Best Fantasy Season Ever!

After much thought, this is without a doubt our best and most interesting season in Fantasy Hockey League in 14 years we have had it. From the 1st day on the waiver draft I knew it. Kovalhcuk was traded for 3 picks and that became the first ever trade during the Waiver Draft. Executioners started off 4-0 and is now tied for the worst record. The Snipers started off 0-4 and now has the best record in the east. Even the Slashers started off 0-5 and really turned his season around by acquiring Cammalleri. You had the spiders set a record with 9 consecutive losses in a row and another record most guys hurt and on IR at the same time and that was about 110, just kidding.

Surpisingly the Scrubs and Grumpy's two teams last year that missed the playoffs are both in the top 3 in the FHL. Evgeni Malkin got traded twice in the same week. First the Flyers traded him to the Slashers. Then slashers traded Malkin, Little for Crosby finally back on his team along with Richards and a pick. Which right now is #1 or 2 overall.

We had our first 3 way trade ever happen. It involved the Flyers, Slashsers and ItsAllover. And it inlcuded players like Boyes, Lecavalier, Malkin and draft picks. Other top stars traded this year. Parise, Savard, Frolov, Gaborik, Zetterberg, Kipprussof, Fleury, Turco, Miller, Phaneuf, Staal, Stastny, Backstrom, Green and Cammalleri. All big stars moved before our trade deadline. If you missed out on acquiring a big name. Shame, shame on you.

There is so many teams tied with the same record or a game out of a playoff spot. Almost everything is going to go down to the final week and most likely the final night on Sunday on Week 22. After this week the MalagaRoad Flyers have 2 games left. The Spiders and Executioners. He has the spiders pick and that pick is tied for being the 1st overall pick for Jonathan Tavares. The Slashers own the Executioners pick. If the spiders and executioners finished wit a tied record. The spiders would finish last because the executoners won the season series 2-0!

The icing on the cake of this great season is there was no fights this year. Which is another first for our league.

INJURY REPORT: Ryan Miller has high ankle sprain out indefintely

The Buffalo News reports Sabres coach Lindy Ruff had no further update Monday on the status of goalie Ryan Miller, who suffered a high-ankle sprain Saturday against the Rangers, and said the goalie remains out indefinitely. "There really is no more than that," Ruff said. "An ankle sprain takes time and you don't know how much time it's going to take." Miller has a boot on his left leg, but added it should only be on another day or two. "It's a little better," Miller said of the ankle, which was injured in a collision behind the net with Rangers center Scott Gomez. "Some of the swelling is down and it didn't have a lot to begin with so that's good. It's a little achy and it's one of those things you have to see how it reacts."

Fantasy Impact: This will hurt the Snipers as he went from last to 2nd in goalie wins and save percentage this season. His backup is Ilya Bryzgalov who has been performing poorly as of late. Snipers will need BRYZ to fill the void until Miller can come back hopefully before the playoffs. If not, better hope Bryzgalov can go back to form.

Top 5 Free Agent Finds : Fantasy Edition

With the signings done for the year, unless an emergency.It is time to do our top 5 Fantasy Free Agent Finds. This is for the guys that were picked up off free agency, that have done good or great. This list does not include any rookies.


1. Patrick Marleau (Grumpy's)- Yes he was a known player. But he also was given up on by the rest of the league. After a terrible 2007-2008 season. But he is now in the top 10 in Points and top 5 in Goals. He should of been picked in our waiver draft. But instead people went with a ton of rookies!

2. David Krejci (Stingers)- The stingers signed this relatively unknown forward at that time. He wound up developing into a dynamic player overall. Krejci has really broken out last year, similar to how Mike Richards did last year. To bad the Stingers didn't hang on to him. He packaged him in a deal as a Throw-In!


3. Mike Smith (LumberJacks)- With a rush to get goalies on the first day of signings. Matthiue Garon and Dan Ellis went before Smith. All the owners that passed up Smith for other bums must feel really bad right now. Only thing Smith does not get Wins cause the team he is on. But his GAA and SV% are extremely phenomenal for the team he is on!

4. Patrick Elias (Asssassins)- Signed to be a replacement for injury. Elias wind up rebounding his career and became one of the better players on the Assassins roster. Up until the Parise line split. Elias is now 7th in the NHL in points and has 23 goals. A fine find if you ask me.

5. Fedor Tyutin (ItsAllOver)- Since going to Colombus he has really turned into a good d man. He already has 8 goals and 26 points in 57 games and should get to the 40 mark. He was a great find as it hard to get D man who get Top Power Play time and can do something with it.

INJURY REPORT: Patrick Sharp (Knee) out 2-3 Weeks

Update: Sharp (left knee) will be out for at least two-to-three weeks and possibly more, Hawks’ coach Joel Quenneville told the Daily Herald on Monday.

