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...

No Running By The Pool!

It is update time! First I'll hit on fantasy hockey. Yahoo is back up and my league is open. I still have plenty of spots open currently so if you want to join up:

• League ID: 5752
• Password: LetsGoPens

Now, on to NHL 09. The response to me trying to start up my own EASHL squad was less than desired. Because of that I have scrapped my GM plan and have signed on with the EASHL squad The Originals. So if you are playing NHL 09 online and want to throw down, look for us.

While we're here, I guess I will give my thoughts on the NHL 09 demo. It is freaking awesome! I am loving Be A Pro way more than I thought I would. I tried it out in FIFA 08 and wasn't that impressed by it, but I think it translates way better to hockey than soccer. My one complaint with the demo is that you can't choose your position. It is not that bad since I will be playing as a center when NHL 09 launches, but I was looking forward to the chance to strap on the pads and give goaltending a go. I guess that will have to wait a few days...

UPDATE:
Look at what I just found...

Players Wanted

Okay gang, it's audience participation time! I was going to hold off a little longer on this, but I think the time is right for action. I am organizing both a fantasy hockey league(s?) and an EASHL squad for XBox 360.

First concerning fantasy hockey. I will be setting up my league as soon as Yahoo (re)opens their fantasy hockey for the upcoming season. I have a couple commits, but still have plenty of room for more people. If you are interested in participating just send me an e-mail and I will send you an invite as soon as I get the league set up. I will set up multiple leagues if the demand is there.

Now onto what has the hockey nerd world buzzing... NHL 09's online league! I will be setting up an EASHL team on XBOX Live once the game ships in a couple weeks. I would love to add anyone who wants to join up to the roster. We can have up to 50 people on the roster with multiple games going on simultaneously. I think this is a great opportunity to have some fun online and develop a steady group of people to play with. If you want to enlist just send me an e-mail and be sure to include your XBox LIVE gamertag in the e-mail. You can also include what position you are likely to be playing if you have decided (my poll is still open if you want to have a say in my decision) and what time you are generally online. I know personally I will mainly just be playing at night, likely between the hours of 9PM and 1AM Central time. Not that that will really be an issue if we can get a decent sized roster together. Also, if you want to add me to your friends list on LIVE, my gamertag is merlin48.

That is about it for now. Feel free to leave any questions or comments in the comments section here or send me an e-mail. Otherwise, hockey season is almost here and things are finally starting to heat up!

Fantasy Hockey Live Chat This Thursday

As I have previously mentioned here, I will be plying my trade as a fantasy hockey writer over at Going Five Hole this season. I put up my first article last Wednesday laying out my rules for a successful draft and will publish my pre-season ranking of the Top 10 centers in fantasy hockey on Friday.

In the meantime, Sean will be hosting a fantasy hockey live chat this Thursday night at 9PM Central Time. Be sure to stop in with your fantasy hockey draft questions, or even just to say "Hi." if you want. Also, be sure to keep checking back here as I will have information about this season's TOFTT fantasy hockey league up as soon as Yahoo goes live.

My Own Free Agency Saga

So I had been sitting on this for a few days, but the cat is now out of the bag. I will not be writing for RotoTimes again this coming season. I will however be helping out Sean over at Going Five Hole with some fantasy hockey coverage. It was a tough two-part decision that turned out being very easy to make in the the end.

I decided a couple weeks ago that I was not going to write again for RotoTimes for the 2008-09 season. I enjoyed writing for them this past season and had a great experience working with my editor over there, Ray Flowers. My decision came down to the fact that I did not think I could give them the volume and quality of writing expected without sacrificing the amount of time I have to commit to TOFTT and The Flower Shop. I also did not feel up to being locked into a set article theme to be produced every week for an entire season. For these reasons I informed Ray that I was going to take a pass on writing for RotoTimes this season, but the door was left open on both sides and I would not rule out writing for them again in the future. In the meantime I heartily recommend RotoTimes.com and sister site Fanball.com as great resources for fantasy info.

