The Goods on Fantasy Hockey
Category: Ian Gooding
Bruins Beaten, Rangers and Devils Hang On
by Ian Gooding on 04/27/12 at 01:16 AM ET
Comments (0)
There will be a new Stanley Cup winner in 2012, since the Bruins will not be back in the final to defend their title. However, a pair of Game 7’s on Thursday allowed two first-round favorites in the Rangers and Devils to avoid the upset virus that has inflicted damage on top-seeded teams and many playoff hockey pools.
Filed in: fantasy hockey, Ian Gooding | The Goods on Fantasy Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Boston+Bruins, fantasy+hockey, Florida+Panthers, New+Jersey+Devils, New+York+Rangers, Ottawa+Senators, playoff+pools, Washington+Capitals,
The Oddsmakers Go Bankrupt; The Two Favorites Go Golfing
by Ian Gooding on 04/23/12 at 12:57 AM ET
Comments (1)
If you are like me and trust the oddsmakers, you would have loaded up on Penguins and Canucks in your playoff pool this year. However, an infinite number of betting lines and playoff pools have gone topsy-turvy with the surprise early exits of the two teams that many predicted would meet in the Stanley Cup Final. If we want to find out what this Stanley Cup Final series would have been like, you’ll need to play it out on NHL 12; or if you seldom touch video games (like me), on your table hockey game.
Before we look ahead, let’s look back at what went wrong for these two favorites.
Filed in: fantasy hockey, Ian Gooding | The Goods on Fantasy Hockey | Permalink
Tags: fantasy+hockey, Los+Angeles+Kings, Philadelphia+Flyers, Pittsburgh+Penguins, playoff+pools, Vancouver+Canucks,
The Wings Fly Away Early, Other West Powers Next?
by Ian Gooding on 04/21/12 at 01:32 PM ET
Comments (0)
Even though the majority of experts picked Nashville to defeat Detroit, the Red Wings were easily the sexier team when it came to playoff pools. On paper, the Predators don’t possess the equivalent of the likes of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, or even Johan Franzen. In addition, it’s difficult to pass up on Nicklas Lidstrom in any playoff pool, for all that he has accomplished in his career. But will be strange not seeing the Red Wings in their usual spot in the second round of the playoffs.
Filed in: fantasy hockey, Ian Gooding | The Goods on Fantasy Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Detroit+Red+Wings, fantasy+hockey, Nashville+Predators, playoff+pools,
Playoff Pools: Rate My Team
by Ian Gooding on 04/11/12 at 12:13 AM ET
Comments (2)
Just like tax season and the Leafs missing the playoffs, springtime in Canada is all about hockey pools. So whenever I receive an invite to one, I jump at the chance.
The following is my entry to a hockey pool at my wife’s work. For a mere 20 dollars, I pick any 20 players from any of the 16 playoff teams. The league uses a very simple scoring system - goals and assists - which is why you won’t see any goalies or even defensemen. This entry required approximately a half hour of thought, which is about the time I put into last year’s team, which won first place in a league of about ten contestants.
At the very least, you’ll get an idea of which teams I think will make it to the second round, based on my selections. Who did I miss? Who should I not have included? Feel free to provide feedback, and I might explain my selections and strategy.
Filed in: fantasy hockey, Ian Gooding | The Goods on Fantasy Hockey | Permalink
Tags: fantasy+hockey, hockey+pools, Ian+Gooding, The+Goods,
Fantasy All-Bust Team
by Ian Gooding on 04/10/12 at 09:51 AM ET
Comments (0)
Last and definitely least in our lists of First-Team All Stars, we have our All-Bust team. For some of these players, the writing was certainly on the wall for either a drop in production or an almost certain inability to hold a preseason ranking. However, all of these players disappointed fantasy teams in a significant way this season. The silver lining is perhaps these players could be in for a bounce-back next season, certainly at lower prices than before. Just don’t overpay on draft day next season.
As the custom has been, I’ll list my busts first. Then Chris Wassel from The Program will provide his list of fantasy hockey’s top underachievers this season.
Filed in: fantasy hockey, Ian Gooding | The Goods on Fantasy Hockey | Permalink
Tags: busts, Chris+Wassel, fantasy+hockey, Ian+Gooding, The+Goods,
Fantasy All-Sleeper Team
by Ian Gooding on 04/08/12 at 03:14 PM ET
Comments (0)
I continue my list of all-star teams with the top sleepers by position this season. It’s fair to say that all except one player on this list were not expected to be sleepers this season. But that’s part of the fun of fantasy hockey – if you look past the name of the player and what numbers he is supposed to post, you’ll find a surprising player that turns out to be an incredible fantasy asset.