Assassins break the +\- record with a Whopping 29

This past Week 18 the Assassins broke the +\- Record with a whopping 29. That was destroying the old record of 23 which was held by the Labatt Blues. Ironically he broke the record against the Spiders who have now lost 9 in a row. This Plus\Minus record will now be very hard to top. Good luck to the Assassins and anyone to beat it.

CEREMONY: Grumpy's Retire Keith Primeau into his team hall of fame!

Grumpy's will honor 5 year player of his team from 1995-96 through the 2000-01 season. Grumpy's had him just hitting hist start in detroit and then hitting his prime when he went over to the Hartford Whalers. He was a very good power forward. He had his best season his last year on Grumpy's with the Philadelphia Flyers. In 71 Games he had 34 Goals and 73 Points. He will be inducted on presidents day before the night games.

Mike Green breaks consecutive Goal record for D-MAN

Mike Green set an NHL record for defensemen by a scoring a goal in his eighth consecutive game and the Washington Capitals beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 on Saturday night.

Mike Green continued to show Ovechkin isn't the only star in Washington, setting an NHL record for defensemen by scoring a goal in his eighth consecutive game. Green made it 4-0 from the low slot during a power play at 5:33 of the second. He was mobbed by his teammates who left the bench. Boston's Mike O'Connell had a seven-game goal-scoring run in the 1983-84 season.

Green has 10 goals and 17 points over the last eight games, and is one game away from tying the overall Washington consecutive game goal streak set by Alan Haworth (1985-86) and matched by Mike Gartner (1986-87).

Will Jaromir Jagr be picked in our Waiver Draft?

With the talks going on, it seems like Jaromir Jagr has intentions of playing in the NHL again next season. They were saying that the Edmonton Oilers were trying to get him back for the rest of this year. He would look good on a top line with Hemsky and Gagner or Horcoff.

As for our Fantasy league. The Slashers had him last and received a draft pick when he retired\left. Now anyone can get him as the Slashers no longer have his rights. Will Jaromir Jagr be picked in the waiver draft. I think someone will take a shot on him in the 7 to 10th pick range. Only time will tell if Jagr has anything left in his tank for antother NHL season. And not just to be average, to be a star player still!

Game to Watch: Thornton's first game back in Boston Tuesday @7PM

VS @ 7:00PM
When the Boston Bruins traded perennial All-Star center Joe Thornton to the San Jose Sharks during the 2005-06 season, both struggling clubs were looking to find a way out of last place in their divisions.

A little over three years later, their paths have again led to the same place -- the top of the NHL.

The conference leaders and Presidents' Trophy contenders meet for the only time in the regular season on Tuesday in Boston, where the Sharks will continue a five-game road trip and look to end their longest losing streak of the season.

The Bruins selected Thornton with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 draft, but they never found postseason success with the Canadian star and began a rebuilding process when they sent him to San Jose for Marco Sturm, Brad Stuart and Wayne Primeau on Nov. 30, 2005.

Thornton immediately helped turn around the Sharks, who had lost 10 straight before the trade but won their first six games afterward, reaching the 2006 playoffs as Thornton had 92 points in 58 games with the club to earn the Hart Trophy.

San Jose (36-7-7) has gotten even better since then, streaking to a 22-3-1 start this season under rookie coach Todd McLellan. The Sharks hold a two-point lead on defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit in the Western Conference with three games in hand on the Red Wings.

"We've been real consistent since day one," Thornton said. "We try to play hard each and every night, and we've got lots of talent."

It has taken Boston a bit longer to join the NHL's elite, but third-year general manager Peter Chiarelli and second-year coach Claude Julien have rebuilt the Bruins (39-8-7) into the top team in the East.

Sturm is the only player acquired in the Thornton trade who remains with Boston, and he's out for the season after knee surgery. But a bevy of emerging young players have helped the Bruins lead the league with a 2.15 goals-against average and rank second with 3.41 goals scored per game.

While the Bruins haven't won a title since 1972, the Sharks have never even advanced past the conference finals, adding intrigue to this possible Cup finals preview.

"Obviously we've still got a lot of hockey to work out here," said Thornton about meeting Boston in the finals. "If that were to be the case it would be great."

Still, both teams are coming off overtime losses on Saturday, and San Jose's 3-2 loss at Columbus to open a five-game trip was its third consecutive defeat. The Sharks hadn't lost three straight since a five-game slide from Feb. 12-20.

This is the Sharks' first visit to Boston since Jan. 10, 2006, when Thornton made his only trip to the Garden as an opponent and was ejected early in San Jose's 6-2 win for a hit from behind."There aren't too many ex-teammates over there, and it's just really an important game in the schedule," Thornton said this week.

