Sid'd!

Better luck next time Flyers.

That picture pretty much says it all from last night's game between the Pens and Flyers. After a ho-hum 1st period (with the exception of Godard beating down Riley Cote) the Pens carried the play for most of the rest of the game. Big props to Brooks Orpik for hitting a wide open Pascal Dupuis in OT and not passing to the equally open Sidney Crosby.

Also, VS. is already in mid-season form... their announcers were pretty unbearable last night. At least they have finally learned about the invention called the instant replay. Baby steps...

It's A Great Day For Hockey!

The Penguins have unveiled their new marketing campaign for this season and they could not have made a better choice:


Anything that brings up memories of "Badger" Bob gets an A+ in my book!

Anyone Feel A Draft?

Before things really kick into gear with the NHL season I thought I would take a moment to reflect on my two fantasy hockey drafts. I am in one of Sean's Going Five Hole head-to-head leagues as well as my own sponsored TOFTT roto league. Two very different leagues and two very different draft experiences as you will see. Picks are listed by round with overall selection place in parenthesis.

Team: Black n' Blue Line (GFH league)
Picks:

1. (3) Jarome Iginla
2. (22) Sergei Gonchar
3. (27) Chris Osgood
4. (46) Brenden Morrow
5. (51) Johan Franzen
6. (70) Miroslav Satan
7. (75) Cam Ward
8. (94) Ilya Bryzgalov
9. (99) Teemu Selanne
10. (118) Jordan Staal
11. (123) Duncan Keith
12. (142) Braydon Coburn
13. (147) Ryan Whitney
14. (166) Michael Ryder
15. (171) Joe Sakic
16. (190) Robert Lang

Notes:

• Taking Iginla at #3 was pretty much a no-brainer for me. No offense Geno.
• This draft was the night after Gonchar got hurt, which explains why I took him in the 2nd round.
• My plan was to take either MAF or Henrik Lundqvist in the 2nd round, but they were both gone. MAF was the 6th player off the board.
• Osgood, Franzen, Morrow, Satan, Staal, and Coburn should all be steady producers.
• Teemu at 99 should be a steal. Why won't he score at least 40 goals this season?
• I'm not looking forward to another season of Cam Ward, but I didn't have a lot of other options at that point.
• If Ryder can regain his form under Claude Julien he is a great value pick, as is Sakic at 171.
• I've already dropped Robert Lang to pick up Andy McDonald.

Team: TOFTT Again! (TOFTT league)
Picks:

1. (5) Dany Heatley
2. (18) Dion Phaneuf
3. (27) J.S. Giguere
4. (40) Carey Price
5. (49) Jason Pominville
6. (62) Derek Roy
7. (71) Mike Ribeiro
8. (84) Brent Burns
9. (93) Petr Sykora
10. (106) Pascal Leclaire
11. (115) Jordan Staal
12. (128) Daniel Carcillo
13. (137) Marek Zidlicky
14. (150) Tomas Plekanec
15. (159) Teemu Selanne
16. (172) Sean Avery
17. (181) Patrice Bergeron
18. (194) Alex Goligoski

Notes:

• Heatley could be a beast this year. I could end up regretting not taking him in my other draft.
• I could not be happier that "The Dion" fell to me at 18.
• I am set between the pipes with Giguere and Price. Leclaire isn't a bad third option to have either.
• If Buffalo makes the playoffs Roy and Pominville push me to an easy title here.
• I will own the PIM column with Avery and Carcillo. And they can both provide some offense too.
• Selanne at 159?!?! Somebody pinch me, I must be dreaming.
• If Patrice Bergeron is back to 100% he could be a nice asset to trade down the road. Plekanec could fall into that category too.

So there are my teams. Initially I was pretty down on my GFH league team, but I am feeling more upbeat about it now. I could not be happier about my TOFTT team. I felt better at the end of that draft then I had at a draft in a long time. Probably since my fantasy football heyday. I would seriously be shocked if I don't win that league. Knock on wood...

The 08-09 NHL Prediction Experience

It is the first of October, and that means the start of the 2008-09 NHL regular season is just a few short days away. Like any respectable hockey blogger, I need to chime in with my predictions for the season to come, so without further ado...

• Pacific Division Champ: Dallas Stars - This is going to be a tight division as the Stars, Ducks, and Sharks are all built to win now. While I really like the Ducks' chances this season, I really like what is going on in Dallas and I think they will eek out a division title.
  
