have continued to enjoy steady, high production from this guy.

HMs: Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He is highly touted and was expected to develop in to a premiere defenceman, but it looks like he is finally coming into his own offensively. The Stefans have done well to remain patient with him, and his 11 points in 15 games is good for 4th in NHL scoring. Also I am going to pat myself on the back for weathering Erik Karlsson's injury last year and staying firm this year after a slow start. Karlsson leads all d-men in points and shows no signs of slowing down.

Goaltender of the Month
While the same criteria as above applies, it is impossible to give this award to anyone but the Los Samjawors Kings Antti Niemi. He has been outright dominant in this league format. 

HMs: Marc-Andre Fleury, and the Fylanders for continuing to believe in him. Ben Bishop for seizing the starting reins. A special mention to both the Los Samjawors Kings and the Teeyotes for recognizing his upside and making a trade that is still paying dividends as Bishop continues to produce.

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 Wilkes-Benham/Scranton Parkers. In particular, they managed to obtain a wonderful goaltender in Mike Smith as well as some good future pieces in Nikita Nikitin and Tomas Tatar in their October 23rd trade with the Fylanders, and made a shrewd move to pick up the Defensive Player of the Month in M-E Vlasic. 

HMs: The Los Samjawors Kings, who have certainly been the busiest, but how FA aquisitions Santorelli and Derek Morris will turn out is still up in the air. They did manage to extract Brent Seabrook from the Teeyotes, who is a clear upgrade on Tyler Myers in this format.

Transactions

One time in high school, me and my buddies went to the Laughing Llama, a local convenience/grocery store and decided to rent a porno. We picked the weirdest one possible. It was called "Transactions 2" and it featured, as expected, various transsexuals engaged in various actions. We put it on the TV at the top of the stairs which was our usual in-school hangout (for those who don't know, I went to a self-paced high school and this is why I took 6 years to graduate a 4 year high school program). Mrs. MacLeod was some upset when she came up the stairs that day!

Anyways, every time I type that headline, I think of that story and it makes me chuckle.

Two transaction to announce:

11/3/2013
The Los Samjawors Kings drop Eric Gudbranson and add Derek Morris.

11/3/2013
The Winter Claassics drop Olli Jokinen and add Andrew Shaw

Gudbranson has 1 point in 14 games, which hilariously puts him more or less on his usual career pace. The Kings needed some offence from their blue line and took a gamble on Derek Morris. Morris's best season was more than a decade ago when he scored 48 points with the Avalanche. In recent years he as been much more subdued, but is currently one of the hottest d-men in the league. Even if he reverts back to his usual pace, he is clearly a better point-getter than Gudbranson. 

The Claassics similarly identified some dead weight (Jokinen's 6 points in 15 games would put him at a career low 34 points) and the hot hand (Andrew Shaw has 9 points in 15 games, but 7 of those points have come in the last 9 games). 

If either or both of these guys defy expectations they will be great pickups, but given the players they are replacing, it is a win-win for both the Kings and the Claassics.

Transactions

I have a few to catch up on here. 

10/22/2013 Trade

The Quebec Rordiques send:

Dustin Brown, Brendan Smith, 2014 6th round draft pick

to the Dicklas Lidstroms for:

Drew Stafford and Michael Del Zotto

The Quebec Rordiques noted, correctly, that they "needed a D with Boyle going down and [their] D being a mess generally." Clearly Del Zotto is struggling early but in most other years would be competitive for a keeper roster slot. 

In exchange the Rordiques had to part with Dustin Brown, who could challenge for a scoring roster spot. Stafford, despite early struggles, is no slouch either, being barely removed from two consecutive 50 point seasons.  Perhaps there might be some chemistry with Matt Moulson? 

10/26/2013 FA pickup

The Los Samjawors Kings drop Ryane Clowe and add Mike Santorelli

Ryane Clowe sucks. I hate his name. Mike Santorelli is the hot hand right now. Has a much better name. Fun Fact: I learned, in adding this trade, that there is a dude named "Michal Macho" drafted in 2000 by the Sharks. He has not played an NHL game and is not a goon, both of which are disappointing.

10/28/2013 Trade

The Los Samjawors Kings send:

Ben Bishop and Tyler Myers

to the Teeyotes for:

Evgeni Nabokov and Brent Seabrook

Rumours have suggested that the busy Los Samjawors Kings have been trying to move Ben Bishop for some time - and for good reason. Bishop has seized the starting job in Tampa and has posted very good numbers. The Teeyotes - in desperate need of any goalie period - had to give up Brent Seabrook to get him. Look for the surprisingly engaged Teeyotes to attempt to shore up their defence corps if they wish to be a playoff team this year. 

Seriously I am so excited to see Teehan make a trade.