So how does Going Five Hole factor into this equation? At some point earlier in the year Sean had e-mailed me about my fantasy writing and asked if I would be interested in contributing some fantasy posts for GFH. I am a big fan of Sean's and was definitely interested, but I could only write here and for RotoTimes until my contract with them ran out so my hands were pretty much tied. A few days after coming to my decision regarding RotoTimes I e-mailed Sean to see if he was still interested in having me contribute. We reached an agreement pretty quickly to say that I will be writing fantasy hockey posts over at GFH starting in late-August. After going through the pre-season motions I will be writing a weekly post and also commenting on any events that impact the fantasy landscape.

Now some of you might be thinking that I have agreed to do for Sean what I said I did not want to do for RotoTimes, but that is not the case. I am going to have more-or-less complete freedom over my posts on GFH. I will not have a word count to meet or be locked into a set format for my articles. I will beable to write about whatever I want to in the fantasy hockey world, and that was the key factor for me. Essentially, any fantasy posts I would have written here (or at least most of them) will now be appearing on GFH instead. Plus, Sean is apparently now referring to me as a fantasy hockey guru (I wonder if I can get that on my checks?), so I've got that going for me.

Looking Back To Look Ahead

It's housekeeping time here at TOFTT. I have a few items to discuss as I ramp up for what I hope will be a busy, entertaining, and insightful off-season. First of all, I published my last article for RotoTimes.com, which you can read here, this week. My contract is now at an end for them, but hopefully I'll be able to work something out so that I can continue writing for them in the future. I think it was a nice exercise for me to have a format and deadlines and I would like the chance to take it to another level in 2008-09.

Now, let's talk about what you can expect to see here in the coming weeks. First up, I will be doing a free agency preview for each division, starting tomorrow with the Pacific. My plan is to do one division per day on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week and next. I am going to start with the Pacific Division tomorrow and then work east until I wrap it all up with the Atlantic Division next Thursday. I will also more than likely mix in some other free agency commentary between now and July 1st.

Beyond that, I have other irons in the fire for the summer months. I will be doing another Salary Cap Challenge as well as another Prediction Panel. As before I will be enlisting the help of some of the blogosphere's best and brightest to participate in those posts. I also want to continue my analysis using Offensive Involvement Percentage (OI%) to break down the true top scorers of the NHL's past. My tentative plan with that is to break down the scoring leaders in each season by decade and see how they stack up. I will most likely tackle one decade per week (starting with the 1940's) and then keep a running list of the top 10 OI%'s in modern NHL history. So that is what I have planned so far. I will also be working on The Flower Shop so be sure to check in there as well. As always I'm open to feedback and ideas, so if you have any thoughts on where I should take this site during the harsh months of summer please by all means shoot me an e-mail.

Finally, I have a little gift out there for all hockey fans, but Penguins fans in particular. You can say what you will about the NHL, but in my opinion they are by far the best major sports league when it comes to using the internet to make their game more accessible to fans. With that in mind, I give you the classic Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Just in case you have 3 hours to kill.

Takin' Care Of Business

Just some odds and ends that I need to address:

I'm not even going to touch on Sean Avery Dance Fever because I think the blogosphere has pretty much beaten that horse to death, but I do think the NHL made the right move in the manner and timeliness in which they handled the situation.

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My latest contribution over at Fanball/RotoTimes is part of a piece handing out some awards for the NHL regular season. Some of them are standard stuff while other pertain solely to the world of fantasy hockey. In an interesting turn of events, you can also read the article over at Sports Illustrated's FanNation site. A little more exposure is never a bad thing...

If you care, my votes were:

• MVP - Malkin
• Vezina - Nabokov
• Norris - Phaneuf
• Calder - Price
• Out of Nowhere Star - Ribeiro (almost voted for Green)
• Most Overlooked - Staal
• Fantasy Bust - Marleau
  

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The Vs. Network is cranking up the ol' hype machine again for the playoffs:
So far their coverage has been pretty excellent and it has been nice to have two games to watch every night since the playoffs started. I only wish circumstances allowed me to watch more than I have been able. Vs. will continue to show two games per night as long as there are games to show as well as keep their Hockey Central studio show rolling along with various guests from the NHL filling in throughout the playoffs. Manny Legace was in studio for the first week of the playoffs and a new player should be starting their week (or so) run on Hockey Central tonight.