INJURY REPORT: Tomas Vanek out 1 month (Fractured Jaw)

Vanek suffered the injury in Saturday's game against Ottawa when he was hit in the face with a puck. According to the Sabres, he had successful surgery on Sunday. Vanek, 25, is the Sabres' best player and is currently third in the NHL with 32 goals. He hasn't missed a game since April 2006, his rookie season.

He's developed into one of the game's best wingers, scoring 25, 43 and 36 goals over the previous three seasons, leading the team the past two seasons. Prior to his injury, he was on pace to shatter his previous career-high in goals.

Fantasy Impact: This will hurt the MalagaRoad Flyers in a very bad way. Vanek and Carter equal about %33 of the teams goals. With Vanek out, there is nobody on the Flyers bench that can come close to filling that void!

Spiders set all time FHL losing streak of 8 in a row

The spiders have set and FHL all time record. For having the most consecutive losses in a row. It will now be 8 weeks in a row that the Spiders has lost. He has had alot of injuries but that ain't no excuse for 8 in a row. He better hope Stastny comes back and Toews starts scoring.

INJURY REPORT: Mason on IR with MONO

While this does help explain his recent poor outings, it also makes what he’s accomplished this season (including Friday night’s shutout over the Senators, and a league-leading 1.98 GAA headed into Saturday) all the more impressive. “Our doctors feel he’s had it for a while and they feel he’s on the other side of the virus,” Howson said. “The worst of it is probably over.” The Blue Jackets will monitor Mason’s diet and energy level very carefully, and he’ll likely be a game-time decision every time the team suits up until he’s finally in the clear. Expect backup Wade Dubielewicz to get a lot of work in the short term.

Fantasy Impact: With DiPietro already out for the season, this is going to force ItsAllOvers hand. He is going to have to sign a goalie that might play one game this week. Or keep Mason in with the hope of him playing. I would hate to be in his shoes right now. His only healthy goalie is Chris Mason (No Relation to Steve).

INJURY REPORT: Lubomir Visnovsky on IR with dislocated shoulder

Grumpy's suffered a major blow the other night. Visnovsky suffered a dislocated shoulder in the third period of Tuesday's loss to Chicago. He might be out the remainder of the season if he needs surgery. An MRI has been performed to see how severe it is. No word yet. Luckily for Grumpy's he traded for Jovanovksi a few weeks ago. He will fill his void very nicely on the team. As for the Oilers look for Tom Gilbert to grab his time and spot on the top PP unit for right now.

Fantasy UnderAchievers

With only 5 weeks left after this sunday. It is about time we talk about the fantasy busts this year. Players that are not performing like they should. Here is a list of players so far that have not lived up to their potential so far. I could of named alot more. I am only naming people on active fantasy teams at the time of this article!


Chris Osgood
Braydon Coburn
Pascal Leclaire
Wade Redden
Oli Jokinen
Eric Staal
Anze Kopitar
Dan Ellis
Kari Lehtonen
Steven Stamkos
JS Giguere
Vinny Lecavalier
Sam Gagner
Tobias Enstrom
Brent Burns
Nikolai Zherdev
Martin Havlat
Rick Dipietro
Pizza Line (Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson)

How the West was on All Star Version!

The FHL west won a close all star match in a 6-5 week. Both teams were tied 29 goals each and also +21. The East lost out on alot of man games as 5 players were hurt and out during the week for them. It was still a good fun battle. Elias got a cheap empty net Short Handed Goal that gave them that category. Big weeks by Ovechkin with 7 goals and 1 assist and Niedermayer with 1 goal and 8 assists. Players that had great weeks in the East were Savard and Nabokov. Alot of players did not score for both teams which is shocking. Very low amount of Game Winners by both squads. Expect another close one next year. As some new players will make the roster and get their chance to shine. Ovechkin won his first FHL all star mvp. So far no USA or Canadian players have won this award!

FHL ALL STAR MVP WINNERS
2009 Alex Ovechkin
2008 Ilya Kovalchuk
2007 Marian Gaborik

Deadline Duds

This past week was one of the most boring trading deadlines in the FHL's Hisory. Not one trade made. And the only names being mentioned in trades were: Joe Pavelski, Ty Conklin, Martin Havlat, Daniel Alfredson, Cristobal Huet. Not any big names there fantasy wise. Nothing close compared to the elite superstar players that were traded earlier in the season. Lecavalier, Zetterberg, Malkin, Crosby, Miller, Fleury, Green, Backstrom, Staal, Stastny, Fleury, Gaborik and the Kipper too!

Everyone made their big trades earlier on and had nothing left to muster out one last deal to beat the clock. And yes the clock was wrong. Slashers never got the goalie he wanted in a deal. Has now settled for Nittymaki who starts %30 of the games. Executioner wasn't able to get his draft pick back which has TAVARES potential at the moment. The Stingers was unable to pull of one little tweak to his team. And all the other teams that also needed a goalie never stepped up to the plate and made offers.