• Northwest Division Champ: Calgary Flames - This division is down right now. I think the Wild and Avalanche have regressed a bit, the Oilers are still a year or two away, and the Canucks just are not that good. That leaves Jarome Iginla and the Flames to come out on top. Iginla should get serious Hart consideration again this season.
  
• Central Division Champ: Detroit Red Wings - I hate picking them to win, but there is not another team in their division strong enough to challenge them this season. Maybe next year Blackhawks fans.
  
• Southeast Division Champ: Carolina Hurricanes - This was a tough one to call for me at first. After giving it some thought though I think Carolina comes out on top. I think the Capitals will regress a little bit under raised expectations and there just isn't enough defense/goaltending in Tampa for me to pick them. I think the Hurricanes will take advantage of being able to fly under the radar for a bit and claim the 3 seed in the East.
  
• Northeast Division Champ: Ottawa Senators - Everyone and their mother is picking the Canadiens to run wild over the rest of the Eastern Conference this season, but I just don't see it. For some reason I can not explain I think the Sens are going to make one more go of it before their Stanley Cup winning window officially closes for a couple years.
  
• Atlantic Division Champ: Philadelphia Flyers - The Flyers are getting their franchise back on track and look to benefit from some addition via subtraction thanks to Derian Hatcher's injury status. I think this will be the most competitive division in hockey (again) this year, and I see the Flyers ending up on top. I think the Rangers will get off to a bit of a slow start as all of their new faces start to gel, and I think the Penguins will hit too many bumps in the road to win the division. Between the Europe trip and their injuries on defense I think the Pens will be hampered enough that they will have to settle for the fourth or fifth seed in the East.
  
• Hart Trophy Winner (MVP): Sidney Crosby - You will get some argument over this, but I think Sid proved last Spring that he is the best player in the game today. I think the defeat in the Finals will drive Crosby to take his game to another level, something that I am sure is a scary thought for the rest of the NHL. I think the Penguins as a team will have their struggles this season, but I do not expect many for their captain.
  
• Vezina Trophy Winner (Top Goalie): Henrik Lundqvist - I think this will be the year King Henrik breaks through and takes his first Vezina. I expect the Devils to drop off enough to deal a blow to Brodeur's chances. Then again, if Marty can get this year's Devils squad back to the post-season he may be deserving of some more hardware. Hopefully this is the year Marc-Andre Fleury gets his name into the Vezina discussion.
  
• Norris Trophy Winner (Top Defender): Dion Phaneuf - Much like Lundqvist with the Vezina, I think this will be the year Phaneuf breaks Nicklas Lidstrom's hold on the Norris trophy and starts a run of his own. Phaneuf is arguably the best all-around blue liner in the game and he should be a regular Norris finalist for the next ten seasons.
  
• Adams Trophy Winner (Top Coach): Dave Tippett - I already said I expect big things from the Stars and that should translate into some honors for their coach. Hopefully this award will go to a coach who gets continued excellence from his team all season long and not someone who squeaks into the playoffs with a team nobody expected a lot from.
  
• Art Ross Trophy Winner (Most Points): Sidney Crosby- As long as Sid stays healthy this one is a slam dunk. When the game's most gifted offensive player is also its hardest worker you have a recipe for scoring titles.
• Richard Trophy Winner (Most Goals): Dany Heatley - I went back and forth between Heatley and Iginla on this one, but finally settled on Heatley. I think Dany has the edge because he has better talent around him, like center Jason Spezza, and he will face more teams with bad defenses in the Eastern Conference (see Toronto and the entire Southeast Division as a reference). If Ilya Kovalchuk can stay interested for a full season in Atlanta he coule walk away with the Richard easily.
  
• Stanley Cup Finals: Dallas Stars v Pittsburgh Penguins - Only Detroit stood in the way of this dream matchup (as a Penguins fan withing driving distance of Dallas) last season, but I think I might just get my wish this time around. A lot can change between now and then (especially if someone like Marian Gaborik gets moved), but for now I'm taking this Finals matchup with the Pens skating the Cup on home ice with a six game series victory.

That's all for me from now. There's not much else to do except wait for the puck to drop in Prague and for Yahoo Fantasy to put Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney on IR (more on that later). So for the time being I guess I'll just sit back and wait for all the Caps, Habs, Sharks, and whoever else fans to tell me how stupid I am in the comments section. Game on!