There are several reports floating around the various news organizations today suggesting that the NHL has suspended Chris Simon for 22 games (15 regular season and 7 playoff games).
This story is definitely erroneus. NBCSports.com reported here that according to the MSG Network Simon had received that 22 game suspension.
Similarly TSN.ca also reported earlier today the same story but has since printed a retraction on their website here.
Colin Campbell did meet with Chris Simon today but has not handed down a ruling as of yet.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Chris Simon Suspension NOT Decided yet
Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Saturday, March 10
Below are the reported starters for Friday night:
(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)
Bruins - Joey MacDonald vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Penguins - Marc Andre Fluery
Capitals - Brent Johnson vs Islanders - Rick DiPietro
Senators - Ray Emery vs Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Thrashers - Kari Lehtonen vs Panthers - Ed Belfour
Blue Jackets - Brian Boucher vs Predators - Tomas Vokoun
Canadiens - David Aebischer vs Blues - Curtis Sanford
Blackhawks - Nikolai Khabibulin vs Coyotes - Mikael Tellqvist
Lightning - Johan Holmqvist vs Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff
How did I do last night?
8 for 12 on starters, 5 for 6 on winners
(Bold is the actual winner, Italic is my predicted winner)
Hurricanes - Cam Ward vs Capitals - Brent Johnson
Stars - Marty Turco vs Blue Jackets - Frederick Norrena
Kings - Mathieu Garon vs Red Wings - Dominik Hasek
Wild - Josh Harding vs Sabres - Ty Conklin
Oilers - Dwayne Roloson vs Ducks - J.S. Giguere
Canucks - Roberto Luongo vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov
Friday, March 9, 2007
Chris Simon pulls a Bertuzzi
Over at NHL Digest Lyle has posted the video of last night's brutal attack by Chris Simon on Ryan Hollweg.
UPDATE: Chris Simon has been suspended indefinitely by the NHL according to TSN.
Just how stupid can an NHL player be? After the Chris Neil hit on Chris Drury, which precipitated the Ray Emery vs Martin Biron fight, and the Cam Jannsen hit on Tomas Kaberle you would think that players in the NHL would be a little more aware that the League is looking at actions intended to injure other players a little more closely.
This incident brings to mind the Marty McSorley attack on Donald Brasher, you can refresh your memory below.
If that piece of history doesn't chill your bones nothing will. What you should also remember is that this incident effectively ended the NHL career of Marty McSorley. He received a suspension for the remainder of the NHL season (23 games) for his actions which was then extended to February of the following season and never played in the NHL again.
More recently the Todd Bertuzzi blind side attack on Steve Moore brings back some chilling memories as well.
Note the reference at the end of the video to the McSorley incident. Bertuzzi also received a suspension for the remainder of the NHL season (and playoffs) and was then extended to 17 months (partially due to the NHL lockout) and banned Bertuzzi from playing anywhere during that time.
It will be extremely interesting to see what the NHL decides to do with Chris Simon. With the example of the McSorley and Bertuzzi incidents I think we can bank on Simon being gone for the rest of the season, and we can probably expect some legal ramifications as well. The only good news here is that Ryan Hollweg seems to have survived the attack in good shape and expects to play the Rangers next game.
My prediction? Simon is gone for the year and the playoffs and will likely be suspended for a good amount of next season as well. Hopefully for life.
The timing for the NHL couldn't be better, with all the attention being focused on the issue of intent to injure this is a perfect chance for the NHL to state unequivocally that they will not tolerate actions like this.
My Hope? Bye bye Chris Simon, we won't miss you at all.
On a fantasy hockey note, pencil Sunday March, 25th into your calendars. That is the next time that the Rangers face the Islanders. I think we can expect some fireworks for that game.
Without Kaberle on the PP, the Leafs suck
I watched the Toronto Maple Leafs vs Ottawa Senators game last night with mixed feelings.
I expected, and even predicted, a Leaf's loss to the Sens. Without Tomas Kaberle the Leaf's do not have a puck moving defenceman to kickstart their offense. Even more disturbing is the fact that Kaberle is not only the Buds best offensive defenseman, he is also their best defensive defenseman. Without him the Leafs struggle on both the power play and the penalty kill.
Last night demonstrated that fact quite clearly. Ottawa scored 3 power play goals on 6 tries and also generated a short handed goal on 1 of 8 Leaf power play attempts. To top that off the Leafs couldn't manage much in the way of offense during their power play opportunities, let alone a goal.
If your fantasy hockey team has any Toronto Maple Leafs player on its roster I would suggest that you sit them until Kaberle returns to the lineup. Much of the Toronto offense is produced on the PP and without Kaberle this will be anemic at best.
That doesn't mean you need to drop Sundin or McCabe from your roster, just leave them on the bench for the next little while if you have better options.
Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Friday, March 9
Below are the reported starters for Friday night:
Hurricanes - Cam Ward vs Capitals - Brent Johnson
Stars - Marty Turco vs Blue Jackets - Frederick Norrena
Kings - Mathieu Garon vs Red Wings - Dominik Hasek
Wild -
Oilers - Dwayne Roloson vs Ducks - J.S. Giguere
Canucks - Roberto Luongo vs Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov
Two questionable predictions up there, John Grahame has started 4 of the last 6 for Carolina but hasn't been too solid. Dominik Hasek says he is 100% but this is the dreaded groin injury that every fantasy hockey owner of him has been dreading all season long.
How did I do last night?
16 for 18 on starters, 5 for 9 on winners
(Bold is the actual winner, Italic is my predicted winner)
Wild - Niklas Backstrom vs Bruins Tim Thomas
Canadiens - Jaroslav Halak vs Thrashers - Kari Lehtonen
Panthers - Ed Belfour vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Islanders - Rick DiPietro
Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft vs Senators - Ray Emery
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury
Stars - Marty Turco vs Blues - Curtis Sanford
Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff vs Predators - Tomas Vokoun
Canucks - Danny Sabourin vs Coyotes - Curtis Joseph
Thursday, March 8, 2007
The National Post sucks the big one
Yesterday I posted this story from the National Post reporting that Tomas Kaberle was done for the rest of the NHL regular season.
Apparently they are the only people who think so. As far as Tomas Kaberle is concerned he expects to be back skating within a few days and hopes to be back in the lineup within 10 days.
So much for believing the 'respected' media.
Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Thursday, March 8
Below are the reported starters for Thursday night:
Wild - Niklas Backstrom vs Bruins Tim Thomas
Canadiens - Jaroslav Halak vs Thrashers - Kari Lehtonen
Panthers - Ed Belfour vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Rangers - Henrik Lundqvist vs Islanders - Rick DiPietro
Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft vs Senators - Ray Emery
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury
Stars - Marty Turco vs Blues - Curtis Sanford
Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff vs Predators - Tomas Vokoun
Canucks - Danny Sabourin vs Coyotes - Curtis Joseph
A few maybe's up there.
The Stars have not yet divulged their starter tonight and have made conflicting statements about whether one goalie will play back to back games or whether they will split them. I'll keep my eye on this.
The Canucks have stated that Sabourin will start once this week, it is a guess that he will be starting tonights game against the Yotes.
Holding to the 1 game on 1 game off rotation in Phoenix seems like a good bet but Curtis Joseph reportedly had the Flu on Monday, I'll keep an eye on this one as well.
How did I do last night?
4 for 4 on starters, 2 for 4 on winners
(Bold is the actual winner, Italic is my predicted winner)
Kings - Mathieu Garon vs Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena
Avalanche - Peter Budaj vs Sabres - Ryan Miller
Lightning - Marc Denis vs Oilers - Dwayne Roloson
Coyotes - Mikael Tellqvist vs Ducks - J.S. Giguere
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Kaberle out for the season?
The National Post is reporting that Tomas Kaberle may be gone for the remainder of the season after the devastating hit by Cam Janssen in Friday's game against the New Jersey Devils.
If any of you watched the Toronto Maple Leafs vs Washington Capitals game last night you would have immediately noticed the absence of Kaberle on the power play. Without Kaberle the Toronto Maple Leafs no longer have a skilled power play quarterback and we will see the effects of that over the next 15 games. Be prepared to see Toronto's point production from their defense and power play squads drop significantly over the remainder of the season.
On the other side of the concussion block, Chris Drury is slated to return to the lineup tonight against the Avalanche. Good news for Fantasy Hockey GMs as Drury is the second leading scorer on a surging Buffalo squad.
Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Wednesday, March 7
Below are the reported starters for Wednesday night:
Kings - Mathieu Garon vs Blue Jackets - Frederik Norrena
Avalanche -
Lightning - Marc Denis vs Oilers - Dwayne Roloson
Coyotes -
Lot's of questions tonight for starting goaltenders, I will keep an eye on the regular sources and update this post if I find new information.
The Kings, the Avalanche and the Lightning all played last night so the listed started for those teams is a strong, edumacated guess, although Budaj has played well lately and Theodore may ride the pine as the Avs try to push for a playoff spot.
The Columbus Blue Jackets picked up Brian Boucher off of waivers recently and there has not been enough time to spot a trend for their starting goaltender. My best guess is Norrena but he has been shakey lately so they may go with Boucher.
UPDATES: The Columbus Dispatch is reporting Norrena as the starter tonight.
The Arizona Republic is reporting that Mikael Tellqvist will start tonight for Phoenix.
