Late round picks in fantasy hockey are just as important as early picks. While looking for production from your late round selections, you must find a player that has the opportunity to succeed.
The 2008-09 NHL season will kick off on Oct. 4 when the Rangers and Lightning do battle in Prague, and the Penguins and Senators face off in Stockholm, which means you have just a few weeks left to prepare for your fantasy draft.
“It isn’t tennis, I can tell you that much!” xxclaimed one local observer who, out of embarrassment, wished to remain anonymous. “They both just kinda…push the ball over the net, you know?"
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Adam Kirshenblatt
1. Buffalo Sabres: The Sabres right now are unstoppable. They tied the NHL record for most wins coming out of the gate with 10 and there are no signs of slowing down. Ryan Miller has picked up where he left off last year and the team has not slowed down… literally.
2. Atlanta Thrashers: Surprisingly, Marian Hossa is being considered as the best player in the NHL right now on many sports talk radio stations. He’s being the complete player that Ottawa hoped he would be before trading him. In other words, he’s a “horse” for the Thrashers. Put him with someone like Kovalchuck who is still great and Lethinen making his mark as being one of the great young goalies in the NHL, you have the 2nd best team in the league.
3. Dallas Stars: Like always, Marty Turco is doing great in the regular season and as Turco goes, so do the Stars. Turco’s judgment will come in the playoffs but right now he is a top 3 goalie in the league. As for the rest of the team, Lindros is playing well on Modano’s wing and is benefiting on not being the centre of attention. While Morrow taking the captaincy away from Modano has not been an issue.
4. Minnesota Wild: Injuries caused the Wild to fall down to this spot on the list. Gaborik being hurt for 10 days really hurts the wild. Before that the Wild were right up there with the Sabres with their only loss coming from the powerful Sharks. Demitra and Gaborik have been clicking together while Manny Fernandez has been very solid in net. The defense has been strong for them as well with no one really standing out. Once Gaborik is back they could be in the top 3.
5. Anaheim Ducks: Despite the fact that the Ducks aren’t “mighty” anymore, their defense proves otherwise. Pronger and Neidermayer are the faces of this team and deservingly so. They mark as best defensive pair in the league. On top of that the young guns like Perry and Getzlaf have been everything the Ducks hoped they’d be. The one concern for them is that a goaltending controversy has come up. JS Guigere is right now the starting goalie but they might want to get Bryzgalov in there at some point. A trade could be in the making as well.
6. San Jose Sharks: The Sharks are still everything everyone thought they would be. Thornton right now hasn’t scored but he’s still setting everyone up. Cheechoo is still picking up where he left off last year 5 goals and 5 assists and Marleau is still the heart and soul of the team, leading them on and off the ice. A goalie controversy can start here as well with Nabokov and Toskala, both of who are #1 goalies on any other team. One of them could be traded by the deadline this year. Matt Carle is added to a list of good young defensemen on this team, but the defense still has to prove they belong before they’re considered Cup contenders by people who haven’t been watching them.
7. Ottawa Senators: After a slow start, the Sens are back on track with 3 giant wins against the Devils and Leafs twice. Look for Spezza to be close to the tops in points this year with Heatly to challenge for the Maurice Richard Trophey. Ottawa is more sound defensively without Chara so far while they are still contributing offensively. Once Alfreddson gets going the they will be challenging the Sabres for top spot in the East soon.
8. Pittsburgh Penguins: Is the future now for the Penguins? Right now it looks like it. This team has three potential franchise players in Sydney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jordan Staal and all three are playing like it. The scary thing about them is that they can only get better. On top of that, they have a potential franchise goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury who is also doing what he can to carry the team. Sergei Gonchar has taken the responsibility to actually play defense as much as he possibly can and it seems to be working. Not sure how long this will last but better enjoy it while you can Pens fans.
9. Vancouver Canucks: Roberto Luongo is the key to the Canucks success and so far it seems to be working. Most of their losses have been by 2 goals or less with Luongo being able to steal games for them. The Sedin twins have been able to pick up the offensive load that Todd Bertuzzi left when he was traded and the loss of Jovanoski has not been that noticeable so far. Look for Mattias Ohlund to step it up at some point with all the playing time he’s been getting.