Vs. also seems to be quite pleased with the viewing numbers they are getting for their coverage. This is from their latest press release:

Now in its third year televising the NHL, VERSUS has seen a substantial increase in total viewership and ratings for the 2007/08 regular season compared to the 2006/07 campaign. At the conclusion of this year’s regular season, national household ratings were up 50 percent (.3 vs. .2), total viewership showed an increase of 28 percent (272,417 vs. 212,366), household impressions were up 20 percent (192,675 vs. 160,134) and viewership for Men 25-54 was up 45 percent (99,753 vs. 69,018).

It's nice to see NHL viewership growing. Hopefully this along with the NHL's many efforts online will help the sport catch on with fans. Especially younger ones who may not have been exposed to the sport, and playoff hockey in particular.

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One last thing...

As any of you who have been with me here for a while already know, along with being a hockey fan I am also a big soccer fan and a Liverpool supporter in particular. Today is the 19th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster. If you get the chance during your day, take a second and say a prayer for the families of the 96 we lost that day.

Fantasy Focus: Shameless Self-Promotion

After what has seemed like an eternal wait, my first article is now up at RotoTimes. I hope you'll take the time to stop by and read it. Your fantasy fortunes could depend on it!!!

I'll have a new "Fire and Ice" article up there every Friday through the end of the Finals, so be sure to check back regularly. And by all means feel free to e-mail me with feedback or leave comments here.

Fantasy Focus: One Last Push

Right now is a big time for 50% of fantasy hockey players out there. If you are in the bottom half of your standings and you hope to make a serious push for the title, it needs to start now. The season is well past the halfway mark and those currently on the outside of the top spots need to make changes now to save their season.

For those of you in head-to-head leagues this is easier said than done. It's tough to predict just how things will work out on a weekly basis, but there are still ways you can improve your chances at advancing to your fantasy playoffs. If you are in a roto league it is (for my money at least) easier to get back into the thick of things. The only problem there is that there are no playoffs in a roto league, so for those of you playing for keeps it's first place or nothing!

If you want to make a big move in the roto format you need to do 2 things;

1. Know where you can improve the most.
2. Know where the teams ahead of you are most vulnerable.

Taking these two things into consideration will tell you all you need to know about how you can climb the standings by season's end. If you are going to make a significant move up the standings then you need to ignore your team's performance up to this point and focus on where you can get better from here on.

One of the best ways to make up ground is in PIMs. If you are not near the top of your league in PIMs then the first thing you need to do is replace your worst defenseman with one who will get you plenty of PIMs. This is a pretty low risk move since you probably aren't getting much production from that spot anyway. If you can, try to add someone with a decent +/- rating as well.

With that move out of the way it simply boils down to determining which categories you can make up the most ground in and getting to work. If you are near the bottom in assists and holding your own in goals then don't be afraid to drop or trade a goal scorer for a quality setup man. If your win total is low, pick up and extra goalie or two. It's all about taking risks and maximizing the possible return you will get on them. The good news is that you're already at the bottom of the standings so you really don't have anything to lose.

Now for a bit of official business... I had hoped to make Fantasy Focus a regular Monday fixture here at TOFTT. Something has come up though that is going to impact that. Starting Friday Feb. 1st I will have a weekly fantasy hockey article running on RotoTimes.com through the end of the Stanley Cup Finals. I will be breaking down which players are hot and cold in the NHL for RotoTimes. I don't foresee this cutting into the amount of posting I do here, but I do think it will reduce how much I write about fantasy hockey on a regular basis. At least for the remainder of this season.

Fantasy Focus: 1st Half Freaks And Flops

It's Fantasy Focus time again! In this week's installment I am going to look back on the first half of the 07-08 NHL season and name my All-Freak ("Freak" in a good way) and All-Flop teams. Keep in mind this is strictly from a fantasy point of view and is not taking "real" performance into account. So with no further delay...

