The Goods on Fantasy Hockey
Pick Six: Saturday December 10
by Ian Gooding on 12/10/11 at 01:13 AM ET
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Usually when a team trades for a proven NHLer, its fan base shows optimism while hyping up the new acquisition. But when the team is Montreal and the player is Tomas Kaberle, the reaction is “Why?”
There are plenty of reasons to doubt Kaberle. After all, the Habs will be taking on $4.25 million for two more seasons after this season for a defenseman that they won’t need once Andrei Markov returns. The most telling comment about Kaberle had to be from Canes GM Jim Rutherford, who said, “I should have known better,” when referring to his decision to sign him. I’m sure Rutherford didn’t make that comment while he was attempting to work that deal with Montreal!
So does all the cynicism and doubt about a player who has been in four different NHL organizations in 2011 mean that he is a player that you should ignore in fantasy leagues? Let’s discuss the road ahead for Kaberle, along with a few other players who have been noteworthy recently.
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Pick Six: Thursday December 8
by Ian Gooding on 12/08/11 at 12:12 AM ET
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I stared at the TSN alert on my phone as I normally do when I read bad news.
“Pittsburgh Penguins says Sidney Crosby will sit out the next two games as a precaution.”
I don’t happen to own Crosby in any leagues. Crosby doesn’t even play for my favorite team; in fact, I had to swallow another bite of bad news later in the day with the announcement that David Booth, a player from my favorite team, would miss the next 4-6 weeks. But just like many Crosby owners out there, I automatically feared the worst. Is the injury concussion-related? The reports aren’t clear. But what if following these two games, he misses two more?
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Pick Six: Tuesday December 6
by Ian Gooding on 12/06/11 at 12:00 AM ET
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So… how about this realignment thing?
I know I write the fantasy hockey column at Kukla’s Korner, but chances are at this moment you’re paying more attention to realignment and how it affects your favorite team than your fantasy team. There are so many issues at play here: guaranteed home-and-home matchups with all teams; the new playoff format; lessened travel for Western Conference teams; which of Detroit, Nashville, or Columbus should move east; the yet-to-be-determined permanent home of the Phoenix Coyotes; and teams that should be contracted (a topic hardcore long-time fans love to bring up whenever relocation is discussed).
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Pick Six: Saturday December 3
by Ian Gooding on 12/03/11 at 12:12 AM ET
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A total of 12 games are on the schedule for Saturday, meaning that all but six teams (Detroit, Colorado, Minnesota, Anaheim, Columbus, and Vancouver – all from the Western Conference) are in action. All of those teams except for the Blue Jackets play on Sunday, while Calgary is the only team that plays both Saturday and Sunday. So it should go without saying that you should load up on Flames and avoid Blue Jackets if you need to make up ground in offense this week in head-to-head leagues. Aside from the Flames and Blue Jackets, here are my weekend recommendations.
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Pick Six: Thursday December 1
by Ian Gooding on 12/01/11 at 12:23 AM ET
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Thursday is somewhat busy night with eight games on the schedule. Perhaps there will be a few start/sit decisions in fantasy lineups, but I’ll use the opportunity to identify some unlikely names that could possess some immediate value and some usual names that are mired in slumps. And no, Bobby Ryan hasn’t been traded yet.
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Tags: Andrew+Raycroft, Brandon+Dubinsky, fantasy+hockey, Ian+Gooding, Martin+Havlat, Mason+Raymond, Pascal+Dupuis, Pick+Six, Stefan+Elliott, The+Goods,
Pick Six: November 29-30
by Ian Gooding on 11/29/11 at 12:07 AM ET
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Can coaching changes impact fantasy leagues? Sure! For starters, all players on the team begin with a clean slate as they attempt to make a solid first impression with the new bench boss. As well, a new coach provides a fresh set of eyes to look at some of the problems that the old coach couldn’t handle, meaning possible improved results for struggling players.
With that in mind, it was a bad day for coaches of struggling Southeast Division teams, as Bruce Boudreau and Paul Maurice were both handed their walking papers on Monday. Dale Hunter and Kirk Muller will both make their NHL head coaching debuts on Tuesday, which should make the St. Louis/Washington and Florida/Carolina matchups two to watch. This version of the Pick Six includes players who could be positively impacted by Monday’s coaching changes.
