KL Week in Review: Week 18 (also some transactions)

BREAKING NEWS: The Patrik Stefans are no longer in 12th place.

They are in 13th, which is the first time in weeks they have been in any other spot but 12.

There are plenty of other observations that could be made, but really, let's get right to the two recent-ish transactions. There are a couple new sheriffs in town, and they're at the helm of the Teeyotes and the Winter Claassics. 

Jan 16 2014
The Winter Claassics send Loui Eriksson, Brian Gionta and a 2015 1st round draft pick
to the
WBS Parkers for Patrick Marleau, Saku Koivu and a 2015 5th round draft pick.

The 5th place Winter Claassics can taste the money spot and are willing to pay to get there. Marleau is on the back side of his career but is playing PPG hockey. The WBS Parkers did well to get value for him now as there is no telling when his game could nosedive. 

Great trade all around and I know at least one top 4 GM is pissed at himself for not kicking the tires on Marleau earlier. With a few new faces entering the race this could be a very interesting trade deadline.

Jan 18 2014
Not to be outdone, the surging Teeyotes (seriously, 44 points this week to lead the league in points both on the week and the month) drop Kris Russell and add Jason Demers.

Demers has 24 points as a defenceman and would be on most teams scoring rosters. Russell, on the other hand, has been hurt. Even if both players were equal, going for the guy playing on the Sharks over the guy playing for the Flames is always a good bet. 

December Awards/KL Week 14: Week in Review

Happy New Year GMs!

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

Conveniently, the week ends today as well. Here we sit after three months and 14 weeks of competition:

Week in Review Notes:

• The Schizzarks continue to plummet. They sit 10 points out of last, and a resurgent Vanrooser Canicks team threatens to leapfrog them in short order.
• The best week (23 point) belongs to the Joshfrey Krupuls, who find themselves in serious playoff contention
• I'm super excited to see the Winter Claassics a mere 5 points out of a money spot. 
• 4 teams are within 4 points of each other, straddling the playoff line. A clever move could put one of them over the top - or leave them in the dust. 
• The Fylanders and Micahleks continue to inch their way closer to the top position. Assuming all else remains equal and the top 3 continue at the exact same pace, the Fylanders will eclipse the Micahleks by the end of January and catch the Flyers by the end of February.

Offensive Player of the Month  

This simply has to go to Claude Giroux of the Joshfrey Krupuls. He has scored 19 points in the month of December (after scoring 18 points in all of October and November). Only Crosby and Kane have more points that that this month. Coupled with continued production from Kyle "All you guys at the KL draft have egg on your face" Okposo, Giroux's return to form has made the Krupuls a serious playoff team.


HMs: Patrick Sharp of the Vanrooser Canicks. Desperately in need of a top forward, Sharp has emerged this month as a premiere scoring forward, with 18 points in the month of December. I'd also be remiss if I did not mention Patrick Kane, who has kept pace with Sidney Crosby with a remarkable 23 points - we all knew he was good, but did anyone really think "the only guy in the NHL with a realistic chance of catching Crosby" good? Lastly, the Moilers continue to quietly put together a very impressive season as Taylor Hall rounds into form, with 19 points.

Defensive Player of the Month

The Winter Claassics owe part of their success this month to none other than Cam Fowler. After two consecutive disappointing seasons (especially given his stellar rookie season), Fowler has 11 points in December and is presently on pace to catch PK Subban on the Winter Claassics roster. 
 
HMs: Duncan Keith. Last month's winner has led all defencemen in December with 15 points and sit atop the WBS Parkers' scoring roster - he looks set to smash his previous records. Also of note, late round flyer Andrej Sekera of the G-Phil's Flyers has 10 points in December and is now 13th in NHL D scoring.

Goaltender of the Month

Martin Jones of no KL team whatsoever. Remarkably, this unheralded youngster has played exactly 10 NHL games, all in December, earning a stunning 26 Keeper League points. Does Quick's expected return spell A-H-L for this rookie netminder, or do the Kings opt to keep him up with the team in the event Quick falters again? Will a KL GM take a flyer on this guy?

HMs:  The Powder Rangers have desperately needed points from anywhere they can get them after losing Stamkos for who-knows-how-long in November, and they've gotten exactly that from Craig Anderson, who is amongst the upper tier of point-getters in the KL with 16 on the month. Also of note, Carey Price's 17 points are the only parachute on the rapidly falling Schizzarks.

GM of the Month

It's been a quiet month, but congratulations to the Milan Micahleks. I hated the their trade with the Dicklas Lidstroms, but you can't argue with results - they are sitting pretty in 2nd place. The players traded away and the players obtained all have a total of 8 points in December, but that is without anything from still-injured Dougie Hamilton. It looks like this trade will pay dividends on an ongoing basis.

HMs: The Dicklas Lidstroms, who even in spite of the above got good value for good value in their trade with the Micahleks. Also the Mackhawks, who have maintained a playoff position despite a stunning run of injuries - nor have they panicked. Dropping an injured Dupuis to bring Simmonds back to the fold was the right move as well.

(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

In the first transaction of the year, the Winter Claassics drop Martin Erat and add Mason Raymond. (edit: the answer to my rhetorical question from earlier is "almost exactly 1.5 hours" - G.)

Not much to say here. Erat is averaging like 7 minutes per night. Raymond has 4 points and looks rejuvenated and sort of pissed off. Even if MayRay fails to keep up his torrid pace.... he was going to outscore Erat.

Fun fact: On January 5, 2012, the Mackhawks traded Teemu Selanne to the Dicklas Lidstroms for Martin Erat and the Keeper League almost imploded.

Between January 6, 2012 and the end of the regular season, Erat actually outscored Selanne, 36 points to 30, meaning that Dickie came out the loser on that trade that year, and we lost our collective shit over nothing. 

Last year they both had 24 points each, in 45 games (Erat) and 46 games (Selanne).