Most sports have an obvious number one fantasy draft pick. Some are so good that it almost becomes a point of contention.
Characters in “The League” violated societal norms to try to secure Adrian Peterson. One can only imagine the kind of blood feuds that went down to determine which owner landed Wayne Gretzky in his unparalleled prime years.
For quite some time, Alex Ovechkin has been the Adrian Peterson of hockey. He’s almost always among the league leaders in goals and points, but it’s the extras that really make him special. Playing on a strong team like the Washington Capitals often helped him generate a robust +/- and plenty of power-play points. His aggressive nature only bolsters his value in leagues that include some combination of hits, shots on goal and penalty minutes.
With that in mind, I didn’t even flinch in picking him when I “lucked” into the first pick in a draft.
On paper, Alex Ovechkin hasn’t been a total bust, either. Maybe he isn’t putting up eye-popping numbers, but he still produced 10 points in 10 games.
That being said, visuals matter and Ovechkin hasn’t looked quite “right” during much of his first 10 contests. He started the year off sluggishly and apparently played poorly enough in Tuesday's game that Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau decided to keep him on the bench when the team emptied its net against the Anaheim Ducks. Nicklas Backstrom managed to tie the game in that situation and then added the game-winner in overtime (although that time with Ovechkin on the ice).
A low shooting percentage seemed like a reasonable single stat to explain some of the Russian star’s struggles last season, but he’s connecting on 13.5 percent of his shots this season. So with that easy excuse out of the way, the question is: should Ovechkin owners be worried?
The big picture answer is “No.” He’s still firing a solid amount of shots on net (3.7 per game) and remains on pace for 40+ goals and 80+ points. Ovechkin remains an elite threat. Now, if you’re wondering if Ovechkin’s days as the unanimous top pick in most drafts are over, then you might have a point because:
1. He already got his money. If you know that you’re going to make $100 million playing hockey whether you score 30, 40 or 50 goals, are you going to be that depressed when a tough month hits? Most importantly, how driven will you be to fight through tougher times?
2. His team isn’t a freewheeling bunch anymore. The Capitals are a great team – my pick to win the Stanley Cup – but they’re not the reckless locomotive of an offense they once were.
3. A crowded field. The Capitals have a bit more offensive depth than before (especially in the “elbow grease” category). The other factor is that the league’s elite forwards might have passed him by, at least at the very top. In the future, it might be safer to go with a more consistent option like Daniel Sedin (who still gets a lot of goals and a decent amount of shots) instead.
So, again, there’s no reason to freak out about Ovechkin – but don’t write his name in permanent marker for the number one spot for next year just yet.
FINALISTS BACK TO NORMAL?
After a tough opening month, the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks gave their fans some reason to believe that they’re going to return to favor.
That should be most relevant to Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo, the latter of whom faced an unbelievable amount of heat in the first month of the season. Bobby Lou was about 30 seconds short of his first shutout of the season Tuesday night, but Alex Tanguay ruined the fun. (Tanguay is the Calgary Flames’ leading scorer with 9 points, by the way.)
Hopefully you had the patience to stick with those two top goalies, even if it’s quite possible that they’ll each face a few bump runs before the 2011-12 season is over.
Most sports have an obvious number one fantasy draft pick. Some are so good that it almost becomes a point of contention.
Characters in “The League” violated societal norms to try to secure Adrian Peterson. One can only imagine the kind of blood feuds that went down to determine which owner landed Wayne Gretzky in his unparalleled prime years.
For quite some time, Alex Ovechkin has been the Adrian Peterson of hockey. He’s almost always among the league leaders in goals and points, but it’s the extras that really make him special. Playing on a strong team like the Washington Capitals often helped him generate a robust +/- and plenty of power-play points. His aggressive nature only bolsters his value in leagues that include some combination of hits, shots on goal and penalty minutes.
With that in mind, I didn’t even flinch in picking him when I “lucked” into the first pick in a draft.
On paper, Alex Ovechkin hasn’t been a total bust, either. Maybe he isn’t putting up eye-popping numbers, but he still produced 10 points in 10 games.
That being said, visuals matter and Ovechkin hasn’t looked quite “right” during much of his first 10 contests. He started the year off sluggishly and apparently played poorly enough in Tuesday's game that Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau decided to keep him on the bench when the team emptied its net against the Anaheim Ducks. Nicklas Backstrom managed to tie the game in that situation and then added the game-winner in overtime (although that time with Ovechkin on the ice).
A low shooting percentage seemed like a reasonable single stat to explain some of the Russian star’s struggles last season, but he’s connecting on 13.5 percent of his shots this season. So with that easy excuse out of the way, the question is: should Ovechkin owners be worried?