10. New Jersey Devils: The Devils look like a Jekyll and Hyde team right now and the player that most personifies this is Martin Brodeur. Some nights he’s amazing, what we’re all used to, other nights he’s letting in 7 goals a game. Brian Gionta is right now leading the team offensively. What the Devils need right now is for newly appointed captain Patrick Elias to step it up a bit more for the Devils to get home ice in the East.
11. Montreal Canadiens: The Habs are looking pretty decent these days, despite what Sergei Samsonov’s feelings about being sent to the 4th line. After a slow start Alexei Kovalev and his linemates have snapped out of their funk and scoring in bunches, while the top line with Koivu have been doing it all year. Sheldon Souray in a contract year has been a force on the blue line for the Habs, despite the fact that he chose to play the season despite needing surgery, which could have kept him out for a good portion of the year. As it turns out the Canadiens have a good 1-2 punch in net, when Huet isn’t on, they have David Aebischer to pick up the load.
12. Edmonton Oilers: The best defense is a good offense. This is what the Oilers have to belief after their losses on defense this past off-season. Ryan Smyth is doing what he does best being in front of the net getting his garbage goals, while Joffery Lupul has fit in well with their offense. Dwayne Roloson has been solid in net while the defense has not caused too much trouble for them. The Oil are unbeaten at home, but are having trouble on the road.
13. Nashville Predators: Right now the Preds are having trouble keeping the puck out of their net. However, despite that they are ahead of the Red Wings for tops in the Central division. Jason Arnott has been good addition to centre Paul Karyia’s line and their offense has been perfectly fine. Over the past few games the defense and goaltending have been getting better as well. They will turn it up a notch pretty soon.
14. Colorado Avalanche: The Avs took a chance last year and acquire a struggling Jose Theodore to be there starting goalie. Right now it still doesn’t look like it’s paying off. Theodore has been average and at times backup Peter Budaj has out played him. Offensively they’re great and defensively they haven’t been that bad.
15. Toronto Maple Leafs: The Leafs are doing exactly what most thought they would. They are one night then horrible the next. After two big losses to the Senators have Leaf fans screaming for heads to roll and pessimism is high right now. Raycroft is the personification of the Leafs right now. He has been absolutely superb one game then average the next. Offensively, the team is still being led by Sundin, though it’s Darcy Tucker who is the team’s leading point getter. Defensively after Kubina’s injury, leaves everything in the hands of Kaberle, McCabe, and Gill who right now aren’t doing the job. Things will turn around for them, but they are no more than a mediocre team
16. Detroit Red Wings: Right now the Wings are acting as a mediocre team. It seems the loss of Shanahan, Yzerman, and Legace really affected them negatively. Datsyuk and Zetterberg have started with a slow start but don’t expect that to last. Lidstrom hasn’t changed at all and is still a premier defenseman in the league. While in goal Wings management holds their breath whenever Hasek is in a collision. They’ll be fine but won’t be the Wings that we’re used to seeing over the past decade.
17. Florida Panthers: The Panthers have surprised most this year. Bertuzzi with Olli Jokinen have been a great dynamic duo, while Alex Auld is showing that Canuck fans have been overreacting about him. He is a good goalie and still is getting better. Like it was when Luongo was in net, the defense is letting too many shots go on goal. If they ever want to make the playoffs they’ll need to help Auld out in that department.
18. Carolina Hurricanes: The Stanley Cup champs haven’t played like it recently. Cam Ward has been shaky this season while losing their first few games. Scott Walker has been a surprise for the team leading them in goals after being hurt for most of the year in Nashville last year.
19. Washington Capitals: Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals have been exactly what most thought they’d be. They compete every night and use hard work to get wins. AO is off to a slower start than last year but he’s still one of the league’s top superstars.
20. Tampa Bay Lightning: Tampa has been an average team at best. They’ll win some nights, lose the next. Mary St.Louis is finally starting to heat up. Everything will ride on goaltender Marc Denis to do what he couldn’t do in Columbus… make the playoffs
21. New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist has been shaky for the Rangers, but don’t expect that to last long. Shanahan has fit in well with is new Ranger teammates and it won’t be long until New York is fighting Pittsburgh and New Jersey for tops in the Atlantic
22. St. Louis Blues: The forwards in St. Louis are proving that they aren’t over the hill. With players like Bill Guerin already with 8 points and Keith Tkachuk with 7 points. Their defense is still very solid despite injuries to Christian Backman while Manny Legace is keeping them in games. They’re on the door step of a playoff spot.
