Bucket of Pucks

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 11/2

As most hockey fans know, it was 50 years ago this past weekend that Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante brought us the hockey mask for the first time.  In honor of this historic hockey moment, BucketofPucks Waiver Wire Report will kick off this week with a "Hat Tip" to this game changing event.

To begin with TSN has a fun Gallery of the Best Goalie Masks of the Year, check it out and see who you think has the most awesome mask of this season.  Ranger's goalie Henrik Lundqvist just had a new mask made to honor this great hockey moment.  It has the original hockey mask on it, along with a ticket to the actual Montreal-New York stub in which Plante had his nose broken by Ranger forward Andy Bathgate's shot.

Hockey commentator Stan Fischler, also known as "The Hockey Maven" recently recounted this great hockey story.  Upon breaking his nose on the Andy Bathgate shot, Jacques Plante skated right off the ice and went to the lockeroom to get patched up.  Causing a 21 minute delay in the game.  After receiving some medical attention, Plante broke out the mask, as he'd been toying with it and using it in practices.  Canadiens coach Toe Blake would have none of it and was furious at Plante for even suggesting it.  Given the fact that Blake had no backup goaltender he eventually relented.  Emerging from the locker room the revelation was shocking to those who first saw it.  The Canadiens rallied around their goalie and won the game 3-1.

What I find to be a particularly fun fact, that not everyone remembers, as Fischler tells the story:  Toe Blake was so against the mask, he insisted the Plante play the next game without it.  A game in which Montreal got trounced.  So Blake said to Plante he could wear the mask until he was healed.  It was then that the Canadiens went on a 10 game winning streak and the game of hockey was changed forever.

Now let's get to this week Waiver Wire pick, right after the break:

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 10/26

As mentioned in last week's BucketofPucks Quick Hit's NHL Fantasy Injury Report, injuries are starting to pile up at an alarming rate this first month of the season.  Where injuries are a part of every sport, there is a disturbing trend emerging.  That is the increase of concussion related injuries.

In the last few years, there has been a rise in concern and some action related to concussions in most of the major sports.  In hockey alone, we've seen an improvement in head gear for both goalie and skater to better protect players but has that been enough?  In the NFL there has been rule changes penalizing players for blows to the head, not unlike hockey rules relating to stick fouls.  You must always be responsible for your stick, whether it be intensional or not.  With recent injuries to Toews, Tucker, Souray and Booth, it might just be time to consider similar action.

Hits that injure anyone almost always have a debate to them, whether it was dirty and/or intentional.  But with the NHL's "always responsible for your stick" rules in mind, coupled with League offices monitoring all the games for instant replay.  Maybe it's time for the NHL to combine the 2 for a safer game, in an effort to reduce this rising problem.

I watched the replay of Richards hit on Booth and I didn't feel it was dirty.  I did however feel Richards could have made more of an effort to avoid hitting him as he did.  Richards has a bit of a reputation for hitting players in vulnerable positions.  The NHL should look to force players into avoiding these vulnerable hits that expose players.  Whether it been a passing shoulder to the head or a hit forcing a player head first into the boards, like Souray being tripped or Tucker being checked.  What I'm suggesting is have the NHL "War Room" add to it's responsibilities keeping an eye on hits to the head and making players more responsible for their contact.

All this injury talk leads us right into our Waiver Wire picks for the week.  See who we've got on tap for you, after the break:

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 10/19

As most teams have played 8 or 9 games into the season, we're starting to get an idea of how teams are starting to shake out.  Although, it's still to early to definitively determine individual players booms or busts, now is the time to take a chance or two with those weaker "back end" of your fantasy roster spots.

So, if you have a roster spot or two that you can open up by either poor production or injury, this weeks Waiver Wire Report has just what you maybe looking for.  Most of the players on this weeks' list are off to a hot start or taking advantage of some injury opportunity.  Over the next 2-4 weeks these players will prove themselves as the real deal or flashes in the pan.  Either way, they could help those in need for the short term and just might surprise you, as permanent fantasy players for your team.

This weeks' Waiver Wire Players after the jump:

Quick Hits: NHL Fantasy Injury Report - 10.14.09

In this first edition of a weekly article, we’ll break down the notable injuries around the NHL and what their applicable fantasy implications will be. Some suggest making a roster change, others might be a streamer grab, some are folks you want to hang tight on. For the lowdown on the laid-low, follow us below the crease…  

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 10/12

Injuries are one of the main reasons for fantasy owners to keep a close eye on who's out on their leagues waiver wire.  The first couple of weeks of this years hockey season has only served as a reminder of that.  With injuries, both short-term and long-term, to a number of players a lot of fantasy owners planned to depending on.  Now in a pinch, it's never a bad idea to key on a player that's slotted to replace an injured players spot.  There's always a few unexpected players every season to bloom from replacing a teammate that's gone down with an injury, especially these days with Salary Cap restrictions make trades harder to pull off.