1st Half All-Freak Team

Center - Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim) - This was a really tough call. Getzlaf, Lecavalier, Crosby, and Datsyuk were all outstanding in the first half of the season. I'm giving Getzlaf the nod here because he is a good source for PIMs, has a great +/- rating and of the four had the lowest expectations entering the season and was undoubtedly the last drafted in every league on the planet.
Honorable Mentions: Vincent Lecavalier (Tampa Bay), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh)

Right Wing - Jarome Iginla (Calgary) - Jarome has been the total package this season. He has contributed big time in every category possible. The only way Iginla could do any more for his fantasy owners would be to suit up in goal and get a couple shutouts. First half fantasy MVP in pretty much any format.
Honorable Mentions: Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa), Corey Perry (Anaheim)

Left Wing - Dany Heatley (Ottawa) - Don't expect to see this name here at the end of the season as Heatley is set to miss the next 6 weeks with a separated shoulder, but before that Dany had been outstanding. Think of Heatley as "Iginla-lite", he produces across the board and will be leaving a huge void in his owners lineups until he returns.
Honorable Mentions: Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit), Alexander Ovechkin (Washington)

Defense - Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit) - The old Swede just keeps getting it done. I'm sure Lidstrom owners wouldn't mind a few more goals from the Detroit captain, but winners can't be choosers. Just be happy with what you've got and smile on your way up your league standings.
Honorable Mentions: Brian Rafalski (Detroit), Sergei Gonchar (Pittsburgh)

Defense - Chris Pronger (Anaheim) - Points and PIMs, it's hard to ask for more. An improvement on the meager +2 rating would be nice, but the return of Scott Niedermayer (and eventually Teemu?) should help that a bit.
Honorable Mentions: Dion Phaneuf (Calgary), Zdeno Chara (Boston)

Goalie - Evgeni Nabokov (San Jose) - Nabby owners have been treated to an outstanding season from the Sharks' netminder. With Vesa Toskala shipped off to hockey purgatory Toronto, Nabokov has had the San Jose crease all to himself and started every single one of the team's first 41 games. He responded with tremendous numbers and is probably keeping more than a few owners (including yours truly) firmly entrenched atop their respective standings.
Honorable Mentions: Roberto Luongo (Vancouver), Pascal Leclaire (Columbus)

1st Half All-Flop Team

Center - Patrick Marleau (San Jose) - What a year it has been for the San Jose captain. If I had a dollar for every time I read this season that Marleau was about to break out of his slump I could quit my job and live on the beach somewhere. The stats speak for themselves; 8 goals, 13 assists, -14, 9 power play points and 0 game-winners. What more can I say?
Honorable Mentions: Brad Richards (Tampa Bay), Chris Drury (New York Rangers),

Right Wing - Jonathan Cheechoo (San Jose) - Are we beginning to sense a trend here? Cheechoo has been even worse than his teammate Marleau so far (as hard as that is to believe) netting only 5 goals and 7 assists to date. That's a far cry from the guy who led the NHL in goals just two seasons ago. I can only shudder at the thought of the homers who drafted Cheechoo and Marleau this season.
Honorable Mentions: Maxim Afinogenov (Buffalo), Martin Havlat (Chicago)

Left Wing - Alexander Semin (Washington) - I've had a front row seat for the train wreck that has been Alexander Semin's season so far... he's on both of my teams. He's the kind of guy that will drive you crazy because he has been hurt most of the year, but he has so much upside that you just can't bring yourself to cut him, so he just ends up taking up a roster spot all year. Hopefully he can get healthy and put it together in the second half. But I wouldn't count on it.
Honorable Mentions: Pavol Demitra (Minnesota), Simon Gagne (Philadelphia)

Defense - Dan Boyle (Tampa Bay) - Boyle could return to the Lightning lineup at any time now (check your waiver wire!), but that won't help those who drafted him forget that he only played four games in the first half and was held pointless with a stellar -7 rating to go along. Not what most people envisioned for the Lightning point man.
Honorable Mentions: Bryan McCabe (Toronto), Sheldon Souray (Edmonton)

Defense - Alexei Zhitnik (Atlanta) - Unlike Boyle in Tampa, Zhitnik has actually stayed healthy and been playing all season. You wouldn't know it by looking at his numbers though. Zhitnik was outstanding after joining the Thrashers at the trade deadline last season, but he has been nearly invisible so far this season. At least he's racked up 38 PIMs.
Honorable Mentions: Kevin Bieksa (Vancouver), Matt Carle (San Jose)