23. New York Islanders: The joke that is the Islanders isn’t as funny anymore. Many thought that once DiPietro went down earlier in the year that it would be the Isles downfall. Well backup Mike Dunham kept them in the race, and while it’s practically impossible to have a goaltending controversy with a contract like DiPietro’s we all know if that wasn’t the case there would be more talk of it. The top line of Victor Kozlov, Alexei Yashin, and Mike Sillinger is producing and if they continue to do so, they will be in contention all year.
24. Los Angeles Kings: The Kings are having trouble in that very hard Pacific Division. Dan Cloutier has been shaky at best in goal while Mathieu Garon has been just a tad better then Cloutier. Big surprise for most people is rookie centre Anze Kopitar. The 19 year old Slovenian has 3 goals and 9 assists for a total of 12 points, leading the Kings. However, this past off-season the Kings dealt a lot of their talent for youth, so if they continue to play like this, the playoffs will be a wild dream
25. Chicago Blackhawks: The Hawks were looking absolutely great at the beginning of the season. Havlat was leading the team in points, Khabibulin was back to old form and they were imitating the speedy Sabres quite nicely. However, the injury bug hit them. Havlat is gone for a week or so, as is Khabibulin, and add to the list Michael Handzus, who was 2nd in scoring for the Hawks. It is going to be very tough for them to keep it up with the injuries, but if they can some how hang on, they could be more than just a spoiler.
26. Calgary Flames: Now what happened to the Flames? To be honest, no one really knows. Kiprusoff hasn’t played the way he normally can, but he had this slow start last year as well. Iginla has tried his best to lead the team, but he can’t do it alone. Every free agent or players that they’ve acquired through trades have died offensively once they arrived in Calgary. Just look at Tony Amonte of last year and Alex Tanguay this year. Aside from Dion Phaneuf who hasn’t missed a beat from last year and Robyn Regehr, the defense hasn’t always helped out Kipper that much. If they don’t snap out of this soon, they might not even make the playoffs.
27. Boston Bruins: A lot of people were really high on the Bruins going into this year. However, the one fear that they had has come true. Goaltending is a major issue this year. The Bruins are looking for a starting goalie after Tim Thomas has not been able to do the job. Newly appointed captain, Zdeno Chara, has played like he’s trying too hard. He’s trying to fix the problems the Bruins are having by himself. Boyes and Bergeron are off to decent starts so far, but not what the expectations were. In a tough North East division this is going to be a hard comeback for them if they were to make the playoffs.
28. Phoenix Coyotes: If Wayne Gretzky wasn’t who he was, then he would have been fired by now. The Coyotes should not be where they are in the standings with that team. Curtis Joseph has been shaky in net and the defense hasn’t helped him out. The offense hasn’t scored much either getting one goal a game for them. Someone has to do something or things could get really messy in the desert.
29. Columbus Blue Jackets: The Blue Jackets surprisingly can’t put the puck in the net. They are in the bottom 3 in the league in goals for. This shouldn’t happen with that team. They are loaded with great skilled forwards. Granted they didn’t have Sergei Fedorov first couple of weeks of the season but there’s no reason they aren’t scoring. Pascal Leclaire is proving he can play with the big boys in net, he just needs some help defensivly. Look for Duvie Westcott to become the leader of the defense one day.
30. Philadelphia Flyers: Ken Hitchcock is gone. Bobby Clarke is gone. It’s a new era in Philadelphia Flyer history. However, the old team hasn’t left yet. Their defense is old and slow and they still don’t have a number 1 goalie who they can count on. Their young forwards, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards, are undergoing the sophomore slump, while the rest of the team just aren’t scoring. Scary thing is they haven’t had their injury problems yet. Forsberg and Pikanen are very injury prone so they should go down at some point. If this happens it will be a long year for Flyer fans.