Luckily for the stricken fantasy owner, it's still early in the season.  Meaning there's usually plenty of players out on the waiver ware to replace those players off to a disappointing start or those felled by the injury bug.  Come and see what players are still readily available in more than 50% of public fantasy leagues:

DRAFT: Top Ranked NHL Fantasy Goalies

Many fantasy hockey owners consider their goaltenders as the backbone of their team.  And why shouldn't they?  In a standard league set ups, it's usually 5 offensive and 5 goalie categories.  Even in deeper leagues with expanded stats, goaltending usually accounts for 25%-50% of the categories.

Many fantasy owners look to get an elite stud early in their drafts, so they know they have a reliable goalie to depend on and not fall victim to an unexpected early draft run at the position.  Others look to take advantage of that strategy to pluck top offensive talent that won't be there by the mid rounds of your draft.  Instead, looking to pick a mid-range backstop or sleeper  as their top goalie.  For head to head leagues in particular, you might target a goalie who will consistently give you top production in just a few categories.  Thereby hoping to split you goalie categories on a weekly basis, then dominate the offensive one.  Regardless, whether you're looking to draft the best goalie available in the first 2 rounds or looking to wait and pick up a netminder later on in the draft, it's of premium importance to go into your draft with a strategy of what you want to do at the goalie position.

See who the top rated goalie are after the jump.

DRAFT: Top Ranked NHL Fantasy Defensemen

Fantasy wise the Defense position is probably the most straight forward in determining the elite.  It is also tends to be one of the more overlooked positions during fantasy drafts.  After all, defense is not normally a high scoring position, which accounts for most of the categories in fantasy hockey leagues.  Sure, Green and Lidstrom will get their just due and be picked in the opening round or two of most drafts but what about the rest of the elite Defensemen out there.  Why bother putting any premium at all on Defensemen?

Consider this. In the NHL's post-lockout era there are about a dozen Defensemen a season who break the 50 point barrier.  As opposed to the 110 players overall, who broke the 50 points mark last season.  To break it down a little further, Mike Green topped all Defensemen last year with 73 points, there were 83 players total in the 50-73 point range with just the 12 top Defensemen among them.  And don't forget, In most fantasy hockey leagues Defensemen are usually 25-40% of your daily starting skaters (6-9 Forwards and 4-5 Defensemen).   So with 70 forwards to choose from in that 50-75 point scoring range, Shea Weber, Mark Streit, and Niklas Kronwell are stronger picks in the 3rd-6th round than equally scoring Alex Kovalev, Patrick Elias or Ryan Smyth.

"Well, I'm gonna stick with my tried and true formula of best scorers first", you say?  You can just pluck some 2nd tier Defensemen and you'll be just fine.  Factor in this:  There were an additional 78 players to put up 40-49 points, 12 were Defensemen.  So, only 24 out of the top 188 NHL scorers were blue-liners.  Some compelling numbers to move those Defensemen up your draft board and look for your secondary scoring later in the draft.

Find out who the Top Defensemen are, after the jump

DRAFT: Top Ranked NHL Fantasy Hockey Wingers

BucketofPucks gives you it's top ranked wingers to choose from and why we think so.  It's these men that will be anchoring most of your teams fantasy offense this year.  Expect most of them gone by the end of the third round, if not sooner.

Those of you in deeper, more competitive leagues that designate LW and RW, (rather than just the generic wing position) should make note that elite wings are a bit LW heavy, so you may want to consider this point when
drafting.

Top Wings after the jump:

NHL Fantasy Sleepers 2009 – Western Conference

 

When draft day rolls around, the first few rounds are populated with the guys everyone knows about.  The smart poolie always has a few role players and fringe guys stashed in his pocket in the hopes that he can surprise a few people in later rounds. Believe me, there is nothing better than snagging a player that other guys in your league totally forgot about due to their lack of preparation.

In the interest of keeping you from being that guy, Bucket of Pucks presents this early sleeper list to help you shock your league late in the draft – and even later on in the season. All advice below is based on a 12 team, 16 round draft. Next week we'll cover the Eastern Conference, this week we’ll cover the West:

Gary Roberts calls it a career, Nabokov's "tweaks" lower body

Winger Gary Roberts is retiring from hockey.  Roberts was the 12th overall pick by the Calgary Flames in the 1984 draft.  In 1,224 games played, with Calgary, Carolina, Toronto, Florida, Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay, Roberts accumulated 438 goals, 471 assists and 2560 PIMs.  He also won a Stanley Cup as a member of the Calgary Flames in 1988-89.

Roberts had originally retired in 1996 at the age of 30, due to a severe neck injury, but made an inspiring comeback one season later after intense recovery and re-conditioning.

Tampa Bay is expected to make a formal announcement soon.

BucketofPucks:  Roberts had already announced that he'd be retiring at the end of this season.  It's believed that Tampa Bay was trying to find a trade for Roberts to go out with a playoff team and he also went unclaimed through waivers.  It appears his contract was the main sticking point for most teams, as his cap hit was 2 million dollars plus a bonus package that paid him $10,000 for each game he plays.