Goalie - Ray Emery (Ottawa) - There were a few strong candidates here (see the Honorable Mentions), but in the end I had to go with Emery. I can only imagine how many owners thought they had a great mid-round pick in Emery, only to have him spend the first half of the season fighting injuries, teammates, and the puck. He's a good candidate for a second half rebound, but for the time being it is Flop-City for the Senator voted Most Likely To Be Traded.
Honorable Mentions: Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh), Mikka Kipprusoff (Calgary)

So there you have it, the best and worst from the first half of the season. Some of these choices were no brainers, while others were a lot tougher than I thought they would be. If you had told me before I sat down to do this that Ryan Getzlaf would have been my All-Freak center I would have laughed you out of the room. Not to mention how mentally and emotionally prepared I had gotten to make MAF my All-Flop goalie. Thank you Ray Emery!

Here's looking forward to the second half of the season. There's nowhere to go but up for most of us!

Fantasy Focus: Time To Make A Move

In this edition of Fantasy Focus I am simply going to look at some players that would make a nice addition to your roster. As the second half of the NHL season begins it is time for you to take a look at your squad and possibly reassess the value of some of your assets. If your team is in the bottom half of the standings in your league and you have some players who haven't worked out as planned so far this season, this is a great time to make a change and try to right the ship before it is too late. Here are some players to look at adding (if they aren't taken already...):

• Ty Conklin (G - PIT) Conklin has been a savior in Pittsburgh since Marc-Andre Fleury went down with an ankle injury. If Conk is still available in your league grab him right now. Penguins coach Michel Therrien loves to roll with the hot hand in net, so Conklin could still maintain some value after Fleury returns to the lineup.
  
• Radim Vrbata (RW - PHX) Vrbata has been quietly lighting it up for the Coyotes, to the tune of 8 points in his last 5 games. I recently added Vrbata to both of my teams and hope that he can continue his breakout year in Phoenix.
  
• Teemu Selanne (RW - ??) As you should already know by now, Selanne was spotted working out at the Ducks' practice facility last week. It's not a guarantee that he will be back, but if he does want to play the Ducks want him. If your team is struggling it could be worth taking a gamble on the Finnish sniper. My gut tells me he is going to play and play well.
  
• Mike Ribeiro (C - DAL) Ribeiro has been the catalyst for the shockingly potent Dallas attack so far this season. For which he was just rewarded with a 5 year contract extension. As long as all those dollar signs don't go to his head Ribeiro should continue to light it up for the Stars. Grab him if you can!
  
• Dan Cleary (RW - DET) Cleary finally found a home in the NHL last season with Detroit and now he is picking up the scoring again. Cleary has put up great numbers over the last month and is a solid contributor in every category. This guy should be owned in every league right now. If he's not in yours, you know what to do.
  
• Mike Green (D - WSH) Green has been one of the few bright spots for the Caps this season on the blueline. I don't care who is on your roster, he is an improvement over at least one of your current defensemen. He's probably already been snagged off the free agent list in your league, but you never know...
  
• Antti Miettinen (RW - DAL) Miettinen has emerged as a very capable scorer for the Stars and could really help a team that is struggling in offensive categories. He has been red hot since the beginning of December and hasn't gone more than 3 games in a row without at least 1 point. Definitely worth a look if Vrbata is already gone in your league.
  

Fantasy Focus: Auld I Want For Christmas

It's time to take another look inside the world of fantasy hockey and see where those of you in need should be focusing your attention.

Prime Pickups:

• Alex Auld (G - BOS) All Auld has done since coming over from Phoenix is go 4-1 with a 1.40 GAA and .955 Save%. Tim Thomas will start eating into his ice time again shortly, but he is still a solid depth acquisition in net.
  
• Andy McDonald (C - STL) McDonald was having a pretty lousy year in Anaheim, but he's been given a fresh start in St. Louis alongside Paul Kariya. I think he will get it going again in a hurry. Grab him if he's available.
  
• Tyler Kennedy (RW - PIT) TK is the flavor of the week on Sidney Crosby's right wing. Kennedy has responded well to the assignment and should put up good numbers for as long as he stays with Sid.
  
• Aaron Voros (LW - MIN) Voros is a good source for PIMs and will contribute in other ways as well, as his 8 points attest. If you missed out on Daniel Carcillo, do yourself a favor and add Voros while you can.
  