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Tags: Alexander+Semin, Alex+Ovechkin, Bobby+Ryan, Cam+Ward, Cory+Schneider, fantasy+hockey, Ian+Gooding, Jonas+Hiller, Magnus+Paajarvi, Pick+Six, The+Goods,
Pick Six: Saturday November 26
by Ian Gooding on 11/26/11 at 01:13 AM ET
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Just like many NHL teams, the Pick Six is playing back-to-backs on Friday and Saturday. Following a busy Black Friday, which you hopefully spent more time watching hockey than shopping, Saturday also provides plenty of action with 11 games on the schedule, meaning still more roster choices in daily leagues. Don’t forget that there are more afternoon starts on Saturday, all of which happen to be old Patrick Division clubs (Islanders at Devils, 1 p.m. ET; Flyers at Rangers, 2 p.m. ET).
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Pick Six: Friday November 25
by Ian Gooding on 11/24/11 at 11:25 PM ET
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With the exception of Colorado, Los Angeles, Nashville, and San Jose, all NHL teams are in action on Black Friday. You’ll need to set your fantasy lineups before you head out shopping, since the first game starts at 1 p.m. ET (Detroit vs. Boston).
Speaking of shopping, I have to admit that I don’t really like it, which may seem strange for someone who is a marketing major. However, anyone who knows me will say that I would rather study something than participate in it. I guess that’s why I play a lot more fantasy hockey than the real game. But since I don’t like shopping, I’m going to make the theme of this Pick Six players that you should not be purchasing in your fantasy league anytime soon.
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Tags: David+Booth, Derick+Brassard, Dwayne+Roloson, fantasy+hockey, Ian+Gooding, Kyle+Turris, Pick+Six, Scott+Gomez, The+Goods, Ville+Leino,
Pick Six: Wednesday November 23
by Ian Gooding on 11/22/11 at 11:51 PM ET
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As we near American Thanksgiving, we hockey fans have a lot to be thankful for. In particular, we need to be grateful for the return of one Sidney Crosby, the NHL’s marquee player. (Hopefully you’re not an Islanders fan – all of North America just got to see how lousy your team is.) So it should be no surprise that the most intriguing of Wednesday’s 13 games will be the St. Louis/Pittsburgh matchup, a game that many hockey fans will be checking to see how many points Crosby scored.
With all but four teams (Edmonton, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Toronto) in action on Wednesday, hockey fans will have a large spread of games to choose from. The same cannot be said for Thursday, a day in which the NHL will not play any games in an attempt to not compete with the NFL, which has cornered the market on Thanksgiving sports action.
And remember, I’m Canadian, so no turkey for me on Thursday. It’s a normal work day for me.
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Pick Six: Saturday November 19
by Ian Gooding on 11/19/11 at 01:09 AM ET
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A total of 24 teams are in action on Saturday. Rather than listing them all, I’ll just say that all teams except Anaheim, Calgary, Carolina, Colorado, Ottawa, and Vancouver are in action on Saturday. Say, I wonder why the Ducks seldom play on a Saturday but always seem to play on Sunday – can anyone answer that? There could be an inherent advantage to owning Ducks players in leagues that have high bench/start ratios. That’s something to think about as I ramble on about the Pick Six for Saturday.
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About The Goods on Fantasy Hockey
My name is Ian Gooding, and this is The Goods on Fantasy Hockey. Given my ability to understand numbers, write sentences, and follow hockey, it’s not a surprise to those who know me that I became a fantasy hockey writer. I started writing about fantasy hockey in 2006 for fantasyhockey.com and became the site’s content editor in 2007. Looking to expand my audience, I joined Kukla’s Korner in the summer of 2011 to create the site’s first fantasy hockey blog.
A few times each week, I’ll provide an article called “Pick Six” where I will write about six players that should either be in your fantasy team’s starting lineup or bench for the upcoming game. As well, I’ll provide the fantasy takes on important hockey developments. You can also email me your questions or comments to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), or follow me on Twitter.
