Bucket of Pucks

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents, Week of 11/30

This week's Waiver Wire Report has some holiday fantasy buys.  All these Free Agent treats offer something to improve you team's roster.  Come in and window shop these players and see which ones you'll buy for the holiday season and which ones you'll keep all year round:

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:

TRADE: Bruins Deal Kobasew to Wild for Pick & Prospects, Lucic Placed on LTIR. *UPDATE* Lucic has successful surgery

Looking to spark his stumbling Bruins squad (3-4-0), Boston GM Peter Chiarelli also cleared some cap room in dealing struggling RW Chuck Kobasew to Minnesota for Minny's 2nd round selection in the 2011 Entry draft as well as RW Craig Weller and the rights forward prospect Alexander Fallstrom.

This coming just after Milan Lucic being placed on LTIR for his broken index finger.

Follow us below the crease for the fantasy spin...

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:

Waiver Wire Report: NHL Fantasy Free Agents

BucketofPucks.com's Waiver Wire Report is a weekly list of NHL players owned in 50% or less in public fantasy hockey leagues.  These are players that may provide some good alternatives for players on you fantasy team you might be looking to replace.  Whether it be from injury, underproduction or you're looking to find someone to help with a category or two you find your fantasy team lacking in.

Given that fact that the season has just begun this first Waiver Wire Report will likely have one of two purposes.  Identifying those "I can't believe that guy was missed in my draft" players.  As well as, some players to stock up on your "Watch List" for injury protection and if some of those "draft sleepers" you picked up don't seem to be working out as you had planned.

Every Monday, BucketofPucks.com will have the latest group of likely fantasy free agents to help shape your fantasy team.  See who's there after the jump:

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 Centers

When drafting your fantasy hockey team there are many strategies on how to approach constructing your team.  You may want to start with a goaltender, who many consider the backbone of their team - especially if you're in a league where goalie stats are equal to offensive ones (ie: your standard 5x5 category leagues).  You may choose to draft wingers high, since elite scoring depth at that position isn't as deep as others.  Particularly if you're league designates LW/RW, rather than just the generic F or W.  Maybe you focus your top picks on the defense, stockpiling elite D and filling your roster with solid secondary scorers.  Or perhaps you subscribe to the best player available when it comes around to your turn to select.

Whatever way you go, the center position is undoubtedly the deepest position to draft.  Just look at the last 4 years statistics and you'll find an average of 23 out of the top 50 scorers play the pivot.  This just confirms that most offense goes through a team top centers.  Armed with this knowledge, you can start your draft with some of the best scorers in hockey.  Or you can look for balance on your fantasy team and still know they'll be an elite center to choose from in the 3rd to 5th round.  It also means you can find productive secondary scoring from a center in the mid-late rounds, long after the LW, RW and D have dried up.

With this in mind BucketofPucks has doubled the traditional Top 10 list to 20.  Find out who's there 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:

Now Available: FantasyHockey.com's 2009-10 Draft Guide

The good folks over at FantasyHockey.com have put together a nifty 2009-2010 Draft Guide. It covers everything from Rotisserie to Head to Head to Keeper leagues, and includes such tools as Depth Charts and up to date off season player movement as well as Rookie Prospects.

Head over there to check out the goodies and get a leg up on the competition!