• Denis Wideman (D - BOS) Wideman got off to a slow start in Boston, but he has rebounded with 8 points (6 on the PP) in the last month and could be a solid contributor on the blueline the rest of the way. Especially for those who will be without Bryan McCabe for the next 6 to 8 weeks.
  
• Dany Sabourin (G - PIT) The beneficiary of Marc-Andre Fleury's ankle injury, the man they call Sabu will be manning the pipes for the foreseeable future in Pittsburgh. The team is starting to hit its stride and Sabourin's win total will benefit from that. A solid number 3 goalie at worst.
  

Keep An Eye On:

• Andrew Raycroft (G - TOR) There are rumors flying around about Raycroft being traded. He could be a nice addition if he lands in the right situation.
  

Sell High:

• Ed Jovanovski (D - PHX) Jovo was on a real tear there for a bit, but I don't really see anyone in Phoenix as a viable long-term option. Try to move him while his value is high.
  
• Vesa Toskala (G - TOR) Toskala has helped to lead the revival in Toronto with his solid play of late. Things in Leafland are so insane though that things could turn around in a hurry. Try to move him for someone a little more stable/predictable if you can.
  

Buy Low:

• Cam Ward (G - CAR) Carolina has been struggling of late and Ward's numbers reflect that. They still have the luxury of getting to fatten up on the rest of their weak division though, so things should turn around for the Hurricanes. You might be able to get away with a lowball offer to an impatient Ward owner if you are lucky.
  
• Jaromir Jagr (RW - NYR) Jagr has done next to nothing for about the last month, but he is just too talented for that to last. See if you can take advantage of a frustrated Jagr owner and bring in Double J on the cheap.
  
• Alexander Frolov (LW - LAK) Frolov missed some time with an injury but is back in the Kings lineup now. He could be a nice upgrade at left wing if you need one. Beware though, Frolov is a streaky guy so be prepared to take the bad with the good.
  

Fantasy Focus: These Flightless Birds Could Soar

Welcome to my first installment of Fantasy Focus. These won't be regular posts more than likely, but I will chime in from time to time with advice I think will help those of you trying to improve your fantasy hockey teams. Hopefully this won't come back to bite me in any of my leagues. Anyway, away we go...

Worth a gamble:

- Colby Armstrong (RW - PIT) Colby has proven in the past that he can put up big numbers when paired with Sidney Crosby. So guess where he has found himself the last two games... He likely won't see time on the power play, and Michel Therrien's line combinations are as consistent as New Jersey Devils attendance, but if Army sticks with Sid the points should be there. As the goal and two assists in the last two games show.

- Ryan Malone (LW - PIT) What I said above applies here too, but Malone seems to be pretty firmly attached to Crosby's left hip at this point and his recent play has done nothing to suggest that will change soon. Ryan has four points in the last two games, and assuming he stays with Sid and the Pens continue their recent turnaround, he should be good for about a point a game. Ryan's also good for some PIMs too, which gives him added value.

PIMs count too:

- Daniel Carcillo (LW - PHX) People often overlook PIMs in fantasy hockey, but they can be a difference maker. Carcillo is a great source for PIMs and he will actually give you some offense too as he continues to get quality minutes with a less than talent laden Coyotes squad. Carcillo has 179 PIMs in 39 career games and has also chipped in 11 points in 21 games this season. Pick up the poor man's Sean Avery if you still can... he may be the final piece to your championship team.

Blueline help:

- Tobias Enstrom (ATL) Enstrom has come out of nowhere to become Atlanta's top blueliner and throw his name into the Calder discussion. Since cracking the Thrasher lineup Enstrom has 13 points in 23 games (including 9 on the power play) and is a strong +6 while leading all Thrasher players in power play minutes and total minutes. His size could prove to be an issue, but this kid should be owned in every league.

- Erik Johnson (STL) This hulking rookie has been playing well since returning from a foot injury and is worth a look. He's drawn comparisons to his landlord Al MacInnis and could prove to be a good source of power play points. Definitely give the kid a look if you are saddled with some struggline defenders (i.e. Rob Blake).