The big picture answer is “No.” He’s still firing a solid amount of shots on net (3.7 per game) and remains on pace for 40+ goals and 80+ points. Ovechkin remains an elite threat. Now, if you’re wondering if Ovechkin’s days as the unanimous top pick in most drafts are over, then you might have a point because:
1. He already got his money. If you know that you’re going to make $100 million playing hockey whether you score 30, 40 or 50 goals, are you going to be that depressed when a tough month hits? Most importantly, how driven will you be to fight through tougher times?
2. His team isn’t a freewheeling bunch anymore. The Capitals are a great team – my pick to win the Stanley Cup – but they’re not the reckless locomotive of an offense they once were.
3. A crowded field. The Capitals have a bit more offensive depth than before (especially in the “elbow grease” category). The other factor is that the league’s elite forwards might have passed him by, at least at the very top. In the future, it might be safer to go with a more consistent option like Daniel Sedin (who still gets a lot of goals and a decent amount of shots) instead.
So, again, there’s no reason to freak out about Ovechkin – but don’t write his name in permanent marker for the number one spot for next year just yet.
FINALISTS BACK TO NORMAL?
After a tough opening month, the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks gave their fans some reason to believe that they’re going to return to favor.
That should be most relevant to Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo, the latter of whom faced an unbelievable amount of heat in the first month of the season. Bobby Lou was about 30 seconds short of his first shutout of the season Tuesday night, but Alex Tanguay ruined the fun. (Tanguay is the Calgary Flames’ leading scorer with 9 points, by the way.)
Hopefully you had the patience to stick with those two top goalies, even if it’s quite possible that they’ll each face a few bump runs before the 2011-12 season is over.
FINNISH FLASH HARDLY FINISHED
Teemu Selanne might just be a relevant fantasy hockey threat up until his final NHL game. A 4-point night (2 goals, 2 assists) against the Capitals pushed his season totals to a ridiculous 14 points in 12 games. Every sign is that he’ll hang up his skates after the Ducks’ final contest in the season or playoffs, but don’t blame Bob Murray, Anaheim fans and fantasy owners everywhere if they beg him to come back for more.
EDLER REPLACEMENT
Savvy Canucks fans believed that Alexander Edler would be able to replace the offense they lost with Christian Ehrhoff’s departure. Some even thought that Edler would rank as an upgrade over the hard-shooting German.
So far, those people are feeling pretty smart. Edler produced his second consecutive three-point game to bring his total to 12. He has 6 points on the power play and is shooting like the Canucks hoped, with 36 pucks on net already. That’s just one less shot than Ovechkin, by the way. (To be fair, Ovechkin has only played in 10 games, but it’s still an impressive feat.)
Edler obviously isn't likely to register a 82-point season, but expect him to crush his career high of 42 if he can stay healthy.
SKINNER SHINES
You can probably point to the location of the 2011 All-Star Game (Carolina) to explain why Jeff Skinner became the youngest All-Star ever, but he might be a legitimate one in his sophomore season. The 19-year-old scored 2 goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning to push his season totals to 6 goals and 6 assists for 12 points in 12 games.
Sadly, with Eric Staal struggling and Jussi Jokinen banged up, the Hurricanes probably need him to keep that hot streak going.
HARDING NOTICED
After being an unappreciated backup for quite some time, Josh Harding fell off the map with a season-ending injury in 2010-11. With that in mind, it’s heartening to see Harding off to such a great start.
He's now 2-0-1 with a 1.30 GAA and .965 save percentage. Niklas Backstrom is still the man in Minnesota - his hefty paychecks will ensure that - but Harding could earn himself a healthy amount of starts and maybe a nice look for a future job. (Did somebody say Columbus?) Keep an eye on him for spot starts, if you're the type to add and drop a lot.
TOUGH LUCK FOR TOBIAS
Tobias Enstrom ranks high on my list of under-the-radar stars; the only thing that’s holding him back fantasy-wise is penalty minutes. Some people were annoyed that Dustin Byfuglien pounded Jack Skille for what seemed like a legal hit, but the reasoning is simple: Enstrom is extremely important to the Winnipeg Jets' attack. Byfuglien went on a slump after the All-Star break last season, which was also around the time Enstrom gor injured. That was not a coincidence.
INJURY SNIPES
As I noted briefly, Jussi Jokinen is banged up. Paul Maurice said it was “nothing catastrophic,” which roughly translates to day-to-day … Jochen Hecht is back on the IR, which prompts me to ask: “When was he not on the IR?,” … Andy Sutton isn’t injured, but he’ll miss 5 games thanks to a suspension … Tomas Kopecky is day-to-day with a knee issue … Matt Read is likely to miss a couple games with an upper-body injury … Tyler Kennedy will remain out indefinitely. (Click here for the full injury list.)