As I noted, I will keep an eye on the news wires and update you if I find new info.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Starting Goalies in the NHL tonight Tuesday, March 6
Below are the reported starters for Tuesday night:
(Bold is my predicted winner, Italic is an uncertain starter)
Panthers - Ed Belfour vs Thrashers - Kari Lehtonen
Avalanche - Peter Budaj vs Bruins - Tim Thomas
Devils - Martin Brodeur vs Flyers - Martin Biron
Predators - Tomas Vokoun vs Red Wings - Chris Osgood
Penguins - Marc-Andre Fleury vs Senators - Ray Emery
Capitals - Brent Johnson vs Maple Leafs - Andrew Raycroft
Flames - Miikka Kiprusoff vs Blues - Curtis Sanford
Sharks - Evgeni Nabokov vs Wild - Niklas Backstrom
Kings - Sean Burke vs Blackhawks - Nikolai Khabibulin
Lightning - Johan Holmqvist vs Canucks - Roberto Luongo
Things to note tonight:
Manny Fernandez may be back in the lineup for the Wild tonight but no confirmed reports have been seen by me as of yet.
No news yet on when Dominick Hasek will return but there is a slight chance it could be tonight.
DiPietro may be worth $67.5 million
Ok, maybe not. But last night he certainly tried to make that argument.
DiPietro saved 56 of 57 shots only to lose in the shootout to the New York Rangers to post a New York Islanders record for saves in a game.
If you own DiPietro and your Fantasy Hockey League counts Save % as a stat you are probably giddy with happiness right now.
If you own Jagr, Nylander, Avery or Mara you are cursing DiPietro right now. All 4 of those players took 6 or more shots on goal last night and couldn't manage to put one by DiPietro. In fact 8 Rangers posted 4 or more shots during the game. Only Petr Prucha and Matt Cullen managed to get one by DiPietro last night and Cullen's occured in the shootout.
I'll be back later today with the expected starters for tonights games.
Monday, March 5, 2007
NHL Weekly Wrapup - Who's Hot and Who's Not
The story this week is Buffalo. Specifically the way that almost every healthy player left on that roster has stepped up to keep the Sabres atop the Eastern Conference, except maybe Daniel Briere (I'm sure it has nothing to do with the fact that he is now the only Sabre on my fantasy hockey roster right?).
Centers: Jochen Hecht has 19 points in his last 15 games. That is a significant part of his 44 total points on the season. His dual position eligibility couple with his current production makes him a useful option in many leagues right now.
Jochen Hecht: 2 goals, 5 assists
Jason Spezza: 2 goals, 5 assists
Olli Jokinen: 5 goals, 1 assist, 1 GWG
Pavol Demitra: 3 goals, 3 assists, 1 GWG
Pavel Datsyuk: 6 assists
Who's Not: After a 6 game stretch where he potted 9 points Daniel Briere has only managed 1 point in his last 3 games. His team has managed 17 goals in those three games (1 of which Briere missed with the flu) yet Briere only managed 3 measly shots on goal.
Wingers: Drew Stafford is certainly benefiting from the raft of injuries in Buffalo. Over the past week has has managed 3 goals, 1 assist and 2 GWG. Stafford has 8 points in his last 6 games to go along with those 2 game winners a +2 rating and 7 penalty minutes (thank you Ottawa).
Dany Heatley: 4 goals, 2 assists, 1 GWG
Rick Nash: 4 goals, 1 assist, 1 GWG
Jason Blake: 3 goals, 3 assists
Marian Hossa: 3 goals, 2 assists, 1 GWG
Drew Stafford: 3 goals, 1 assist, 2 GWG
Who's Not: Evgeni Malkin. Yes you did read that right. Since the Penguins acquired Gary Roberts at the trade deadline Malkin has managed exactly 0 points in 4 games. The good news is that he is still shooting the puck so this is likely a mere blip in the road to fantasy greatness.
Defensemen: Tony Lydman recently snapped a 9 game pointless streak with 1 goal and 3 assists in his last 3 games to continue the Buffalove.
Matt Carle: 1 goal, 4 assists
Marc-Andre Bergeron: 2 goals, 2 assists
Wade Redden: 1 goal, 3 assists, 1 GWG
Chris Pronger: 1 goal, 3 assists
Tony Lydman: 1 goal, 3 assists
Who's Not: Aside from my entire defensive line, Matthias Ohlund is the proud owner of a 9 game pointless streak. He has a fairly decent 27 points on the season, until you notice that 21 of those points came in the first 3 months and he has put up only 6 points in his last 26 games.
Goaltenders: Who else but Ryan Miller. 3 wins propels Miller to the top of the goaltender rankings in the last week.
Ryan Miller: 3 wins
Ed Belfour: 3 wins
Kari Lehtonen: 3 wins
Peter Budaj: 3 wins
Miikka Kiprusoff: 2 wins
Who's Not: The Roly Poly Goalie (Dwayne Roloson, can you tell I have a 2 year old daughter?) has lost 4 straight including 3 last week in the wake of the Ryan Smyth trade.
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