- Kris Letang (PIT) Letang has taken over Ryan Whitney's left point on the Penguins' top power play unit, and if he stays there points are a given. Letang has definite offensive ability, but young defensemen are nothing if inconsistent. Still, most of you probably have a defender not really producing much for you so Letang's upside is probably worth the gamble at this point.

Crease upgrade:

- Mike Smith (DAL) There's something of a goalie controversy brewing in Dallas thanks to the recent play of Smith. Smith has seen a big increase in minutes on the strength of allowing only 4 goals in his last 4 starts, including stopping 39 of 41 shots against in a road win against the Rangers this afternoon. Smith is probably still available in most leagues and could definitely prove useful to a team struggling between the pipes.

Buy low:

- Marc-Andre Fleury (G - PIT) MAF's struggles this season have been well chronicled to put it mildly, but the Pens seem to be turning the corner on this season and getting back to their winning ways. MAF will still probably turn in the occasional stinker (see Thanksgiving in Ottawa), but if the team can continue to improve The Flower's numbers will too and he'll definitely help you in the win column. He may be a free agent in some leagues, and if he's not he can probably still be acquired relatively cheaply.

- Ryan Whitney (D - PIT) A notorious slow starter, Whitney has struggled out of the gate this season and has now been taken off of Pittsburgh's top power play unit. How long that will last is anyone's guess, but Ryan's goal against Atlanta Saturday night may get him going and he will still get his share of minutes with the man advantage. Send his owner a bit of a lowball offer and see what you can do, you'll be thanking me in January (if not sooner).

It's Getting Drafty In Here!

So a couple days ago we here at TOFTT got an e-mail from Carlo over at Poolhardy about taking part in his "Battle of the Blogs" fantasy hockey league. Now how could I resist? Especially since I'll get to take on the gang over at Abel to Yzerman and lay the proverbial smackdown on some Wings fans. So we just finished the Live Draft about a half hour ago and here's how our team shaped up. We had the 5th pick and it was serpentine style.

The Team

1. (5) Alexander Ovechkin - LW
2. (18) Jason Spezza - C
3. (27) Ryan Whitney - D
4. (40) Marc-Andre Fleury - G
5. (49) Martin Havlat -RW
6. (62) Alexander Semin - LW
7. (71) Brian Rafalski - D
8. (84) Cam Ward - G
9. (93) Andy McDonald - C
10. (106) Kimmo Timonen - D
11. (115) Brian Gionta - RW
12. (128) Vesa Toskala - G
13. (137) Chris Kunitz - LW
14. (150) Petr Sykora - C
15. (159) Teemu Selanne - RW
16. (172) Ruslan Salei - D

Reactions:

• Part of me really wanted to land a "top-tier" goalie, but it became clear pretty quick that wasn't going to happen. At that point Spezza fell into my lap with the 18th pick and then I had to sweat out trying to land Whitney and MAF with my third and fourth round picks.
• Our Right Wing is one big question mark. Can Havlat stay healthy? Did we get the Brian Gionta from two seasons ago who scored 48 goals? Will Teemu play this season? If the answer to at least two of those questions is "yes" we could be sitting pretty. Petr Sykora can't get RW eligibility soon enough!
  
• Getting Selanne with the 159th pick could turn out to be genius. If he doesn't play I'm not really out that much. I see it as a more than worthwhile gamble for the guy who was 4th overall in the Yahoo game last season.
• Cam Ward is a steal if the 'Canes have the kind of season I think they will. If they don't this could be a long fantasy season.
• I have AO, Semin, and Havlat on both of my fantasy teams. If any of those guys get hurt it won't be pretty around here.
• Yes, I feel dirty for drafting AO.
• No, I have no problem saying I'm hoping for big Semin production this season.
  
• Sykora, Timonen, and Gionta could all end up being real good picks. Lotta upside on this squad.
• At the end of the day, we have MAF... life is good.
  

It's Fantasy Hockey Time!

We've got a Yahoo Fantasy Hockey league all set up and there are a few spots left for whoever wants them. It's roto-style with an autodraft (by request). If you are interested please join up and we can get this show on the road!

To join:

• League ID#: 27685
• Password: keepurheadup

Come one, come all! Once we hit the team limit (10 teams) we'll draft and be on our way. Good luck to all!

***UPDATE***
League is full and ready to roll. Good luck to everyone involved!