First I will list my All-Sleeper Team, then Chris Wassel of The Program will list his.
Filed in: fantasy hockey, Ian Gooding | The Goods on Fantasy Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Chris+Wassel, fantasy+hockey, Ian+Gooding, sleepers, The+Goods,
The Program’s Fantasy All Stars
by Ian Gooding on 04/06/12 at 11:54 AM ET
Comments (0)
As promised earlier, here is Chris Wassel’s list of fantasy all stars. He has also included some top rookies, “vintage wines”, and a second all-star team in addition to the first all-star team.
You can find Chris’ work on both fantasy hockey and general interest hockey on his site, The Program.
Six months ago, fantasy hockey players started on a journey that would be filled with many highs and lows. There have been a lot of injuries and some very significant ones at that. We saw Sidney Crosby go down a couple times this year and miss quite a big chunk of time. Then there was the likely career ending concussion to Chris Pronger. It has been a tough year to gauge the top rookies, breakout players, and primetime warriors.
Those are the three categories we are using for this season ender known as the “Best Of The Best”. The reason we went with a bit of chronological youngest to oldest was simply because we could. For each category, we take our three best players and then add in a few honorable mentions. Yes that may stir up some more debate but remember this is from a fantasy hockey point of view.
Filed in: fantasy hockey, Ian Gooding | The Goods on Fantasy Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Adam+Henrique, Chris+Wassel, Claude+Giroux, Evgeni+Malkin, fantasy+hockey, Gabriel+Landeskog, Nicklas+Lidstrom, Ray+Whitney, Ryan+Nugent-Hopkins, Steven+Stamkos, Teemu+Selanne, The+Program,
Fantasy First All-Star Team
by Ian Gooding on 04/06/12 at 11:47 AM ET
Comments (0)
Here is the first of my series on the top fantasy players, sleepers, and busts by position this season. Each of these teams are set to resemble a starting lineup (1 G, 2 D, 1 LW, 1 C, 1 RW), so you could say this lineup has been created in the spirit of the First All-Star Team that is announced at the NHL Awards show every season.
I will post shortly a similar lineup from my good friend Chris Wassel of The Program. He also has a few bonuses in his article that I think you will enjoy.
Filed in: fantasy hockey, Ian Gooding | The Goods on Fantasy Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Erik+Karlsson, Evgeni+Malkin, fantasy+hockey, Henrik+Lundqvist, Ian+Gooding, James+Neal, Steven+Stamkos, The+Goods, Zdeno+Chara,
Pick Six Wrapup
by Ian Gooding on 04/02/12 at 01:04 AM ET
Comments (2)
If you play in fantasy hockey head-to-head leagues, you probably already know that a top-notch win-loss record doesn’t always promise the number one finish in the league.
All it takes is for one poor fantasy playoff week – an injury or two, or substandard play from otherwise solid performers – to end the season without the first-place trophy you were actively seeking all season. So with luck being an increased factor in the fantasy hockey playoffs, why bother checking your team at all during the regular season?
Filed in: fantasy hockey, Ian Gooding | The Goods on Fantasy Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Daniel+Sedin, Derek+Dorsett, Detroit+Red+Wings, fantasy+hockey, Henrik+Sedin, Ian+Gooding, Josh+Gorges, Matt+Martin, Pick+Six, Roberto+Luongo, The+Goods, Vancouver+Canucks,
Pick Six: Thursday March 29/Friday March 30
by Ian Gooding on 03/29/12 at 12:06 AM ET
Comments (0)
Here is something to give you an edge if you are in a dogfight of a head-to-head matchup this week and you want to maximize your games played.
Teams playing three out of the remaining four games this week: Boston, Florida, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh.
In other words, if you’re looking at any waiver-wire pickups for the rest of the week, you should take a hard look at players from those teams.
But as per usual, here is my Pick Six for both Thursday and Friday.
Filed in: fantasy hockey, Ian Gooding | The Goods on Fantasy Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Allen+York, Ben+Bishop, Christian+Ehrhoff, fantasy+hockey, Ian+Gooding, Jason+Zucker, Marcus+Foligno, Pick+Six, Ryan+Jones, The+Goods,
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.
